This blog is dedicated to our dear friend, Jimmy. Not just because his birthday just passed and we love him, or because he's such a good friend, but mostly because I think he's the only person who still looks to see if I've posted anything on my blog. So, Jimmy -- this is for you!
It was a beautiful day and I was up much earlier than i intended. I waited until 9:00am to wake Eric and then we started getting ready for our date with Susan and Andrew. They had asked us for help picking up a TV stand from the store, because it wouldn't fit in either of their cars and the PT is perfect for moving stuff!
Before we left the house, my sister-in-law, Susan, called to say that my nephew Steven would be able to help US move a piece of furniture today! I had purchased a beautiful round oak pedestal table for the dining room, but it was one of those things that WON'T fit in the PT, and Steven has a pick-up truck.
We made plans for him to meet us at the place at 3:00pm and off we went to run an errand and meet our friends. I picked up our mail from the PO box and saw there were a few anniversary cards. Wheee! I love mail!
We got to Susan and Andrew's but Susan wasn't home yet from her own errand, so Andrew and Eric left in the PT and I stayed home with Chelsea, the cutest black poodle you ever saw. For some reason, i don't get sick at Susan and Andrew's, even though other poodles HAVE made me sick.
I figured this out by going over for 10 minutes, then 20, then a half hour, then an hour, and have now stayed there up to an hour and have not had any ill effects. I feel REALLY lucky!
Susan came home about a half hour after they left and they were back before long. The four of us went to a great old-fashioned diner near their house called HILDEBRANDTS, which has great home-made ice cream, wonderful sweet potato fries, and lovely salads, amongst many other choices.
Susan and I both got Grilled Swiss Cheese on Rye and shared a Baked Goat Cheese Salad. Eric got an Eggplant Parm hero (he said he's had it with chicken for a while) and Andrew got a Lemon Chicken wrap. They were so sweet and treated us to lunch for our anniversary. On the way out I convinced Andrew to get ice cream with me (Eric and Susan absolutely refused and I didn't want to be the only one!). We both got a scoop of Cappucino Chip and it was absolutely delicious!
We walked down a few blocks on Hillside Avenue, because there are a lot of interesting stores. Then, we got back in the car and took Susan and Andrew home and they jumped in their car so they could accompany us to the Consignment Shop where I found my table. Steven was to meet us there at 3:00pm and they just wanted to see if they could help and hang out with us a while longer.
I am not going to name names, but I have a problem with this consignment shop. I had my own consignment shop for 5 years and know how the business should be run. Unfortunately, this is a non-profit to benefit a local historical society, and the "old ladies" who run the place are all unpaid volunteers who couldn't care less about ANYTHING.
Their rules are ridiculous and their attitude is even worse. I had a problem with them the first and second time I went in there, but today it really got bad. Let's just say voices were raised.
The first time I went there was the day I saw the table and bought it.
The second time was after Eric and I unpacked about 20 boxes in the new house. We had several big boxes filled with unprinted newsprint which, if you've ever moved, you would know is SO much better than newsprint, because your hands don't get covered with ink, nor does anything you've packed. Since Eric and I are VERY much into recycling, we didn't want to just put it out in recycling -- we wanted to actually give it to someone to use again.
I called the consignment shop and told them I had all this bubble wrap and unprinted newspaper. They were SO appreciative. They were having a flea market and said it would come in SO handy, since they'd be selling a lot of items in one day. In the meantime, they told me that Tony would not be able to deliver the table, because he had just had surgery and was not able to go that far (this shop is on Long Island). I told them I'd make other arrangements.
So, Eric put these two big, heavy boxes in the car and I brought them over to them. As I said, this was the SECOND time I went to the shop. My friend Susan also had two small pieces of furniture she wanted to sell, so we packed the PT with these two big boxes and her small desk and a small curio and off we went.
When we got there I brought in the first big box and they were all "oohing" and "ahhing" over how great the paper was. I told them I had a second box and they said, "Oh, we don't want another box. This is enough." Now, Susan told me if that happened to her, she would have just said, "Okay" and put the second box back in the car. Not me. I told them, "Look, I brought this here out of the goodness of my heart, and you're going to take it. I'm not bringing it back home and I have no other place to bring it." And they took it. And I'll bet they are glad they did.
So, today was the third time I went to this shop. It was also the last -- I can tell you that.
What happened was partly my fault, but what ever happened to "The customer is always right!" When I had my shop, that was definitely words I lived by and I ALWAYS made sure my customers were happy and satisfied when they left my shop.
