Yesterday I joined the cast of "Lost", that is lost in the phone system of Best Buy customer service.
Last weekend I placed an order for a $300 camera. I realized after the fact that I probably should have picked up one of their extended warranties. Without one, I will undoubtedly drop the camera on the pavement or accident scratch the lens. I looked around online to see if there was a way to order the protection, after having received the merchandise; the camera arrived on Thursday. When I couldn't find a way, I used an email link to ask customer support about picking up the protection. They emailed me back that I had to call customer support to do any post-delivery order modifications.
The call experience did not go well. After more than 12 minutes in the phone system, only about half of which was spent talking to a somewhat baffled customer service agent, I was supposedly transferred to the '.com' area. After about a minute 'on hold' the music stopped playing, but the line did not disconnect. Four minutes after the music stopped, I gave up and called back. Explaining the situation to a young man who got on the line after only about 30 seconds, I was transferred to the ".com" area as requested. Unfortunately, the young woman who picked up the phone less than a minute later couldn't help me. She said she needed to transfer me over the Geek Squad people. I told her that they were the ones who sent me over to the online orders department, since they could not see my order in their system. She kept me on hold for THIRTY FIVE minutes while she attempted to achieve a consensus with the Geek Squad. In the end, she told me that I have to go to a Best Buy store to take care of my request!
Fortunately for Best Buy, I was already planning to visit the store on the way home to pick out a new camera sleeve. My last camera was a Cannon ELPH. The new one was Power Shot. ELPH's are extremely small. Power Shots still qualify as 'pocket' cameras, but just barely, so none of my ELPH sleeves were large enough to properly hold and protect the new camera.
When I presented the situation to the customer service personnel at the Best Buy store, they were quickly able to pull up my order records. Unfortunately, they could only sell me the extended warranty based on the price of the camera in the store. (The online price was $50 less.) I explained to the clerk about the horrible phone experience, saying that I probably deserved at least a year's worth of extended protection for the investment of my time on the phone. She totally sympathized with me, so she asked a colleague if they could somehow sell me the warranty based on the lower base price of the camera. He said that there wasn't a way to override the price of a warranty in their system. I really wanted the warranty, so I paid the extra seven dollars for the in store 2 year extended warranty.
This investment of time and money will probably guarantee that nothing goes wrong with the camera, for at least two years then all bets are off.
This experience has me severely jaded against Best Buy. In summary, their online support told me to go to their phone support. Their phone support ultimately had me go to a store. Their store charged me more for the product I was trying to purchase. If it weren't for the lack of brick-and-mortar options and the fact that their prices are pretty good, I would probably stop shopping there.
Update: Best Buy sent me a survey about my telephone customer service experience. ROTFL. Both barrels.
Another Update: Best Buy actually read my feedback and had someone from their customer retention program contact me. They basically credited me about $40 to my Rewards program to make up for the time and aggravation in the situation. Not too shabby.
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Taxi Driver
I was traveling this weekend, so I decided to watch "Taxi Driver" on my iPad during the flights. I finished the very last third at home.
I can see why this film received so much critical aclaim as a 'film'. However, I do not think that I would ever recommend the movie for purely entertainment purposes. The cinematography utilized some innovative elements. And, DeNiro's portrayal of Travis was intense, for sure. Overall though, this film seemed to be about a truly disturbed individual who harbored some very extreme views on the state of society and what was necessary to improve things. I'm not sure why Jodie Foster's portrayal of Iris received so much note. She did an o.k. Job of it, but I don't think that the role was that demanding except perhaps for her reactions to the final violent confrontation scene near the end of the story.
Ultimately, unless you envision yourself asma student of 'the art of film' I see no reason to watch this endeavor.
I can see why this film received so much critical aclaim as a 'film'. However, I do not think that I would ever recommend the movie for purely entertainment purposes. The cinematography utilized some innovative elements. And, DeNiro's portrayal of Travis was intense, for sure. Overall though, this film seemed to be about a truly disturbed individual who harbored some very extreme views on the state of society and what was necessary to improve things. I'm not sure why Jodie Foster's portrayal of Iris received so much note. She did an o.k. Job of it, but I don't think that the role was that demanding except perhaps for her reactions to the final violent confrontation scene near the end of the story.
