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Using my new Dell Inspiron 6000 notebook, connected wirelessly to the internet, I VNCed into my home computer, used a program installed on that computer (and not my notebook) to produce a report which I faxed using my home computer's modem to the fax machine in the house where I was working with the notebook. How's that for a roundabout way of printing?
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Wasserman's raised their prices 56% on Empire Deli Slices (smoked pastrami) - from $1.79 to $2.79, and they had the nerve to stick the new price tags next to the old ones, blatantly alerting the customer that a ripoff was in process.
Taking a cue from The Jewish Week's City Watching Passover Pricing article, I filed a complaint with the NYC Department of Consumer Affairs.
Cell phone numbers are getting closer to being more readily available to telemarketing companies and you may start to receive sale calls. You will be charged (air time) for these calls.
To avoid getting these calls, sign up for the National Do Not Call registry. It only takes a minute and it blocks your number for 5 years.
Either sign up online or call 888-382-1222 from the phone line you want to sign up.
As if all the trouble I've been having with Dell regarding my laptop order wasn't enough, I ran into a nearly identical problem with them yesterday. On Wednesday I had seen the Canon Powershot A510 for 15% off ($169.15) and the Kingston 512 MB SD card for 20% off ($39.99) with a $15 MIR. By the time I went to order (using a $25 off $150 coupon) on Thursday, the camera discount was gone, even though it showed on the search page, and the discount was clearly advertised as valid through Thursday night. I spent a while arguing with a stupid Dell CSR via chat, but got no where. He seemed convinced that the discount was never valid on that particular camera, despite my evidence to the contrary. He suggested I call in the next day. I wasn't too excited about waiting for the next day, as by then the offer would clearly be over.
I next contacted my buddy from Dell who helped with my laptop problem, but she was too busy to offer immediate help.
So I was stuck in a holding pattern.
By Thursday morning the discount was back (as a new offer) on the camera, and the memory was now 30% off - an extra $5 less. So I was finally able to place the order.
Despite both items having a status of "Usually Ships: Within 24 Hours," the email listed "Estimated Ship Date: Friday, May 06, 2005." I wasn't too pleased, but didn't trust it either.
In the end, the items shipped on the same day, scheduled for delivery on Friday (the next day!)
Free iPods are one thing, but free lawn tractors? That's just crazy. And the T&Cs are great reading material! Some goodies:
Complete the sponsored offers of your choice. You must successfully complete* the sponsored offers appearing on the Reward Offers pages as follows: one (1) offer from Reward Offers 1; one (1) offer from Reward Offers 2; one (1) offer from Reward Offers 3; and two (2) offers from Reward Offers 4. Our sponsors cover the entire cost of the free Lawn Tractor along with the shipping & handling fees.Referral Requirement:
You must also refer at least three (3) unique households who, as described above, must join and each successfully complete the required number of offers under the terms listed in this document.
and
What exactly does the term "complete" mean? By "completing" an offer, you are fulfilling the registration requirements unique to each offer. For credit card offers, you must be approved for and activate that credit card by making a purchase, balance transfer or cash advance to "complete" the offer.YOU MAY COMPLETE ONLY ONE DISCOVER CARD APPLICATION AS PART OF THIS OFFER.
YOU MAY APPLY ONLY ONCE TO ANY GIVEN CREDIT CARD OFFER.
YOU MAY SIGN-UP WITH EACH OF OUR ADVERTISERS ONE TIME EVERY SIX (6) MONTHS. ONCE YOU HAVE SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED AN ADVERTISER’S OFFER, YOU ARE PROHIBITED FROM SIGNING-UP FOR THAT OFFER, AS WELL AS ANY OTHER OFFER SPONSORED BY THE ADVERTISER FOR SIX (6) MONTHS.
USERS WHO VIOLATE THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS ARE NOT ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE A FREE PROMOTIONAL ITEM FROM THIS WEB SITE.
Sponsors report to us that you completed their offer.
This will generally take up to 4 weeks, depending on the sponsor.
We will not respond to inquiries regarding offer status until 30 days after you have attempted to complete an offer.
My "new" notebook has been in the boxing stage since last week! It's a very frustrating situation.
