My, my…we’re now officially grown-up people doing grown-up things. Yesterday, we were playing with paints, now we’re having baby showers for our friends.
Cindy’s SJSU friend Gina invited us to her baby shower over the past weekend in the San Jose foothills. It’s always nice to catch up with the gang. Cindy & parties? You know she had a blast:
Congratulations, Gina & Robert! In a few months, we can add one more to the wolfpack!
Cindy informs me that the young kids call it a staycation. Whatever it’s called, it’s a lesson that teaches you that don’t need to travel far to enjoy a vacation. We live about 20 minutes from San Francisco, but whenever we visit, it’s always a treat.
My bro-in-law treated us to a weekend up in the City, complete with a room at the Clift Hotel near Union Square & a super fancy Sunday night dinner at Gary Danko out near Fisherman’s Wharf. Driving is a bummer up in the City, so we spent our warm afternoon walking around the Downtown area. We even stopped at Samovar Tea Lounge out in Yerba Buena Gardens for a sippy-sip of tea & scones.
Vacations aren’t necessarily cheap, but for those who don’t like to travel long distances, local excursions are just the ticket!
Leading a healthier lifestyle is probably on many people’s resolutions list for the new year. For me, it was a birthday gift to Cindy a few years ago that I would try to run/exercise a few times a week. The beauty of technology with Nike & my iPhone makes sure I maintain that birthday promise.
My cousins resolved to make a similar resolution, too. They would try to run a race once a month for the rest of this year. February’s race was held on a rainy Saturday morning at the Bay Breeze by Brazen Racing at the San Leandro Marina Park. Cindy & I ran the 5K, while my cousins Emee, Cliff, & Sara ran the 10K. Joshua cheered us on & braved the rain as well. The cool part was that all the finishers won a super sweet medal. Not too shabby!
I ranked 131 of 444 amongst the 5K racers. Running 3.1 miles isn’t too bad, but I may have pushed myself a bit too hard & now my muscles are punishing me for it. Perhaps I may need to listen to my body & slow the pace down, or maybe I may need to train a bit harder.
The girls’ faces probably didn’t show it, but my face tells how cold it was that morning.
We’re all cynical in this jaded world. Good customer service in retail is rare. I try to avoid shopping at brick & mortar shops & do most of my shopping online. Even still, some websites still bring the pitfalls of retail to the convenience of your computer: overly aggressive upselling, rude customer service, or sifting through the junk to find the thing you really need. When you find a good retailer—whether online or a physical store—make sure to keep coming back to support their business. If you’re in the market for some good headphones or earbuds, make your next purchase through Sennheiser. Here’s why:
I listen to music with earbuds nearly every day. The earbuds are abused through normal wear, & I’ve been through many a pair in my lifetime. I’ve learned to be more savvy in my shopping by going through Amazon.com because of their customer reviews. Many people were raving about the Sennheiser CX300, not only because of the quality of the sound, but because of Sennheiser’s customer support. Sure enough, I found them to be an excellent pair in comfort & audio quality, so I bought a few.
Usually, earbuds last me about half a year before something goes wrong (usually the cable gets frayed), but my most recent pair lasted about a month. Quite unusual. Sennheiser backs their warranties for a year, so I figured I should at least give it a shot. With a copy of my original receipt, I package up my broken earbuds & send it to them out in Connecticut, along with an email sent to their customer support team:
Good day,
Loyal Sennheiser customer here! In fact, I own a few pairs of your HDR 120 wireless headsets & MANY pairs of your CX300 earbuds over the past few years. Last Monday (December 20), I delivered a defective set of earbuds to hopefully be replaced under warranty. I purchased them at about $25, but unfortunately costed me nearly $20 to have delivered to you (ouch). The reason I’m mailing you guys is that I hear your customer service is excellent. I’m not sure if shipping reimbursement is out of the question, but as long as your team receives my headphones in a condition suitable of warranty repair, I suppose that would be good enough for me. Otherwise, that was a really expensive way to throw out a nice pair of earbuds! Keep up the good work & hope to hear back!
—Ian Sagabaen
Catch more flies with honey, they say. Anyway, they reply promptly, but mention that they fear that I bought them through an unauthorized dealer. Highly unlikely, since I did my shopping through Amazon.com. We clarified the confusion with a PDF copy of my Amazon receipt—all is well.
I know it was my fault for sending the earbuds in the most expensive way, but it did bother me that it cost so much to do it that way. I sent them a reply:
It might be too late to ask or mention, but shipping through FedEx costed almost as much as the unit itself. I’m not sure if this is asking too much, but would it be possible if I can have the shipping costs reimbursed? I believe your website suggested FedEx because of its tracking capability, but this was the cheapest method available.
Please let me know if you need anything else, like the copy of the FedEx receipt or something. Thanks again!
—Ian Sagabaen
Not much arm twisting required…here’s their response:
Hi Ian,
I cannot reimburse you for Fedex charges (I recommend US MAIL in the future- much more economical), but if you’ll email me with your shipping address, I’d be happy to send you two CX300 II at no charge.
Thanks for choosing Sennheiser!
Regards,
Service Department
In about a week, I get a package from them in the mail:
The pair I bought was an obsolete model, so they sent me two pairs of the updated version! Sennheiser FTW.
On the eve of your birthday, how’s this to celebrate your entrance into your late 20s? Good-priced sushi with massive portions in the greatest city on the Peninsula? Check. Post-dinner dessert at a late-night Chinese dessert restaurant? Check. Laughing all the way back to the apartment & watching old bachelor party videos & eating Hawaiian snacks? Check.
Happy birthday, Clay! Also, happy Groundhog’s Day.
