Tom Ruwitch

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Jacob and United Airlines

By Tom Ruwitch

I got a call last month from my son, Jacob, who declared, ā€œI’m never flying United Airlines again!ā€ Here’s why he was so upset… Jacob was at the Denver airport, at one of those self-serve check-in kiosks. It was crowded and hectic. There was a long line to get through security. He was frazzled. He…

The #1 Reason Albert Pujols and Your Customers Break Up With You

By Tom Ruwitch

Baseball great Albert Pujols got his 3,000th hit earlier this month.Ā  I’ve rooted all my life for the St. Louis Cardinals. So it broke my heart when Pujols broke up with the Cardinals in 2012 to join the Anaheim Angels. The heartache reminded me of my ninth-grade girlfriend, Susie Wallace. Susie and I had just…

Job Seeker Nukes Urine

By Tom Ruwitch

WARNING: You may never microwave a convenience store burrito again after reading this kinda-gross, but kinda-funny(?) story!!! A job-seeker in Aurora, CO prepped for an interview and drug test by taking a cup of urine to a 7-11 near her prospective employer’s office. She popped the urine in the oven, set it to “High,” pressed start…

Lots of Women’s Emails From Nordstrom’s

By Tom Ruwitch

This is a tale about how to annoy email subscribers and encourage them to opt-out. I signed up for Nordstrom Rack’s email list last year after I bought a couple of shirts from them. Men’s shirts (I’m a man). Since then, I’ve received almost-daily emails from Nordstrom’s. Eighty percent of the emails peddle women’s products.…

Curb: Larry Passes on Lunch

By Tom Ruwitch

I watched a rerun ofĀ Curb Your EnthusiasmĀ yesterday in which Larry David gets into it with a guy who asks him to lunch. Larry and this guy are both from LA, but they run into each other in New York. The guy suggests that he and Larry grab lunch the next day. Larry refuses. ā€œSo let…

Wisdom Teeth Dummy

By Tom Ruwitch

When I was a dumb kid, I feared my IQ would drop if I had my wisdom teeth pulled. I was over that by the time I was 19 and dating Kathy. She had her wisdom teeth pulled the summer we dated. She couldn’t stand the pain. I suggested she rinse with warm salt water.…

Borrowing Email Lists Greitens Etc.

By Tom Ruwitch

The meeting went off the rails when I asked, ā€œHow are you going to build your email list?ā€ The nonprofit executive director replied, ā€œWe’re going to borrow lists from some other nonprofits we partner with.ā€ ā€œI recommend against that,ā€ I said. ā€œBut we do that all the time with direct (postal) mail,ā€ she said. I…

Red Delicious Apple

By Tom Ruwitch

The last time I ate a Red Delicious apple, I thought, ā€œHmmm. ā€˜Red Delicious?’ That’s half-true. Red? Yes. Delicious? Not so much’?ā€ Bad texture. Bland taste. All beauty. No substance. How can something so pretty and shiny be so terrible? I discovered the nasty secret in thisĀ great articleĀ in The Atlantic. Reds used to be delicious.…

Left-Handed Whopper

By Tom Ruwitch

On April Fool’s Day 1998, Burger King ran a full-page advertisement in USA Today to introduce the new ā€œLeft-Handed Whopperā€ The ad proclaimed: ā€œFinally, after years of neglect, left-handed eaters will no longer need to conform to traditional right-handed eating methods when enjoying America’s favorite burger.ā€ Highlights: ā€œWhopper rotated a full 180-degrees to ensure better grip on bunā€¦ā€  ā€œRearranged orientation of…

Girlfriend Flowers

By Tom Ruwitch

Back in high school, I had a crush on Amanda, but she had a boyfriend named Cam. A few days before her 16th birthday, she was flirting with me, bad-mouthing Cam, hinting that he was toast. So I made my move.  During the birthday party at her house, I snuck up to her room with…