Inconvenient Convenience: Word Counters

 

Counting my words again!

Today my fellow Word Counters and I are sharing our monthly group post. Each month, one group member picks a number between 12 and 50. All participating bloggers are then challenged to write something (or a few somethings, as the case may be) using that exact number of words. Today we share what we all came up with.

This month's number is 33. 

It was chosen by Me!

~ I've often used this post to air my complaints about the lack of customer service. Today it's about convenience, inconvenience, being denied the choice of shopping in store, being forced to shop online.

~ I like the convenience of shopping online, comparing prices, availability, ship time and fees, even having the convenience of being able to choose store pick up (if that's an option), or home delivery.

~ What I don't like is not being able to see and touch the merchandise. They can use all the descriptive words they can imagine, but it's just not the same as hands on.

~ Hubs needed a new laptop, knew what he wanted, but it was expensive. After daily checks, Hubs found it on sale. We checked our local store and success! Hubs and PurDude drove off. 

~ They were gone quite a while when PurDude called to ask what time I'd planned dinner. Dinner I knew immediately that had to be a bad omen since it was only one thirty.

Chicken and Snap Pea Dinner

~ So . . . they found the laptop, and took it up to the counter to pay. But it was ringing up at regular price. "That's because," the clerk explained, "you're looking for the online price."

~ Could he get the online price? No. Hubs had to stand in the check out line and order it online for store pick up. Once ordered, Hubs asked again for the sale price.

~ No, again. PurDude and Hubs were told that they now had to wait about an hour for order fulfillment. To fulfill the order, for the item Hubs was holding, in the checkout line.

~ Almost two hours later they returned empty handed. Update: the order is in the fulfillment queue and would be filled when his turn came, no exceptions for a customer standing there, they'd email.

~ Six hours later, after speaking to another store employee, Hubs was told the order was being expedited (LOL), he'd be emailed soon. Seven hours after ordering, the store closed. No email, no laptop.

~ Silence from Best Buy. The order wasn't ready in an hour, or another half hour, nor was it being expedited. All lies. Twenty seven hours after ordering, they agreed to turned it over.

~ Their claim of shopping convenience? Turning away a customer holding expensive electronics in one hand and a credit card in the other, telling him to pay online, then wait . . . a day? Decidedly inconvenient.

Here are links to the other Word Counters posts:

On the Border 

Messymimi’s Meanderings 

Chicken and Snap Pea Dinner         

                                                                                      ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups instant brown rice

2 cups cooked chicken, chopped

1/3 cup Canadian bacon, chopped

3 oz snap peas

1 can chicken and rice soup

1 1/4 cups chicken broth

1/3 cup chopped onion

1/2 tsp minced garlic

1/4 tsp pepper

Directions:
*Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease an 8 X 11 baking dish.

*Sprinkle the rice evenly onto the bottom of the baking dish. Top with the chicken, Canadian bacon, and snap peas.

*Mix together the chicken and rice soup, chicken broth, onion, garlic and pepper. Pour even into the baking dish. Cover with tin foil.

*Bake for 30 minutes. Carefully remove the tin foil, and bake for another 30 minutes, until the rice has absorbed the liquid.

*Stir before serving. 

 

 

Eat Your Words: Word Counters

Counting my words again. 

Today my fellow Word Counters and I are sharing our monthly group post. Each month one group member picks  a number between 12 and 50. All participating bloggers are then challenged to write something (or a few somethings, as the case may be) using that exact number of words. Today we all share what we came up with. 

This month's number is 39. 
It was chosen by Me!

~ Insurance. Being caught without it can be financially crushing. But, as I wrote in one of my earliest posts, "Insurance, Anyone," its current form, requires paying a company that then decides whether or not we'll be awarded any back.

 

~ Imagine my surprise to have found a (car) insurance company that is reasonably priced, is easy to reach, has great customer service, goes above and beyond actually, and does pay claims fairly. No, not in my dreams, for real.

