Tag: delivery

Posted in Life

Another dent and another discount

Posted on by William Douthwaite

The oven went belly up last week.

I had used it that morning to bake bread and it worked just fine. Salmon was on the menu for supper. I heat up and baste the salmon in a cast iron pan on the stove top for a few minutes, and then put it in the oven for another five minutes or so to finish cooking it.

This time, when I went to put it in the oven, the temperature hadn’t gone up in the last fifteen minutes. That’s strange. I turned the oven on and off. I turned off the breaker, waited a few minutes, and flipped it back on. No luck.

We need an oven for our cookie business. I texted my wife, “I guess you’re going to get the double oven you’ve wanted.” I got online, found the one we had looked at in the store, and bought it. It would arrive two days later. Nice.

The delivery guys arrived right on time, carted off the old applicance, and slid the new oven into its space in the kitchen. It took my wife all of five seconds to notice, “There’s a dent on the handle.” It was about the size of a dime. I went out and brought the delivery guys back in. They looked, took pictures, and called it in.

After a brief exchange, the voice on the phone said, “We can offer a discount of $350.” It took me all of five seconds to say, “I’ll take it.” It amounted to a 30 percent discount on the price of the oven. I knew I could buy a replacement handle for much less than that.

I was right. A new handle cost about $100 from a repair warehouse. It arrived three days later.

I’m impressed by the customer service. I’m dismayed by how easily a shipment is damaged. Then again, I’m sure it survived a long journey from China. And what’s a few dings or dents, right?

What’s the markup on an appliance? I don’t know. I’m sure everyone made money. And we have a working double oven. Sweet.

Posted in Life

A pre-dawn delivery

Posted on by William Douthwaite

It’s dark. Really dark. The big dog and I were out for a super-early morning walk. About half-a-mile in, a car zips by with it’s flashers on and stops in front of a house. The driver hops out, leaves a package by the front door, and zips away into the night.

It’s an Amazon delivery. Rather than the familiar Amazon van, it was a guy with a package delivery side-hustle.

It’s only been a week since I learned that some shipments arrive in the early morning hours. A delivery notification arrived in my email at about 6 am. What? Orders usually arrive in the late afternoon. This was at the front door before sunrise.

We don’t live in a big enough city to have same-day delivery, but this is close. An afternoon order of a book, pair of shorts, dog toy, art supplies, journal, cosmetics, snack food, or tool may arrive before you wake up the next morning.

Isn’t that amazing? And it’s all because they know what I’m going to purchase before I do. They have so much data on me, they know me better than I know myself. My zip code, my purchase history, my search history, and my demographic announce what I’m most likely to buy. Those items are shipped to the closest warehouse. As soon as I click “purchase,” the item is already on it’s way to boxing, sealing, and distribution.

Is this a good thing? I like it. I don’t have to go anywhere. Everything I buy is brought to my house. Thank you very much!

But I’m spoiled. I expect everything in a day. Two at the most. A week? You’ve got to be kidding.

I go to the store. You don’t have what I need? Really? What kind of store are you? You don’t have my size? My color? Come on. And why is the checkout line moving so slowly? Where’s my food? Did they lose my order? I was never this impatient before. I’m beyond impatient now. I’m irritated.

I want to blame AI. It knows me. It knows when and where I’ll send my money. But really, it’s my fault. I’m in control here. I can control my purchases, attitude, consumption, appetite, spending, and browsing.

At least I think I can. Some things I need to buy. Some things are gifts. Somethings are things I want to buy.

It’s a whole new world. A pre-dawn, rapid-delivery, instant-gratification world. Sign me up!

Posted in cookies, Life

Everyone loves the cookie guy!

Posted on by William Douthwaite
Photo by Khalid Elkady on Unsplash

I love delivering cookies. Every box brings a smile to the recipient’s face. With a gasp, they get their first look and exclaim, “These are amazing!”

But it gets better. When I pulled into a driveway last week, a little dachshund-mix dog greeted me in the driveway. Her six-inch tail was whipping back and forth a mile a minute as I stepped out of the van. With happy squinting eyes, she sat while I scratched her chin and chest, ran my hand down her back.

After a minute of that, I told her, “Hey, I’ve got some cookies for your mom.” She led me up the walk to the front door and I pushed the Ring doorbell with my elbow. Our customer answered the door and I said, “I love your welcoming committee!”

“Oh, was she out here?”

I laughed, “She’s not supposed to be out here?”

Apparently not. I thought they had an invisible fence or something. But my new little friend was just enjoying a few moments of sunshine and freedom on a beautiful afternoon.

Even the doggies are happy when the cookie guy shows up!

Need cookies? Check us out: backseatgracebakery.com

Posted in Ministry

So what should I bring?

Posted on by William Douthwaite

I was out catching up on my visits to homebound members today. I caught up with Janet (names modified for this post) at her nursing care facility at the end of her lunch hour. She greeted me warmly and immediately said, “Rex (her elder) came to visit me yesterday and he brought me candy!” I replied, “I’ll bet you all wish he came to visit you more often!”

Just a few weeks ago, the mother of a member died and I stopped by to visit. I texted ahead and said, “What can I bring for you?” She didn’t respond. So I thought,”What can I bring? I know! M&Ms. Who doesn’t need M&Ms?” At the time, they were a minor part of my visit. But when her mom’s pastor stopped by, Sandy mentioned, “My pastor brought M&Ms!” Gooooooal! I felt pretty competent at that moment.

Over the years I’ve brought many things to my homebound members. Word and Sacrament of course. But I have also brought lunch from local restaurants: mostly Subway and Chinese takeout.

My best delivery however was a half-gallon of vodka. I know, that deserves some explanation. Karen lived in an apartment by the beach, and her alcoholic landlord lived in the same building. Just before I left the church, I got a call, and Karen asked me to stop by the liquor store and get the cheapest half-gallon of vodka I could find. She would pay me when I got there. If Dave (her landlord) didn’t have his vodka, there would be hell to pay and she was hoping to avoid that. I don’t especially care for vodka, so it was the first and only time I’ve purchased it, and certainly the only time I’ve been in a liquor store in my clerical collar. The guy at the register didn’t even blink, which is a troubling. How many clergy had he served that day?

My second-best delivery was a bag full of prescriptions medications for Karen. When she asked me to stop by the pharmacy, I said, “Sure, I’ll pick up come meds.” It turned out to be about twelve medications! She had described me to the pharmacist, so he immediately knew who I was and loaded me up with all of her pills. Since she was on Medicare and Medicaid I think I had to pony up $3.00 for her meds.

So if you need anything and I am coming to visit, just let me know what you need. I’m on it. (BTW, they didn’t teach me anything about this at the seminary!)