tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27073608869518668032024-02-20T05:16:16.720-08:00The Road to FitnessLife is a journey. My journey began many years ago, today I open that journey to you. I will share my road to mental, physical, and financial fitness.Lvnnlfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05143166913721362889noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2707360886951866803.post-78298506154865159302008-07-13T22:11:00.000-07:002008-07-13T22:22:04.484-07:00Time to catch upI haven't posted in a while. Exactly 2 weeks as a matter of fact. Not good. I must become more disciplined in my posting. I will schedule time to post.<br /><br />Now let me bring you up to speed on the customer service issue with the dealer. On Thursday, July 3rd, I sent a follow up email saying that I would like an email address and contact name to the corporate office because I had yet to receive a response. Within 5 minutes of pressing the send key my phone rings! Now that's what I'm talking about. So it's the woman who responded the first time. She apologizes that they have not gotten back to me but they ordered my floor mats (remember the list of things I was promised) and wanted to schedule the touch up paint on the scratch. I told her I could come in on the 12th and she said that they would give me a loaner car.<br /><br />So you know what happened right. They sent the letter to the manager and he said "Get rid of her please". I've been in customer service for many, many years and I know when I've been appeased. Okay so on one side I'm happy I have new floor mats and the touch up paint was done. So I received the things I was originally promised. However, there is a part of me that is still pissed off that the manager didn't have the decency to call and apologize himself for the service I received. So where do I go from here. Well one I will send an email to the service advisor who helped me yesterday and the woman that helped me, thanking them for their good customer service. I still have not decided whether I will pursue the lack of customer service displayed by the Service Manager. I'll take a few days to sleep on that.<br /><br />I'll catch you up to speed on the financial, physical and mental fitness aspect of my life this week. Until then .... Live life!Lvnnlfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05143166913721362889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2707360886951866803.post-45003112539290930852008-06-29T22:51:00.000-07:002008-06-29T23:09:33.855-07:00The WeekendHello there,<br /><br />The weekend was REALLY, REALLY, good.<br /><br /><strong><u>Friday </u></strong><br />My husband and I went to the movies to see WANTED. What I saw of the movie was really good. Yes, I fell asleep. I don't think I've ever shared that I'm a sleepy head. I've been this way all my life. I've gotten better and am usually able to stay up at movies, however this time I was sleep relatively early. Don't take this as a reflection of the movie. My Husband said it was really good. Angelina Jolie was very good. <br /><br /><strong><u>Saturday </u></strong><br /><strong><u></u></strong><br />I worked in the morning, I have a job that requires me to work weekends once or twice a month. I am lucky enough to be able to do that at home. That can be good and bad. It's good because it allows me some flexibility and I save on gas! Bad because I end up working a lot longer than I would at work. Anyway, I digress, My Husband and I met my sister and her husband at the Katt Williams concert. You talkin bout some funny SHYT! I had a headache from laughing so hard. I mean I laughed until I almost cried. There were several comedians before Katt Williams and they gave us a show. We paid 75.00 per ticket and it was so Damn worth it. I was so pleased. Not only did I get my laugh on I was able to spend time with my husband, my sister and brother-in-law. Three of my favorite people. I was up from 5:30 a.m. until 12 midnight, made for a very long day. <br /><br /><strong><u>Sunday </u></strong><br /><strong><u></u></strong><br />I walked 8 miles this morning with my running /walk buddies. It was a little warm out. I was dragging a little from the night before so I decided to walk with two of the guys. The others ran. We then went to breakfast. I thought I was hungry but after I drank 2 glasses of fruit punch mixed with lemonade I couldn't eat my breakfast. Wasn't the best drink I could have had but I needed free refills. (so sad and pitiful) I brought my breakfast home and never ate it. Today was not a good example of eating right. I ended up about 9:00 p.m. eating a bowl of cereal and then popcorn. When I got home I cleaned and watched all the shows saved on my DVR. <br /><br />All in all I had a very good weekend. I didn't jump rope but I'll get back to it this week. <br /><br />Until next time.... Have a great Monday!Lvnnlfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05143166913721362889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2707360886951866803.post-4092879086726257172008-06-27T11:33:00.000-07:002008-06-27T12:02:28.410-07:00Customer