Overseas TeamTalk Back Chat

BACK CHAT FROM THE USA

Written and composed by Mark Fletcher

BACK CHAT DECEMBER

Christmas is upon us once more and I hope you all are taking full advantage of the busiest period of the year. For this issue of “Back Chat” I had asked for a better response in respect to content. So thank you to those who contributed.

Firstly let me start by bringing some important points to your attention:

HOLIDAYS

As we near the New Year, you should be thinking about your vacation time. Just as a reminder please submit your requests into Andy as early as you can before the calendar gets congested and you don’t get your first choice of holidays. The deadline is January 31st!

CHRISTMAS SCHEDULE

Christmas week, week 39 has a unique schedule. Because of that, we need to make signs for the department to inform the customers of our whereabouts. The schedule for that week will be as follows. All Closed Tuesday 25th (Christmas Day), Wednesday 26th (Boxing Day) and Thursday 27th. (In lieu of the 25th) Five day branches are closed the 24th (Monday) as normal day off.

MADE TO MEASURE QUALITY SEALS

Many of you may have been having some small issues with some of the made to measure suits when balancing them with the customer. Just to reiterate to you Andy’s email from last week, it is vitally important that you correctly fill in the quality seals when finalizing the progress screen of your orders. I myself have been having little mistakes happen which will happen to the best of us, but will continue to happen if you don’t voice your findings.

At the moment OASys has very few complaints about the quality of the balances. I believe, based on conversations and emails from a lot of you, that we are not reporting the problems properly. How does the MM team in the UK fix a problem if it doesn’t have a problem???

Going forward, please make sure that we take a good look at the balances when fitting them. Make notes of any imperfections, regardless of how small and get the info fed back to the support desk as well as the quality seals.

Now that I have finished babbling, let’s move on to the feedback!

NICKY'S FEEDBACK

I had a customer today that asked for a suit and his specifications are, red velvet with a fur trim. Do you think that we could fulfill this tall order by December 24th.?? Here is what my customer looked like.

P.S. My customer from last night also needs a red velvet hat with fur trim.

RICHARD'S FEEDBACK

Just when I thought I’d seen it all, along comes “Turkey Bowling”…….. I hear you say “What?”

In an effort to drum(stick) up some extra business today, the PX had placed a set of bowling pins in the aisle next to the Ladies’ Department and offered anyone who wished, a “live”, sorry, “frozen” turkey, instead of a bowling ball, to try and knock down the pins. Anyone who scored a “strike” received a “store coupon” for 10% off anything in the store or a “gift”.” No word on what the turkey thought of the idea!

AND MORE FROM RICHARD...

Here are a few quotations for you to ponder over, during their busy days...

“When the guy who made the first drawing board got it wrong, what did he go back to?”
Steven Wright

“I have my faults but being wrong isn’t one of them.”
Jimmy Hoffa

“The Insurance man told me that I was covered for falling off the roof but not for hitting the ground.”
Tommy Cooper (British Comedian)

“If you get to be one hundred you’ve got it made – very few people die past that age.” Uuuhm.
George Burns

“A woman drove me to drink and I never even had the courtesy to thank her.”
W.C.Fields

And finally, who said this? “I love flying – I’ve been to almost as many places as my luggage.”
I'll let you know the answer next time.

ADELLE’S FEEDBACK

Whilst working through a delivery close to home time, a Doctor from the Army Hospital came by and said he had a function to attend and had no idea what size suit he wears or what was appropriate for his occasion. Naturally I set him up with a suit and a couple of ties that he could use for different occasions. After he was taken care of, I went home. Then around about 7pm I get a call from the Store Manager, he said there is a customer here that had a family emergency and needs a suit for her husband and two sons. I came in measured them, found them suits and even matched the youngest one up with a suit out of the boys department. As you can imagine they were very grateful.

Now that’s customer service, well done Adelle!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL AND YOUR FAMILIES.

WE WISH YOU A VERY HAPPY FESTIVE SEASON AND A GOOD NEW YEAR

BACK CHAT FROM EUROPE

Written and composed by Trevor Scarratt

JINGLE BELLS...

