My internet is out. Please come back tomorrow. (A very short post.)

 

Sadly, I am using a tethered connection to make this post, as the internet I use has been our for almost 10 hours or so.  When I called the cable company to report an outage, they default to sending a technician the next day.  I don't have time for this.  In the past, they pinged equipment in my area to tell if the outage was associated with a home or one of their switches outside the home.  Now, they assume it's something wrong on the consumer end, even when they show an outage centered within 3 miles of my apartment.  AARGH!

I have some stuff to write about that I don't want to spend time on here.

So, I'll sign off for now, and hope (as truckers used to say in the USA) to catch you on the flip flop. 

How does one deal with a company which has bad customer service?

 

 

 

Someone I know lost her mom during Covid.  She now has a problem caused by a business who, after 2 attempts to get the problem resolved, still can't get things right.  In fact, the firm's representative suggested that my friend break the law to get it resolved.  AARGH!!!!

 

But first....

 

The problem started when my friend's mom overpaid the premiums on an insurance policy.  This would not normally be a problem, as eventually the over payment would be refunded to the customer.  However, the customer died during the pandemic.  Sometime late last year, the insurance company sent a notice to the wrong address for this woman, and the woman's granddaughter passed the notice on to my friend along with a refund check addressed to my friend's mother. My friend now had a dilemma.  The estate was closed out several years ago.  There was no bank account in which the check could be deposited and funds passed through to the woman's heirs.  How should she proceed to get this money? 

 

My friend's first task was to find out exactly who to contact in the insurance company.  This was the first layer of the problem.  Many companies issue checks from an entity holding a different corporate name than the entity with which one did business.  (Think of private label credit cards - a credit card issued with the Exxon, Sunoco, Shell or other fuel companies might send its refund checks with a Citibank payer name on the check.) In my friend's case, this was harder than it should have been for her.

 

The next layer of the problem was that the customer service number wasn't geared for payee problems.  It was geared for collection problems - their focus was on collecting money from people who were late on their payments, not on those that the company paid money to.  Yet, through perseverance, my friend was able to reach someone in customer service.  She explained the situation to someone in a foreign call center, and was told to submit proof of her mother's death and proof that she was the executor of the estate - which she did. 

 

Several weeks later, my friend received a check.  When my friend looked at the check, it was made out to be paid to her mother.  She called the company back and got someone who could barely speak English and was likely to be making things up on the fly to keep my friend happy.  My friend explained the problem, and the woman at the other side of the line told my friend - pretend you are your mom and cash the check.  The customer center suggested that my friend commit a crime to get the money that should be paid to her.  This was a ludicrous suggestion, and my friend insisted that the problem be fixed properly by issuing a check with my friend's name on it.  The call center lady "agreed" and said that a new check would be sent out shortly.

 

Another few weeks went by, and my friend received a second check.  And again, the check was issued to her mom.  So again, my friend made a call to the company and reached another person.  Again, the foreign call center suggested that she cash the check, and she refused.  This time, she led the call center fellow through the situation and got him to state who the check would be made out to (my friend's name).  This time, my friend thought the problem would be resolved and forgot about it for a while.

 

Still, another few weeks went by.  When my friend returned home after a long weekend, she found another check in her mailbox.  Opening up the envelope, she again found a check - again with her mom's name. Now, my friend became royally pissed off.  What should she do now?

 

I suggested that she talk to a lawyer (she has one in her family) as well as contact Elliot Advocacy.  Another friend suggested that she go to her bank and ask what to do.  Hopefully, she will get an answer she needs and finally get this problem resolved once and for all....   

 

 

 

 

 

  

The story of a shipment being (Mis)handled by USPS

 

I ordered a dress from Universal Standard a little over a week ago, and it has not yet arrived.  Instead, it has taken the long way from a fulfillment center in the Midwest through Chicago to New Jersey, then being bounced back and forth between mail processing centers in White Plains, Phillipsburg, NJ and Saint Louis.  It now seems to make sense to start taking bets whether this package will ever be delivered to me, or returned to the fulfillment center.

Universal Standard is aware of this problem and stated the following in its email to me:

Thank you for reaching out to US.

