Games as in, more specifically, game apps for phones, tablets, etc.

I love having games on my phone. It’s a great way to kill the time. Or waste time. Either way, it’s nice to have them, and they’re less expensive (and less bulky) than carrying around a GameBoy or PSP or what have you.

I have absolutely no problem paying for a game, or any app for that matter. If the developers went through the trouble to make something awesome, they are more than welcome to a few bucks from me. When a game maker wants to offer a free versions, either with ads or limited levels just to try it out, even better! If I enjoy it, I’ll typically get the ad free version.

What I have a problem with are the games that want to suck you dry. Specifically I’m referring to Candy Crush. Like so many others, I started playing this game and got completely hooked. I probably would have wasted spent a lot more time playing it if they didn’t limit lives. Before you ask, no, I did not pay for extra lives, moves, or boosts. Instead, I took the half-hour per life regeneration time to take a break and move on with my life.

But I did pay to advance levels. A dollar doesn’t seem like much one time, but it quickly turns into $2, and then $5. The alternative to paying is harassing friends on Facebook, but I wasn’t about to do that. I just completed level 110, and I’ve come to find the game more frustrating than it is fun, so I decided to stop.

My decision wasn’t solely based on my frustration, however. I stopped because I had reached the end of the level, and I was once again confronted with the decision to give them more money or invite friends to play. And at some point, I have to stop supporting things I disagree with.

Do you play Candy Crush? Are there other games you love or hate or love to hate?

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I love fonts! Fonts are the greatest thing ever. I frequent dafont.com often to look at new fonts, usually when I make graphics. Also, people who make things and put them on the interwebs for free are awesome.

Also awesome? Google Web Fonts. It allows you to put fancy fonts on your website. However—and I say this because I see this a lot in the A to Z blogs I’m visiting— fancy fonts work great for titles and sidebars, but they are way too difficult to read when used for blog posts. jsjsjsjs

Anyway, I digress.

My favorite font is probably Crushed.

One time I made a font on YourFonts. It doesn’t really look like my handwriting though. Writing in those little boxes is hard!

Recently I downloaded an iPad app called iFontMaker that allows you to make unlimited fonts. It’s much easier to make fonts on an iPad than trying to write with a pen in a little box and not being able to correct errors.

How about you? Do you have a favorite font?

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One of my favorite bands is Blackfield, and “End of the World” is my favorite of their songs. I even got some of the lyrics engraved in the back of my iPod.

Waiting below for a dream
Here in the garden of sin

This is one of those times where I should take a picture to make my blog more visually dynamic, but that means getting my iPod from my car, taking off the case, photographing it, etc., and I’m feeling lazy. Besides, I’m already a day late with this post, so…

I saw Blackfield live in Seattle in 2011 with cklahr. This song gave me chills, even if Aviv did take off his shirt and wrap it around his head. Hey! I don’t judge, all right?

What is your favorite song that you’ve watched someone perform live?

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Everyone always complains about bad customer service, but rarely do I hear when someone has an awesome experience with a company. So I thought today, I’d talk about the awesome customer service I received yesterday, as well as some not so great service.

First up is the not so great service from Groupon. I accidentally bought the wrong deal. Oops. I was just trying to be a good little wifey and order the training course hubs wanted before I forgot and it expired. The problem was that he sent me the wrong link, and I didn’t see his chat that read “wait” before I completed the order. No big deal. They have a 7 day return policy on unused vouchers. I emailed their support service yesterday, but I have yet to hear back from them, and it’s getting dangerously close to the end of the 24-hour response time they claim to have.

But the awesome customer service I received from Zoya more than made up for it.

Last week I ordered some nail polish. I was super excited to receive the shipment, but imagine my surprise when I opened the box to find this:

The top of the red polish bottle had snapped off, and the entire thing emptied. There was flaky, glittery polish everywhere. I emailed customer service, explaining what had happened and asking for a replacement of that particular color. (If you’re curious, it was CHYNA.) I also mentioned I had pictures if they needed them.

Within the hour, someone from Zoya contacted me via email. It wasn’t a canned response; it didn’t have the cold feel of someone who was following a script. But here’s why their customer service stood out to me: She asked to have the photo not only to obtain authorization to send me a new bottle, but also to “help them determine what may have caused the damage so they can attempt to take preventative measures for future shipments.”

If she had just asked for a photo, I would have sent the closeup of the broken bottle to prove I was telling the truth and been done with it. But because she took the time to explain why else they wanted the info, I sent her all three photos and described the condition in which it was sent to me.

It didn’t take her long to get back to me, and when she did, she informed me that they were sending out replacements for all 5 bottles. I’m not sure if the information I provided shed any light on the problem, but I’m very happy with the way they handled the ordeal.

Have you had any great customer service experiences?

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