Service (con'td again)Well Good morning,<br /><br />I received a response back from the person I sent the email to. I told her I had seen her a couple of times and she was always pleasant and I figured she would pass my email on to the correct person. <br /><br /><br /> Her response<br /><br /><em><strong>Rebecca,<br /> I just read your email and I was thrilled at the first two paragraphs-then your last visit, I’m very sorry. I won’t make any excuses for that day, and I’m forwarding this email to my service managers. I look forward to meeting you the next time you come in. </strong></em><br /><em><strong></strong></em><br /><em><strong>Thank you,<br /><br />And she signed her name (I'll leave off) </strong></em><br /><strong><em></em></strong><br />I was pleased that my email received a response now lets see what they do to rectify it. I'm really hoping that I'll be able to say that they made good on their promises and even went beyond that. Because when I tell you I love my car, I really do! And I really like the location of this dealership. I don't want to go to another one, I want them to be the wonderful people they were the 1st two times! It's Friday, I don't expect I'll hear anything before next week. Until then Have a great weekend!!!Lvnnlfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05143166913721362889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2707360886951866803.post-754486788544608262008-06-26T18:52:00.000-07:002008-06-26T18:57:04.012-07:00Customer Service (cont'd again)Okay,<br /><br />I sent the email to the dealer. Let's see if they respond to me. I got angry all over again having to type that long email. It took me an hour to draft it. I had to read it over and over again, because you know you can't send a grammatically incorrect email when you're tellin someone off! It kinda loses the affect. LOL! I think I was very professional, I did intimate that I might go to another car maker if they didn't make me feel warm and fuzzy again. I just don't think it's very good business to make promises you don't intend to keep, and I feel that's what was done with me. I'll keep you posted.Lvnnlfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05143166913721362889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2707360886951866803.post-59700257100680242392008-06-26T10:17:00.000-07:002008-06-26T10:28:33.733-07:00Jumping RopeOMG! Why didn't someone tell me jumping rope was so hard. Maybe they did and I didn't listen. I read that jumping rope was the best exercise, even better than running. Well I've run 5k's 10k's and even a Marathon so I didn't think that it would be that hard. I just ran 8 miles on Sunday. Run 10-15 miles a week, so jumping rope for 10 minutes to start and working my self up to 30 should be a piece of cake. NOT! I jumped rope for 1 minute and I 'bout died! When I tell you I was sweatin' like a pig and had only jumped for a minute! What that Hell! So I rested a couple of seconds and then jumped one more minute. I felt like I had run some miles. I told my husband I think I need to puff on my inhaler. (I haven't used my inhaler in months). I didn't use it this time but man my lungs/chest were burning, after only 2 friggin mins of jumping rope.<br /><br />I am determined to get better. On Tuesday I jumped 3 mins still having to rest after each minute. I will conquer this. I went to the Internet, the answer to all, and found a jump roping video on you tube I think. I'm doing it all wrong. I'm jumping like we did when we were children. I should be using more wrist action and less arm action. I will try it again tonight and see if I can last longer than 3 minutes.<br /><br />I'm definitely on the road to fitness.... But who knew!Lvnnlfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05143166913721362889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2707360886951866803.post-53224275789249271682008-06-21T16:25:00.000-07:002008-06-21T16:35:30.110-07:00This Weeks WorkoutsHello There,<br /><br />This week I've worked out 4 times. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday. I did a minimum of 4 miles each day. Some days I ran some days I walked. My friends and I have pre-designated routes that we run/walk. The courses can be pretty grueling. However if I do anything less, I don't feel like I've worked out. So then there is the dilemma. If I'm not going to do one of the runs then I don't do anything. Well, that's not too smart! So I'm off to buy a jump rope. I asked my husband if he would do it with me and he said yes, so today or tomorrow I will go out and get us jump ropes. <br /><br />I didn't do as well with my eating. Preparation has to be the key. I was stuck out in the street on Tuesday doing errands and the such and of course got hungry. I drove through McDonald's and had a small fry and sweet tea. Not very healthy. For breakfast I had a piece of wheat toast and fresh squeezed banana, pineapple, strawberry, orange juice. Delicious. But if I had been prepared I would have had some snacks with me so that I wouldn't have had the small free. <br /><br />So lesson: Carry healthy snacks with you when you run errands.