~ An example: College Boy was seventeen and had taken my car downtown. When he returned, the car wouldn't start. He called me, I gave him our insurance information and told him to talk to them and call me back.

~ My phone rang. It was the insurance company telling me we were on a three way call with my son. They had confirmed he was somewhere safe, and wanted me to hear and approve of their conversation with him. 

~ She told him approximately when the truck would arrive, and the company. If he was unsure of who arrived, to call them to confirm. If the car took a jump, drive right home. If not, we'd all talk again.

~ She made sure he had a safe place to wait, asked him to call me before heading home, then told him to say "good bye" to his mom. She then confirmed a few things with me before ending the call.

~ The car took the jump, College Boy came home, and in the end we had to replace the battery. But this (and the few other times we'd needed to contact them) had me singing this company's praises. But wait . . .

 

~ Sadly, this next story isn't about eating Breakfast Nachos, it's about how the same insurance company had me eating my words. And unlike my (delicious, by the way) breakfast recipe, these words left a bitter taste in my mouth.

Breakfast Nachos with Buttery Tortillas

 

~ Over Thanksgiving, PurDude's credit card was hacked. Someone tried to charge six hundred dollars to Hertz on his card. Fortunately, his credit card company flagged the transaction, PurDude cancelled the card and the company sent him a new one.

 

~ A few months before, he'd had an accident on the highway. He (and two others) hit a metal bar that was in their lane. He had two (very expensive) flat tires and two (very, very expensive) broken rims.

 

~ The insurance company was great. They towed his car to a tire shop, arranged a rental. The adjuster told PurDude he would not close the claim until the wheels were replaced and the car was checked out fully.

 

~ In January, PurDude received two letters on the same day. One from Hertz, banning him for life. The other, threatening, from a collection agency stating that he owed Hertz six hundred dollars and they were coming after him. Yikes.

 

~ PurDude went to Hertz to explain that the charge wasn't his but was reported as fraud. No, they explained, he'd rented a car in July and had not paid for it, they then charged his card (without telling him).

 

~ The (previously) great insurance company confirmed that the car rental charge had been approved but somehow not paid, they'd pay immediately, but PurDude let them know they would have to make right any hit to his credit rating also. 

 

~ PurDude followed up with the adjuster too. Hertz was paid. After holding on forever to talk to someone at Hertz, they told him the ban had been lifted once the bill was paid. We're still watching his credit rating . . .

Here are links to the other Word Counters posts:

On the Border 

Messymimi’s Meanderings 

Breakfast Nachos with Buttery Tortillas         
                                          ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
3 medium flour tortillas

1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar

4 TBSP butter, divided

4 strips bacon

5 eggs

1/4 cup milk

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 of an onion, sliced

1/2 of a red pepper, chopped

6 fresh mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

1/4 cup fresh spinach

Directions:

*Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cover a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

*Cut the tortillas into 3rds, then cut each rounded end into 4 triangles and each center piece into 5 triangles. Place individually onto the parchment paper.

*Melt 3 TBSP of the butter, brush onto one side of the tortilla triangles, flip them over and brush the other side. Bake for 12 minutes, until they start to brown. Remove from the oven and arrange on an oven safe serving plate.

*Lower the oven temperature to 200 degrees. Sprinkle half of the shredded cheddar cheese onto the nachos and place in the oven.

*In a skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon until done. Drain and chop.

*Whisk the eggs with the milk, salt, and pepper.

*Wipe the skillet with a paper towel, melt the remaining TBSP of butter, add the eggs and cook over medium heat, stirring now and then until the scrambled eggs are cooked. Place on top of the nachos and cheese and return the plate to the oven to keep warm.

*Wipe the skillet again. Spray with nonstick cooking spray. Add the onion, red pepper, and mushrooms. Cook and stir until the vegetables are soft. Drain well.

*To the plate of nachos, add the vegetables over the eggs, the remaining cheese, the spinach, and the chopped bacon. Return to the oven for 5 minutes before serving.

Smoke and Mirrors: Word Counters

 

Counting my words again. 

