Well, dear readers, I am sitting here like so much fish, a bit overtired and overtired a bit. I believe it is due to a lack of sleep, but that’s just a guess, or for those who like ten-dollar words, a hypothesis. Before I go any further, let me give you the update on the tale of the angry customer who accused me relentlessly of lying about sending him his package of CDs. As you’ll recall, the first package we sent didn’t arrive. Apparently, that was not only cause for alarm but an immediate assumption that we were bilking him and an untrustworthy company, even though he’d only a month earlier placed a big order that he’d received very quickly as well as other orders over the years, all of which he’d received. So, the leap he made was rather irritating and the ALL CAPS screaming was completely unnecessary. Anyway, we sent him a replacement package and I got the first of the screaming, hysteria-ridden e-mails yesterday, telling me we’d never sent the replacement package and demanding a refund. I, of course, tracked the shipment and tracking told me it was, in fact, out for delivery. I sent him that information only to have him send me another accusatory e-mail saying he hadn’t received anything. I did point out to him that it said, “out for delivery.” Then another angry and even more obnoxious screaming e-mail. Just as that arrived, I went to tracking again and found the package had, in fact, been delivered to his front door/porch ten minutes earlier. I sent him THAT information. Meanwhile, since he’d opened a PayPal dispute, I’d been updating the dispute page all along and then provided the page the proof of delivery from the USPS. Then another angry e-mail saying we had no intention of sending him the package and that he didn’t want it anymore and to refund and that NOTHING had arrived on his porch or at his front door. I’d had enough and told him once it shows as delivered it is done on our end and that if it really wasn’t there, he needed to call the USPS and find out why his mail person said it was delivered. I told him that once he found out that information, he could tell me what the USPS said and that I would do an instant refund (which I’d said all along) as long as we got the package back. I wasn’t about to be out eight MORE CDs in addition to the eight that was apparently lost or sitting in oblivion. I told him that any inflammatory e-mail from him would go unread as well as any e-mail that contained the word liar. I told him that the entire e-mail volley had already been delivered to PayPal.
But I wanted to get PayPal’s advice on how to handle this further and to find out if proof of delivery meant that PayPal would side with the seller. So, yesterday, I called PayPal and spent thirty minutes on the phone with a terrific lady. She read all his comments he’d left on the dispute page, checked the proof of delivery, and then read the e-mail volley and she said he was completely out of control, obnoxious, and, in fact, outrageously so. Her suggestion was for ME as seller to immediately escalate the dispute to a claim because once that was done, PayPal would close the case due to the proof of delivery. She even offered to call the USPS to let them know this guy said it wasn’t left on his front porch/front door. So, we escalated, and she said I’d get an e-mail shortly acknowledging that, that he’d be notified we’d escalated, and that the case would be decided very quickly as it was open and shut, really. I got another e-mail twenty minutes later, but not the one I expected – no, the tale had an unexpected twist. The case WAS decided in my favor but for another reason – the guy closed the case himself. Say what? Now, what reasons would he have to close the case? I mean, he wouldn’t know how it was going to be decided. The only logical reason would be if he, in fact, did get the package. I suppose he could have perhaps been so angry about it all that he just was willing to walk away from two hundred bucks but given his hysteria and attitude and demand for a refund that wouldn’t really make sense. I can’t think of any other reason, can you? But just for fun, let’s say he did get the package – let’s give him the benefit of the doubt and say it wasn’t in plain view. IF he did get it, why wouldn’t he e-mail and tell me and apologize for his accusations? Wouldn’t that be the right thing to do? It will be interesting to see if we get the package back, if he refuses it. And IF that’s the case, I will absolutely refund him immediately. So, a weird ending, but at least the case is closed as far as PayPal is concerned and once it’s closed it cannot be reopened.
Otherwise, yesterday wasn’t so bad. I only got five hours of sleep, I’d forgotten to close the topic and open the new one and that was because I got a call just before I was going to do it, and the call lasted over thirty minutes and then I forgot. I got ready and then moseyed on over to the theater to meet with our set designer. I told him what I’d originally had in mind until I changed my mind at four in the morning and then what I currently had in mind. He had something similar in mind, so that was good. His was a bit too elaborate for what I’m trying to do, but once he understood what the concept was, he understood. He did have some fine ideas that I hadn’t thought of and now he’ll do up a rendering for me. But I can start staging because basically what I want for playing purposes is a pretty open stage.
After that, I stopped at the mail place and thankfully picked up two important envelopes. I then went to Gelson’s and they had lox slices and so that’s what I got, came home, and ordered some bagels and cream cheese from Western Bagel. That arrived about twenty minutes later and I had some bagels and lox – very good batch and it really hit the spot. The rest of the day was just relaxing, occasionally dozing off on the couch, and then in the evening I watched a new HBO documentary entitled The Ringleader, about the young girl who headed up what was called The Bling Ring, a group of entitled teens who followed celebrities on social media, found when they were out of town, then went and robbed their houses. To watch all the home video footage of these kids and their egos, their self-obsession, their entitlement – I mean we literally have a generation whose sole purpose is to film themselves and try to be TikTok stars or YouTube stars – it’s an epidemic. All they want to do is look at themselves and post vapid stuff for others of their ilk. Of course, they were all caught, tried, and convicted. And, of course, the queen of “now”, Sofia Coppola, snapped up the story and made a 2013 movie called The Bling Ring. If ever there was a director and story that were suited to each other, and not in a good way, here you have it. Have any of these people learned anything? Doubtful. The girl at the center of it seems to be in a better place but who knows, really? If her interview took place in her house, then it would appear she’s doing well, whatever she’s doing. She did do the time, though. Anyway, I knew nothing about the story and at least the documentary was only ninety minutes and wasn’t plagued with the usual HBO padding. And now, here we are.
Today, I’ll try to be up by eleven, I’ll get the publisher all the book stuff, then I’ll go do the banking thing, eat, maybe have a Zoom with David Wechter, who’s just returned from a two-week vacation, and I have some prep work to do for tomorrow night’s rehearsal, our first staging rehearsal. Then at some point, I’ll watch, listen, and relax.
Tomorrow and the rest of the week are rehearsals, a couple of meetings and meals, and doing whatever needs doing.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, try to be up by eleven, get the publisher the book files, do some banking, maybe have a Zoom, eat, prep, and then watch, listen, and relax. Today’s topic of discussion: What food group could you give up easily if you had to? Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst I hit the road to dreamland, happy that we had an unexpected twist in the tale of the angry customer.