Randman's World

This morning started early, but fantastic. My team took a tour of the Haunted Mansion at the Magic Kingdom, before it opened. We got to walk the entire attraction with the work lights on, seeing how the effects work, the technology behind the magic, and a lot of history of this fantastic ride. Our tour guide, Ginger, has been at the Haunted Mansion for many years, and had a lot of fun stories, as well as a laugh that would make one of the Grim Grinning Ghosts envious.

The highlight, for me, was actually getting to go into the Haunted Mansion ballroom. This is the best part of the ride, when you get to see the ghosts coming together for their “swinging wake”. I was always fascinated how Disney was able to make the ghosts appear and disappear, and all the behind the scenes stuff. Not only did we get to see the ghosts up close and personal, we actually got to walk into the ballroom and look around. We saw the china pattern on the table, the unofficial Hidden Mickey, and even took a moment to dance in front of the organ, just like the ghosts do. This type of access is just unimaginable.

After the walking tour, we got to ride the ride. There was so much more that I see now on the ride. Things you just would never even notice. The detail is amazing, even in areas that are not visible to guests.

I won’t print out the secrets I learned, nor will I spoil anyone’s love of this ride. Let me just say that seeing this amazing attraction like this was a highlight of my short-so-far career at Disney.

I work in an environment that strives on exceeding our customer's expectations. We don't even call them customers. They are guests.

We offer outstanding service, and empower each Cast Member (not employee) to exceed expectations. We live to hear how our simple tasks made someones visit even better. We provide Guest Service Recovery, where if there is a problem, whether caused by us or not, we take immediate steps to make it right. For example, the toddler who drops their ice cream off their cone gets a new cone as quick as possible. Any Cast Member, from the custodian to the park executive, has the power to make that happen. Perhaps it's something small, like a sticker given to a crying child, or large, like a comped room due to a problem. Disney wants to take care of their guests.

GE doesn't.

[rant]If you read about my refridgerator problems, I opted to buy the doors to replace the defective ones on our fridge. So, the shipped the doors (I had to pay shipping, which I was told would be covered. Another lie). They got here, and I called to have them installed. Two giant 7 foot tall boxes stored in my garage. The tech gets here today, and spends 15 minutes trying to find out if I have to pay for installation (I didn't). Finally, he walks in, and opens the first box. It's a black door. Not only is it a black door, it's for the wrong refridgerator.

So, I burned a day off for nothing. Not only does GE not care, and will not take any steps to make me feel better about their mistake ("We don't compensate for time, even when it's our fault"), I'm told that if I want, I can throw away the doors and they will send me $50. Seems they don't want them back. They are of no value.

REALLY? I paid you $425 for those doors, because you would not honor a class action settlement that I didn't know about until 3 months after it expired. And now, you tell me the items that you refused to give me as a warranty item have no value, and I can throw them away?

And then, when I ask who I can complain about this, I'm told that I can write to an address. When I question further, I find out that the address goes to no one, but simply gets sent right back to the customer no-service call center that I'm talking to right now.

Wow. I'm truly lucky to work for a company that treats it's customers as guests.[/rant]

Just thought I would catch everyone up on the current state of affairs in Florida. Some funny, some strange, many pointless, but all part of our lives.

HATFIELDS vs. MCCOYS version 2008

First, I am in a feud, apparently, with a neighbor. Charlie and I were going to the pool, and I decided (wrongly, I know) to walk across a neighbors yard rather than all the way around the sidewalk. As you can see, the green path goes mostly through our yard (up to the fence), and thaen just a bit into her yard. It's further on the sidewalk (the red path), so I was just trying to avoid some steps for us.


Apparently, the lady whose yard we walked through is a bit of a psycho, because she came out her backdoor screaming, cussing and insulting me for being in her yard. You would have thought I stomped her price winning roses, or peed on her peonies. I remained cool (mainly because Charlie was there), and told her I was sorry, but that all she needed to do was tell me not to cut through her yard, and I would not do it. There was no need for the insults or profanity in front of my son. That set her off worse, so we just walked away.

Talking with our neighbors, she's had run-ins with many of them. Going so far as to beating on the door of a neighbor about barking dogs during the daytime, and putting her foot in the door when our neighbor tried to shut the door due to her profanity.

So, I'm letting it go, and won't cut through her yard. But yesterday, I look out in the yard, and she has placed a "No Trespassing" sign at the intersection of our yard with hers. I just had to laugh. There are so many things I would like to do and/or say, but I won't, because I was wrong in the first place.

GE SUCKS

So, looking at our refridgerator one day, I notice that it is rusting through the front of the door. The area around the ice dispenser is rusting out completely. So, I call our warranty company, who sends out a tech. $55.00 later, he tells me my door is rusting. Gee, thanks Dr. Von Braun. The warranty company declines the claim, stating they don't cover the door. Nice.

So, I call GE to ask them. They tell me that it is a known problem, and that there was a class action lawsuit against them due to the issue. They fixed hundreds/thousands of refridgerators due to the problem. Cool.

Not so fast. The lawsuit ended in March, and they will now not fix it for free. I have to pay for the new doors. They will do the labor for free. That sucks. No amount of talking could get them off their position. So, because my fridge took longer to fail, I'm out $425.00. I guess I should count myself lucky that they are eating the labor. It still sticks in my craw.

Potty Training

Charlie is at the point in his life where he knows intellectually that he needs to use the potty. He knows that if he does, he gets candy, big boy underware, McDonalds, Chic Fil A, big boy bed, big slide, dancing, celebrations, and possibly a new Lexus. But, psychologically, he just can't do it. He tries, but nothing happens. He tries to tell us, "I did it", in hopes that he will get the promised M&M's, but he knows what he truly needs to do. I think we are all a bit frustrated. I know it will happen, but it's keeping him in the 2-3 year old class, instead of the 4 year old class he should be in. We've tried every recommendation we've gotten (toliet targets, naked time outside, candy, praise, leave diaper on a while, etc) but he's very stubborn.

Other Misc:

Work for both of us is going good.

It's hot and humid right now, with thunderstorms every afternoon. Makes mowing the Florida grass tough.

We will soon be getting Charlie a big boy bed. We found one at Ikea that he loved.

We spent Saturday at Clearwater Beach. Charlie loves the ocean. He tans so beautifully, he looks like a coppertone ad.

We miss all our friends back in KC. Reading/watching their blogs is fun, though, and helps us stay in touch.


That's about it. See ya all at Disneyworld!

We went to Portrait Innovations. They do a great job, and you get decent sized files to take with you off all the photos, not just the ones you bought. So, here are some, good, and not so good.