Queen Bea's Rotten Vacation from Hades and Other Fun Tales!

Barnacles on the pier

So I'm back from my vacation and about as caught up on emails and laundry as I can probably ever hope to be. It never ends, you know!

To put it as politely as I possible can, this vacation sucked.

I've never been a big fan of vacations in general--they're expensive, take forever to plan, take longer to recover from, and usually prove to be more stressful than just getting up and going to work. My idea of the perfect vacation involves staying at a nice hotel with tasty (albeit probably ridiculously expensive) room service a stack of all those books I haven't had time to get around to reading and another stack of movies. I wouldn't have to cook, clean, be anywhere at a certain time, or take care of anyone else. Oh, to dream the impossible dream!

That, however, was not my vacation. The family wanted to go to the beach. In order to avoid tar balls and oil slicks, we decided to head to Myrtle Beach in South Carolina. I found a small hotel that had an oceanfront room, which would let us bring the dog along for the trip (she loves to travel and I hate having to board her.) 

So far, so good ... but then we got up before the crack of dawn in order to hit the road early. We probably at least should have waited until the sun came up.

Since it was so early and we were just walking from the front door to the car sitting in the driveway, my son decided to walk in his bare feet. He was planning on going right back to sleep anyway, so why bother, right? Wrong. Tragedy ensued when his foot landed squarely on the decapitated head of a rotting mouse. Apparently, one of my cats sneaked outside and caught himself a tasty snack--generously leaving the remnants for us as a present on the porch! As Rachel Ray would say, Yum-O!

Have you ever tried to wash the smell of rotting mouse  head off the foot of a screaming child at five in the morning? It's good times, folks.

View of the beach from the pier.

The dead mouse head pretty much set the tone for everything that followed. It was roughly 100 degrees, 100% humidity, and zero cloud cover. Basically, if you weren't in the water at all times, you were frying like a piece of greasy bacon. I feel like I spent most of my time in the hotel room bent over the bathtub trying to hand wash all the sand and salt out of everything. 

On a positive note, evenings on the beach were pleasant and there were a handful of highlights to the trip. 1) I got to try the buffalo chicken pizza at Ultimate California Pizza, which was awesome and totally worth cheating on my diet. 2) The fireworks display shot off from the pier right outside our balcony was great and much more than I expected. 3) Visiting the QVC Outlet.

QVC Outlet at Myrtle Beach.

Oh, yes, Queen Bea never stops working! You know I had to take the opportunity to see and touch all that amazing, amazing, amazing QVC merchandise for myself.

There were tons of kitchen things--Temptations (or however it is that they like to spell it), Cook's Essentials cookware, and even some of the expensive Polish stoneware. I even got to visit a Keurig they were selling. I missed my Keurig terribly!

There was a ton of clothes, but of course the extra long rack of sparkly Quacker Factory apparel was impossible to miss. All the usual suspects were there--Dialogue, Motto, and Susan Graver--along with a smattering of the designer duds. And I don't care what the Q says, the sizing is NOT uniform even within a particular line. I don't even know if it's possible to have perfectly uniform sizing. Women's bodies and the fashions that clothe them are just too complicated for a standard set of numbers to apply to everything. 

Oh yeah! I almost forgot. Surprisingly (to me anyway) there was quite a bit of Spanx for sale. I do love those body shapers, but I was in no mood to deal with Lycra.

I don't know if everyone is returning their Birkenstocks or if they're clearing out old stock or what, but the Q Outlet hit the freakin' Birkenstock mother load. I have also never seen so many Birkenstocks in one place before! And the prices were good too. If you're in the market for some hippie sandals, it's the place to go.

There wasn't much in the way of beauty products other than Ojon. Although after all the uproar over reselling used cosmetics, the Q probably wants to steer clear of that category completely.

There was a good selection of purses and probably worth a visit for all those hardcore Dooney collectors. And let me tell you, those B. Makowsky purses that have become ubiquitous on QVC really do feel like butter--battuh! I don't know if he massages cocoa butter on his cows every day or what, but it is truly some amazing stuff.

Of course, I had to hover around the jewelry counter for an inordinate amount of time. I think that I drove the nice jewelry ladies crazy. I really hate bothering them, but they set it up so that you have to ask them to take out each piece one by one. They were very sweet and helpful though. Like Judith Ripka always says, you have to play with your jewelry! There was a little bit of everything, but it seemed like the more expensive the designer, the less of it they carried. Or maybe the good stuff just goes fast?

