Great service from a caring company creates a loyal customer

Posted on December 7, 2011 by Nadine Robinson| Leave a comment

I’ve decided that other companies can learn a thing or two about customer service from Porter Airlines.

Porter is doing so many things right. They offer reasonably priced flights and a number of little classy touches (that used to be the norm, but are now the exception) such as: more leg room, real glasses to drink from, free wine and beer in-flight, free premium snacks in-flight and in the free lounge (I am now addicted to Terra Chips thanks to Porter), and free wi-fi in the lounge.

In addition to a good product at a good price, every time that I’ve talked to a Porter employee, I’ve left with a good feeling about the company. I feel like they care about me and my business. Continue reading →

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Posted in Editorial, Life's Journey, Marketing

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Friendship, sunsets, compassion, community add nothing to the GDP

Posted on November 23, 2011 by Nadine Robinson| Leave a comment

A quote caught my eye the other day: “Gross National Product measures everything, except that which makes life worthwhile.” — Robert Kennedy.

I agree with this on so many levels. Acknowledging that I am no economist, for me the market value of all products and services produced in one year by Canada has very little to do with my quality of life, and perhaps has more to do with encroaching upon it. Continue reading →

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Posted in Editorial, Life's Journey

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Time-of-use electricity rates: More greenwashing or real conservation?

Posted on November 9, 2011 by Nadine Robinson| Leave a comment

When the first brochures came out about time-of-use (TOU) billing rates, I was under the impression that somehow the change was going to benefit me as a consumer. I read the headings of the brochures sent with my electricity bill: “simple changes can bring real benefits” and “putting you in control” and “Choose your time. Manage your costs.” To me, those words implied consumer benefits, but I should have read what was in between those headings: my bad for being too trusting. Continue reading →

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It was the best of wait times; It was the worst of wait times

Posted on October 26, 2011 by Nadine Robinson| Leave a comment

Let me regale you with a tale, a not so age-old Dickens tale: a tale of two walk-in clinics.

It was the best of wait times, it was the worst of wait times, “it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness,” it was the epoch of near instant service, it was the epoch of waiting forever. Continue reading →

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Posted in Editorial, Life's Journey, Safety & Health

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Thanksgiving is a holiday for connecting, not collecting

Posted on October 12, 2011 by Nadine Robinson| Leave a comment

Thanksgiving still remains my favourite holiday. When else is nature strutting her stuff so vividly? When else do you get a day off to spend with family that isn’t focused on buying or spending or doing laundry? When else do you find most families not cooking processed food? And perhaps most importantly, when else do you get pumpkin pie? Continue reading →

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Everyone loves a parade, except the media — they’d prefer a protest

Posted on September 28, 2011 by Nadine Robinson| Leave a comment

Fall in! Attention! Present soap box! Ho!

It was a stunning sight. On Sunday, more than 4,000 peace officers paraded onto Parliament Hill to honour their fallen colleagues. Motorcycle police blazed the trail with their red and blue lights flashing, and the pipe bands followed, leading companies marching in dress uniform, buttons polished, and ceremonial swords glinting in the sun. There were police officers from Vancouver to Newfoundland (and even from Cleveland) marching alongside park wardens, corrections personelle and the Canada Border Services Agency reps.

Flags surrounding the hill were at half-staff. (Yes, friends and media colleagues, it is half-staff and not half-mast … seriously there are no ships on top of those buildings.)

The hats of Toronto Police Sgt. Ryan Russell, York Regional Police Const. Garrett Styles, Const. Sébastien Coghlan-Goyette of the Sûreté du Québec, and RCMP Const. Michael Potvin were carried in on pillows and placed in front of an audience of VIPs, including the families of the fallen officers, and Gov. Gen. David Johnston.

I was watching from the 19th floor of the Westin Hotel, flipping through the television channels to find live coverage. There was nothing on CTV, CBC, or the local Rogers community channel. I went to the Internet and also came up blank. I was shocked. Continue reading →

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Posted in Editorial, Life's Journey, Safety & Health

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Stop trying to keep up with the Joneses — we aren’t entitled to any of it

Posted on September 14, 2011 by Nadine Robinson| Leave a comment

The unfortunate sign of the times is ‘For sale by owner’.

Driving through upper Michigan this past weekend I was awestruck at the number of “for sale” signs. In this case, I’m referring not to houses, but to the items for sale parked on the front lawns of houses.

Boats, recreational vehicles, trailers, riding mowers, motorcycles, tractors, and more, were all for sale. I really wasn’t sure what would be around the next corner with a for sale sign on it, as nothing seemed off limits. (How much do you think you could ask for your spouse if he or she would stand still on the lawn for long enough?)

My mind was processing these bargains at the breakneck pace of 70 mp/h as we drove past. My first thought was, “Wow, the economy here really is hurting.” My second thought was, “Wow, I could really pick up some bargains.” My third thought was, “Wow, this is all stuff that no one really needs.” Continue reading →

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Know the rules before riding away on your bicycle

Posted on August 31, 2011 by Nadine Robinson| Leave a comment

A 76-year-old man was recently charged with driving a bicycle on a sidewalk after he was struck by a motorist. Can we assume that he knew it was called a sidewalk and not a sideride? Is this a question of a lack of knowledge or breaking the law knowingly? Should the motorist also be considered in this equation?

Following the death of a GTA cyclist this summer, I’ve been following the debate discussing whether or not cyclists should have to be licensed. The real question however is what would make our roads safer. Continue reading →

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Posted in Editorial, Parenting, Safety & Health

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When your relationship with food is no longer healthy, get help

Posted on August 17, 2011 by Nadine Robinson| Leave a comment

I don’t often read the advice column, but recently a headline of the Ask Amy column caught my eye: Anorexic worries parents by refusing treatment. The column was about a young adult “not ready to make a recovery from this disorder,” choosing anorexia as “the lifestyle I want right now” and tired of her parents’ “nagging.”

The denial of the severity of her situation was frightening. Anorexia is a disease that has deadly consequences when left unchecked (with a 20% mortality rate without treatment), resulting in starvation, heart complications, or depression leading to suicide. It is not a lifestyle. If you were diagnosed with cancer, it is unlikely that you would avoid treatment and choose the lifestyle of cancer.

Anorexia is a dangerous obsessive-compulsive disorder that requires immediate attention. When patients are too deep in denial the onus shifts to their family and friends to help them seek treatment. Continue reading →

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Posted in Parenting, Safety & Health, Uncategorized

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Credibility suffers when people use the wrong homophone

Posted on August 3, 2011 by Nadine Robinson| Leave a comment

If I were Queen Elizabeth II, I would make my legacy a campaign reinforcing the importance of written communication skills, as “her” English is being mutilated daily.

I’m not referring to the lack of eloquence, nor am I delving into dwindling vocabularies wrought with management-speak. Grammar is my focus today; specifically, my homophonia (or fear of the incorrect use of homophones).

The collective “we” are quickly losing the ability to communicate properly. The rise of a whole new lexicon of abbreviations and phonetic spellings (LOL, OMG, BBM, U R cute 2day etc.) have taken over through social media and instant messaging. While the fewest and fastest keystrokes seem to win nowadays, we can still teach children, teenagers (and some adults) that they can be grammatically correct just as quickly.

Homophones (words that sound the same with different spelling and meaning) are the biggest thorn in my paw. “There,” “their” and “they’re” are the worst to me. “Too,” “to” and “two” are a close second, while “its” and “it’s” are similarly stomach-churning. Continue reading →

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Posted in Life's Journey, Parenting, Uncategorized

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