Selling Futons vs. Selling Coffee

So this will be a quick one, mainly because we have no more internet, and I'm about to run off to a seminar, but I wanted to give a brief look into something I've given a lot of though (as in, the last couple of days, while at work), as why I think I ROCK at selling futons, and why I think I could NEVER sell coffee, and I feel bad for Will.

1) Futons stores open at 10 am, not 6:30 am- I am NOT a morning person, and have trouble using anything remotely mechanical before 1 (as in pm).
2) People, when shopping for Futons can be grumpy, but since you are in England, the land of bad customer service, you are ALLOWED to yell back at them, and tell them not to come back to your shop. (Manager approved!) People are almost always grumpy before consuming coffee, therefore, you can never quite make it fast enough, and your chance of getting yelled at are significantly higher. Since Will has a crazy bad manager, he's not allowed to yell at the clientele, even when they dump milk all over the tables and poop in the middle of the bathroom floor.
3) Everyone wants a coffee, but only people that have money want futons, therefore, you make larger sales, and aren't there when the product is delivered.
4)The commission, while it's not huge, it's a nice little perk! Coffee selling does not include comission based sales.
5)Starbucks does not allow you to give family or friends free coffee drinks when you stop by for a visit, and I feel that the option should be available. No one expects a free futon from a friend that works at the futon store.

That's enough of that, I have to say that FUTONS ROCK (but this may be because I made a particularly large sale today, and am overly proud of myself...)

Stay tuned to hear about the Will-job...it's a-coming!

Valentine's Day-Service IS Included

Yesterday was Valentine's Day, and since Will and I are notorious for having bad valentine's days, (we can never get our act together about what we want to do, where we want to eat etc., that we end up walking around wherever in the world we happen to be, and then are angry and pissy by the time we walk into some crappy dive) that we decided to make reservations at a place that I have come to love in Camden, Jamon Jamon, for Spanish tapas. We both LOVE tapas, love Camden, and love that it is a bit out of the way, so there wouldn't be as many tourists. What we didn't think of (and I'd like to give myself a big DUH for this one) is that on valentine's day, EVERYONE makes reservations! So it was CROWDED, even though we did have a table, the waiters weren't sure which of them had us as a table, so it took a half hour to place our drink and food order. Our food came fairly quickly, it was okay (I've had better), but I found a jagged plastic shard in one of our dishes, that I had actually accidently put in my mouth! We complained (as you do about a shard in your food), and were told that that dish would be taken off our bill. We decided not to let a little shard bother us, so we carried on eating. After we had finished with everything we waited to be noticed to ask for the bill. After an hour, we were getting slightly annoyed as people who came in after us had eaten, paid, and left. Was this discrimination? No idea, kinda hard to prove. When we finally got the bill, not only were we charged for the shard food, but for two extra drinks (and while I would have LIKED to have consumed them, we are on a massive budget, that did not allow), we complained, and only the extra drinks were removed. We talked it out, decided that this could take all night for 5 pounds, and decided, it was ultimately not worth it. PS-service WAS included!

Now normally, I would say I would never frequent a place like this again, and Will has made up his mind not to, and to write a letter, a la Laura Duff, in hopes of getting some type of retribution. But I have been to this place numerous times, had great service, great food, and even food gratis, so I'm torn. It was an awful, awful, experience, although definitly not the worst in Mell-Taylor/Keefer Valentine history, but I can't help thinking, we should have just gone there for lunch...

On another note, I just answered the door, and two bible thumpers were there to preach the word! I live above a shop, in an alley! How did they find us? I, as a good American, came down, in my pajamas, which consist of a Google Tee-shirt (thanks Tasha and Jared) and bright red pants, in slippers, with my hair all over the place, they looked frightened, and visibly repositioned themselves for a challenge when my accent became apparent (immediately I would think). They asked if I have found God, I said, "which one?" (I LOVE this part), they asked if I was a Christian, I responded that Christians forceably took my people and made us one of them, but we are now going back to our heathen ways and looking at the world in terms of things being pre-determined, but that I was already saved, thanks. The women then said that if I was not a part of the Church of England, I was NOT saved (she was quite red in the face at this point), I looked at her, and her partner, and said, an Irish women and a women from Asia, do you know the history of how YOUR people were forced to become Christians? Then I started telling the story of Ireland, which is one of my favorites. I asked if she was an old English, or all Irish, she responded all Irish, which I prompted said, that if she wasn't moved by St. Patrick, then I have NO IDEA how she thinks her ancestors aren't rolling over in their graves, but that I had some literature upstairs, would she like some reading to take away with her? She left. GOD I LOVE bible thumpers!

PS- I am now officially employed as a Sales Consultant at the Futon Company, so yes, I have a job! We will let you know about Will's situation soon, but it's looking GOOD!

Why staying out until 5 a.m. on a school night is a bad idea...

Statistics...which I missed today, due to a bad case of the drinksies. Not a big deal, I'm just sitting in on the class ( thank GOD), but today was a struggle for both Will and I, as we watched the Superbowl at the Embassy of Texas (oh no, you read it correctly, I said, the Embassy of Texas). We met lots of other Americans, most of whom I thought it would be AWESOME to be friends with 5 beers in...met a Texan Jew...that was very unexpected. I'm glad the Giants won, although I can't really say I cared all that much in general, but...whatever.

Keri came out with us, she's our American LSE representative, she helped me focus on not watching the game, since I talked her ear of the entire time. But it was a good time, the food was, craptastic, but Tex Mex, which we both miss, so, it was good in some ways. And, it was at a place called the Embassy of Texas. I seriously contemplated getting my mom a shirt...maybe for her birthday...

This morning, we both awoke to the cats screaming, and pounding headaches as we were piecing together how exactly we got home last night (it was the bus, but we don't remember much after saying goodbye to Keri...but, on the plus side, we are home, and we have everything, including kidneys and livers).

I made it to my real class, and then went to a Bruno Latour lecture, while Will went to work, so we powered through the struggle.

Anyway, other than that, the flat still sucks, school is still hard, and Will will find out if he got the job on Friday, stay tuned.