Nothing yet from Barnes and Nobles, not even an acknowledgement they received my letter, nothing. I know where I stand with them...
In other news, today is my last day at my current job. I'm so ready for some change right now. I'll post later this week as I don't start my new job until next week. Hopefully, this means I'm gonna be gettin' down with the knit!
HERE'S AN EMAIL I WROTE
CHECK LAURIE & STEVE'S BLOGS FOR MORE INFO
WRITE YOUR OWN EMAIL TO B&N HERE AND STOP THE MADNESS!!! C'MON PEEPS, UNITE!!!
To Whom It May Concern:
I was recently saddened and shocked to hear about the treatment of a knitting group who used to meet regularly at your Barnes & Nobles located at 301 South Hills Village, Pittsburgh, PA. It appears for months, the manager as well as a regional manager have been unkind to this group and finally informed them they were "removed from their schedule."
I know several of these group members and find this puzzling and outrageous at the same time. While my schedule does not allow me to attend the group, I certainly shop in this store, buying knitting magazines and books along with other books to read and gift items for the people I love in my life. I saddens me to know the group's attempts to resolve any problems are not being met by people who are paid good money by your company to keep customers happy. What is the function of management if not to see that business continues to thrive and that customers keep returning? This group is not a motley crew of crazed sociopaths who destroy books and furniture, curse loudly and stare at people in rude ways. They are good people who use their hands and time to create beautiful things for family and friends. They even knit things for strangers sometimes. Think of the homeless person keeping warm under a hand-knitted blanket; a cancer patient wearing a snuggly lacy crocheted cap while receiving chemo treatments; preemies wearing little booties on their tiny feet that fit and are soft. These are people who contribute to this earth in ways you may not, who care about life and people and just want to meet with other people who do the same and have a good laugh. They come from their homes where they care for their children to enjoy a night with adults, or come from a hectic job to unwind. They do wonderful things and instead of being repected for this, they were looked down upon and kicked aside.
I wonder why this happened? Why was the space needed? Is there another group now occuppying this time slot? Do other groups continue to meet there? What other groups meet there and when?
It appears in the case of this particular store the management believes in making customes uncomfortable and this presents a dilema for me as a consumer. Sure, if I say I will stop shopping at Barnes & Noble, you may not care, may see it as a drop in the bucket. But I do have a blog and will post this information there. I belong to some webrings involving other knitters and the occasional non-knitter even looks at it now and again. This letter, thanks to modern technology, will reach thousands of knitters, crocheters, crafters, musicians, artists not to mention vegans and pagans. The message will grow: Barnes & Nobles cares not for the little folk. They only like for you to come in, drop the money down and be on your way. Which is fine, but you shouldn't tell groups they can meet there in the first place, then begin playing the "let's replace comfortable furniture with uncomfortable folding chairs and see if they stop showing up" gam e, followed by telling the group as they are meeting collectively they are no longer on the schedule. Why not have contacted someone in the group prior to this and discussed any concerns or problems? This is something most reasonable adults do and do well on a daily basis; you could probably find employees who will do this for you. If you need help in this area, I could also be available to you for further consultation.
So what can we do to resolve this? I am hoping for a reply regarding this matter and feel the group deserves an apology. I will be very fair about this matter and will not only post this letter on my blog, but will also post your reply. That way you have a chance to assure the general public at large that you are indeed a caring company who does believe that customers should be treated with respest, as it is the paying customer who provides your bread and butter at days' end. I hope this letter serves to enlighten your company a bit and remind you that you exist because of us, not in spite of us.
Regards,
PXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Knitting is coming along a bit slowly of late. Although it's hot, I've been trying to knit but now there are some other things getting in the way. Things like this:
That's right, I have a sweet new ride!! A new-fangled take on the classic Schwinn Jaguar. I need a basket and a light and I'm set. Where will I be riding this filly to? Try MY NEW JOB!!! That's right kids, I'm gonna work within cycling distance in a veterinary office. I'll even be wearing some scrubs. Cool, huh? Now if only I could get up the hills on the bike...
Also have plans to see Cats with a friend in a couple weeks and will be going camping to Lake Erie with my pagan pals. This summer is flying by so fast! The Fourth was fun; unfortunately, there was a bit of an accident. Involving me. And some fireworks. Ok, they were sparklers, not really big firework material. But they burned me bad on my left pointer finger. I've been told by the man it will result in scarrage. I'll spare you a photo or gorey details, but it was nasty!!! So part of the reason I've not been knitting is so my hand could heal. Sure, that's the reason...anyhow, I hope everyone else is enjoying their summer too...now get outside and chase some lighning bugs or something (but please practice catch and release).
PS--The Guy is watching Jaws. Again. And it just got to the part that has the kid on the beach singing, "do you know the muffin man." That's for you, you know who you are out there.
Major Announcement: We harvested our first garden eats this past week. Here is our green bean harvest:
Here is my guy's favorite bean that was picked:
Busy weekend, not much knitting. Spent most of my time out of doors, hooray! Had two picnics (Friday and Saturday) and today, went to the Westmoreland County Arts & Heritage Festival, a July tradition I have not missed in quite a while. Here's a link if you are interested. The food was the best yet, even had several vegan options besides salad. Had the roasted corn on the cob sans butter, then had a black bean and rice wrap with veggies on it, was really yummy. Bought some handmade soaps (Rosemary, Sage & Lavender; Adirondack Air; Seaweed Scrub) from Blue Heron along with some yummy animal-product-free lip balm (Apple and Peppermint). Bought a set of knitting markers as a gift for my favorite aunt from Art Glass by M. Sotherden. I bought a set for myself last year, along with some earrings and a set of runes. Her stuff rocks. I bought a lovely scented geranium too (rose lemon scent) and potted her this evening. Here is me with some hooved friends:
And here are winged friends.
It was Kay's birthday today, I think she had fun but seemed beat! Even saw some old classmates from high school that I haven't seen in years, it's funny to me that we even recognize one another anymore, guess we always carry a bit of our younger selves with us even though our weight, hair color (and bang height....) and confidence changes. Oh, please just tell me tomorrow is not really Monday already...
