I've mentioned before that the process of opening Zoe is like one big IT project. Many tasks, many resources, many dependencies, many things that can go wrong! I've had a "list" of things in my head that still need to be done over the next three to four weeks. Rather than try to keep them all there and risk forgetting something important, I sat down and wrote out every remaining task under each category. Today, I need to go back through and classify them as "must do now" and "nice to do now but can wait". I'm constantly learning new things and drawing inspirations from many sources. And what kind of book did I use to make my list? An Oracle book. It takes a while to completely escape.
I had a lovely lunch with my friend Martha yesterday and had the opportunity to show her Zoe's home after our meal. I could see where they had continued with some painting work, had done some more work on the restrooms and had received the frames for the doors. I also had the opportunity to get a tour of the final stages of my landlord's construction by the foreman. They will be moving into their space (in the office portion of the building) on Monday!
I received my March shipment from LiaMolly yesterday and got a call that my March Velvet shipment would be going out by the 15th. One good thing - I'll be fully stocked when I open! There won't be that look of "there isn't much here!"
I've been continuing work on the website before I make a public pronouncement that it is ready for prime time. Today is one of the few days that I do not have ANYTHING formal scheduled so I look forward to getting more done here at home.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Waiting for Something Big to Happen
Each day when I perform my afternoon "inspection" of Zoe's home, I am hoping for something BIG (in a good way) to have happened during the work day. Imagine my delight when I walked in to find that they had started painting yesterday! Sadly, my pictures do not do it justice (I need to take more than the camera on my phone with me)!
This is the Whisper (Gray) color on the East and West walls of the space.
On the Cash Wrap side (facing East)
Not quite as many coats yet on the column
I had to take a picture of this so I could ask Jim what it is. It is a pipe cutter.
I love my paint colors! The blue trim will be painted over, by the way.
More cutting/pipe work for the water fountain.
I spent the morning working on accounting and point of sale activities. I have to report any VA Payroll Tax withholding on a monthly basis. Since no one is getting paid, this was an easy report! I also "received" all of the items that I had entered into the point of sale system on Saturday. AND I physically received my first shipment from Tracy Reese yesterday. More point of sale work today!
I also had the chance to review pricing and options on Zoe's stationary and business cards as presented to me by Cori. I remain in awe of her knowledge and expertise. She had put bids out to three companies, one of which was my neighbor Mike's printing company. I was very excited when his company came back with the best pricing as I had been hoping to work with him.
I leave telecommunications to last on the list because I so want to be done with it and not talk about it anymore! The fantastic news is that Comcast went out to do the site survey yesterday (approximately 24 hours after I had spoken with them to place the order). I remain cautiously optimistic. Sadly, the very nice young lady from Verizon who had promised to call me on Tuesday did call. I had to tell her that I had canceled the order. She is the only person I talked to there that actually sounded sad that they had lost me as a customer. Too bad I couldn't have dealt with her for all of my Verizon transactions.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
And then...I was done
Verizon was fired yesterday. I had been exceptionally patient throughout the process but finally, I was done. And once I'm done with something, oh, I'm done.
I made sure I was ready to go in case I was early on the install list. At one minute after 8, I called the dispatch line. After waiting for a short while, the woman told me that a) something was missing from my order that would need to be addressed by the central office and b) the billing address still said 130 North Union Street. She said that she would enter a "red ticket" into the system so that the central office could take care of their portion and she would transfer me to the billing office to fix the address. She assured me that someone from dispatch would call me within an hour to let me know more about the on-site service
She transferred me to the Residential billing office, which was not what I wanted. The gentleman there then attempted to transfer me to Commercial billing and then told me that he couldn't because they didn't open until 9 am. Hmmm. I knew that I had talked to the various Verizon offices as early as 8/8:30. I thanked him and dialed one of the numbers I had and, sure enough, I was able to get through to Commercial billing and fix the address.
Knowing that I had several other things to take care of, I ran some errands and started some work at home. No word from Verizon. At around 10:30, I decided to call dispatch again. The woman who I spoke to said "Oh, there is something that needs to be done at central office for you. Let me put in a red ticket." At that point, I was just done. I contacted Comcast, spoke to ONE person and had made arrangements for a site survey in one transaction. She also called me back and sent me email when she said she would.
I called Verizon and canceled the entire order. The person on the phone didn't even seem to care. At the end of our conversation she said "Thank you for choosing Verizon." That, my friends, says it all.
