A Bit of a Rant: When Companies Make Mistakes

I was so excited this weekend!  I was getting a new fridge!  Even better, we were getting a nicer fridge than we originally picked out because it was a floor model.  It had zero scratches.dents or whatever.  It just so happened the one we picked the store was not carrying anymore but here was this nice Electrolux counter-depth, stainless steel fridge just waiting for us to take it home. 

Isn't she pretty? Thank you Best Buy for the pic. 

I prepared all week for it's homecoming.  I cleaned out the fridge and the freezer.  I carefully planned our meals for the week so that there would not be a whole lot in the the fridge/freezer to switch over.  I put off my usual soup cooking for my fall/winter lunches to keep the freezer as empty as possible. 

At 9:50am P got a phone call. 

Warehouse Worker: "Your fridge is out of stock."
P: "Um, no.  It is a floor model, there is only one of them.  It cannot be out of stock."
WW: "Well we don't have one here." 
P: "Is it still at the store?"
WW:  "I don't know.  It is out of stock."
P: "No, that is impossible.  Again, it was a floor model we touched and saw this week."
WW:  "Well if it is still at the store maybe you can pick it up."
P: "It's a refrigerator."

Can't explain to you what would have happened if I had fielded that call.  I think that is why P gives people his cell number now instead of the home phone. I can tell you that the laws of physics would have been broken and her head would have somehow ended up on my side of the phone.

So we haul ourselves to the store and luckily the woman we worked with to buy the fridge was there.  She saw us coming and said, "Guys I am so sorry.  I am on hold right now to find out what happened and get it fixed."  She even brought her manager over and he apologized profusely.  For some reason, the warehouse sent it back to the store and they have no clue why.  We thanked them for working it out and left.  Later we received a phone call and were told the fridge would not arrive until Thursday.  This was Saturday morning.

Now, after going through something much worse but similar in the area of inept delivery with Sears and our washer/dryer a year ago, we are familiar with how things work between the company that sold you the item and the people who are in charge of getting it to your door.  The people that sold the item are actually pretty decent and will do what they can to help you...

...the delivery companies basically tell you to suck it if they have made a mistake.

In my humble opinion, what SHOULD have happened, is they should have gotten our fridge on the very next truck leaving that warehouse and brought it to us at a time-frame we chose, not them.  Why?  Because we already arranged our schedule to meet them the first time, it is their turn.  It is called CUSTOMER SERVICE.  We paid you, now you deliver.  Secondly,  I know that Monday was an option because it was a date would could have picked when we originally chose the date.

Nope

Not possible.  Why?  The idiot at the warehouse could not explain why.  Why?  Because the less the people answering those calls for complaints know, the better for the people higher up.  All they care about is that they don't have to go an extra inch, let alone a mile for a customer. 

So, this is a controlled rant.  Why?  Over the years I have found it is much easier to find the root of the problem and concentrate on ranting on that root rather than the whole tree.  The associate that helped us originally, was very good at her job and did everything right.  It was the delivery company that caused the problem and then because they don't have to deal with me directly, can sit on their lazy butt and just say 'no' for no reason.  The store is at their mercy as well seeing as how they only have one delivery company. 

Now, when the fridge is delivered on Thursday, the store will be getting an email from me.  It will sing the praises of the people in the store and tear a new one in the delivery company.  I figure it should be at least worth a gift card.

Journalism Today: Fail

I read an article today regarding how a dog attacked its owner.  Now, I realize that it is awful that this happened.  I am sure that the victims were scared and hurt.  When I first read it my outrage was more about what probably caused this to happen (dog did not just go nuts) rather than what I am about to write.  When I stepped back and thought about the way the article was written it got me thinking more deeply.

Is that what journalism has come to in print media?

"When Deborah Hankin's boyfriend left her and his gargantuan Cane Corso Mastiff, she continued to care for him like her own, feeding him every day at 2:30 p.m.
But in return, the beast turned around and mangled her and a friend Saturday afternoon at her home"- Philadelphia Daily News 8/2/10

This lead reads like a fiction short story rather than a news article.  That in itself is disturbing enough.  The rest of the article was poorly written as well.  The more I thought about it, the angrier it made me.  There was absolutely no research done for this article.  The writer took it upon herself to use the skills she learned in a  fiction class to make her article appear more interesting.  That is not news writing. 

It seems to me these days that when journalists...and I am using that term VERY loosely... are tasked with writing about a subject, they sometimes feel the need to either glamorize/exaggerate it, no better than a reality tv show, or they insert their own opinion in what is CLEARLY not an opinion piece.  I see this daily in any number of print and tv journalism pieces.  It seems to me that some journalists do not know where the line between opinion and fact lies.

