Progressive Thinking

Earlier this year I decided to switch our car insurance to Progressive. I'm so glad I did! I love their online account management tools. I love their rates. I love their customer service people.

Now, you know that I normally rant on the bad customer service I receive. Honestly, though, I cannot find anything to complain about here! No, I'm not getting paid to do this. I just thought you might like to know that I don't always just complain. I also thought that, if you're looking for new coverage that I'd recommend these folks. Besides, That Betty Boop-ity gal is just too cute.

Peace, Blessings, and Safe travels!

Customer Service Rant - Academy - FAIL!

MG is heading off to the National Guard Youth Challenge Program again in January, so we are now in the process of re-buying all the supplies we donated to the program six weeks before she decided to re-apply. UGH!  Anyway...

We took a trip to Academy today looking for training tennies, warm-up pants, sweat shirts, and gym shorts. The whole time we were in the clothing section I saw not one employee. When we went to look at shoes there were two there, neither of whom seemed to want to be bothered with something silly like answering quetions for us. Well, to be fair, one of them did glare at me and say "in a minute" and honor that by coming back, answering one question and then quickly disappearing again.

After 15 frustrating minutes of searching in vain for the shoes in boxes that matched the shoes on display I was ready to walk out. However, I'm not one to give up so easily.  Instead, I pulled out my trusty new cell phone and called the store and requested to speak to the General Manager.  Her polite "How may I help you?" gave me the perfect opening to explain that I was standing in her shoe department needing assistance but was loath to ask for help from either of the sullen, inattentive red-shirts I'd seen skulking about. Of course she promised to send someone right over. 

Five minutes later we were just leaving when a woman who didn't even introduce herself showed up looking amused (WTFrig??). She followed me back to the aisle where we'd just been scavenger hunting and proceeded to re-scavenge the racks. And then guess what?? The "in a minute" chick decided to come help. However, all she managed to do was prove what a poor team leader -- yep, she wore a Team Lead badge! -- she is by not being able to find anything in her disorganized team zone. hmmmm...  Ten MORE minutes later they both finally gave up and said the shoes we wanted weren't there. No offer to help us find the right size in another shoe. No apology for having wasted our time. Just  "sorry, they aren't here."

As we were preparing to leave I couldn't resist the urge to get in one last shot teaching moment.

Me: Missy (not her real name, but DEFINITELY her real attitude), as a team leader you should keep in mind that the proper response to a customer's request for help is a smile accompanied by, "Yes, Ma'am. Let me finish with this one thing and I'll be right with you." Not, "in a minute."

Missy:  What I said was "I'll be with you in a minute."

Me: Oh? I didn't hear the 'I'll be with you' part; probably due to the fact that the look on your face said, "why the heck are you bothering me?" which can be very distracting.

Missy: I didn't ignore y...

Me: Excuse me? Are you going to argue with me? Really? I'm trying to offer you constructive criticism here. Take it or leave it.

Missy:  (now with fake smile gracing her mouth but woefully missing from her eyes) I'm sorry, that wasn't my intent. Thank you for the input. I will keep it in mind.

The manager-type person never said a word.

So, three guesses where my next Web surf will take me... I sure hope Academy has an onine complaint form to make it easier.

Peace, Blessings, and Really? Geesh!

Norton Security Rant

Dear Norton:

The Norton Security Online provided by AT&T/Yahoo SUCKS! Yes, I said it. IT. SUCKS. Why would you foist a program like this off on people who trust your name? Does the fact that it came "free" with my AT&T U-verse package make it less important for it to actually catch people trying to attack my computer? Don't argue with me. It does NOT stop hardly anybody from dropping whatever nasty cookies they want to onto my system! Oh, I understand that people will try, but YOU are not supposed to let them! And if they do sneak by you, you are supposed to catch it when you automatically run that stupid scan of yours which is scheduled weekly right during my peak blogging time and slows down my system to a snail's pace and won't let me exit out of it without asking 9000 times if I am sure I want to cancel it and won't tell me how to reschedule it to some other more convenient running time!

