Almond cookies- and a lesson on paying attention

Friday we had a family dinner at my grandparents' house. I determined one of the things I wanted to bring was almond cookies. I had a recipe off a bag of almonds that looked tasty, so I thought I'd give it a try. 

Wednesday night I mixed up the dough. I did think it was odd that there was so little flour in the mixture, but they scooped up quite nicely. As they baked, they smelled divine. When the timer went off, I opened the oven to find a science experiment gone awry. The cookies had run all over the pan, down the oven rack, to the bottom of the oven. Good times. I went back and looked at the recipe more closely. I thought it said 3/4 cup of flour when it actually should have been 3 1/4 cups. Yep, that will do it. I threw out all the remaining batter, scraped the goo off  the pans, and let them and the oven cool. Next I had to wash the cookie sheets, scrape the oven racks, and clean the bottom of the oven. It was not how I had planned to spend my evening, let me assure you. 

After all this I whipped up another batch of dough using the correct amount of ingredients and put it in the fridge. I baked it the next day, and as you can see they turned out just fine. They were also quite tasty.

The morale of the story: I should have paid closer attention. First I should have read the recipe itself closer. Secondly, I should have followed my own instincts. I've made enough cookies that I thought the amount of flour was really small. I should have trusted my gut and double checked the ingredient list. Had I done one or both of these, I'd have saved myself some serious time, effort, and frustration.

Sign that your coworker is done with her job

I was in our main office for training last week. I asked one of my coworkers there how she was doing. Her answer "I'm retiring next year." Yep, that was it. Not "fine how are you?" or "it's been crazy", just a pronouncement of her upcoming retirement. From her tone, I could tell it will arrive not soon enough. I later told her "You aren't going to miss us are you?" Her reply? "Bleep, no". Hehe. I think she's done.

How not to run your business

Customer satisfaction is a cornerstone of any good business. If your customers aren't happy, they won't come back, and they'll likely tell others about their unpleasant dealings with you. Based on a recent experience, I want to provide you with an example of how not to run your business.

Last month I decided it was probably finally done snowing, so it was time to wash my vehicles and get all the crud out from underneath them. This of course requires going to the car wash and purchasing the expensive package to get the undercarriage wash. Those of you familiar with my innate cheapness know this is painful to me, but I know it's a wise investment to prevent my car from rusting.

I went to the nearby car wash and paid my $9. Yes, it hurt. The first thing I noticed was that the undercarriage wash wasn't working. This was the entire reason I did this! Then, about halfway through the wash cycle, it stopped. I was not happy. I found the contact number posted at the car wash and call it as soon as I returned home. I left them a message explaining the situation and requested a refund. I would also have accepted a free wash if they'd have offered. I also called the phone number on the receipt several times. It just rang and rang. The next day I took both my cars to the other car wash in town. Not only was I able to clean my cars without issue, but this car wash is $1 cheaper.

I'll have you know that I never got a return call from the first car wash, and it's been nearly a month. I disputed the charge when my credit card statement arrived this month, and I've been credited for the full amount. Am I going to go back there and use their automatic car wash again? No. Am I going to recommend anyone else do so either? No. As one of my former coworkers used to say "If you're going to run your business, run your business."

You've led a sheltered life

My new coworker #1 asked coworker #2 and me if the refrigerator in the break room had an ice machine. I told her it did. Here’s how the rest of the conversation went:

CW#2 “Are you sure?”

Me “Yes, I’ve seen people use it.”

CW#2 “But there’s no dispenser”.

Me “It’s an old school ice maker inside the freezer. It makes the ice and dumps it into a plastic bin”

CW#2 “I’ve never seen one of those”

CW#2 is in her mid-20s.

U is for Unhelpful

We received this e-mail from our personnel department last week.

Fellow State Employees,Today, I am pleased to tell you about a new initiative to reward you for taking control of your health. In coming months, you will be hearing a lot about “Upgrade your health. Upgrade your plan.”
If you are currently enrolled in state medical benefits, you can qualify for the new Wellness Consumer Driven Health Plan (CDHP) by completing three easy steps before Aug. 31, 2014.

• Step One is completing the Well-Being Assessment (WBA) at MyHealthyLifestyles.com. This confidential assessment identifies health risks and creates an action plan.

• Step Two is completing a confidential biometric screening with your primary care physician or attending a free screening event in May, June or July.

• Step Three is logging at least 200,000 steps in the Healthy Lifestyles Steps Challenge in July or earning 2,500 points (in addition to WBA points) in MyHealthyLifestyles.com between June 1 and August 31.

Those who complete the three steps have the option of selecting the Wellness CDHP this fall during Open Enrollment.
Given the fast pace at which our lives move today, making healthier choices and being active are paramount to sustaining a vibrant Indiana. The State of Indiana is committed to giving employees the resources they need to take control of their health and well-being.
I encourage you to take a few minutes to learn more about upgrading your health by reading tomorrow’s issue of the Torch or by visiting www.investinyourhealthindiana.com/Upgrade.
Indiana is the front-runner in providing options to state employees that help you become more informed healthcare consumers. I look forward to completing these steps and participating alongside you in the Healthy Lifestyles Steps Challenge in July.

