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jaskiers-sweetkiss · 4 years

Text

Worth It

Pairings: Dousy, background Pepperony, FitzSimmons, Philinda, Mackelana, and Huntingbird

Word Count: 2.8K

Warnings: mentions of violence, mentions of gun use, mentions of ptsd, light swearing

a/n: Here’s my soulmate au for day 6 of @aosficnet2 ‘s AoS AU August! It’s got Modern Man!Daniel Sousa based on Enver’s appearance as a police officer in The Avengers.

___

Daisy “Quake” Johnson - Inhuman, hacker, Agent of SHIELD, and now she could add “Avenger” to her list of descriptors. The agent hadn’t been entirely surprised when she’d received an impromptu meeting with Director Nick Fury about her powers. At the time he had told her he was putting together a team, a group of people with super-human abilities that would work together to defend the world if the threat arose. She had signed on, she was already a SHIELD agent and she’d had plenty of training with her ability from her mom growing up at Afterlife, but she never met the team. Well, until about 24 hours ago. They were a bit of a nightmare (a complete shitshow if she was being blunt), none of them had worked together before so it was no surprise that they were butting heads. Daisy got along just fine with Natasha Romanoff aka the Black Widow as the two of them had crossed paths from time to time within SHIELD, but she couldn’t say the same for scientist Bruce Banner (the Hulk), billionaire Tony Stark (Iron Man), or the first-ever superhero Steve Rogers (Captain America). Of course, now they were also dealing with a Norse god of thunder who was supposedly good and his brother who was apparently bad. Thor, Stark, and Rogers: three massive egos in one aircraft.

Judging by the footage they were streaming from the museum Loki was more than just bad. Daisy had always been wary of powers, her mom had taught her that. Power was extremely dangerous when put in the wrong hands, that’s why Afterlife was so selective in choosing who got to go through terrigenesis. Loki was clearly the wrong hands and even though she really hated the men she was surrounded with, if they were the world’s only hope then she’d put up with them.

“So you expect me to believe there is life on other planets?”

Daisy sighed, trying not to get too frustrated. The man had been in the ice for seventy years, he missed a lot and probably had no reason to expect that “aliens” existed. Of course, she had known the truth since she was a child: not only was it highly probable that life existed elsewhere in the galaxy, but she was part-alien herself. Of course, no one else knew that. Inhumans were a secret from the rest of the world and it would need to stay that way.

“Oh, I’m sorry Seismic Activity, did you know that already?” Stark asked sarcastically, raising a brow at her and she rolled her eyes.

“It’s Quake, actually, and yeah, I knew that, statistically, it was highly probable that alien life exists,” she bit back, glaring at the man, “Just about everyone in this century knows that.”

“Agent Johnson if you have some sort of issue with when I was born then you should just come out and say it,” Cap said, a frown on his face as he sat up in his chair.

“Look, I couldn’t give two shits whether you were born yesterday or a thousand years ago, I just don’t think we really have time to be debating extraterrestrial life right now,” Daisy said, fighting the urge to roll her eyes again as she gestured to the holoscreen displaying Loki’s cell.

“She’s right, gear up.” Director Fury said. Daisy wasn’t sure when he had entered but she was glad he was taking her side. “We’re under attack.”

Daisy nodded, rushing out of the room to find her gauntlets and her weapons. It wasn’t a great idea to quake on a giant helicarrier so she’d probably be fighting old school.

“Woah, what the hell is that Johnson?” Natasha Romanoff was sneakier than Fury and Daisy hadn’t even known she was in the room until her wrist was tightly in the woman’s grasp.

She sighed, tugging her arm out of the redhead’s grip and slipping on her gauntlet to cover the writing. The marks weren’t uncommon, most of the world had them. They developed at age 16 and were usually the first words your soulmate said to you. However, not everyone got one or soulmates died and SHIELD specialized in utilizing the soulmark-less. That’s not to say there weren’t agents with soul marks in the organization, for ordinary agents SHIELD held a mostly don’t ask, don’t tell policy. Typically the only way to get into high-risk assignments like the Avengers was to prove the lack of a soulmate, but of course, the Avengers were less than typical.

“They make exceptions for people with powers.” She brushed it off, slipping on her other gauntlet.

“That doesn’t change the fact that you’re connected to someone,” Natasha argued and Daisy huffed, turning away.

“Stark’s got a mark, and he’s actually met his soulmate. If something happens to me mine’ll never know what they missed.”

Daisy quickly slid her various knives and guns into place in their holsters before leaving, effectively putting an end to one of the worst conversations she’d had in a while. She didn’t need the Black Widow to guilt-trip her, she had herself for that. She’d heard the stories about the pain people felt when their soulmate died and it often kept her up at night, but right now she had a job to do and she’d be damned if she sacrificed the world for one person she hadn’t even met.

Of course, her dedication to the cause hadn’t mattered much, she still wound up on the floor of the helicarrier with Phil Coulson bleeding out. She didn’t know the man super well, but he was usually the agent present whenever an 0-8-4 was discovered and since Daisy was something of an 0-8-4 herself, they crossed paths pretty frequently. She knew he was an upstanding and kind man, she knew he was a good agent, and she knew he didn’t deserve to die like this.

It wasn’t long until Fury came and swept him away and Hill ushered her back into the briefing room where some of the others were gathered. They all looked worse for wear and apparently they were about ready to give up. The Hulk was gone, Loki had jettisoned Thor from the airship, and he has the tesseract and would likely be taking over earth shortly. Daisy couldn’t believe it.

“I just watched several good agents die, and you want to throw in the towel? Do you have any respect for yourselves?” She questioned, glaring at Rogers and Stark.

She stormed out when she was met with silence, passing Fury in the hallway. She wanted desperately to change out of her skintight Quake suit and get cleaned up, but she wasn’t ready to give up the fight yet, opting instead to unzip the top half, tying the sleeves around her waist. She wandered around the ship like that, her sports bra the only thing covering her torso, before finding herself on the top deck, leaning over a railing.

“Have you met them yet?”

Daisy turned to see Rogers gesturing to her wrist where the words “Who the hell are you?” were written in a neat script.

“Nah,” she shook her head, barely concealing her disappointment with a smile.

“You’ll find them eventually, or they’ll find you.” He gave her a tight-lipped smile.

“Thanks for not berating me for risking my life while my soulmate is out there somewhere.”

“Hey, I hid my makr to join a highly experimental drug trial and enlist in World War Two so I don’t have much room for judgment.” He joked and Daisy laughed, feeling a little better.

___

Daniel Sousa had been sure this would be another day at the station as he slipped his uniform over his shoulders, covering the soulmark on the back of his shoulder. Soulmarks appeared when a person turned 16, appearing at the place where their soulmate would first come in contact with them. The combination of the location of his mark and the words (“Probably your only chance at survival now let me go”) had always been a mystery to him though he hoped he would solve it soon.

He took the subway to the station, just like he did every morning. Daniel was a police officer for the 99th precinct in NYC which was about a fifteen-minute subway ride away from his apartment. Despite its obvious flaws (thanks MTA), he liked taking the subway - it was more environmentally friendly than driving himself, it was much faster than trying to make it through New York traffic or walk (though sometimes he did walk when it was nice and his leg wasn’t bugging him as much), and the crowds increased the probability that he’d come across his soulmate.

She wasn’t on the subway today again and so Daniel resigned himself to daydreams of how they might meet. He hoped it would be romantic, that she’d bump into him accidentally (it was the best way he could explain the back of his shoulder), maybe he’d catch her as she tripped over him and they’d lock eyes and she’d take his breath away. He pushed away the fears that she would be freaked out by his prosthetic or the fact that her words on his shoulder didn’t fit that scenario at all. He wanted their meeting to be perfect for her.

He was ripped away from his thoughts by his partner, Jack Thompson, telling him they had to go check out a call downtown. There weren’t any detectives involved so it likely wasn’t anything serious- probably a noise complaint or something equally mundane.

Daniel had been right, the call was a typical noise complaint, easily solved and probably ignored as soon as they left the building (Jack bet they’d be back in 24 hours, Daniel gave it 32). However, he never could’ve guessed that when they went to climb back into the squad car a portal would open up in the sky and a bunch of space creatures would attack earth. Thompson grabbed the radio to inform the station of the situation. It took a few minutes of convincing (he didn’t blame them, he only believed it because he was seeing it) and a few more to figure out what to do (there really isn’t an official protocol for Hostile Alien Invasion) before they were told to stay put and that backup was on the way.

Daniel reached for his gun, steeling himself for the fight he was sure he was about to be involved in. An alien invasion would be a really bad time for his crippling ptsd. Still, he was sure his hand would shake if he had to actually lift his gun, his finger would hesitate on the trigger, he’d have to fight to keep his eyes open because if he closed them all he’d see was Afghanistan.

“Sousa you with me?” Thompson asked, snapping him from his thoughts.

He nodded, letting out a shaky breath, when had he stopped breathing?

Thompson nodded, more to himself than to Daniel, “Good, cause we’re going to get through this.”

___

If she had been really thinking at all, she might’ve wondered if she was having an out-of-body experience as she moved through the streets of Manhattan with the purpose of a woman on a mission. The Avengers were scattered across the borough trying to fight the Chitauri with mixed success. It seemed like no matter how many they blasted, quaked, shot, or struck with lightning more kept coming through the portal. Daisy was taking out as many of the aliens as she could while trying to command the local police forces- badges or not, they were purely human and severely underprepared to fight this threat. Their services were more equipped to evacuate and protect the civilians.

She hadn’t been paying attention when she knocked into someone’s shoulder. It was a police officer, she noticed, though where most of the officers she’d seen seemed ready to take on the Chitauri head-on, he looked terrified.

“Who the hell are you?” The man questioned, quickly grabbing her wrist before she could run off.

“Probably your only chance at survival now let me go.” Daisy bit back angrily and the man gasped, dropping her arm and backing away like she had burned him.

