A Time to be Thankful

At this time of year it is always a good thing to reflect on what you have been blessed with in life. I have been blessed with a loving wife, beautiful children, health, a job, happiness, shelter and food on our table. As I reflect deeper about what I am thankful for, I realize that Olinde's Furniture and Olinde's Mattress Superstore has also blessed me with an opportunity to get to know many special people, from co-workers, to family and friends.  

I have worked on and off at Olinde's since I was forced into employment in 1998 as punishment for smoking cigarettes. My first task was to clean out the advertising closet that was full of all kinds of surprises; some were good, and some were bad. However, on a more serious note, Olinde's Furniture has been a blessing to my life. Plus, they even pays me, and gives me health insurance :) So, as I reflect on the things I am blessed with in life, my job is on that list... not at the top, but on the list :) 

As always, feel free to contact me with questions, comments are concerns at andrew.olinde@gmail.com!

Bed for Your Head - the Pillow

I had a guy the other day that came into one of our Olinde's Mattress Superstore and bought a nice mattress. As he was leaving I asked if he was interested in a new pillow. He thought about it for a second, so I took the opportunity to explain that a pillow is 25% of one's comfort while sleeping. Then I proceeded to tell him the story about how I had kept a pillow that I loved for nineteen years from the time I was nine years old. It was flat as can be and when my newlywed wife saw the urine stains on it she threw it away without even asking me. Disgusting story, but sadly true.

The guy started to laugh at my story, and then proceeded to buy a pillow. The moral of this story is two-fold. One, if you go and buy a new mattress, then be sure to buy a new pillow because 75% of one's comfort comes from the mattress and the other 25% comes from the pillow. Two, with the holidays coming up be sure to go to the following link and checkout our pillow lineup at https://www.olindes.com/browse?mfgid=1726792925&n_pid%5B%5D=-131293102&sort=5. We do FREE nationwide shipping with Bedgear pillows when you buy online at www.olindes.com, so think about giving the gift of sleep this holiday season. As always, feel free to let me know if you have any questions, comments or concerns at andrew.olinde@gmail.com. 

Ladies and Gentleman! David Olinde!

The thing I hear the most when I am working at Olinde's Furniture or Olinde's Mattress Superstore is "I know David Olinde"... seems like 75% of South Louisiana knows David Olinde :) David is currently the store manager of Olinde's Furniture in Baton Rouge. His father, Dr. "Heck" Olinde, and my grandfather, JB Olinde, were brothers; therefore, I have the pleasure of being David's second cousins. In all seriousness, David is one of my most favorite people in the world to be around because of his ability to always see the good in every person and in every situation.

David grew up in a large family in Baton Rouge until he went off to high school at Georgetown Prep in Maryland. After high school, David went to LSU where he graduated with a marketing degree. Never afraid of new experiences, David went to work at GMR Marketing out of Wisconsin where he had a great experience marketing DiGiorno Pizza... you know the one, "It's Not Delivery, It's DiGiorno!" Finally, in 1994, David came on to work for Olinde's Furniture where he currently serves on the board as well. 

If you know David (and you probably do), then you know that he has a big heart. It is that big heart that has called David to serve with the great mission of the Heritage Ranch Children's Home. Along with serving others, David also has a vast wealth of knowledge when it comes to furniture, and he always seems to have an answer to my many questions. David's job may not not always be easy or fun, but he always shows up and finds the good in every situation. As always, feel free to contact me with any questions, comments, concerns at andrew.olinde@gmail.com. 

A Good Height for Your Mattress Set

A good rule of thumb when you are deciding how much your mattress sits off the ground is the "shoe" test. What does everyone do when they take off their shoes in the bedroom? Typically, one will sit on the side of my the bed, put their feet on the floor and take their shoes off. When taking off your shoes you want both of your feet flat on the ground. I have been selling mattresses for six years now, and I will tell people that you want the measurement from the floor to the top of your mattress to be between 25 to 30 inches off the ground.

