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Mar 1, 2012

A Crazy Example of Great Service

March 1, 2012 By

I had one other amazing experience during Blissdom that I wanted to share, but decided that it needed its own post.

As I mentioned previously, Blissdom was held at the Gaylord Opryland resort, which I often refer to as a city under a Bio-Dome. But ultimately it is a luxury hotel focused on providing high-quality service and creating a memorable experience for each guest.

I’ve been to Opryland three years in a row now. On my first visit, I remember walking into our hotel room and hearing this lovely music playing. It was similar to what you might hear if you went for a massage at a high-end spa. I looked at our clock radio and discovered it was also a sound machine. And the sound playing at the time was “spa” of course.

After a long drive to Nashville, the gentle wood flute and nature sounds were so soothing that I nearly fell asleep while relaxing on my bed. That entire weekend, I continued to notice how relaxed I felt while that music was softly playing in our room.

Before we left the conference that year, I asked the hotel where I could get one of those clock radios. They didn’t sell them but told me I’d be likely to find them in any store. I copied down the model number, but was never able to find one in stores that had the “spa” sounds. It seems that the model in the hotel room was only made for Gaylord hotels.

The next year, the clock radio in our room was a newer model – replaced after the great flood of Nashville – but the new one still had the soothing spa music. I again asked where I could find one, but nobody had an answer for me. I took down the model number and tried to search for it, but came up empty handed again.

Yes, I know you probably think I’m insane to obsess over a clock radio. And to be honest I’m not as obsessed as I sound. While I’m at Opryland, I enjoy the spa music. Sound can influence our thoughts and feelings, and this particular track soothes my mind, calms my nerves, and lets me sleep deeper than I usually do at home. I occasionally see sound machines at the store and when I do I always check to see if they might have the one I’m looking for. But I don’t spend every day in the quest for this particular clock radio.

So THIS year, I once again arrived at Gaylord Opryland and was pleased to find my little happy machine in the room. I joked with my roommate, Lisa, that I might just need to ask Opryland how much they’d charge me if our clock radio happened to be missing from the room at the end of our stay. I didn’t want to be a thief (bad message to send to the kids, right?), but I’ve been trying to find a product like this for three years now.

I turned to Twitter to ask the hotel for help.

And they responded. (Because they’re cool like that. And smart enough to watch their Twitter feed during a blogging conference.)

And then I responded:

I received no response after that, and I attended the Blissdom closing night party with the subject no longer on my mind. When we came back to the room, I walked over to the nightstand and switched on the music again, then turned and found myself face-to-faceplate with a second clock radio perched on the dresser, and an envelope next to it with my name on it.

(Photo re-enacted after I’d already opened the card, of course.)

There was at least a five second pause as my brain tried to process what my eyes were seeing. I slowly picked up the envelope and opened it, reading the handwritten card: “Christina, Thank you for following us on Twitter. We hope you enjoy these spa sounds at home. If you need anything, please let us know. Sincerely, Elizabeth, Nick & Tori.”

That would be the point where the excited screaming began. Sorry to those of you staying in the Delta who were trying to sleep at 11:30pm.

I would have been happy to pay for one of the clock radios, but the staff at Opryland took notice of just how much I loved this thing and went out of their way to make sure I had the best experience ever. And they also ensured that I wouldn’t have a guilty conscience when returning home to my daughters.

(Kidding.)

(Well, mostly.)

(No, no, really. Stealing is bad, kids.)

So thank you, Gaylord Opryland (Elizabeth, Tori & Nick!), for topping off a wonderful weekend with an unexpected delight. You reaffirmed that there are still companies out there focused on great service, and you’ve made a lifelong fan out of me. And you’re now helping me get some of the best sleep possible, year-round, which any mother will tell you is a feat worthy of high praise.

You’ll have to pry this thing from my cold, dead (yet amazingly relaxed) hands.
Filed Under: Blissdom, clearly insane, me me me, people who don't suck Tagged With:


Dec 23, 2011

And A Pinkie Pie On Every Tree

December 23, 2011 By

One of the things I love about blogging and social media is the ability to have a direct line to the people who can help you out.

For example, Cordy and Mira love My Little Pony.

Wait…I don’t think that’s quite strong enough.

What I meant to say was: Cordy and Mira LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! My Little Pony. They can’t get enough of the new show on the Hub network, and our house is now filled with ponies and accessories. It’s nearly the only TV they watch.

