Business In Washington - Business Operations Consulting

Greetings to all of our faithful readers!  You may have wondered exactly where we have been hiding for the last couple of weeks.  Well, Murphy’s Law is in full force for all of us.  Remember that one?  It goes something like this:

“If anything can go wrong, it will.”

Then there is MacGillicuddy’s Corollary - “at the most inopportune time.”

And another extension - “It will be all your fault and everyone will know about it.”

And, finally, my extension - “Murphy was an optimist.”  Okay, that one’s not really mine, but I am unable to attribute it at this moment.

Murphy has certainly been in charge of our blog, but we have finally triumphed and are back on the “air”, on a great new server, and with the same great content.  A better look and feel will be coming soon. 

In the meantime, let me close with these Words of Wisdom - “To err is human, but to really foul things up requires a computer.”  If you prefer, plug your own word into the saying instead of “foul”.  We are a family-friendly business.

We thank you for your patience!  Let’s blog on!

In case you would like to read more about Murhpy’s Law, surf over to www.murphys-laws.com.  Enjoy!

I’ve aired plenty of beefs about crimes against the English language.  There’s certainly no shortage of material for ranting.  Today, however, I have a rave.  It’s a rare thing from me, so enjoy it.

My kudos today go to a local grocery chain, Quality Food Centers (QFC).  They’ve had their challenges in recent years, enduring two acquisitions by big grocery chains, Kroger being the most recent.  So the stores, at least the ones near me, had deteriorated quite a bit.  Simply put, QFC’s mission and market didn’t match Kroger’s idea of what they should be.  At least, this is what I have observed from the outside as a customer.

This situation has begun to turn around.  The stores are being refurbished, remodeled, and upgraded.  They are going more upscale, probably to compete with stores the like of Central Market.  I, for one customer, welcome the change. 

Last night, after a brutally busy day, I stopped by my local QFC to do some emergency shopping.  Some things you just can’t do without, and we were without.  I dragged my tired body around the store, locating most of what I needed and figured the heck with the rest.  Somewhat numb, I approached the checkout stand.

The stand right in front of me appeared to be closing, but the cashier gestured to come on.  She would take care of me.  I noticed that it was the express lane, and stated that I had more than 12 items.  She still indicated she would be happy to take care of me.  Then I really looked at the sign and stopped dead.

“Express Lane.  12 items or fewer.”

I don’t know how many times I have groaned over the ubiquitous signs with their equally ubiquitous errors in grammar - 12 items or less.  Wrong, wrong, wrong!

I turned to the cashier and congratulated her and the store for getting it right!  She looked at me as if I was somewhat addled, and proceeded to add up my grocery tab.  All right, maybe she was tired, too.

No matter.  Congratulations to the QFC management for removing one of the smaller annoyances that clutter my life.  There is no better signal of the store’s re-emergence as a Quality Food Center, at least to me.