Junonia, Part 8: The Conclusion

The tracking number they gave me came alive later that day and I have actually received my order. They charged me the shipping that they had promised to refund, and I will call one more time to be removed from their mailing list. This was definitely a case of too little, too late.

The main problem here is not that the company had difficulty shipping my order on time. That happens--it's part of running a business like this one. The problem was the absolute lack of truthfulness or transparency, the piles and piles of lies (come on--a fake tracking number just to get me off the phone?), the clear message that Junonia does not care about their customers. As someone who works very hard to care about her customers, and works for a company that prides itself on doing so, I simply have no use for a company like Junonia.

Junonia, Part 7: Three Full Weeks Later

Last night I received a message on my phone from a mysterious Kelly at Junonia, who wanted to discuss my order with me. I called back, only to be told that she had just left, she only works until 6. I said to have her call me back today...and she did not. So I just called again. They said she had already gone home. I asked what time it was. It was 5. Um, ok, so 'six' means 'five' like 'in stock' means 'we have no idea' and 'in shipping' means 'we still have no idea'.

Then they told me that my order has shipped and gave me a tracking number. Oh, joy! I checked the tracking number on UPS and....it doesn't exist. Just like the FedEx tracking number they gave me two weeks ago. Somehow, I just can't get my hopes up.

Why I Get Paid the Big Bucks

(Ok, not so big.) Today's happy customer was looking for Wikipedia. Sadly, in his quest for this font of knowledge, he accidentally bought a tantric sex manual! This is why the internet should require a driver's test, folks. I got him a refund for his accidental purchase, and directed him toward the Wikipedia site. Once there, I suggested he enter a search term. A search term? He had no time for search terms! He just wanted to have Wikipedia. For his very own. I attempted to enlighten him but I don't think the seeds took root.

In the process, he also ran across some Haiti Relief ads and accused me of begging for money. And when he hung up he said he was upset. Some days...

Junonia, Part 6: Still In Process

Daphine tells me my order is 'in process'. I am beginning to wonder what that process is. Given the various forms my order has gone through, perhaps they are attempting to conjure it up with magic spells?

Junonia, Part 5: It's Back in the Box!

Riiiiight. According to Stephanie, today my order is 'in the shipping process' and 'just about to go out'. Of course, she can't tell me when it WILL ship or how long it has been 'in the shipping process'.

We'll see.

Because Healthy Isn't Healthy if it Isn't On Our Terms

Whole Foods Staffers to Pay Less If They Weigh Less

Apparently for Whole Foods stores, which I used to adore but now will not patronize, it isn't enough that you eat whole foods! No, you have to eat whole foods AND not smoke AND be skinny AND have the 'right' cholesterol numbers and blood pressure numbers. Otherwise, if you work for them, they will charge you more for the healthy food!

Does this make absolutely no sense to anyone else? You are not healthy enough for us...therefore we want to make it more expensive for you to get healthier...because we people whose numbers are perfect deserve it....good gracious.

Junonia, Part 4: Day 18 and Still More Lies

Today's call to Junonia netted me an associate named Sherona. Sherona informed me that not only is my order not in a box, waiting for the UPS truck (as Friday's and Saturday's associates had told me), that no one has even begun on it. She said too many people ahead of me in line are still waiting on their orders. She has no idea, she said, why anyone would have told me differently.

I have some ideas.

Junonia, Part 3: The Count-Up Continues

I called. My 'waiting in a box for UPS' order...didn't go out with today's UPS shipment. Hmm...wonder why that is?

I did, finally, get a person on the phone (ironically male) who actually seemed to care, and is refunding my shipping, without being asked. Or, at least, he says he is...I have been lied to so many times that I do not dare get my hopes up.

And, no, no response from the ever-peppy Anne Kelley who is 'so happy to serve' me.

Junonia, Part 2: Still Falling Down on the Job

Yesterday I sent this letter to Junonia's uber-cheerful 'Founder' (sorry...have to listen to her 'we're so happy' message every time I call):

Anne,

I am sorry to say that I will never shop with your company again. I have also shared these sentiments on my blog, where I frequently write about issues we face as plus-size women, and about my journey towards a more active lifestyle.

The reason that I will no longer buy from your company is that I have experienced some of the worst customer service of my life in the last two weeks (outdone only be telecommunications companies). I work for [insert best customer service company in universe] and I simply cannot tolerate the practices of your company, from a consumer's point of view, as I would never treat a customer as I have been treated.

On January 7th I placed an order for three items, all listed in stock. The email confirmation I received said all items were in stock and would ship immediately. One week later, having received neither a shipping notice nor my package, I called your company and was informed that the order would ship out the next day and was given a Fedex Tracking number. I checked this tracking number the next day, and the next, and the next, with no results. I called again, I believe last Friday. At this point I was informed that my items were backordered and would have to wait for an inventory to be done, and that someone would call me back (no one ever did). I called again this Monday and was told the items would ship out on Tuesday or Wednesday and I would be given free next-day shipping. Today is Thursday and, having received no package, I called one more time. This time I was told that the items were there, but they simply aren't going to be shipped yet, and no one can tell me when I should receive them. This is two full weeks after the email confirmation, which stated that all items were in stock and would ship immediately. Apparently, there is another definition for 'immediately' of which I was not aware.

I understand from some of your representatives, who, frankly, did not seem to care about my order, that you moved your warehouse and stopped shipping all orders in order to do inventory. While I can understand the necessity of the first and the lure of the second, it is bad practice to not put a notice on your website, during the order process, and in the confirmation emails that all shipping is halted, so that your customers are not left hanging as I have been. I know that if you had placed an order with the company I work for, and for some reason we were not able to fulfill it on time, we would contact you to let you know, not leave you waiting for weeks and making call after call, getting a different story each time until finally you feel like your money and your items are being held ransom.

