Ever eccentric Montecito

So the other day I get a call from a very, I mean, VERY, good customer.  I thought they lived between Nyc, Sb, and France, but the call came across on a TX cell.  Why that even came into my mind I do not know.  I simply didn't recognize the caller when I picked up I guess.  Anyway, they wanted directions from Vegas to SB, the back way, via Pearblossom Hwy, 126, and so on.  They remembered that I had a pad in the former boomtown and used to drive quite often.  I ended up texting them simply because they were already en route in the new Maserati he won at craps.  The only one in the Usa.  Or was it a Bmw, can't remember? Next day they came by the shop to show it off, and to buy a matching Javits hat for her while the top is down. What's not to love about the eccentrics!

the uber talented Emmalee Thomas

link here:
http://emmaleethomas.blogspot.com/2011/05/clare-swan.html

and then there are the fabulous ones!

Who come in, buy some luggage, some leathergoods, some cashmere, some cotton sweaters, a briefcase...all in ten minutes.  Transaction done, we will wrap for next day pickup and rent and insurance and then some are covered for another month.  Lovely!

Doing our best to please

We always do our best to please.  That's down and dirty the truth.  We run an honest business for many years, have an enormously loyal and repeat customer base...all because we communicate clearly and follow up in a timely manner, understand the consumer's sense of urgency, and generally go beyond to accommodate.  Well, today we just couldn't win.  Again, something generally happens when the customer mulls over a small (yet meaningful) purchase for days, then wants/requests an urgent personalization, i.e. in house monogram.  There are few and far between merchants who can monogram finished goods...period.  Anyway, we promised the item Saturday afternoon, a turnaround of less than 3 days but had an emergency and notified the customer that we couldn't have the item ready until the following Monday.  All via voicemail.  Customer shows up on Saturday at 2pm and turns livid and inconsolable after learning item isn't ready.  We apologize, yet customer decides to cancel item and personalized order.  Fine, no point in feeding further, emergencies happen, people get sick, even the monogrammer.  Off customer goes.  As I write this simply to unfuel, customer returns to the shop.  Decides she wants the item anyway, and as inconvenient as Monday is...she'll keep her plan.
We get it all done, take a few breaths, and the customer comes in days later, turns out she didn't really need the item Monday, it was just inconvenient to return because she was traveling.  We learned that because her flight was hours delayed upon return.
So...what's to learn from this experience...you can't please everyone and Murphy's Law always prevails!