Bad Service – Villa4UFlorida

Today I continue my reports about Good, Bad, and Ugly customer service experiences.  Today’s story is about a recent experience my family had while on vacation last month in Orlando, FL.  While this experience doesn’t qualify as Ugly, it does have several qualities that place in the Bad category.

We traveled to Orlando with my parents for baseball’s Spring Training.  We decided the best thing for us was to rent a home.  We ended up booking with Villa4UFlorida – specifically selecting a home co-owned by a work colleague of my wife.  A couple months after booking, we learned that a long term contract for the home was extended, thus we could not have that particular home.  Villa4UFlorida booked us for a similar home about 15 minutes from Orlando.  No problem – we actually appreciated the effort they went to to find us another option.

Many of the homes for rent have private swimming pools, and we learned, the option to have the pools heated.  The biggest decision was the fee to heat the pool.  The charge is $25 a day for the length of the stay.  Since our plans involved being out at games most days, we were not sure if it was worth the cost.  Factoring in the bad winter we had on the East Coast, and given how much my daughters love to swim, we decided (a few days before the trip) to pay the fee and have the pool heated. 

So, my wife contacted them two days before, left a message since no one answered the telephone, and requested a confirmation call to her cellphone.  To cut to the chase, she never got a call.  Making matters worse is the fact that Villa4UFlorida doesn’t have a office where you check in.  A week before a renter arrives, and after final payment has been received, they send you an e-mail with a code to a lockbox that contains the key to the property you are renting – so there is never the option for a face-to-face meeting with any representatives.

When we got into the house we found the instructions for the pool.  Each night we were to place a plastic cover back on it to help keep the heat in – which we did.  Attached to, but slight elevated above the pool was a small spa.  The instructions recommended that we run this approximately 40 minutes prior to using – we assumed to get it good and heated.   We tried this the first couple of evenings and really saw no measureable result.  That first evening, our daugthers went into the pool and really seemed to enjoy it – but considering it was 30 degrees when we left Delaware that day, anything above 50 degrees would have felt great.

Unfortunately, over the next couple of days, the temperature in the pool seemed to be on a major decline.  So after day two, my wife contacted Villa4UFlorida.  When she called to see if they had gotten her original request, she was told they turned on the heater before we arrived.  When she expressed concern that the pool was not warming up – the nasty response she got was, “You must be doing it wrong!”  No apology, no offer to have someone look into it, just a condensing answer that pointed blame at us – the customer.  Considering I was paying $175 for this simple service, we expected more. 

Figuring we were not going to get any assistance, we continued to follow the recommended procedures the next few nights.  The only measureable difference we could see was that the water temperature was getting colder.  So cold in fact, my daughters only spent 10 minutes in the pool each of the last two nights – very disappointing.

Now it is true we never called back that week – but would you have?  We had two main reasons for not calling again.  First, no one is at the rental company beyond normal business hours.  Since we were at baseball games after the first two days, we were never at the house during business hours.  The second reason was the lack of responses we had gotten to that point.  Remember, my wife never got the confirmation telephone call she requested when we asked that the pool be heated.   Then, when we called to express concern that it was not warm, we were told we were idiots.  So why would we attempt to call again?

When we got home, we called to request a credit since we did not believe the pool was ever heated.  As you can expect, the co-owner of Villa4UFlorida basically told us we were liars.  She informed us that her husband had come out the day after our call questioning if the heat was turned on.  She informed us that the pool was “a lovely 82 degrees.”  We found it very interesting that someone from the company had come to the house, and potentially into the house, and never left a note indicating they were there or what they did.  What I know for sure is, that pool was no where near 82 degrees. 

After several communications, Villa4UFlorida still claims the pool was fine, but said they received complaints from other renters at other homes that same week.  That tells me a lot.  But when questioned, they have been rude, avoided calling us back, communicating solely via e-mail, and has only offered to give us a $175 credit on a booking over the next 12 months.  If they feel compelled to offer us a credit in the future, they should be willing to make it right for us now.

Given the treatment we received, the lack of personal communication, and their failure to professionally address our problem, we have no interest to rent from them again.  Therefore, I am now using my power as the consumer to add them to the bad list of customer service experiences.

Do you have a similar experience with this company, or another rental organization, please share!

Update: Service Recovery from McDonald’s

If you read my blog this past Saturday, you know that I did some venting about an unusually bad service experience at the Northeast, Md. McDonald’s this past weekend.  In this blog I detailed my experience and suggested that we the consumers in America should take more proactive actions when we feel we have not been treated fairly.

