Category: Rants & Observations

Young Guns

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Over the weekend I was going through our DVD collection, pulling out movies I wanted to get rid of to make room for the new stuff we acquired recently, when I came across the copy of Young Guns that Joe bought at Walmart two years ago. I held it up and said, “Hey, we never watched this. We should”. Joe eyed me suspiciously and replied, “Oh, I see. Now you want to watch it. Oh that’s right, Kiefer is in it. Before you had no interest in it”. Yea, you got me, Joe, I needed my fix. Actually, after getting into 24 I just have more interest in Kiefer’s acting. It’s like when you find a band you like and start listening to anything by them you can get your hands on. A minor addiction, if you will, that will eventually be replaced by the next latest and greatest thing.

So we watched the movie tonight and it wasn’t half bad. Not necessarily something I’d watch again, but it was interesting in the parts where Kiefer had to yell because then he sounded just like Jack. His normal voice wasn’t quite as raspy as it is now. I guess it took awhile for all his smoking to catch up with him. His hair was too long and he was very young when that movie was made. I much prefer the Kiefer of today than yesterday, except his yellow teeth. He should really get them whitened.

Why is it that most guys are better looking as they get older? 35-40 is such a sweet spot for men if you ask me. Joe is 37 and is quite handsome. Sure, he was attractive in his 20’s (I’m basing this on photos I’ve seen since he was in his thirties when we met), but he is so much more distinguished now. Too bad it doesn’t work that way with women. We deal with PMS, menstrual cycles, giving birth, stretch marks, raising kids, and are all washed up by the time we hit 35. Totally not fair.

Buy.com No More

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Well you can add Buy.com to my boycott list. I’ve had it with them. Like the saying goes, three strikes and you’re out.

The first strike came a year ago when a few days after I had made a purchase, they sent me a coupon for money off my next purchase. They never ever sent me a coupon before, but they conveniently wait until I already ordered something to do so. When I contacted them, they refused to let me use the coupon toward the purchase and it hadn’t even shipped at that point!

Then a few months ago I ordered an audio stand from them that came to us in pieces, and not just in pieces that needed to be put together. The pieces were in pieces and water damaged. So I had to do that whole return thing and ship it back.

A couple of days ago I ordered a memory card for the new camera I am going to be getting for $64.95. The item shipped out, I still don’t have it, and the price went down $10! I contacted them to see if they would issue me a credit, much like I did with Wal-Mart recently. Well they said no, offered no explanation, and left it at that. Well screw that. There are plenty of other places I can shop online. Here’s the e-mail chain in case you’re interested in the specifics. It’s from oldest to newest in this case.

I wrote:
Hello, I just ordered the Kingston SD card, haven’t even received it, and I noticed the price on your site went down almost $10 from $64.95 to $55.99. Can you please issue me a credit for the price difference? I would think this is fair as many brick and mortar stores do this when something goes on sale within 30 days of purchase. I look forward to your response. Thank you!

They wrote back:
Thank you for contacting Buy.com.

This is in reference to your email regarding the order #BlahBlah.

We apologize for the inconvenience you may have experienced. We are writing to inform you that we are unable to match the prices at this time.

We apologize again for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience.

Thank you again for writing to Buy.com.

Sincerely,
Buy.com Customer Care Team

So I wrote back:
I find your response unacceptable, especially considering you offer no explanation. Saying you’re “sorry for the inconvenience” twice does not suffice. It’s not an inconvenience, it’s a disgrace, because you’re not sorry at all. If I were to go to your site right now and order this item it would be $10 cheaper, but you won’t extend the same courtesy to someone who is already a repeat customer? I’ll definitely keep that in mind for all my future shopping. I’ve already boycotted Best Buy due to their horrible customer service; consider yourself added to that list.

I’ll be sure to pass along the message of how inflexible you are to everyone I know via my website and in-person conversations and I won’t be recommending your site to my friends anymore. I hope angering and losing a repeat customer over $10 makes financial sense to you. Considering all the options available to me for online purchases, who do you think this will ultimately hurt more? Yes, I am one person, but I’m not the only person out there who will think your poor attitude toward customer service is acceptable. And over a $10 savings you’re already offering to other visitors to your site no less? Did they teach you that in Customer Service 101? I’m surprised you’re still in business.

