Like A Clingy Ex

Nick Denton cancels his Vonage account and calls the process "reasonable," even after nearly an hour on hold. What happened to our expectations for service? Remind me to make sure I have my PSP in hand before I dial up customer service.

I love how companies make it such a chore to cancel accounts that bill recurring fees every month. Then bloggers write about being treated this way by "customer service" and customer acquisition ends up paying the price because people don't want to sign up with a company that acts like a clingy ex who won't let you break up.

She Said Yes

On Saturday, I took Lauren on a picnic on a rowboat on Bellows Pond. We rowed all the way out to the far end of the lake, and I unpacked a picnic lunch I had prepared for our 6-month anniversary as a couple. We had cheese and crackers, grapes, and other little snacks while we drifted off across the lake. We toasted six months with a bottle of champagne and some strawberries from the local market. It was a perfect day, with perfect weather. I was playing some acoustic music through my iPod, which I hooked up to a small radio we brought with us. We shared an embrace, I took her hand and whispered that I had something I wanted to ask her. Then I asked her for her hand in marriage. She said yes and I slid the ring on her finger.

I'll post some photos soon.

Developing A Blogging Policy?

Associate Planner Elizabeth Todd sent me a link to this story, which is especially relevant given that we had two new interns start at Underscore at the beginning of last week. So I guess I need an official blogging policy, so that the interns don't give away any confidential client information. I suspect that in all other respects, the policy will pretty much be the exact opposite of Viacom's policy. We'll see.

A Picture Is Worth More Than 1,000 Words

We're all late to work sometimes. When Larissa Ovejas-Lee, one of Underscore's client stewards, is unavoidably delayed, she's taken to sending the team an e-mail from her Sidekick. Sometimes, said e-mail includes pictures, like the one here, of the traffic jam she's currently sitting in. Of course, we believe Larissa when she says she's sitting in Long Island Expressway traffic, even if she doesn't send pictures. We've all been there before, and it's no fun.