So, enough about telecommunications! I visited the store yesterday afternoon for my daily "site review". Some more pictures:
I made sure I was ready to go in case I was early on the install list. At one minute after 8, I called the dispatch line. After waiting for a short while, the woman told me that a) something was missing from my order that would need to be addressed by the central office and b) the billing address still said 130 North Union Street. She said that she would enter a "red ticket" into the system so that the central office could take care of their portion and she would transfer me to the billing office to fix the address. She assured me that someone from dispatch would call me within an hour to let me know more about the on-site service
She transferred me to the Residential billing office, which was not what I wanted. The gentleman there then attempted to transfer me to Commercial billing and then told me that he couldn't because they didn't open until 9 am. Hmmm. I knew that I had talked to the various Verizon offices as early as 8/8:30. I thanked him and dialed one of the numbers I had and, sure enough, I was able to get through to Commercial billing and fix the address.
Knowing that I had several other things to take care of, I ran some errands and started some work at home. No word from Verizon. At around 10:30, I decided to call dispatch again. The woman who I spoke to said "Oh, there is something that needs to be done at central office for you. Let me put in a red ticket." At that point, I was just done. I contacted Comcast, spoke to ONE person and had made arrangements for a site survey in one transaction. She also called me back and sent me email when she said she would.
I called Verizon and canceled the entire order. The person on the phone didn't even seem to care. At the end of our conversation she said "Thank you for choosing Verizon." That, my friends, says it all.
So, enough about telecommunications! I visited the store yesterday afternoon for my daily "site review". Some more pictures:
Plumbing elbows!
Fire Alarm in the restroom ceiling (plus they had replaced some ceiling tiles in the space)
Yes, I am planting crops as well!
Actually, I was puzzled by the soybean seed bag until I looked inside. They were using it to hold various nuts and washers for the plumbing installation. Hey, I'm all about recycling so I'm glad they put the bag to a different use!
Yesterday afternoon and evening I spent learning more about the capabilities of WordPress and working on the Website content. Having LOTS of fun using technology to be creative!
Monday, March 7, 2011
Let's Try Again
Yes indeed. Today is Verizon Day, Take 3. I am eagerly awaiting for 8 am to roll around so that I can call the dispatch office to find out what order Zoe is in on the dispatch list. Truthfully, I'm hoping for this morning so that we can get it over with. Just rip the Band Aid off!
I'm also in the process of trying to figure out how to navigate Dominion Virginia Power so that the electricity can be moved into Zoe's name. So far, their website is not helpful at all. Lots about new construction but nothing about a meter that has been there since the 80s. I foresee a fun series of calls in my future. I think I'll wait until after the Verizon fun today to make that call.
I was on my way home from lunch with my friend Menachem in Crystal City when I got the call from City Hall that the sign permits were ready! I dropped by Zoe's home to take pictures and then walked up to City Hall to get the permits. I still have a few things left to do with the signs:
On Saturday, I did enjoy entering the three boxes of clothing into my point of sale system. The software also has the ability to add a picture to the item card for each item so I had fun doing that as well.
Some pictures from Friday's visit:
I'm also in the process of trying to figure out how to navigate Dominion Virginia Power so that the electricity can be moved into Zoe's name. So far, their website is not helpful at all. Lots about new construction but nothing about a meter that has been there since the 80s. I foresee a fun series of calls in my future. I think I'll wait until after the Verizon fun today to make that call.
I was on my way home from lunch with my friend Menachem in Crystal City when I got the call from City Hall that the sign permits were ready! I dropped by Zoe's home to take pictures and then walked up to City Hall to get the permits. I still have a few things left to do with the signs:
- Hope that the day/night temperatures remain above 40 degrees so that the construction company can paint the exterior trim.
- Confirm with the sign company how much lead time they need to install the signs (I followed up with them this morning to give them a status and to ask this question)
- Get a temporary right of way permit with the City to close the sidewalk for the installation
- Get the City Inspector to come out to inspect the signs once they are installed.
On Saturday, I did enjoy entering the three boxes of clothing into my point of sale system. The software also has the ability to add a picture to the item card for each item so I had fun doing that as well.
Some pictures from Friday's visit:
Exhaust fan in the restroom
Water pipes ready for installation
Prepping for the water fountain!
Friday, March 4, 2011
Buildout Progress
After meeting with my insurance agent yesterday, I went to check in on progress with Zoe! Some of this drywall work had been done earlier in the week while I was there waiting for "V" (I refuse to say the word right now). They are starting work on the restroom and I hope to have more pictures of that today!
