Sunday, August 31, 2008

Comparing Baby Play Mats

Our little one is now 6 months old. We are in the homestretch of the 'playmat' stage, and I wanted to reflect back on three mats that we have been using for him. Each one had good qualities, and I'd be happy to recommend any of them. Two of them I kept at our house, and one I took to my CEO's -- Joanna Pineda's -- house so that the Nanny (Goring) we are sharing could use it.

Here is a rundown of these 3 mats, and their pros/cons ...

Name: Gymini Super Deluxe Lights & Music by Tiny Love
Suggested Retail Price: $74.95
How I got it: From my friend Edwige, who used it for her kids ($20)
Manufactured in: China
Distinguishing Feature: Lights and music are in the mat itself, so it really encourages little babies to want to be on their tummies
Comparative Analysis: This is my favorite of the 3. The lights in the mat are great; but that element pulls out so that the mat can be machine-washed. This mat is also very, very sturdy. He can hold onto the supports to hold himself up as he is learning to sit. The toys are easy to take off and put onto his stroller, etc. It's a really great toy.



Name
: Ocean Wonders Kick & Crawl Aquarium by Fisher-Price
Suggested Retail Price: $33
How I got it: From a gal on Craig's List ($10)
Manufactured in: China
Distinguishing Feature: The mat can be reconstructed to be a tunnel once baby starts crawling. It is cool!
Comparative Analysis: As a mat, this item isn't that interesting. Also, I don't like that the toys velcro onto it; it means that they can't be hooked easily onto the crib, a stroller, etc. But the design that allows it to be made into a tunnel is ingenius. He is just starting to 'creep,' so I constructed the tunnel and he is absolutely intrigued by it.


Name
: RRRoaring Fun! Play Gym by Bright Starts
Suggested Retail Price: $24.99
How I got it: Baby Shower Gift
Manufactured in: China
Distinguishing Feature: Cheapest price point and interesting assortment of toys, including a plush lion that plays music.
Comparative Analysis: This one is the least 'different' of the 3. It has nice, bright colors, but it doesn't distinguish itself like the other two. The lion is awesome; mine didn't play music very well, so I wrote to Bright Starts and they sent me another one, which was wonderful. Also, it had a velcro mirror that could be removed and moved to other uses, and I appreciated that. The Gymini mirror wasn't easily removable.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

USPS: The Yin and Yang of Customer Service

Within one hour last week, I had the BEST and WORST customer service experiences with the United States Post Office (USPS). [I'm not sure Yin and Yang is the best way to describe this, but it's close enough.]

The situation:

We went away for two weeks. We used the online form at usps.com to hold our mail for two weeks. When the form asked if I wanted it delivered or if I wanted to come pick it up, I chose "pick up" because our mailbox is a useless 3" x 3" tube that doesn't hold anything more than a post card. [This is because our home owners association and ARC seems to feel that large mailboxes are unslightly and not in keeping with the colonial feel of our neighborhood. Of course, electricity doesn't really match the colonial spirit, either, but don't get me started on this topic.]

Then, I talked to a friend who said that they'd bring the mail in one of their big boxes and put it on our doorstep. Hey! That sounded great! Especially since my car was going to be in the shop when we got back from vacation, and I wouldn't be able to drive to get the mail. So, I decided to call my local post office to see if I could have them bring the mail to us.

First: the BAD

I went to the website to lookup my office in Springfield, Virginia 22152, and get the phone number. Well, they don't publish the local numbers; they only show the main 1-800-ASK-USPS. Sigh. So, I called this main line.

The USPS automated voice system is a BEHEMOTH. It is monstrous to behold, like that multi-tentacled beast in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Mere mortals dial into this phone system to test their mettle and bravery in battle against forces greater than themselves.

After some amount of 'battle,' I got to the part where I could get a human being on the phone, and after waiting for some amount of time, a woman picked up the phone and said in a curt voice,
"The system is down, call back later" and hung up on me.

Hung up on me.

Didn't even find out why I was calling. What if she could have answered the question without the 'system'? What if she already knew she couldn't help me? What if what I wanted was on the web site and she could just send me there? What if I was calling to say that the building that the call center was in was ON FIRE? Would it have killed her to at least give me a chance to speak and then apologize that she couldn't help?

Man, I was ANGRY.

I dialed back and did battle with the phone system again. By taking a different fork in the path, and then another and another and another and another, I DID finally manage to get the local number of my office. I suspect that with enough patience, one could actually find out just about anything.

