Aaron had his very first dentist appointment yesterday. Now, I HATE brushing his teeth; in fact, I hate brushing my own teeth...not sure where that stems from. But I also have gum issues, so it's very important that I not only brush, but that I floss as well. This week, if it was up to me (since I'm doing the bedtime routine by myself) Aaron would go to bed half the last week without brushing because I have to do it for him still and he doesn't make it easy. But he keeps me on my toes. After he gets his jammies on he runs to the bathroom and says "Cars!" (he has a Cars toothbrush). Stinker! I did get some pictures!
I've also been busy with camp and sessions and I have more sessions to do in the near future so I really have to pick the energy up!! This weekend we plan on going to Hurricane Ridge out on the peninsula. THIS is a big deal because, literally since the day we moved here, we've been wanting to go to Hurricane Ridge. Not kidding. One of the first weekends we lived here we took a drive up the Hood Canal to Port Angeles on the very top of the peninsula. It's really cool because that's where the main ferries take off from to go to Canada. It is a beautiful drive, but extenuating circumstances have kept us from going to the National Park every time we head that direction. So we are going this weekend. Also, our good friends, Terry and Kyle, took their boys about a month ago and saw...get this...a black bear. Now...EVERY time I pay the OUTRAGEOUS fees to get into our national parks I say if I don't see a bear or something equally cool I'm demanding my money back. Of course, I never do, and of course, I never do. So, I'd BETTER see a stinkin' black bear or I'm gonna be VERY disappointed!
One last thing we've been dealing with around here is the prospect of refinancing. We aren't going to be able to sell the house for what it's worth by the time we go to Portland so we'll be renting it out and the rent we'll be able to ask for won't cover the mortgage. So we need to bring those amounts closer together. If anyone has ever gone through this, it's difficult (if you don't just have a broker to do it all for you like we did last time). Two weeks ago Aaron and I went to FIVE different banks and struck out at ALL of them. One of two things: they either didn't participate in gov't funding (we have a VA) or the loan officer wasn't available. So I was directed to a company that I contacted via email. I wasn't going to contact them at all, but I'm SO incredibly glad I did. I was sure we were going to go with them and then Chuck comes home with another name of a guy in KC that a coworker and some of his neighbors went through and he wanted me to contact this guy and see what we could get. The rate was great, but I just didn't get the warm and fuzzies from him. There are two types of people: 1) the type that just want the best deal and they don't care who they are dealing with as long as they get that best deal and 2) the type that customer service and professionalism is key and even if they have to pay just a bit more, that's what they want, great service. Well, even though I think I was raised the first, I'm the latter. And since I was doing the leg work and talking with these potentially sketchy people, I'm the one who got the vibes, not Chuck. Long story short, we went with the company here in town because 1) they're local and 2) I got the warm and fuzzies from them. They were VERY accommodating and humored me and answered ALL of my questions no matter how silly they were. Well, the guy in KC has emailed 4 times in the last week (I didn't contact him right away when we made the decision last Friday, my bad). So when he emailed and asked
"Are you wanting me to cancel the file?" (yes, that's it, nothing else in the email at all)
I wrote him that I was sorry for not contacting him sooner and that we'd decided to go with the company here in town and thanked him (for what, I wasn't sure at that point).
He wrote back immediately with "Any reason why ? What rate and lender fee was locked in ?"
I deleted this email, not intending to respond ever again because I don't think the answers to these questions were necessary at all, let alone any of his business.
Two minutes later he fires back with "If it matters we are at 4.25% no points and no lender fee".
No, Dillweed, it doesn't matter. I still don't respond. But this really fires me up more and more through the rest of the afternoon. Like I said, I had NO intention of ever responding to him again...but...heh heh...he got the worst of me. This is what I responded with last evening:
Dear Pushy,
We decided to go with another option where we felt less pressure and less like we were being talked into buying. We prefer to look at the facts and decide for ourselves rather than feel like we *have* to sign just because the salesperson puts glitter on it.
Sincerely,
Not diggin' the hard sell
Word for word, not kidding. :) I can't take credit for the wording, I got it from a friend on my photography forum. Thanks, Bree!
I didn't hear back from him last night, and was hoping that it was the end of our correspondence forever, but I opened my email this morning and saw this: "dont understand why you feel this way. i pitched it once and emailed you a couple times to followup . just doing my job so not sure what you are talking about."
Whatever. Skeeze-bag. Not only is this an inaccurate summary of our conversations, but, again, an unprofessional response. I was taught in all my years of schooling that you are always professional in your correspondence. This guy treated me like I was his friend, or at least his client, and I was neither. Word to the wise, if you respond to emails on your Blackberry, don't. People always know. It's unprofessional and lazy.
I don't know if this is all because I'm hormonal and uncomfortable or stemming from something else...but I did it and I'm glad it's over.
If you get a chance, and haven't looked at my photography blog over the last couple weeks, check it out. I just revamped it (again, didn't like the last template). Fly a Kite Photography
Enjoy your weekend!!!
2 comments:
Girl, you are a mess, and I love you!
And I so hope that you see a black bear this weekend. Can't wait to see pics of your adventure to Hurricane Ridge.
Oh, and the shots of Aaron at the dentist are great! He's one awesome little guy :)
Come to New Mexico, we have lots of bears here!
I hear what you're saying with the emails.
Whenever I have to email a customer, no matter how buddy-buddy I am with them, I always make sure to use proper grammar, sentence structure, capitalisation, punctuation, and of course spell check (and not just hit the button). Like you said, I'm a "professional" not a facebook friend to these customers (or potential customers).
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