I totally believe this, and plan to continue this theme within my blog for the short-term.  I also want it noted that I will also be recognizing the good experiences as well as the bad and the ugly.

Which brings me to this update.  After blogging my experience on Saturday, I continued my venting by posting my experience to the McDonald’s Corporation website – and yes, I did share with them the link to my blog site – which they apparently read!

Earlier this evening I had a conversation with the area supervisor from McDonald’s – Mr. Greg Uggo (Greg, it dawns on me that I never asked for the proper spelling of your name, so please accept my apology if I got it wrong).  Greg was very interested in hearing my experience and wanted to communicate to me that what happened is totally unacceptable and that he is very embarrassed.  He told me that he knows that many families like mine come into this establishment on their way to or from their children’s activities (dance class, sporting events, etc.), and that McDonald’s mission is to service the consumers efficiently and effectively so we can continue on with our afternoons.

I know many of you might be thinking, “Not enough!”  For me, I am very satisfied.  As I communicated to Greg, I had no problem with a short wait on Saturday, I just would have appreciated being acknowledged – to know that my business was important and that they wanted to provide a quality service to me.  Greg did an excellent job of “Service Recovery” by taking responsibility, apologizing, and pledging to address this with the manager whose behavior was out of line with the expectations of McDonald’s.

For his efforts, I figured Greg deserved immediate recognition and his actions to be published in my blog.  I will follow-up and report my satisfaction on the McDonald’s website.

As a parting thought for today – I think this proves the power of the consumer.  Greg indicated that they take any negative comment seriously – but the fact that I put it in writing on my blog was particularly concerning to him.  He felt it sent a message to the community that McDonald’s doesn’t care about them.  I know this is not true, and he shared with me some of the good things they are doing in the Northeast, Md community.  I found this very pleasing.  Because he is so concerned with the long-term potential impact, I am very confident that the issue will be addressed in the appropriate manner as they do not want someone else to experience the same thing my daughter and I did.

So, if any of you reading this question what telling our stories can do, hopefully this experience proves to you the power we really do have.

Next time, I will share an ongoing issue we are having since our family vacation to Florida a few weeks ago.  That experience falls under the Bad category of the Good, Bad, and the Ugly.  Until next time…

Service with a Smile…Or Not – The UGLY at McDonalds

For sometime now I have not paid much attention to my blog site.  Truth be told, I have been busy with work, family,…life!  But with baseball season starting soon, I figured I had a good topic to get me started again in April. 

However, today happened – and now I have a different mission to sink my teeth in.

See, in recent weeks, I have had the opportunity to experience the good, the bad, and the ugly of customer service situation.  Today was down right ugly, so I have decided to use my blog as a means to highlight some of the experiences I have had, and hopefully encourage others to do the same.

During most of my adult life, I have worked in one form of service or another.  Be it waiting tables in college, working at two different stores at the mall, serving as a customer service telephone representative, and for the past 18 years as a corporate trainer; I know the importance of good customer service skills.  During these experiences, I have also learned to be tolerant of people who serve in these roles.  Sometimes they can be a thankless job.  But despite this tolerance, there is no excusing my experience today.

My 13 year-old daughter and I had a busy day.  We are in the process of High School selection for her, and she spent the morning taking a practice entrance exam at one of our targeted schools.  Immediately after she finished, I had to drive her from the city of Wilmington, DE to Northeast, MD so she could attend her Music Theater class.  Unfortunately, there was no time for lunch before class. So when she finished, and before her dance theater rehearsal, we went to the McDonald’s in Northeast, MD on Route 40.

When we entered the lobby there were a few people strolling around, but no one in line.  As I looked at the counter with three registers, two of the registers had employees filling up the change dispensing units.  The center register was not being used.  Watching over this was the manager for the shift whose sole purpose was to “supervise.”

Not being sure where I should go, I stood about 8 feet back and waited for someone to invite us forward to take our order – but no luck.  They saw us standing there, but offered no apology, no “we’ll be just a moment”, or any acknowledgement at all.  After about 90 seconds, three other groups had gathered behind me.  Obviously not sure what was going on, the guy behind me inquired if I was in line.  I am certain the manager heard him, so I made sure she heard my answer as well.  I said loud enough…”Yes.”  At this point I looked at the manager who was giving me a look, and quietly shook my head a bit.  I was giving her the opportunity to do the right thing.