Today my fellow Word Counters and I are sharing our monthly group post. Each month one group member picks  a number between 12 and 50. All participating bloggers are then challenged to write something (or a few somethings, as the case may be) using that exact number of words. Today we all share what we came up with.  

This month's number is 32. 

It was chosen by Mimi.

 

 

 

 

As I've been doing in these Word Counters posts, I've chosen a theme and am using my word count multiple times in keeping with the theme. This month I've chosen the theme Smoke and Mirrors, and I'll explain why.

~ There's a lot I like about some of the changes that came about in shopping during the age of covid. So much more is available online, for shipping and for pick up.

~ But there's also a lot that suffers from lack of personal contact. Not only can't you look someone in the eye to discuss issues, but many you cannot call on the phone.

~ Many retailers require you to "chat" with "customer service" online. This is an issue because most don't speak English well, and either don't understand or don't have the power to resolve issues.

~ My Amazon order showed what I chose with an incorrect description. "Chatted" with customer service, who would do nothing but tell me I'd "probably" get what I wanted, or should return it.

 

~ Same Amazon order.

Ordering email: Order to arrive Saturday.

Wednesday, checked order: "has not shipped, still arriving Saturday."

Thursday email: Order shipped, to arrive Sunday.
Saturday email: Order delivered, one day early!

 

~ We've had longstanding cable issues. They provided new boxes assuring us there's be no change to our bill, which immediately went up. Spent TWO HOURS "chatting" with FIVE reps, brain dead, all.

 

~ Facebook suddenly blocked me from editing a file in a group that I administer. I requested a review of their decision and stated my case. I'm still waiting. January was two years . . .

 

~ For PurDude's renter's insurance renewal, they texted a huge increase. Couldn't get customer service to respond anywhere, and found nowhere to cancel online. I had to hunt the CEO down on LinkedIn.

 

Eggnog & Espresso Chip Banana Bread

 

~ USPS continues its innovation in delivery: like screeching in reverse up my driveway to throw packages (including breakables) onto my front porch, then making sure to run over the lawn when leaving.

 

~ Recently the package required a signature. The signature remote didn't work, mailman just left. Message from sender said USPS reported us unavailable, we now have to pick it up from USPS ourselves. 

 

~ Another package. Mailman parked out front, then drove to the cluster box leaving a form saying we hadn't been home for receipt. I was here. I saw him. He never left the truck.

~ Congratulations, corporate America (and sorry, customer suckers). Customer Service and Shipping have merged. They'll now be the Smoke and Mirrors department. No services will be provided, but they'll keep pretending they are . . .

Here are links to the other Word Counters posts:

On the Border 

Messymimi’s Meanderings 

Eggnog & Espresso Chip Banana Bread       
                                                       ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients: 

3/4 stick butter, room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

2 large or 3 small overripe bananas

1 cup eggnog, can substitute 1 cup half and half or vanilla creamer + 1/4 tsp cinnamon + 1/8 tsp nutmeg

2 1/4 cups plus 1/2 tsp flour, divided

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

1/3 cup espresso baking chips

Directions:
*Grease 2 loaf pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

*Cream the butter and the sugars until smooth. Beat in the eggs, bananas, and eggnog. Mix in 2 1/4 cups of the flour, the salt, and the baking powder. Pour evenly into the 2 prepared loaf pans.

*Toss the espresso baking chips with the remaining 1/2 tsp flour to coat them. Sprinkle them evenly onto the top of the batter in each of the loaf pans.

*Bake for 45 - 55 minutes, until the tops spring back to the touch. Cool in the loaf pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely before slicing.

It Doesn't Cost Half if you Charge Three Times

I don't think I have to tell you that customer service is a thing of the past. I bet each and every one of you reading this post has a story of your own. This is hardly my first, but it is to date the longest ongoing and most frustrating experience I've had.

This situation has been going on for weeks. And it just continually seems to get worse and worse. I don't like the word "hate", but I really think I hate Amazon. To put both me and my son through this much over their mistake is beyond absurd.