One of the most exciting was the work on the drywall at the bump in. You may remember the previous pictures showed the two barn doors. They have placed insulation in the wall and added this drywall. Soon we will be ready for painting!
Dressing room updated!
Handicap dressing room updated!
Cash wrap area drywall
I also received another shipment (this one from LiaMolly) yesterday and finally had time to open all 3 boxes (from LiaMolly, Velvet, and Graham and Spencer)! Oh, such fun! Amazing colors for spring! I cannot wait to share them with you!
Thursday, March 3, 2011
The Last Post (this week) about Verizon
After an uneasy night worrying about what was next with Verizon, I got up and contacted the construction foreman at Zoe to let him know to call me if Verizon showed up unexpectedly on Wednesday. As soon as 8 am rolled around, I called the secret Verizon dispatch number that I had somehow garnered from one of my many call transfers on Tuesday. The man who answered told me "You are number 2 on the list today - he should be there by 10 am!"
I quickly gathered the things that I needed to take with me, including other items for appointments I had later in the day. I also canceled a doctor's appointment that I had scheduled for yesterday morning. And I was off to the shop!
The good news is that a lot of work is going on at Zoe (I promise pictures in tomorrow's post - I have been a little exhausted the past two days, dealing with this mess). The drywall guys were making great progress closing in the walls now that the inspector had signed off on the close-in inspection. The wheelchair lift guys were there working on the lift switch. The Project Manager visited the site and told me that all of the flooring was in and waiting in their warehouse (this is good - this is one of the long lead items that we thought might hold us up). He feels we should be ready to paint soon. Lots of goodness!
The Verizon guy showed up at around 9:30. Parked his truck, put his cones out. Comes in and I show him the phone closet. He goes outside and looks at the big green box outside (some kind of junction box for those who have knowledge of these things). He then tells me "They set up your lines to connect in at the junction box closest to 130 NORTH Union Street. So I can't do anything here. Let me call my supervisor...
So, you can imagine, after yesterday's incident, my head was about to explode with this information. He tells me that he will have his supervisor call me so that we can determine what to do next and then he leaves. I made a couple of calls that I needed to make unrelated to Verizon. By then, it was time to move my car (I was parked in a free 2 hr space but Parking Enforcement saw me park so I knew they'd be back to check on me). I moved my car to the garage at City Hall to visit the permitting office about the signage permits. (I told the foreman to call me if Verizon came back!)
I began working through the process with the signage permits in the Planning and Zoning office (they know me there now, which can be good or bad!) I was concerned that I had not brought the right drawings but they confirmed they were fine. We finalized the permit applications I had done online and three of the approvers had approved the application. There is one more approval to be done but the woman was at lunch when I reached that point so I will follow up on it today.
Since we will be erecting a ladder on the sidewalk, we have to get a temporary right of way permit to close the sidewalk. Part of this involves me drawing a schematic of the closure area to go with the submission for this permit. Those who know my drawing skills know to feel sorry for the City at this point.
I then went back to Zoe's home since I had a 1:30 appointment at Union Street Public House. I took down Zoe's Coming Soon sign since yesterday was the last day it could hang per the temporary sign permit. While waiting for my appointment, I called the Verizon tech again (I had not heard from anyone and the foreman reported that no one had come back). The tech said he would try to put me in touch with his supervisor and, in doing so, hung up on me. Fortunately, it was an inadvertent hang up so he called me back to tell me that I was going to have to talk to 1-800-VERIZON to get the addressing problem straightened out.
After I got home, I decided to take care of two quick Zoe calls before sitting down with Verizon again. I very fortunately got a very nice young lady who was pleasant, helpful, and actually concerned about my problems. Although it took her 40 minutes to work through all of the addressing issues and reschedule my service! At first, the schedule said that the earliest a tech could come out was April 1st! Oh, not acceptable at all! She then was able to expedite it to Monday, March 7. Although I still have the same hideous 9 hour window, she gave me a number to call that would let me know where I was on the list so that I can at least have a better idea (if I'm #2, I need to get there ASAP - if I'm #6, it will likely be in the afternoon) of when the tech will come. She also said she would check on me on Tuesday. I will send this woman chocolates.
I cannot wait to have these aggravations out of the way!
I quickly gathered the things that I needed to take with me, including other items for appointments I had later in the day. I also canceled a doctor's appointment that I had scheduled for yesterday morning. And I was off to the shop!
