Isn’t today supposed to be the first day of spring? It doesn’t much feel like it. Sometime my birthday falls on the first day of spring, but this year it doesn’t. Yesterday was a nice day outside – almost 70, today it’s 37 and raining. I kind of like it. It seems to fit my mood.
One of my great aunts passed away yesterday. She was a pretty interesting person and one of my favorite stories about her was when I was significantly younger – my parents and I were in E. Texas visiting everyone. We were talking to her and the phone started ringing. They didn’t have answering machines or anything fancy and the phone kept ringing. My dad asked, “Are you going to get that?” She simply replied, “No, if it’s important they’ll call back.”
At the time I thought my dad found this amusing and probably thought this was an usual response. I liked it, but at the time couldn’t quite understand why. Later, as I got older, I understood why. Today, most of us still get way too caught up in being connected in some shape or fashion to everything else around us. We take text messages, and phone calls at all hours of the night and day. But I don’t. If I am eating dinner I don’t answer my phone. If I’m having a conversation with someone else or out with friends you won’t find me engrossed in a texting with another friend. Why? Because I’d rather be in the moment with those around me. And my great aunt was very correct – if it’s really important they will call back, and today they can leave you a voice mail.
I always connected with her and I’ll miss her. I can’t make the funeral because it happened too fast and it was being held on short notice in E. Texas. I understand she didn’t want a big funeral and she didn’t want everyone to make a fuss. That sounds like her.
Another one of my great aunts passed away about 2 weeks ago. I wouldn’t say that I felt quite as connected with her even though she was always very kind. She loved having kids around and always made us feel welcome even though we weren’t adults, yet. She was well respected in her church and in the community.
The both lived long and good lives (almost 90 each) and while I am not sad for them, I am sad for myself because I won’t get to see them again and enjoy their company.
My last remaining great aunt has been diagnosed with cancer. The docs give her less than a year to live. We are hoping that she can make it to her 91st birthday and I have a feeling if she does there will be a big celebration. I just saw her and she was as sharp as a tack and in good spirits. She decided she had lived a long life and had done all she could do. She didn’t want chemo, but I think she agreed to some radiation therapy provided that it showed positive results.
And one of my other distant friends was just diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of brain cancer. He was talking to someone at work, was feeling fine, and then his face went numb. Docs quickly assessed the situation and removed a mass from his brain that they couldn’t identify. They sent it to the mayo clinic and the came back with the bad news. He’s a great guy, wife, kids, etc. He’s going to fight it, and I think he should, but it doesn’t look good. They have given him less than a year to live. I think he is a year younger than I am.
So I’m not in a great mood today. The rain and cold weather are fitting. In a day or two it will be sunny and beautiful. Plants are already blooming and wildlife will be coming out of hibernation. My friend’s daughter is getting married in about a week. I remember when she was a tiny little thing in diapers. It just goes to show us that the cycle of life continues. And while I know this feeling will pass it just doesn’t make me feel any better today.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Minimum Card Charges and Donuts
I’ve posted before about some of the merchant service agreements with credit card services such as Visa / MasterCard. One of them is that they do not allow a merchant to enforce a minimum charge limit. I’m not saying you won’t see the signs all over the place and that the merchant won’t try to enforce it, but it is against their agreement and they are not supposed to do so.
The other morning I was at a donut shop with my g/f. I was out of cash (rare for me), but she had some. We ordered some breakfast and got her some coffee. It wasn’t much and I noticed they had a $5.00 minimum credit card sign. I whispered “I feel like charging this just to prove a point.” She said “you don’t want to do that.” The problem is, that I very much DID want to do that. I wanted to cause a scene right then and there and to get the bank on the phone that very moment and tell them to shove their donuts up their ass while Visa jumped their shit for violating their terms.
Now, the foreigners at the donut shop didn’t really deserve that. They surely made an honest mistake, but I didn’t care. I wanted things to be right. I’ve always been like that. In school if I was getting expelled that day for wearing a Slayer t-shirt with a pentagram on it I wanted the other kid getting expelled for having a Jesus t-shirt and a cross on it. My father likes to point out that there is a difference between equal opportunity (liberty) and equal outcomes (suppression). Even as a kid I was a big advocate of equal opportunity and fairness. The hard thing is learning that life is not fair…. But I was really pissed about donuts.
The other morning I was at a donut shop with my g/f. I was out of cash (rare for me), but she had some. We ordered some breakfast and got her some coffee. It wasn’t much and I noticed they had a $5.00 minimum credit card sign. I whispered “I feel like charging this just to prove a point.” She said “you don’t want to do that.” The problem is, that I very much DID want to do that. I wanted to cause a scene right then and there and to get the bank on the phone that very moment and tell them to shove their donuts up their ass while Visa jumped their shit for violating their terms.