So I’m keeping my promise by sharing this experience with you, dear readers. The problem these days is that everyone allows these companies to treat them poorly and they continue shopping there. If we were to refuse to accept this treatment, places like Best Buy and Buy.com would be forced to improve their customer service or else go out of business. Just something to keep in mind next time you’re mistreated. And trust me, I know it isn’t always easy, as I’ve shopped Best Buy a couple of times since boycotting them years ago, but I’m back to boycotting them 100% because I’m tired of giving my hard-earned money to these heartless corporations.

Cell phone freaks

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Man Drops Cell Phone, Hit By CTA Train

You’d think if you were waiting for a train, you’d be a bit more aware of your surroundings and notice it coming so you don’t stick your head in the way. Somehow I think the condition of your skull is a bit more important than a stupid phone. People are so dumb, I don’t know why stuff like this even amazes me anymore. Let’s hope the impact kick-started some brain cells for that guy at least.

Don’t you think it’s a bit ridiculous how attached people are to their cell phones? I can’t go to the store without having to navigate around people talking a mile a minute as if they aren’t going to see the person in the next ten minutes anyway. They talk while paying for their groceries, in theaters during a movie, in their cars instead of paying attention to the road, at sporting events so you can’t enjoy the game in peace, in elevators where you can’t escape, and just about anywhere else except the library (and even then they are in the lobby yapping away). They even chat while pumping their gas! Not too long ago, I drove by three teenage girls walking down the street, each on their cell phone. Shouldn’t they have been talking to each other?

Is all this chatting really necessary? We did just fine without cell phones not too long ago. Do we really need to be THAT connected? I hope they ban public cell phone use along with smoking. Don’t get me wrong, I own and use my cell phone, but not nearly to the degree most people seem to, and I actually pay attention to the road if I happen to be driving at the time. I can’t say that much for the people who cut me off and blow red lights because they are too busy talking to even care what’s going on around them.

Blockbuster, how you toy with me

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Last week our local Blockbuster messed with my head for a moment when I saw Dead Like Me, Season 1, Disc 4 on the shelf (read this entry for the background story on this), but it was Disc 3 in the wrong spot. Just as I suspected, they didn’t remove the Disc 4 box. I mean, why would anyone want to run a successful business after all?

I started calling around to other Blockbusters in the area to hunt down this disc. Everyone was very friendly and apologetic when they said they didn’t carry the series, and one guy informed me that you can actually check stock of a particular store online at the Blockbuster site. Well, theoretically since the service has been “temporarily unavailable” for over a week now.

After my fourth call, I finally located a store that carried the series, but the disc I was looking for was out. I called back yesterday morning and it was back in. I asked if they’d hold it, which they do, but only for two hours. I told the guy I’d call back later since I wouldn’t be able to make it over there until after 5 pm but he said he’d hold it for me anyway and took my name. That was nice.

If only Little Miss Unfriendly at our usual store could train with that guy. I don’t know what crawled up her butt, but she never smiles and the only words out of her mouth during the entire transaction is “here you go” when she hands you the movie. I don’t know if she’s just a biotch, or she doesn’t like us in particular, but she makes me uncomfortable.

Grammar police chick

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Ok, what the hell is wrong with you bloggers? And by YOU, I mean everyone on the internet, not my dear readers. Let’s go over this again: fish is the plural of fish; it is not ‘fishes’. Well I guess it can be, but it really shouldn’t. :)

An apostrophe does not follow something that should be plural just because it happens to look nicer. For instance, it’s not “I have 10 DVD’s,” it’s DVDs. Does it look a bit weird? Yes, but it is correct.

In addition, you are supposed to do something, not suppose to do it. I know I don’t have perfect grammar, but I learned the basics in school and they should not be that difficult to remember.

Another pet peeve of mine: people who break up a single thought into several incoherent sentences. It’s called a comma! Learn it, use it, love it. Here is a list of interactive quizzes you can take to hone your grammar skills. Call me a dork, but I love this stuff!