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As you may or may not know, kid 1.0 (aka Emma-Grace) had her first communion yesterday. To celebrate, my wife Trish and I had planned afterward to have dinner for about 15 at Dontino’s, a small Italian restaurant near the church.

Trish called Dontino’s a couple of weeks ago – and was told it would be no problem for them to accommodate us – she was told to call an hour or two ahead to give them a heads-up.

When Trish called, she was told by a Dontino’s staff member that they couldn’t seat all of us together – that we’d be split into two groups. Nice to see they kept their word.

Luckily Trish had called a couple of other places – and we resorted to “Plan B” – which probably ended up better after all. Our party of 15 – and the money it would have brought Dontino’s – ended up at a nearby Bob Evans location.

I called the Bob Evans – the manager answered and was more than happy to host us. She said they’d keep a side room for us – and when we arrived after mass things were all ready. The servers and manager bent over backwards to make it an enjoyable meal and a wonderful family and friends experience. They even gave Emma-Grace her meal for free in honor of her special occasion.

I was more than happy to generously tip the two people at Bob Evans who took care of us.

In short, Bob Evans ruled and Dontino’s drooled.

…nothing better to stoke peace on earth and goodwill toward fellow human beings than what I just saw at a Quiznos restaurant in Akron.

While waiting for my lunch to be made, I was subjected to some rather disturbing drama behind the counter. A stocky man (I think he was the owner of the restaurant) rushed into the store – and immediately verbally “ripped a new one” into a young man. The “boss” chewed the young man out and used at least two of the “seven dirty words” in the process. The main thing I gathered from the semi-hushed tirade from the “boss” was that the young man was being fired.

I’m not sure what behavior was being addressed on the young man’s part – I don’t want to know – and it’s none of my damned business. What DID bother me, though, was that the “boss” didn’t even have the decency – or the class – to address the young man’s behavior in private. He decided to administer his own form of “justice” openly – in front of a co-worker and at least three customers at the counter.

I thought it was “management 101″ to praise in public and punish in private. I guess the “boss” didn’t get the memo about that.

If I hadn’t already ordered my sub, I would have walked out there and then. I’ve decided that that particular Quiznos location has been scratched off my “lunch rotation” from now on…

The words for today’s lunchbreak are “hassle” and “snotty”. Can you say, “hassle” and “snotty”, boys and girls? “hassle” “snotty” I knew you could.

First, I call my doctor’s office to get a new scrip for one of my medications – he set me up for a year for one of them (4 90 day supplies) and for three 30-day refills for the other. On the latter one, I’m about to run out and I end up calling his office to ask for a new scrip.

To start, I get put on hold and waste five minutes on my cell phone – then get transferred to one of the nurses who proceeds to give me the third degree and claims that the doc never issued me the scrip in the first place. Finally, she tells me in a somewhat snotty way I have to set up an appointment to get a new scrip for this medicine. I got off the phone feeling like I had been treated like a drug-seeking junkie rather than one of the doctor’s patients.

Second, I went to the neighborhood Chinese restaurant to pick up my lunch. I had phoned my order in – it was still during the “lunch special” time before 3:00 pm. When I get there, a dinner portion of General Tso’s Chicken was waiting for me – not the lunch portion. When I told the man at the counter I had wanted the lunch special, not dinner.

In a huff, this dude gives me a dirty look, cooks up some pork fried rice, and then puts it in a container with the chicken. This person is different from the normal person at the counter – but his customer service skills sucked. I decided at that point that Imperial Wok in Akron has been scratched off my lunch rotation – I’ll go to another Chinese takeout near my old workplace next time.

This was a wonderful way to spend lunch on Friday. NOT!!!!!!

Thanks to my friend Ken for a great time the last two days up in Rochester, NY. I had gotten there Wednesday afternoon and just got back home a couple of hours ago. I had planned to stay until tomorrow afternoon – but due to sick kids I came home a day early so Trish wasn’t stuck with them for three straight days. Emma-Grace apparently has a cold and Jacob might be coming down with one too.

I owe apologies to all my Facebook and Twitter friends and former Rochester media colleagues for not hitting a “happy hour” to meet up with folks in person. The original plan had been for me to make a “happy hour” tonight – but had to scuttle them. Next time I’ll be more diligent in setting one up. I am deeply sorry I wasn’t terribly sociable this time around.