Furthermore, why is it that every time the dang thing does finish running in only finds one cookie. JUST ONE. And the SAME just one every time! Every. Dang. Time. Same. One. Yet, when I run Ad-Aware it finds hundreds of cookies.. HUNDREDS!!! Ad-Aware kindly removes them for me and my system speeds back up to something similar to what I consider normal. Then a few days later when it slows back down again I have to run Ad-Aware again and... THEY'RE BAAACK! WHAT THE...?? WHY?? What good are you, Norton?? Tell me? What good at all????

So, I am officially notifying you that I'm switching back to McAfee. I NEVER had these problems with McAfee. It is quiet, cooperative, efficient and I can chat with a live support person anytime I need help. But most of all IT ACTUALLY KEEPS PEOPLE OUT OF MY BUSINESS!

Free, shcmee - I'll pay for something that actually works, thankyouverymuch! Yeah, that's right - thanks for nothing!

Your Soon-to-be EX-Non-Customer.

Teen driving revolutionized by Ford! (???)

My Girl has finished her driver education course, but is really balking at taking the test to get her learner's permit. It is the strangest thing I've ever seen in a kid! To give her some credit, she and The Boyfriend were T-boned a couple of months ago, which scared her pretty bad. Thank God that's all it did! In a weird way, I'm sort of glad she's in no hurry. I'm not sure I'm ready to unleash her on the motoring public just yet!

Oh, what's that? I forgot to tell you there was a Boyfriend? Ummm.. sorry... Well, there is. And he's 22. And he's one of the best things that has ever happened to her so pick your jaw up off the ground and get over the fact that I am, indeed, allowing my 17-year-old daughter date a 22-year-old college senior. You'd just have to see them together to know how good they are for each other. Besides, that's not what this post is about. Yes, I promise more details in the near future, but for now, on with why I brought up this whole driving/wrecking thing to begin with...

It seems that Ford Motor Company thinks it has come up with the solution all parents have been clamoring for since the first time the first teenager put pedal to metal. They have devised a feature that will let parents set limits for teens. AN 80 MILE AN HOUR LIMIT! Go ahead, pop over there and read the article and then come back. It is short, but fascinating! (Note: if you right-click and select "Open in a new window" you won't lose this post to go read the article. And you know who you are that needs that advice to keep you from accidentally closing the windows and having to log back in because you are afraid to have the computer remember you for fear that someone might hack your computer and hijack your passwords.)

Welcome back!

Ok, so they've got a pretty valid reason for setting the upper limit at 80. I can see where once in a while one might have to accelerate up to 80 to get out of the way of a wreck. IF ONE WAS ALREADY GOING 70+ BEFORE THE INCIDENT HAPPENED!!! And they said that "Just lopping it off at exactly 70 mph was felt to be too limiting." TOO LIMITING???? I THOUGHT THAT LIMITING THEIR SPEED WAS THE WHOLE POINT?!?!?!?! GRRRRR! As far as I'm concerned, 60 is plenty fast enough for the first six months they are on the road alone. There are plenty of surface roads to get from here to anywhere without having to ever get on a freeway.

They go on to say that they are going to make "...use of technology, and through the magic of software, we're able to build features on top of the features we already have." COOL IDEA! Love that anti-theft thing, but how about asking mothers what that new build should look like. As a matter of fact, I won't wait for them to ask. Instead, I am sending the following suggestions in an email to their Public Affairs Department.

According to the article, "In addition to speed limits, MyKey also will limit the volume of the audio system, and it will sound a six-second chime every minute if seat belts are not fastened. The chime sounds for adult drivers, too, but ends after five minutes to avoid annoying adults who adamantly don't want to wear seat belts." (aka IDIOTS)

Really?? You can do all that with a smart key? WHOA NELLY! Then how about programming that sucker to:

-- Allow PARENTS to set the max speed for their child based on when and where they will be driving using a formula of maximum SAFE speed plus 10. (With a maximum of 65 for emergencies only.)

-- Send parents a text message EVERY TIME the speedometer climbs past the maximum safe speed. Better yet, include their GPS location in the message. Might as well know where they were breaking the rules while we are at it!

-- Allow NO radio or sound system of any kind if they go over their parentally-determined speed limit. Yep, that's right -- JUST CUT IT COMPLETELY OFF!

If keys can be smart, then why not seat belts?