Instead of doing proper “Service Recovery” elements, she decided to vent at me.  Loudly she said, “I have to get change ready sir!  What would you have me do?  We got slammed at lunch and I must have change.”  This was totally uncalled for, and totally the wrong approach to take.

At this point, I turned my daughter around, announced loudly that we were leaving and going somewhere else.  I then shouted back, “With a smart-ass comment like that, you obviously don’t need my business.”  As I left the restaurant, my 13 year-old, obviously way more intelligent than this manager simply said, “There was no reason for her to be rude like that.  That was so uncalled for.”  Such brilliance from a brilliant girl!

I can only hope that a few of the others in line, and in the restaurant took notice and did like I did.  I must admit that I was stunned.  I can appreciate they were busy, and that maybe they fell a little behind.  I was even willing to wait – all I wanted was a little acknowledgement that I existed.

That manager was totally out of line.  She may not have cared who I was – but I promise you she will.  See, the power of the consumer is a powerful thing.  I think it is something that many of us don’t use enough.  There are nearly 50 families who are part of my daughter’s dance group – many of whom frequent that McDonald’s.  My daughter and I plan to let many of them know about our experience.  Afterall, they are not the only game in town.  Add on to that this blog, Facebook, Twitter, Buzz, etc., I have many opportunities to share my experience and to caution others from going to that particular restaurant. 

Will I shut them down?  Of course not!  But I will feel good venting about it, and maybe, just maybe, I can create some awareness about a McDonald’s that needs some improvement.

I invite you to pass on this story, comment about your own experiences, and share your personal good, bad, and ugly service experiences.  Let’s all start to use our voice!

The Gunslinger and NFL Strike Again

The NFC Championship Game has just concluded.  I really didn’t care who won this game – but as the game was concluding in overtime, two long-standing truths about professional football showed up in this game.  First, Brett Favre (The Gunslinger) will always break your heart if he is the QB for your team.  Number two, the NFL’s format for overtime Sucks!

I am totally convinced that Brett Favre, no matter how much he tries, will be destined to throw an interception as his last official pass in the NFL.  During his last game as a Packer two season’s ago in the NFC Championship Game, he threw a horrible pass for an interception when he was attempting to bring his team back in the last minutes, and he did it again tonight for the Vikings.  The biggest difference tonight is that he didn’t have to throw the pass.  The Vikings were in control.  They were tied with the Saints, had the ball in Saints territory, and only needed a short gain to kick a game winning field goal.  The Offensive Coordinator drew up a great play that had The Gunslinger roll-out to the right with the option to run or pass.  This was a brilliant play call.  The Saints were not expecting it.  The Gunslinger has not been known for scrambling for a long time, and had actually been injured in the 3rd quarter, so the Saints were not even looking for this play call.  As the play was happening, Favre had open field to run.  But once a Gunslinger, always a Gunslinger.  Throughout his career he has made incredible passes in impossible situations – but he also makes stupid decisions at inappropriate times. 

His last pass tonight – and perhaps the last of his Hall of Fame career – is one of the stupid variety.  Instead of taking the 5-10 yards his feet would have gotten him, the Gunslinger decided to go for the improbably – and turned the ball over by throwing a bad pass into the middle of the field with only seven seconds left in the game.

The good news was, they were still tied and were heading to overtime.  But this is where the NFL has their turn at playing Scrooge.  The NFL plays a sudden death overtime with the first team to score winning the game.  Since it is possible – and happens more than you would think – that the team receiving the kickoff in overtime never gives up the ball, scores, and wins the game - it puts a premium on winning the coin flip.  Ridiculous!

This overtime rule is stupid during regular season games – but to decide which team goes to the Super Bowl is a travesty.  Tonight’s game was an instant classic.  Both teams threw everything they had at each other.  It was a back and forth game with each team answering the other team’s punches.  Never was the lead greater than seven points.  So for the Saints to win the toss of the coin, take the ball down the field for five minutes, kick a 40 yard field goal, and get to go to the Super Bowl without giving the Vikings a chance to respond makes no sense.  It never will make sense, and I will never understand why this is the design the NFL has chosen.

The Saints are a great story.  They deserve congratulations for going to their first Super Bowl.  I just fear this game will be remembered more for another sad ending by The Gunslinger.  There will also be a lot of talk about the overtime format of the NFL.  While Favre will probably never get his chance again, perhaps the NFL will find an opportunity to improve their game for the future.