Now, the foreigners at the donut shop didn’t really deserve that. They surely made an honest mistake, but I didn’t care. I wanted things to be right. I’ve always been like that. In school if I was getting expelled that day for wearing a Slayer t-shirt with a pentagram on it I wanted the other kid getting expelled for having a Jesus t-shirt and a cross on it. My father likes to point out that there is a difference between equal opportunity (liberty) and equal outcomes (suppression). Even as a kid I was a big advocate of equal opportunity and fairness. The hard thing is learning that life is not fair…. But I was really pissed about donuts.
Customer Service Sucks
What is it with customer service lately? You would think that with the economy having problems, consumer confidence down, and companies hurting in general that they would be making more of an effort to keep their customers, not trying to piss them off.
Credit card companies have taken the extra step by charging you more for less. But recently, I’ve had two experiences that could have been better.
When we went to Japan we stayed predominantly in Hilton hotels. We could have chosen other hotels, some costing less money, but chose Hilton to keep accruing points. Besides, the hotels are nice. At any given hotel in Japan I noticed that they didn’t have my Hilton Honors number. They were willing to put in, but I didn’t have it on me, either. In the states this isn’t an issue since I always have my laptop and can easily look it up.
When I got back to the U.S. I sent in a request to get my points. It was denied because I booked through a third party, or it was a discount, or a foreign country, or the moon was full, or any other number of bullshit reasons. I wrote them and tried to politely explain that I wasn’t interested in playing games and defining what a “stay” was. I explained that I slept in their beds, spent my money at their hotel, and as far as I was concerned that was a “stay” regardless of whatever ridiculous conditions they wanted to wrap around it. They responded back with another denial – and more ridiculous citing of rules. I wrote them back and reiterated my first email with a follow up of my money being important to me, I would hope that their customers are important to them.
They finally relented and gave me the points, but really…should I have had to write them three times to get it? No. It should have been a simple one time request. They could have informed me of the rules and permitted the request. That’s poor customer service in my opinion.
The second issue came with United Airlines. I was on a return flight from a trip and ordered a couple of jack and cokes (herein referred to as “cocktails”). They don’t take cash anymore so I had to pay with a credit card. The flight-chick was having problems with the machine and even told me it was trying to overcharge me. The drinks were supposed to cost $6.00 ea. I had my drinks, got my receipt and came home.
On my recent bill I had a charge for $12.00 (2 x cocktails) and another for $24!!! That would be a grand total of $36.00 or six cocktails on a sub 2hour flight – I would have been pretty hammered and probably would have had problems getting off the plane.
You also can’t call UA, so I sent them an email on one of their stupid form thingies. I was nice, explained the discrepancy and asked for a refund of $24 on my credit card. Guess what? DENIED!!! They gave me a $100 voucher for my next flight. WTF? I was not happy – and I had to think “am I cutting off my nose to spite my face?” but, no. It was there are multiple issues here. The primary issue being that they charged me for goods and services I did not receive. The secondary issue is that most of my flight funds are from work, but drink funds are from me. This didn’t put money back in MY pocket. And last, but not least, I shouldn’t be forced to spend more money to get a refund for something I never received in the first place.
I wrote another email to them explaining theses points. Bottom line – if they are going to go to credit card transactions only then they are going to have to deal with these types of events.
A representative called me and we discussed it. She was very polite and in the end I got my $24 back (to show up on a future cc bill) and she gave me the $100 voucher for my troubles. Kudos to her for taking care of the situation, but I still wish that it would have been made right from the start.
Credit card companies have taken the extra step by charging you more for less. But recently, I’ve had two experiences that could have been better.
When we went to Japan we stayed predominantly in Hilton hotels. We could have chosen other hotels, some costing less money, but chose Hilton to keep accruing points. Besides, the hotels are nice. At any given hotel in Japan I noticed that they didn’t have my Hilton Honors number. They were willing to put in, but I didn’t have it on me, either. In the states this isn’t an issue since I always have my laptop and can easily look it up.
When I got back to the U.S. I sent in a request to get my points. It was denied because I booked through a third party, or it was a discount, or a foreign country, or the moon was full, or any other number of bullshit reasons. I wrote them and tried to politely explain that I wasn’t interested in playing games and defining what a “stay” was. I explained that I slept in their beds, spent my money at their hotel, and as far as I was concerned that was a “stay” regardless of whatever ridiculous conditions they wanted to wrap around it. They responded back with another denial – and more ridiculous citing of rules. I wrote them back and reiterated my first email with a follow up of my money being important to me, I would hope that their customers are important to them.