“You’re- we’re-” The man stuttered and even though he could’ve been about to say anything (maybe “you’re Quake!” or “We’re gonna die!”) Daisy knew exactly what he meant. She knew from the burning sensation on the wrist he had been holding. He was her soulmate.

“Oh my god, I don’t have time for this!” Daisy yelled angrily, quaking the alien that had appeared behind the man.

She silently cursed fate or destiny or whatever was behind this for planning her soulmate meeting during a literal alien invasion.

“Listen, I need you to leave the frontlines- spread the word: all officers are to evacuate as many civilians as possible. Focus on protecting them.” She ordered making an effort to put the world-altering event before the life-altering event she had accidentally just stumbled upon.

“Who’s going to be there to fight?”

Daisy quaked another approaching Chitauri soldier. “Leave that to the people with powers.”

The officer nodded mutely, seemingly stunned into silence.

“Sousa!” Another officer called out, “Quit chatting we have a job to do!”

The dark-haired officer, her soulmate, nodded to the man and started to move away.

“Officer Sousa!” Daisy called, taking steps backward herself, “Maybe we can get some coffee when this is all done?”

“Sure but how’ll I find you?” He asked, turning back to stare at her hopefully.

Daisy’s steps were picking up speed, the urgency of the day not lost on her. “Don’t worry about it, I’ll find you!”

And with that she was off, turning on her heels and sprinting towards Stark Tower.

___

Daisy stared at the computer monitor in front of her. It had been a few days since the Chitauri attack and while New York and her mental state was still a disaster, she needed to do this. The file she had found in SHIELD’s database was a welcome distraction, as was the handsome face staring back at her from the screen.

Daniel Jordan Sousa. Born 1984 in Twin Falls, Idaho. Served one tour in Afghanistan before being discharged due to an injury resulting in the amputation of his left leg.

She scrolled down to the contact information.

Cellphone: (xxx)xxx-xxxx

Bingo.

Daisy: Hi, it’s Daisy Johnson, your soulmate? I was wondering if we could get that coffee?

She was surprised by how quickly he responded.

Daniel: I’d love to!

Daniel: btw how did you get my number?

Daisy: It’s a bit of a story, mind if I tell you over that coffee?

Daniel: does 1:00 work? Maybe we could grab a bite to eat while we’re at it?

Daisy smiled before checking the time, 11 o’clock. She had two hours to get ready.

Daisy: 1:00 sounds great. I know a cute place off 12th ave

___

Daniel had no intention of pulling his soulmate from the field, he knew it was where she wanted to be and he’d never dream of taking it from her. However, he’d be damned if he wasn’t out there to watch her back. So, he joined SHIELD not long after they met. Despite his prosthetic, he climbed the ranks relatively quickly though Daisy wasn’t surprised. She had seen his record both in the military and the police force, Daniel Sousa was a damn fine agent.

The two weren’t in any hurry relationship-wise. They had moved in together fairly quickly but even two years later they had yet to get engaged. It was a bit of an anomaly - soulmates were usually hitched within a year of meeting each other but Daisy didn’t really hold much stock in a piece of paper declaring their relationship valid and Daniel decided he really didn’t need that paper either as long as he still had Daisy. Besides, with their separate jobs at SHIELD, they didn’t really have much time to plan engagements or weddings.

In 2014 the pair were recruited to an elite team by Phil Coulson, the man Daisy could’ve sworn had died in her arms, the man the Avengers were told had died. She had shaken her head at Fury when she found out. “You manipulative son of a bitch,” she had said though she had meant it fondly. Who knows what would’ve happened when the Chitauri invaded if he hadn’t done what he had.

Daisy and Daniel joined scientist duo and soulmates Jemma Simmons and Leopold Fitz as well as Coulson’s soulmate Melinda May on the Bus, a giant plane Fury had given Coulson as reparations for his death. The team had its bumps in its initial missions but they quickly became a tightly knit family that only grew when Coulson took over as Director of SHIELD after the Hydra takeover.

When Daniel finally proposed Jemma had been her maid of honor and Bobbi and Elena had been her bridesmaids. Likewise, Fitz had been Daniel’s best man and Mack and Hunter had filled out the rest of the groomsmen roles. It had been a small but beautiful wedding, Daisy’s mom had allowed them to have the ceremony at Afterlife and Coulson and May had been their officiants.

Daisy had cursed fate when they met, but looking back she realized it was all worth it for this.

___

a/n: I had no idea how to end this. Also, I have no clue where the 99th precinct operates in NYC (if it even exists) I just wanted to make a Brooklyn 99 reference. Though I’m realizing belatedly that B99 takes place in Brooklyn and probably doesn’t operate in manhattan but oh well.

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maptoourescape · 6 years

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Hi I just wanted to say I love your blog and I love the way you display Tom's thoughts and mentality. I wanted to ask what do you think about this whole situation with Tom, is it hard to keep roleplaying him and to reenact his thoughts when he has been acting so unusual lately? Do you think he is happy? Keep up the great work! ^^