Each year we let the girls pick a new ornament to add to the Christmas tree. It’s fun to see how their interests change each year by looking back at the ornaments they choose. So of course when it came time to select this year’s ornament (and knowing that this is the year of My Little Pony for both kids), I did a little internet searching and discovered that American Greetings made a 2011 My Little Pony Pinkie Pie Christmas ornament.

Perfect!

One problem, though. The ornament was sold out everywhere. It seems My Little Pony has an enormous adult fan following, and once word got out about the ornaments, they were quickly bought up. Sold out online. Sold out in our local stores, too.

I looked at resellers to buy one, but I refused to get into a bidding war on eBay and spend $30+ on a $7.99 ornament. I didn’t want to reward someone for buying up all the ornaments to turn a profit with the collector crowd.

So I did what any desperate blogger might think to do – I reached out via Twitter, asking American Greetings for their help in tracking down an ornament. I explained that my two daughters are fans of the show and really wanted this ornament for our Christmas tree this year.

I was hoping they might be able to tell me if there was somewhere online to buy one, or if they planned to send out another shipment soon. I was happy to pay for one, I just needed an actual ornament to buy. They quickly responded that they would look into it for me.

I waited for days and didn’t hear anything further. I wasn’t sure how much they could help – if it’s sold out, it’s sold out, right? So I was completely unprepared for them to go above and beyond and respond with this:

And then yesterday, a perfect Pinkie Pie ornament showed up in the mail. Two little girls cheered with joy and Cordy declared the @amgreetings Twitter maven “the nicest person in the world!”

The dreary, rainy day yesterday suddenly got A LOT brighter for these two.

So now Pinkie Pie has joined the cast of animated characters on our tree. As befitting her importance at this moment, she’s front and center:

with Batman climbing up for a visit on the lower right

Have I mentioned social media is awesome? Thank you, American Greetings, for helping this mom get the perfect 2011 ornament for my daughters!

(And just because this is the new era of full disclosure: yes, American Greetings did send it to us for free, unexpectedly. There was no agreed on review or anything like that – I just wanted to share my joy at a company doing something really, really nice for my family.)

Filed Under: Cordy, holidays, Mira, people who don't suck, pop culture Tagged With: ,


Oct 27, 2011

Cordy’s Thank You Note

October 27, 2011 By

It’s been a busy week at work. We’ve been temporarily understaffed, and as a result I feel like my days have been spent either sleeping or working.

But!

Remember when I begged you all for votes for the Columbus Parent Magazine cover contest? It all paid off! Thanks to your votes, Cordy made it into the top five finalists out of nearly 400 entries!

As promised, here’s your thank you note:

Now we have to wait to see if Cordy is selected as the winner. A panel made up of magazine editors and professional photographers will choose the winner by this Friday. (Tomorrow!)

I have no idea what goes into making a decision like that – how do you look at five kids and decide which one will be the cuter kid on the cover just by seeing one photo and no other information? I can’t imagine it would be easy – even Miss America has a question and answer portion to the competition. There’s no chance to find out what each child is like, what story they all have to go with those smiling faces…just a photo.

Cross your fingers and hope they can see Cordy’s story in her blue eyes. And if she wins…well, she’ll have to work on an even bigger thank you note.

Cordy plans to use this photo for all holiday and birthday gifts going forward as well. She’s a time saver like me. Or lazy. Like me. 
—-
Edited to add: Cordy didn’t win the big prize of being on the magazine cover, but her photo will be featured in the December 2011 issue.
Filed Under: Cordy Tagged With: ,


Oct 3, 2011

I Usually Don’t Ask For Much…

October 3, 2011 By

I try not to ask a lot of everyone who comes by this blog. I’m happy to share stories and photos and have discussions about deep topics like special needs education and which eighties cartoon to have my daughters watch next.

But today I’m asking for a small favor. Columbus Parent magazine is having a cover photo contest, and the winning child will get to be the cover model for one of the monthly issues. I normally try to avoid anything that involves voting – popularity contests just bring back nightmares of coming in last as a child, and I often feel that those with the most resources generate the most wins. (Although I actually have a pretty stellar resource with this blog and the Internet.)

However, I decided to enter this contest for a few reasons. First, I’ve got a couple of good-looking kids who would both make excellent cover models.

