This isn’t the Windows 95 launch

On the train home this week I heard the following conversation take place between two men, probably both in their mid 30’s:

Man #1: Did you hear Windows Vista is out today?

Man #2: Yes, I saw the article in the Times.

Man #1: Are you going to upgrade?

Man #2: I don’t see the need. Windows XP works fine. What will Vista do for me?

Man #1: Hmmmm……..I’m not sure. I think it just looks newer.

I don’t think these two guys are very far from the norm. Windows XP is good enough for a lot people and they won’t go Vista until they buy a new machine and have no choice. I work in the computer/software business and am around technology all day. I read probably 30+ magazine and even I am hard pressed to tell people what they gain by upgrading to Vista. That the backup options have been beefed up substantially is important to me but many people won’t care. Updated icons, Sidebar, thumbnail preview are minor updates.

I remember the excitement surrounding the Windows 95 and XP launch. The reasons to upgrade were easy to understand. One main reason to upgrade was to stop your computer from crashing. I don’t think that’s a reason to upgrade to Vista now that XP is so stable for most people. Will you upgrade to Vista or stick with XP?

But where is the real product?

I went to Fry’s Electronics this afternoon to look at portable CD/MP3 players for the kitchen. They had the largest selection of players, speakers and portable boom boxes I’ve seen. I spent about 20 minutes looking at all of them and decided on a JVC model after testing out the display model. Underneath the display case was where all the real product was boxed and organized. But there was no JVC box to be found. I spent another 10 minute looking around again and found a Sony that would work. I went looking for it, but no such luck. I did this for three more models and none were in stock. At no point did a single sales associate approach me and ask if they could help. Maybe they had stock in the back, but I wouldn’t know since nobody was around to ask. So I spent over 45 minutes struck out. Maybe I’ll have better luck looking at iPods.

I walked over the iPod section. Fry’s keeps all their iPods in a black cage about three feet off the floor. I stood near the cage for about 10 minutes playing with the display iPods they had hooked up to several speaker systems. Not a single person approached me. But I counted 6 employees no further than 10 feet from me who were talking about their vacation time. I walked over to one of them (the one wearing a black suit as I figured he was the manager) and asked him what the price is for one of the iPods. He told me the price. But he didn’t ask anymore questions. He didn’t ask if he could take one out of the black magic cage for me. He didn’t make any attempt to sell me anything! All he said was, “If you want one, just ask one of the guys with the keys and he’ll get you one”.

So not only do I need to (again) approach a sales person but I need to find one with “the keys”? Well, it’s Friday and I’m tired and that just sounds like too much work to do right now for the privilege of giving you my money.

To be fair, I’ve purchased a lot of products at Fry’s and usually they are very helpful and kind. But they were not on their A-game today. And they lost a couple of sales because of that.

Viewsonic email needs a spell checker

When I open Outlook to ready my email, the first two things I notice are the recipient and subject of the email. Check out the email below which I received from Viewsonic. They probably got my email address off a mail in rebate from a Viewsonic LCD monitor I purchased last year. Now, every so often they spam me.

I’ll bet this same email was sent to thousands of Viewsonic customers. I wonder how many noticed the problem with the subject line. I’ll bet this email was written on a Windows PC because doesn’t Apple have a system wide spell checker?

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Good service experience

Although the bad customer service is usually more memorable, I’m going to try posting when I’ve received excellent service as well.

While Kim was out of town last week, I took the kids out to eat a few times since my cooking skills are sorely lacking. I appreciate company’s like Arbys where I can order drinks other than soda and fruit instead of fries. I ordered a couple of kids meals with chicken fingers, fruit cups and chocolate milk. A nice lady brought our order to where we were sitting but I noticed the chocolate milk as missing. I was about to get up when the manager walked over to our table and said, “I noticed you have three small children so I cut the straws in half which should make it easier for them to drink the chocolate milk”. Maybe it took her only a few minutes but that extra touch was memorable.

The other good customer service experience we had took place at Denny’s. We went here the night we dropped Kim off at the airport and the evening she arrived back in town since the kids love having breakfast for dinner and it was close to the SeaTac airport. We received very good service both times. Our server brought over a stack of crayons, napkins, and paper for the kids to color. On our 2nd visit, we had the same server and our kids were so excited when she remembered their names. We had about 45 minutes to kill before Kim arrived and she asked if she could clear our table and bring over a few activities for the kids to do while we waited. The kids were so excited. She brought over items for the kids to color and fun masks for them to wear. Some places may have shunned a dad with three kids who would surely make a mess. But we were welcomed with open arms and were not made to feel rushed.

An Education in 4 Days

Kim arrived home early this morning from her brief tip to St. George and I can proudly proclaim that the kids and I didn’t burn down the house. We broke a Nintendo, jumped on un-made beds, fed Elka a bowl of Mac and Cheese, and stayed up late to watch Charlie’s Angels reruns on Nick, but the house is still standing.

This was the longest duration (4 days) I’ve ever been responsible for all three kids without any help from Kim, grandparents or medication. I jotted down a few things that I learned during this time:

1. There are two ways to do things: The Right Way (the way mom does it) and The Wrong Way (everyone else’s way) I’d be a rich man if I had a quarter for every time I heard the phrase, “But that’s NOT the way mom does it” over the four days.

2. You can never have enough chocolate milk in the house.

3. I spent approximately 129 hours doing laundry. And that doesn’t include any ironing, pre-soaking, pre-spotting or pre-counseling.

4. A person could never have enough eyes on their head to keep track of Anna Lynn at all times.

5. The best games are those that are made up on the spot. Their two favorite games were “Guess the Animal” and “Watch dad walk around with his shorts pulled up to his armpits/shirt over his head, “Cornholio” style.