<br /><br />Talk to ya!Lvnnlfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05143166913721362889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2707360886951866803.post-80628877000499798312008-06-19T18:57:00.001-07:002008-06-19T18:58:01.640-07:00Customer Service (cont'd)I did not receive any responce to my voicemail. I will send an email complaining to corporate headquarters of the dealer.Lvnnlfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05143166913721362889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2707360886951866803.post-46601414519398001712008-06-17T19:29:00.000-07:002008-06-26T17:52:16.749-07:00Customer ServiceI know this blog is about the road to fitness, however, yesterday I took my car to the dealer to be serviced and didn't have a pleasant experience. Let me first say my first visit to this dealer was GREAT and I told everyone. Well this time was not and I'm going to tell THE WORLD!<br /><br /><br /><br />I knew I needed brakes, because when I went for my regular service in April they told me so. It wasn't in the budget at the time so I hate to wait. So I make an appointment and go in at 11:00 a.m. I decide to have it detailed inside and out as well. Cost for detail 184.00 Brakes 380.00 (estimate). I ask how long it will be and I'm told 5 hours for both services. My girlfriends and I go to lunch. Because my car wasn't going to be ready until 5:00 p.m. I went to one of my girlfriends doctors' appointment with her. We got back to the dealer at 4:45 p.m. I walked in and my service advisor said hey you need brakes. I looked at him and said I know that's what I brought the car in for. He picked up the paper work and said "Oh yeah". Can you <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">FRIGGIN</span> Believe it! I said are you telling my my car isn't complete? He said you need rotors also. I said okay what are you telling me? He said, I've been so busy I haven't been able to call you to get authorization to do the rotors. I said do you mean to tell me that my car hasn't been started. What the F! He said the detailing is done. Big Whoopee!<br /><br /><br /><br />I was fit to be tied. He said we'll give you a loaner car and we'll take care of it first thing tomorrow. I told him that I had left my car over 6 hours ago and you couldn't call me during the last 6 hours? His excuse was that they were very busy. So my friend says tell them you want your car delivered to you and the loaner picked up. I spoke to the manager and He said that could be done.<br /><br /><br /><br />The service advisor then took me to see the detailing. He suggested that I needed floor mats ( I bought the car used and there were none). He said that you should ask the manager to give you floor mats. So we did that. The manager said because that was parts and not service he could not do that but would give me my detailing for free (184.00) . The service advisor said to me if he can't get you the mats then I'll get some out of one of our loaner cars and give them to you. I told him thank you. I also have a dent in the back of my car (small one but noticeable). He said it was to deep for the detailing to take out so he would get some touch up paint and have them fill it in and buff it out for me. So here are my four promises:<br /><br /><br /><br /><ul><br /><li>Detailing for free </li><br /><li>Floor mats from one of the loaner cars</li><br /><li>Pick up loaner car and deliver my car to my home </li><br /><li>Touch up paint and buffing on dent/scratch in rear of the car </li></ul><br /><p>This morning at 11:00 a.m. my service advisor called and said my car was ready. He said it would be 647.00 and that they were open until 7:00 p.m. </p><br /><p>Here are my issues, tell me if I'm wrong: </p><br /><ul><br /><li>No mention of coming to get the loaner car </li><br /><li>I decide I shouldn't have to mention it because it was a promise that was made to me. </li><br /><li>I go to pick up my car and the service advisor says let me know when you want to come in and have the dent removed</li><br /><li>My response was that I didn't know if I would ever return. </li><br /><li>He asked why? I told him that the service was poor, and that he had promised me he would deliver my car. His response was why didn't I say anything to him? I explained my position was that he made that promise. I told him I worked for a major company and that customer service is what I did and never would I treat my customer the way I've been treated. </li><br /><li>He said we are truly sorry so that's why we gave you the 200.00 detailing for free to show you we were sincere. So what else could we have done. He asked for a tip based on an event I've had. I told him that I have to make sure that the technicians for our company take care of our customers by being there when we say we will be. When that doesn't happen then I have to give my customers what they want to satisfy them. I told him