BOUQUET Thank you very much to Country Grocer for its weekly giveaways. I won the draw.
BEEF To the dog owners who use the trails and trees at Neck Point Park to toss their plastic bags of dog poop rather than do the responsible thing and carry it to the garbage cans.
BOUQUET Thank you News Bulletin; I enjoy reading the newspaper.
BEEF To the beefers. Please season your beefs. We require a little more spice in our Wednesday-morning work beef huddle.
BOUQUET To the clerk at the floral department of Save-On-Foods at Country Club Centre. She happily went out of her way to locate a single white rose for my granddaughter’s science experiment. Great customer service. Thank you.
BEEF The backlog for road tests was far behind because many people from the mainland were coming to the Island to take their road tests. Clearly this is an easy fix and clearly they have done nothing about it. The online booking for road tests in Nanaimo is fully booked, please check back again later. Truly pathetic.
BOUQUET Thanks to the city’s parks and rec department for improved steps and trail access to Invermere Beach.
BEEF To certain city councillors and their profligate spending habits. How is it even possible to spend half a million dollars for 275 metres of sidewalk on Haliburton? Who is profiting from these contracts?
BOUQUET To the local businesses that donated to the Big Sisters Big Brothers’ recent Love for Local raffle. The gift certificates are amazing and very generous. I was the very lucky winner of this raffle. A huge thank you to those who donated and the ladies who drew my name.
BEEF To the students. We know you’ve had a busy day, but not everyone wants to hear about it in the shared locker rooms. Please learn to respect the volume of your conversations as some people are trying to enjoy a peaceful break.
BOUQUET To the unknown gentleman who pulled my husband away from his truck fire on the Malahat, to all the first responders, and to the woman who went to him to hold and comfort him. You’re all angels. Thank you for helping him get home safely.
BEEF To all the people complaining about reckless drivers via Beefs & Bouquets instead of taking down licence plates numbers and reporting them. This ridiculous feud about speeding on Departure Bay Road has gone on for months.
BOUQUET To the 88-year-old gentleman with wishful thinking. I cannot help you with the address of the local brothel but many thanks for a good laugh. We need a lot of those.
BEEF To our city leaders. Eradicating homelessness is a utopian fantasy, for as long as people make poor decisions about their lives, the consequences will be borne by others. We need fully staffed rehab and institutional centres made free to the general public under provincial oversight and included in the budget, not bike lanes and other frivolous expenses.
BOUQUET To Minh, manager at Quality Foods’ Chinese kitchen, where the food is really delicious and always reasonable. Thanks so much for your kindness. Everything was looked after.
BEEF To the Nanaimo RCMP. When both your officers and I are travelling through a school zone mid-week at 30 kilometres per hour and people fly by us at 60km/h, I’d expect you do something about it. Please protect and serve our children.
BOUQUET To Dale at Lowe’s. First-class customer service, way beyond compare. We will now be shopping at Lowe’s because of this young gentleman.
BEEF To all the politicians who speak with a forked tongue. Have some courage and take a side and you will find it’s actually quite gratifying.
BOUQUET To Quality Foods for replacing their plastic grocery bags with 100-per cent compostable compost bin liners. Same price as plastic, but green.
BEEF Would people please prune your hedges, plants, trees that you are allowing to grow over and cover up the sidewalks?
BOUQUET To the two B.C. Ambulance Service teams for attending to our father. You treated our father with such dignity, respect, and kindness. The decision was made to take him to hospital and, unfortunately, within a couple of hours he was gone. We are so thankful that your gentle treatment of him helped to ease the fear he was feeling and made him feel as if he was a big part of the decision-making. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
BEEF To concrete sidewalks that few people use. Highly carbon-producing and inhospitable to walking (joint unfriendly), these icons to the lobbying prowess of the concrete industry rarely get renounced like bike lanes which are benign by comparison.
BOUQUET To the very kind and honest lady who recently turned in my drugstore points card, bank card and credit card to Shoppers Drug Mart when they were found in the mall parking lot. Thanks.
BEEF To the City of Nanaimo. Stop sending me paper letters boasting of your waste-management achievements. My garbage bill has doubled in the last 10 years. Nothing to boast about.
BOUQUET Thanks to the kind person who cleaned the snow off my car during the last snowstorm. It made me so happy.
BEEF To the people who look at me weird. It’s not my fault I have eight legs and eight eyes. How would you feel if I hit you with a shoe or a book and screamed? I keep the flies out of your home and this is my thank you?
BOUQUET to the folks at Man Lee market. Even through the upheaval of a car smashing through a wall and the recent malady of the proprietor, they always maintain a bright outlook in a fully stocked, unique store.
BEEF To the Baby Boomers for reaffirming my belief of your entitlement and carefree attitude when it comes to COVID struggles faced by young people.
BOUQUET To the volunteers at the Vancouver Island Military Museum who made our recent visit extra enjoyable for the two preschoolers with us.
BOUQUET To the red truck in front of me in the drive-thru at the Starbucks on Metral Drive. You really made my day. Thank you.
