Recent Comments:
Circuit City Botches GPS Install, $12k in Damages, Won't Pay Up {Switched.com}
Apr 1st 2008 3:56AM I'm not sure corporations give a damn anymore about bad publicity. They certainly used to! Years ago, I had a very bad run with "The Compaq from Hell" and by the time the corporate offices got wind of it, they were bending over backwards to make sure I was happy. As well they should! The average happy customer MIGHT tell one person about a good experience. The average unhappy customer will make sure NINE people hear about a bad one.
But no more... apparantly corporations have come to feel they're immune to bad publicity. Or consumers have gotten so apathetic as to believe they have no recourse (except litigation, where only the lawyers profit) and just go quietly away, tails tucked.
I don't know what the bottom line is, but even the least competent bean counter should be aware of the enormous cost of getting one new customer. To keep one happy costs pennies.
Verizon Customer Fakes Death to End Contract {Switched.com}
Mar 26th 2008 11:45AM LM: While you may not have had problems canceling your AOL account, I've heard far too many stories of pitbull-type resistance on their part not to believe there's a big hunk of truth in them.
One of my closest friends spent 6 months trying to cancel her AOL account because she couldn't get online to cancel the account!
In our faceless business world, some people have found it nearly impossible to find someone, ANYONE to agree to end their subscription, and often the only recourse is to dry up the money well, i.e., close either the bank account or credit card it's being charged to, but some have faced legal action after doing that.
Just don't assume that because your case was handled simply and easily, that everyone's experience has been the same. It hasn't.
Cell Phone Myths Explained 7 {Switched.com}
Mar 16th 2008 9:02AM This one is really funny because today MOST hospital emergency rooms ban cell phone usage! It's totally amazing how quickly and across the board this urban legend was accepted by hospital authorities!
Student Faces Expulsion Over Facebook Study Group {Switched.com}
Mar 8th 2008 2:44AM Methinks the good Professor is reacting to something he doesn't understand. Unless online collaboration had been specifically prohibited in advance, I can't see any justification for changing the student's grade from a B to an F.
This isn't high school we're talking about, this is college, and unique solutions to problems are generally lauded. College students today are doing all sorts of things online that weren't available in their parents' generation.
The Professor (or even better, the university) needs to have policies in place to deal with situations like this. In the absence of them, penalizing the first student to think of it is, IMHO, grossly unfair and possibly illegal.
Swedish Mansion: Scandinavian supermodels take over LA {Gadling}
Feb 29th 2008 12:31PM If they filmed the show in Sweden and used real Swedes, you WOULD want to visit and maybe even remain in Sweden! It's a breathtaking country, incredibly clean, even on the mass-transit trains which can get you to within reasonable walking distance of almost anywhere, and it's filled with warm, friendly people, many of whom speak English (unlike the U.S.) and are actively warm to foreign visitors. I've been pondering returning for good for 10 years since I visited, and one day I may make good on it. It's certainly a more pleasant place to live than the U.S. is becoming.
The Hottest Newscasters: Readers' Choice Edition -- Vote for Your Favorite {Asylum}
Feb 29th 2008 12:24PM I notice that more than half of the hotties are brown-eyed, which is generally associated with reliability and trust-worthiness. Seems like the old stereotypes still apply, even in a totally visually oriented age.
Ped Egg Torment {News Bloggers}
Feb 11th 2008 11:42AM It seems like they respond a lot more quickly to "YES" than "NO".
You're a lot more persistant than I would have been... I would have hung up long ago and the hell with the Ped Eggs!
I'd thought about ordering one, but NO! way after seeing this!
First Photo of Brit Post-Psych Ward {TMZ}
Feb 6th 2008 6:41PM The sad part of Britney's hit-and-run approach to rehab is that she'll probably wind up like many of Hollywood's other brightest and best, (not necessarily saying she's either, but enough people seem to think so to give her the benefit of the doubt) and that's dead. Dead and gone, and not remembered for being anything more than a wild child who DESPERATELY needed help! With some of the stunts she's pulled in recent months, she's living on borrowed time now. The Good Luck Fairy will eventually get bored with her antics and she'll wrap herself around a tree, drive off a cliff, or something equally devastating. If she's NOT lucky, she'll actually survive it, only as a veggie salad.
I've got to believe this is largely the fault not just of Britney, for ultimately we all have to take responsibility for our own actions, but also of those around her. Not her parents, it seems like they're really trying to protect her from herself, but that sleazy part-time "manager" and the paparazzi boyfriend... I mean really Brit, can you expect him to have your best interests at heart when his career depends on him not to???
I hope her family can convince her to STAY in treatment this time. It's the only way she'll ever see her precious children again, and maybe in time, to rebuild her badly damaged career. No reputable manager would touch her with a 10 foot pole until he gets her act together. It's only going to be downhill from here.
12-Year-Old Olympic Hopeful Crushed to Death by Horse {AOL Sports Blog}
Feb 2nd 2008 3:43PM While this is, of course, a tragedy, I don't believe that horseback riding and jumping are "high risk" as stated in the article. This is just a horribly sad freak accident. She could have just as easily died in a "safe" sport such as competition swimming or diving. We can't protect children so much that it interferes with their growing up. I feel terribly for this young lady and everyone who loved her, but I know they find comfort in knowing that she died doing something she truly loved, as I did when I was riding and jumping at her age.
Unhappy with your cruise? Stage a mutiny! {WalletPop}
Dec 18th 2007 1:55PM On my second cruise in October 2006, (and yes, I know that's the end of the hurricane season) there was a hurricane bearing down on South Florida for several days prior to our departure date. I phoned Carnival Cruiselines repeatedly in the days leading up to it, trying to get information about whether the cruise would be cancelled. I grew up in Miami and know well how erratic the weather can be. They were able to give me NO information, except "keep watching our website". I finally got to the point (the day before the departure of the ship) where I had to make a decision based on very little information, whether to leave Tennessee for Miami and pray that the ship sailed or to stay home and pray that it didn't.
Because travel insurance wouldn't have covered the loss if I decided to stay home and the ship did sail, I decided to take the risk, very concerned that I might get stuck in Miami for the duration of the storm. And judging by the damage done to Miami-Fort Lauderdale, I was right about that concern.
The decision to sail was made less than 3 HOURS before departure! In fact, Port of Miami was closed immediately after my ship departed. The trip was horribly rough, I came home after 7 days with bruises all over from being slammed into walls. We went through one other smaller hurricane and a tropical storm while at sea. Our stop in Nassau was cancelled completely and all outdoor activities were closed on the ship.
And what did Carnival offer us for this inconvenience and discomfort? NADA, NICHT, NOTHING. Their sincere apologies. (Gee, thanks!) The ship never should have sailed in that weather, and passengers should have been given 24 hours warning to make the decision whether to travel or not.
There were a lot of positive things about the cruise: the staff was wonderful, the food was excellent, and for the money, I like Carnival Cruises... they minimize the frills and let you purchase them extra if you want them. But Carnival Corporate wasn't one of them. In their efforts to squeeze the dollar so tightly it squeaks, they inconvenienced and I honestly believe endangered their passengers. There should have been some sort of compensation offered.