Ultimately, unless you envision yourself asma student of 'the art of film' I see no reason to watch this endeavor.
Monday, July 16, 2012
Becoming classically well-viewed
There are dozens of 'classic' movies that I have never seen. I have decided to challenge myself to correct this great deficit in my education. Every week, unless I am traveling, I will try to watch one of those many 'classic' movies. The definition of 'classic' shall include the American Film Institute's top 100 fils of all time, any Oscar nominated film that suits my fancy, and films listed in he appendix of the book The Film Club.
The first film to be digested, appreciated, and checked off the list is "Lawrence of Arabia". I was inspired to watch this one since it was an obsession of the android character in the recent movie, "Prometheus".
I will not even try to review this, or any of these films. They are after all 'classics', so there are countless reviews, summaries, and odes to these works. However, I now understand why "Lawrence of Arabia" is hailed as a 'classic'. Not only is the film full of grade A actors, giving grade a performances, but the cinematography, costumes, and score were also all wonderous. I'm definitely lookingforward to my next adventure.
The first film to be digested, appreciated, and checked off the list is "Lawrence of Arabia". I was inspired to watch this one since it was an obsession of the android character in the recent movie, "Prometheus".
I will not even try to review this, or any of these films. They are after all 'classics', so there are countless reviews, summaries, and odes to these works. However, I now understand why "Lawrence of Arabia" is hailed as a 'classic'. Not only is the film full of grade A actors, giving grade a performances, but the cinematography, costumes, and score were also all wonderous. I'm definitely lookingforward to my next adventure.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Changing Tactics
The past couple of months I've been engaged in a massive household project. I'm trying to get rid of "stuff". Stuff I don't need. Stuff I don't want in my life. Stuff I don't want to move into another house.
Motivation:
Fact: I currently live in a four level townhouse.
Fact: I have been dealing with chronic pain issues for years, and it's just been getting worse.
Fact: I am not getting any younger. (Duh, no one does!)
My plan is to get this house viewable and ready for sale by April 2014, at the latest. Not only will this involve some renovation and remodeling of the actual house. I will need to divest myself of lots of "stuff" so that the house looks more like a magazine layout than an explosion of crap.
I have found a two level condo, where the master bedroom is on the main floor. The place is a bit smaller than what I have now. Another good reason to have less stuff, aside from the fact that I really don't want to move boxes and boxes of meaningless/useless crap.
One of the contributing factors in my divorce was the ever-clutter-prone state of our living space. Another was my desire to reinvent myself into a person with a brighter and more serene outlook. All the "stuff" I find myself surrounded by not only challenges my sense of lightness and serenity, but it also reflects a past that I am growing away from. It would be easier to accomplish that growth without the hinderances of a lot of the "stuff".
Decrappification
You will notice that I used the word "crap" several times as a synonym for "stuff". When I first embarked on this project, I instantly lit upon the term. It sounds ostentatious as well as fun, doesn't it?
Decrappification involves getting rid of things that I cannot envision in my new life. I have a set of guidelines to help me determine if something needs to go:
What this means is that a lot of the following categories of items are being winnowed severely:
I recently got rid of a lot of expired and useless stuff in my bathroom. I reorganized four cabinets and the linen closet. (See evidence here )
Summary: Decrappification is my current passion. SInce it's easier to write about things that you are passionate about, AND trying to simplify a life that has been consumed by "crap" fits into the concept of "herding kittens", I will probably be reporting in on this project here now.
Motivation:
Fact: I currently live in a four level townhouse.
Fact: I have been dealing with chronic pain issues for years, and it's just been getting worse.
Fact: I am not getting any younger. (Duh, no one does!)
My plan is to get this house viewable and ready for sale by April 2014, at the latest. Not only will this involve some renovation and remodeling of the actual house. I will need to divest myself of lots of "stuff" so that the house looks more like a magazine layout than an explosion of crap.