BEEF to the courier. Pony express would be faster and carrier pigeon would deliver updates to your tracking system quicker. Still waiting on that parcel you supposedly made a priority four days ago.
BOUQUET To the Girl Guides. The local chapters have been jumping through hoops to keep the girls engaged through the pandemic restrictions. It hasn’t been easy but it is very much appreciated.
BEEF To local contractors and tradespeople who don’t follow through on appointments or estimates. We have lived in Nanaimo for three years and have had constant trouble with companies that do not show up for estimate appointments or never submit estimates at all. This is very poor business practice which seems to be endemic in this city.
BOUQUET To Ryan at Cabela’s for sharing his vast knowledge about binoculars, helping me pick a high-quality set as a Christmas/birthday gift.
BEEF To the speeder I clocked at 75 kilometres per hour in a 50km/h residential zone. Beemer? Lambo? No, a garbage truck.
BOUQUET To Mitchell at Costco patiently helping me with my cell phone, getting me on a better plan and setting up a ringtone song I’ve been wanting for so long.
BEEF To the grocery store. Your chain may not have the purchasing power of the huge big box stores, but how can you justify pricing identical items up to 3.87 times higher than your competitors’ regular (non-sale) prices? Preying on neighbourhood seniors?
BOUQUET To the staff and volunteers at the Beban Park immunization clinic for their excellent organization and smooth and friendly service.
BEEF To TV for going to commercial the second I sit down in front of it.
BOUQUET To Mr. Lube. We were just there a while ago for an oil change. The fellow said that the oil did not need changing as the oil still looked clean. We thanked him for his honesty. He suggested we come back at the end of April and see how the oil is then. It was such a joy to have this fellow being so honest with us. It made our day.
BEEF To the mother and grown daughter who harassed the staff at the nail salon and demanded a free service. There was no reason to swear and raise your voice. Absolutely appalling and entitled behaviour from you both. Shameful.
BOUQUET To Millie and Lindsay at Pearl for making wedding dress shopping a fun, stress-free experience. The ability to rent a dress versus spending $1,500 to $3,000 is such a relief for this cost-conscious bride. It’s also just about impossible to leave your store without buying a plant.
BEEF Am I the only one who thinks we need to try again to get a cell tower in Hammond Bay? My doctor called me twice today and I called him back three times. All the calls were dropped.
BOUQUET To Dina at Ironworks Café and Crêperie for her grace in seeking to assist a distressed street person, inviting him into the restaurant and providing him a nourishing meal. The dignity you afforded him was an example for all of us. What a welcome and fresh attitude for a new business in this area of town that is trying to survive the challenges the homeless population poses.
BEEF To all the people complaining about cat poop, etc. There is far worse stuff to clean up after other animals and people.
BOUQUET To neighbourly folks who responsibly and respectfully dispose of their pet’s feces. It’s the right thing to do to prevent the exposure of harmful pathogens to our children, other pets and wildlife.
BEEF To the regional district for its waste collection program. Residents of Oceanside are told to just throw it in the garbage since they refuse to provide full recycling service to the taxpayers, unless they drive 45 minutes one way to use Nanaimo facilities. I guess ‘rethink waste’ means wasting gas and time at the expense of air quality.
BOUQUET Thanks to Tian, Becky and staff at Serge and Sew for the lovely gift basket of goodies. There are always lots of nice fabrics to look at when coming to your store.
BEEF It’s just unbelievable the city spends $400,000 on bike lanes and turns Front Street into one-lane traffic but for some strange reason can’t fix the manhole ditch cover at Comox and Terminal. In my opinion it’s an accident just waiting for very possible bad injury to happen.
BOUQUET To the guy over at the landfill for the amazing work he has done for the last couple of weeks cleaning up the fence line and cutting all the brush down along Cedar Road. You have made our view a lot nicer; thank you so much.
BEEF Now you are complaining about people having their dogs with them at certain places. Get a hobby; this is getting ridiculous.
BOUQUET Special thanks to Josh at Art’s Plumbing and Heating for his speedy, efficient,and reasonable cost repair to our kitchen plumbing. Highly recommend.
BEEF To B.C. Ferries for another cash grab. I travel to Vancouver for medical treatment but because I don’t pay the fare online I have to pay a $17 reservation fee regardless of how early I book.
BOUQUET To Esther whose magic touch turns my quilting projects into beautiful keepsakes.
BEEF To the driver in the white car who felt the need to speed up and pass me on the left on Wilfert Road. After picking up my daughter I was driving cautiously because there are many children dismissed from gymnastics class and some who cross that road. Chill out and check your surroundings. Thank God a child didn’t run out.
BOUQUET To the ER doctor at NRGH. When I had to take my child in for concerning symptoms he said that he had reviewed her file for 20 minutes and demonstrated that he was fully informed on her medical history. Amazing departure from the expected ‘patch and pitch’ typical ER procedures.
To submit a beef or a bouquet to the Nanaimo News Bulletin, e-mail editor@nanaimobulletin.com.
