22 June 2017

Someone I met today had her flight delayed.

She shared with us that she had been at the PDX airport since 10pm the night before; the flight that was supposed to take her home didn't arrive till 12am. Since it was so late, they weren't going to fly. The group was offered hotels rooms, but she figured that she would only be sleeping in it for 3 hours before having to get back to the airport. She and another woman banded together to explore all of PDX, and found some people who suggested they sleep on the floor.

Obviously, she was grossed out by this and said no.

I asked her where home is, and she said it's an hour south of Seattle... So she had to run to her next flight so she doesn't miss it. She had been up for 24 hours at that point and was a little frazzled.

I don't blame her. I'm impressed by how composed she was. I would have been a little pissed. 

21 June 2017

Someone I met today profiled me.

I was at Trader Joe's buying a plethora of snacks that my parents requested. While I was ringing out, the cashier and I struck up a conversation.

"So when's your flight?"
"Not till tomorrow."

Pause.

"How'd you know I was going to be on a flight?"
"All the Hawaii people tend to buy the same kinds of snacks in bulk. Is it because you can't get them there?"

I chuckled and shared that some of the snacks and produce I was buying aren't things that are easily available. For some products, the versions at home don't taste nearly as good. 

20 June 2017

Someone I met today worked at the Nike Employee Store.

I asked him if the store was staffed all the time, or how it worked, and he said yes. It's kind of impressive, because I'm pretty sure that the mostly empty store had at least 10-15 people on staff at the time we were there. He shared that the busiest times are generally weekends, so our choice to come at the beginning of the week was a good idea.

As for his employment? Most people start as seasonal workers during Christmas, and if they like you, you can apply for the PT or FT positions depending on their needs. I also asked him if employee store staff members are considered actual employees of Nike; they are, and their restrictions on access to the store are just as strict as the corporate division. 

19 June 2017

Someone I met today was the poor Alaskan Airlines Lady.

We were going to attempt to go into the lounge with Tam's lounge member card. Turns out they recently changed their policy to only allow the card holder. The man she was helping, however, was not going to take that answer.

He had his wife, and two boys between 6-8 in tow. 

She smiled apologetically while telling us we wouldn't be able to get in. Her eyes, however, pointed sharply at the man ready to yell at the credit card company who "promised" him that benefit. We nodded knowingly. 

In customer service, you'll learn that there's a lot that can be said with subtle language and oblivious people. 

18 June 2017

Someone I met today didn't know how to handle a customer service issue.

I went to Bottega Louie about to place my order for macarons. The first girl told me to circle and fill in a card with what I wanted. Easy enough. When I was done, she took it from me. 

I then went to the cashier who then had the following exchange with me:

"Oh, you have to fill out a card with what you want."
"I did already. I gave it to that girl."
"... Oh. Uh. So you actually were supposed to give the card from me so it doesn't get confusing and mess up our system."
"... Ok, so what do you want me to do about it?"
"OH uh. Nothing, it's ok."

I was super annoyed because it was like, really? You're gonna correct me? The customer can be wrong, and to a certain degree, it's ok. But you kind of have to assess whether or not correcting the customer is in your best interest. If she went any further than what she already said, I might have had words for her.

There are ways to correct a situation, and tactfully is the most important way of them all. 

17 June 2017

Someone I met today... Really, all of the waitstaff at Bestia.

Holy crap, I have never had such amazing service at a place. Not only were they super attentive, but the attention to detail at Bestia was amazing. As we walked through the dining room, each waiter stepped aside to let the host lead us to our table, smiling as we past. 

When I went to the bathroom, Tam mentioned that the waitstaff noticed and folded my napkin before my return. Even as I went to the bathroom several times (damn alcohol), they stepped out of the way for more, every time. They also were super pleasant, and were immediately present to clear our plates as we finished them. 

I don't think I've ever met a more professional waitstaff in my life. Not that I go around eating at fancy places all the time, but they were GREAT.

Highly recommend to everyone.

Musing 25

Does racism rear its ugly head in all heterogenous communities? Do homogenous community appear peaceful because there is nothing challenging the established majority identity?