-- Come up with weight/size based seat belt alarms. If the weight in the seat is X then it's going to take a minimum of Y amount of belt yardage to surround it. Just buckling it and putting it behind you would trigger the shutdown of the sound system until all seat belts were properly fastened around all those chubby little tummies. And speaking of 'all those' ...

-- How about some butt alarms that count how many kids are in the car. I know here in Texas young drivers are limited on the number of passengers they are allowed to carry. Why not send mom a text message when the butt count exceeds that limit? AND CUT OUT THE RADIO until the butt count is corrected.

And if the keys, belts, and seats can be smart, why not the antennae?

-- Let's go ahead and rig the car so that cell phones don't work from inside it as long as the engine is running. And for safety's sake and Mom's peace of mind, why not add a communication system (including a phone cam!)that can only call three or four parentally programmed numbers: 911, Mom, Dad, and one alternate. How else are you gonna keep them off the phones?

So what I am proposing is what I call:

DAMAMA’S TOTAL MUSICAL SOLUTION

-- If the speed isn't immediately reduced or the infraction isn't corrected, within 30 seconds, automatically kill the car’s audio system and activate external speakers that blare nursery rhymes like I'm a Little Teapot, It's a Small World, and If you're Happy and You Know It. Or how about some Okie From Muskogee? Better yet, how about THIS. heh heh heh!! How quickly do you think that car could decelerate to 60 or under?? How fast do you think that seatbelt would click or somebody's butt would be booted out the door? Probably not nearly fast enough for the totally humiliated kid in the driver's seat! Definitely not fast enough to keep us parents from going prematurely gray.

It takes 8,460 bolts to assemble an automobile, and one nut to scatter it all over the road. ~Author Unknown

The elderly don't drive that badly; they're just the only ones with time to do the speed limit. ~Jason Love

May all of our children live to be old and slow. Like they think we are.

Rental Car Frustration - Warning: Rant storm ahead.

We're getting ready to go on vacation and I've been checking into rental cars since we are flying to our destination. It's been a while since I needed to rent a car, so I'm obviously very out of touch with car-rental reality. Maybe you more seasoned travelers can help de-confuse me a little...

Question 1. Why does it cost twice as much to rent a car Monday - Friday as it does on a weekend? Do they go through some automotive metomorphesis at midnight on Sunday and suddenly become nicer, cleaner, and more comfortable?

Question 2. Why do companies agree to have their coupons put in those books organizations sell as fundraisers and then either refuse to honor them? Do they just like seeing their name in print?

Question 3. WHY OH WHY do I have to talk to somebody in India who can't do anything but read his/her script and cannot answer any questions not included therein? Do American workers not know how to read scripts?

Question 4. What happened to good old American courtesy and good business sense?? If my drop-off time was going to be 11:oo p.m. (the time the place closes) but my flight plans change such that I need to drop the car off at 7:00 a.m. the next morning (when they open) WHY DO THEY WANT TO CHARGE ME A WHOLE 'NOTHER DAY'S RENTAL???? Do they really think they are going to be able to rent it to somebody else during those 8 hours? Is there a vampire pupulation that shows up at midnight and then returns the cars before dawn?? WHAT??

Question 5. If I already have the car reserved for 4 days, and my plans change so that I need it an extra day, WHY DOES IT COST ABOUT 2.5X the amount I paid for the reserved days????

And last, but DEFINITELY THE THING THAT TOTALLY SENT ME OVER THE EDGE and got me


Question 6. WHY IN BLUE BLAZES DOES IT COST AN AVERAGE OF $8 MORE PER DAY TO HAVE AN ADDITIONAL DRIVER ADDED TO THE CONTRACT??? Really??? $8 more just to put me down as a secondary driver just in case Hubby gets tired and would like to rest his eyes for a few miles??? (Bug - quit laughing. I KNOW your father would never allow me to drive, but HEY! I wanna be ABLE TO if hell should happen to freeze over while we were out of town!!)


Now, class, let's grade the test. The answer to all of the above is...

It is becoming a pervasive epidemic in this country. How can we squeeze the absolute maximum out of consumers without actually having to give them anything for their money? Plain and simple: GREED!

WOW! I feel so much better now! Thanks for letting me vent! I'll be gone for a few days, but I'm leaving a couple of post-dated things to make you giggle a little (hopefully). See you when we get home.

