Trolled by BJ's Wholesale

While shopping at BJ's yesterday, I noticed this sign:

Hmmm, I thought, I didn't recall a Kosher section in the refrigerated area. I walked around the corner and stood in front of the sign. This is what I found:

Ouch.

Sights from a Sunday - Apples, Overlooks and Retail. Lots of Retail.

Yesterday, Shira and I managed to mix in a little Apple Picking at Hollin Farms, hiking at Sky Meadows State Park (a few miles from Hollin Farms) and shopping at Fair Lakes Center (located on the way home from Sky Meadows).

Hollin Farms was a winner. They had quite a variety of apples to pick from, and while the open area of the orchard didn't strike us as particularly large, it served our purposes well. And Sky Meadows is just gorgeous. Holy Smokes! Has it really been 6 years since we've been there? That was a lifetime ago. Besides the fond memories of hanging with The Boys there, it's also one of the first glimpses I had of the Appalachian Trail. The small backpacking trips we've done along the AT can probably be traced back to that sighting.

But the most impressive and awe inspiring part of the day was Fair Lakes Center. How can a Target, BJs and Walmart and 55 other retail establishments all exist in one shopping center? (Like, Modells Sports next to Sports Authority, right next to Target and Walmart, that also sell sporting goods. Mind. Blown.) That seems like enough retail infrastructure to power a small 3rd world country. Yeesh. I don't know whether to be appalled, proud or just thankful for the convenience. Here in Arlington, we have relatively close access to Target and BJs, but not like this. Is that what life is like in the suburbs?

Some photos from the day...

Thew view from Hollin Farms:

Shira picking forbidden fruit.

Apple tree leaves. At this point, Shira's annoyed at me for not paying attention to the task at hand.

Mission accomplished!

Let's do the Overlook trail at Sky Meadows. It's gorgeous, is it not?

Us. Did I mention that the Overlook trail was all uphill? You're welcome.

Bug!

Pretty, and appropriately named, Milkweed Bug.

The $30 Netbook Turbo-Charging Purchase

OK, you can't exactly turbo-charge a Netbook - but for me, getting the $30 RAM upgrade for my Samsung N150 has been a definite win.

I continue to use my N150 as both my traveling computer of choice, as well as my work laptop on weekends. While I've been really picky about what I install on it, I noticed that nearly half the standard 1GB of RAM is used up just by booting Windows 7. I didn't want to pour lots of cash into a device I got for $200, so I was delighted to learn that the upgrade was only $30.00.

Performing the upgrade couldn't have been more painless: 1 click purchase over Amazon, followed by using the instructions here.

If you've got an N150, you need to do this upgrade today.

Amazon Free Shipping Tip

You've got love Amazon's Free Shipping for orders over $25.00 But what happens when your order comes to say, $22 - what do you? Do you pay the shipping, or end up buying another item which costs more than the shipping itself? Of course, Amazon knows they are putting you in this little quandary - and more power to them, it's clever marketing.

The other day, I stumbled upon a fairly novel solution. The answer, of course, is to find an item which is low cost and also eligible for free shipping. But finding those items can be a pain. Unless of course, someone has made just a list for you.

And this being the web, someone already has. If you search Amazon's Listmania for free shipping, you'll find plenty of lists that give low cost ideas for getting over the shipping minimum.

From Dora the Explorer playing cards to the Holy French Toast stamper, there are lots of ways to spend that extra couple bucks to get over the $25.00 minimum.

Update: Over in Facebook land, my buddy Davin suggested slickfillers - a site dedicated to solving the problem I describe above. And in the comments, Mark has suggested not only this site, but also filleritem.com. These sites are amazing because they are a source for cheap items (say $0.32) that allow you to nudge your order over the $25.00 mark if you need to. Thanks Davin and Mark!