The huge QVC sign over the bathrooms pointing you to where the Q store actually is. Queen Bea allegedly went into the bathrooms looking for QVC.

I finally settled on a cute pair of Veronese dangly earrings. Cute earrings that don't cost a bloody fortune are immensely good for Queen Bea's soul. And, Lord knows, I needed a little pick-me up!

The trip home involved not one, not two, but three major bumper-to-bumper, down-to-one-lane, might-as-well-put-the-car-in-park-cause-we-ain't-movin'-any-time-soon traffic jams. There were also multiple stops because people were having "digestive issues." I will spare you the details on that one. And the worst part was just trying to leave Myrtle Beach. We ended up getting caught in some heavy traffic--no, this wasn't one of the traffic jams, just congestion--in the blazing sun. The car's air conditioning just couldn't keep up and the dog nearly had heatstroke. Needless to say, it took forever to finally get home.

The ocean itself was beautiful, but I have no plans to be returning to the beach any time in the foreseeable future--or ever, for that matter!

(By the way, I do have a winner for the Float Life's a Beach Giveaway, but the winner will not email me back. If I don't hear from her today, I'll choose another winner. So if you entered, please check your email!!!)

Vacation, All I Ever Wanted!

Queen Bea is going on vacation, y'all!

I'm staying in an oceanfront hotel that's pet-friendly so I can even bring the pooch. I can't wait to watch her frolic in the waves for the first time and try to figure out what to do with a sand crab without getting her nose pinched.

My hotel will supposedly have free WiFi, so I might pop in from time to time--most likely on Twitter, so join me! (CLICK HERE)

In the meantime, don't forget to enter the FLOAT LIFE'S A BEACH GIVEAWAY so you can win your own hot beach accessories.

Quick Note from Queen Bea

Yes, I know the posting has been a little light lately. No, it's not because I recently posted about my grandmother (we all know what happened last time I did that!)

Actually, the homeschooling year is coming to a close and I've been a little bogged down in my teacher duties lately. The good news is that since the semester is almost over, I will have some extra time to focus on the blog.

In the meantime, join me on Twitter! I can tweet 140 characters or less faster than Lisa Robertson and can apply her faux tan! Click here: https://twitter.com/QueenBea

Happy Mother's Day, Grandma

This is my first Mother's Day without my grandmother. Surprisingly, that thought didn't even occur to me until I was standing in the middle of a crowded aisle in Kroger this morning with all the rest of the last-minute Mother's Day card purchasers. I was silently tallying up all the cards to make sure that I hadn't missed anyone when suddenly my throat tensed, my eyes welled up, and I just knew the ugly cry wasn't far behind. I felt like such a fool crying in a grocery store. At least I had my ridiculously big diva sunglasses to cover up with until I made it to my car!

In her memory, I'm going to post one of her many stories. She wrote all the time--her journal (which let me tell you has been quite eye opening to read!!!), stories for church publications, and stories just because she she had a tale to tell.

This is the story of how my Grandma Norma met the love of her life, my Grandpa John, as told by her:

February 15, 1991

Dear God,

I’m sitting in the blue chair in the living room—my corner—listening to a birthday gift from Judy and Dave: “Carreras, Domingo, Pavarotti in Concert.” Today is my birthday. Why I thought about writing this today—who knows? Maybe because I’m snow-bound and thought it would be fun.

You see God, I have this very special friend who edits all I write for publication of sorts. You know I can’t spell worth a bean and could care less where to punctuate correctly because I talk to people when I write just like they were in the chair next to me—just like I talk or write to you. Unless you’re Victor Borge, people don’t talk with : ; . ! ? as such. By the way, I’m eating popcorn as I’m writing this. The music is BEAUTIFUL!

“The Spiritual Growth Area,” or whatever at Church of the Savior—I know You know everything, but just in case You don’t know our church by name—ask persons in the “The Church of the Savior” to write “What the Bible means to me”—as you know I did that, but my friend didn’t think it was that great. She likes a story. A couple of days ago, a story about the Bible and Norma came to mind. Not really suitable for “The Lenten Book”—I can see you smiling and shaking Your head, because of course.

When I was a young girl, I used to open up my Bible in the morning with my eyes shut tight, and in like fashion would run my finger down the page to where I was sure God had me stop to read. That was “The Word,” so to speak, for my day. I did this whenever I needed help with problems also.  Norma was doing this Bible help into her twenties.

