Category: Business

We went down to the Rt. 30 Post Office to get a passport for our son.  It was not the best of experiences.

There was a poster with information about which forms to use, but no one manning the passport counter.   A gentleman in the line mentioned to the person behind him that he was going to step out of line to go ask where to go to get a passport.

He was told to just get in the line.  It evolved that if you wanted a passport, or passport photo, you had to get in the regular line and get processed and pay, then the clerk would come out and take the photo.  This meant leaving one of the windows empty, to the frustration of those who needed regular service.  And there were only two clerks on duty at the time, although a third dropped in.

It also meant a lot of extra questioning as the signage wasn’t there to explain the process.   Some of the clerks’ tones were a touch impatient, but customers can’t read minds, and getting a passport is an infrequent task.

There has to be a better way.

We admit it.  We do a fair amount of returning merchandise we changed our minds about keeping.  But we work within the return policies and deadlines, and always have our receipt ready.

Lately, probably due to the economy, we have seen more people returning things when we are shopping.  From the looks of some things, we guess people looked around the house for things that they might be able to cash in to stretch their resources.

We have waited in line while a woman looked through a half inch thick pile of receipts in her wallet for the one she needed.  We have waited while a cashier explains to customers, that without a receipt, they only receive credit if the item is still sold in stores, and at the lowest price within a specified period.

We have waited while a cashier explains that without a receipt, and/or without a box or packaging, the store can’t take back an item.

And we have heard customers rant that they never even opened the box, that its sat in their car for six months, so why shouldn’t they get some credit?  Would you want to buy a printer, or electronic device that had been in a car in this hot weather for days on end?

By and large businesses around here are great about giving credit, or refunds for returns, even the grocery stores.   Receipts, prompt returns, and packaging make for smooth sailing and happier people behind you in line.

The empty store front in Shoppers World on Rt. 9 W where Linens N Things was has signs announcing that Nordstrom Rack will be opening there.

Nordstrom Rack is the company’s off-price retail division offering discounts on products from their mainline stores, Nordstrom.com, and special purchase items.  A big focus is name brand shoes.  Sounds a bit like what Filene’s Basement started out as, an outlet for the upstairs, upscale store.

According to their website, and press releases appearing in various business news outlets, Nordstrom Rack will open in the spring of 2010 in the Shoppers World location.

With so many large retail spaces vacant, this is a boon to Framingham, and to Developers Diversified Realty which owns the Shoppers World property.

This store will provide jobs and will probably attract more shoppers from the wealthier communities, especially to the east of Framingham.

For those curious about the store, this is the second Nordstrom Rack in Massachusetts.  You check it out in the Liberty Mall in Danvers.

We have been cleaning and purging clutter and things that we just don’t need anymore.  We loaded up the pickup and took the useful items and clothes off to the St. Vincent de Paul store on Franklin St.

After dropping off our donations, we wondered around.  A woman was talking to anyone who would listen about the miscellaneous fine china and glassware that she just found.  She said that she has made money on reselling things that she has found at shops like St. Vincent de Paul.  Other things she arranges on several shelves at home.

She said that her children are just beginning to realize that her accumulation has value.  But, she said, if they don’t want to deal with it, she declared that they could bury it all with her, for future generations to discover and learn about life in our time from her collection.

We didn’t find any china to interest us, although during one visit, a while back, we picked up some souvenir glasses from a Framingham High prom.

We usually skip flipping through the racks, but today many of the items looked fresh and we did find some designer ties, including Oleg Cassini, for $ 1.39, and several pairs of better maker slacks in excellent condition, many with the dry cleaning tag still on them.   We also spied a department head doing a quick, brisk look through the racks, probably making the most of  her lunch hour.

With more dedication, we probably could have found more items, but we are trying to have wiggle room in our closets.   It is also time-consuming to have to check each garment’s label for sizes, as the racks don’t seem to be arranged by sizes, just by category and gender.

If anyone has some secrets to shopping at St. Vincent’s and the Salvation Army Store, please share.  We usually just donate and scoot as plowing through racks of faded clothing in search of the hidden gem takes time that we don’t have much of.

Within the last week or so we went back to two restaurants that we hadn’t been to in a while, Bertucci’s and California Pizza Kitchen.

Bertucci’s still has those great Tuscan rolls.  The small house salad was fresh and generous.  The Sporki was as good as we remembered it.

California Pizza Kitchen was OK.  The Chipolte Chicken Pizza was new to us and interesting, and the White Pizza was fine.  We’ve enjoyed other places pizza more for a bit less money.  The Field Green Salad was generous and fresh and delish.

We’ve become fans of The Villa in Wayland’s bacon pizza and we think there is a difference between take out and sit-down restaurant pizzas.

What are your favorite places to eat pizza?  And your favorite take-out pizzas?  Recommendations?

Inspite of rainy day after rainy day, which some people tell us reminds them of summer in Seattle, we are cheered by our pots of flowers.

An abundant pot of yellow mums that we picked up for $ 5.99 at Trader Joes is flourishing.   The $ 3.99 pot of  bluish petunias from River’s Edge is also settling into it’s urn and doing it’s best to throw off the wet to bloom.

Some 4 for $ 12 pots of  red and white Impatiens from Stop and Shop, now planted around a tree, are also brighting the yard.

Hubby went to the Saxony Barbershop in Saxonville on Saturday prepared for the usual long wait. 

Not so.  Barbers were standing around waiting for customers.  They said they had never, in all their years in business, seen it so slow.  Due to the economy people are letting weeks go by before getting a haircut.

Sounds like longer hair is getting to be a matter of wallet, not choice or fashion.

As we were driving down Rt. 9W thinking about the Farmers’ Market opening today, we realized that we were running out of time to get an oil change before a long trip on the weekend.

We pulled into The Clean Machine/Kwik Oil Change lot, right into a spot with a sign about parking there for oil changes.  A minute later we were handing over the keys and settling down to read our book.

We read pretty fast, but it was just a few chapters later when the car was pulled up outside the waiting room and we were told “you’re all set.” 

In addition to a speedy oil change, we also received a token for a free car wash at their nearby Clean Machine.  

The only disappointment was that we were just getting to a good part in the Jeffery Deaver book and had to close it.

FRAMINGHAM, MA — The Metrowest Non-Profit network is hosting brown bag breakfasts for small-staffed/single-staffed/no-staff nonprofits.

As executive director or head of the board of a small nonprofit, do you… develop programs? Balance the checkbook? Write grant proposals? Evaluate programs? Get the mail? Deal with accountants? Water the plants? File 990s? Talk to clients? Handle public (more…)