If you have gone shopping for a mattress within the last few years you will notice that mattresses have gotten really fat. Why? Because more and more good stuff are going into mattresses like latex, memory foam, and hybrid coils. So, how do you achieve a height of 25 to 30 inches from the ground to the top of mattress if the mattress is 14 inches and you have a four poster bed that sits up high off the ground. Box springs :)

Box springs now come in three different sizes: 9 inches - high profile, 5 inches - low profile and 2 inches - bunkie board. So lets do the math, a standard iron bed frame is 8 inches tall, and then you add a 9 inch box spring, then that leaves you with a mattress that needs to be between 8 inches to 13 inches to make your mattress sit 25 to 30 inches off of the ground. Make sense? As always, if you have any questions, comments or concerns, then feel free to email me at andrew.olinde@gmail.com 

"Jennifer Jones, Where Would We Be Without Her?"

At Olinde's Furniture we pride ourselves on special order furniture. Some our furniture can be offered in twelve different layouts with an option of eighty seven different fabrics, and we have almost one hundred salespeople who are assisting customers every day. That's a lot of moving parts! Now, who does Olinde's Furniture in Baton Rouge trust to complete these specials orders? Well, where would Olinde's be without Jennifer Jones?

Jennifer Jones has worked at our Airline Highway location in Baton Rouge for over 20 years, and she is the lady who never makes a mistake. I know, I know, I am not supposed to speak in absolutes; however, in Jennifer's case I can. Why? Because in looking at my notes, I have asked Jennifer Jones to make a special order for me well over five hundred times in six years and she has never once made a mistake. Not only is Jennifer perfect with special orders, but she also brings a bright smile and a cheerful attitude to a job that makes my head spin a little when I think about all the minute details that goes into it. 

I think Jennifer's only fault is that she is a Dallas Cowboys fan. So, you know I had to take a little grief from her when the Cowboys beat my beloved New Orleans Saints last night. On a serious note, I do not know where Olinde's Furniture would be without Jennifer Jones' expertise. So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you Jennifer for the A+ job you do everyday at Olinde's Furniture!

As always, feel free to let me know if you have any questions, comments or concerns at andrew.olinde@gmail.com. 

"Where the Heck is My Delivery!"

There is nothing more frustrating than waiting for a delivery to arrive to your home! At Olinde's Furniture, we took the advice from a 3rd party administrator and attached Dispatch Track to our website at www.olindes.com. 

The next time you arrange for delivery from any of Olinde's Furniture's two locations or Olinde's Mattress Superstore's three locations you will receive a phone call more our delivery dispatcher the day before with a three hour delivery time frame. Therefore, on the day of delivery, please be sure and do the following steps in order to keep an eye on the status of your delivery: 

1) go to www.olindes.com

2) move cursor to the right side of the page over SERVICES

3) a drop down will appear, and click TRACK YOUR DELIVERY

4) in the space provided type your primary telephone numbers 10-digits - or - put in Olinde's 11-character sales order number that begins with seven numbers and ends in four letters

5) click FIND

6) a new window will pop-up on your desktop and with the all the information you need for your delivery, including an updated EXPECTED TIME OF DELIVERY

As always, please feel free to contact me with questions, concerns or comments at andrew.olinde@gmail.com.    

"Uncle Beau" - or - Joseph B. "Beau" Olinde, Jr.

When I was growing up it used to drive me crazy when my mother would tell me, "you need to act more like your Uncle Beau." Beau's younger brother, my dad, also told me what a good brother Beau was to his three brothers and three sisters. Beau Olinde is the namesake of my grandfather, JB Olinde, and Uncle Beau also has the "big heart" of my grandmother, "Tyke" Olinde.

Instead of going straight into the family business, Uncle Beau went to law school. After practicing law for many years, Beau was asked to work for our family's beverage distributor, the Baton Rouge Beverage Company. Now that I have come into the family business at Olinde's Mattress Superstore and www.olidnes.com, Uncle Beau is also my boss as well, and that is a good thing :)

Uncle Beau helps with the everyday operations of Olinde's Furniture, and handles many of our legalities that come with business. Not to mentioned the endless list of projects that he handles as well. Due to his big heart, I am sure that Uncle Beau never gets tired of my legal questions, or me asking for advice, or my endless obsessing over Houston Astros baseball. I am proud to call Beau Olinde, Uncle Beau, and it is a pleasure getting to work with him at Olinde's Furniture. As always, feel free to let me know if you have any questions, comments or concerns at andrew.olinde@gmail.com