It is just a bit of snow.....

Yes the UK has been hit my some snow over the last 48 hours.......
Of course it means national disaster!!!! WTF?? It is just snow, yet somehow the country is slowly grinding to halt.

I have just heard on the news that 1 in 5 people have not gone to work today - that is simply shocking!
The area that I live in has not been badly hit, we have about 0.5 inch of snow (we never get much as we are right on the coast) but closer to Glasgow and more central Scotland things are bad (as is a lot of England) but this weather was warned more than a week ago. Why then are people not able to get to work, why are so many schools closed, why are trains not running, buses cancelled and various airports closed???
Why were we not prepared for this?

So, many other countries get this (and much more) regularly and these countries do not come to a total standstill.

COME ON IT IS JUST A BIT OF SNOW!!

Rant over.

New Scarf.....

It arrived (it will be pictured tomorrow) this morning -very good service from the eBay seller. However, it STINKS of cigarette smoke!! Like stale yucky old man cigarette smoke (not that there is an un-yucky kind!!).

The scarf is brand new, has the tags attached and was in a clear plastic storage bag, but still it stinks! I think the plastic bag may just be for the purpose of shipping.

Now tonight I am going to have to hand wash the scarf as I already have my outfit for tomorrow planned and I need the new scarf to be part of it.
Of course the label on the scarf says "Dry Clean Only" but I am going to hand wash it any way! It was £2.98 including shipping so if a wreck it (fingers crossed I don't) it is not the worst thing!

Rant over.....

Tuesday.

I usually wear this dress with black tights and a heavier shoe (the only reason for this - it came into stock at the tail end of winter, so I teamed it with items that made it suitable for that time of year) but I decided that I was far too casual last week.

However, I may never wear this dress ever again!!!! A very, very rude lady has just asked me if I am pregnant??? I am not!! I am only wearing a UK size 12. OK at the moment I have one or two items in my wardrobe that are a little neat - but come on!!!

I would never ever ask someone that I did not know from Adam (and did not know for a fact that they definitely were pregnant and had not just gained a few pounds) if they were pregnant!!
Is it just me, or is that just a down right rude thing to do??

So, today's outfit is:

Printed cotton dress - Vila
Black patent t-bar wedges - Barratt
Silver necklace & bracelet - Tiffany



Yesterday afternoon was lovely, the bf and I got home at just after 1pm, we had a lovely lunch of BBQ leftovers. After a quick change (for my bf) we headed into town for a wander. I wanted to get some colourful basics to brighten up my wardrobe at this in between time! These were purchased from good old H&M.

We then headed to Waterstones where we had a look around - I have grown to love book stores, I could spend hours browsing. We headed up to the back of the store with our purchases and enjoyed a coffee and a muffin in Costa Coffee.

Finally we went to Tesco to stock up on healthy food for the week. The funny thing about the pregnancy comment is, I had already decided to do something about losing a few pounds! We ended the day with a walk along the beach. We are very lucky to live two streets away from the beach.

What is it with people this week??

I have just had a customer come into my shop browse, try on and buy from me. As we were waiting on her card getting authorisation she asked me why I was closing down???? My jaw must have dropped to the floor as she then said "Oh! Are you not closing?"
I was so shocked that I had to say "No I am not closing down! I am just having a good sale with real reductions!"

WTF, can a store not have an actual sale with proper reductions without people thinking I am either:

1. Closing down
2. Losing my mind and not aware of the prices (one lady whispered all the prices to her friend, I think it was in case I heard and changed them!!)

Am I just taking things a little to much to heart this week??

Customer Service!

As I mentioned before I had yesterday afternoon off, so I decided to have a wander around a few shops. Since I opened my shop, I have noticed a few other little one off shops that I had not managed to visit.

I had to go to a neighbouring town to run some errands and it just so happened that this town had two new shops that I was desperate to visit. So, I headed off a very excited person! The first shop was a fashion boutique, from the outside it looked lovely so I went on in. I noticed a stunning little top straight away and made my way over to it. I could not see a price so I asked the assistant for some help. She huffed, threw her magazine down on the counter and came over. I explained the size that I needed and asked to try it on. After trying the beautiful (but much more of a casual style on than I had imagined) top I asked what the price was. Again the assistant huffed and told me that it was £80. I thanked her and left - not actually knowing what I was thanking her for!!

Next stop was a cute little home ware and gift store. I love, love, love nice greeting cards and wrapping paper as well as cute little bits for the home. I entered to a very warm welcome and being asked if I needed any help. I explained that I was just looking at the moment. It was then that I spied Emma Bridgewater pieces - I made my way over and started looking. The next thing I know the assistant was behind me, not to help me with anything but to watch me!!!
Again I left without buying anything.

I came home very deflated, I was looking forward to my afternoon in the local boutiques. For me in my shop, greeting the customers and making them feel welcome and not pressured into making a sale, is so important. I want people to recommend my shop, obviously because of the beautiful pieces, but also because of the service that they received.

It would appear to me that customer service is just not as important to some people as it used to be.

I'm annoyed!

Today I am annoyed and a little irritable this is due to a new supplier that I have. All last week a member of the sales team hounded me for payment (there was issues with my bank transferring the funds into a Spanish bank account). The new account has now been paid for more than a week and I still have not had even a sniff of the lovely new styles!!

On Friday I sent an email to the girl on the sales team (who had hounded me for a week) asking her for a tracking number for the package. On Monday she eventually replied, very unhelpfully. She informed me that "shipping was nothing to do with her".
I then emailed the shipping team only to be told that the order had been sent and would be with me when it was with me! How helpful??!!

What has made me most annoyed is that now that i have paid in full, they are not bothered in anyway about my account or my order.
I am currently selling bits and bobs on Ebay and I make sure that I post out the item within 24 hours (maximum) of the funds clearing in my account. I always take the time to forward the buyer the tracking number to help them track when the package will be with them.

I do hope that my order arrives tomorrow to save me ranting on again!