The time of this story I was in my twenties and was working at McDonald House at University Hospitals. There was to be a formal dance at the Union Club, but it was to be for the upper crust—so they said. I had charge of the nursery on the relief time 3-11 P.M. Our team worked hard taking care of the newborns. We had a happy, quiet nursery and some staff resented that—believe it or not.

I loved to dance, and romantic soul that I am, a formal was too much for Norma to resist. How I loved to dance in a long, beautiful gown. A good doctor friend secured two tickets for me. I was more than a little afraid to go, because at the time, it was true the hospitals had a definite cast system. One did not even eat in the hospital cafeteria with anyone in or out of your cast. I really wasn’t in the upper crust, BUT—I had chutzpah to the nines and no one was going to put Norma in any cast—top or bottom—that just wasn’t kosher—Jesus said so!

To make matters worse, I had fallen out with the only person I was dating at the time that could dance. I was desperate! I had paid for two tickets, new dress--no date—Oy Vey!

In order to get to work, I took the Noble Road bus to Euclid Avenue to catch the street car to the hospital (Yes most people rode buses and street cars in those “olden” days)—I had been to a big welcome home party for a friend a while back and met this handsome man named John. We talked for just a short time and that was that, never thought much about him after—until I got on the Noble Road bus and who was piloting it—John! And he could dance! 

Let me tell you, all the light bulbs went off in my head. He remembered me very well. I talked to John like I wouldn’t even believe. You could have heard a pin drop in that bus—everyone was listening. By the time we reached Euclid Avenue, John was going to the dance with me and the whole bus applauded!

What had I done—going to the upper crust dance with a man I really didn’t know that well? What if he wore the wrong clothes, and maybe WHITE SOCKS of all things!

Norma went to her Bible, closed her eyes, ran finger down the page and prayed “God what will happen?”—opened her eyes and read “YE SHALL BE THROWN OUT”—Well—what would you do? God had smited me, or so I thought. But it was too late. John came dressed proper with lovely flowers for me, and could that man dance!

We were not thrown out, but applauded (again).

I married that John, had four children—Judy, Sally, Clark and David. We loved, fought, laughed and danced for 35 years until John died. God must have been winking--Don’t you think?—when I read that Bible verse.

Never did know if he wore white socks. Forgot to look. J

Home Shopping Bingo!

Be sure to click on the picture for a closer look!

Next time you're spending the night curled up on the couch with a good box of wine (Hey! Don't judge!) and your favorite home shopping channel on the boob-tube, add some some fun to your festivities with Queen Bea's Home Shopping Bingo!

Trust me ... it doesn't take a long time to play!

What's in Queen Bea's Beauty Bag?

What's in Queen Bea's Shower?

One my friend loaned me her new Flip camcorder so while I had the opportunity, I decided to do some silly little vlogs. In the spirit of live home shopping style TV, it's all in one unedited take. I have to admit that it ain't easy, but much faster than typing out blog post.

This first one takes you into Queen Bea's shower, which isn't nearly as exciting or as dirty as it sounds. More will be coming soon: the makeup bag, jewelry box, and whatever else I can manage to record before my friend stalks me down and rips her Flip cam out of my frantically vlogging hands.

One of my long-time readers emailed me that she was stunned by the sound of my voice. She assumed by my "tart prose" that I was an old chain-smokin', whiskey-swilling, kiss-my-grits kind of a broad. But "tart prose" comes from the heart, not a pack of smokes! :-)

~

Housekeeping

Blogger has added some features since I last roamed these hallowed halls, so I have added some newfangled fancy "pages." There are new links to these pages at the top of the page (right under the Queen Bea kitty cat) if you need to email Queen Bea, report any abusive language in the comments sections, or search for a home shopping coupon code. Please feel free to use them!

There is also a link for "links," which is a section I have been meaning to work on forever. If you have a link that you would like for me to include, please email me. It just needs to be related to home shopping in some way, shape, or form. I'm considering also adding a "blogroll" link for all those not-necessarily-home-shopping-related blogs that many of you guys have, so feel free to email those too.

Speaking of real life housekeeping ... I started making my own homemade laundry soap! For real! So far, so good. Much cheaper, no skin sensitivities, and managed to get some nasty towels squeaky clean. I saw this on the 18 19 Kids and Counting show on TLC and was so intrigued that I had to try it for myself. Of course, I have to store it in a Lock-n-Lock. ;-P

Queen Bea's eXtreme QVC Purchases

While I was on hiatus, I did give up the home shopping habit cold turkey ... at least until I slipped and fell off the bandwagon!