I like to write.  I did not go to school for it but even I know the difference between an opinion piece and a news piece.  Both types SHOULD require research from different angles and both should read like a well informed person wrote it.  A news piece should cover all the angles, tell the facts and give readers a well informed idea of an issue or event.  An opinion piece should show both sides, or many sides of an issue then proceed to use well thought out research, writing and words that would back up the opinion of the writer.  Don't they teach this to aspiring journalists anymore?  I am torn between believing if it is laziness on their part or ignorance.


I guess in a world where reality tv is king, Rush Limbaugh is considered informed (about his own opinions and not much else) and the Tea Party thinks that "Don't Tread on Me" is their own motto (please, again lazy people that could not come up with their own slogan) this is going the be the norm rather than the correct.

YOUR Going to Flip ME Off? Really, Bike Dude?

I am going to take some crap for this one. Not many but a couple people.

I am a considerate driver when it comes to people on bicycles. I think that it is a great way to exercise and a wonderful alternate form of transportation. I make sure that I don't tailgate them on back roads. I pass them carefully if needed, I don't gun my engine.

So when some jackass who thinks that he is Lance Armstong or just has his ego, decides to flip ME off for cutting me off in an intersection when I have the right of way (see that left turn signal, buddy it's for people make LEFT TURNS, NOT GOING STRAIGHT!) I get really fired up.

Who do these guys think they are? They are on a moving vehicle which is subject to all the traffic laws that we in cars are supposed to abide by but they are almost NEVER ticketed for things that would warrant HUGE fines for drivers in cars. They blow stop signs, red lights, use turning lanes as their own personal line jump at traffic lights and are a generally selfish bunch.

Share the road? Yeah, I'll share the road when they decide to share it.

No excuse for this kind of behavior at all.

Dear Neighbors

Dear Neighbors,
Good morning! I hope you enjoyed that lovely weekend. I noticed several of you working hard on your curb appeal. Just beautiful. I have one favor to ask. I know we all want our lawn that perfect shade of rich green that really is not actually attainable in nature but being in the suburbs it is beaten into us that our lawn must be perfect at any cost. When you or your chemical company come to treat your lawn, is it possible that you keep the weed killing poison, scary genetically modified lawn food off the sidewalk? I mean, there is not grass ON the side walk and you are technically wasting all those chemicals when you could be using them in your backyard or something. For me, I don't want my dogs walking on it and I don't want it on the bottom of my shoes, being tracked into the house. I am pretty sure anyone with kids doesn't want that either. You see, if you look on the bag of most brands of lawn treatment it tells you in bold letters that kids and pets should not be near it and that it is a poison of sorts.

So, I'll make a deal with you. You stop spreading that crap on the sidewalk (I know this is possible because we have a spreader too, just use the guard on it) and I will continue to pick my dog's crap off the curb side of your lawn. If you hold up your end of the bargain, great. If not G-dog and M-dog will be leaving presents for you that your lawn chemicals can do nothing about.

Have a wonderful day!

Small Grrr: Warming Up the Car

This has bothered me for quite some time. I live in Southeastern PA. We are not living on the frozen tundra nor are we living in a place that even resembles one. So please tell me why if you don't have an infant or a sick child or an elderly infirm person getting into your car at 7:00am do you feel the need to 'warm up' your car?

Today it was about 40 degrees when I was out walking G-dog. Not freezing, barely cold but as I was walking by houses I saw many cars with their engines running in the driveways. I know these homes. I walk by them EVERY morning. I know they don't have elderly people or infants getting in those cars in the morning so WHY must they 'warm up' their cars EVERY DAY?

Did you know that it is illegal to have your car idling for more than 5 minutes in some states? You can be ticketed for it. Also, most car manuals will tell you NOT to do it as it does the car no good. Basically, all you are doing when you leave your car running that that is wasting gas and contributing to greenhouse gasses. I mean seriously, do these people not own coats or gloves? Is 5 minutes of cold going to kill them while the car runs as they are driving to their destination? I think not.

The next time I see this happen and it is not cold and there are no infants or elderly people in the home, I am going to leave a note on their car asking why they feel the need to do this. Maybe it will shame them into toughening up just a tiny bit.

Extremely Angry

This is a bit of a rant. Forgive me if it goes astray.


Please, someone explain to me how it is that one person who did something irresponsible is having things taken from them when another who was irresponsible is getting acclaim?