It scarcely seems possible but the Yuletide Season has arrived once again and Santa has brought you all a joyful, light-hearted edition of BACK CHAT, interspersed with some true tales and stories on a Christmas theme. I have peppered this edition with a few seasonal jokes to help usher in the holidays. Many thanks to all who have contributed to this edition.

DOWN ON THE FARM...

Before we get into a jovial vein I want to inform you of a recent staff change at Kaiserslautern / Ramstein. It was very sad to see the departure of PAUL WORRALL who after spending quite a few months back in Germany, doing a superb job, returned to the UK recently. As far as I’m aware Paul is now back in Liverpool and I believe he wants to start College in the New Year. know too that he will be giving great support to his beloved “Reds” and I hope his cheering on the “Cop” will help us win the League this season!! I know you would all join me in wishing Paul well for the future.

Taking Paul’s place and fresh back from a whirlwind tour of Bermuda is LEIGH POULTON. This has been a case of “goodbye to her, hello to him, goodbye to him, hello to her”…..Anyway it’s a pleasure to welcome Leigh back and I’m sure we all wish her well on her second tour in Germany.

A CHRISTMAS CRACKER...

My Mother-in-Law has come round to our house at Christmas seven years running. This year we’re having a change. We’re going to let her in.
Les Dawson.

FROM THE MISTS OF TIME...

I want to thank Geoff Berry for this true story from, no doubt, a pantheon of witty stories from times past.

A number of years ago, when Alexandre made ladies garments, it happened that a very full busted lady entered one of our stores to place an order. Now, being amply proportioned, her figuration had to be entered on the figure details portion of the order form. The following instructions were thus written:

CUSTOMER HAS A FIGURE LIKE THE QUEEN MARY, THE MONARCH, NOT THE SHIP.

Geoff, I hadn’t realised we have been around so long!!!!

Anyway this detail was duly noted and it transpires that the lady was very happy with her order and I don’t believe that she got to see the order form. For those of you who don’t know, Queen Mary was our present Queen’s Grandmother and rather a full-busted lady.

ANOTHER CHRISTMAS CRACKER...

Wife - We’re going to have a baby, that’s my Christmas present to you. Husband - All I needed was a tie.
Woody Allen.

CHRISTKINDEL MARKT...

A just returned Geoff Berry sent me a lovely story about one of the most famous of all Christmas Markets in Germany: the one at Nuremburg. Geoff and his wife had planned two weeks in the sunny Canaries but due to a recent illness his wife was still unfit to fly. Instead they found themselves at the pretty walled medieval city of Nuremburg, which lies in the Franconia part of Bavaria. Despite enjoying the City’s museums, the lasting memory shared by Geoff and his wife was of the Christkindel Markt (Christ Child Market.) Many German towns and Cities regularly hold the markets, but in Geoff’s opinion this is the finest he’s seen which coming from an inveterate traveller that is some compliment. Apart from the foodstalls, nick-nacks of all kinds were to be seen and, featuring quite prominently, Nuremburg’s toys, which are still hand-made today. Glad to see not everything is made in China yet commented Geoff.

AND ANOTHER CHRISTMAS CRACKER...

We were so poor we couldn’t afford a turkey. We gave the budgie chest expanders. It was five aside to a cracker.
Les Dawson

CHRISTMAS IN PICTURES...

A few days ago John Collins, Leigh Poulton and myself were “out-on-the-town” in Kaiserslautern where we also had a small Christmas party. The accompanying photos were taken in the Stiftsplatz in central Kaiserslautern, where the Christmas Market is annually held. Lot’s of Glühwein (hot punch) was being consumed by the throng gathered there, but not by ourselves I’m glad to say AS two of us were driving.

AND ONE LAST CRACKER...

I gave my wife a brand new watch for Christmas, it was waterproof, shockproof, antimagnetic and unbreakable. Absolutely nothing would happen to it. What happened – She lost it...
Milton Berle

SEASONS GREETINGS...

I would like to wish you and your loved ones a VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS and a PROSPEROUS AND HEALTHY NEW YEAR 2008.

AND FINALLY...

BACK CHAT will re-commence in the New Year. Please keep your stories, anecdotes, jokes, anything in fact, coming so I can “feed” future editions. Thanks to you all who have contributed this year.

Back Chat

December 2007