Following the initiation of my as-yet-ongoing attempt to find out more information about the E18 error, Canon sent me a survey claiming that "At Canon USA, customer service is our number-one priority, and we take great pride in providing you with the best service possible. It is our goal to make your Canon ownership experience enjoyable." Yeah right!
Below I have reproduced the survey (and my answers). I'll let you know if they actually get back to me.
Canon Email Technical Support Satisfaction Survey
Canon USA strives to provide you with the highest satisfaction possible for your Canon products. Feedback about your recent experience with Canon's Email Technical Support is a valuable and integral part of our ability to deliver unsurpassed customer satisfaction.
Date Email Response Sent: 04/17/2005
Product: [blank]
This survey should take just a few minutes to complete, and, after completing it, you will be entered into a monthly drawing for your choice of a Canon i950 printer, CanoScan 8000F scanner, or PowerShot S230 digital camera (see Official Rules: http://www.customersat3.com/csc/ty/2176_rules.html). Canon also values your privacy and will not share your name, email address, or other information with other parties.
Which of the following support options, if any, did you utilize before contacting Canon's Email Technical Support? (Please check all that apply.)
[X] Online FAQs accessed on Canon's website
[X] Online interactive troubleshooting accessed on Canon's website
[ ] Driver/software downloads accessed on Canon's website
[X] Read the documentation that came with the product
[ ] Contacted Technical Support via phone and spoke to a support representative
[ ] Contacted Technical Support via phone and used the automated support system
[ ] Visited/contacted the retailer where the product was purchased
[ ] Other (please specify):
[ ] None of the above ? emailing Technical Support was my first option
What was the primary reason for submitting an inquiry to Canon's Email Technical Support?
[ ] Help with new installation (just purchased and setting up for the first time)
[ ] Not satisfied with print and/or image quality
[ ] Trouble getting your Canon product to connect to your computer
[X] Specific error code
[ ] General product information (specifications, dealer locations, etc.)
[ ] Assistance using software that came supplied with your product
[ ] General assistance with using your product
[ ] Check on the status of a repair request
[ ] Check on the status of an order I placed with Canon
[ ] Driver download/driver installation assistance
[ ] Other reason not mentioned above (please specify):
How did the actual time it took a Canon support representative to respond to your inquiry compare to your expectations?
Expected response time
[X] < 8 hours
[ ] 8 - 16 hours
[ ] 16 - 24 hours
[ ] 24 - 48 hours
[ ] >48 hours
Actual Response Time
[ ] < 8 hours
[X] 8 - 16 hours
[ ] 16 - 24 hours
[ ] 24 - 48 hours
[ ] >48 hours
Was your question answered or your problem resolved with the first response received from a Canon support representative?
[ ] Yes
[X] No
How many follow-up emails did you send to Canon to resolve this inquiry?
[ ] 0
[ ] 1
[ ] 2
[ ] 3
[ ] 4
[X] 5 or more
Was the inquiry resolved to your complete satisfaction?
[ ] Yes
[ ] No (please explain): [The issue still remains open at this time. The questions I raised remain unanswered.]
[ ] Not sure (please explain):
Did you, at any time after your initial email to Canon's technical support, call technical support for further assistance with this inquiry?
[ ] Yes
[X] No
Based on your experience with this support inquiry, how would you rate Canon's Email Technical Support on the following items. (1=Unacceptable 10=Outstanding)
[3] Time it took for Canon to respond to your inquiry
[1] Thoroughness of the support representative's response (addressed all problems/questions)
[5] Courtesy and professionalism of the support representative
[3] Technical skills/knowledge of the support representative
[3] Communication skills of the support representative, i.e., communicates clearly and in a manner that I understand
[1] Proactive communication about the status of your problem or answer to your question
[1] Quality and effectiveness of solution/answer
[1] Length of time to resolve problem or answer your question
[1] Overall satisfaction with support representative
[1] Overall satisfaction with support experience
Using a scale of 1 to 10, where 1=Very Dissatisfied and 10=Very Satisfied, how satisfied are you, overall, with Canon? [3]
How likely are you to...
(1=Definitely Will Not, 4=Definitely Will)
[2] Recommend Canon's Email Technical Support to others
[2] Recommend Canon products to others
[2] Purchase another Canon product
How does Canon's email support compare to email support you've received from other companies?