Gifts and Geography - Two Wired Finds

Man I love Wired Magazine. Here are two finds from the latest issue that I thought were worth sharing:

• Playlist: perpetualkid.com. This month issue recommends the site perpetualkid.com as a clever gift site:

  Early adopters can be tough to shop for — they already have what’s hot. Fortunately, Perpetual Kid helps out stymied gifters. Amusing and occasionally useful items like corn-dog-flavored lip balm, a Robot Sniffle tissue holder, and a saw-shaped cake knife will neither break the bank nor duplicate what’s already on the giftee’s desk.

  And sure enough, if you check out the site you'll see they deliver: From vampire pacifiers to clocky, the motoring clock - they've got it all. It's sort of like thinkgeek, minus the practicality.

• Netscapes: Tracing the Journey of a Single Bit. Next time someone complains to me about a slow website or delayed e-mail, I'm going to send them over this article. In it, it shows you a sampling of the the physical locations your data has to pass through before it can arrive. When you think about all the cables and devices that a single bit of data has to pass through, it's a miracle the Internet functions at all. Consider the shot from Kansas City, Missouri:

  The men who built the transcontinental railroad didn’t know it, but they were clearing the way for the Web. Global Crossing uses the old Iron Horse’s right-of-way as the main vein for its long-haul data pipes. Keeping information humming across a 3,000-mile-wide landmass requires utility huts like this one (on left) every 50 miles — even the highest-grade optical fiber has imperfections that cause the signal to weaken as the countryside flashes by. Filled with dense wave-division multiplex amplifiers, these sheds goose the pulses of light and keep bits flowing alongside our amber waves of grain.

  Think about that - every 50 miles there's a structure that has to be there, and be in perfect working order for your data to arrive (OK, not exactly true - the joy of the Internet is that it can theoretically re-route data around trouble spots. But still). Like I said, it's mind blowing.

T-Mobile Disappointment

I just attempted to go shopping for a new cell phone. I wanted to check out the Wing. I know it's a product of the Evil Empire, but it has all the bells and whistles. Not to mention, my Sidekick lasted less than 9 hours today before running out of battery juice. I'm getting desperate and not loving Danger.

So I headed over to a T-mobile store in the Balston Mall.

I could quickly tell they had a Wing in stock. Whew, didn't waste my time getting out here.

Then I asked to handle one. You know, before I spend like $400 on a phone I'd like to use it.

The rep at the counter explained they didn't have a live one. I could play with a dummy phone. Excuse me? What about the live one secured to the counter in a Fort-Knox grade security device? He can't give me access to that one - against the rules.

I had no choice, I thanked the guy and walked away.

A cell phone is an incredibly tactile device, not to mention a complex one. How can I choose to buy one if I can't play with it? I need to feel its weight, notice the delay in the screen flip and shoot some video. What an absolutely absurd policy.

That's like going to a Toyota showroom and not being allowed to drive a Prius. Sure, you can sit in the one parked on the sales floor. But drive it? Please, that's against the rules.

It didn't help that when I asked him about the phone in general he said I needed to be more specific. Then I asked him if people had any complaints about it? Nope, not that he knew of.

This is a $400 computer we are talking about here - not a $30 cordless phone. Argh. I'm officially unimpressed with this shopping experience.

--Ben

Costco Customer Service - So close, yet so far away

While shopping for some critical items at Costco I finally noticed their customer service policy. Surprisingly, it was summarized as these three bullet points (and mentioned on the web too):

• Membership: We will refund your membership fee in full at any time if you are dissatisfied.
• Merchandise: We guarantee your satisfaction on every product we sell, with a full refund.
• Merchandise Exceptions: Televisions, projectors, computers, cameras, camcorders, iPOD/MP3 players and cellular phones must be returned within 90 days of purchase for a refund.

I actually had to re-read these a few times to really appreciate what they were saying. The fact is, this is a most impressive customer service policy. The exceptions seem totally reasonable, and the rest of the policy is incredibly broad. You're telling me that I can buy a 30lb bag of rice, or $30.00 worth Salmon steaks, and I can trivially return them if I'm not satisfied?

The membership policy too couldn't be any stronger too. Way to go guys.