Here's a rundown of what I've been talked into buying by those silver tongued devil hosts ... :-P

Most Recent

The Q just did some sort of all day kitchen love fest, which always sucks me in. I *heart* kitchen gadgets. And, after years of thinking about it, I finally decided to order the Cook's Essentials Pressure Cooker.

No one my house ever remembers to take meat out to thaw and then we're inevitably in a conundrum come dinner time, I just love the idea of throwing a frozen chicken breast and some salsa in the pressure cooker and having dinner ready in a few minutes.

I've used it twice so far, and while I'm almost over the fear that that it's a time bomb fixin' to blow my kitchen to smithereens, I still haven't got a good feel for how long it actually takes different foods to cook. At this point it's just a guessing game. (And, yes, I know there are guidelines, but they can only get you in the general ballpark.)

Most Impulsive

I also got those Temp-tations place mat/serving tray thingies that sold out (technically called the Temp-tations Old World Set of 4 Serve N Clear Mats, but that's too much of a mouthful for me). And while I usually ponder my home shopping purchases for months before actually buying anything, this was a complete and total impulse buy.

My royal household is not very good at sitting at the table like civilized human beings, so we are always carting food all over the house. I thought these might help cut down on some of the mess and accidental spills.

The only downside I've noticed are some weird glue splotches where it was probably thrown together quickly in some Chinese factory. Other than that, I absolutely love them. But I'm still holding out judgement until I have to actually clean them. Will they come clean? Hmmm ...

Most Sentimental

I had been eyeing the Barry Cord Daisy Cross ever since my grandmother passed away. She loved wearing cross pendants and the daisy was always her favorite flower. Since the Barry Cord jewelry tends to be very well made, solid jewelry, I snapped it up as soon as it went on clearance. Now if I could only find a chain to wear it on ...

Most Blingy

I have to admit, when I saw the Ripka Wedding Band, it was lust at first sight. I just wasn't sure if it would be too bulky or blingy looking on me--basically, I didn't know if I could pull it off! So after cooling my jets for about a year, I finally decided to just take the plunge and buy it. And while it is most certainly not a shy ring, I do love wearing it.

Most Gifted

The Keurig! I have sung the praises of my beloved Keurig many, many times. My family didn't understand what was the big stinking deal about a coffee maker until they came to visit. After that, they all wanted one. Let me put it this way ... it was a Merry Keurig Christmas this year. Keurigs for all my kingdom!

Most OCD

I hate CD's and DVD's being strewn about the room, cluttering up the place. I bought Discgear 120-Disc Organizer for Mr. Queen Bea who used it to completely organize all our movies, games, music, and software into one tidy little spot. Sigh ... if only everything in my life could be so perfectly organized.

Most eXtreme

Speaking of Mr. Queen Bea, he was feeling frumpy and unmotivated so I bought him P90X to give him a much-needed kick in the derriere. He was sooo excited about the program and got off to a rip-roaring start. He even managed to do three solid weeks before getting injured. Unfortunately, he forgot that he wasn't 18 anymore and pushed himself too far. The good news is that he seems to be all recovered now and ready to jump back in. I think he learned his lesson and will be more careful, but the male ego is such a delicate thing that you just never know. Be warned - it's eXtreme, y'all!!!

Most Un-Home Shopping

BTW ... the best thing I got all year *not* from a home shopping network was my Kindle, which I received as a Christmas present from a very generous Santa. If you love to read and you aren't too attached to the feeling of having a book in your hands, you should really look into getting one. It's been wonderful for the homeschooling too.

Back in Black

No, I didn't abdicate my throne y'all, I just needed to "defrag" my brain and get out of the home shopping bubble for a while. Plus, there was that little matter of American Idol to attend to. I *heart* Adam. Not that I dislike Kris, but Adam warms my glam rock lovin' heart.

I'll be speed posting* soon trying to catch up on all the latest news and gossip since I'm waaaaay behind on everything at this point.

*Speed posting = low quality, poor grammar, horribly written posts with little redeeming value. In other words, the same as usual! W00t!!!

The REAL Queen Bea

I might be the self-proclaimed Queen Bea of Home Shopping, but make no mistake, Bea Toms is the real Queen Bea. I humbly bow in her presence.

Bea is a 95-year-old great-great-grandmother who brings home the bacon, fries it up in the pan, then turns around and sells it on QVC. She is one hot mama!