INTRO &DISCLAIMERNow what I am going to tell you is obviously just how I see the situationpersonally. This might not be the representation of reality whatsoever, eventhough I’d like to think I’m a good judge of character. I don’t know thesepeople. They are, by all means, strangers to me as I am to them. But I DIDhappen to grow up with them, observe them through years of footage, and seemany of their quirks in real life as well whenever I had a fortunateopportunity. Saying that, I feel like even though their stage personas (orwhatever you might call them) are “built strong” sometimes, you can still peekright through them if you have enough of a “people sense”.Look, most folks probably realize that Tom isn’t all that he gives out to be,but they don’t really think about it all TOO much. And honestly, I don’t either- it just comes naturally for me to psychologically evaluate people. And myevaluation of him is that he is full of unresolved issues.I don’t even mean that in a bad way, I really don’t. I just want all the bestfor him. But let’s just say that seeing how his life was up until now, thereare multiple factors that play out in his current “out of character” behavior. Toa certain extent, I can also relate to him in some regard. Similarly to him forexample, I too use a weird sort of humor to hide behind, almost as though it’smy shield, so none of what I’m saying is said in a judgmental manner. We all haveour own issues after all, and that doesn’t make us any lesser.BUT FIRST THING’S FIRSTTalking about humor, let’s just get straight into it, because we have to startsomewhere… Humor is a stress relief weapon by its poetic definition. In Tom’scase, it isn’t any different – only maybe he takes that a few steps further,still. More than just as a casual thing, his jokes are also being used to takethe edge away from what he considers to be serious and/or emotionally intangiblesituations. Why? Because Tom doesn’t appear to be someone who would like to“show his real self” to people in a situation he can’t properly evaluate,unless he knew for SURE they are to be trusted. In other words – he doesn’twant “the emotion that would be shown from him” to be used as a weapon againsthim later on, especially if he doesn’t know what kind of a reaction to expect from thecounterpart. “If you appear vulnerable, this same vulnerability is going to beused against you” is the mentality here – that’s a lesson of sorts that he’s probably learned how to incorporatein his daily life at a very young age already. So deflecting a lot of shit withhumor is basically an act of protecting himself. Same with his manly-manboasting, and all the confident penis commentary, which many people look at justsuperficially, saying that it’s trashy and/or annoying – even though what itreally turns out to be, in my opinion, is a (not all that uncommon) copingmechanism. So the next thing you’d ask would probably be “but what on earth is he copingwith then?” I guess it would be probably safer to ask what he isn’t coping withat this point, because we’re talking about a bunch of things here, all muddledtogether in one big ball of anxiety. Main things to highlight probably include a)fear of abandonment, b) some art of repressed self-consciousness, c) some weird(intrigue by and a fear having lack of?) dominance issue and etc. all the wayto the last letter of the alphabet.I’d say it all started in childhood with his father leaving and being, as faras we know, generally problematic (because honestly, that fucks us divorceekids all up, and it’s so internalized that we don’t even really realize ituntil it hits us in the face as adults, when we are suddenly facing multipledaddy issues all at once lol). Maybe even beforehand, depends on what sort of anupbringing the twins’ parents decided to give them. Then we have the general yearsof complete hell, also generally known as the school days, full of bullies and nasty youngadults with too much time on their hands. We all know the baseball bat stories –need I go into further detail? Then comes the growing up under the spotlight,of course – the unusual puberty they had to go through, as Gustav so nicely putit in the documentary – and being pushed into a harsh ass business at such ayoung age… just basically dealing with a bunch of stuff that kids usually haveno place dealing with, and maybe learning some lessons that normal people onlyget to really learn in their 20s or 30s. Namely how it is to be working with allthe wrong people, and probably having at least some sort of taste of a betrayalon a professional, working level etc.If there is one thing, one lesson that ties all of these separate life erastogether to make a nice whole, it’s one of how you have to be careful aroundpeople, and how forming trusting relationships isn’t a very simple task,whatsoever. Between parents leaving, peers bullying you, media shitting on youand the industry silently pulling their own strings behind your back – oh, andhave I mentioned stalkers and the literal walls they had to build around theirhouse in order to keep them at bay? which didn’t work anyway because their private space WAS invaded by gross people? – I guess you pretty damn quicklystart losing your naïveté. Or well, if not that, at least your trust in prettymuch anyone that hasn’t been with you since the very, very beginning.And then comes, obviously, the relationship he had with Ria.Now, again, everything I’m saying is based purely on my speculation from mereobservation. I don’t actually know any of the people they associate with either.But the vibe I got from his relationship with Ria was honestly… not that bad inthe beginning. I think that, at least at the start, she was really, really goodfor him. And that he got even more attached to her eventually, because she wasthere when he emotionally needed her most (read: the big move to the USA,stalker problems and lack of motivation to keep being in a band from all thepressure…). I also think that he kind of thought this relationship was really“it”, you know? As years went on though, just as any other relationship, theirsseemed to have become this sort of “routine” as well. And we all know that feeling, don’twe? If not from our own experience, then from some of our friends’ experiencesat least? The feeling when the stomach butterflies die down, and the initialeuphoria just settles into a still?My take on it is that he really, REALLY tried a LOT to make it work, even afterit sort of started “crumbing down” for whatever reason. I feel like he feltsuper comfortable with her BECAUSE they’ve been together for so long. Maybe itbecame a sort of a routine for him too, but it was one he definitely sought toupkeep. Tom didn’t want to let go of her. Because ruining what he had with herwould mean “having to find someone new”. And “having to find someone new” wouldmean “having to open up to someone again” – something that isn’t all that easyfor him to do, for the already before mentioned reasons.Pretty sure we all know about some infidelity speculations being rumored tohave been going down between them as well, especially from her side. Andhonestly, that would explain a thing or two about how his behavior has changedin the time ever since they’ve officially broken up. I obviously do not knowthe specifics, but I’ll be damned if I don’t realize it takes two in order toa) form a relationship, but also b) in order to not fix it if it goes south.Doubtlessly, none of the two was a complete saint. And doubtlessly they bothhave their own character flaws. But though dubious in its legitimacy, hersupposed infidelity really ties well with what’s happening right now, in thismoment. Just think about it… Yet another massive betrayal. Another one of themassive disappointments he experienced along his life’s journey. This onecoming from someone he perhaps even considered to be his (other) life partner.Only now that we got the mere basics down can I finally start bringing upShermine, and the point of this entire conversation anyway: his “change” asbrought up with his dynamic with Heidi. Because I really think that in order toproperly understand why I think this Klum relationship is toxic, you firstneeded my quick review of “the entire story”.BACK TO THE POINT AT HAND NOW I don’t think the Shermine relationship was honestly all that different fromthe one Tom has with Heidi now. I can’t claim to know the reasons why itprobably “didn’t all work out with Sher” (besides the obvious fact that thiswas never a relationship in its full meaning of the word, but rather just whatpeople usually call “an affair”), but it might have been them just beingseparated by where they lived and what not – or maybe also Shermine seeing howmuch of a “child” Tom really was in certain regards. It’s not like she was thisperfect example of maturity either, mind you, having to constantly post hintsabout how she’s together with him and what not, but at the end of the day, Isort of feel she got more tired of HIS bullshit than vice versa. And by “hisbullshit” (again, not meant to be judging) I mean this strange passivity that has been surrounding him recently (examples and explanations coming up). If someone on twitter now points out how “unlikeTom it is to let Heidi post on social media about him,” another person then instantlyyells out saying “why do you care, if he apparently doesn’t care anymoreeither!”And to me, it is exactly THAT that is the concerning factor anyway.People are, in a strange way, right when they shout “Tom doesn’t care aboutbeing public anymore!” but they don’t look deep enough into it to see theproblem behind it. Yes, it’s true – if Tom wouldn’t want to be posted on socialmedia, then his old enough, almost 29 year old ass could’ve just told Heidi to NOTfucking do it. So yeah, you know what? Most probably, he’s NOT stopping her.But him “not being bothered to go against it” doesn’t mean he’s automaticallyokay with it. Those two are not mutually exclusive. What I see in his behavior right now - that is also something that’s seemingly been there forever since he’s been hooking up with Shermine too - is mindlessness, carelessnessand a complete disregard for what he used to stand for in regards to his “morals”.May I note that I can also see he has this sort of complete disregard abouthimself floating around as well? He appears to be very passive, and seems asthough he really just isn’t putting any thought into… well, pretty muchanything he’s doing… like ANYTHING, whatsoever. And yes, I realize that “people can change,” and that Tom too could’ve just aseasily had a spiritual awakening, and was suddenly like “you know what, I’m NOTgonna stress about being on social media that much anymore, and I’m NOT goingto stress about being in the press…”. But the thing is – these sorts of thingsdon’t just happen overnight. Especially not with the life he’s been leading andhow much it’s been fucking him up along the way at times. You don’t go fromwanting complete privacy because of your own very legitimate paranoia, to goingto an Amfar Whatever Gala event in front of millions of press to out yourrelationship, just like he did. You don’t go from avoiding cameras as much ashumanly possible to vacantly stare at a paparazzi’s Canon in the distance inorder to see if it’s getting the right shot of you and your new so calledgirlfriend. This sort of mental change CAN obviously happen. But overtime, and usually– dare I suggest? – with therapy (which we are bringing back up later). By myinterpretation of how he is as a person though, I don’t think this “transition”was something that happened in an exactly healthy way. More than seeing Tom as “careless but happy,” (as people paint him out to be), Iright now see him as being “careless and confused”. Numb, even. Out of placeAnd “out of place” is a phrase to describe him best when it comes to how helooks like as soon as Heidi’s around.VAGUELY EXPLAINED CAMP EXPERIENCE INSERTI’ve been there on this Camp, and the way he reacted to literally everything –people, his surroundings, most everything you can imagine – changed bizarrelyas soon as he knew she was around. It’s almost like he was being nearbypetrified. I have no idea why either. One would think that if you’re datingHeidi Klum, you’d want to show her off or something. Or at least be ascomfortable with her as on (play pretend or not) all those paparazzi photos that keep popping up. Especiallywhen literally NONE of the campers really cared for her presence there, so it wasn’t like he was afraid for her wellbeing or whatever. So no, no psycho had the intention to attack her, literally no one cared, but Tom still just turned into this… anxious little mess?Mind you, when I saw her arrive, my mind was also still open. I was like, “ya knowwhat, all of their other family and friends are being so lovely – Georg’s gf who justjoined in on the activities, and Gustav’s wife too, just supporting her hubbyand speaking to the fans… maybe Heidi’s going to prove everyone wrong and bereally lovely”. But honestly, from the moment she entered the Camping grounds, you couldFEEL the atmosphere drop.Never mind the fact that she was having a stare-down with many fans (includingmyself) for no apparent reason, which I still do not understand… From where Iwas sitting, she was making it very damn obvious she wanted to just “geteveryone’s attention”. Her glares were basically daring us “to go spread theword that she arrived”, and when we wouldn’t care (because surprise surprise,we weren’t there for her, so obviously no one really cared?) she would stare atus even weirder. But as I said, that in itself isn’t all that important. What Ineed to convey is how insanely uncomfortable TOM appeared to be when she wasaround.(As a side note, I also feel like we all kinda expected a huge ass party to godown on the last day of Camp, seeing how on the previous few days, the guyswould kinda leave at latest 2 in the morning – which made sense, becauseeveryone knew they were gonna have responsibilities the next day. But literallynothing was planned for Monday morning, and I felt like everyone was superpumped about the guys finally having an opportunity to party with us reallylong and really proper. Only, you know, that never really happened. And I daresay it was mainly because of Klum.)I digress, at some point of the evening after the firework finale, the twins actually came tothe counter in order to hang out with people (after they’ve left to refresh first, leaving people confused as to if they were even returning), and I thought “Yay, maybe they’ve actually joined us again to party like everyone kinda expected, so that’s great!”. But no suchluck. It was there exactly - at the counter - where the difference of how Tomis without her around VS when she IS around became so prominent. Only a nightearlier, the guys would stay behind the counter for AGES, just interacting,taking pictures, drinking, having a good time… on Sunday, they weren’t therefor even 10 minutes, before leaving towards a backstage area of sorts. I sawher being at the counter for a while as well, with literally no one botheringher whatsoever, but she eventually disappeared, initially making me think “Oh, maybeshe’ll just mingle with people, go chat up Georg’s GF or something… maybe thisevening is actually gonna be bomb!”. But her leaving simply resulted in Tom REPEATEDLYpressing Bill into “going to the backstage area”.Tom looked NOTHING like the night before. He was TRYING to interact with somefans, but was mostly just looking really out of place. It happened on at least3 separate occasions in those short ten minutes, that he would poke Bill atevery opportunity he got, just to press him into going to the stage area. Hekept on elbowing Bill whenever the other would turn around to get somethingfrom the fridge, pointing to the stage, looking vaguely lost, not really payingproper attention to his surroundings. Bill was visibly giving hints that he “wantedto just stay for a while longer,” even going as far as showing Tom his drink asthough he were to say “lemme at least finish this first?” until Tom eventuallyprevailed and they actually decided to move to where she was – to the infamousbackstage area. Again, I thought that maybe they had plans on going on stage to the DJs again(seeing how they did that on the nights before), maybe give one last propergoodbye to people before mingling in the crowd some further. But that neverhappened. Honestly, thinking back on it, it was kind of bizarre to think theyjust huddled up in the little space behind the stage. They wouldn’t even pull acurtain to have some sort of privacy – if you went behind the stage, you couldliterally just see them interact there, being all secluded from the rest of thepeople. More secluded than on the previous day when it was raining cats anddogs but they STILL made the effort to just hang around with all of us! The situation lefta bitter taste in my mouth, because at that point I KNEW that if she wasn’tthere, the party would have been so insanely different, so insanely cool. Ifelt bad for Bill, who was just longingly looking onto the stage, taking videosof it – he gave off the vibe that we wanted to go party, but (for some bizarrereason) “couldn’t”. It felt as though hedecided he would rather stick to the out-of-place-looking Tom, which Ihonestly, at the end of the day, can’t really blame him for.Not even half an hour later, the golf carts arrived to pick them up, and that washonestly so strange to observe too. Not even once in the whole entire weekend did Ihave a feeling of them rushing anywhere. Whenever the boys would arrive orleave with the carts, whenever they’d change locations, they would always honkand scream around, letting everyone know what they were up to, shooting people with water pistols if in range even. But suddenly then, the golf cart had topark backwards towards the stage in order for them to “have a clear and quickstart”. There was no honking, no proper goodbyes we were used to from theearlier days. They just kinda… drove off. And I know for a damn FACT that itwouldn’t have been like that if it wouldn’t be for her. I wish this would just be me – that this would just be a plot of my own damnimagination. Because I WISH she wasn’t a cunt, for Tom’s sake obviously. But Ihave talked to a bunch of people, and they have all had their separateexperiences, most of which only furthermore confirmed how I see the situation. Factsare these: 1. Heidi was there for the obvious reason of getting our (thefans’), as well as the media’s attention. 2. She was acting all high andmighty, as well as really possessive (even jealous at some moments, which is sosuper bizarre to think about), and it wasn’t a good look. 3. And I don’t knowwhy EXACTLY, but as soon as she was around, Tom ALWAYS sort of froze on spot.Look, I don’t know, maybe he’s just intrigued by that sort of dynamic and getsoff on it, and just doesn’t want to publically admit that he “likes herdemanding demeanor”. But yo, even if that was the case – at the end of the day thatdoesn’t make the whole relationship any less toxic. OKAY, TO THE CORE NOWShe has subtle manipulation tactics down to the T. I can tell, because I knowhow to use those in my advantage as well. And you’ve probably had this happento you too, mostly without even realizing it. It comes to the surface in a waywhere some parents make their kids feel bad for “not cleaning up the dishes”for example. Instead of demanding “it gets done because otherwise they’ll beconsequences”, some choose the more toxic approach of emotional manipulation,saying things like “don’t worry, it’s fine, what’s another hour more to my nineto five working schedule anyway?” It’s in the way that one friend of yours says“oh okay” without a smiley face when you cancel on going out with them. It’swhen something comes out of people’s mouths, and the meaning is dubious.Something that is meant to make you walk the line between “but is it reallyokay?” and “I feel uncomfortable that you feel uncomfortable, so let me help”. Her entire presence just screams that demeanor,and I don’t doubt I’m right in this. She probably even pulled something like that in that counter scenario I was talking about too, going like “oh you go hang out with fans, I’ll just be there… having my drink…” The question now remains if Tom is oblivious to these attitudes or not.Honestly, both yes and no seem like a legitimate answer to me in this case.Neither of the twins seem to really be capable of a good “evaluation” when itcomes to perception in regards to human character. They’re not short inadmitting that themselves either, and said it numerous times that this is whysongs like “Never let you down” happened to exist in the first place. But italso makes sense if we again tie it with the fact that they had a puberty muchunlike ours is. Meeting people was always sort of arranged in their world, so gettingto know someone spontaneously isn’t really an experience that’s been followingthem ever since they were socially capable of “making their own friends”. Can’tsay that that’s a concept that’s completely alien to them, having lived in theUSA for so long now and what not, but we also can’t say they have as many experiences withit as someone who had a “normal lifestyle” either.I’d say Tom is intelligent enough to realize what’s going on, but simply toonumb to do anything about it. What’s more, maybe he even enjoys this sort ofdynamic.“But why,” you might ask “would anyone enjoy this sort of manipulative dynamic?”Honestly, I feel what he likes about it is that someone’s taking away hisresponsibilities to himself. It basically feels as though you’re giving the reins to your insides into the possession of someone else - someone who you feel can makethe most out of them when you obviously couldn’t. And even if they couldn’t exactly “makethe best out of it” – Tom’s been steering himself for too long, only torepeatedly be faced with complete disappointment on the roads he’s taken. It’snot like he cares what happens anymore, as long as he gets to feel at leastsomewhat at peace. So why not let someone else “take his life into their ownhands”? Why not be the follower of someone who seems to not be bothered by literallyeverything he usually stands against? Someone who seemingly had more luck inlearning about how to cope with this reality that is “being famous and beingshat on”.My conclusion drawn from what I’ve experienced and heard is that she “keeps himon a short leash,” while simultaneously trying to boost her own importance andego as they go. From what I see, he is being very much so infatuated with her,but I wouldn’t dare calling that love by any means. Yet another heated affair,if anything. I think he really lost himself along the way of people fucking himup in his life (especially since the breakup he had with Ria), so he isn’treally thinking straight anymore at all. He’s just going with the flow, doingwhatever the fuck he wants to, fucking whoever the fuck he wants to, and hasthis little rebellious side of him tell him to “fuck the rest”.Which WOULD be a good thing – fuck the haters, imma do my thing and stuff… Onlyif he wouldn’t be doing it out of all the wrong reasons. Namely what seems tobe a desperate attempt and need to just “change himself for the better” because“he isn’t a weak ass motherfucker”.I feel like he has quite some problems with the concept of vulnerability. He has this sort of a persona built up which he strives to be, but really isn’t– basically a sort of an alpha male persona – and right now, he’s probably sofar off in his head, that he just wants to desperately fit this picture perfectimage of himself, no matter how many broken pieces are waiting for him to berepaired on the inside. He wants to prove that “he’s better and stronger” tohimself, as well as to everyone around him. He’s ignoring his issues, pushingthem aside, thinking that “ignoring” his problems is better than to face them,“because after all, facing them only ever brought him pain and anguish anyway”…But holdingthings inside like that, suppressing all the negatives by all means necessary…I think most people realize how bad this can get – a person turning into aliving ticking time bomb that can be triggered into an explosion at any time. Hemight be feeling happy now, in this moment of bliss he’s created for himself,just ignoring everything that’s been eating away at him from the inside, neverletting it surface. But you can only keep your demons at bay for so long,before they come haunting you again, with even more vigor.Prolonging the inevitable in this way is pretty much the most horrible idea onthe long run you can have. But Tom isn’t thinking on the long run. He’s thinking “peaceof mind, now, or I’m gonna lose it”.I don’t know what it is that triggered this “obsession to be okay”. Maybe hewants to be spiteful to Ria. Maybe he wants to prove to her “how much betteroff he can be without her” and “what a changed and open man he has become”.Maybe it’s not even Ria. Maybe he just can’t deal with being without SOME sortof a sexual partner, because it makes him feel like a failure. Maybe he cravesa sort of intimacy he used to have, but is now gone, so he fills his time withwhat he thinks is “second best”. Who knows. It could be a number of things, andmany more than I can probably never even think of.At the end of the line, my personal perception of what he’s doing is that it’s –and I’ve repeated myself in this wordall too many times now – toxic. No matter the reason why he’s doing it. I thinkhe would be better off alone for a while, and, if not getting therapy, at leastletting himself have some breathing space, and just give himself a second toheal from whatever is gnawling at him. Heal from whatever seems to be “pushinghim” from the inside to be this perfect ideal self he so desperately seems towant to be. AND BEFORE I FINISHLet us just quickly dive into this one last important element of this dynamic –namely where Bill comes in, and how it all comes together at the end of the day. If we assume I am at least vaguely correct in my interpretationof things, it’s obvious that there’s no way in hell that Bill would be blind to somethingnot being entirely as it “should be” with Tom. Clearly if even we as fans can perceiveTom as being out of character, how on earth would then his twin miss it?Doubtlessly, no matter the partnership any of the two had/have with anotherperson, it will always affect BOTH twins in one way or another.So how do we explain this undying enthusiasm Bill seems to be sprouting everytime Heidi posts yet another picture of Tom on her social media.Well, there’s a few rough possibilities I see here.1. First would of course be realizing that social media is meant to feed uscontent that isn’t always the exact representation of how the reality is. Whoknows if Bill’s endless heart emojis really are as heartfelt as we imagine themto be in the first place. But I digress. I sincerely think Bill’s not fakinghis enthusiasm. Most of all because his idolizing when it comes to Heidi reallyseems to know no bounds. Which leads me straight into the more possible optionnumber two.