We are so sorry to hear that. Usually, we do not reship orders after they are sent back to US but since this was the last one we are willing to work with the warehouse and have it reshipped if it makes it back to US. The only issue with this is if it does make it it might take even a month. If you are willing to wait we are happy to reship then.

Please let US know how to proceed.

Even though it took a little while for Universal Standard to respond to my request for help, they are giving me a satisfactory response.  I informed them that I would like to have the dress reshipped, and that I would have no problem waiting a month for the dress - there would still be two more months of summer to enjoy the dress.

As I write this, the dress is again in White Plains, as noted in the tracking information below.  I will add a postscript to this entry if (or hopefully, When) the dress reaches a final destination....

 

Preparing for Delivery

 

Moving Through Network

Arrived at USPS Regional Facility

WHITE PLAINS NY DISTRIBUTION CENTER 

June 1, 2023, 12:41 am

 

Departed USPS Facility

PHILLIPSBURG, NJ 08865 

May 31, 2023, 10:37 pm

Arrived at USPS Facility

PHILLIPSBURG, NJ 08865 

May 31, 2023, 8:27 pm

Departed USPS Regional Facility

ST LOUIS MO PACKAGE SORTING CENTER 

May 31, 2023, 1:14 am

Arrived at USPS Regional Facility

ST LOUIS MO PACKAGE SORTING CENTER 

May 30, 2023, 10:01 pm

Arrived at USPS Facility

SAINT LOUIS, MO 63125 

May 30, 2023, 8:29 am

Arrived at Post Office

SAINT LOUIS, MO 63125 

May 30, 2023, 7:06 am

In Transit to Next Facility

May 29, 2023

Arrived at USPS Regional Facility

WHITE PLAINS NY DISTRIBUTION CENTER 

May 28, 2023, 12:45 am

Departed USPS Facility

PHILLIPSBURG, NJ 08865 

May 27, 2023, 10:46 pm

Arrived at USPS Facility

PHILLIPSBURG, NJ 08865 

May 27, 2023, 7:49 pm

Arrived at USPS Regional Facility

SAINT LOUIS MO NETWORK DISTRIBUTION CENTER 

May 27, 2023, 1:53 pm

Departed USPS Regional Facility

CHICAGO IL NETWORK DISTRIBUTION CENTER 

May 27, 2023, 5:44 am

Arrived at USPS Regional Facility

WHITE PLAINS NY DISTRIBUTION CENTER 

May 27, 2023, 5:36 am

Departed USPS Facility

PHILLIPSBURG, NJ 08865 

May 27, 2023, 3:41 am

Arrived at USPS Facility

PHILLIPSBURG, NJ 08865 

May 26, 2023, 10:58 pm

Departed USPS Regional Origin Facility

CHICAGO IL NETWORK DISTRIBUTION CENTER 

May 26, 2023, 12:47 pm

Arrived at USPS Regional Origin Facility

CHICAGO IL NETWORK DISTRIBUTION CENTER 

May 25, 2023, 1:00 am

Accepted at USPS Regional Origin Facility

ELK GROVE VILLAGE IL DISTRIBUTION CENTER 

May 24, 2023, 11:45 pm

Shipping Label Created, USPS Awaiting Item

ELK GROVE VILLAGE, IL 60007 

May 24, 2023, 3:34 pm

Hide Tracking History

PS: I received the dress a couple of days after starting the USPS tracking investigation.

 

 

I may never stay at the Tropicana in Atlantic City again.

 

When XGFJ and I were dating, we went to Atlantic City several times and stayed at the Tropicana. In the past, I'd think this place gave good value for prices charged - even with the nonsense "resort fee" tacked on to the bill.  Today, I have the exact opposite opinion, in part, because the hotel part of the complex is not user friendly.

- - - - - -

On Sunday, RQS and I decided to spend an overnight in Atlantic City, so that we could visit sites important to her and her late husband.  As usual, I did the driving, and it took us roughly 4 hours to make it from Northern Westchester to Atlantic City. And that's where our problems began....

Arriving in AC, we didn't know where the self-park lot was for the hotel (they have two).  Signage pointed to one, while we should have been directed to the other lot.  (That was forgivable, but is another issue.)  So we parked in the self-park lot that I was familiar with, and proceeded to the check-in area for the hotel. That's where our first frustration occurred.  Instead of having a human at a check-in desk, they only had machines.  It took a while for us to figure things out, but we got our room keys with some printed documentation.