Now: the GOOD

I called my local post office and spoke with "Diane," who didn't know me from Adam, so to speak. When I explained the situation, she offered to drive out our mail, right then, personally, herself. I couldn't believe it. She said that she could use a break from the office and that there was indeed a lot of it. So, 10 minutes later, there was Diane on my doorstep, with a big smile and a huge box of mail.

WOW, you're amazing Diane. Talk about exceeding customer expectations. Speaking as a former Disney employee, I can tell you that there is a place for you at that company. You are a super-star of customer service!

Thursday, August 21, 2008

'Quality goods at a fair price' [Sounds like a winner, to me]

I just read a good interview on CNN with Mickey Drexler, formerly of Gap and now with J.Crew and Madewell.

It is an interesting read, and provides some insight into the thought process of the retail industry. He has -- like most executives not currently hibernating in some bear cave -- perceived that this is a tough market. He shares some of his thinking and strategies to make his brands successful.

His concept of 'Quality goods at a fair price' seems blazingly obvious to me. And yet, it clearly is not as obvious as it seems. It must be very easy to get off-track in the retail world, as evidenced by the junk in many of the stores, today.

This is without a doubt what took out Disney's jaunt into the retail mall channel (although they tend to blame the staff for not 'upselling' enough). During the last two of my six years at The Disney Store, our merchandise devolved into being what I could only describe as craptacular: crappy quality at a spectacularly high price. And it didn't sell. And stores closed. And that's all folks.

I wish Mickey Drexler more luck than Mickey Mouse.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Hurrah! Speedo!

Everyone who knows me knows that I *love* Speedo swimsuits. I've worn them my whole life, including as much as possible while I was pregnant.

My friend Joanna just sent me this great article about how fabulously Speedo suits have performed at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and I am so happy for them. They have a quality product. They deserve the accolades they are getting!

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Salt: Sneaking into my food when I least expect it

As many of my friends and family know, salt is my arch-nemesis. If I have too much salt, I feel terrible. So, I am always on the lookout for it.

On our recent family vacation roadtrip, I wanted to take along a low-salt alternative to chips, that wasn't sweet. In walking through the cereal aisle, I spied a box of Rice Chex cereal. Not Chex Mix (which definitely has a ton of salt), but just the cereal. And I thought ... hey, this would be perfect.

Not so!

Just ONE CUP (one serving) of Rice Chex cereal has 240mg of salt; that is 10% of the USA recommended daily allowance of salt in just one cup.

This is TWICE as much as one serving of my beloved Route 11 Salt & Vinegar Chips.
In fact it is more than the salt in two servings of these chips ... i.e. the whole bag ... which is definitely more food than just one cup of Chex.

Surely Chex cereal doesn't need this much salt to be edible, does it?

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

A quiet family vacation

In the age of theme parks, mega-resorts, and bus tours, it is nice to consider an 'old-fashioned' family vacation.

We just got back from two weeks in New Hampshire, at Lake Pleasant. My husband's family has been going there every summer starting just after WWI. (Yes, that is a I, not a II.) They have been renting small cottages at 'The Point' from the same family for the last 35 years.

Staying in one of these cottages for two weeks isn't just like travelling back in time, it IS travelling back in time. David Cahill is the current family manager of the lake-side cottages. They were originally built by his great-grandfather and grandfather, mostly in the 1930's and 1940's. They are basically one-room square cabins, with a sub-square setting off a bedroom and a bathroom. Some of them still have the original refrigerators and gas-stoves (or if they aren't original, they are mostly from the 1950s and 1960s). No AC; just lake breeze (or lack of breeze, some years). Cell phone coverage is crap, internet is nonexistent.

This kind of vacation isn't for everyone. But if you like to get away from the city or suburbs, like New England, and like the Great Outdoors, I highly recommend renting some type of cabin like these. And of course, there are cottages like this all over the country; we just happen to go here. David and his family treat my husband's family like an extension of their own; it is almost like going up to visit distant relatives each summer. Are the cabins perfect? Heck no. In fact, they all have something wrong/broken about them. But staying there for a week or two is about having quiet family time, to read and swim and row and canoe and hike.

It's a great time that I'd recommend to anyone. A couple of 'regulars' have dropped out this past year, so they have some openings. If you are interested in this fall or next summer, drop him a line at:

The Point Cottages
52 Elkins Road (PO Box 68)
Elkins, NH 03233