Who am I talking about? Michael Phelps and Nadya Suleman. Michael Phelps made a poor decision in an instant while Ms. Suleman plotted to grab media attention by having multiple children for years. She is using them to generate income and she planned to do this. Who is going to suffer from Michael Phelp's mistake? Only him. There are no children going out and buying bongs and sucking on paper towel cardboard rolls to be like him. It's just not going to happen so don't try to say he should lose everything. Who is going to suffer from Ms. Suleman's plot - her children...all 14 of them. By the way, where do you think the money is coming from right now for these kids whose mother is unemployed? The government. Who pays the government? Taxpayers, that's right, you and me so we suffer too.


So before you condemn Michael Phelps for destroying HIS OWN brain cells (it being his choice and all) think about how much money taxpayers are going to have to put out for Ms. Suleman's kids. It was her choice to use her children in this way and nothing sickens me more at the moment.

My Island may have a new inhabitant very, very soon.

AYFKM: Chicken Pox Party?

I was listening to the radio this morning and my local morning show brought up the topic of "Chickenpox Parties" and I was intrigued. I could not listen to the entire conversation because I needed to get out of my car and get into work. What I did hear really bothered me.

I have worked in healthcare pretty much since highschool when I worked as a pharmacy tech up to about three years ago when I was running a disease tracking program along with a website for a well known pharma company. Go ahead, call me evil. Anyway, I believe in vaccines. I always have and I always will. You will not sway me on this topic, don't try. So when I heard that parents were purposely exposing their children to chicken pox so as to avoid them having to get the chickenpox vaccine, I was deeply angered. You see I am living proof that the antibodies that you get from catching chicken pox do not last a lifetime.

I have had the chickenpox twice. No, I do not have a problem with my immune system. No, I did not have one or two 'pox' and then get a worse case later. I really had it twice. I had the fevers, the itching, the lack of sleep, the embarrassment of having sores all over your body...during the summer (both times). Knowing how that felt and knowing that there is no 'get it once and your never get it again' immunity (and yes, you can get mono after you have had it once) I am sickened that anyone would expose their child knowingly to such a disease when there IS in a vaccine that can help either prevent the disease or at least get a weaker case. There is an article in "Mothering" magazine about Chickenpox Parties that made me sick to my stomach. It talks about developing 'natural immunity to Varicella (chickenpox virus). I am sorry but there is not one natural thing about this 'party' process. Naturally getting a disease means you come into contact with it, on your own. Actually forcing the illness upon a child is chilling and I am sorry, I am going to say it, negligent.

It is negligent because they don't have any clue as to how their child is going to react to the disease. Did you know that the fevers from chicken pox can cause swelling of the brain? Yes, fevers can be treated but since these parents are trying a 'natural' way of getting antibodies I am going to go out on a limb here and say they probably are not going to dose their child with Tylenol or Ibuprofen if their child gets a fever. They might take them to the ER (and then thanks again for continuing the spread) but if the fever is high enough for long enough, damage is already done. Also, chickenpox sores can easily become infected causing scarring and possibly secondary infections that, if left untreated (again, going to the 'natural' thought thing again) could cause serious complications.

If you have been reading my blog for awhile, you know I am all for organic and local living but I have the Hep B vaccine and I get my flu shot every year (yes it does work and no you cannot get the flu from the flu shot) and when I am in my 60's I will get the pneumoina vaccine. If I have children, they will be vaccinated with all the required vaccines. Why? I don't want my children to get sick from preventable diseases and I would not want them to pass them on to anyone else. Don't even try to tell me, "You're not a parent, you wouldn't understand." because I do understand. I understand the science and the risks probably better than many people because I am just that smart and I do my research.

Let's Catch Up

So P is fine. He is swollen and the underside of his nose looks GROSS but he is fine. I did a good job I think of taking care of him but by today I was totally over it. Bad wife.

I have had a bad day today as a Trojan Horse virus spewed crap all over my computer. What I don't get is it was my work computer. We are supposed to have uber security on our computers at the office so why is it that my home computer is fine and my work computer is doing the virtual version of the kid in the Exorcist spewing nastiness in the form of pop-ups? I don't get it. I am really hoping I caught it in time because my boss had it, ignored it and had to wipe his hard drive and reinstall EVERYTHING. Just so not good. Mind you, his computer crashed again today and do you know how much work I saved to his hard drive? I almost cried and then I almost crawled through the phone line to wring the neck of the pseudo tech geek when he told me "See the little computer looking icon, that 's the My Computer icon click it for me." WHEN I ALREADY TOLD HIM I HAD A BLACK SCREEN WITH HALT ERROR. Idiot. Why do they put these guys on level one support? Is it just to piss us off when we are at our lowest point? When you try to explain to them that you've been around the inside of a computer before and you are NOT going to reboot again they get all huffy like you've taken away their solution or something.

NOTE: I am NOT bashing all tech guys and gals. I have worked with many good ones in all my previous jobs and one or two in this job. It's just when I need help I don't like wading thru the kiddie pool first.