At this point, we knew we had to go to the Chelsea Tower, but there was no signage from where we were to find our way there.  We asked one person, and he only pointed us in a direction, as he was not fluent in the English language.  So I ended up asking people at the next store how to get there, and they gave me the information needed.  AARGH! Upper management has made the hotel a human unfriendly experience, and it started to leave a disgusting taste in our mouths.  We did find our room, and then RQS went to the beach for the sunset.

Not everything was bad with the Tropicana, it was just second rate at best.  For example, the grill surrounding the HVAC equipment was not secured correctly.  But the AC unit did cool off the room to a desired temperature.  We had an ice bucket for the room, but the ice machine was on the floor below us.  We had a refrigerator in the room, but it was not working.  Although the bed was comfortable, the mattress and bed spring slid around on the bed platform when I was getting dressed.  No good thing was good in its own right, save maybe the restaurant we ate at.  The Chinese restaurant in the Quarter was very good, and we'd both go there again.

The next morning, we had our next set of problems at the hotel.  We had no information on how and where to check out.  We saw no check-in/check-out kiosks.  We saw no hotel lobby.  We saw no information posted anywhere on how to check out.  So RQS called the hotel staff for information, and they said to go to the main lobby.  But where was that?  No humans were in any of the expected places, nor was there adequate signage to direct us to that lobby.  The person at the other end of the line spoke in heavily accented English, and had a hard time understanding RQS's simple request.  By this time we were totally frustrated, and we went to the same check-in/check-out kiosks to check out - and couldn't complete the check-out process.  At this point, we were totally frustrated, and decided to leave and let things sort themselves out.  In the elevator, we met another couple who had the same problem we did. So we knew this was not a problem limited to us.

Later on, when we were in Ocean Grove, RQS checked her email - and they were billing her for 2 days' lodging.  RQS was upset enough that we agreed to try to get this fixed at my place, when we've had a chance to rest. And we took care of RQS's business in Ocean Grove before meandering back home. Yet, this was not the end of the story.  RQS called the hotel, and they referred her to the billing department, knowing it was closed for the day.  AARGH!  If RQS were prone to hair pulling, she'd have less hair than I do as a male. So, she let it all out in an inquiry form on the Tropicana's site, and I hope she'll get this fixed.  Otherwise, she'll deal with her bank regarding the incorrect charge.

 

PS: The hotel contacted RQS a day later and fixed the problem.  Although the problem was resolved, it still left a bad taste in our mouths due to the aggravation we dealt with that day.

Beware of accidental misinformation from a "trusted" source

The other day, I realized that I was getting confused when trying to figure out the exact window in which I needed to take my proctored pre-cruise Covid test.  So, I called up NCL and I was told that I could take my test on Tuesday for a cruise that sailed on Friday.  Technically, he gave accurate advice, but not complete advice.  The Canadian government's site requires that the Covid test be taken within 72 hours of embarkation, not 3 days before embarkation as could be implied by reading all the materials at hand.  Given that I had scheduled my Covid test for 2:00 pm Tuesday and my embarkation was scheduled for 1:00 pm on Friday, I should have been OK.  But what about RQS?  Luckily, RQS read things a little differently than the person from NCL, and we both were able to schedule our Covid (PCR) tests for Wednesday, fulfilling Canadian requirements to the letter. This incident taught us NOT to rely on call center personnel who have been poorly trained to answer questions requiring subtlety of thought.  We will now be much more careful in dealing with issues such as this, and ask more questions ahead of time when we have to deal with seemingly ambiguous issues.

I'm hoping that this is the last headache for us before cruising together.  I'm sure of one thing: Both RQS and I will be writing complaint letters to the CEO of NCL.  Even if nothing gets done for us, these complaints do get passed on to appropriate parties to act on (or not act on).

It's good to hear from people....

 

Today, I received an email from my friend in Florida.  His messages make it appear as if he's recovering many of the mental processes which were damaged by his aneurysm. Hopefully, he'll be in shape to have a visitor sometime next year.