I have found a two level condo, where the master bedroom is on the main floor. The place is a bit smaller than what I have now. Another good reason to have less stuff, aside from the fact that I really don't want to move boxes and boxes of meaningless/useless crap.
One of the contributing factors in my divorce was the ever-clutter-prone state of our living space. Another was my desire to reinvent myself into a person with a brighter and more serene outlook. All the "stuff" I find myself surrounded by not only challenges my sense of lightness and serenity, but it also reflects a past that I am growing away from. It would be easier to accomplish that growth without the hinderances of a lot of the "stuff".
Decrappification
You will notice that I used the word "crap" several times as a synonym for "stuff". When I first embarked on this project, I instantly lit upon the term. It sounds ostentatious as well as fun, doesn't it?
Decrappification involves getting rid of things that I cannot envision in my new life. I have a set of guidelines to help me determine if something needs to go:
- Will I probably have an actual use/need of this item in the next 2 years?
- If I didn't have the item and I could buy it for a dollar, would I bring it into my life?
- Does the item have some sort of emotional significance that is worth being reminded of? If so, would a picture of the item suffice?
- Does having the item bring me any measure of joy?
- Is it worth paying to have the item moved to a new house?
What this means is that a lot of the following categories of items are being winnowed severely:
- Books (already emptied four 30"x72" bookcases)
- Vinyl LPs (all gone)
- VHS tapes (one 36" shelf remain)
- CDs (most are already ripped to redundant hard drives, though I'll probably keep about 20% of the current collection)
- Clothes (ex. 4 drawers of t-shirts. Really?)
- Fabric and other crafting supplies
- Dishes (I am single and I rarely entertain. How many glasses/cups do I really need?)
I recently got rid of a lot of expired and useless stuff in my bathroom. I reorganized four cabinets and the linen closet. (See evidence here )
Summary: Decrappification is my current passion. SInce it's easier to write about things that you are passionate about, AND trying to simplify a life that has been consumed by "crap" fits into the concept of "herding kittens", I will probably be reporting in on this project here now.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
New Year's Resolutions
I didn't want to talk about my New Year's resolutions at the very end of the year or the very beginning of the year, like all the other well-intentioned folks out there. I wanted to see how well I stuck to them for the first couple of weeks of the year to see how difficult they were going to be. Two out of the three haven't been difficult at all. One is more of a challenge, but I'm starting to internalize it a bit more every day.
Before I get into what the resolutions were, I'd like to mention that the last few years have been full of resolutions and change. My life today is definitely better than it was five years ago. I'm constantly honing my outlook on what is important and what is not. I have a long way to go on my journey, but it truly is the journey that is the most important thing. I am enjoying the experience, even when things do not turn out the way I would have liked them to.
This year's resolutions probably sound a lot like other people's resolutions:
On the 'drop some weight' front, I have been following the Atkin's diet since January 1. I've dropped around seven pounds at this point. While I would prefer to have gone over to a more raw and vegan diet, I know that Atkins works for me when it comes to weight management. My basic diet consists of animal protein and leafy green vegetables. No fruit, no grain, and virtually no processed foods (unless they are zero or near-zero carbohydrates). The toughest part for me is the 'no alcohol' thing. I had gotten rather used to my after-dinner drink or two most evenings. Giving that up alone probably explains a goodly portion of the weight loss, right? Surprisingly enough, I haven't really missed it. I didn't even mind turning down the wine being passed around at a dinner party last night.
On the 'declutter' front, I am trying to weed out a little something every day from my house. Every time I fill a trash bag I feel like dancing! I have decided to MASSIVELY thin out my book collection. That is going to be extremely difficult. However, I plan to keep my eyes on the prize, as it were. One of the major driving factors behind my decrappification movement is my plans for retirement. I would like to be able to move into a dwelling with half the space that I currently have without feeling cramped in the new space. That shouldn't be too big of a hardship. My current house is about 2100 square feet. I kind of have my eye on a home in another condo community a few miles from here. The houses are not THAT much smaller (nearly 1900 square feet), but they don't have basements to hide your junk in. All the junk would be more visible. Then again, so would the Merrimack River a mere 50 yards from the patio. They also have a garage, so no more cleaning snow off of my car in the winter.