I write down the promises I've made to my customers and I make sure to follow through with those promises. I told him he didn't follow through. He thanked me for my tips and I went to my car. </li><br /><li>When I got in the car I saw there were no mats. I didn't even think to look to see if the touch up paint was done. When I reached my destination I checked, NOT! So I left a voicemail for him. </li><br /><li>Still waiting for my call back. </li></ul><br /><p>You tell me am I asking for too much? Should I be satisfied with the 200.00 detailing I received? If I don't receive a call back from the service advisor by 5:00 p.m. tomorrow, I will contact corporate, that is unless you tell me I'm taking it too far! </p><br /><p></p><br /><p></p>Lvnnlfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05143166913721362889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2707360886951866803.post-10058792242094245542008-06-16T21:41:00.001-07:002008-06-30T11:16:24.732-07:00What prompted me to start a blogHello,<br /><br />Today is my very first post. The reason I decided to start a blog is because I thought I had something to share. I know I can't possibly be the only 40 something woman who struggles with weight. The struggle began before I turned 40 but continues into my 40's because I don't think I addressed the issue in my earlier years. I've always loss weight "for" something. I've learned that this has to be a lifestyle change. The weight loss needs to be the by product not the reason.<br /><br />You say what made me change my way of thinking? I went to the doctor for my physical and do you know what she said to me. She said "your heart is very healthy". I knew then that the running had paid off! No I haven't loss the weight I want to lose but I was healthy. That's the goal. So that made me want to continue and change the way I thought about exercise. I truly know that exercise is only part of the solution. The main portion of the weightloss equation is the foods we eat.<br /><br />I don't know about y'all but African Americans love their food! And my oh my do I love good food. My friends and I will drive for good food. And I don't mean 20 minutes down the road. I've driven up to 4 hours each way in one day for All you can eat crab legs. Now ya feelin me! I enjoy my food. However, I've now realized that those types of trips can't be often and the majority of the time I have to eat better.<br /><br />So this blog was started to share my journey on becoming a healthier eater, and along the way maybe I'll inspire a few folks.<br /><br />The reason I chose the title Road to Fitness instead of The Road to a healthier Me or The Road to Weight Loss is because The Road to Fitness can incorporate other aspects besides just Weight Loss. I want to be fit mentally, physically and financially. I have neglected these things in my youth and hope to correct that in my forties. Will you take that journey with me? As much as I hope to inspire I hope to learn.<br /><br />Sincerely,<br /><br />Married LadyLvnnlfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05143166913721362889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2707360886951866803.post-17366359758476493162008-06-16T11:01:00.000-07:002008-06-16T22:40:19.718-07:00My GoalsPart of the reason I started this Blog was also to have accountability. I'm hoping that I will have honest hold you to the fire readers that will keep me honest about the goals I've set forth. So I'm going to put them down in black and white for the world to see. Hold my feet to the fire!<br /><br /><strong>Weightloss</strong><br /><br /><ul><li>My goal is to lose 5 pounds per month until I reach my final goal of 16.5 pounds. (I know I said the weightloss had to be the by product) </li><br /><li>Eat healthier</li><br /><li>Exercise regularly</li></ul><em>Current weight as of this posting 156.4 </em><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong></strong><br /><strong>Financial </strong><br /><ul><br /><li>My goal is to eliminate by current IRS debt in the next 3 years. (yes it's a rather large debt) The way I plan on accomplishing this goal is by using my yearly bonus to attack the debt and the established payment plan. </li></ul>I have other financial goals but am not yet sure how they will conflict with paying off this debt.<br /><br /><ul><li>Raise my Fico score. (currently in the mid 500's) I plan on accomplishing this goal by paying all bills on time and lowering my debt to income ratio.</li></ul><br /><br /><strong>Educational </strong><br /><br /><ul><li>Complete my B.S. degree by June of 2009. </li><br /><li>Continue on to get my Masters Degree and complete by the June of 2011.</li></ul><br />Goals are always changing and I will add others as I complete some. These are long term goals. I will also add my weekly goals and I'll be honest about how well I stick to them. I welcome your thoughts and advice. I'm a straight forward kinda girl so be straight with a sista!Lvnnlfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05143166913721362889noreply@blogger.com0