Now – to the piece de resistance (or the coup de grace) – the ten things I learned during my whirlwind return to Rochester Wednesday night through Friday afternoon:

10) I was reminded that J.W. Dundee Honey Brown beer is still IMO the best brew on the planet.

9) The State Police troop covering the NY State Thruway has essentially put the kibosh on media covering incidents on the toll road – reportedly due to orders to troopers to strictly enforce with media vehicles the “Emergency Stopping Only” rule on the highway. Apparently a number of news people have been threatened with arrest if they got out of their cars to shoot pictures or video of accidents or other emergency incidents there.

8) I was reminded how much I loved my old neighborhood in Rochester, just off Monroe Ave and a short walk from Park Avenue. Wellesley Street was an awesome place to live.

7) I’m still convinced 15 years later that NY State’s requirement for periodic vehicle inspections is part of a blatant “money grab” for the auto repair establishments licensed to do them.

6) Once a user gets east of Buffalo, T-Mobile’s wireless data coverage absolutely sucks. Connections dropped repeatedly – and requests repeatedly timed out on my smartphone.

5) By going around the city, I was reminded why I loved Rochester: the culture, the diversity, the activity, the many great businesses and other institutions that call it home. In many ways it reminds me of a mini version of Seattle. I had begun to feel “down” on Rochester after hearing about crime after crime after crime lately.

4) Ken reminded me that the best way to avoid stress is to pick one’s battles and that sometimes the best response of all consists of two letters: “OK”.

3) I was VERY disappointed in the customer service of Rochester Gas & Electric. Due to a minor mistake, an unscheduled lack of power was extended from one day to two days. Way to go, RG&E, for not trying to make a reasonable accommodation to help a customer who had made an honest mistake. Double-check-minus for you!

2) By taking a trip through the Wegmans store in Pittsford, I was reminded of perhaps the thing I miss most about living in Rochester – being able to go to what hands-down and anywhere is the most awesome grocery store with the best service around. I was almost drooling going through their VERY extensive deli section.

1) While I got to be a “fly on the wall” in the studio during the 5pm and 6pm newscasts on Rochester ABC affiliate WHAM-TV 13, I was reminded how much I miss working in TV news – and why I’ve been out of “the biz” for 13 years.

On July 4, 1996, I left the building at WROC-TV, moved to Seattle, and opened a new chapter in my life. I’m still glad I did.

Thanks again for a great time, Ken; hope to get back up there soon…

A blog post from my friend Allyson got me thinking on this. She had posted about how the plethora of service and feature options for smartphones has caused a world of confusion for potential buyers. She shared a blog post from Business Week’s web site. Here’s my reply to Allyson’s post – with some suggestions for people to mentally organize themselves before making a tech purchase:

I tend to make a checklist in my head whenever making any sort of major purchase (and many minor ones) – and when I got my G1 I kept this in mind.

My dad (who’s 84 years old and pretty “with it” for his age) has a simple Nokia phone through AT&T – and it took him a while to get comfortable with it.

Maybe tech manufacturers and service providers in 2009 can take to heart the ad slogan 3Com used in 2001: “simple sets you free”…

I guess the neighborhood grocery store is jonesin’ to get those Michael Phelps Frosted Flakes boxes off their shelves:

I needed my Acme Fresh Market Savings Card; but $2.01 off for a bong hit still isn’t bad money. :)

Part of me isn’t surprised this is happening on a TV station owned by the Tribune media “borg” headed by arch-egomaniac Sam Zell, who took over Tribune via a highly leveraged buyout and by many accounts has run the company into the ground. To me Zell and his cronies appear to have shown disregard for some of the central tenets of running a media business. I don’t know how much Zell is behind this; but if the shoe fits…

Recently, New York TV station WPIX-TV began a practice that amounts to selling time slots to local restaurants during its morning newscasts. Here’s how it works: A restaurant provides gift certificates to be sold on the station’s web site. In exchange for the station getting a cut of the proceeds from these sales, the restaurant gets to present a “cooking segment” during a morning newscast.

The New York Daily News covered the quid pro quo arrangement in detail in their Tuesday editions and online. These arrangements at best may call into question the journalistic integrity of the newscasts – and at worst it can be argued that the lack of disclosure of the business deals behind these cooking segments might run afoul of federal laws and regulations requiring broadcasters to acknowledge when they’re provided “promotional consideration”.