2. Billsort of admiring and romanticizing the relationship Tom and Heidi have – to thepoint where he thinks Tom feeling out of place is just sort of his imagination…Because “how in the world could this picture perfect scenario ever be hidingsomething less than PERFECT”. Bill is like that – the romanticizing idealist.And I bet he has this one picture in his head of how Heidi is, and doesn’tstray from it, even if there’s weird signs that she might not be all heimagines, and no matter what other people might suggest in order to persuadehim. Stubborn. The twins are so. Damn. Stubborn.3. What I imagine most – or well, wish to imagine, hoping that Bill isn’t toolost in his ideals in regards to Heidi – is that Bill actually tried talking toTom about what’s wrong, but Tom refusing to tell him, continuously saying that“all is fine” as he probably does so many times with his manly-manpersona up. And then Bill letting it slide, just being as happy as possible forhim, even though he knows something’s up. Because what else is he to do anyway?STUBBORN, REMEMBER?

Whatever itmight be – at the end of the day it’s really sort of exhausting how the twinsjust give each other concession over and over again. Recently, an old interviewresurfaced where they talked about how “they don’t need therapy, because theyhave each other”. Well, with both of them so stubborn and both of them so damnproud, with both of them being unable to take a sincere word of advice as anythingbut a personal attack… Of course they prefer each other over someone else withperspective. Because a therapist would not massage their egos as they do to oneanother. A therapist wouldn’t let them drown in pity and join in on their spitelike it’s their own. Because that wouldn’t resolve anything.Relying solely on someone that is also really similarly fucked up might makeyou not feel alone, but it sure as hell won’t drag you out of shit. They’re eachother’s excuse, constantly, probably unknowingly only dragging each other downwhen it’s really bad. Instead of telling the other “no, you need to dosomething about yourself, you’ve been down in the gutter for too long”they probably just go “yes, that person did a horrible thing, and I’llcontinue hate them with you while we wallow in our joined self-pity”. Whatthey would need is to challenge each other more, and not just give one anothermore silent vigor to just stay miserable…OUTROBut, hey, this is where I stop babbling, even though I feel I didn’t evenremotely scrape the surface, or tell everything that’s been building up insideme lately.I’ve been debating with myself if I should really go into such excruciating detailregarding my thoughts on Tom – mostly because I don’t think traumas ofdescribed sort are something to discuss online in such a manner, no matter if true or not. In a way, Ifeel protective, because the mere potential of my thoughts being correct gives me a nasty feeling of this being a text of “exposure”. Butthen again, the internet is getting too loud with their weakly argumentedopinions, and people don’t seem to take in account that this human being hasbeen through shit a lot of us can’t even remotely imagine. So I settled foreducation. I wanted to maybe build perspective for someone who hasn’t beenthinking about this all too much.I mean at the end of the day, worst case scenario is that I’m right, but that I’vestill built some sort of perspective for people who think that “Tom’s just a fuckboi”.And best case scenario is that I’m simply overthinking everything anyway, andthat he IS actually just simply happy. In which case, ya know, I’m really,truly happy for him.At the end of the day, that’s exactly what I want, and this is exactly why Iover think it – because I want nothing but the best for all four of these idiots (as said lovingly, of course). So to finally answer your very prevailing question:Do I think Tom’s happy?Solely superficially. Really, properly happy? Alas, I doubt it.Do I want to be wrong?Abso-fucking-lutely.Thank youfor your time, if you by chance came back to find my ass finally thinking of a proper response. It really has been a long time coming.Love,Tina

#anonymous #[anon;]#reviewed this way too many times #posting it now because otherwise I'll just keep on adding

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wickedbananas · 6 years

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Getting Real with Retail: An Agency’s Guide to Inspiring In-Store Excellence

Posted by MiriamEllis

No marketing agency staffer feels good when they see a retail client getting reviews like this on the web.