[ ] Better
[ ] About the same
[X] Worse
[ ] I haven't emailed other companies for support
Which one company would you say provides the best support services?
[Acme United]
Using a 10-point scale, where 1 = Beginning User and 10 = Expert User, how would you rate your proficiency and comfort level in finding information on the Internet? [10]
What is the most important thing Canon can do to improve your satisfaction?
[Explain the cause of the infamous E18 error (stop blaming owners), and FIX the problem, free of charge, regardless of warranty status.]
Please use this space to explain any of the ratings or answers you've provided in this survey or to provide any additional feedback.
[I have two main issues with this situation:
1) The E18 error problem is out of control, and Canon's lack of response to the problem is unacceptable.
2) The useless and unrelated emails I received in response to my requests demonstrate to me that Canon's claim that "At Canon USA, customer service is our number-one priority, and we take great pride in providing you with the best service possible. It is our goal to make your Canon ownership experience enjoyable." is not backed up by reality.]
Please select the statements that apply to your needs.
[ ] I don't require further contact from Canon at this time.
[ ] I don't require further contact from Canon but would like my comments forwarded to Senior Management.
[ ] I don't require further contact from Canon but would like my comments forwarded to the Supervisor of the representative who assisted me. Use this space to provide additional comments about your support representative:
[X] My issue is unresolved, and I require further assistance from Canon.
NOTE: If you indicated that you would like a callback, we will make every effort to call you within a few days during the timeframe indicated. However, our business environment makes it impossible to guarantee a callback within a specific timeframe. Rest assured that we'll contact you as soon as possible.
Additionally, if you selected to have your comments forwarded to the representative's supervisor, only your comments will be forwarded, not your personal, identifying information.
Please note that neither CustomerSat, Inc. nor Canon USA will use this contact information for any other purposes.
THANK YOU
Thank you very much for completing this survey. Your feedback is greatly appreciated and will be instrumental in helping us improve our service to you.
Should you need further assistance, we are eager to help and can be reached using one of the following support options:
Online:
www.usa.canon.com
Via Telephone:
(800) 828-4040
9:00 am to 8:00 pm EST Monday through Friday
Thank you for choosing Canon!
As you may already know, I have a lengthy page dedicated to the E18 error, with various remedies.
Due to the MANY comments I've received from Canon customers who have encountered the infamous E18 error, I decided to contact them regarding the problem, seeking an official explanation/response. The email dialog, as it unfolds, will be posted in the original entry.
My Linguistic Profile:
60% General American English
25% Yankee
10% Dixie
5% Upper Midwestern
0% Midwestern
What's yours?
(Link courtesy of reader Shaya)
I got an email requesting my participation in a Dell survey regarding their handling of my recent contact with Customer Care via email (which is not where most of my dealings took place). The survey (and my responses) are reproduce below:
Thank you for contacting Dell! We appreciate you taking time to answer some questions regarding your recent experience with Dell Customer Care. Your candid feedback about this interaction will help Dell provide world-class customer satisfaction.
Your survey responses will be combined with those from other customers and used only by Dell internal operations. These results will not be used for sales purposes. It is Dell's ongoing policy to protect your privacy and personal information.
When you are finished answering the questions on each page, please click the 'Continue' button at the bottom of the screen. This survey will take 5 - 7 minutes to complete.
1. Please rate your overall satisfaction with the e-mail support provided to you by Dell Customer Care on "sContact Date", using a scale where 1 = 'Extremely Dissatisfied' and 9 = 'Extremely Satisfied'. 1 2 [3] 4 5 6 7 8 9
2. Did you receive a response to the e-mail you sent to Dell Customer Care? [Yes] No
3. How many times did you contact Dell Customer Care about the issue (including both telephone and e-mail contacts)? 1 [2] 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10+
4. If you need to contact Dell Customer Care in the future, how likely are you to use e-mail again? Please use a scale where 1 is 'Extremely Unlikely' and 9 is 'Extremely Likely'. 1 2 3 4 5 6 [7] 8 9
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For this last set of questions, please consider ALL of your experiences with Dell as a company.