Customer Service Rant Update

Home Depot actually responded to my email! This is too funny! Out of all the times I’ve complained, this is the first ever response! I guess invoking the name of their biggest competitor got their attention?? Here's an excerpt from the email I got and my thoughts as I was reading:

Home Depot is committed to continual process improvements based on the input of our customers. … especially our persistent ones. And please note, we said PROCESS improvement – not customer service improvement. There is a subtle difference there that we certainly hope you don’t catch.

Please know that the feedback you have provided is taken seriously and will be used in the overall evaluation of the services we provide to our customers. ...what a poopish copout buzz phrase!

We would like to offer you a $20 Home Depot gift card in the hope that your next shopping experience will be a more pleasurable one. … NEXT shopping experience?? What didn’t they understand about “AND I’M NOT COMING BACK!" Well – maybe just once more – to spend exactly $20.00 and not a penny more! I’m stubborn, but I’m not stupid!

In addition, it's a way for us to say thanks for taking the time to provide us with this feedback. … If you were really grateful for the feedback, YOU WOULD HAVE RESPONDED TO THE 3 or4 PRIOR COMPLAINTS!

They wanted me to confirm my address, which I did. Then I got a second email saying that the $20 is on the way. This is what it said:

We value your inputs and comments as we rely on our customers? feedback to help us to improve in all areas of the store and we hope you would give us another opportunity to serve you better. ...Notice that ? after the word “customers”…Freudian slip, much?? LOL! And I've already given you "another" opportunity -- and another, and another, and...

We look forward to your continued patronage and assisting you with all of your home improvement needs. ...not a snowball's chance in hell!


OK- Bug, if you are reading this, you may now stop shaking your head and saying, “Let it go, Mom.” I’m done.

xoxo

Customer Service Rant

OK - I know this isn't what I promised the next post would be, but dagnabbit I'm so miffed that I can't seem to get started on the Thanksgiving thing I'd planned!

Does anybody else have problems at Home Depot? I can never find anybody to help me at our local store! I typically restrict my home improvement and hardware shopping to Lowe's even though it's nearly 5 miles from my house instead of just down the street. At least in our area, their prices are lower and the customer service is WAY WAY WAY WAY better.

Today I'd bought groceries and then remembered that I needed to pick up gutter clips so we can hang Christmas lights tomorrow. So, against my better judgement, I stopped at the Home Depot on the corner 3 blocks from my house. 30 minutes later I was home - with no clips, but with a full head of steam! Here's the complaint letter I put in their website's contact form:

=========================================
DEAR HOME DEPOT,

I just spent 15 minutes roaming around your store looking for someone to help me find gutter hooks to hang my Christmas lights with. I SAW EXACTLY 3 PEOPLE ON THE FLOOR. I saw 2 ladies at the checkout, but one of them was counting out so couldn't be bothered to answer a question or call someone to help me. Instead, she hollered over at the self-checkout lady. The lady at the self-checkout (nobody at all was at the customer service desk or other checkouts) rolled her eyes at me, heaved a huge sigh and told me that she worked in the f.r.o.n.t. (she had to say it slowly because I obviously looked too stupid to be able to understand English) and didn't know where that stuff was. I asked her if she could call someone, but before she could find the phone and figure out who to call, more exasperated people showed up wanting help and/or to check out. I put my stuff on her stand and told her that I'd be glad to remove myself from her frustration equation... and I LEFT... AND I'M NOT GOING BACK... AND YOU DON'T CARE SO WHY AM I WASTING MY ENERGY HERE???? I've complained about this store before... My husband has complained about this store before... You never call or email that you give a rats behind, but I thought I'd try once more JUST BECAUSE I'M SO COTTON PICKIN' PEEVED!!! Ok.. Done ranting now. Happy Holidays... mine will be because I no longer have to worry about where to buy my hardware supplies... LOWE'S, HERE I COME!
=========================================

Is anybody else out there sick and tired of the way customer service doesn't even remotely resemble "service" anymore??? So many places just don't care. I guess because they figure that for every ONE of me they lose, there'll be TWO MORE willing to just put up with it!

OK - I'm better now... Gonna go write my Thanksgiving story. Thanks for letting me vent.