But we can find out why they’re happening, and if we’re going above-and-beyond in our work, we just might be able to catalyze turning things around if we’re committed to being honest with clients and have an actionable strategy for their in-store improvements.

In this post, I’ll highlight some advice from an internal letter at Tesla that I feel is highly applicable to the retail sector. I’d also like to help your agency combat the retail blues headlining the news these days with big brands downsizing, liquidating and closing up shop — I’m going to share a printable infographic with some statistics with you that are almost guaranteed to generate the client positivity so essential to making real change. And, for some further inspiration, I’d like to offer a couple of anecdotes involving an Igloo cooler, a monk, reindeer moss, and reviews.

The genuine pain of retail gone wrong: The elusive cooler, "Corporate," and the man who could hardly stand

“Hi there,” I greeted the staffer at the customer service counter of the big department store. “Where would I find a small cooler?”

“We don’t have any,” he mumbled.

“You don’t have any coolers? Like, an Igloo cooler to take on a picnic to keep things cold?”

“Maybe over there,” he waved his hand in unconcern.

And I stood there for a minute, expecting him to actually figure this out for me, maybe even guide me to the appropriate aisle, or ask a manager to assist my transaction, if necessary. But in his silence, I walked away.

“Hi there,” I tried with more specificity at the locally owned general store the next day. “Where would I find something like a small Igloo cooler to keep things cold on a picnic?”

“I don’t know,” the staffer replied.

“Oh…” I said, uncomfortably.

“It could be upstairs somewhere,” he hazarded, and left me to quest for the second floor, which appeared to be a possibly-non-code-compliant catch-all attic for random merchandise, where I applied to a second dimly illuminated employee who told me I should probably go downstairs and escalate my question to someone else.

And apparently escalation was necessary, for on the third try, a very tall man was able to lift his gaze to some coolers on a top shelf… within clear view of the checkout counter where the whole thing began.

Why do we all have experiences like this?

“Corporate tells us what to carry” is the almost defensive-sounding refrain I have now received from three employees at two different Whole Foods Markets when asking if they could special order items for me since the Amazon buyout.

Because, you know, before they were Amazon-Whole Foods, staffers would gladly offer to procure anything they didn’t have in stock. Now, if they stop carrying that Scandinavian vitamin D-3 made from the moss eaten by reindeer and I’ve got to have it because I don’t want the kind made by irradiating sheep wool, I’d have to special order an entire case of it to get my hands on a bottle. Because, you know, “Corporate.”

Why does the distance between corporate and customer make me feel like the store I’m standing in, and all of its employees, are powerless? Why am I, the customer, left feeling powerless?

So maybe my search for a cooler, my worries about access to reindeer moss, and the laughable customer service I’ve experienced don’t signal “genuine pain.” But this does:

This is genuine pain. When customer service is failing to the point that badly treated patrons are being further distressed by the sight of fellow shoppers meeting the same fate, the cause is likely built into company structure. And your marketing agency is looking at a bonafide reputation crisis that could presage things like lawsuits, impactful reputation damage, and even closure for your valuable clients.

When you encounter customer service disasters, it begs questions like:

Could no one in my situation access a list of current store inventory, or, barring that, seek out merchandise with me instead of risking the loss of a sale?

Could no one offer to let “corporate” know that I’m dissatisfied with a “customer service policy” that would require me to spend $225 to buy a whole case of vitamins? Why am I being treated like a warehouse instead of a person?

Could no one at the pharmacy see a man with a leg wound about to fall over, grab a folding chair for him, and keep him safe, instead of risking a lawsuit?

I think a “no” answer to all three questions proceeds from definite causes. And I think Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, had such causes in mind when he recently penned a letter to his own employees.

“It must be okay for people to talk directly and just make the right thing happen.”

“Communication should travel via the shortest path necessary to get the job done, not through the 'chain of command.' Any manager who attempts to enforce chain of command communication will soon find themselves working elsewhere. A major source of issues is poor communication between depts. The way to solve this is allow free flow of information between all levels. If, in order to get something done between depts, an individual contributor has to talk to their manager, who talks to a director, who talks to a VP, who talks to another VP, who talks to a director, who talks to a manager, who talks to someone doing the actual work, then super dumb things will happen. It must be ok for people to talk directly and just make the right thing happen. In general, always pick common sense as your guide. If following a 'company rule' is obviously ridiculous in a particular situation, such that it would make for a great Dilbert cartoon, then the rule should change.” - Elon Musk, CEO, Tesla

Let’s parlay this uncommon advice into retail. If it’s everyone’s job to access a free flow of information, use common sense, make the right thing happen, and change rules that don’t make sense, then:

Inventory is known by all store staff, and my cooler can be promptly located by any employee, rather than workers appearing helpless.

Employees have the power to push back and insist that, because customers still expect to be able to special order merchandise, a specific store location will maintain this service rather than disappoint consumers.

Pharmacists can recognize that patrons are often quite ill and can immediately place some chairs near the pharmacy counter, rather than close their eyes to suffering.

“But wait,” retailers may say. “How can I trust that an employee’s idea of ‘common sense’ is reliable?”

Let’s ask a monk for the answer.

“He took the time...”

I recently had the pleasure of listening to a talk given by a monk who was defining what it meant to be a good leader. He hearkened back to his young days, and to the man who was then the leader of his community.

“He was a busy man, but he took the time to get to know each of us one-on-one, and to be sure that we knew him. He set an example for me, and I watched him,” the monk explained.

Most monasteries function within a set of established rules, many of which are centuries old. You can think of these guidelines as a sort of policy. In certain communities, it’s perfectly acceptable that some of the members live apart as hermits most of the year, only breaking their meditative existence by checking in with the larger group on important holidays to share what they’ve been working on solo. In others, every hour has its appointed task, from prayer, to farming, to feeding people, to engaging in social activism.

The point is that everyone within a given community knows the basic guidelines, because at some point, they’ve been well-communicated. Beyond that, it is up to the individual to see whether they can happily live out their personal expression within the policy.

It’s a lot like retail can be, when done right. And it hinges on the question:

“Has culture been well-enough communicated to every employee so that he or she can act like the CEO of the company would in wide variety of circumstances?”

Or to put it another way, would Amazon owner Jeff Bezos be powerless to get me my vitamins?

The most accessible modern benchmark of good customer service — the online review — is what tells the public whether the CEO has “set the example.” Reviews tell whether time has been taken to acquaint every staffer with the business that employs them, preparing them to fit their own personal expression within the company’s vision of serving the public.

An employee who is able to recognize that an injured patron needs a seat while awaiting his prescription should be empowered to act immediately, knowing that the larger company supports treating people well. If poor training, burdensome chains of command, or failure to share brand culture are obstacles to common-sense personal initiative, the problem must be traced back to the CEO and corrected, starting from there.

And, of course, should a random staffer’s personal expression genuinely include an insurmountable disregard for other people, they can always be told it’s time to leave the monastery...

For marketing agencies, opportunity knocks

So your agency is auditing a valuable incoming client, and their negative reviews citing dirty premises, broken fixtures, food poisoning, slowness, rudeness, cluelessness, and lack of apparent concern make you say to yourself,

“Well, I was hoping we could clean up the bad data on the local business listings for this enterprise, but unless they clean up their customer service at 150 of their worst-rated locations, how much ROI are we really going to be able to deliver? What’s going on at these places?”

Let’s make no bones about this: Your honesty at this critical juncture could mean the difference between survival and closure for the brand.

You need to bring it home to the most senior level person you can reach in the organization that no amount of honest marketing can cover up poor customer service in the era of online reviews. If the brand has fallen to the level of the pharmacy I’ve cited, structural change is an absolute necessity. You can ask the tough questions, ask for an explanation of the bad reviews.

“But I’m just a digital marketer,” you may think. “I’m not in charge of whatever happens offline.”

Think again.

Headlines in retail land are horrid right now:

The mall crisis is secretly morphing into a full-on Armageddon - Business Insider

America’s ‘Retail Apocalypse’ Is Really Just Beginning - Bloomberg

Retail Wreck? Over 1,000 Stores Close in a Single Week - NBC

8 Companies Amazon is Killing - Investopedia

These major retailers have closed more than 5,000 stores in 2017 - Clark.com

If you were a retail brand C-suite and were swallowing these predictions of doom with your daily breakfast, wouldn’t you be looking for inspiration from anyone with genuine insight? And if a marketing agency should make it their business to confront the truth while also being the bearer of some better news, wouldn’t you be ready to listen?