5. Considering all of your experiences with Dell (not just your recent support experience), please rate your overall satisfaction with Dell as a company, using a scale where 1 is 'Extremely Dissatisfied' and 9 is 'Extremely Satisfied'. [1] 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
6. How likely would you be to purchase from Dell again? Please use a scale where 1 is 'Extremely Unlikely' and 9 is 'Extremely Likely'. 1 2 3 4 5 [6] 7 8 9
7. How likely would you be to recommend Dell to a friend or colleague? Please use a scale where 1 is 'Extremely Unlikely' and 9 is 'Extremely Likely'? 1 2 [3] 4 5 6 7 8 9
8. If a friend or colleague recommended against your purchase of a Dell product, what would you typically do? Please use a scale where 1 is 'Strongly Oppose Dell" and 9 is 'Strongly Support Dell'. [1] 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
9. What does Dell's e-mail support currently do well, and what can be improved?
[It allows contact with Dell support without hold times. HOWEVER, this comes at a price:
1) The response time is too slow - I would like to see responses within 30-60 minutes, or less.
2) The responses are of poor quality - As if a bargaining session is taking place, the customer service agents seem to either provide an answer that is not suitable given the question, or they provide a mediocre solution. This results in a "dialog" which, because of the slow Dell response times, takes days to play out.]
If you have a comment or question for Dell, please visit: http://support.dell.com, where you can select your geographic region from the 'Global Support Sites' drop-down menu on the left side of the screen. To report a problem with this survey, please e-mail:
Since my last post, I received an email confirming that my $100 refund has been processed (though it hasn't shown up on my credit card yet) and my new laptop has been built. It is currently in the famed "boxing" stage, with a delivery estimate of 4/25, though I suspect I'll see it by the end of this week.
Meanwhile things are looking worse for my current laptop - the screen has a purple hue to it.
Acme responded to my email about my broken scissors. They said they'd replace them if I shipped the scissors to them. I complained that the cost of shipping would approach the cost of a new pair of scissors and I was informed that they "will compensate [me] for the shipping by giving [me] a few extra pairs of scissors." And that they did!
In addition to a replacement pair of 8" Straight Blade scissors, they sent:
-Scissor Critters "Flutter" kid scissors
-7" Bent Handle Workbench Snips
-8' Straight Handle Kitchen Shears
-8" Straight Handle Value scissors
Well worth the <$1.50 I spent on postage. :)
Clearly, Acme stands behind their product!
My personal Dell CSR called and left numerous messages for me this afternoon, and finally reached me tonight. It took about 20 minutes, and I was passed through another CSR, but I ended up with a non-accented person who sounded like she was competent. She assured me that I'll have a new machine in about a week and she issued me a $75 off $75.01 coupon. She also told me she's part of a special group of about 30 CSRs who are supervising the CSRs, created especially because of the rash of problems they've been having lately. She said they plan to effect drastic change over the next 2 months.
Not quite "easy" like Staples or Rite-Aid, but Dell's rebates are cool in their own right. If you log in, Dell lists your purchases and lets you print pre-populated forms.
So, my not so long awaited Dell Inspiron 6000 arrived today. Excited at first, I unpacked it and booted it up. It came with a charged battery, which was nice. Upon powering it on, some screen came up asking that I agree to Dell's EULA or something, but I could hardly read the text, so I clicked wherever it looked like I should and got to another screen that displayed even more poorly. This continued throughout the setup process. All the while I was wondering how any novice user could possibly handle a setup like this - I only got through it with my familiarity with XP.
When I finally got XP going, the text quality was terrible while graphics (like the Dell wallpaper) looked great! I played around with various resolutions and other settings, all to no avail. I eventually called Dell to complain, and that's when my night went from bad to worse.
I had to wait on hold for a long time, finally reached a CSR who went through some tests with me, changed some settings, etc. Toward the end of the call I hooked up my LCD/TV to the notebooks output, and the display was beautiful. The CSR decided it was a defective screen and offered to have someone come out and repair it. How convenient, but I just ordered a new computer, not a refurbished one, so I demanded a swap. CSR said fine, but it would need to be handled by Customer Care, not Tech Support. He gave me a case number, the phone number of Customer Care, and he "transferred" me, but I got disconnected. Thus ended my first, 47 minute, call.