The last big resolution of 'manage money better' is the biggest challenge for me. I have never been much of a saver. I grew up in a household of limited means. Once I started earning my own money I fell into some pretty bad mental habits around 'I deserve ___'. After years of struggling with debt, I had finally cleared the balance sheets a few years ago. I was about to turn things around and begin saving for things I wanted instead of going into debt to get them. Then my husband lost his job. Then our marriage fell apart. Not only is divorce expense for the employed party of divorcing couple, but my old mind set of 'I deserve ___' came back into play under the stress of the situation. Things had calmed down a great deal by early Fall 2011. I was starting to get a handle on my money again. Then a job change with a money flow change challenged my limited financial management skills. Then a situation with my ex-husband raised my stress levels again. I am starting to recover mentally from all of those changes and challenges. But I still find myself giving into my demon more often than is wise. I think I recognize the demon now. Hopefully, that will help me from listening to it. I make a really good living. There is no reason why I should be worrying about money. I create situations for myself that cause the worry.
Perhaps by Chinese New Year I will have that last major resolution full in hand.
Before I get into what the resolutions were, I'd like to mention that the last few years have been full of resolutions and change. My life today is definitely better than it was five years ago. I'm constantly honing my outlook on what is important and what is not. I have a long way to go on my journey, but it truly is the journey that is the most important thing. I am enjoying the experience, even when things do not turn out the way I would have liked them to.
This year's resolutions probably sound a lot like other people's resolutions:
- Drop some weight
- Declutter
- Manage money better
On the 'drop some weight' front, I have been following the Atkin's diet since January 1. I've dropped around seven pounds at this point. While I would prefer to have gone over to a more raw and vegan diet, I know that Atkins works for me when it comes to weight management. My basic diet consists of animal protein and leafy green vegetables. No fruit, no grain, and virtually no processed foods (unless they are zero or near-zero carbohydrates). The toughest part for me is the 'no alcohol' thing. I had gotten rather used to my after-dinner drink or two most evenings. Giving that up alone probably explains a goodly portion of the weight loss, right? Surprisingly enough, I haven't really missed it. I didn't even mind turning down the wine being passed around at a dinner party last night.
On the 'declutter' front, I am trying to weed out a little something every day from my house. Every time I fill a trash bag I feel like dancing! I have decided to MASSIVELY thin out my book collection. That is going to be extremely difficult. However, I plan to keep my eyes on the prize, as it were. One of the major driving factors behind my decrappification movement is my plans for retirement. I would like to be able to move into a dwelling with half the space that I currently have without feeling cramped in the new space. That shouldn't be too big of a hardship. My current house is about 2100 square feet. I kind of have my eye on a home in another condo community a few miles from here. The houses are not THAT much smaller (nearly 1900 square feet), but they don't have basements to hide your junk in. All the junk would be more visible. Then again, so would the Merrimack River a mere 50 yards from the patio. They also have a garage, so no more cleaning snow off of my car in the winter.
The last big resolution of 'manage money better' is the biggest challenge for me. I have never been much of a saver. I grew up in a household of limited means. Once I started earning my own money I fell into some pretty bad mental habits around 'I deserve ___'. After years of struggling with debt, I had finally cleared the balance sheets a few years ago. I was about to turn things around and begin saving for things I wanted instead of going into debt to get them. Then my husband lost his job. Then our marriage fell apart. Not only is divorce expense for the employed party of divorcing couple, but my old mind set of 'I deserve ___' came back into play under the stress of the situation. Things had calmed down a great deal by early Fall 2011. I was starting to get a handle on my money again. Then a job change with a money flow change challenged my limited financial management skills. Then a situation with my ex-husband raised my stress levels again. I am starting to recover mentally from all of those changes and challenges. But I still find myself giving into my demon more often than is wise. I think I recognize the demon now. Hopefully, that will help me from listening to it. I make a really good living. There is no reason why I should be worrying about money. I create situations for myself that cause the worry.
Perhaps by Chinese New Year I will have that last major resolution full in hand.
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