Are heterogenous societies doomed to strife and an insidious underbelly of hatred? Is it because we cannot count on everyone to choose better, despite the masses who want to? 

16 June 2017

Someone I met is Fedex driver.

Well, in the day time. He's a Lyft driver at night. He shared that Fedex has a hard time finding drivers with clean driving records... So if you get a ticket, you have to let Fedex know right away and they'll "take care of it."

Case being that he was smart with a cop one day, mostly because he was high. The conversation went as follows:

"Hello, have you had anything to drink?"
"Yes sir I have."
points at Red Bull can
"Sir, I need to write you a ticket."

Anyway, I know USPS also has strict requirements, so this isn't unusual. I just didn't know that Fedex had Godfather-like capabilities. 

15 June 2017

Someone I met today: All the Lyft Drivers we had. All of them asked us about EDC, and also asked what we were doing in Vegas if not for EDC. Because they were all so interesting, let me break it down. I know it isn't one person, but thematically, they're a group. So ok! 

Lyft Driver #1: Moved from California to Vegas because the cost of living is lower. Wants to go to Hawaii, but always ends up going to the Philippines with his wife once a year.

Lyft Driver #2: Used to work for DirectTV and traveled around a lot. He was based out of Alaska, but decided he liked Vegas best. The two other people in the car were in charge of the fire systems that are going into the Oakland Raiders Stadium. He shared that just 2 days before he met these guys, the newspaper said that they still weren't sure if the Raiders were really moving to the city or not.

Lyft Driver #3: Didn't really talk to him. I just remembered that his car was hot because the AC was broken. 

Lyft Driver #4: ??? It was after dinner, I was tired.

Lyft Driver #5: Really cool guy. We chatted about how he wanted to come to Hawaii. I gave him tips on a good time to go, and also recommended that he learn how to swim. Extra points to this guy because I left my phone in his car and he drove back to return it! 

Lyft Driver #6: Hispanic guy named Jesus. I'm pretty sure the Lyft app said that "Jesus was coming." He asked if we were here for EDC, we said no, for a wedding. He asked if we were getting married. Also said no, asked Tam, "Well what are you waiting for?!"

Lyft Driver #7: HOLY SHIT. This guy was insane. Hahahaa. So anyway, he picks up and makes sure that we know we're using Lyft Line, which means that he can pick up other people on the way to our destination. We said yes. He shared that Magic the Gathering was hosting a tournament in Vegas. Cool. Anyway, we're literally across the street from the hotel and he gets called to pick someone up from the New York New York. He pulls up to the designated stop and doesn't see the person. He calls them, and they say they're by the New York sign.

"No you aren't, because if you were, you would see me!"

He then proceeds to swear while talking to the girl on the phone, "God-fucking-damnit man, this is why I fucking hate this Line shit. These people don't even know."

Anyway, he hangs up, and drives around to the other side where he thinks they are. The next conversation went down exactly as I thought it would as the two girls got into the car." 

"See, there's the sign we were standing under. I told you were were by the big sign."
"You weren't by the ridesharing pick up sign, e'ery one of these hotels got one." 
"Oh."
"You're lucky I'm a nice guy and still picked you up anyway."

Yikes. Bad on both of them though... Girls should have known, and the guy shouldn't have been that rude haha. 

14 June 2017

Someone I met today was a TSA Agent.

I wonder how often people are nice to them, despite how perceivably inconvenient their presence is. 

13 June 2017

Someone I met today is an events coordinator on Lanai.

I guess that's cool, considering that Lanai has literally one hotel. I'm sure the fellow has an interesting story, he had a heavy French accent, and shared that he had been doing it for a while.

I'll probably see him again in the next few weeks. 

12 June 2017

Someone I met was a father who was enthused about technology.

It was a short interaction, but when I gave him a demo, he immediately called over his daughter to try it out. I think it was more impressive that the daughter was equally as enthused about the demo, and shared with me how exciting she thought it was.

She said she was going to start middle school, which is usually the age some kids start acting up. She was a complete sweetheart and I was glad to see it.