I hope in the future your company will provide both a good product and good service, but unfortunately, I am not willing to wait for it.

Sincerely,
Jennifer -----

Today I called again. They said that--happy news!--my items had been BOXED and were waiting for UPS. Yeah...right. Do they staff with snails and sloths, or what? Actually, having been told more than once over the last two weeks that my items were on the brink of shipping...I think it's hogwash.

Junonia

I am very sorry to say that I will never buy from Junonia again. This is unfortunate, because they carry items that are difficult to find elsewhere. But their customer service has been inexcusable.

Two full weeks ago, on January 7th, I placed an order. My order confirmation email specifically says all items are in stock and will ship immediately. As of today, they have not yet shipped. As of today, the only further communication has been when I have called them--they didn't call or email me to let me know that things were running extremely late. I have called four times and two of those times have been told everything was about to ship out. But it has not. Apparently they have moved their entire warehouse AND done a stop-all-shipping inventory during this time. No notices on the website to let customers know this would happen, though.

Where I work, you get an email if your items will arrive either early or late. We don't shut down an entire company to count things. We don't leave customers hanging. Unfortunately, we also don't sell plus-size active wear, so the search will continue.

I Know It Isn't Summer...

but I just found this site and it is really, really neat, so I thought I would pass it along. I haven't bought anything, just 'window shopped' but I have never seen such a huge collection of suits and, since I am likely never going to buy from Junonia again after my most recent experience with them, this find is certainly timely.

Swimsuits for All sells suits for size 8 and up. From functional to pretty, including post-mastectomy styles.

Waste

Last night was my grandma's birthday, so we had a family dinner at a local restaurant (with the absolute best soup-and-salad bar in the area). Li'l Sis and I both left chocolate on the table, uneaten, and she got chided for it (I think they have all given up on trying to impact my eating habits. Yay.) The thing is, though...chocolate is not sacred. No food is.

When I make a dress, I buy a length of fabric, and inevitably, I throw a bunch in the garbage--the scraps. Am I wasting them? Of course not. Those pieces of fabric would get in the way of creating a well-fitting, flattering garment.

When an artist sculpts something out of clay, there's scraping, trimming, and tossing. Is that waste? No, if the artist were forced to incorporate every bit of clay from the block, we'd have an ugly masterpiece, indeed.

Haircuts, woodworking, scrapbooking, even a little child's artwork--all of it involves tossing the extraneous material. Why should a meal be any different? If the aim of eating a meal is physical and emotional satisfaction, and giving energy to the body, then there are times-many times for some-when that means leaving food on the plate. The broccoli is bitter, the chocolate is too sweet or not tasty enough, the stomach is simply not asking for quite that much food...I would really like to see 'wasted' food seen in the same light as tossing the fabric scraps, trimming the clay away and sanding the wood, rather than the all-too-common moral imperative to clean one's plate. Not to mention the fact that if you aren't hungry and you eat the food just to get it eaten...it's still wasted, only you still have to deal with it.

White Rice: Not the Breakfast of Champions

So, the question on your minds, I am sure, is why Jennifer would eat a bowl of white rice for breakfast? I will tell you.

My mom and my sister were diagnosed with pre-diabetes and diabetes, respectively, within a few months of one another. I figured it behooved me to find out of I had it as well. So, I bought a glucose meter and ran the equivalent of a glucose tolerance test on myself, using rice rather than that nasty syrup they give you at the labs, or jelly bellies, which make my stomach unhappy. (if you don't know--you can actually use jelly belly jelly beans--so all you pregnant ladies, go armed with this info to your prenatal appointments! LOL)

The results? Nothing too terrible but not great, either.
Fasting level: 90
1 hour after eating rice: 164
2 hours: 112
3 hours: 86

The interesting thing is that I was trying to get used to my meter yesterday (rather than using it for the first time at 5:30 a.m.) and tested myself an hour after eating a turkey salad sandwich. I tested at 84, which is really good.

The only explanation I can come up with is that I don't handle straight carbs well. This, of course, would explain why I rarely drink soda, and then only with a meal, always have to have protein with my breakfast, can no longer happily eat the amounts of rice and other carbs that I used to eat, and that apples make me hungry. I have decided that by eating intuitively, I have allowed my body to tell me what it can and can not deal with, and have basically been managing my sensitive blood sugar without knowing the numbers and dealing with sore fingertips.

I will, of course, be calling my doctor's office and requesting an A1C test to confirm this theory.

Now, if the question in your minds has become, 'Will this scare Jennifer back onto the diet bandwagon where she belongs?' then you clearly have not been reading what I have written, and you suffer from some misconceptions.

First, being fat does not cause diabetes. Being diabetic frequently does cause weight-gain, and that is where you get the correlation, but you don't cause diabetes by what you eat or what you weigh, and losing weight doesn't magically make it go away.

Secondly, even if losing weight made diabetes go away, the fact is that 99% of diets fail. And weight cycling IS bad for diabetes (weight cycling is another risk factor), and is also bad for my mental health, and so I will never, ever be going there again.

Thirdly, Intuitive Eating has brought me to a place where I feel better than I have in years and I can't imagine abandoning it now would make me healthier.

And, finally, I choose not to live in fear.

Self-perception, Again.

I started Karate class tonight. After three years of watching from the sidelines, I thought it was about time.

The lady leading the warm-ups looked at me after a few minutes and said, "So you're one of the flexible types!"

I actually argued with her. I have never, ever thought of myself as flexible, but apparently I have been mistaken. Somehow I had a misconception about body size and composition as it equates (or doesn't equate) to being flexible. I am now in the process of re-adjusting my understanding.

Class was fun. I survived. Might regret it in the morning, though!