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Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Honey..Did we get back our deposit?

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We haven't had a landline for a few months but for some reason I asked my wife if we ever got back our initial deposit. She laughed and said that was over 40 years ago and I said" why should that matter?" I knew all along that it was another one of those things we take for granted. I have never gotten back my deposit from any utility company or people I have rented from. I remember renting an office where the landlord refused to apply my deposit to another office he owned. A friend of mine, who owns a 4-plex, told me that today's landlords hold all the trump cards and it's a "take it or leave" business.

I am wondering if the May Day protesters will make a difference. It seems like all my life, I've had to accommodate businesses instead of the other way around. I heard that Starbucks is changing their policy because it's not productive to argue with customers. They have instructed all the teenagers they hire to give the complaining customer a free cup of coffee, hoping it will defuse the situation and retain customers. It sounds a little condescending to me because it doesn't teach the workers how to get to the root of the problem. I know, what problems can you have at Starbucks -which a free cup of coffee won't cure? That's not to say that I haven't had a customer satisfaction during the years but it should be routine. It's like local politics; go to any forum and they all sound like the next Abraham Lincoln but as soon as they get in office they will start on their agenda.

Do you still get that birthday greeting from the salesman of the first car you ever bought? I do, even though he's now selling funeral arrangements and burial plots. My wife and I laugh every anniversary because like an accurate time piece, we have been getting his greeting for over 20 years. I have to admit it works because whenever I think of funeral arrangements, I think of him even though I may not purchased from him. I'm sure for him it's gone from the index cards to a computerized alarm system but the sentiment is the same. I bet if I walked up to him at a grocery store, he wouldn't remember me.

I see the world evolving where we have gone from paying a little bit more but having better service, to a system where we won't ever see a sales person like at Amazon. The person we talk to at customer service will likely talk with an accent and they are only able to give us generic information but we accept that because we saved 20 bucks.

I love my cell phone but I hope it keeps working because I hate going to AT&T more than seeing my dentist and I get a nervous twitch every time we get high winds because it means I will have to try to get a hold of Dish Network.

This is not a gripe session because I have become immune to life's daily ups and downs. At least we're not like in the AMC series "Mad Men" where every character lights up a cigarette every 15 minutes.

14 comments:

Edith Ann said...

You are too easy, Mike!

I am still waiting for a call back from David Killebrew at Killebrew, Inc. He told me on 2/17/11 he would 'check into it and get back' with me. I'm still waiting.

I am still waiting on a call back from Nancy McCord at VISD from last Friday. Her secretary said she'd have her call me. I'm still waiting.

I am still waiting on stores in this town to train their employees on SIMPLE customer service.

I am waiting for Sirius/XM Radio to figure out what customer service is!

I do not hold out much hope for mankind in this regard.

Mike said...

Someone in our family has to have a calm demeanor...My wife more than makes up for it...A dealership's worst nightmare,a woman that keeps notes..:-)

Mike said...

Legion,did you hear the noise from a person driving on rims this morning about 1:00 AM

Edith Ann said...

lol on the calm demeanor! My kids just laugh at me when I tell them some business has pissed me off. They keep asking me where I am going to shop if I keep boycotting folks!

And it isn't helping Killebrew's case that the salesman keeps calling about once a month asking me how I like the car I bought from him in June '09--the one I traded in Austin last year because Killebrew pissed me off! Sales dude cannot get it in his head, or in his computer, that I no longer own the red Charger!

Mike said...

It was refreshing to see someone buck the system this morning... After I completed my routine doctor's appointment, I overheard my Dr. ask the nurse where the patient in room 3. was.. She replied" he said that and he would rather sit in the reception room and watch TV until you got to him"...

Edith Ann said...

OMG! Did you dash out there and give the guy a high five or offer to buy him a drink or something! Way to go, dude!

Mike said...

No,I quickly got out of that elderly radical's way...What's next; Refusing to get his temperature taken(98.2)or sign & answer all those repetitive forms?..:-)

Edith Ann said...

lol!

Legion said...

I wish I would of thought of that when my daughters doctor was with the err... America Family Practices? group of doctors.

Nope Mike I didn't hear anything at 1am. I guess the guy didn't know Tanglewood very well. Since he ended up on Rosewood. I take it he didn't know Tanglewood Dr. was closed and Linwood is the fastest way out of TW.

Mike said...

Amen to than,Linwood is EA's runway for take off...Left up to me I would speed bump that road...:-)

I don't think it mattered he didn't know where he was,even if he grew up on the street.

People are complaining about train horns,his truck rims sounded about 100 decibel higher....that reminds me,I have to tell my neighbor to put on more clothes next time before he pulls the curtail..I know it was late..but still.

Edith Ann said...

Oh y'all are not going to talk about my speed, are you? Like a person could fly through TW without gouging the bottom of your car!

(the better runway is Teakwood...)

The neighbor--that's hilarious!

Rebecca said...

You guys are making me miss Tanglewood!

Mike said...

Hilarious? Nightmare more like it,I couldn't get back to sleep...lol

I had to laugh when my wife talked of a high speed chase...Really,with all the blind-spots,bumps?No Tanglewood will never have a high speed chase...Not for long,anyway.

I tried to trace the rim marks on my bike but I would never make it as a accident investigator because I have no idea what he was thinking..One set of tracks went 1/4 of the way into the many one -way circular drive ways.

Rebecca,I saw your tweet ...So you are finally making the big move with the big back yard?...Good for you...Great timing ..good sellers market.

Yep,Teakwood @ 5:30 PM is a runway for those getting off work...

Edith Ann said...

You might remember a few years back when the kids joy riding came in on Teakwood from 59 and drove straight into the house in the cul de sac at the end of Teakwood. The owners were gone on vacation, thankfully, but the kid took out the side of the house! He was traveling at a high rate of speed and was only stopped by the house!

The gouge marks in the pavement on Teakwood cross over each othe at times. Looks confusing.