What is the truth? That poor reviews are symptoms smart doctors can use for diagnosis of structural problems. What is the better news? The retail scenario is not nearly as dire as it may seem.

Why let hierarchy and traditional roles hold your agency back? Tesla wouldn’t. Why not roll up your sleeves and step into in-store? Organize and then translate the narrative negative reviews are telling about structural problems for the brand which have resulted in dangerously bad customer service. And then, be prepared to counter corporate inertia born of fear with some eye-opening statistics.

Print and share some good retail tidings

Print your own copy of this infographic to share with clients.

At Moz, we’re working with enterprises to get their basic location data into shape so that they are ready to win their share of the predicted $1.4 trillion in mobile-influenced local sales by 2021, and your agency can use these same numbers to combat indecision and apathy for your retail clients. Look at that second statistic again: 90% of purchases are still happening in physical stores. At Moz, we ask our customers if their data is ready for this. Your agency can ask its clients if their reputations are ready for this, if their employees have what they need to earn the brand’s piece of that 90% action. Great online data + great in-store service = table stakes for retail success.

While I won’t play down the unease that major brand retail closures is understandably causing, I hope I’ve given you the tools to fight the “retail disaster” narrative. 85% more mobile users are searching for things like “Where do I buy that reindeer moss vitamin D3?” than they were just 3 years ago. So long as retail staff is ready to deliver, I see no “apocalypse” here.

Investing time

So, your agency has put in the time to identify a reputation problem severe enough that it appears to be founded in structural deficiencies or policies. Perhaps you’ve used some ORM software to do review sentiment analysis to discover which of your client’s locations are hurting worst, or perhaps you’ve done an initial audit manually. You've communicated the bad news to the most senior-level person you can reach at the company, and you've also shared the statistics that make change seem very worthwhile, begging for a new commitment to in-store excellence. What happens next?

While there are going to be nuances specific to every brand, my bet is that the steps will look like this for most businesses:

C-suites need to invest time in creating a policy which a) abundantly communicates company culture, b) expresses trust in employee initiative, and c) dispenses with needless “chain of command” steps, while d) ensuring that every public facing staffer receives full and ongoing training. A recent study says 62% of new retail hires receive less than 10 hours of training. I’d call even these worrisome numbers optimistic. I worked at 5 retail jobs in my early youth. I’d estimate that I received no more than 1 hour of training at any of them.

Because a chain of command can’t realistically be completely dispensed with in a large organization, store managers must then be allowed the time to communicate the culture, encourage employees to use common sense, define what “common sense” does and doesn’t look like to the company, and, finally, offer essential training.

Employees at every level must be given the time to observe how happy or unhappy customers appear to be at their location, and they must be taught that their observations are of inestimable value to the brand. If an employee suggests a solution to a common consumer complaint, this should be recognized and rewarded.

Finally, customers must be given the time to air their grievances at the time of service, in-person, with accessible, responsive staff. The word “corporate” need never come into most of these conversations unless a major claim is involved. Given that it may cost as much as 7x more to replace an unhappy customer than to keep an existing one happy, employees should be empowered to do business graciously and resolve complaints, in most cases, without escalation.

Benjamin Franklin may or may not have said that “time is money.” While the adage rings true in business, reviews have taught me the flip side — that a lack of time equals less money. Every negative review that cites helpless employees and poor service sounds to my marketing ears like a pocketful of silver dollars rolling down a drain.

The monk says good leaders make the time to communicate culture one-on-one.

Tesla says rules should change if they’re ridiculous.

Chairs should be offered to sick people… where common sense is applied.

Reviews can read like this:

And digital marketers have never known a time quite like this to have the ear of retail, maybe stepping beyond traditional boundaries into the fray of the real world. Maybe making a fundamental difference.

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sutverentavuk · 5 years

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9 things to check when purchasing a new camera

1. Examine it's the best model

This most likely sounds like an obvious one. However, some merchants (particularly online) do not identify their designs as plainly as they ought to, which leaves you having to exercise which version of a specific cam you're in fact taking a look at.

To include additional confusion, some manufacturers call their models differently in other countries. Canon, for instance, names some of its more junior DSLRs in a different way in the US than it performs in the UK, while Panasonic also regularly changes the series name or number, depending upon where a camera is being sold. So, the Lumix TZ90 in the UK, for example, is really the Lumix SZ70 in the US.

2. Make sure it deals with your existing lenses

Wish to utilise a new camera with an older lens? New cams typically deal with older optics, but the situation is different with each producer.

Canon's most current DSLR bodies tend to deal with older EF lenses without concerns, and things like autofocus and metering ought to work as expected. As long as you do not install EF-S lenses onto EF bodies (which can cause damage to the video camera), you should be fine.

Nikon bodies typically work well with older F-mount lenses, although some deal with restrictions and others might even damage the host camera. And Pentax has actually had so many modifications to its K-mount throughout the years there'll usually be something to keep in mind when using an older optic with a newer body.

You might well want to utilise lenses from a various install on a more recent body, and this is typically possible, although some organisations will naturally be the more accommodating sense of how they have actually been physically designed. If in doubt, check to see whether an adapter for the lens's system to the cam you plan on using exists, making sure you have the lens-to-camera order the right way round.

3. Check to see what else is in the variety

Individuals typically alter between cam systems, but it can be a bit of a nuisance if it means selling all of your bodies and lenses. Because of that, it's a good idea to think ahead and take a look at what else is in the range, such as models you might want to update to eventually. It may be the case that you end up deciding for a different design with a more apparent upgrade path than the one you initially meant to go for.

4. ... and what's being guaranteed in the future

Manufacturers sometimes release lens roadmaps (above) to demonstrate how a system will develop in the short term, with lens names and anticipated arrival times. These are particularly useful for newer methods with fewer lens options as it gives people more confidence to buy into a system that's not totally developed.

In some cases, they may simply discuss what will quickly be offered while announcing other products. In either case, even if there's no ultra-wide-angle, macro or super-telephoto lens to use with your desired purchase right, it doesn't imply it isn't coming. Keep an eye out for these announcements when producers unveil new products, and you're less likely to be disappointed as you begin to expand your system in future.

5. Think about whether your existing lenses will do the camera justice

Something a lot of people see when going up to an electronic camera with more megapixels than they're used to is that their images do not have some bite. On close evaluation, they may appear naturally a little soft or maybe somewhat blurred. So why is this?

It's frequently down to a variety of things. You would not have actually scrutinised images to the same degree on a cam with a lower-resolution sensor. Nothing about your lens has actually altered. Naturally, you're merely examining details in a scene at a higher level than you have been. Such sensing units can really tax a lens's abilities, so any little softness or optical aberrations that weren't visible before might now begin to show.

Any minor cam shake might now be more apparent in such images, so your strategy requires to be spot on. Utilising a somewhat quicker shutter speed, or a reliable image stabilisation system (whether it remains in your body or lens) can assist. Some image stabilisation systems also need a brief moment to settle for optimal result, so take your time and try to press the shutter-release button down more gently.

Also check out: DSLR camera price in Bangladesh

6. Understand whether any features have limitations

Some cameras that catch 4K video can just do so at 15fps. Some might even apply a cropped aspect to video footage, making it harder to accomplish wide-angle framing. Other cams might have outstanding constant shooting rates, but they may not be able to preserve this for really long, making them less useful in usage.

Headline functions might sound remarkable; however, it pays to check the requirements thoroughly on the video camera maker's site so that you do not end up buying something that isn't fit for purpose.

Making sure you have the right memory card will also help with recording high-resolution video or with faster constant shooting rates, so inspect what the manufacturer recommends in the cam's handbook. You can generally see these online before you purchase, once again through the maker's website.

7. Examine third-party system assistance

Even if your cam's producer does not provide a particular accessory for usage with your design, it does not mean you can't discover it elsewhere. The most popular systems tend to draw in a variety of third-party accessory choices that are specific to your order, from cam grips to enhance dealing with to lens adapters to supply cross-system compatibility.

Some of these accessories may bring surprising advantages. The Metabones Speed Booster (above), for instance, not only allows you to install a lens from one system onto the body from another. However, it likewise gives you a larger optimum aperture than what the lens would usually allow.

8. Discover whether you can claim cashback

Cashback (also referred to as a refund) is frequently provided on electronic cameras, and it's not limited continuously to older models that manufacturers are merely attempting to clear.

To be eligible, nevertheless, you may need to jump through a few hoops. You will generally need to purchase your model through an authorised retailer, during a particular timeframe, and you'll need to submit a kind with your evidence of purchase.

It may likewise be the case that you get your refund on a pre-loaded charge card instead of a bank transfer or cheque. In any case, it's usually worth the effort, particularly as cashback amounts can encounter 3 figures.

9. Inspect whether you can extend the service warranty

Every brand-new cam needs to feature a guarantee of some kind, but it's not uncommon for makers to offer an extended service warranty once you sign up a video camera (or lens) online. So, whereas you may have a year a standard, registering the electronic camera on the company's site might give you an additional year, if not longer.

This is sometimes indicated on the video camera's packaging, or on the website from which you buy your design, although there may likewise be a card inside the package with details on this. You'll typically require your camera's serial number and details from your receipt, so ensure to keep the latter in a safe location.

It's also typically possible to purchase these guarantees independently through the manufacturer's site. However, you may not discover these to be excellent worth.

0 notes

aviatrickss · 7 years

Text

Hey, so I decided to post my first response for JayRoy week (late????? me???? never????) even though the rest of it isn’t done. I’ll post it on Ao3 when it’s completely done but for now this is a good way to update (read: get validation).

First prompt was ‘Robin’.

(please let me know if you have any critiques I will love you forever and write you anything you want pls)

Roy really only meets Jason once before he dies. And it’s all jumbled and strange in his head because he met Jason and then he met Robin before really knowing that both of them were the same.