In his email, he reminded me of what happened 11 years ago to this week.  The two of us spent the evening together talking about many things, knowing that this evening would be the last time he would talk with his wife.  She was a good woman, but suffered with the same type of cancer that took my wife's life.  And I know that he misses the things that could have been had she lived.

Does he know that I'm trans?  No.  I won't tell him until I'm at that point where I want to give up on living as Mario forever.  Yet, I wish I could see him on my single day that I'll be in a Florida port.  Maybe on my next visit to that state....

- - - - - -

When I got home, I found out that the cable company didn't process a payment I made to them a couple of weeks ago.  So I spent the better part of an hour talking with someone with minimal result.  The person told me to send them my documentation of payment via fax (who uses faxes anymore?) and I said that I had no access to a fax machine.  Then the person said that I could go to one of their stores.  One problem - only one of them is open on a Saturday.  AARGH!   Luckily, I will be passing by the place on the way to see MWL that day.  Hopefully, they will be open after I'm done with car service at Mavis.

More on my new Air Conditioner - Independence Day Weekend Support Issues.

 

I figure that my readers may be interested in the following complaint letter I wrote to the president of Friedrich Corporation discussing the troubles I've had with my AC.  It's best to write to the top honcho when you have a problem, as the little people have only so much power to influence major problems in a company.  And in my case, my complaint addresses major quality problems for the company which affect me as a customer.

- - - - - -

Mr. Chuck Campbell       
President,
Friedrich Corporation
10001 Reunion Place
San Antonio, TX 78216

 

Dear Mr. Campbell,

I recently bought a pair of Friedrich Air Conditioners, looking to replace the two in-wall units I have that recently failed.  The first of these units has been delivered, and I am already having problems – all of which should have been caught before the unit was sent out to your distributors for consumer sales. It is this unit and its problems that I want to discuss in this letter.

The unit (Wallmaster model WCT16A30A) comes with a manual which does not properly identify where the “Menu” button can be found.  Looking straight at the control panel, it is not readily apparent that this button is directly UNDER the control panel.  I had to call tech support to find out where this button was.  Your manuals should be updated to make this clear for the person who wants to start setting up the unit’s special features, such as WiFi (for use with the Friedrich Connect App).

Next, when I started to follow the manual’s procedure for setting up the WiFi on the unit, so that I could use your App, I encountered another problem.  So, I rushed home to get in contact with tech support before it closed down for the long weekend.  Most people in my area cannot get home on weekdays by 6 pm when your tech support line shuts down, so they are forced to take time off from work to deal with your very limited tech support hours.  This is the second issue I’ve had to deal with, and I was lucky to be able to schedule my time so that I could reach your people in time.

Finally, when I called tech support, I was the 6^th caller on the queue.  A few minutes before 6 pm, a technician came on the line and rushed to service me.  He noted that there was a firmware update to the AC that needs to be applied, and asked me for my email address without confirming he had taken it down correctly.  Once he had my address, all further communications would take place by email – and that he’d be sending me information right away.  This did not happen.  He was in a rush to get me off the line, so that he could service other customers before his shift ended for the week. Either he got my email address wrong (inexcusable in one way) or he didn’t bother to send me the email (inexcusable in another way).  Even more bothersome was the fact that your firm shipped out a product without making sure that it would work as documented in the field.  This is totally without excuse.  Products coming out of the factory should be “perfect”, and not needing any repairs – especially by a customer.

So, you might be asking – what do I want?  For the first thing, as a customer, I want better support hours for your products – both weeknights and weekends.  For me personally. Since your firm screwed up by sending out a buggy unit and a manual that is incomplete, I would like for your office to suggest something which might be of real value to me.  Since my previous two previous air conditioner units failed after their warranties ended, you may consider an extended, full service, labor, and parts warranty for my two units.  I’m pretty sure that you do not design your units to fail shortly after 3 years of use, so this might be a cheap way to keep me (and possible future customers of the Wallmaster units) happy.  It also provides an incentive for your firm to improve the quality of its products, in a similar way that Hyundai’s increase of warranty protections forced its employees to build products with greater quality than before the warranty was improved.

 

Sincerely Yours,

Marian Johnson