I see a related business arrangement on a program such as “Good Company” on WKYC-TV in Cleveland, which is a morning variety program in which companies pay the station in exchange for doing segments featuring their products and services. However, it’s a much different story doing paid segments on a variety show and doing paid segments on a morning newscast.

WPIX clammed up when asked for more info on these quid pro quo arrangements for their morning newscasts.

I don’t begrudge TV stations trying to find new revenue streams in this changing media landscape and difficult economic climate; but there’s a right way to do it – and a wrong way. WPIX appears to be handling it the wrong way…

At least a half-dozen times, I’ve received on my phone a robo-telemarketing call from someone who spoofs their caller ID and gives an automated spiel asking if I want to extend my car’s warranty. The calls have been annoying. They’ve been pesky. And hopefully after today, they won’t bug me again.

I answer the phone, get the recorded pitch, then press the number “1″ to reach a live agent.

Agent: “Are you interested in getting an extended vehicle warranty?”
Me: “Yes, please; I am interested.”
Agent: “I just need a little information then I’ll transfer you to a senior agent who can process your enrollment. What is the year and model of your car?”
Me: “yes, ma’am, I have a ’56 Edsel.”
(silence, then a click)
Me: “Hello? Hello?”

The laughter I got from my co-workers was priceless. :)

Just read an article on the New York Times website about Macy’s announcement yesterday that it would streamline its management structure and eliminate 7,000 positions.

I kind of bristled at one of the sentences in Stephanie Rosenbloom’s story, though:

It is a radical move, but one Mr. Lundgren said would position Macy’s for 2010, or whenever the consumer feels good enough to reach for her wallet again.

Granted, when I go to the nearby Macy’s at the Chapel Hill Mall in Akron, the majority of the people I see paying at the registers there are women. (I see the occasional man making purchases there as well).

However, if I were a lawyer in a courtroom litigating a trial and heard that statement, I’d be standing up and exclaiming to the judge, “Objection! Assumes facts not in evidence.”

That statement plays on the whole stereotype of women rushing into a store, credit or debit card in hand – organ music blaring – said women exclaiming, “charge it!!!!!!” – and then buying out the store and coming home weighted down with shopping bags. It also assumes men just sheepishly tag along and worry how much is being spent during said trip.

I understand retail establishments targeting their marketing towards those most likely to buy or market segments that are the most profitable – and in high-end department stores those segments may or may not be women. But journalists need to keep statements that may indicate gender bias out of their stories. I’m surprised one of Ms. Rosenbloom’s editors didn’t modify that sentence before releasing her story for publishing.

The US Post Office wants to cut mail delivery from six days a week to five.  I think they should eventually go to three. Maybe cutting Saturday and Tuesday, two of the lightest mail days of the week, would help the USPS cut its projected budget deficit; eventually a Monday-Wednesday-Friday, 3-day-a-week schedole could be considered. Here’s more on their current proposal:

http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2009/01/29/u-s-postal-service-wants-to-deliver-mail-5-days-a-week-not-6/

My friend Debra recoils at the idea and thinks it would take away an important diversion for her kids. Granted,it would do the same thing for Emma-Grace, who enjoys grabbing the mail from the letter carrier each afternoon and giving it to mommy or daddy.

This is how I’d handle it: since the mail is still a vital means of communication for businesses, I think that businesses should be able to pick up at the post office on the days the USPS doesn’t deliver – and box holders could still get mail at the post office Monday-Saturday. Personal mail sent via Priority Mail could be picked up on non-delivery days (with an automated call option to tell people to pick up mail on non-delivery days). Finally, those opting to use Express Mail would still have Monday-Saturday delivery to homes or businesses.

These changes would keep businesses going, maintain a level of home delivery for mail, give people an option for six-day-a-week delivery and/or pickup (granted, it would be at a premium price), and allow the USPS to trim costs.

I think the changes would also encourage people to migrate further to non-mail means of bill payment and communication, such as online bill payment and email – for both homes and businesses. I think it also allows the USPS to acknowledge the changing marketplace in terms of delivery services.

IMO this is a chance for the Feds to encourage businesses and individuals to further step into the 21st century and embrace technology. Now only if we can give a further push to those folks who stubbornly cling to writing checks at the grocery store and holding up the line… :)