I called Customer Care, was on hold again for a while (over 10 minutes), and spoke to a new CSR. This one understood the issue, but assured me the only people who could issue a swap were the Tech Support people, not Customer Care. I got a new reference number and was transferred "directly" to Tech Support, meaning I was transferred to a voicemail system that first said, "We are experiencing heavy call volume, please wait," and then moments later, "Please call back later. Goodbye." And just like that, I was disconnected. 21 more minutes down the drain.
For my third call, I dialed Tech Support yet again, and this time I was treated to being on hold for over 40 minutes. The CSR who finally picked up then put me back on hold for around 10 minutes while she read all the notes. On the plus side of things she said she'd personally take care of the problem, gave me all her contact info, etc. However, she had 2 bad pieces of news. First, it really is Customer Care who deals with swaps, and second, swaps take up to 1 month. As she wasn't able to reach Customer Care tonight, I'm awaiting her call back tomorrow. Including hold time, this last call lasted 1 hour and 11 minutes.
Oy!
On the plus side of things, my $100 credit seems to be in process now that my notebook has been delivered.
Reader Shaya sends in a link to a certified bad deal:
STAPLES $50 OFF $50 Certificate Stackable w/ Any Coupon
(Sold for $51)
We are pleased to offer you Hilton HHonors® Gold VIP Status!
If you're not getting both Points & Miles® for your hotel stays, you're only getting half of what you deserve! Hilton HHonors is the only hotel guest reward program to let you earn both HHonors points and airline miles for the same stay at more than 2,700 Hilton®, Conrad®, Coral by Hilton, Doubletree®, Embassy Suites Hotels®, Hampton Inn®, Hampton Inn & Suites®, Hilton Garden Inn®, Hilton Grand Vacations Club®, Homewood Suites by Hilton® and Scandic hotels worldwide. HHonors points can be redeemed for a world of exciting rewards including free hotel stays, airline tickets, merchandise, or even once-in-a-lifetime vacations!
As a valued Citigroup Chairman card member, we'd like to extend a special membership opportunity. Enroll in Hilton HHonors now and receive HHonors Gold VIP status!
As an HHonors Gold VIP, you'll enjoy a host of benefits and privileges including bonuses on all HHonors Base points earned while a VIP, complimentary access to hotel-operated fitness centers during your stay (where available), VIP only rewards, and much more!
To enroll in HHonors and receive Gold VIP membership, click here or call 1-800-920-5988 to speak to an agent. Please request Origin Code "CTCH." If you are an existing HHonors member and have not achieved Hilton HHonors Gold VIP status, simply call the HHonors Customer Service Center at 1-800-920-5988 to speak to an agent. Please reference Promotion Code "CTCG" when requesting your tier upgrade.
It's shipped today (3 days early)! (Delivery Estimate: April 14 - April 18)
For a while, I thought Dell must be out of boxes - from either Friday or Saturday through Monday night, the notebook was stuck in the "boxing" stage.
I finished my taxes and both TaxCut and TurboTax produced identical results on both Federal and State returns, FYI.
I hooked myself up with an invite to Yahoo Yahoo 360°, a new Yahoo area probably designed to compete with a combination of growing trends in online communications. It consists of a variety of components including email, blogs, and photo sharing.
If you want to be my friend, I'll invite you. :)
Warning! Reader Lippy send in a link to an article in the Baltimore Sun that details the story of a man who was arrested for paying for his purchase with (non-counterfeit) $2 bills. The text of the article is available below.
A tale of customer service, justice and currency as funny as a $2 bill
Michael Olesker
Originally published Mar 8, 2005
PUT YOURSELF in Mike Bolesta's place. On the morning of Feb. 20, he buys a new radio-CD player for his 17-year-old son Christopher's car. He pays the $114 installation charge with 57 crisp new $2 bills, which, when last observed, were still considered legitimate currency in the United States proper. The $2 bills are Bolesta's idea of payment, and his little comic protest, too.
For this, Bolesta, Baltimore County resident, innocent citizen, owner of Capital City Student Tours, finds himself under arrest.
