Thursday, May 14, 2015

Dental Floss Issue

Having work for or with consumer products companies, I know how sensitive they are to customer complaints.  It is rare for consumers to complain, and they therefore take it seriously.  The assumption is that most people do not bother to complain, so if someone does, it's a pretty common problem.

I complain if there's an issue and I always get a response from the company.  They usually send a coupon to replace the defective product.

I recently had the container on a package of dental floss fail.  The cutting mechanism broke off.  I complained to Johnson & Johnson and got a very thorough response from their supplier:

Dear Matthew,

Thank you for contacting McNEIL-PPC, Inc., makers of JOHNSON & JOHNSON® REACH® Dental Floss. It is always important to hear from our consumers, and we appreciate the time you have taken to contact us.


Our company's  long-standing commitment to providing high quality products for all our consumers is the foundation of our business. Therefore, we are sorry to learn of your experience.

Since your particular situation requires a more in-depth conversation than is possible through an e-mail, we would appreciate the opportunity to discuss this matter with you further. You can call us toll free at 1-866-565-xxxx,
Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m - 8:00 p.m. EST. Please have the product available if you have it when you call and mention the reference number noted below. Your phone call will help us to quickly gather important information for our Quality Assurance department.

In addition, we would like to have the product returned to us for Quality Assurance purposes. We have arranged to have materials sent to you for your convenience in returning the product. You can expect to receive these materials, along with instructions for return for the product, within the next few business days.

The information you provide will enable us to continue to deliver the high quality products you should expect from McNEIL-PPC, Inc.

We sincerely apologize for your experience and look forward to hearing from you soon.

Mai X.
Consumer Care Center

Monday, January 05, 2015

Theater in 2014

Here's a list of the plays we saw in 2014.  All performances were in Milwaukee unless otherwise noted.

We started going to the Off The Wall theater this year.  It’s a small venue, maybe 50 seats and is really a lot of fun.  We saw “Rope” and “Cabaret” there and will see “Valley of the Dolls,” as a musical done in drag, this month (January 2015).


  1. End of the Rainbow (2/6) at the Quadracci Powerhouse – dinner at Kil@wat
  2. The Understudy (2/8) at Renaissance Theater – dinner at home, drinks at Club Charlie’s
  3. Woody Sez (2/20) at the Stackner Cabaret – dinner at Water Street Brewery
  4. Temptation’s Snare (5/7) at the Next Act Theater – dinner at Prodigal Gastropub with Amy & Sara
  5. An Iliad (3/13) at the Quadracci Powerhouse – dinner at The Rumpus Room
  6. Rep Lab (3/29) at the Steimke Theater – dinner at Ambassador Hotel with Andy & Edie
  7. Ain’t Misbehavin’ (4/3)at the Stackner Cabaret – dinner at Water Street Brewery
  8. The History of Invulnerability (4/24) at the Quadracci Powerhouse – dinner at Calderone Club
  9. 1959 Pink Thunderbird (5/3):  In Tandem Theater – lunch before at Envoy in the Ambassador Hotel
  10. Rope at the Off The Wall Theater (7/24) -  dinner at the Calderone Club
  11. Master Class (8/24)at the Milwaukee Chamber Theater – lunch at Benelux with Andy & Edie
  12. Cabaret (9/19) at the Off The Wall Theater. -- Dinner at the Calderone Club
  13. The Doyle & Debbie Show (9/30) at the Stackner Cabaret. -- Dinner at Wolf Peach
  14. The Color Purple (10/15) at the Quadracci Powerhouse – Dinner at The Rumpus Room
  15. Complete Works of Shakespeare (abridged) at the Milwaukee Chamber Theater  -- Lunch at Taquera El Cabrito
  16. Liberace! (12/4) at the Stackner Cabaret with Amy & Sara.  Dinner at The Calderone Club
  17. Harvey (12/11) at the Quadracci Powerhouse – dinner at the Rumpus Room
  18. Cudahy Carolers (12/20) at the In Tandem Theater.  Dinner at Envoy