Update 8/26/10: Follow Sweet-n-Sassy on Facebook and Twitter!

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Sweet-n-Sassy Baking, which made its web debut a few months ago, now has a brick-and-mortar cafe on main street right across from the federal building.  Janet has expanded her repertoire to serve soups, salads, sandwiches and more to her hungry visitors.  The menu will be online at her website, http://www.sweetnsassybaking.com, very soon.

Meanwhile, this is what’s in the offering:

Sandwiches – served with chips & pickle

BLT, club, chicken salad on croissant, deli (turkey or ham), pimento cheese, and fried bologna.

Salads

Chef salad (turkey, ham, cheese, tomatoes, eggs, croutons), spinach salad (baby spinach, bacon, croutons, red onions, eggs), Caesar salad, anti-pasta salad (rotini pasta w/ garlic basil,  parsley, dressing w/ black olives, smoked sausage, pepper jack cheese)

Sides

Potato salad, sweet-n-sour pasta salad, black eyed peas, anti-pasta, side salad

Miscellaneous

Loaded baked potato and soup of the day

Sweet Stuff

Cupcakes, cookies, brownies, cake, and pie

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When a company delivers bad service, word quickly gets around.  You tell this friend, and they tell others, etc. until many people know you’ve been treated badly.  But, when a company like Lowes delivers outstanding customer service, people should hear about that, too.  Hence, this post.

Sunday a week ago, my mother and I went to Lowes in Muskogee to purchase 3 outside utility buildings.  We purchased two 10×14 buildings and one 10×12 to be delivered the next day.  We were given free delivery to two different places, which would normally have been about $65 each.  After we checked out, my mother realized she had a 10% off card she forgot to use.  The folks at the customer service desk re-did her order so she could get the 10% off, which was a substantial amount.  Great service #1 & #2.

The next day, the delivery guy called to say he was delivering two 10×12 and one 10×14 buildings.  I corrected him and told him it should be the other way around: two of the larger buildings and one smaller one.  He said he would check and call me back.  Well, I did some checking, too.  I found out from the receipt that they had rung it up wrong.  When the delivery person called back, he said they had made the mistake and would honor the original order at no extra charge.  Great service #3.

My mother decided, on the hottest day of the year, to not wait for me to help, but to begin building one of the buildings herself.  I didn’t know this until she called Sunday (yesterday) to tell me that the building she had almost completed did not have a floor kit in it like it was supposed to.  So, I got her to give me the item number and I searched online.  It didn’t come up with anything valid on Lowe’s site, but the number of the other 10×14 building did.  And, according to the website, that item number does have a floor kit included.

So, off to Lowes I go to try to figure this out.  The manager who worked with us the first time is on vacation.  Sure.  So, I asked to speak to another manager.  I explained to this manager what happened and, after searching, told me they don’t make the floor kits anymore since they now are included.  Apparently, they are the same building, but one was the old one that needed a floor kit and one was the new one that had it included.  He had an employee open a box and pull out the floor kit for me.  He even allowed me to take the hardware bag and a few other parts that looked like they may be needed (or not) just in case.  I promised to return what we don’t use, but told him it may be a week before I could do it.  (With temps forecast over 100° for the next few days, I doubt I will want to mess with it much.)  Great service #4.

Yes, we had some problems, but Lowes in Muskogee did their level best to fix them and make the customer happy.  In fact, they went above and beyond.  They didn’t even hassle me for the receipt.  Most places would have wanted us to dismantle the wrong building and exchange it for the correct one and want the receipt.

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We’ve been there.  A special occasion and you need a cake, but don’t want to go with the supermarket cake.  Sweet-n-Sassy has the answer.  I’ve tasted Janet’s award-winning cakes and they are fantastic.  Free delivery in the Muskogee area.  Well, just go to her website and you’ll see.

*** UPDATE:  The owner of Sweet-n-Sassy has decided to open her own restaurant.  Watch for it on her website and on Main street across from the Federal Building.  I for one can’t wait for it to open!

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I remember when I was growing up, we lived in Oklahoma, Florida and Texas.  When we lived out of state, we would still spend the summers in Muskogee.  Then, later, I married and settled in Muskogee.  I remember the warm summer Friday nights filled with the sounds from Thunderbird Speedway.

Depending on how the wind was blowing determined the volume, but you could hear the races all over Muskogee.  I was very sad when it closed down.  Even if you weren’t at the track, it was still exciting to listen to the cars accelerate and decelerate with a popping sound.

In the meantime, Outlaw Motor Speedway opened South of Town and has gained quite a following, so the question is: Can Muskogee support a track inside city limits again?

Stanley Slader is re-opening Thunderbird this month.  Personally, I will welcome the Friday night sounds again, but I realize that some people will not, especially those living close to the fairgrounds.  It will be interesting to see what happens that first race night as far as how many people complain about the noise.

I wish Mr. Slader the best of luck in re-opening this track and I plan to attend races there again.

For more information:

• Thunderbird Speedway website
• Outlaw Motor Speedway website
• Muskogee Phoenix: Thunderbird Speedway set to re-open March 26

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Customer service is priority 1.  Or, should I say, when the customer feels like he or she is priority 1, that is great customer service.  More banks need to be like BancFirst.

I am choosy when it comes to banks.  In fact, I left a bank with terrible customer service to move my accounts to BancFirst several years ago and have been quite pleased since. Over the years, I have consistently recommended BancFirst to anyone who would listen.  A few years ago, my check card number was compromised and someone purchased a domain and web hosting with it.  BancFirst worked with me to reverse the charges and put the money back into my account very quickly.  I was in need of a small loan to cover an unexpected tax liability and BancFirst worked with me on a small second mortgage to cover that.  Those at the main branch have been most helpful with all of my needs.

I had a situation last Sunday morning when I was awakened at about 2am and told that I needed to make an emergency trip out of town.  I knew I would need toll money, so I stopped at the closest branch with an ATM on my way out of town.  Unfortunately, it was down.  Their next closest ATM was at a store that was closed, so I had no choice but to use another bank’s ATM.  Of course, that bank charges a $2 fee for the privilege of getting their money, but I knew, based upon the one similar previous experience I had, that I could call BancFirst and they would reimburse the fee since their ATM was down.

So, first thing Monday, I called the bank to resolve this.  I talked with the customer service representative who answered the phone and was able to get BancFirst’s foreign ATM fee removed, but he couldn’t refund the $2 the other bank charged.  Since I was unable to get any satisfaction over the phone, I visited the main branch.  I know, it’s only 2 bucks, but, to me, it was the principal of the thing.  I’m not going to go broke over $2, but, then, neither is the bank.  To me, it was a customer service issue.

While I was waiting on someone to help me (I didn’t want to talk to the rep or his supervisor since I had already been that route), branch president John Barton appeared to assist me.  I explained the situation to him and he readily agreed to refund the $2.  I don’t know if the bank has a fund they refund from (I was told they did, once), or if he pulled 2 singles out of his own pocket and put it in my account.  Either way, he knows the value of a happy customer.

I know I wouldn’t have closed my accounts for a 2 dollar fee, but I would have been less happy (probably only for a bit, though, as I don’t hold grudges very long).  But, for only 8 quarters, Mr. Barton bought my continued loyalty and he can rest assured I will continue to recommend BancFirst over any other.  BancFirst will also be my first stop for all of my financial needs and, when I finally DO win the lottery, they will have my money.

I’m not saying businesses should give in to every little demand, but they should weigh the cost of customer service and customer retention with the cost of earning a new customer and make decisions based upon that.  They should also empower their employees to make some decisions themselves and train them in customer service.  I don’t have millions of dollars in the bank, so me closing my accounts probably would not make much difference to a bank the size of BancFirst and Mr. Barton knows this, or will when he accesses my accounts.  However, he did not act based upon my pitiful net worth, but, he acted, I believe, based upon my worth as a customer.  He made me feel like I was priority 1.

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My 22-year-old son needed a new car, so we went with him yesterday to help him out a bit.  To tell you the truth, I was NOT looking forward to this.  I’ve been in too many dealerships where the pressure is on and you feel like a slime if you even think about leaving without one of their cars.  I mean, how dare you turn down their generous offer to help you out because, of course, that is their only interest.  When you show the least bit of hesitation, the sales manager comes in to assault you.  They never want to tell you the best price for the car, but what your payments will be, so they want to run your credit first.  I don’t play that game any more.

Well, the first place we went was Speedway Chevrolet on 145th East Avenue in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.  Their inventory is low due to cash for clunkers, but they have a few vehicles on the lot.  The salesperson greeted us and asked us what we are looking for.  My son tells her he really wants a truck, but doesn’t know if he can afford one yet.  So, she shows us 2009 Silverados, allows him to test drive them, and answers all of our questions.  As we go back in to her cubicle to check prices, she excuses herself to get the numbers.  When she returns, she also has prices on two used trucks for comparison.  The sales manager is in-tow, also.  I brace myself because I think I know what’s coming.  He simply shakes our hands and thanks us for being there.  I’m shocked and the salesperson can read it on my face as she comments about it.

She accompanies us to the used lot and does not hand us off, but works with one of the used salesmen.  We test drive a 2006 Silverado, and my son decides he wants to try for the new one.  Since the price really was not that much lower, I agreed with him, and we return to the new side with the same salesperson.  She gave us the price on the truck, all rebates, and what she would give us on the trade, if we decide to trade.  We tell her we would like to check at another dealership and to hold on to the paperwork.  Of course, she remarks that she would rather us stay, but she understands and does not pressure us.

We did visit another dealership, one where we bought our Silverado from 2 years ago.  They had a lot smaller selection, but we thought we’d check it out.  They were a lot more high-pressure and did the whole sales manager thing to us.  The salesperson said she needed to run my son’s credit so she could tell us the price.  I told her that she did not, in fact, need to know his credit score to give us a price, only a payment number.  That’s when the sales manager came in.  He gave us the price, then they added on something called ‘Nitrogen’ for $599, and of course the dealer prep fee for $249 or so.  When I asked what the Nitrogen was, they said that was their profit.  Hmm.  That sounded fishy.  Plus, I had to push them to give me the same rebate and the same trade that Speedway gave us without us asking.  Anyway, we did leave that dealership (actually, we sneaked out) and returned to Speedway.

We finished the deal with our original salesperson, she did the paperwork and I asked her about any add-on fees.  She told me that the number she had on the paperwork was the out-the-door price, no fees.  We agreed and then, and only then, did she ask for his credit information.  All was approved and he drove home a new 2009 Chevy Silverado regular cab truck with only 89 miles on it.

My son and I had a wonderful car-buying experience at Speedway Chevrolet in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.  I would hope anyone else who shops for a vehicle there has a similar experience.

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