Finds himself, in front of a store full of customers at the Best Buy on York Road in Lutherville, locked into handcuffs and leg irons.
Finds himself transported to the Baltimore County lockup in Cockeysville, where he's handcuffed to a pole for three hours while the U.S. Secret Service is called into the case.
Have a nice day, Mike.
"Humiliating," the 57-year old Bolesta was saying now. "I am 6 feet 5 inches tall, and I felt like 8 inches high. To be handcuffed, to have all those people looking on, to be cuffed to a pole -- and to know you haven't done anything wrong. And me, with a brother, Joe, who spent 33 years on the city police force. It was humiliating."
What we have here, besides humiliation, is a sense of caution resulting in screw-ups all around.
"When I bought the stereo player," Bolesta explains, "the technician said it'd fit perfectly into my son's dashboard. But it didn't. So they called back and said they had another model that would fit perfectly, and it was cheaper. We got a $67 refund, which was fine. As long as it fit, that's all.
"So we go back and pay for it, and they tell us to go around front with our receipt and pick up the difference in the cost. I ask about installation charges. They said, 'No installation charge, because of the mix-up. Our mistake, no charge.' Swell.
"But then, the next day, I get a call at home. They're telling me, 'If you don't come in and pay the installation fee, we're calling the police.' Jeez, where did we go from them admitting a mistake to suddenly calling the police? So I say, 'Fine, I'll be in tomorrow.' But, overnight, I'm starting to steam a little. It's not the money -- it's the threat. So I thought, I'll count out a few $2 bills."
He has lots and lots of them.
With his Capital City Student Tours, he arranges class trips for school kids around the country traveling to large East Coast cities, including Baltimore. He's been doing this for the last 18 years. He makes all the arrangements: hotels, meals, entertainment. And it's part of his schtick that, when Bolesta hands out meal money to students, he does it in $2 bills, which he picks up from his regular bank, Sun Trust.
"The kids don't see that many $2 bills, so they think this is the greatest thing in the world," Bolesta says. "They don't want to spend 'em. They want to save 'em. I've been doing this since I started the company. So I'm thinking, 'I'll stage my little comic protest. I'll pay the $114 with $2 bills.'"
At Best Buy, they may have perceived the protest -- but did not sense the comic aspect of 57 $2 bills.
"I'm just here to pay the bill," Bolesta says he told a cashier. "She looked at the $2 bills and told me, 'I don't have to take these if I don't want to.' I said, 'If you don't, I'm leaving. I've tried to pay my bill twice. You don't want these bills, you can sue me.' So she took the money. Like she's doing me a favor."
He remembers the cashier marking each bill with a pen. Then other store personnel began to gather, a few of them asking, "Are these real?"
"Of course they are," Bolesta said. "They're legal tender."
A Best Buy manager refused comment last week. But, according to a Baltimore County police arrest report, suspicions were roused when an employee noticed some smearing of ink. So the cops were called in. One officer noticed the bills ran in sequential order.
"I told them, 'I'm a tour operator. I've got thousands of these bills. I get them from my bank. You got a problem, call the bank,'" Bolesta says. "I'm sitting there in a chair. The store's full of people watching this. All of a sudden, he's standing me up and handcuffing me behind my back, telling me, 'We have to do this until we get it straightened out.'
"Meanwhile, everybody's looking at me. I've lived here 18 years. I'm hoping my kids don't walk in and see this. And I'm saying, 'I can't believe you're doing this. I'm paying with legal American money.'"
Bolesta was then taken to the county police lockup in Cockeysville, where he sat handcuffed to a pole and in leg irons while the Secret Service was called in.
"At this point," he says, "I'm a mass murderer."
Finally, Secret Service agent Leigh Turner arrived, examined the bills and said they were legitimate, adding, according to the police report, "Sometimes ink on money can smear."
This will be important news to all concerned.
For Baltimore County police, said spokesman Bill Toohey, "It's a sign that we're all a little nervous in the post-9/11 world."
The other day, one of Bolesta's sons needed a few bucks. Bolesta pulled out his wallet and "whipped out a couple of $2 bills. But my son turned away. He said he doesn't want 'em any more."
He's seen where such money can lead.