Eagles = Groundhogs Day

Yesterday evening the Eagles laid a big egg and got dominated by the Dallas Cowboys 34-14.  This loss eliminates them from the playoffs and came six days after the season’s last game which saw the Cowboys win 24-0.  Given the way last week’s game went, it was no surprise the Cowboys dominated last night.  What is also not a surprise is that the Eagles, despite seemingly playing very well the last half of the season, came up very short in the playoffs.  See, they have done this every other time they have made the playoffs in the Andy Reid / Donovan McNabb era.

Over the past decade, the Eagles almost established themselves as the dominate NFC team for the decade, making it to five NFC Championship Games.  Not once in those five games did they play the same team twice.  Three of those games, the Eagles were the favorite.  In all but one of those games, the Eagles did not play up to potential and exited the playoffs.  In the one year where they did manage to win and make it to the Super Bowl, they lost to the New England Patriots – but like most of the NFC Championship losses, they came up small and really could have won the game.

So last night’s loss really isn’t a surprise – it falls under the category of “More of the Same.”  Most Philadelphia Eagles fans have come to expect it – we are conditioned to expect it.  The only people surprised by the results is the Eagles front office.  Despite team President Joe Banner’s comments this past summer that you can’t continue to do the same thing and expect different results, they continue to do the same thing.  Going into this season, there was talk that this could be Donovan McNabb’s last season, and Andy Reid was nearing the end of his contract.  But after a late season 3-game winning streak, Reid was rewarded with a 3-year extension and if you believe comments over the past couple of weeks, Donovan McNabb is the starting QB next season.

So it begs the question – “What will be different next year?”

Over the next few days and weeks, you will hear the Eagles and other “experts” tell you how the Eagles are a young team, they are still learning, we never really should have expected much this year – as well as other such nonsense.  It is all nonsense because the Cowboys are younger, had less experience, and had about the same degree of expectations as the Eagles. 

So why is it the Cowboys are able to excel and the Eagles are left to wonder what happened?  And why, should we expect anything different from the 2010 season with Reid, McNabb, and others trying to win using the same approach?

Here is what I know.  The Cowboys swagger is back.  They are confident, they are young, and they are damn good.  It reminds me of the late 1980′s and early 90′s when the Eagles had some very good teams but could never capitalize on it.  During that time the Cowboys struggled – but they went through a rebuilding effort and eventually won three Super Bowls with young talent including QB Troy Aikman. 

Fast Forward to 2010.  The Eagles have basically dominated the NFC East for the past 10 years – but the Cowboys now have a good QB who has confidence and some great young supporting talent.  I believe last night’s game was much more than a single game – it was the passing of the torch.  Within the next few years, the Cowboys will win a Super Bowl and the Eagles will be left to wonder what happened.

Groundhogs day all over again.

The Week After

It has been nearly a full week since the Christmas / New Year’s holidays concluded.  Of course this meant the kids had to go back to school and my wife and I had to go back to work.  As we have done the past couple of years, we took the week off between Christmas Eve and the day after New Years Day.  This year, with New Years falling on a Friday, that meant we got another full weekend to enjoy before returning to “normal life.”

I have come to really look forward to, and enjoy this time off.  It is a nice way to end the year.  It is especially nice because I find the actual holiday days so stressful, so it is important to have the other days to settle down a bit and relax.  What has become frustrating is the feelings I have the day or two before having to go back.  It doesn’t seem to matter how much time I take off, I never seem fully “ready” to get back to work.  The result is, I stop relaxing a full 48 hours earlier than I have too because I am thinking about how unready (is that a word?) I am to return to “normal life.”

Does anyone else have this experience?

Why does this happen?

It is not that I don’t like my job – but it does seem that it takes the better part of the first week before I am beginning to feel engaged again.  I understand it more this year than in past year.  This is because I had a To Do List that was very long during this past break.  Much to my surprise, as well as those who know me well, I managed to knock out about 80% of my list.  I kept myself very busy throughout the 11-day break.  For really the first time in my life, I decided I could keep myself pretty busy in retirement. During past breaks, I have often become “bored” at some point.  But despite those feelings of boredom, I still experience the same “start-up” challenges when I return to work.

So I ask again – why does that happen?  I would love to find a way to prevent these feelings in the future.  Anyone that has any great ideas, please post them in the comment area of this blog post. 

Besides just getting some suggestions on how to work around these sluggish feelings, I think I am just really trying to find comfort in knowing that others experience the same feelings I do.  I really desperate attempt to feel like I belong – I’ll admit it!

