About Me

My photo
Kymberlie Ingalls is native to the Bay Area in California. She is a pioneer in blogging, having self-published online since 1997. Her style is loose, experimental, and a journey in stream of consciousness. Works include personal essay, prose, short fictional stories, and a memoir in progress. Thank you for taking a moment of your time to visit. Beware of the occasional falling opinions. For editing services: http://www.rainfallpress.com/

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

The P.F. Chang's Catalyst

Why must we fix what ain't broken? 

As consumers, we come to rely on familiarity.  Retailers, restauranteurs and celebrities alike all work their asses off to give us familiarity.  Where is the line of contempt?  We all bitch about fast food and its hazards to our health, but the number of people I see in the lines there don't add up with the complaints.  Walmart is the temple of evil, yet the crowds spilling about the aisles aren't only the local rednecks.  Amazon is an obscenity on the lips of many a writer and a bookseller both, yet the empire grows.

So, after getting us hooked on a product or brand, why the need for change?

There's a McDonald's in my neighborhood that had looked the same since I was a kid.  It's recently, after decades of being a familiar sight on my drive home, been remodeled into some sort of modern Starbucksy type structure.  Ugh.  Taco Bell is still pushing their fast-paced menu and 90s purple/blue motif, but I'd rather see a faux mission looking building with the big bell atop, ready to be gonged upon the consumption of a delicious crispy taco. 

My husband, a marketing expert, and I differ on this debate.  I know he is correct in his argument that change is necessary to stay fresh in the minds of consumers, especially the oh-so-desired young buying market, but I'm a habitual creature who returns more, and as I grow older with more money to spend, to partake of a favorite dish or a particular product.  I've stayed with Tivo, despite my technological grievances last year, because their DVR is user-friendly.  All of my gadgets are Apple, not because I'm a Mac fanatic, but for the same reason - the ease of use.  Most of my wardrobe comes from one of two stores because of the million choices out there, they are reliable and the clothes hold up to my washing machine.  These things matter.

I love eating out, much to the detriment of our budget.  I do so just about every day, and love to try new places, and definitely love to support independents when I can, but chains offer a reliability that I find comforting.  It's quite the upheaval when a favorite menu item suddenly disappears.  I'd love to sit in on the marketing panels and focus groups who decided that offering the McRib for a month out of the year would rake in more money than if they just offered it all year long.  Is there an actual season for pressed pork patties that only comes around in November? 

Many an afternoon or evening in this past year have been spent at P.F. Changs, an Asian fusion national chain with a lively atmosphere and, at my location, and extremely friendly staff.  Everyone has a hello and never seem to complain when I occupy the end of the bar for hours with my ginormous laptop and scattered papers.  I half expect to hear a rousing chorus of "Norm!" when I walk in the door.

I listen to the conversations, and yes even find interest in what people order.  I'm one of those that will change every dish on a menu to suit my mood of the day, but find inspiration in what others try and their likes or dislikes.  This is why I was immensely surprised at the recent changes that eliminated several items from their catalogue, because they were items that were consistent favorties among the patrons.  I have been traumatized at the loss of the lemongrass chicken dumplings myself.  In a sea of fanciful, rainbow-like foods, it was simple in its taste and helped offset the richness of other dishes. 

Alas, they are gone.

And I have found nothing to replace them as favorites.  The result?  Hardly the desired of the marketing execs, I'm sure.  I simply don't order any appetizers anymore.  Take that, Fancy Pants. 

I'm tired of losing my favorites, tired of being suckered in and dumped on the curb with other bygones.  Maybe I'm the minority.  Maybe others simply forget and move on, but I am a loyalist.  A loyalist with a wallet, and a platform