He hadn’t really been happy to be in Gotham in the first place. Apparently the super-genius science fair he was in was run by Wayne Tech or one of their bajillion satellite companies. And, of course, when Ollie found out that they had to go to Batman’s city he basically flipped a shit and/or tried to bribe the competition organizers to move it to Star City or Metropolis or Russia or literally anywhere else. They said no, and Ollie decided the only thing to do was sulk.

Which is fine by Roy, really, because that’s just Ollie, and it’s not like he’s any fonder of the Bat than Ollie is. Batman’s the guy who threw out Nightwing, and yeah, Roy’s pretty sure Nightwing sees him as an annoying little brother, and the Titans have only been a thing for like, three months, but still.

The point is, Roy just tells himself that he just has to get to the fair. And then he can nerd out with a bunch of other kids and there will be a shit-ton of lasers probably, and it will all be worth it.

Roy does not make it to the fair.

The thing about being the ward of the world’s third most famous billionaire (although there’s no way Ollie would ever admit Lex Luthor and Bruce Wayne beat him out) is that things balance out more than one might think.

For instance: because Roy is rich, he gets all kinds of materials and toys and labs to build whatever latest gadget is jumping around in his brain. He gets to fly to conventions and test runs and semi-secret labs all around the world. And, very occasionally, he gets to enter competitions and show off what he can do with a few scraps of metal, a computer chip, and a wrench, and it rocks.

However: because Roy is rich, he is always being kidnapped by asshats who have no idea that he’s not only a genius inventor, but also a fucking superhero. He has to miss out on a fair number of the amazing conventions and test runs and competitions because he’s busy being tied to a chair and praying that no one starts talking about cutting off fingers and putting them in boxes as ‘messages’ because that’ll probably fuck him up as both an inventor and an archer.

And of course, Gotham is like, the birthplace of all fuckwits, so he really should have known something like this was going to happen.

Roy wakes up with his mouth tasting like cotton and his arms yanked back and tied around a pipe. He’s learning not to mind the fuzziness that comes from being unconscious, the last remnants of nothingness that slip away as he blinks, realizes what happened.

It doesn’t really scare him. He’s got a little knife up his sleeve, and if worst comes to worst he can always rescue himself.

But Ollie’s drilled into him enough times that he needs to at least try and wait for a rescue. Because of secret identities and all that. Which, Roy thinks is bull, because Ollie’s stupid goatee is a much greater threat to their secret identities than anything that he could do.

Mostly he’s just disappointed about the fair. He really thought he had a shot at winning this time, even though Ollie and him spent half their time trying to dumb down the project so that no one would start wondering why Oliver Queen’s ward was capable of designing military-grade tech.

“Worst weekend ever,” Roy mumbles. He leans his head back against the cool pipe, hoping that Ollie comes soon. Hell, he’d even settle for Batman at this point.

There’s a scraping noise from his left, and Roy just about has a heart attack. Craning his neck, he sees a small figure stirring over by another pipe. Roy frowns- he’s still kind of dizzy from being knocked out, and all he can really think about is how he’s going to have to put on the ‘panicked rich kid’ act.

“Son of a…” the other kid mumbles. He seems to be Roy’s age, with curly black hair and dazed teal eyes. He shifts around a little, taking stock just like Roy did just a bit earlier. After a couple of minutes he stops squirming and huffs, his eyes drifting over to where Roy is. Roy’s presence seems to surprise him and he blurts, “Who the hell are you?”

Rude. “Who the hell are you,” Roy fires back.

“Jason Todd,” the other boy says. “Now what-”

“Bruce Wayne’s ward?” Duh. Roy probably should have recognized him, but Ollie had a pretty strict embargo on all Bruce-Wayne-related stuff. “Why would someone kidnap the two richest kids in the world?”

“Okay, first of all, Red, don’t interrupt me,” Jason snaps. “Second of all-”

“Red?!” Roy snorts.

“You did it again!” Jason exclaims. “Look, you were being a prick about introducing yourself, so now you have to deal with the snappy nickname I came up for you.”

Roy huffs.

“Second of all,” Jason continues. “This is Gotham.” He says that like it should explain everything.

Actually it probably does.

They sit in silence for a couple of minutes before Roy finally says, “I’m Roy Harper.”

“Nope,” Jason says immediately. “Too late. You’re Red for life now.”

Roy glares at him and Jason grins back. Roy sighs. “So, does Batman usually come or what?”

Jason nods. “Yeah, and he’s usually pretty speedy about it.”

Roy narrows his eyes a little and Jason blinks innocently. It’s not like ‘speedy’ is an uncommon word but…

Okay, it’s entirely possible that Roy is just being paranoid. Being kidnapped a tied to a pipe will do that to you.

“What are you even doing in Gotham anyways?” Jason asks. “Can’t be a business thing, I’d know about that.”

His smug tone makes Roy want to barf. Rich kids.

And yeah, okay, technically Roy is also a rich kid. But Roy is not a douchebag, so there.

Roy considers just not talking anymore, but Jason seems like the kind of kid who doesn’t give up easy. “Science fair,” he finally mumbles miserably. God. He probably won’t get to do anything that fun for at least half a year.

“That big egghead one up at the convention center?” Jason asks, sounding somewhat impressed. Roy jerks his head in a nod and Jason goes silent. Roy gets the feeling that the kid is reevaluating him.

“Sorry you had to miss it,” Jason finally says. “Being a hostage is kinda a full-time gig, huh?”

Despite himself, Roy smiles. Just a little.

“I had to miss school today,” Jason laments.

Roy gives him a look, because that cannot be an actual statement coming out of somebody’s mouth.

“I like school,” Jason says sullenly, sticking his tongue out at him.

“I am so sorry,” Roy says, his voice dripping with sarcasm. But he’s still kind of smiling a little. “My heart bleeds for you-”

The door at the other end of the room slams open and light spills in, practically blinding Roy.

“For the love of God!” some guy is yelling. Strong Gotham accent. Probably from the poorer sections of the city. “Would you kids fuckin’ pipe down? Jesus Christ, you’re makin’ it hard not to just slit your throats…”

“I’m so fucking sorry,” Jason snaps from Roy’s left. “This whole situation must be really hard for you, how can we help?”

Roy’s vision is starting to clear up, and as the goon snarls something at Jason, Roy gets his first good look at the room.

Probably an old storage room, although it’s been cleared out. Nothing left but dust and the support poles, which he and Jason are tied to. The open door leads only to a blank hallway, and Roy can’t see anything else past that. The man stalking towards Jason is wearing a dumb-looking faux-leather jacket, and Roy would bet his inheritance that the symbols on the back are gang-related.

Also, seeing as how Jason is one-hundred-percent about to get his ass kicked, Roy feels that it’s okay to slip the little switchblade out of his sleeve so that he can start sawing at his ropes. If anyone asks, he’ll say he found a nail or something.

Suddenly there’s an ear-piercing scream from beyond the open door.

Hostages and crook alike all freeze, the three of them staring out into the hallway. After that awful scream comes another, and then a burst of gunfire, the sound of something heavy breaking.

The poor gang-member looks like he wants to piss himself. Jason, on the other hand, has the smallest of satisfied smiles on his faces. It gives Roy the dawning realization that even the non-criminal Gothamites are fucking insane.

The sounds of carnage from outside stop. There’s nothing but a yawning silence and Roy is starting to understand why people are so in awe of the Bat. He knows that it’s Batman out there, and he still half wants to start screaming.

They’re all so focused on the open door that Roy’s the only one who notices when a grate in the ceiling smoothly moves from its place, leaving a hole in the wall. Something small drops through.

That’s a really nice smoke grenade, is all that Roy has time to think before the thing explodes at the whole room is shrouded in mist.

The gangster starts shrieking, which would be kind of funny except for the fact he also decides to start blindly shooting his gun. Roy curses and starts hacking away at his ropes. Even though Batman is physically in the room rescuing them, Jason still seems like the kind of kid who gets shot anyways.

Finally the ropes around his arms give, and Roy surges upward- only to crash into someone else.

“Ow, what the fuck, Red?” Jason’s voice comes from right beside him. “How’d you get free?”

“Stray Batarang,” Roy lies easily. “What about you?”

“Same,” Jason says. Roy can barely see him through the mist, even though they’re less than half a foot apart. “I didn’t know if Batman got you too, so I crawled over here to see.”

That’s…. Actually that’s kind of nice. In a dumb way. In a dumb, suicidal, should-have-let-the-real-hero-handle-it way.

“Thanks,” Roy mumbles.

“Boys,” says a deep voice above them. Roy seriously almost pees himself, because he hadn’t even noticed the shooting stop, and now Batman is looming over him like the fucking Grim Reaper.

Roy shoots to his feet, Jason doing the same beside him. “Holy fucking shit, Batman!” Jason chirps. There doesn’t really seem to be a follow-up to that so Roy mumbles, “Um, thanks for saving our lives.”

Batman scans over Jason before turning his attention to Roy, “Are you two injured?”

“Little woozy from the drugs,” Roy says. “We’re okay though.” He knows Batman’s never gonna take him seriously, but the least he can do is let him know that he already checked to make sure the civilian wasn’t bleeding out.

“Can I have your autograph?” Jason asks.

Roy kind of expects for Batman to maybe spritz Jason with some more knockout gas or something, but he just says, “No.”

“Fine,” Jason says. “But then you owe me a favor.”

“Oh?” Batman says. And Roy is just watching the whole trainwreck because he has never heard anyone talk to Batman like that. Well, maybe Wonder Woman. But she’s a literal goddess, and Jason’s a bratty preteen.

“Next time,” Jason says in a very serious tone. “Bring Robin. ‘Cause you’re cool, but… not that cool.”

Roy makes a strangled yelping noise before he shoves his hands over his mouth in horror. Batman doesn’t seem to notice though, he just studies Jason for another moment and-

And Roy thinks he might be dead or unconscious or dreaming or something, because he swears that Batman’s lips twitch up in the tiniest of smiles.