Let me set the stage for you. PurDude has Amazon Student Prime. It's the exact same services as "regular" Amazon Prime but, for students, at half the cost. He gets many things through Amazon, including his school books. Since I'm financing his education, he has used both his own credit card in his account, and mine for school related items.  He always lets me know when to expect a charge on my account.

In November his Student Prime was up for renewal. Amazon, without me or my son knowing, just took my credit card information from his account and charged me. I saw the charge for $51.70 on my credit card and thought it was either a mistake or fraud. I was going to stop the payment but contacted Amazon and was able to piece together what the charge was for. I wasn't happy that they had charged my card without my permission, but . . . whatever. Truth is, I have access to my son's debit account because I transfer money in there for his bills and would have ended up paying for it one way or another so I just let it go.

In January I saw in my son's bank account, a "recurring charge" from Amazon for $11.59, and questioned him about it. He says that he went to use his Student Prime and was told he didn't have it, that it hadn't been renewed, so he approved them charging his account in increments. I guess I hadn't told him I'd been charged and his Prime had been paid for. 

OK, no problem, it's just a mistake. 

I went to Amazon's website and scoured it looking for a phone number for customer service but couldn't find one. There was a "contact us" email section so I explained my story. I included PurDude's name, account number, date I'd been charged, date he'd been charged and the amounts. Their response, in stilted English, was that it's not my Amazon account so they wouldn't discuss it with me. I responded that they had to talk to me because I have the right to question charges to my credit card.

A huge issue with Amazon customer service is that there is no continuity. When I respond to their email, it does not go to the person with whom I'd been talking, it goes to someone else. Ten days and multiple emails with a myriad of people with varying familiarity with English vacillated between some who wouldn't talk to me because it's not my account, others who needed me to repeat the story (but then didn't get my response) and still others who did not understand the issue. I asked multiple times to be contacted by a supervisor but each request was ignored.

Let's just say that if baking relieves stress for me, and it does, I have spent an inordinate amount of time in the kitchen these past few weeks. 

Peanut Butter Lover's Sandwich Cookies

I noticed that at the bottom of one of their useless emails, there was a survey to fill out about my experience. Oh hell yeah, I'll tell you about my experience. Apparently when you give them a poor rating, they respond with a request for your phone number so they can call you. I put in my phone number and the phone rang. 

Finally. I can talk to someone.

The first person wanted to know how she could help me with my Kindle. The second person deals with Amazon Prime but not Student Prime. The third person told me my son was charged because he's switched from Student Prime to regular Prime. No, of course he didn't, it makes no sense at all to pay double for the same service, but they weren't going to take that from me, falling back on the old "it's not your account".

During this time PurDude had the flu. I was really worried about him and it's one of the reasons I was trying to settle this myself. Frustrated and temporarily defeated, I let him know that when he felt better he needed to call Amazon and tell them that he had not switched to Prime from Student Prime and they needed to refund him the $11.59 as the full amount was paid by me in November.

He did call and checking his debit account a few days later I saw that there was a credit for $11.59. Success! 

Not so fast, Grasshopper. There was also a "recurring payment" charge for $51.70. So now we have BOTH paid for his Student Prime. Great.

I emailed them again. Once again I couldn't speak to the same person twice and once again they told me it wasn't my account. My stance was that it doesn't matter whose account it is, no one should have to tell them that you cannot double charge a customer. Another week of back and forth and incredible frustration and I FINALLY got someone to agree to credit PurDude's account for the $51.70. Success!

Not so fast, Grasshopper. Within minutes I got a private message from PurDude on FB. "Mom, I just got an email from Amazon that my Student Prime has been canceled." 

Seriously? So now I've paid for a Prime account that he doesn't even have. 

I went back to the email I received from the representative who'd agreed to refund PurDude's double payment and explained AGAIN, that the Prime was paid for in November and she was supposed to be refunding the double payment, not canceling his Prime.

Can you guess what happened next? Bet you can. An email from yet another representative telling me they won't discuss it with me, it's not my account. 

