Durham Performing Arts Center

My wife and I have been out of town for a while, and only recenlty realized that Norah JONES would be performing tomorrow at the Durham Performing Arts Center. Expecting few tickets, if any, to remain, we decided to check.

I went to the website, and found her concert without too much trouble, but waited, unsuccessfully, for 10 minutes for the interactive seating chart to load. It did not. I then rummaged around on the site, and found the main contact number. We are closed, I was told, and unless you know the "extension of the person", etc., you are out of luck. I left a message for the special events manager as that is the mailbox to which I wound up being delivered. I said that this was not a good way to run things, and that the phone to call if a problem with the interactive "beta" ought to be rea clear. So back to the site I went, and found yet another page that gave me a number to call for tickets and finally reached a person after several press ones and twos, etc. He said that the interactive feature probably was not working because they are sold out.

I asked him why the site did not simply say this up front, and I got a tortured response that surely did not satisfy me.

Some customer interrelationships can be addressed so unbelievably well with just a little simple use of the English language to explain what's happening and if it does not happen, what's next. Why is that so often so hard?

Public Affairs : AA insurance highlights problem of pedestrian and jogger distraction - The AA

We all need to pay more attention more of the time!

"Delhi Police Use Facebook to Track Scofflaw Drivers" - NYTimes.com

Given all of the silly and often ludicrous things that wind up on Facebook, here is one that really makes sense. Peer pressure may be the best enforcer of all. Imagine such a service in Chapel Hill! We all represent one another when we are on the road and there is no reason that each of us should not be able to help the police identify people who are breaking the law and risking our safety and their own. No?

www.WHEC.com - "Study: 9 out of 10 teens admit being distracted while driving"

So, when does Chapel Hill ban the use of electronic devices by anyone driving a motor vehicle here?

Glen Lennox BP - Chapel Hill

My wife had taken our Honda Accord into a full service station recently and was told that the oil was overfull and that this posed a risk of damage. I took it back to Glen Lennox BP where the oild had last been changed and was told by a mechanic there that while there was more oil than there should be, this posed no risk. I told him that they had to assume responsibility for any damage and he said that they would. It sounded as though they put the 4 quarts of new oil in each time and do not check the level after doing so.
I bought gas there, too, and although I spoke with two people working there, neither said thank you for the business I had just given them at the pump.

Whole Foods - Chapel Hill

When I looked for apricots at Whote Foods, one of the people in the fresh froduce section told me that they have had problems getting apricots and had none oat this time. He said they might get more tomorrow or in coming days, but he was not sure. He also said that their apricots normally come from New York and California; he does not believe that any are grown in NC. This either suggests that we in the US are practically devoid of apricot trees, or that there is an opportunity not fully developed here, or that this 5 year old map is wrong!

Trader Joe's - Chapel Hill

I found today that they do not print their telephone number on the cash register receipt. When I called, the woman who answered said she would check on it.

When I got hom and opened the 2 pound box of apricots that I bought for about 4.50, I found that nearly half of the apricots where either soft or had significant soft spots. When I called, the same woman said she would have someone check all of the remaining boxes on display, and told me that I did not need to bring the apricots back in with me in order to get a refund.