Holiday Decoration’s Right to Life

As we move away from New Year’s Day and head back into the normal grind of work and school, it is time to take down the decorations from the holidays.  My wife is a big fan of the holidays, and demonstrates this via the decorations around the house.  While she has many decorations for all of the seasons and holidays throughout the year, by far Christmas is the holiday she loves more than any other.  We have four large boxes of decorations and many smaller ones.  We even have several larger decorations that have their own box and just live on the storage shelves in the basement during the non-holiday portion of the year.

Growing up, my mother would put out her fair share of decorations, but nothing to the degree that my wife does – so this has truly been a unique experience for me during our marriage.  While I know my wife is not fanatical like others, she does OK.  We are at a point where we could decorate three trees.  We haven’t gotten there yet – stopping at two trees the past few years, but we have acquired a third tree from my parents – so we will probably get there in 2010.  In addition to the tree decorations, nearly every table top throughout the house gets a few well placed ornaments / decorations.

Currently as I type this my wife is busy putting the decorations away.  She carefully matches each item up with the original packaging it came in, and then places it in the proper spot in one of the larger boxes.  This process began for about two hours last night and will occupy much of her time today. 

I know many of you are probably thinking, why doesn’t he stop blogging and go help her?  I would, but you have to understand one key fact.  She doesn’t want my help.  My role is simply to carry the full boxes back down to the basement and place them on the storage shelf.  She figures it is the only de-decorating job I can do without messing something up.  And she is probably right.  See, when I was a kid, the majority of our tree decorations were hand-made things with the occasional purchased ornaments.  These ornaments were kept in a brown paper bag you carried your groceries home in from the store.  So when it was time to take down the tree, we would quickly pull off the ornaments and toss them in the bag.  There was no special boxes, tissue paper, foam protection, or anything of the like. 

Didn’t this mean that some ornaments were damaged or broken?  Of course, but in my mind, that was the way to control the over population of holiday decorations / ornaments.  I figured it is acceptable to lose 5% of your supply each year – especially, if like my wife, you are purchasing or making (children school and scouting crafts) new ornaments each year. 

So this is where my wife and I part company in our beliefs.  She believes that every ornament is a special ornament and is protected to the fullest extent possible.  I have called this the Ornament Right to Life Model.  I prescribe to a Darwinian Model of Ornaments that the strongest shall survive.  Unfortunately, my model is not permitted the opportunity to be practiced or tested in my house.  In the past when I have attempted to help, comments have been made that clearly indicate that my assistance is neither needed nor valued.  Basically, my wife has not issued to me a decorating or de-decorating license.  My sole purpose is to put up the tree, make sure the lights work and are strung, and then get out-of-the-way - except for the occasional lifting and moving of heavy boxes.

So, during this time of holiday clean-up, I will be looking for other things to occupy my time.  Anyone know what time the football games are today?

Holiday Story Telling

As my family has gotten together at various points in the past, I have found myself not often looking forward to these gatherings.  In recent years, the thought of getting together has often caused feelings of anxiety.  I am not exactly sure when or how this began, but it has become the predominant thought.

Deep down I know we are truly blessed.  Both my wife’s parents and my parents are alive, in good health, and still living on their own in their own homes.  Considering my in-laws are in the mid-80′s and my parents in their early 70′s (my wife and I are 3-months apart in age – there is an entirely different story embedded in the age difference of our parents.  Maybe I’ll tell this at another time), that is pretty impressive.  Both sets of parents live within 15 minutes of us – as does my younger brother, his wife, and his two children.  Between my children and his, the oldest is nearly 13 and the youngest 4-1/2.

While the diverse range of age and experience is a blessing, it is also the key source of tension.  In my opinion, the expectations of the different generations creates a lot of the issues.  It would probably make for a fascinating study to observe how each of us handles the tension.  For my part, I tend to keep it all in.  Christmas dinner is always at my house, so I find I get tied up in food preparation, food serving, and dinner clean-up.  The main reason for this is to avoid the potential situations that I believe will come up.  Despite my best efforts though, someone always seem to suck me into some drama – but at least I can hold it off for a while.

But something different happened this year.  At last Thursday’s Christmas Eve Mass, the associate pastor at my church gave an excellent homily about how families tell stories during important gatherings.  He talked about how the stories of the Bible were passed down for many generations through word of mouth.  I have heard similar stories about this in the past, but his message has stuck with me this week.  As we gathered for dinner last Friday, I found myself relaxing a bit more and focusing more on listening.  There are some great stories to be told between my father-in-law who was in WWII down to my nearly teenage daughter who is just beginning to understand the value of family history and her contribution to the make-up of the family. 