I was happy and sad at the same time when I saw a thread on FW about new Dell Inspiron coupons, including one for $800 off $1999+. Happy, because they seemed like great coupons. Sad, because I had ordered already. However I convinced myself that I could convince Dell to lower my price if this was indeed a better deal, and if not, I could always return/reorder.
So I went about trying my configuration with the new coupon, and found that Dell had apparently played their usual game - offering better discounts by raising base prices. According to my calculations, with the new coupon, the same computer would cost $90 more than I paid.
BTW, for those curious, I posted the specs of my machine.
A while ago reader Shaya sent me this link. Not a bargain, but cute nonetheless.
I was contacted (via blog comment) recently by the NY Times author who wrote the articles I posted discussing people's methods for dealing with life's little annoyances. He was interested in more stories and also in contacting me. I emailed* him back as follows:
I'm responding to your post on my blog, which was about the articles you wrote about dealing with life's annoyances. (http://blogs.yucs.org/~dwallach/archives/001264.html)I'm not exactly sure what you're looking for in terms of a response from
me, but I do have a story or two for you. Before the do not call registry
came along, I used to get a few telemarketer calls per week. When I had the time, I'd play along for a while, but usually playing dumb at the same time.I once got a call from AT&T wireless, trying to get me to sign up for a cellphone. They were offering a free phone (with a contract for service). Every time the telemarketer would say something about a free phone, I'd loudly say "A free phone! Great! I'd love a free phone," to which the telemarketer would respond with something about the $39.95/month fee. My response, "But I thought you said it was free!" This would usually cause the telemarketer to repeat the bit about the free phone, and off we'd go in circles again. After numerous circles, the telemarketer actually said to me, "I've really gotten to know you during this call, and I think this would be a great deal for you." My response, "but you don't even know my name!"
Since the do not call registry came into effect, I have had very few telemarketer calls. In some ways, I miss the entertainment they provided me (and my friends with whom I shared my stories). As a sort of consolation, there are the "legal" telemarketers - that is those conducting surveys, making political calls, etc., which are not prohibited by the do not call registry law.
When I do get calls from these types of organizations, I usually say something along the lines of "While I understand that you are not technically in violation of the Do Not Call Registry law, don't you think that those people who sign up for it aren't interested in being disturbed by unnecessary phone calls from strangers?" Usually they get the point, tell me that they'll add my number to their own internal do not call list, and hang up. But occasionally they don't get the message. When that happens, I sometimes turn the tables, and ask how they'd feel if I called them during dinner. One caller responded "But it's my job." "OK, so that you get paid to do something makes it acceptable? How about if I paid you to walk around NYC hitting people with a stick - would you do it?" "No, that's not a job," she responded. "Well, for all you know, I could be a millionaire, and I could hire you to do it, making it your job." She didn't get it, so I tried to explain in simple terms that just because someone is willing to pay you to do something doesn't mean that what you're doing is right.
Another issue that really bothers me is the strict rules imposed on telephone customer service representatives (CSRs). Two examples:
1) Many CSRs are required to get positive confirmation before doing things. I had this Verizon just last week. I asked to speak to a supervisor, and the CSR asked if she could put me on hold. "Do I have a choice?" I asked. She responded that in order for her to get a supervisor, she would need to put me on hold. "Well," I said, "I want to speak to a supervisor - do what you must." "Can I put you on hold?" And off we went in circles again. At some point she said, "I need you to confirm that I can put you on hold - yes or no." So I responded, "Do I actually need to say the word 'yes' or could I say 'sure' or 'okay'? Because I think I made myself pretty clear that I want to speak to a supervisor, and you've made it clear that you need to put me on hold in order to do so, and I've told you to do whatever it takes to get me a supervisor, so I think I've confirmed that if you need to put me on hold, go right ahead." And I was connected to a supervisor.
2) Many are required to end the call with "Is there anything else I can help you with?" Nice in theory, but they say this even if they didn't provide any assistance at all. When this happens, I respond, "How can you help me with 'anything *else*' if you haven't helped me at all yet?" Since they usually need a positive confirmation (see #1, above) before they can hang up, this is another case in which we can go in circles.
I hope you find this interesting and/or useful. Feel free to contact me further.
He responded:
David: this is patently hilarious stuff. I especially like the second point you make about CSRs. I actually used a point similar to this in the follow up piece that we ran (i included it below).Is there a number where I can call so that I can explain what Im working on next.
I sent him my number, and by telephone we discussed what he's working on next - a book.
It's seems that every time I have an issue with Dell, a few things are true:
1) It is resolved easiest by email
2) It takes many emails to resolve.
Case in point: The WD 200 GB HD
Anyways, as you probably know, I've been dealing with Dell since a coupon I had wanted to use was used up before I had a chance to place my order. This morning I woke up to some GREAT news ("I will refund you the $100.00 which is the difference in the amount.")! If you'd like to read the emails, feel free to do so here.
We have been planning to get a laptop for some time now. Late last week there were some coupons on FW for as much as 35% off Dell's Inspiron line of laptops sold through their home division. Since they weren't set to expire until 4/7, I didn't hurry to finalize my desired configuration.
However, when I was finally ready to order (Monday night), the coupon was invalid. After waiting on hold for quite a while, then being transferred to wait on hold even longer, I was connected to a CSR who told me that the coupon was limited to 4,000 uses, and there was nothing she could do to help. I asked for a supervisor, was transferred to an automated system that, after pressing lots of buttons, told me no one was around to take my call.
So I sent a very angry letter to Dell. The response was quite nice - it sounded sympathetic, but I was told that the writer couldn't help because his/her department only deals with purchases that have already been made.
When a 30% off coupon came out Tuesday morning, I figured it was close enough to warrant ordering, but that I'd turn the table on the games Dell was playing with me. I wrote back, having ordered, requesting resolution. After later sending them my Order # they sent me a $35 off coupon, for a future purchase. Given the fact that the price difference between the 30% and 35% coupons was greater than $35, plus the fact that it didn't take into account my anger, frustration, and time, and more importantly, that I probably won't be buying another computer from them within the next 6 months (before it expires), I still wasn't satisfied. So I told them so in yet another email. I even threatened that if the matter isn't resolved to my liking, I may just send the computer back!
I'll keep you posted.
Thanks to a heads up from Eli, I headed to OD Sunday morning to check out their grand opening sale. Unfortunately the ad wasn't available online, nor did it seem to be distributed prior to the sale, so I didn't know whether it'd be worth my while.
The "crowd" waiting for the store to open was small - around 10 people. There were a number of specials limited to small numbers, but they weren't too exciting. I did pick up a leather manager's chair for Lippy ($20 AR) and got 3 reams of paper for $1 each as well as 2 packs of 100 colored file folders for $2 each. They were also giving out boxes of pens for any purchase over $10, so I chose blue (over black).
During checkout I gashed my finger on the chair box, and the clerk promptly ran to get me a band-aid. The clerk was clearly new to OD as she was excited to see the OD Advantage has key chain bar-code fobs in addition to wallet sized cards.
The last slightly redeeming portion of my trip was the discovery of a sale on a 2-line Uniden expandable cordless phone system. I'm not a big believer in such systems myself, but my in-laws wanted one, so they went later to pick it up. The TRU8866 base (511096) was $129.99, and the ad read "FREE 3RD HANDSET WITH PURCHASE OF BASE PHONE AND 2 ADDITIONAL HANDSET - Coupon Code 47638907," which to me means you need to buy the base (which comes with a handset), plus 2 extra handsets (522216, $59.99 each), in order to get the free (fourth) handset. However, either due to an alternate in incorrect interpretation, the store was only requiring the purchase of 1 extra handset in order to get one for free, so it worked out well.
So, as planned, I did my taxes using the deluxe version of both programs. Some differences:
TT: was able to download several 1099s
TC: theoretically could download (only) Fidelity 1099s, but crashed while trying
TC: tab order of data-fields wasn't logical (it went across the screen (e.g. 1, 3, 2a, 4, 2b, etc.) instead of tax form box order)
Refund: Both programs calculated identical Federal refunds.
Overall: I liked the TT interface a bit better, but they are so similar that it would be hard to justify actually paying more for TT.
OU's List of Non-Food Items on Pesach. Are they food items the rest of the year?
The Pope has finally passed on, apparently he succumbed to a viral infection.