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

Tags

kymberlie ingalls (7) neuroticy (7) conservative (6) liberal (6) stormy writer (5) BLM (4) democrat (4) politics (4) rainfall press (4) republican (4) Donald trump (3) neurotic (3) protest (3) racism (3) trump (3) 2016 (2) America (2) Charlottesville (2) Hillary Clinton (2) debate (2) election (2) i'm with her (2) make America great again (2) police brutality (2) retail (2) 45 (1) 49ers (1) 4th (1) Berkeley (1) Cinemark (1) Cole White (1) Nazi (1) OJ (1) Rodrick Shonte Dantzler shooting grand rapids michigan natural born killers adam lambert john hinckley jared lee loughlin giffords columbine virginia tech judge judy (1) Top Dog (1) all lives matter (1) bart civic center fatal shooting sf san francisco police officers cops oscar grant mehserle (1) baseball (1) bathroom bill arizona suzanne sharer transgender cross dresser civil rights women war lgbt pedophile pervert (1) bay area (1) beaten (1) black Friday (1) black lives matter (1) boston marathon bomb terrorist mentally ill columbine Virginia tech sandy hook giffords laughner Brenda spencer holmes aurora shooting neuroticy kymberlie ingalls massacre shooting lanza (1) boycott (1) bryan (1) car accident collision insurance scam auto body fraud trauma loss anger neuroticy stormy writer bandita super woman alicia keys rage stress protest charity mike's auto body AAA (1) casey caylee anthony jury verdict trial headline news nancy grace neuroticy kymberlie ingalls justice homicide murder (1) cbs kpix san francisco most valuable blogger blog award 2011 sf bay area local writer win award kymberlie ingalls neuroticy storm award (1) change (1) charles blair hill san francisco sf bart shooting police cops oscar grant kymberlie ingalls neuroticy protest activist mob kenneth harding roger kymberlie ingalls neuroticy storm left coast voices (1) charles blair hill san francisco sf bart shooting police cops oscar grant kymberlie ingalls neuroticy protest activist mob kenneth harding tanaya gilbert seattle (1) civil rights (1) colin kaepernick (1) coma (1) comedy (1) correspondence dinner (1) customer service (1) cyber Monday (1) directv tivo local channels missing network programming satellite cable outrage bully neuroticy ingalls blog contract service american idol finale winner (1) dodgers (1) donald trump orly taitz barack obama president birth certificate birthers republican whoopi o'donnell thurston (1) economy (1) emily good rochester new york arrested video taping police profiling controversy crime activism activist nyc oscar grant bart shooting fruitvale oakland ca crime johannes mehserle bay area california (1) employment (1) faa airline flying cell phone modern technology gadget blog opinion neuroticy kymberlie ingalls survival (1) family (1) feminism (1) football (1) francisco (1) freedom of speech (1) gay rights civil marriage gltg neuroticy kymberlie ingalls stormy writer prop 8 bible god religion prejudice democrat republican conservative liberal social homophobic homophobia homosexual lesbian (1) giants (1) god cancer bible christian tim tebow football nfl brian copeland facebook religion kymberlie ingalls neuroticy friends illness angels miracles (1) gun control nra piers morgan alex jones cnn repblican democrat liberal conservative president obama military war assault weapons sandy hook aurora columbine kymberlie ingalls stormy writer neuroticy (1) heather heyer (1) holiday (1) hospitality (1) ingalls (1) jersey (1) john (1) july independence holiday fireworks flag US America united states neurotic kymberlie ingalls freedom civil rights lgbt crime education speech (1) kenneth harding sfpd san francisco police shooting muni fare murder gun seattle black minority racial racism discrimination crime rage authority investigation protest (1) kkk (1) knee jerk (1) kymberlie (1) lawsuit (1) lgbtq (1) loneliness (1) management (1) marijuana legalize 420 cannibas weed mary jane happy cows california obama republican democrat liberal conservative medical tea baggers politics election neuroticy kymberlie ingalls prescription drugs (1) mark halperin dick obama president msnbc keith olbermann glenn beck tracy morgan scandal apology apologize (1) me too (1) media (1) michele bachmann bill o'reilly cnn fox news dog walk white house obama president politics republican conservative democrat liberal lavish excess 9/11 rocky toby keith neuroticy stormy writer (1) michele bachmann neuroticy kymberlie ingalls marisa samuels republican democrat liberal conservative tea bagger party birthers politics gay rights art hoppe san francisco chronicle god hot for jesus (1) michelle wolf (1) millennials (1) mindy mccready suicide dead death country music angels guys do it celebrity young whitney houston fans sympathy addiction children kids abuse kymberlie ingalls blogger neuroticy stormy writer (1) movie theater (1) nascar danica patrick girls female athletes sexy go daddy daytona racing janet guthrie shirley muldowney jeff gordon feminism empowerment neuroticy kymberlie ingalls opinion blog stormy writer (1) nascar racing car stock sprint legend dwarf midget dirt track crash soares antioch speedway neuroticy kymberlie ingalls video princess 44 (1) nfl (1) nra (1) observer (1) occupy wall street ows protest nyc new york arrests police brutality marine civil war politics big business corporation banks neuroticy ingalls news topless (1) old people (1) opinion (1) outrage (1) patriotism (1) pledge of allegiance under god citizens patriotism 4th of july independence day america history holiday (1) protests (1) reporter (1) restaurant dining out pf changs chain walmart norm cheers demographics marketing menu change mcdonalds taco bell neuroticy blog stormy writer opinion familiar branding (1) reviews (1) rush limbaugh sandra fluke neuroticy kymberlie ingalls stormy writer blog opinion apology slut prostitute women rights boycott sponsors (1) san (1) san francisco (1) september 11 9-11 9/11 world trade center attack middle east muslim obama president bush tenth 10th anniversary springsteen you're missing politics republican democrat military war troops (1) sexual assault (1) shannon tweed gene simmons family jewels kiss playmate joy behar show reality tv cnn walks off set (1) slippery slope (1) snowflake (1) soap operas abc amc oltl prospect park erica kane daytime horton brady newman cancelled toln quartermaine gh general hospital all my children one life to live guiding light hubbard young restless (1) social media (1) steigerwald (1) stormywriter (1) stow (1) teams (1) thanksgiving (1) trayvon martin george zimmerman violence florida sherrif crime arrest neuroticy kymberlie ingalls stormy writer opinion racism color skittles hoodie geraldo rivera (1) turkey (1) twitter (1) united airlines (1) vice news (1) video (1) walmart (1) white house (1) writer (1) writer of the storm (1) yelp (1)