While I have heard most of the stories before, I realize that is what makes getting together as a family important.  The only way the stories can get passed down and savored is in the telling and retelling of the stories.  The trick with stories is that you must have someone willing to listen.  The younger children in our group haven’t quite gotten to the point of telling stories, but their time is coming.  I honestly can’t wait to hear how they tell their stories.  I only hope the older ones amongst us give them their due when it is time to tell their stories.  The first step in making sure that happens is by making sure that each story-teller has listeners.  If we demonstrate that for them, then we set a new expectation that everyone deserves to be listened too.

So, as we gather for New Year’s and events throughout the coming year, I truly hope I can keep the message of my priest clearly in mind.  If I can, there is proof that important changes can come from the stories told by others.

Captain’s Log Stardate: Right Now!

Growing up I spent a lot of time with my dad watching the original Star Trek series.  I was never a big fan of the original series, but because my dad was, I watched and I came to care about the characters.  So as I got older and the original cast moved to movies and a Next Generation cast was created for the TV – I found myself becoming a huge fan.

When the J.J. Abrams movie hit the theatre last summer, I was at the theater opening night with my dad and younger brother – thrilled to be having another Star Trek experience. 

As I continue to be a fan, I can’t help but marvel how many of the devices that Roddenberry introduced in the 60′s are becoming mainstream in today’s technology culture.  I know many people have noticed how our cell phones seem to look a lot like the portable communicators.  I can’t help but laugh every time I see someone walking down the street with a blue tooth phone device hanging from their ear.  Let’s face it, it was silly when Uhura was doing it with her communicator / translater in 1963 and it is still silly now.

As my wife and I watched the new Star Trek movie at home last night, I had a sudden shock as I realized another comparison in today’s world.  (Spoiler Alert) – Shortly after the destruction of the planet Vulcan, we see the crew and Vulcan survivors on the Enterprise as we hear Spock enter his “Captain’s Log.”  Captain’s Log or Personal Logs were always a favorite of mine as I watched the shows and movies.  It was an excellent way to get critical insight, knowledge, or updates on character feelings and development.  It took the understanding of the story and characters to a deeper level.

It dawns on me that those of us who write blogs or who create podcasts are really just doing Captain / Personal logs.  I know the topics are not always about us specifically, but they are about things of interest to us, or our personal knowledge and observations of events in today’s world.  Just like the characters in Star Trek, many of us don’t exactly know who will be reading / listening, but that is not important.  What is important, at least to me, is to record the thinking at the time.  I think it will be a wonderful record of who I was and what was important to me at this moment in time.  Those who are interested are welcome to read and comment – if they so feel inspired.  If not – that is fine too.  I’m having fun and know millions more join me.

So for now, this is the “Personal Log of Delaware Jerry.  Stardate 121909.”

Blog About Nothing

My blog post today is about nothing.  I suspect most readers of blogs would say they have encountered many a post about nothing.  I am new to blogging – both writing and reading - so I am not really versed enough to offer an opinion, but my suspicion is that all blog posts are usually about something - at least about something of importance to the author.

However, in this case, I will admit my post is about nothing.  I am actually frustrated about this because it means I have fallen into a bout of writer’s block.  Do they call it writer’s block in cyberspace?

When I began this blog less than two months ago, I admitted in my initial post that I really didn’t know what I would be blogging about.  Some of the best practices sites I have reviewed said you should develop a theme, or image that is your blogging approach.  That is the best way to attract readers to your site.  Anyone who has read my various posts knows I haven’t done that.  I have written about President Obama’s Nobel Prize, the Philadelphia Phillies attempt to win another World Series, the passing of the family pet, and my week-long revisit of our family’s trip to Disney World in 2000.  But two weeks after my tribute to our cat Pumpkin, I am left wondering what to blog about now.

Perhaps this lack of creativity is due to the pending holidays and being concerned about getting those last few presents.  Maybe nothing interesting is going on in my life, or the world.  Or maybe I am just working to hard and have nothing left for my personal blog.  Any of these could be possible – but it is probably that I have just hit a period of non-creativity.

So, in keeping with the spirit of the title of this blog post, I should make sure I don’t go on too long about nothing.  I will, however, end with one small request.  I don’t really know how many unique people are viewing my posts – but to those of you who are curious enough to visit – please add a comment or two to this post.  Tell me how you think I have been doing as a new blogger, and if you have any ideas about topics you would like to see me cover in the next weeks and months, I welcome your ideas!