My first thought was “Sounds interesting. I wonder what the upgrade will be?” And I kept reading to find… I still had no idea. There was not one concrete example. I scoured the Personnel Department’s website. Still no data. I then sent them the following e-mail:

I read the e-mail about upgrading to the Wellness CDHP, but there was no information about the new plan itself, only how to qualify for it. I also looked on SPD's site and was unable to find any plan specifics. Can you please give me an overview of how the new plan will compare to current CDHPs offered by the state?

Thank you.

My coworker and I were talking about this, and she said “They’ll probably say more information will be coming soon.”

Sure enough, here’s the e-mail I got.

Thanks for your question. We are still finalizing the details on the upgrade, but more information will be coming soon. Our goal in providing this information today is to let plan holders know that they can qualify for the upgrade and give them plenty of time to complete the steps.Please let us know if you have any further questions. Thanks for your interest in the program!

My response:

Ok, I hope it is available very soon. It's difficult to decide if I should complete the qualification steps without this data. Thank you for the information

What I wanted to say:

What kind of crack are you on? This is why people HATE HR. You tell them they will have the option for a “new, improved” health plan, but you can’t provide any details on why they should even considered jumping through the hoops to get it.

I am not impressed. It looks like I need to go there and teach them a thing or two about how to run an HR department.

Yet another reason why my next job won't involve working with the general public

Last week a customer came into the office wanting to know when she could meet with me. She has been assigned to work with me due to her unemployment. Another office has already scheduled her first appointment with me. I asked her why she wanted to meet. She said she wanted to turn in her work search log (a requirement of unemployment) and talk about retraining. She then went on to tell me that her son has some type of medical issues, and she can only work certain hours. I could already tell this was not likely to be someone who’d be a good candidate for intensive services, so I told her we could meet when her appointment was scheduled in two weeks.

Friday I received her paperwork from our main office. Oh my. On it she says she is on a “leave of absence due to arrest” and her only available times to work are 4-11 AM due to her son’s school and medication schedules. Yes, even less likely to be a good candidate. Then my coworker looks the person up in our state’s online case system and finds out she has a pending Class D felony- battery causing bodily harm against someone under 14. Yikes. Beyond the awfulness of the alleged act itself, a pending felony is a huge barrier to employment. My other coworker stated we probably couldn’t even allow her in the building since she has a pending felony involving the harm a child. There is a daycare in our building, and that creates additional rules we have to follow. We contacted the head of the building in which we are located for clarification of the policy. He stated anyone who has been convicted of or has a pending felony involving children cannot come here and will have to work with our main office. I talked to a team leader and she stated she would contact the customer. Whew, that meant I wouldn’t have to have that oh-so-fun conversation. I did alert my coworker about the situation on the off chance the customer came into our office for service before our main office could contact her. Well, guess who shows up less than 15 minutes later? Yep, it was the customer in question. I took her out of the office into the hallway and explained the situation. I then escorted her out of the building, explaining that if the case resolves in her not receiving a felony that she is welcome back in our office. Thankfully she was calm and said she understood. Let’s say I more than earned my pay for today in the first 1.5 hours of the day.

Don't let your mouth write checks...

Recently I was reminded of a phrase I hadn't heard in a while. It starts out "don't let your mouth write checks" and I end it with "that your behind can't cash", though it more commonly ends stronger than that. A nearby city has been working on public project for what seems like forever. A neighboring municipality completed a similar project over a year ago. The key is though that city's project was funded by private donations, aka less hoops. The nearby city is only kicking in 20% of the cost while the state Department of Transportation (DOT) is paying 80%. If you've ever dealt with a state agency, you know that means lots of hoops. However, they are writing the check, so you have to play by their rules. The mayor of the city has recently been badmouthing the DOT because of all the delays. He stated he hopes to never work with them again. Now, I understand his frustration. This project has taken far longer than it should and has essentially turned into an ongoing comedy of errors. However, you don't honk off a state agency. Let me count the reasons why.

1. The current project is not done. After you've said bad things about them, how likely do you think they'll be to help finish this project as quickly and with as little hassle as possible to the city? Yep, not so much.

2. Even though you don't want to work with them again, it's very likely that you will want their help with something in the future. State government employees tend to stick around a long time. They will remember this when you come ask for something again. Don't expect them to be eager to help whatever project it is succeed.

3. You sound like a toddler throwing a tantrum. You didn't get your way and now you are mad. Suck it up! Life doesn't always go the way you plan. Part of being a functional grown-up is dealing with bumps in the road. You are the mayor. Act like one.

As soon as I read what the mayor said, I cringed with how it could end badly. Well, very soon I started reading other people saying this could be devastating to future projects where assistance from DOT was wanted. Yes, we should not let our mouths write checks our behinds can't cash.