Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883

Time for a reset

“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes…including you.” – Anne Lamott

For the first time since I became a newspaper publisher, I “unplugged” for three days. I left my phone and my laptop in the room where we were staying, and I took a break from the constant emails and phone calls that generally fill my days and enjoyed being fully present with family.

I have my in-laws to thank for the opportunity. They booked this trip for us a year ago, as a Christmas present to their kids and grandkids. However, it was my kids who challenged me to use this time away to the fullest.

“Mom, you’re so stressed all the time,” my daughter said. “I think you should not touch your computer the whole time we’re on this trip.” I thought it was a good idea, but I wasn’t sure whether or not I could actually stick to the plan. If you didn’t know, I’m a bit of a workaholic. I take my job seriously, and I’m fully aware that the news business can be 24/7.

I anticipated that there might be questions from staff and community members, and I was fully aware that something might happen that required news coverage while I was out of town. So, I made a compromise. From the time we parked the pickup at the lodge where we were staying, until we got back in the pickup to leave for home, I did not use my computer. And I only checked unread messages on my phone once a day, in case there was something that needed immediate attention.

I set the expectation up front. I told staff and key customers ahead of time that I would be out; I set up an out-of-office reply on my email and I activated Do Not Disturb mode on my iPhone. The first time I checked my phone, which was an hour into the first work day, I had nine messages and four missed calls.

Guess what though? The world didn’t stop. The staff in Carrington put together an informative, appealing July 18 edition of the Independent with almost no input from me. In New Rockford, the paper was nearly finished by the time I returned to the office late Wednesday afternoon. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I am so grateful for the people on staff here for the work they do.

I see firsthand how stress negatively affects our daily lives. I talk to numerous people everyday, and it is becoming more and more apparent. We’re stressed to the max, working overtime just to finish the things that should have been done yesterday, and spending less time planning for what’s ahead.

We’re sick more often too, and we lose precious time and productivity when we are fighting an illness. I’m working on it, but it’s not easy. Our paid time off policy here at Transcript Publishing is meant to be used. It also requires balance, which I have not exactly been good at over the past seven years. We have a small but mighty staff, it's important that we coordinate our time off so there are always enough people at work to get the job done each day.

Fellow business owners, I don’t know how we fix our workforce issues and get the people we need to work. What I do know, though, is that we and our trusted employees all need a little time off once in a while, and we need to be more mindful of the people around us and how our stress level affects them.

I’m a big believer in buying as much as I can from local businesses, and a recent experience I had with an online retailer strengthened my resolve.

I needed a swimsuit for the family vacation, as we were going to a lake. I hadn’t bought a swimsuit in many years. Since our local stores don’t carry swimwear, I decided to try ordering online. I found a cute two-piece tankini as I was scrolling Facebook one day. I clicked through to the website to take another look, then ultimately skipped by it.

But it was too late – the Facebook bots caught on and served up many more swimsuit ads until I relented. I went back to the website where I had seen that first swimsuit and decided to take the leap. I looked closely for a return policy, and found that returns were accepted within 30 days. The processing and shipping times also seemed realistic, albeit a bit longer than other retailers.

I also decided to order a one-button blazer. It looked nice on the model wearing it, I surmised, and the $31 price tag was certainly affordable. It came in several colors, so I asked my older daughter for advice. We picked the light blue one, and I placed the order.

Two days later I received a shipping notification. The tracking came from some international shipping company based in China, which was my first clue that this might not go smoothly. I waited for that order to come, and lo and behold it arrived hours before we were to leave on our trip. It wasn’t the same color as pictured, but it fit well. I was relieved that I wouldn’t have to stop on the way to shop for a suit.

Then I opened the blazer package. The cheap, super lightweight polyester blazer was made about as well as a Halloween costume from Wal-Mart. No big deal, I thought, I’ll just email customer service and return it.

It took two days to get a reply. Their first offer: “Would you please keep the package and accept $9 for reimbursement?”

“What?? If I wanted to keep it, I wouldn’t have emailed you!!” I thought to myself.

I felt like a contestant on “Deal or No Deal,” and folks, this was NO DEAL.

I replied, “I am not interested in keeping the package. I would like a full refund please of the $31 + tax.”

The next day, I got another email, with an address to a factory in Shanghai where the return should be sent, at MY expense. Does anyone know what it costs to send a tyvek bag that weighs less than a pound, to CHINA? Well, I wasn’t interested in finding out. I emailed back and took the $9 reimbursement. If anyone is interested in dressing up as a newspaper publisher for Halloween, I have a costume I can sell you for $21. No returns accepted.