More importantly, this would be an excellent chance to feature a child with autism on the cover of Columbus Parent. Cordy is not only beautiful, but she’s smart and charming and has an incredible story. At three years old we didn’t know what the future would hold for her when the autism label was applied. Would she be able to go to college? Would she even be able to attend a regular classroom?

Everyone who visits here regularly has followed along through her transformation. Today, at seven years old, she spends 90% of her day in a mainstream classroom and about 90% of the time she’s a cheery ball of sunshine as well. She’s reading well beyond her first grade level and has just started working on double-digit addition and subtraction. The school wants to test her for the gifted education program. The latest report from her teachers is that she now runs with packs of other kids on the playground at recess instead of playing by herself, and possibly even has a friend or two.

Cordy’s a success story, and she is a positive example of a child with autism living well beyond her label. She has her difficulties and still struggles with a lot of social issues, but she’s thriving in her environment.

Photo courtesy of Heather Durdil

So…this all leads up to the favor I’m asking of you. Will you please vote for Cordy in the Columbus Parent contest? You don’t have to be a Columbus resident to vote. All you have to do is leave a comment under her photo with the word VOTE in it somewhere. Or just the word “vote” would do, too, if you’re in a rush.

You do have to register for the site to vote. (I’m sorry – I wish they didn’t have that restriction. Check your spam folder if you do register, as the confirmation email seems to go there for many people.)

The voting round is open until October 17, 2011 at noon ET. I can already tell there are some kids in this contest with large families, so we’ll need all the help we can get! The top 5 kids with the highest votes will go on to the finalist round where the magazine will select the winner.

What’s in it for you, you ask? I don’t really know what to offer in return. The privilege of knowing you helped the Amazon warrior princess get the cover of a magazine? A hand written thank you note from her? (Warning: her thank you notes are very short.) A promise from me to post more often? 

Anyway, if you have a moment, please leave a vote for Cordy! And share it with your friends, too!

(And now I swear I won’t ask any more from you for at least another few months.)

Filed Under: Autism, Cordy, shameless promotion Tagged With:


Jan 14, 2010

Delurk and Help Haiti, Too

January 14, 2010 By

It seems to sneak up on me every year, but today is yet again the Official Delurker Day, the once-a-year plea for those of you who quietly read to write one little comment of support. (Or even if you do comment, please say hi also!)

It’s hard to believe I’ve been blogging now since 2005, and it’s even harder to know that I don’t get to do it as often as I used to. There was a time when I really cared about my stats and would religiously follow them each day, looking to see which posts got the most attention and trying to guide my writing towards more like those. Since starting my crazy job working the night shift, I’ve had way less time, and significantly less brain power, to devote to blogging. As a side effect, I’ve also lost my obsession with my stats. I know less people come by here now, and that’s OK. (Even if Mom 101 named me one of her Top 50 Mommybloggers that didn’t make the Babble top 50 mommybloggers list and are probably more fun anyway. Also? There’s some awesome blog reading in that list.)

So while I may not write as often now, I still come back because I want to interact. I love it when others read and enjoy what I write, and I love finding new people who share my interests. I feel bad that I don’t get to interact with my readers as much as I used to.

(And let’s not talk about the backlog in my Bloglines. If I comment now on a post you wrote two months ago, take it as a compliment that I really wanted to comment, even though it took me that long to read it.)

However, just because I’m not writing or interacting as often doesn’t mean I have less appreciation for my readers. I’d probably still be here writing even if I was just talking to myself, but thank you for coming back and taking an interest in my life. I truly do appreciate it, and I value the friendships that have developed from this little corner of the internet. Thank you all for keeping me sane.

(And for putting up with the extraordinary number of parentheses in this post. Apparently half of my thoughts are really asides or after-thoughts.)

So if you have a moment in your busy schedules today (or whenever you read this), drop a quick comment in and say hi.

And one more thing – if you’re even more moved to do so, delurk in the world community and make a difference to the people of Haiti after that devastating earthquake. Donate to the Red Cross – even $1 helps – or if you can’t, use your blog or Twitter or Facebook to get the word out to others, asking them to help. The people of Haiti have already undergone a tremendous amount of poverty and hardship before the earthquake, and they need our assistance more than ever now.

Edited to add: I’ve now added a button on my sidebar that lets you donate to the Red Cross for the Haiti relief effort. All donations go directly to the Red Cross.

Filed Under: shameless promotion Tagged With: