I’m including a copy of the letter I sending them. This makes it easier for me as I won’t have to re-hash everything here in the post. But, if you think your eyes deceived you, they did not. Yes, I have to write a letter via snail mail. Why? Because apparently Guitar Center is a bunch of pussies that don’t list any kind of an email address. Oh sure, you can go on their website and ask questions and stuff but try finding contact information to file a complaint of any kind.
So I have to snail mail it. As soon as I get the list of their executives compiled I’ll get it mailed out. I don’t expect to hear anything back, but you should damned well know someone is pissed off if, in this day and age, they take the time and effort to write a letter and pay postage on the stamps. :)
If this kind of thing bothers you, then I encourage you to do something about it. Stand up for your rights and let these companies know that you will not put up with it. And if they continue to try to enact these illegal policies you’ll simply go somewhere else. I can’t promise you that you won’t have an incident or two that is worse than mine.
And if you feel like writing G.C., then please do so. I’m sure they’d love to get your opinion about their policy.
Guitar Center
5795 Lindero Canyon Rd.
Westlake Village, CA 91362
July 20, 2009
To Whom It May Concern:
I went to your North Arlington, TX store on July 18 to purchase some strings and look at a few other potential purchases such as a Paul Reed Smith guitar, a Mesa Boogie 2x12 cabinet and some recording equipment. After purchasing the strings I continued to shop for a little while before leaving the store.
It was upon leaving the store when I was accosted by your employees. One of the employees asked to see my receipt and I politely declined saying “no thank you.” At that point he exclaimed “Sir!” and proceeded to explain to me that it was his job to check the receipt. Being a previous Guitar Center employee, and having also done door duty, I explained that while I appreciated his position that upon purchase of the items they become private property and I was not going to consent to a search of my personal property.
That was not good enough and he started to become belligerent and again stated that it was his job and I would let him see the receipt. I said “I’m sorry” and proceeded to leave the store. Shortly after, another employee chased me down into the parking lot demanding to see the receipt. I again explained that I would not be consenting to a search of my private property and he began a rebuttal. I was getting pretty agitated, but remained calm and interrupted him to explain that if he was holding me against my will that it would be a violation of the law.
I believe this took him back a bit and he then simply told me that if I would not show him my receipt that I would not be allowed to come back to the store. I said, “That is up to you” at which point we both turned away and walked off.
This seems to be a common theme in retail shops; that being customers standing up for their rights and the stores treating them like criminals. There is no Texas State or federal law that grants Guitar Center or its employees the right to search the private property of an individual without consent or reasonable suspicion, and shopping at your store does not constitute reasonable suspicion.
It’s interesting that your employees never asked to see the contents of my bag. They only asked to see my receipt. Seeing a receipt wouldn’t make any difference if I had stuffed something in my pockets. I don’t blame your employees for trying to do their job but this is clearly an issue of policy and education. Guitar Center has every right to ask to see my receipt or the contents of my bag. However, I have every right to decline without further incident.
In today’s struggling economy it would seem prudent to educate your employees on the legal limitations of your policies rather than alienate your customer base by treating them like criminals. If Guitar Center wishes to enforce this policy of violating people’s rights, I might suggest posting a large and clearly conspicuous sign indicating the intent and grant of a license prior to entering the store. At least consumers could then make an educated and informed decision without further incident. I would further suggest you consult with your legal counsel as this practice may still violate state or federal law.
In closing I’d like to reiterate that it’s important to me to exercise my rights as a U.S. citizen and I take offence to being accosted and treated like a criminal for doing so. Being “banned” from your store is an absurd, excessive, and inappropriate course of action because I elected to decline your offer of a personal search.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
How OCD Works
Yesterday I planned to make a run to the hardware store to buy a new drill. I needed to drill out some rivets in a bracket that is part of my attic access. As I posted previously, it’s all jacked up and I needed to get the bracket out.
I went online and researched some quick pricing, knowing that I wasn’t going to spend long on making a decision – mostly being that I’ve always wanted a nice DeWalt cordless drill. I already have a small 9v Makita that I affectionately call my “Misquita” since it’s so small. I needed something bigger for the task at hand. You know how tools work – bigger, better, faster, more. The American way.
I pretty much figure out that Home Depot had the best price on them for some place that I could run down and pick one up. No eBay, no mail order, etc. I also figured, that if I was going to go to Home Depot I might as well pick up a few other items. I thought about a new chain saw, but figured I could hold off on that one. However, I did think that a shade / screen of some type for my back porch would be nice as the plants out there are dying from the little bit of direct sunlight they are getting – hey! When it’s 105 outside you try sitting in the direct sunlight for three hours or so every day and see how you fare.
I also wanted to get some air filters and perhaps a new ceiling fan for the same back porch. Mine hasn’t worked in years and it’s something I miss. I figured if I was going to get a new fan, I better see how it’s mounted so I’d know if I needed a new mount kit, brackets, etc.
I went out on the back porch and proceded to drop the decorative “cup” that hides the mounting and wires. No biggie. Then I realized that the mount is pretty much a ball-and-socket type mount that is free-hanging. I just had to undo the wires that had it all wired up. So I did that and removed the fan. It was kind of dirty.
About two hours later I had the entire fan disassembled. And I do mean the entire fan, all the way down to the bearings in the spindle. Dirt dobbers had gotten up in there and formed a solid layer of dirt that had fused the spindle to the shell. I had it scrubbed, washed, cleaned, lubricated and then re-assembled it. It works like a champ, now.
…but I still didn’t have a new drill to get the rivets out.
I went online and researched some quick pricing, knowing that I wasn’t going to spend long on making a decision – mostly being that I’ve always wanted a nice DeWalt cordless drill. I already have a small 9v Makita that I affectionately call my “Misquita” since it’s so small. I needed something bigger for the task at hand. You know how tools work – bigger, better, faster, more. The American way.
I pretty much figure out that Home Depot had the best price on them for some place that I could run down and pick one up. No eBay, no mail order, etc. I also figured, that if I was going to go to Home Depot I might as well pick up a few other items. I thought about a new chain saw, but figured I could hold off on that one. However, I did think that a shade / screen of some type for my back porch would be nice as the plants out there are dying from the little bit of direct sunlight they are getting – hey! When it’s 105 outside you try sitting in the direct sunlight for three hours or so every day and see how you fare.
I also wanted to get some air filters and perhaps a new ceiling fan for the same back porch. Mine hasn’t worked in years and it’s something I miss. I figured if I was going to get a new fan, I better see how it’s mounted so I’d know if I needed a new mount kit, brackets, etc.
I went out on the back porch and proceded to drop the decorative “cup” that hides the mounting and wires. No biggie. Then I realized that the mount is pretty much a ball-and-socket type mount that is free-hanging. I just had to undo the wires that had it all wired up. So I did that and removed the fan. It was kind of dirty.
About two hours later I had the entire fan disassembled. And I do mean the entire fan, all the way down to the bearings in the spindle. Dirt dobbers had gotten up in there and formed a solid layer of dirt that had fused the spindle to the shell. I had it scrubbed, washed, cleaned, lubricated and then re-assembled it. It works like a champ, now.
…but I still didn’t have a new drill to get the rivets out.
Saturday, July 04, 2009
Happy 233!!
Happy Birthday America!!
Another one down, and hopefully many many more to go. May everyone enjoy their 4th of July weekend, even if it is hot enough to fry an egg on the hood of your car.
Be safe out there, relax, and be thankful that we live in a country as wonderful as ours.
Another one down, and hopefully many many more to go. May everyone enjoy their 4th of July weekend, even if it is hot enough to fry an egg on the hood of your car.
Be safe out there, relax, and be thankful that we live in a country as wonderful as ours.
Thursday, July 02, 2009
Mandatory Reading
About a week or so ago I finished reading a book entitled The Dirty Dozen by Robert A. Levy and William Mellor. The byline: How Twelve Supreme Court Cases Radically Expanded Government and Eroded Freedom.
I’m a bit of a libertarian and a constructionist so this book was right up my alley. I loved it. One of the things I’ve never quite understood is how our government and our society has ended up where it is if the Constitution of the United States was written specifically to prohibit some of the things our government is doing.
The book examines twelve critical U.S. Supreme Court cases and explains how the decisions that came down from these cases had far reaching and, in my opinion, detrimental impact to the Constitution. More importantly, though, it explains how we have arrived where we are in terms of our government and society.
The authors are clearly libertarians and this is fairly evident as your read the book. Let that be a warning to you if you are a liberal pussy or right-wing wacko – you won’t like this book. There is an afterward in which they break down the main ideologies of how to read and interpret the U.S. Constitution. I think that this should have been just after the forward, prior to getting into reading the cases.
This book should practically be mandatory reading in any late high-school or college government course. That’s not to say I agreed with everything that the authors wrote. Again, it was an enlightening reading even if at times I was too exhausted to spend the mental energy to read it. The authors did a good job of breaking down things that we non-lawyers can understand, but it still gets a bit tedious in spots.
Supposedly there is another book out there called The_something_ Thirteen and is supposed to be a rebuttal to this book. I’d like to read it, too.
I’m a bit of a libertarian and a constructionist so this book was right up my alley. I loved it. One of the things I’ve never quite understood is how our government and our society has ended up where it is if the Constitution of the United States was written specifically to prohibit some of the things our government is doing.
The book examines twelve critical U.S. Supreme Court cases and explains how the decisions that came down from these cases had far reaching and, in my opinion, detrimental impact to the Constitution. More importantly, though, it explains how we have arrived where we are in terms of our government and society.
The authors are clearly libertarians and this is fairly evident as your read the book. Let that be a warning to you if you are a liberal pussy or right-wing wacko – you won’t like this book. There is an afterward in which they break down the main ideologies of how to read and interpret the U.S. Constitution. I think that this should have been just after the forward, prior to getting into reading the cases.
This book should practically be mandatory reading in any late high-school or college government course. That’s not to say I agreed with everything that the authors wrote. Again, it was an enlightening reading even if at times I was too exhausted to spend the mental energy to read it. The authors did a good job of breaking down things that we non-lawyers can understand, but it still gets a bit tedious in spots.
Supposedly there is another book out there called The_something_ Thirteen and is supposed to be a rebuttal to this book. I’d like to read it, too.
Why I have no Faith in the System
Last week, The House of Representatives passed another democratic sponsored bill that would be the single, largest, tax-hike in our country’s history – and they didn’t even read it. This isn’t anything new. Obama and Pelosi have been cranking out legislation with unprecedented spending and nobody reading the bills since Obama took office. Don’t worry about what it says, and what it will do, just vote for it. Unfortunately, most of them do because they are party hacks.
As usual, despite all of Obama’s posturing and talking about bipartisanship the bill passed the house with virtually no Republican support at all. The bill is the famous carbon cap-and-trade scheme. The bill aims to reduce greenhouse emissions 83% by 2050 even though there is virtually no scientific evidence that indicates this will have any effect on global warming. There is, however, strong evidence that suggests it will cost us a fortune in regulations, taxation, and additional expenditures.
As a small example, the bill has a provision in it that would require anyone selling a home to have an EPA study done of the home to see if it abides by government mandated standards for energy efficiency. Think about that one for a moment. The guidelines are not yet specified in the bill, but they want homeowners to have to call out the EPA to survey the house and see if it meets the code. Can you imagine what the code will be? And if you don’t meet it? Expect to spend another $20k or more fixing your house up. I’d bet over 90% of the homes won’t meet the guidelines. There goes the housing market and your dream of upgrading to a new home, not to mention the codes and regulations driving up the costs of new homes to astronomical proportions.
And what about Obama’s promise to be the most open and transparent administration ever? Well, while he and Pelosi were shoving the bill down our throats and telling people we had to have it NOW (remind you of another recent bill?) they were simultaneously suppressing reports from the Competitive Enterprise Institute and other groups that provided observations and evidence that the information the AGWs alarmists are using to dictate policy aren’t viable. But the Obama administration doesn’t want anyone to know about these so they suppressed them.
And the icing on the cake?
There have been numerous reports of switchboards being flooded by concerned citizens about this bill and what it can do to our economy. As Rep. Chales Gonzalez, D-Texas said “I can’t begin to tell you how many calls we’ve received and it’s disproportionately vote “’no.’”
Yet, Gonzalez voted “yes” anyway.
This entire scenario is, to me, the epitome of how fucked up our system is. You have politicians making law that the public doesn’t want, hiding the truth from the public while telling people that it’s absolutely necessary, it’s based on junk science, and it’s completely partisian. Yet, the politicians do whatever they want anyway based on some personal agenda ignoring their constituents. Why bother?
As usual, despite all of Obama’s posturing and talking about bipartisanship the bill passed the house with virtually no Republican support at all. The bill is the famous carbon cap-and-trade scheme. The bill aims to reduce greenhouse emissions 83% by 2050 even though there is virtually no scientific evidence that indicates this will have any effect on global warming. There is, however, strong evidence that suggests it will cost us a fortune in regulations, taxation, and additional expenditures.
As a small example, the bill has a provision in it that would require anyone selling a home to have an EPA study done of the home to see if it abides by government mandated standards for energy efficiency. Think about that one for a moment. The guidelines are not yet specified in the bill, but they want homeowners to have to call out the EPA to survey the house and see if it meets the code. Can you imagine what the code will be? And if you don’t meet it? Expect to spend another $20k or more fixing your house up. I’d bet over 90% of the homes won’t meet the guidelines. There goes the housing market and your dream of upgrading to a new home, not to mention the codes and regulations driving up the costs of new homes to astronomical proportions.
And what about Obama’s promise to be the most open and transparent administration ever? Well, while he and Pelosi were shoving the bill down our throats and telling people we had to have it NOW (remind you of another recent bill?) they were simultaneously suppressing reports from the Competitive Enterprise Institute and other groups that provided observations and evidence that the information the AGWs alarmists are using to dictate policy aren’t viable. But the Obama administration doesn’t want anyone to know about these so they suppressed them.
And the icing on the cake?
There have been numerous reports of switchboards being flooded by concerned citizens about this bill and what it can do to our economy. As Rep. Chales Gonzalez, D-Texas said “I can’t begin to tell you how many calls we’ve received and it’s disproportionately vote “’no.’”
Yet, Gonzalez voted “yes” anyway.
This entire scenario is, to me, the epitome of how fucked up our system is. You have politicians making law that the public doesn’t want, hiding the truth from the public while telling people that it’s absolutely necessary, it’s based on junk science, and it’s completely partisian. Yet, the politicians do whatever they want anyway based on some personal agenda ignoring their constituents. Why bother?
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