Complaint: Sensitivity training needed for Dunkin Donut Staff in interacting with persons who are hearing impaired

My wife loves Dunkin Donuts, specially their coffee.  This morning, Tuesday, December 14 at about 9:00 a.m., she drove by (not for the first time) the Sheridan Street shop and placed her order — an iced coffee without cream and a chocolate glazed donut with peanuts on top. She also told the teller that she is hearing impaired.  (She wears hearing aids on both ears but there is something about the sound quality of intercoms that instead of hearing words she would hear sputtering sounds.)

The teller continued to converse with her over the intercom, to which she repeated her order and repeated to her that she cannot hear.  The teller went down to talk to her, but with her mask, my wife could not decipher what she was saying.  With some frustrationThe teller came out and continued to talk to her to which she repeated that she cannot hear (specially that the teller had s mask on - as is required). To her it is a simple transaction and there was really no need for vocal interactions.  However, the same thing happened.  The teller continued to talk to her.  She asked for the manager to complain and he also talked to her. At some point the guard, too, told her something.  (My wife would augment her hearing through lip reading but that is made impossible with masks on.  That is why I wear a mask that has a plastic window so she could also see my lips when we converse.)

Extremely frustrated, she left the shop.  She cried in frustration when she got home. 

I drove over to the shop.  The manager, Kim, was  courteous and aware of the incident and told me that he had told the teller and the guard, who are new employees, about the situation and how to properly handle it.  Kim told me that he wanted to get my wife’s orders but she had just driven off.

The lesson is about listening.  Had the teller really listened, she would not have to needlessly engage with the customer.  Sure, the teller could have asked if my wife needed change so that it would be efficient for her to come down to the car with the order and the change.  But she would have to make an exception in this case, only if she had listened.

The other lesson is on sensitivity.  Many companies try to differentiate themselves from their competitor through quality service.  Dunkin Donuts would not be an exception.  They try to make the retail experience efficient for them and as much as possible frictionless for their customer.  Perhaps one area to explore is how to enhance the customer experience by being sensitive to them.

I am fearful that my wife would say that Dunkin Donuts would not anymore  be “worth the trip”.  But she beamed when I got back home to hand her the coffee I bought when I spoke with Kim.  When she bit on the donut, she said “this is really good”!

(This note was sent to the office of Persons with Disability Affairs Division of Mandaluyong City.)

One to pen-etrate the market?

This pen reminds me of how Yellowtail broadened the wine market and benefitted all wine producers.  It demystified wine — from simplifying lingo, to narrowing taste, to pricing affordably.  This was touted among the bluest of blue oceans.

The play between “kurisdasu” and curiosity reveals much about the market that is targeted by this pen.  They are those who have not crossed the line because of the complexity associated with using a fountain pen.  Take unscrewing the cap and refilling ink. Compare that to an effortless thumb push of a ballpoint pen and the quick cartridge change.

The Platinum Curidas is a bridge.  With a thumb push it makes the fountain pen nib retractable, but though a converter it ushers users to the all-too-common fountain pen experience.  Of course it could hold an ink cartridge for quicker refills.  'Quicker’ because there is instruction to remove the cartridge from and put it back in the inner mechanism in the barrel.  If the Curidas were a watch, it is one with complications; and if it were a movement, it is one that is in-house.

In the product page, Platinum highlights air tightness of the nib pocket to retard drying of the ink.  It is an admirable data-backed pitch addressed to newbies and fountain pen afficionados on the key issue around its use.

The pen is 20 grams and a tad over six inches.  Too long to hold in a shirt pocket.  So how does it write?  The ink flow of the fine nib is just nice. It started quickly and rather smoothly with an assurance of a good flow of ink as you go; a delight to write, actually.  The pen holds well because of the good-sized grip.

I had just wanted to make a review, but it quickly became a tear down from the start.  This was when I needed to figure out how to put the thing back after putting in the ink cartridge.

Whoa! Where did that second coil spring come from!?

A pen for a cause

We heartily thank the doctors, nurses, lab technicians, and support staff at the Philippine General Hospital for their commitment and courage to serve our people stricken with corona virus.  Thanks, too, to the Fountain Pen Network for the auctions; for the opportunity to support our heroes.

The Kasama Copper & Kamagong with a medium steel nib

The pen is a product of crafty machining and thoughtful fusion of metal and wood. Sometimes referred to as ironwood, kamagong wood could be carved into hair combs and other intricate ornaments. For this pen the molecular structure that gives the wood its rigidity allows the barrel to be threaded to precision to securely screw into the copper grooves of the pen cap.

The indented barrel makes for a nice hold, to angle the nib to a smooth touch on the paper and extrude a gentle flow of ink, and reveal the themed imprint on the nib.

The metal and wood combination gives it a hefty 124 grams. (The MB Meisterstuck 146 Le Grand comes in at merely 32.) It will probably not make it an everyday carry but it will surely be within easy reach -- to write anything, just anything -- for to use it is a delight.

"May I borrow the nice pen, please? Can you bring it over here?," my wife messaged me. Did she purposely omit "your" to hint an impending transfer of ownership? To ask (why the omission) is to probably part with it, don't you think?

 

When corporates get it so wrong...

...and they ask for bail out?!

My dealer sent me this message...and..how else should I respond?

Finally off

I arrived in DC from Manila for what was supposed to be just one day at the office.  As soon as I checked-in at the hotel my colleague called that I was asked to stay put and spend another week of self-quarantine.

As I was in transit Manila, my office had put out a 14-day quarantine policy and stopped all travel to and around Asia.  So when I arrived in DC I was asked if I had gone to Cebu and when. I had from the 23rd to the 27th of January. The earlier date then served as Day 1 of my quarantine.  I was not allowed to go to the office, and I could not meet with staff even if it were at some coffee shops nearby.

I was told that there was a high-level meeting to take my case up and firm up our protocols.  My colleagues were too apologetic that I had to go through all these. I was just pleased that my case served as example — I am not complaining; and I did not even go to some of our go-to restaurants near the office because I might just bump into colleagues.

So from the 6th of February, I was able to meet outside of the office with colleagues. Since then I’ve had a few meet-ups.  I am well; none of the symptoms of the corona virus.

China has a lot to answer to the world.  Their brand of predatory economic domination prying on resource-rich but good governance-deficient countries and subservient governments has taken an odd turn.  Their governance is — if there is one at all aside from authoritarianism — is what caused this what-seems-to-be uncontrolled spread of the virus.  Mal-governance, and the institutional habit of censorship, even if that information would threaten the health of many outside their controlled boundary, is unforgivable. They even wanted to patent the vaccine they had allegedly developed against the virus!

The virus may be corona, but it actually is China; and the countries that are subservient to them are among the clueless and complicit carriers.  I pity the human victims.