They finally relented and gave me the points, but really…should I have had to write them three times to get it? No. It should have been a simple one time request. They could have informed me of the rules and permitted the request. That’s poor customer service in my opinion.
The second issue came with United Airlines. I was on a return flight from a trip and ordered a couple of jack and cokes (herein referred to as “cocktails”). They don’t take cash anymore so I had to pay with a credit card. The flight-chick was having problems with the machine and even told me it was trying to overcharge me. The drinks were supposed to cost $6.00 ea. I had my drinks, got my receipt and came home.
On my recent bill I had a charge for $12.00 (2 x cocktails) and another for $24!!! That would be a grand total of $36.00 or six cocktails on a sub 2hour flight – I would have been pretty hammered and probably would have had problems getting off the plane.
You also can’t call UA, so I sent them an email on one of their stupid form thingies. I was nice, explained the discrepancy and asked for a refund of $24 on my credit card. Guess what? DENIED!!! They gave me a $100 voucher for my next flight. WTF? I was not happy – and I had to think “am I cutting off my nose to spite my face?” but, no. It was there are multiple issues here. The primary issue being that they charged me for goods and services I did not receive. The secondary issue is that most of my flight funds are from work, but drink funds are from me. This didn’t put money back in MY pocket. And last, but not least, I shouldn’t be forced to spend more money to get a refund for something I never received in the first place.
I wrote another email to them explaining theses points. Bottom line – if they are going to go to credit card transactions only then they are going to have to deal with these types of events.
A representative called me and we discussed it. She was very polite and in the end I got my $24 back (to show up on a future cc bill) and she gave me the $100 voucher for my troubles. Kudos to her for taking care of the situation, but I still wish that it would have been made right from the start.
Lawnmower Steve
This isn’t new, and has been on the internet for quite some time. Have you already seen this guy?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNPxIibhcKY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95qZtwJNjxk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fds_hupE2vQ
Sometimes, I think about this and I just crack up. My two favorite things are that he clearly knows his rights, and when (in the second video) he gets tased and screams and finally says “GOD DAMMIT!” I love people like this. This guy is a moron. But we need morons. I need morons. They are my comedic relief when life gets too serious.
Sure there are intelligent people that are funny. And I need them too, but there is just something about someone who completely lacks the fundamental understanding of how to interact with society that I appreciate in my own sick way.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNPxIibhcKY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95qZtwJNjxk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fds_hupE2vQ
Sometimes, I think about this and I just crack up. My two favorite things are that he clearly knows his rights, and when (in the second video) he gets tased and screams and finally says “GOD DAMMIT!” I love people like this. This guy is a moron. But we need morons. I need morons. They are my comedic relief when life gets too serious.
Sure there are intelligent people that are funny. And I need them too, but there is just something about someone who completely lacks the fundamental understanding of how to interact with society that I appreciate in my own sick way.
My First Blu Ray Experience
Other than probably casually seeing some Blu Ray on a TV in a store like Best Buy I’d never really sat down and watched a Blu Ray movie until last night.
My folks had given me little extra scratch as a Christmas present and I’d been wanting to pick up a Blu Ray player for quite some time. If you aren’t aware of what Blu Ray is, it’s the DVD equivalent of High Definition. Output of 1080i / 1080p (depending on the player).
After some research it appears that the Sony PS3 is still considered one of the best players out there as a function of picture quality and bang-for-the-buck. With the PS3 Slim 120 down to $299 you get a lot more function than from other comparable Blu Ray players. In short:
Blu Ray player w/1080i/1080p and BD Live
Video Game Console – and yes the games have HiDef output
Built in networking
Built in WiFi
Connects and plays media from servers (music / video)
And more!
Two minor complaints – it’s a little slow to load, and if you want to use your existing IR universal remote you will have to buy an adapter since the PS3 doesn’t support IR, only Blue Tooth (RF).
I then upgraded my NetFlix account to send me Blu Ray discs “automatically” for movies in my queue if they were available. Due to timing, DirecTV decided to increase their rates and drop all of my promo discounts – my DirecTV bill was now going to be almost $60 a month (almost double what it was)!!! So I cancelled DirecTV.
But last night I popped in one of my new Blu Ray discs from Netflix and fired it up. It only took a few moments to realize what I’d been missing and why I spent all the money I’ve spent on my TV, sound system, etc. It was quite impressive even if the movie wasn’t spectacular. Even the previews were sharp and clear. My other DVD player was an upscaling DVD player and while the picture was good this was far better.
So now I am hooked. If you have a few extra bucks and are looking at Blu Ray you should get one if your system can support it. Look into supporting features like Blu Ray Live (BD Live). You don’t have to spend $300 on a PS3 or other player, but if you were looking in that range I’d consider the PS3
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