I never even knew this shop existed, partly because it wasn't in this location when I left New York in 2007. I found out about it from an old guy from Peppy's Dream who used to bring me a ton of furniture to sell in my shop. I called him and told him I was looking for a round pedestal table and he said he had one for sale in this consignment shop. I went there, saw it and loved it. It was completely covered with lamps, plates, dishes, teapots, etc. I could barely see any of the table, but I asked if there was any damage and I was told there was NOT. That it was in EXCELLENT condition.
I wasn't going to bother them to remove everything. First of all -- and most importantly -- I ASKED about the condition and they didn't say, "Let's remove everything and see." or "I'm not sure." They said, "It's in excellent condition with no scratches." or something to that effect.
The second reason I didn't bother is because they're all old ladies and I didn't want to give them all that work. The third reason is that the shop was very crowded at the time and they were busy taking consignment and helping other customers. So, I looked over the rest of the table (the edges were okay, as was the pedestal), paid in FULL and made arrangements for it to be delivered (by Tony, the guy I know). I told them I had JUST moved into our house and that I wouldn't be ready for delivery until mid-June. Again -- they didn't say, "That's no good." Or, "It has to be sooner." They just said, "Okay."
They never called me to complain, but when i was there to delivery the paper and every time I would call them, they would tell me how important it was to get the table out of there. I kept telling them that I had specifically told them mid-June. Today is June 16th. In MY book -- THAT'S mid-June!
So, anyway, when I got there the table was completely cleaned off, except for one lamp and a lot of dust. I asked if they could dust it off and then I noticed a few scratches. Two were pretty small and were the kind of scratches that add "character" to an older table, but the third was a long scratch -- about 5 inches -- that was pretty deep. It really bothered me, because they had told me there were NO scratches.
Well, I'm not going to go into total detail, except to say that there was a lot of back and forth accusations, yelling, denials, throwing up of arms, and general unhappiness. I finally left there WITH my table and a $25 refund. They kept saying that EVERYTHING in the shop has damage -- it's a consignment shop and nothing is new. I said it's not bad that it HAD damage, it's just bad that I didn't KNOW about it before I bought it. They kept saying I should have asked them to remove everything. I think it was THEIR responsibility to remove everything to make sure -- before they took their money -- that it was as described.
One woman said, "The woman who told you that is a volunteer!" as if that excused her mistake. I said, "So, does that mean she's allowed to LIE to me?" Then, the woman got indignant and said, "She didn't LIE." and I replied, "Well, obviously, she didn't know, did she? If she didn't know, she should not have said. Thank GOODNESS Susan was there with me when I bought it and again today and she was able to back up everything I said.
As I left I promised them that they would never see my face again. I think they were relieved and happy to hear that! Susan said she respects the fact that I speak up and get what I wanted, but she admitted that sometimes I DO go too far, because I get so upset and raise my voice. It's just the way I am. I wasn't screaming, but I talk loud to begin with and the madder I get, the louder I get. I think she's dissatisfied with herself, because she doesn't speak up at all, but I'm dissatisfied with myself, because I get too upset. I shouldn't let these things get to me, but I do. Somewhere in the middle is the best course of action -- speak up, but don't "yell up!"
Anyway, my nephew came with his friend's little brother (because his friend flaked). This kid was an adorable autistic kid of maybe about 13 or 14. I never would have known he was autistic. He just seemed like a goofy kid, but Steven told us -- right in front of him. They helped us get it into the truck, followed us back to Flushing, and then helped us get it up the stairs.
We gave the kid $20 and Steven $40. Steven didn't want to take it (he's so sweet), but we insisted. The kid was all excited, because Steven told him I was on WHEEL OF FORTUNE. That was the best part of the trip for him -- talking about WHEEL OF FORTUNE!
When they left we relaxed for a while and then went back out to meet our nieces and their husband/boyfriend for dinner at SUSHI VILLAGE for more -- ALL YOU CAN EAT SUSHI! It was Jessica and her husband, Ken (the newlyweds) and her sister April, and her boyfriend, Hashem.
We had a great meal -- ate like there was no tomorrow -- and they treated us, too! What a great day for us. Eric said we should make up more occasions and get people to take us out. Sounds like a good idea to me!
It really was a lovely anniversary. I got to spend time with some of our best friends, got a new piece of furniture, saw my nephew, and then saw two of my nieces and "nephews."
I apologize to anyone who cares for not blogging anymore. When I first got back I thought I would blog occasionally -- if something important happened, or if I had great pictures to post. Unfortunately, I have been so busy and try to spend as much quality time with Eric as possible, which usually means NOT spending an hour a night on the computer!
So, this may be my last entry, but, Jimmy, if I ever DO blog again -- I'll let you know!