I had two takes-aways from this observation:

First, someone at Costco corporate really gets it. This policy is on par with customer service greats like REI and Trader Joe's. They have obviously done the math and realized that a happy customer is way more valuable than the cost of any products in their store. That's great.

Second, it's not nearly enough. While their policy is great, there's clearly a gap between that and my actual experience and perception of Costco. Even the cold and industrial way the policy is displayed makes it look more like a negative warning than a positive statement. I actually follow a terrific blog, Exerienceology, which is more or less devoted to understanding how gaps like this develop in companies. She even covered a whole series of articles on Costco itself.

The folks at Costco get big time points for having a great policy. Now they just need to close that experience gap, and they'd really be kicking butt.

Update: Paul had a terrific comment worth mentioning here:

Actually, the warehouse feel is part of the branding. It actually creates a feel of bargain hunting mirroring swap meet or flea market type settings. Also because of the no frills displays it lowers overhead on decorations and maintenance on all those extra signs and standees, etc. passing the savings on to the customer.

Excellent point. What's most surprising to me, then, is how their store is so bare bones, yet their return policy isn't. The return policy is all about going above and beyond, yet the store itself doesn't have that feeling to me. I guess the key question is, would it be a good thing for Costco members to have this sense? Perhaps the warehouse feeling is more valuable than the touchy-feely-Trader-Joe's feeling.

Most Creative Shopping in Washington DC

Today Shira and I went shopping at one of our favorite locations - the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, VA.

The Torpedo Factory gives local artists access to studio space and an opportunity to sell their goods. It's the kind of shopping that includes both excellent finds and a warm-and-fuzzy feeling of supporting the local community.

It's a must see if you make it to the DC area.

Here's one of the artists hard at work making art:

Our favorite items tend to be pottery, which all look amazing, if you ask me.

OK, not everything they have there is something you'd want to bring home. But hey, it's art.

Best Buy Surprise

I spent a good portion of today hunting down a replacement power supply for a dead server.

Now here's what I know about power supplies: they supply power. Oh, and they have wires sticking out of them. That's all I got.

So, after calling around a bit today, I decided the best thing to do was to yank the power supply from the dead maching and bring it into a computer store. I figured I'd have my best chance of matching it up that way.

The closest place to where I was that even had a shot at providing me with the new supply was Best Buy. You know my feelings about Best Buy, but there were the best option it seemed.

I walked into the store holding this metal box spewing wires and found the first sales agent in the computer department. I expected him to not know the difference between a power strip and a power supply.

But get this - he knew exactly what I needed! He had just built out a gaming box and had just shopped for his own power supply. Best Buy had three or four power supplies available on the shelf, and he picked the one that best matched the specs of the older supply.

I was shocked and delighted. And the story gets better!

I wanted to open up the box and physically compare the two units. He said he wasn't authorized to do this, but maybe the Geek Squad could. Fine, I could live with that.

He took me over to the Geek Squad counter where a bunch of uniformed agents were able to help me. We opened up the box (after I bought it, that seemed fair) and inspected things. Here's the thing - the Geek Squad guys knew what each of the different cables connected in to and why. They actually knew obscure technical details.

I was shocked. I assumed I would have been dealing with some cluless set of reps, and instead, I was dealing with true geeks.

Way to go Best Buy and Geek Squad. What a pleasant surprise.

--Ben

If Men Carried Purses

Whenever I shop for purses with Shira I can't help but imagine what it would be like if men carried purses.

No doubt I'd have the biggest model possible - one of those duffel bag types that barely pass as a purse. And it would be packed with a every gadget possible - from a PDA to a scanner/printer. It would have a library of things to do, a photo studio, broadcast studio and enough food for a few meals.

Hmmmm...maybe it's better that men don't carry purses.

--Ben

Product Commodity Test

You know a certain technology has really become a commodity for the masses when you find it at the Target checkout line between the batteries and Snickers Bars.

Consider, for example, $16.99 for an SD card and $4.99 for a thumb drive.

We aren't far from the time when the majority of kids toys will claim "SD Card not included."

--Ben