I have been very impressed on two occasions recently with customer service. Maybe my expectations were low, as they usually are for customer service, but recently I have been noticing more and more great levels of customer service.
1) Some of you may know my mom became very sick recently, just before her and my dad and brother were planning their annual trip out here to visit. They had to cancel their trip the day before they were supposed to leave, and had to call Delta to make arrangements. Because it was for medical reasons, Delta waived not only my mom's change fee, but also my dad and my brother's (even thought my brother was coming in from a different city). They were so helpful and compassionate, it really took me by surprise. I wasn't expecting it and it made me feel good.
2) I have a slight obsession with Pottery Barn these days. Their marketing and advertising team are a bunch of genius's if you ask me. Case in point: they must have sent me one catalog a week with all their "Outdoor Living" crap, that I finally caved and decided to make something into our little side patio:
(I also got a big umbrella that goes over the space but you can't see it in picture.) They had a sale on the outdoor pillows, with free shipping, so I, of course, ordered like 15 pillows, because I couldn't decide which combination of pillows I wanted without seeing them in person. Anyway, when it came time to return the pillows I didn't want, PB credited me with a merchandise card instead of crediting my credit card. Needless to say, I wasn't very pleased. I sent their customer service an email and asked that they credit my card instead, and I was seriously fuming and expected them to tell me that I was SOL (sh-t out of luck). They promptly responded that they were sorry for the inconvenience, and that they were credit my card within 4 days. WOW. Once again, impressed.
It doesn't take much, in my opinion, to provide good customer service, and although this has absolutely nothing to do with food, I've been feeling the need to tell someone about this.
So, back to food. I struggle with finding new and easy side dishes all the time, but this is a good one:
Cheesy Factor (1 no cheese, 10 all cheese): 1
Dummy Factor (1 easiest, 10 hardest): 2
Time Factor (1 shortest, 10 longest): 3
Mushroom Orzo
1 Tbl butter
6 mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup onion, chopped
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup water
1/2 tsp favorite fresh herb, chopped
1/2 cup orzo pasta
salt and pepper
In sauce pan, bring chicken broth and water to boil, add orzo, reduce to simmer, and cook as directed, or until soft/slightly al dente. While orzo is cooking, in a saute pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add mushrooms, garlic, onion, season with salt, pepper, and herbs, and saute until soft. Once orzo is done cooking, drain and then add to saute pan, and toss to mix. Season with a little more salt and pepper, and toss again. Serve hot.
This doesn't sound all that exciting, but it's pretty flavorful. The orzo soaks up a lot of the chicken flavor, and the sauteed veggies and garlic with herbs mix in really nice. Overall, it's a pretty adaptable side dish that will go with whatever main entre you are serving.