According to the Baltimore Sun, she single-handedly cooked for the 300 people that came to her 95th birthday party before heading to the QVC studios to promote her book, Recipes From a Country Cook, which she first published at the tender age of 90.

When asked if she ever takes a day off, she pauses and asks, "A whole day?"

Energy, she figures, is a state of mind. If you want to do things, you do them. Simple as that. "Work does not stop me," she says. "I've shocked wheat, I've driven horses, I've husked corn, I've driven tractors. It's who I am."


Her take on cooking and life is real and is the antithesis of the fancy-shmancy celebrity chefs we have crammed down our throats. She grew up on a farm making big, hearty meals that tasted good, weren't complicated, and didn't cost a fortune. Her catering business grew organically out of her kitchen through word-of-mouth--a wedding here, a baby shower there--and she still makes all the food herself. She's written five cookbooks, two volumes of poetry, and a collection of short stories in her spare time.

Just stop and think about that right now ... she's 95 and runs a catering business where she does all the cooking herself and has written 8 books in her spare time. What have you been doing with your time lately? Sure makes you stop and think about what you could accomplish if you put your mind to it.

Bea might be slight of stature, but she is strong as steel.


(This is by far the cutest home shopping picture ever! Love David!)


"They call me the little old roll lady."

Venable bit deeply into one roll stuffed with country ham. "Mmmmmm. Mmmmmmm," he said. "I do like."

Later, on the phone with a reporter, Venable says that all the oohing and ahhing wasn't just for the camera.

"Her rolls are without parallel," he says. "I've never had a nicer, fluffier, more wonderful roll than Bea's."

Bea's advice on cooking: "I don't buy cheap food. You can't make something excellent out of something mediocre." Words to live by.

Check out the entire article here including pictures, recipes, and videos.

My Favorite Little Tweeter

I think that I'm finally starting to *get* the whole Twitter thing. I signed up for because it was the thing to do, but I really had no idea why it was the thing to do or what I was supposed to do with it. Besides, when you try to conjugate the verb twit or tweet, you end up getting into some rather interesting territory!

So far, my favorite home shopping tweeter has to be Rick Domeier. Now, if you aren't particularly keen on his dry sense of humor, than this post ain't gonna be for you. Just quit reading this and go turn on QVC or read a book or something.

Anyway, here is a smattering of his tweets:

Saw an interview Today on the Narcissistic epidemic. How silly. By the way, do I look great today, or what??!!

Currently catching up with Facebook, Twitter, Rickdomeier.com, my top ten other sites. Kids haven't eaten in three days.

May the Gods watch over me. Working with Richard Simmons tonight

The Lord is Risen Today. I, however, am currently horizontal on the couch.


See what I mean??? Love it!

Join me on Twitter .............. It's fun, y'all!!!

A Royal Mess!

This is my Michael Jackson Beat It purse:



I normally carry a suitcase-sized handbag, but I found this one on clearance at Target for about $7 and thought I would use it for a while as a much needed "pop of red." It was the cute polka dot lining that sold me (QB *hearts* cute lining). Check it out:





Notice the big mess in there? Yeah, I know. I might be a self-proclaimed Queen, but I'm also a royal mess! Let's dump out all the contents, shall, we?




EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!! I need help! It just so happens that an anonymous carrier pigeon dropped off the new TSV Lori Greiner Purse Organizer at my door. How convenient!




Look, it even separates out like those cute Russian dolls:



Will it work?

I couldn't use the the outermost part because it was waaay to large for my purse. But I think it'll work well in my bathroom for random toiletries. Anyway, I managed to get my brush, mints, pens, glasses, keys, phone, nail file, and money into the remaining pieces. I also kept my big wallet (which also has cute lining, thank you very much) with the pepper spray attached for all the usual wallet stuff.





The whole thing fit into my purse nicely and I just had to set the wallet on top. BTW, the random papers you see in the big pile of royal purse crap are now folded nicely and tucked into the zipper compartment of my purse. I did throw some of them away. Somehow i had managed to collect about five different grocery lists and receipts from every gas station visit and coffee I've purchased in the last year!








So will my new found organization last? I don't know. I like to be organized, but I have a hard time staying that way.

Scariest. Bunny. Ever.

This ... gulp ... sinister-looking bunny stuffed animal doll thing was put out at a restaurant as "decoration." Chucky ain't got nothin' on this critter! Rick, if you do another Evil Dead movie, you need this bunny!!!

Happy Easter!!!

