Switching Razors: My Journey from Dollar Shave Club to Harry's

Taking a bit of a different direction today, I am going to talk about men's products. For over five years, I have had a subscription to Dollar Shave Club (DSC) for razors, shampoo, deodorant, etc. Truthfully, it might be almost seven years that I have been a member and using their products. I liked the ease of having the items delivered and not having to worry about picking them up at the grocery store or running out, as I could control the deliveries.

The razors worked well, and I had a new razor as often as I needed. Then, one day, I got a notice from them that they were changing their razors. Not only the razor but the handle and the whole setup. They changed the connector used to connect the razor blades. The change did not go well in my view, as often when shaving, the razor blade would pop off the connector. Once this occurred, the blade could not be connected back easily to the handle; instead, I would have to connect a new blade and waste the blade I was using.

I reported this to customer support in June 2023, and they sent out a new handle. While a little better, the issue continued. I also noticed with the new design of blades that the shave did not seem as close as it was prior to the change. I stuck with DSC as I do like their deodorant and soap. The razors, though, often had me cursing in the mornings while trying to get ready for the day.

Back in December, when the razor popped off the handle, it was the last time. I decided that morning to check other options for razor delivery to my home. I had seen various ads for Harry's. Similar to DSC Harry's offers home delivery, so I ordered a handle and razors to test them out. I also ordered some of their shaving cream as I had been using shaving cream from DSC.

The new Harry's razor and shaving cream lived up to my expectations. Close shave, and I was surprised I really liked the shaving cream too. After a few days of shaving with the new razor, I went out and ordered a two-pack of blades to keep me supplied for a few weeks. Having shaved for a few weeks now with the new blade, I have swapped out three or four times to new blades for the handle, and it is working great. Close shave and precision blade for sideburns. I am really happy with the change.

You might be wondering why I do not use the disposable blades available easily from grocery stores. I have tried them but have never been a fan. Sure, they work in a pinch if traveling and I forgot my razor, but not for every day. I like having a handle I can reuse and swap out with new blades as needed. For now, I will be a Harry's customer.

No, I did not receive any compensation from either vendor for this post, nor have I had any contact with either vendor except for, as earlier mentioned, when I contacted DSC about the faulty handle and blades.

Apple Watch and Haptic Time Telling is Great for Meetings

I have had my Apple Watch (series 2, so it is old) for a long time. I wear it all the time and use it often for notifications or working out to track heart rate and exercise. I do not use it a lot to text from it as I find that a little difficult with fat fingers and eye sight that does not work great for seeing the tiny watch face. I use apps on the watch to track sports or see updates on games when I am unable to see my iPhone or computer. So, I use my Apple Watch a lot. 

A few months ago I started thinking how in a meeting I would like to know on the hour that it is the hour. I see it as rude to be in out with someone and look at the time as if it indicates I cannot wait to get away from them. So, I started wondering if there was a way to be able to tell the time without looking at my watch. Sure enough, there was a way to do so. 

If you are interested, here are the steps as outlined from the Apple Support article.

1. Open the Settings app  on your Apple Watch.

2. Tap Clock, scroll up, then tap Taptic Time.

3. Turn on Taptic Time, then choose a setting—Digits, Terse, or Morse Code. Hours and minutes are indicated in the following ways:

   • Digits: Apple Watch long taps for every 10 hours, short taps for each following hour, long taps for every 10 minutes, then short taps for each following minute.

   • Terse: Apple Watch long taps for every five hours, short taps for the remaining hours, then long taps for each quarter hour.

   • Morse Code: Apple Watch taps each digit of the time in Morse code.

4. To feel a haptic version of the time, touch and hold two fingers on the watch face.

You can also configure Taptic Time on iPhone. Open the Apple Watch app on iPhone, tap My Watch, go to Clock > Taptic Time, then turn it on.

Note: Taptic Time is disabled if Apple Watch is set to always speak the time. To be able to use Taptic Time, first go to Settings  > Clock, then turn on Control With Silent Mode under Speak Time.

I should have figured that Apple had it figured out and it only took me three plus years to check and get the feature enabled. I use the digits feature as I found it to be clear when it is the hour. It is also a different haptics from what other notifications occur on the phone such as texting, calls, etc. I typically leave my Apple Watch on silent, so I rely on haptics to tell me what is happening or when to look at the phone. The nice thing about this setting is that I know when the hour hits and I do not have to look at it to check the time. 

Hopefully this will help someone else who has an Apple Watch and wondered if this was an option to be able to tell time without looking at your watch.

Connected to Companies via Social Media and Those That Never Respond

So many examples of companies being connected on social media. A few that show up in my timeline are mentioned here. These are only recent replies as there are many other companies that have responded to various tweets throughout the years.

Social Media Examples of Interactions with Companies

@havertyj Nice! Thanks for stopping by!

— Taco Bueno (@tacobueno) February 24, 2016

It is always fun when a company responds to a posted tweet about their business... good or bad! It helps to make connections. This post was tweeted on February 24 on my way back from Tulsa, Oklahoma when I stopped in Bartlesville, Oklahoma at Taco Bueno. Using Swarm to track locations I visit, usually when traveling, this has happened in the past too with a company companies responding or commenting thanking me for stopping by their establishment.

It is almost so common these days with companies watching FaceBook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. traffic, that it is almost shocking if a post is directed at a company and they do not respond. I have gotten to the point where if I am unhappy with a company, I will often times go to Twitter to send them a tweet about my problem. The majority of the time, I get a response from them within a matter of minutes apologizing, asking more information, or thanking me for the comment/visit. Again, if I do not get a response, that is almost never happens. Even with small store fronts, it seems like even they have some type of social media presence.

Many companies have employees hired just to watch for social media comments. Some use automated responses to thank people for their comments. The great sites have real people following and tracking comments and responding to those comments. Both have been experienced and obviously the real person on the other end with answers to questions or comments works best!

Other well connected companies include Dish and Cox Communications both of which are extremely fast at not only responding, but often times resolving issues directly through a tweet or a direct message if needed.

@havertyj Please follow and DM us with your account/phone # and your 4 digit PIN. *AE

— DISH Answers (@dish_answers) August 6, 2015

Company is Not Connected

Having a company that is not connected can be frustrating for a customer. Especially if they give the impression of being connected. Send them a message (FaceBook, tweet, etc.) and get no response back at all. Check their history and see that no one has responded to anything that has been sent to them. Very frustrating! Luckily, this has not been a problem I have encountered too often. Or, when it has happened, it has been a local establishment that has a Twitter presence, but has stopped updating/responding to tweets. Might as well delete the account and not entice posts to the account.

Options of course then fall to calling or sending a letter. Yeah, who sends letters any more? So, basically if the company does not have a web presence of some kind and linked to social media, there will likely be no follow up with that company again. If it was something that was perplexing enough to cause me to want to contact them, then maybe their not having a presence will be enough to not want to visit their establishment or use their service again.

The Trend for Social

The pulse for what is the hot item for social connections is constantly discussed on various blogs and articles. There is information that younger adults have moved away from FaceBook and Twitter going to other social mediums that is connected directly with others their age such as SnapChat. It is obvious that for the past few years, companies have focused their social communication to FaceBook or Twitter. Just about every major company has some type of social media presence and usually it is either FaceBook or Twitter. With the younger generation not focusing, or using, these services as much, it will be interesting to see where companies go to get and receive that connection with their customers in the future.

Comments

Share your comments about companies you enjoy communicating with or connecting with on-line. Share frustrations that you have had when trying to connect with a company and what did you do to get your frustration heard by that company? Feel free to send me a tweet with your question or comment too.