The good news is that a lot of work is going on at Zoe (I promise pictures in tomorrow's post - I have been a little exhausted the past two days, dealing with this mess). The drywall guys were making great progress closing in the walls now that the inspector had signed off on the close-in inspection. The wheelchair lift guys were there working on the lift switch. The Project Manager visited the site and told me that all of the flooring was in and waiting in their warehouse (this is good - this is one of the long lead items that we thought might hold us up). He feels we should be ready to paint soon. Lots of goodness!
The Verizon guy showed up at around 9:30. Parked his truck, put his cones out. Comes in and I show him the phone closet. He goes outside and looks at the big green box outside (some kind of junction box for those who have knowledge of these things). He then tells me "They set up your lines to connect in at the junction box closest to 130 NORTH Union Street. So I can't do anything here. Let me call my supervisor...
So, you can imagine, after yesterday's incident, my head was about to explode with this information. He tells me that he will have his supervisor call me so that we can determine what to do next and then he leaves. I made a couple of calls that I needed to make unrelated to Verizon. By then, it was time to move my car (I was parked in a free 2 hr space but Parking Enforcement saw me park so I knew they'd be back to check on me). I moved my car to the garage at City Hall to visit the permitting office about the signage permits. (I told the foreman to call me if Verizon came back!)
I began working through the process with the signage permits in the Planning and Zoning office (they know me there now, which can be good or bad!) I was concerned that I had not brought the right drawings but they confirmed they were fine. We finalized the permit applications I had done online and three of the approvers had approved the application. There is one more approval to be done but the woman was at lunch when I reached that point so I will follow up on it today.
Since we will be erecting a ladder on the sidewalk, we have to get a temporary right of way permit to close the sidewalk. Part of this involves me drawing a schematic of the closure area to go with the submission for this permit. Those who know my drawing skills know to feel sorry for the City at this point.
I then went back to Zoe's home since I had a 1:30 appointment at Union Street Public House. I took down Zoe's Coming Soon sign since yesterday was the last day it could hang per the temporary sign permit. While waiting for my appointment, I called the Verizon tech again (I had not heard from anyone and the foreman reported that no one had come back). The tech said he would try to put me in touch with his supervisor and, in doing so, hung up on me. Fortunately, it was an inadvertent hang up so he called me back to tell me that I was going to have to talk to 1-800-VERIZON to get the addressing problem straightened out.
After I got home, I decided to take care of two quick Zoe calls before sitting down with Verizon again. I very fortunately got a very nice young lady who was pleasant, helpful, and actually concerned about my problems. Although it took her 40 minutes to work through all of the addressing issues and reschedule my service! At first, the schedule said that the earliest a tech could come out was April 1st! Oh, not acceptable at all! She then was able to expedite it to Monday, March 7. Although I still have the same hideous 9 hour window, she gave me a number to call that would let me know where I was on the list so that I can at least have a better idea (if I'm #2, I need to get there ASAP - if I'm #6, it will likely be in the afternoon) of when the tech will come. She also said she would check on me on Tuesday. I will send this woman chocolates.
I cannot wait to have these aggravations out of the way!
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Verizon
Yes, they deserve a title all to themselves.
Yesterday was my scheduled day for Verizon phone service to be installed at Zoe's home. When I placed the order, I was given a service time of between 8 am and 5 pm on March 1st. Yes. A brutal amount of time to spend in a space under construction. However, you do what you have to do.
A week after placing the order, I checked with Verizon to confirm the date and times. All was confirmed. Always worried that the technician might be early, I arrived at the space at 7:30 yesterday morning, armed with my briefcase, reading material, a phone that we could use to test the lines and my cell phone. The construction foreman and workers welcomed me to the space and I set up my little work area in the window line.
The morning went quickly. My insurance agent came by with papers to sign for my supplemental life insurance. The construction project manager came by with laminate samples for me to review and select. The core drill guy showed up and drilled the cores (love to Mark, Ron, and Jesse - fondly remembering our core drilling status meetings at Smith). I (fortunately) received two deliveries of clothes at the store (from Velvet and from Graham & Spencer). I received notification that my signage permits had been accepted and what I needed to bring to City Hall to continue processing. And, the building inspector came by and signed off on the building and electrical work so now the wall close-in can begin today! A thumbs up day so far.
At around 2 pm, I started to get worried. All of the construction people were gone for the day and I'm waiting all by my lonesome. I called Verizon and was assured that I was still scheduled for the day and they would definitely let me know if anything changed. I went back to my reading/people watching.