Queen Bea is Watching You

There are a few of my posts that have garnered rather large and intense comments sections (such as here and here)--and I'm not just trying to toot my own Tootie horn here! I'm working up to deep, philosophical point about freedom of speech, people.

Some of those comments are interesting and insightful while others are downright vicious and hurtful--not to mention my favorite category: unfounded salacious rumors! Who knew that Bob was in a lesbian love triangle??? Go figure.

I've had a longstanding hands-off approach to all the comments--yes, even the nasty ones about yours truly. I figure that we are policed and poofed enough on other message boards that I would just let freedom ring on my blog. I don't exactly feel like I'm qualified to be the judge, jury, and executioner since I am no King Solomon. Besides, most trolls and troublemakers end up hanging themselves with their own rope anyway.

Since I don't have official "community standards," I thought I would just let you know where I stand on all the foofaraw.

Would you prefer that the comments be subject to my Big Brother approval or would you rather take the good with the bad and sort it out for yourself???

Facebook Hates Me

Poof! I have disappeared from Facebook because Facebook disabled my account. They hate me. Apparently I'm supposed have a business or celebrity "fan page" instead of a regular account. I did not know this. I thought little ol' me with my little ol' blog didn't need something so ostentatious as a fan page on Facebook, but that's what they are telling me I have to do. Or at least that's what I gather from reading the FAQ page. I could be wrong.

Anyway, I created a whole new "fan" page. The page isn't fixed up or fancy yet. I haven't had time to order the drapes or install the hardwood flooring, but it's better than nothing.

Since I'm starting from scratch, please become a fan ... Facebook is a lonely place after they strip away all your friends. *sigh*

Click here to become a Fan of the Home Shopping Queen on Facebook!

Lucy!

Here is a picture of Lucy, the old doggie that we're trying to help. I'm just going to re-post my comment from the original post about the dog updating everyone on how she's doing.

Thank you for all the encouraging comments and emails. I truly appreciate all your support. It means a lot.

Lucy is doing well. She was sooo skittish at first, but quickly came around when she realized that she was getting all kinds of love and attention.

She is quite enamored of her water bowl since she's been living in a house with no utilities or water for over three months.

We were also able to take her for a walk, which she loved! She didn't have a collar so we had to wrap the leash around her neck. I'll be stopping by the store to pick up a collar today. (NOTE: Since writing this I have gotten her a very cute pink and purple polka dot collar!)

As to my other animals (we have 2 old cats and a dog) ... that's the big question. The dogs got along great outside. However, my dog was not amused with Lucy being inside the house--understandably so. They would get along for a few minutes and then decide that they were going to have a smack down. And we discovered that Lucy likes to chase cats.

All in all I thought she did great, but obviously there will be challenges. Her original owner would like to have her back eventually. I don't know about that. She's not abusive, but she just isn't stable enough to handle a dog.

I'm just taking this one day at a time.

Again ... thank you so much!!!

Dog Days

I will probably be out of commission today. I am in the midst of trying to rescue a dog that someone abandoned (long story that makes me angry just to think about).

She's old and scared and I'm trying to set her up in my garage with an old mattress and her blanket. I wouldn't normally put a dog in the garage, but I have to keep her separated from my other animals for a while for obvious reasons.

I feel so bad for her. At this point it's me or the pound, which will put her down since she's not highly adoptable. Poor thing.

QVC LiveHelp RIP

“Effective April 1, 2009 QVC’s LiveHelp will no longer be offered due to a significant decline in our LiveHelp volume over the past year. However, we do offer many other service options. In QVC.com you have access to all of your orders and returns through Order Status. The link for Customer Service is at the bottom of every page which takes you to the various ways you can contact QVC: email, phone, or mail."

I have a feeling that this has much more to do with the recent employee layoffs than decline in volume of users. And it's certainly not like the Q promotes or encourages the service. LiveHelp is a bit difficult to find. You have to already know it exists and then go hunting for it. Most websites that use live chat customer service also use pop-ups asking if they can help you.

I guess I was one of the few people who did actually use LiveHelp because I much prefer chatting online to calling on the phone. They were helpful in making account and order changes and updates, but they weren't helpful at all with product questions. They tell you exactly what is written on the online product description page pretty much word for word. Surprisingly, since I'm already online using the LiveHelp service, I can read that for myself. I don't need to read it again on LiveHelp. Apparently they don't have access to any additional product information, but they won't just tell you that up front.

The Q should just have Queen Bea work the LiveHelp! I'll work very hard to generate more interest in the service!