I apologise now for the lack of inserting paragraph spaces. I know it gets hard to read. Depending on the outcome of certain events in entertainment news, I may have a controversial My Island post coming up. I am still thinking about it, doing research and forming my (correct) opinion.

I am going to go have another beer in the hopes that it will help relax my shoulders and back into their normal position below my ears.

RANT: Philly Fan and Proud of It

There was an article by a lazy journalist in the St. Petersberg Times today that really made me angry. I wasn't really angry about the fact that he was complaining about Philadelphia sports fans. Everyone complains about the few bad apples they either 'hear' about or read about. What I can't take is lying and sloppy journalism. Basically what Romano did was take something EVERY sports writer outside Philadelphia writes about and try, poorly at that, to rehash it because their team is behind in the World Series.

"Children were cursed at, and one 9-year-old boy had beer poured on him."
- Do you know how much beers ARE at Citizens Bank Park? $7.50. I don't think there was any wasting of alcohol. There might have been spillage when big plays were made but no, I am sorry, that was not going to happen.

"A Rays family member stayed locked in a bathroom stall because, he said, Phillies fans were banging on the walls and threatening him."
- The family members of the Ray were sitting in a specific section of the ball park with more security and additional ushers to handle problems. No, I don't think this happened either.

"In a game that did not begin until after 10 p.m., giving fans more booze time"
-Beer sales were stopped after the 4th inning so that the vendors were not open any more time that usual.

"Does this sort of thing happen at other stadiums? Without a doubt. And I'm sure it has happened on occasion at Tropicana Field, too. But no city has the reputation of Philadelphia."
- Glass houses, even those with domes break. If you are going to berate us SOLELY on reputation, you are a POOR journalist.

"Team officials were reluctant to talk about the situation for fear of stirring up more hostility."
- If ANY of this had truth to it, it would have been on the news here in Philly (because you know we love to hear about what we do to other fans and the media LOVES to report it) AND in Tampa.

The worst one of all that CAN be proven a lie.
"Really, the biggest part is the families, if we could do something about that. Throwing mustard packs at my granddaughter is not very cool. The other part, I'm good with."
- There are NO mustard packs at CBP. None, period. They have the kegs o' mustard that you need to use to put on your food out by the vendors. Even the vendors outside the stadium don't use them very much.

When you need to stoop this low, to quote unnamed sources, take all hersay and print it and BLATANTLY make up lies, you are FINISHED as a journalist and might as well change careers to writing bad fiction.

On the other hand, those that STILL call us brutal and Neanderthals; I am proud to be from Philly. I am proud that we have the fans that we have. Santa has remained unscathed for YEARS. LET IT GO!

Way to Go FEMA!

I just read this article on CNN:
FEMA gives away $85 million of supplies for Katrina victims

FEMA claimed it was unaware that there were people still in need of items.

Um....

Are you serious!?

You need to read this article especially in light of the most recent flooding in Wisconsin and Iowa. Why is FEMA still run by people who it seems try to stay as uninformed as possible. I do not doubt that there are capable people that work for the agency that probably get beaten down by their superiors but to actually come out and say "the items were no longer needed in the stricken region. So it declared them "federal surplus" and gave them away."

I am in absolute shock...although I know I really shouldn't be. Also, there are a couple comments that are really off the mark and sickened me even more. I

Community Bathroom Etiquette

Dear Ladies,

I realize that some of you have to hover pretty darn high over the seat to avoid touching the virus/bacteria/Andromeda plastic on said toilet. It looks like for some of you aim is becoming quite bad. Might I remind you that this bathroom is used by clients as well as employees on this floor and no on wants to have to play musical toilet seats while searching for a clean one (I won't even go into the whole non-flushing thing and YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE YOU NASTY WHORES), especially not that client you are trying to land with your lovely smelling lunches that you don't offer to the rest of the floor, but I digress... Please take a moment to wipe your urine off the seat so that some unsuspecting visitor with a full bladder and weak eyesight doesn't rush in, sit down and then slide off the seat due to the slip and slide nature of which you left the seat.

Your cooperation is most appriciated.

5th Floor Pee Seat Buster

Building on Fire?

Apparently not.

That did not stop all 8 floors of our building to have to go out into the 90% humidity at about 95 degrees. About 10 seconds after I wrote the post below, our fire alarm went off. I am not sinning in my office, sweaty, itchy and generally yucky. I understand the safty issue of fire alarms and needing to evacuate buildings but since there was no actual emergency and since the air quality today is at such an unhealthy level, don't you think it would have made sense to let us stand in the freaking shade eventhough it was technically outside the 'saftey zone'?