By 4:40, I started to have that growing sense of doom. I placed a call again to Verizon and was transferred at least 9 times before I got someone who could give me any information. I spoke to people in Utah and Pennsylvania who could not even understand why I had been transferred to them. And each person asked me the same questions. Hmmm... Maybe spend a little less on sending me Fios advertisements every other day and invest in some good customer service programs?
When I finally got the last person, it was about 5:20 (yes - I had been bounced around and put on hold for 40 minutes). I was told that the technician that had been assigned to my install had been called off on a medical emergency and no one would be coming today. That they would likely roll over my appointment to today. I explained to the person on the phone that I had other commitments today and that I had to have a more precise window than 8 am - 5 pm. She assured me that someone would call me back within an hour or two to reschedule the appointment. Has that happened yet? What do you think?
After coming home and gathering my composure, I followed up with a higher level person in Verizon Business and am waiting to hear from him. As soon as customer service opens, I will try to contact them again. While I certainly understand that unforeseeable things happen, the fact that no one contacted me to let me know that I would not get service yesterday is truly outrageous. If it is possible to be less of a fan than I already am, I am there now.
Some fun facts gleaned from my day yesterday:
Yesterday was my scheduled day for Verizon phone service to be installed at Zoe's home. When I placed the order, I was given a service time of between 8 am and 5 pm on March 1st. Yes. A brutal amount of time to spend in a space under construction. However, you do what you have to do.
A week after placing the order, I checked with Verizon to confirm the date and times. All was confirmed. Always worried that the technician might be early, I arrived at the space at 7:30 yesterday morning, armed with my briefcase, reading material, a phone that we could use to test the lines and my cell phone. The construction foreman and workers welcomed me to the space and I set up my little work area in the window line.
The morning went quickly. My insurance agent came by with papers to sign for my supplemental life insurance. The construction project manager came by with laminate samples for me to review and select. The core drill guy showed up and drilled the cores (love to Mark, Ron, and Jesse - fondly remembering our core drilling status meetings at Smith). I (fortunately) received two deliveries of clothes at the store (from Velvet and from Graham & Spencer). I received notification that my signage permits had been accepted and what I needed to bring to City Hall to continue processing. And, the building inspector came by and signed off on the building and electrical work so now the wall close-in can begin today! A thumbs up day so far.
At around 2 pm, I started to get worried. All of the construction people were gone for the day and I'm waiting all by my lonesome. I called Verizon and was assured that I was still scheduled for the day and they would definitely let me know if anything changed. I went back to my reading/people watching.
By 4:40, I started to have that growing sense of doom. I placed a call again to Verizon and was transferred at least 9 times before I got someone who could give me any information. I spoke to people in Utah and Pennsylvania who could not even understand why I had been transferred to them. And each person asked me the same questions. Hmmm... Maybe spend a little less on sending me Fios advertisements every other day and invest in some good customer service programs?
When I finally got the last person, it was about 5:20 (yes - I had been bounced around and put on hold for 40 minutes). I was told that the technician that had been assigned to my install had been called off on a medical emergency and no one would be coming today. That they would likely roll over my appointment to today. I explained to the person on the phone that I had other commitments today and that I had to have a more precise window than 8 am - 5 pm. She assured me that someone would call me back within an hour or two to reschedule the appointment. Has that happened yet? What do you think?
After coming home and gathering my composure, I followed up with a higher level person in Verizon Business and am waiting to hear from him. As soon as customer service opens, I will try to contact them again. While I certainly understand that unforeseeable things happen, the fact that no one contacted me to let me know that I would not get service yesterday is truly outrageous. If it is possible to be less of a fan than I already am, I am there now.
Some fun facts gleaned from my day yesterday:
- There is a 4 way stop just outside Zoe's home. Hardly anyone comes to a complete stop. Even the car with a student driver sign on it!
- Union Street Public House (across the street) was visited by no fewer than 4 beer trucks.
- There are an awful lot of white vans with ladders on them driving around Union Street.
- I saw some of the same dogs walked at least 3 times.
- The King Street trolley truly does run every 20 minutes
- There are some talented parallel parkers out there
- The on/off valve for the fountain in the courtyard of Zoe's home is located in my space.
- Firehook Bakery has a big mom/kid event on Tuesday mornings (complete with a guy with a guitar). I may need to visit some Tuesday morning and invite the moms to my store!
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