We have new baby ducks!
Momma duck laid her eggs in the barn so we put them in a safe place (a very large, low cage) until they hatched.
They arrived, happy and healthy on July 10th. Momma took them down to the pond immediately and they’ve been cruising around the yard already.
They’re mallards, basically wild but living here, so we’re hoping they stay when winter comes.
Donna Maria Coles Johnson, CEO of the Indie Beauty Network just interviewed me about my book. Check out the online interview!
I’ve been a member of the Indie Beauty Network (formerly the Handmade Beauty Network) for years and have recently had the pleasure to work with Donna Maria in several collaborations, including a joint project to get product and general liability insurance for both the IBN and the Handcrafted Soap Makers Guild.
In the beginning of June I went to Burlington, Vermont. My trip back, on June 8th was probably the absolutely WORST travel experience I’ve ever had. It wasn’t because my flights were delayed by weather, or because I ended up having to spend the night in the Chicago airport, or even because my luggage was slightly misplaced in Portland. It was my trip from hell because of really, really, REALLY lousy customer service.
I understand weather is sometimes unpredictable and planes can be late because the weather is terrible somewhere else and that screws up the whole system. When that happens, I expect the airlines to be understanding, informative and, if necessary, provide at least blankets and pillows for those who end up stranded in the airport.
However, on this June day, the United Airlines staff were uninformative, unhelpful and apparently didn’t give a damn about the passengers. We were ignored, blatently lied to and treated like cattle. I spent about 4 hours in line, routed from one place to the next, without EVER talking to a customer service person. And when I finally did, I ended up with someone who didn’t know anything at 1:30 in the morning and unable to get back through security … so I slept in baggage claim!
After I got home (very, very pissed off), I submitted a customer service complaint online and wrote a detailed letter (read the full letter ). Tried faxing that to the Customer Service fax number, but it was disconnected. When I called, I spoke to someone in India who gave me a different fax number - also disconnected. So I mailed the letter United’s President and CEO, Vice-President and COO, Senior Vice President, and Customer Service Manager.
In response to my on-line complaint, I received a form letter saying “we are currently experiencing a high volume of emails, so please accept my apology for not being able to respond with a more personalized reply.”
On June 21st I received a letter from “Customer Relations” with a $150 coupon towards a United Flight. I still haven’t decided if I will ever fly on United again … even with the coupon.