At this point PurDude had given up: "they're just not going to let me have Prime, Mom", he said to me on FB. "Well, I'm not throwing my $50 bucks out the window" was my answer. Meanwhile, despite the cancellation, there was no credit for $51.70 to his account. So we're right back to we've both paid for Prime and he doesn't have it. 

Grrrrr.

This is war. Any mama bear will not allow you to take advantage of her child. This mama bear isn't going to let you take advantage of her checkbook. Amazon has done both.

I called them again and got Jose. I was furious and I think you could hear my teeth clenching as I told Jose the story. I told him that it was my son's account, that he was very sick and that I felt I had the right to discuss the situation because my card was charged. Jose asked me for PurDude's Amazon account number, the email address and the home address associated with the account, ending digits of my card that was charged (same last name and address as my son). He had enough verifiable information to be willing to talk to me about the account. A-frikken-men.

I first asked him to confirm the November 15th charge to see that I'd paid for the year. He found it. I went through the 2 weeks of emails and phone calls, the $11.59 charge and credit, the $51.70 charge and promise of credit that did not materialize, and the cancellation. He got it. All of it. 

Here's what he's going to do. He's going to reinstate the account. He'll do that by charging PurDude another $51.70. Oh holy mother of all that is holy you have got to be kidding. No frikken way. Now you want us to pay for it THREE times. Hold on, I think my head just exploded.

He was patient with me, I'll give Jose that. He said that he had to charge for the Prime to reinstate it. Once it was active again and the charge went through he would return the fee.

Listen, fool me once, shame on you, fool me 50 times, shame on me. No way I was trusting him to do that. We haven't even gotten the $51.70 credit that resulted in the account being canceled. Jose assured me that he could see the credit on his end. I asked him over and over again, verifying that we would now get one charge and two credits and the account would remain active, that the second credit would not cancel the account again. He confirmed it all. I asked, based on all that had happened, how I could talk to him again when that didn't happen. You can't call a specific customer service rep, of course, but he said that he would call me back in 24 to 48 hours. Yeah, right. And I suppose pigs would fly too.

Guess what happened 24 hours later? 

He called. Yes, he did. He said that PurDude's debit card had been charged (it hadn't posted to the account yet so I wasn't able to see it) and asked me to hold while he put through the credit to PurDude's account. I think while he had me on hold I may have cried a little.

When Jose came back on I made it clear how skittish I was in believing this was actually handled. What if the two credits don't come through? Or they cancel his account again? I asked Jose if he could call me one more time at the end of this week to verify that everything went through. He agreed.

Within minutes PurDude forwarded me two emails, both from Jose. One said that the Amazon Student Prime account had been reactivated. The other said that he would be calling me on Friday to confirm receipt of a refund.

I hate you, Amazon. But Happy Valentine's Day, Jose, I just might love you.

Not so fast, Grasshopper. I'm withholding judgement. We'll see what this week brings . . .

Peanut Butter Lover's Sandwich Cookies         
                                    ©www.BakingInATornado.com

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:
1/2 stick butter, softened
1/2 stick margarine, softened
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

1/2 stick butter, softened
1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
up to 3 TBSP milk 

Directions:
*Beat 1/2 stick butter, 1/2 stick margarine, 1/2 cuup sugar and 1/2 cup brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Mix in flour, baking soda and salt.
*Roll into plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.
*Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cover cookie sheets with parchment paper.
*Roll dough into 20 balls. Place onto prepared cookie sheets, gently flatten with the heel of your hand and bake for 10 - 12 minutes. Allow to cool for 2 minutes, remove and cool completely before filling.
*Beat the remaining butter and crunchy peanut butter. Staring on low speed, carefully beat in the powdered sugar. 1 TBSP at a time, beat in the milk until filling reaches piping consistency.
*Pipe the filling (you will need a wide piping tip as you are using crunchy peanut butter) onto the bottom of half of the cookies. Top each with another cookie to form a sandwich.