Don’t be rude: Empty out the fitting room

Dear Heloise: I am a sales associate in a large department store. With the holidays fast approaching, I’d like to remind people that it’s difficult to give them the customer service they deserve when associates have to spend time cleaning out fitting rooms.

Our favorite customers are those who neatly hang the clothes on hangers and bring them out after they are finished. Most thefts occur when clothes are left in a fitting room, and this drives up the price of clothing. If you don’t know where something belongs, please leave the clothes with the associate so we can find them again when another customer asks. Please don’t wad up the clothes and throw them on the floor! This is considered very rude, and it takes us away from helping you! C.M., via e-mail

Glad to pass along your hints. Folks, take a second to hang up those clothes. Don’t be a slob. Heloise

Dear Heloise: About marking pills, I make a list on a recipe card, number them and mark with a colored sticker. I put the same colored sticker on the prescription bottle top to go with the card. So easy to follow, and my husband can follow it, too. Betty Mae Clark, Colville, Wash.

Dear Heloise: Ever put something (such as a key or an important letter) away in a perfectly logical place where you know you will find it again, and then you can’t find it? Try this: After putting the item away, send an e-mail to yourself giving the location. When you have “lost” the item, just do a search in your e-mail to come up with the reminder. Al Bayless, Kihei, Maui, Hawaii

Dear Heloise: Here is how I remember I have something special in the dryer or the oven, or that I need to watch for time (like the water in the yard): I take my wedding ring or watch off and switch it to the other hand. It always works to remind me since it’s “out of place” and is a visual clue, too. Tracy from Houston

Dear Heloise: Love your hints about fresh flowers. To make long-stemmed roses last, I cut the end and change the water every few days, but I also remove the dead or brown outer petals. This makes the flowers look fresh longer. I start out with long-stemmed and cut, cut, cut so that seven to eight days later, they are short flowers but still pretty. T.H. in New York City

Dear Heloise: I solved the problem about finding the right color socks by separating them into basic colors and placing those socks of like colors in zipper-top storage bags in my sock drawer. This is a big help when you dress before the sun is up and can’t tell black from navy blue. Cale Deane, Huntsville, Ala.

XSend a money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, TX 78279-5000, or you can fax it to (210) HELOISE or e-mail it to Heloise@Heloise.com.

King Features Syndicate