“The GCPD is on their way. Your kidnappers have been dealt with,” Batman says. Without another word, he turns and vanishes back into the smoke.

“Wow, he really is a grumpy asshole!” Jason says fondly.

“Come on, idiot,” Roy mutters, tugging the other boy towards the door.

By the time they stumble out of the building, the GCPD is already assembling on the front steps. The two of them are quickly separated and hustled to ambulances. The last the Roy sees of Jason Todd, he’s smiling as Bruce Wayne pulls him into a bearhug.

“Sorry you missed your science fair, kiddo,” Ollie says, putting an arm around his shoulder.

“Eh,” Roy says. “It wasn’t that bad.”

“Roy!”

Roy has this awful fluttery feeling in his stomach when he turns. Jason is sitting up on Bruce’s shoulders, waving frantically at him while the billionaire just looks befuddled. Roy waves back and Jason’s smiles.

“See you around, Red!”

Roy snorts and rolls his eyes. But the fluttery feeling doesn’t go away until they’re almost back at the hotel.

Of course, Ollie decides that the only way to cheer Roy up is to go on patrol. In Batman’s city. Without permission.

It’s actually a very nice attempt at cheering him up, and Ollie looks so sincere that Roy can’t shut him down.

Besides, flying through the night does make Roy feel better. It eases the helplessness, makes him feel like less of a failure. And it’s not like there’s a shortage of criminals in Gotham anyways. Batman can spare a few.

It only takes an hour for Batman to track them down. One minute they’re landing on a rooftop, the next, Ollie and Batman are snarling at each other.

“Oh, fuck me,” Roy mumbles. He seriously considers just plopping down on the rooftop while they duke it out. He probably has some half-finished something in his belt that he could work on. Or he maybe he can just sneak back to the hotel and catch a movie.

“They’re the worst, aren’t they?” a sympathetic voice says next to him.

And after hanging out with Dick for three months, Roy’s at the point where people appearing silently at his shoulder doesn’t make him jump anymore. He just turns his head.

Robin’s not really what he expected. He’s about Roy’s age and small, yeah, but with long legs and broad shoulders. He’ll probably grow up to be a giant or something - after all, Dick’s not exactly tiny anymore. His curly black hair is ruffled slightly by the wind and there’s a smattering of freckles across his nose and he has the most wicked smirk on his face.

Roy doesn’t know all that much about him. Dick has bad blood with the kid because of Bruce, and it’s not like Ollie’s interested in getting more info on the Bat’s newest sidekick. Roy feels wrong-footed- he doesn’t know if he should give the kid the cold-shoulder out of loyalty to Dick or what.

“Let me guess,” Robin says. He strokes his chin thoughtfully and Roy is pretty sure he’s just hamming it up, but still. “You feel awkward because you’re buddies with Wingding and he’s not my number one fan.” Robin lowers his hand and smiles. “Plus we just busted you and Robin Hood.”

“You didn’t bust us,” Roy says in exasperation. Honestly.

“Whatever you say,” Robin says, although the smirk doesn’t disappear from his face. “I am a highly-trained detective though.”

“Not highly-trained in wearing pants though,” Roy says. It’s dumb, really dumb, but he’s flustered.

Robin snorts, and Roy gets the sense that he’s rolling his eyes behind the mask. “Look at Discowing’s costume and tell me you think I’m the one who designed this monstrosity. Besides,” the other boy strikes a pose. “Tell me I don’t have the legs for it.”

“Oh my God,” Roy says. He turns to look back at Ollie and Bats, mostly just to hide the blush creeping over his cheeks. This is not happening. Focus on lasers, Roy, lasers.

“What’d you do for the science fair thingy?”

Shock more than anything makes Roy turn back to Robin. “How-”

“Batman told me about the whole thing,” the other boy says nonchalantly. “I didn’t know you were into all that. I always figured you and Arrow had like, a lab monkey or something make your stuff.”

“Lab monkey,” Roy says. “At your service.”

Robin laughs. “To be fair I kinda figured the same about Batman. Before, y’know,” he gestures at his costume.

“How did-”

“Speedy.”

Ollie stalks over to the two of them, Batman trailing behind him. “Time to go,” Ollie says. He’s red with anger and Roy wonders what Batman said to get him to fold so quickly. Usually their arguments last forever.

Roy turns back to Robin, “See you around, I guess.”

Batman places a hand on Robin’s shoulder and there’s some understanding there, something that passes between them. Then Batman is grappling off the roof, disappearing into the night.

Robin fishes his own grapple off of his belt, gives Roy a one-handed salute. “See you around, Red.”

And before the words hit home, he’s stepped backward off of the roof and into the darkness.

Roy doesn’t really sleep that night. The words chase themselves around his head, because it can’t be coincidence, it can’t be a mistake.

See you around, Red.

He thinks about asking Nightwing (Dick Grayson?). But then, he thinks, it would get back to Batman somehow. And Roy would end up getting dangled off of a building or something.

Besides, something about it feels so… private. Just an inside joke, between the two of them. Robin never had to say his name because he knew, he knew, that Roy would get it.

Why would he tell Roy?

Why would such a vibrant, beautiful, bright boy give his biggest secret to a screwup like Roy?

It doesn’t make any sense and he can’t get it out of his head.

But, of course, he does.

They return to Star City, Ollie grumbling all the way about everything that happened in Gotham. And then Roy is so busy running between missions with the Titans and Star City stuff that Jason’s smile falls out of his head. He falls back into the smothering loneliness and misery that never seem to go away.

He wishes he could make it go away.

And then somehow years have passed and Roy is teetering on the brink of self-destruction and Robin is dead.

Jason is dead.

And in the wake of Dick’s awful grief (because he knows by now that it’s Dick, stood there and faked surprise when the older boy revealed himself), Roy ignores the awful wave of emotion churning inside of him.

Because it was one day. One night. He didn’t know Jason.

And in a couple of years, heroes will whisper about the two of them. The two failures, the two blotches on an otherwise clean history. The addict and the dead boy. The fallen heroes who didn’t fall quite gracefully enough to get remembered.

In the secret history of the world’s greatest heroes, Jason and Roy are forever linked, a footnote somewhere near the back.

It’s not how he imagined they’d end up together.

#JayRoyweek #Jason Todd #Roy Harper #trix-fix #text #long post #fic #please comment/talk to me #i crave attention #i love u all martha

16 notes · View notes

berserk-zine · 7 years

Note

OK, I'm going to be honest. Not too long ago, the HxH fandom ran a fanzine. Preorders were set up, ppl paid, but apparently, they've yet to receive their copies. Rumor has it, they were scammed. Sad, but not uncommon. I'm asking if you guys are real about this. I'm ready to throw down some cash because the art looks tight as FUCK (y'all are so damn talented), but can y'all post pics of one of the books as proof of existence? It's just that it's super daunting prepaying when this just happened.

We are 100% real about this.

We understand your concern, and appreciate you asking this question. I will try to address your concerns the best I can.

I think I know which zine you’re speaking towards. It seems like they had issues with their printer. I am confident that this will not happen to us. We are printing the zine at a local printer which I have worked with for several years. I stand by the quality of their print products and service. This printer has won commerce awards in the area for several years in a row. (And I personally am friends with the CEO’s daughter). It would be highly unlikely, and probably impossible that if anything were to go wrong it wouldn’t be with printing. In addition they have a quick turnaround. So near the end of the preorder period, when we have a good estimate of the numbers, is when we will send it to the printer. Then we will post pictures of the physical copies.

Unfortunately, this means that we probably won’t be posting any pictures for another couple of weeks. However, we have worked hard to ensure that we won’t go down like other zines. The Awakening to a Nightmare zine is co-organized, meaning that we always run checks and balances with each other. On top of that, we are both personally friends with many of the artists participating in this zine, and with the new artists we have started to build positive relationships. We have links to our personal pages and other social media accounts. We would have to be pretty foolish to try and run away with anything when we link to those, would greatly disappoint our own friends, and each other.

We’ll basically be doing everything in our power to ensure that this zine does not fail. We’re investing our money and time. We have already started to purchase other elements for the zine such as for the bundles and shipping products. Above all, we love Berserk and at the end of the day we just want to do the series justice with the quality of the zine, and to do something for its passionate fandom. (Honestly the best fandom I’ve ever been in

I hope that this convinced you. Please let us know if you have any more questions or concerns you’d like to bring up. If you would like to speak personally about anything, you may contact any of the organizers as well, or send us an email at [email protected]. Thank you for asking this question.

- Shirley

PS. Preorders will open this Friday, February 17.

PPS. We’re kind of contemplating organizing a HxH next… so yeah

#berserk #Anonymous #berserk zine #fanzine

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tainghekhongdaycomvn · 6 years

Text

Getting Real with Retail: An Agency’s Guide to Inspiring In-Store Excellence

Posted by MiriamEllis

No marketing agency staffer feels good when they see a retail client getting reviews like this on the web.

The genuine pain of retail gone wrong: The elusive cooler, "Corporate," and the man who could hardly stand

“Hi there,” I greeted the staffer at the customer service counter of the big department store. “Where would I find a small cooler?”

“We don’t have any,” he mumbled.

“You don’t have any coolers? Like, an Igloo cooler to take on a picnic to keep things cold?”

“Maybe over there,” he waved his hand in unconcern.

“Hi there,” I tried with more specificity at the locally owned general store the next day. “Where would I find something like a small Igloo cooler to keep things cold on a picnic?”

“I don’t know,” the staffer replied.

“Oh…” I said, uncomfortably.

Why do we all have experiences like this?

Why does the distance between corporate and customer make me feel like the store I’m standing in, and all of its employees, are powerless? Why am I, the customer, left feeling powerless?

So maybe my search for a cooler, my worries about access to reindeer moss, and the laughable customer service I’ve experienced don’t signal “genuine pain.” But this does: