Soft Serve Snafu

I love soft serve, so I went online and ordered a soft serve mix for home ice cream machines.

The product description for the mix I bought reads like this: With only 22 Calories per serving and 1.7 Net Carbs Per Serving, Carbawhey is a delicious soft serve dessert specially designed for low-carb, low-lactose, and "diet conscious" consumers. This healthy alternative has no unpleasant after-taste or side effects.

Read the full description.

Hmmm... sounds good, I thought. So I ordered the multi-apck and paid for the shipping.

Holy christ the stuff was bad. A very weird sticky consistency and just terrible flavor. I tried making both the chocolate and the vanilla flavors. The vanilla required using a neutral base mix and adding French Vanilla flavoring. There were two different sets of directions for ho wmuch flavoring to add based on how much mix you were using. I ended up with an orange concoction that reeked of alcohol and was totally inedible.

So, I decided to write to the site where I purchased the mixes from just to give my review and I was even thinking that *maybe* they would offer to make an exchange. My product review must have felt more like a personal attack to the vendor. This is our exchange.

Here's what I wrote:

----- Original Message -----
From: "Michelle Unrot"
To: "'Douglas A. Bouma'"
Sent: Thursday, November 29, 2007 7:02 AM
Subject: RE: Order Update


> You should put a note on the website that explains how AWFUL this stuff
> tastes! I'm sure it is very healthy, but at what price? YUCKY! We're so
> disappointed. And the directions that came with the French vanilla flavoring
> were totally wrong too... there were actually two different sets of
> directions that didn't match. Anyway, no personal offense, but I find the
> product to be really terrible.
>
> Sincerely,
> Michelle Unrot

Here's what he wrote:
(Take note of the last graf, and please, tell me what you think it means.)

Good morning,

Thank you for the kind words and the input towards the product. All criticism is welcome, and we do have someone here at all times of the day to answer any question that you may have.

We do have customers that rave about this product and they have had some variation in texture and taste. Of course the machine that you use typically has something to do with the outcome.

Once again thank you for your kind gesture this morning and I hope that you have the same type of success with your daily ventures in life.

Happy Holidays

Doug
Owner
Soft Serve Depot


I think the moral of the story is one we've all heard before: When something sounds too good to be true, it is.

I believe I'll just be heading to Pinkberry next time I want some soft serve.

Santa Clarita Half Marathon

I ran the Santa Clarita Half Marathon on Sunday morning. I can never sleep the night before a marathon... that means I didn't really get to take advantage of the fact that we got to turn the clocks back on Saturday night -- I mean, I couldn't sleep anyway! Oh well, at least it wasn't pitch black when I had to leave the house and head out for the race.

It was unseasonably warm too. As I ran the first few miles on the streets and trails winding through the Santa Clarita Valley the sky turned from fuchsia to a lighter pink to a brilliant blue with streaky white clouds almost imperceptibly. The air was crisp, but not cold. Perfect running conditions.

I love running in organized events because I don't need to worry about carrying water or snacks or if there's a place to pee along the trail -- all that is taken care of by the organizers. But, perhaps the best thing is the buzz of energy that surrounds you. I feel like I am literally pulled along almost effortlessly (but not quite) by the rest of the runners.

My mind slips and slides while I'm running long distances. Sometimes I am extremely focused on a single idea: I'm going to pass that guy with the red dolphin shorts and hairy legs before the next song starts OR I'll plan an elaborate dinner party (that I'll never throw) down to the minutest details -- think personalized place settings and a different beverage for every course.

Then sometimes I find that miles have passed and I've noticed nothing except the texture of the bridge boards I crossed earlier in the run. I can't recall where I'm at in my run, what songs I've listened to or what I've been thinking about.

Other times I run like a kid... I clear my mind, smile (at least to myself, no need to look like a complete dork), and kick out my feet and swing my arms and just have fun!

Regardless of how a run goes I almost always feel the same at the end: energized, a little high and extremely sexy and strong.

I finished in 2 hours and 9 minutes, about what I had expected based on my training and bout with illness in the weeks preceding the race.

While I was running, my little boy participated in a Kid K run. A Kid K is where the kids run in a one kilometer race (that's a little over a half-mile for the metrically challenged). It's a great way to get kids excited about running and to keep them busy while parents are running longer events. My little tike had a great time, it was his first event, but hopefully not his last!

The Oddest Interview

Yesterday I had what was perhaps the oddest interview I have ever had, save for one I had during the Internet boom in which the barefooted person interviewing me was playing ping pong, likely high and most likely making a six figure salary for doing not too much.

A couple of weeks ago I applied for a job at a big satellite entertainment company where I did some freelance work in between having my two kids. A week ago I was informed that someone from Human Resources would be calling me to conduct a "screening" call. When I asked what type of information I would need ready and how long it would take I was told that I didn't need to have anything ready as it was a background interview and it would be a standard list of questions. Not so.

A very nice woman from the company's HR office in Denver called me with a long list of very specific job interview questions that had been prepared by the person actually doing the hiring in Idaho. As I was answering each of the questions she was typing away at her keyboard, periodically asking me to pause or to repeat things -- which was really awkward. Aside from not getting any body language feedback from the interviewer, I knew my answers would seem flat without my own witty tone. Plus, when I asked for clarification on one of the questions, she said, "Well, I don't want to give anything away."

I really liked my response to one of the questions. The HR rep. said, "This job is described as hectic, busy, requires overtime and some weekends... Describe your current work schedule." To which I replied, "I'm a stay-at-home mom so my schedule is hectic, busy, requires overtime, working weekends -- AND I don't get sick days!"

Of course, I don't get paid either, but I didn't think that would be a good thing to point out. Anyway, wish me luck.