6. Chores get done faster and better when it’s part of a game as in “Let’s see how fast you can lay away your church clothes….the winner gets to help me take out the garbages!!”

7. Never assume that the color of the cup, spoon or cup doesn’t matter. Getting the right color combinations is a matter of life or death.

8. At bedtime no matter how many stories you read, it will NEVER be enough.

9. When one of the kids says, “I need to go potty” that doesn’t mean when the meal is over, when you get home or in the next few minutes. It means, grab the kids and beeline it to the bathroom.

10. There are two kinds of Grandmas and Grandpas: One with Brooke that lives “really far away” and one with Ozzie that lives “really really far away”.

But the best thing I learned over the 4 days is that we have three great kids. Some of the best times were when one was on my lap and the other two were leaning on my shoulders while we watched that guy who lives in a pineapple under the sea. It was a hectic and crazy 4 days at times. And I’d do it again…..when they are old enough to do their own laundry.

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We Double Checked Your Order

Maybe it’s always been this way and I’ve only recently noticed. But getting an order correct at fast food drive-thru is really a vanishing art these days. When we go through the drive-thru and our order is correct, it’s the exception rather than the rule. Here’s my take on a few of our favorite places:

McDonald’s – They used to be one of the better ones until some knucklehead marketer back at corporate came up with the idea to add a “DOUBLE CHECKED” sticker to each bag. The last thing these employees need is another task to complete while trying to fulfill orders. Who has time to put stickers on the bags when you’ve got hot fries to bag? If I worked here, I’d put the stickers on the bags during the down times. Their people are either really nice or can’t get you out of there any faster. I like that the manager gets his or her own special shirt. If they happen to take your order you can usually just drive home.

Arbys – At least they make it interesting. Every order is a new adventure. We’ve ordered chicken strips and received roast beef sandwiches. On a positive note, when they do make a mistake it’s usually in your favor. I don’t know how many times we’ve come home with an extra sandwich and fries. But definitely check your bag before pulling away. That Market Fresh sandwich you ordered just very may well have turned into an order of Jalapeno Poppers. Lots of mistakes but in an endearing sort of way.

Taco Time – Good thing our kids like their food so much. Like Arby’s they make things interesting but in a bad sort of way. Mistakes never seem to favor you. Not the place to go if you’re in a hurry as it takes long enough that you feel everything was made from scratch. It’s odd they make so many mistakes here because they have a relatively simple menu. The difficulty we’ve had with them is getting soft and crisp bean burritos mixed up. Or just not including items and coming home short handed. They also don’t take Amex which is annoying. I took the kids here last night and they charged 37 cents to use Visa. Huh? You’re going inside to straighten out your order regardless so just avoid the drive thru all-together and grab a table.

Jack in the Box – I’ve not had any problems with these guys, but I don’t go here very often anymore since I started Atkins. They have good burgers but don’t go here trying to order the Chicken Caesar Salad or a Roast Beef and Swiss wrap as Kim found out. They have some of the most laid back employees I’ve ever seen. Uniforms must be optional. If you go here late at night you’re bound to see friends of workers hanging around. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that I’ve been served by one of these unofficial helpers. One of my favorite things about Jack in the Box is the picture of the random dessert near the drive-thru window. One month it’s a slice of key lime pie. The next month it’s cheese cake. Just seems a bit too classy an offering for this place.

Wendy’s – Consistently the best drive-thru experience of them all. They have a really good Caesar salad and I like that the kids meals have options other than fries. Our kids love the mandarin oranges. They have the dual drive thru windows like McDonald’s and take Amex. A few times when we’ve had to wait longer than normal they have tossed in something extra. The only downside I can think of is the picture of the triple burger makes me sick to my stomach. Oh ya, and they got rid of the fruit bowl they used to offer last year.

Taco Bell – We used to go here often and had our share of mix-ups but they try hard. A couple of things make me laugh here. The first is the LED sign near the drive-thru window that has, in big red numbers, the amount of your order. Just below the amount is a sign that says something like, “If you’re asked to pay anything other than the above amount, please contact this number”. Makes me wonder if they recruit ex-cons or something. The second thing is the big countdown timer that’s prominently displayed. I’m sure other establishments have a similar timer, but Taco Bell wants to make sure every drive-thru customer sees that their employees are under the gun to fill your order. I don’t think I could handle a job that every transaction I handle is being timed and recorded.

Dairy Queen – Another place we used to go often before Aktins. Not for the food but for the ice cream. They know how to please the kids by handing out suckers, double cupping your shakes or putting the ice cream in a cup lid, making it easier for kids to eat. And any place that gives out “dog cones” can’t be too bad. We never loved their food but we liked their treats a lot.

Real Estate Agent Spam

A while back I listed our home for rent or purchase on Craigslist. Since that time we’ve received dozens of real estate agent spam. Some of the tactics these agents use are hilarious. The most popular is the patronizing, “We understand why you’d want to sell your home on your own” spiel. followed quickly with a list of reasons a person would have to be stupid to sell a home my himself. Here’s where the horror stories come into play. They give examples of people who were sued, lost money or got duped out of their home due to a legal technicality. I’m sure this happens but these pitches make it sounds like 9 out of 10 deals go terrible wrong for the seller.

One agent has been sending us email and snail mail spam for over 6 months now. Here is what I wonder about: Does this agent think that if he keeps sending us horror stories eventually one will “hit home” and we’ll cave into having him represent us?

We’ve used an agent for every home transaction we’ve ever made. I see the value of having an agent especially when you’re new to the game. And it really is a game. But the last home we purchased Kim and I found the house. The value of the agent came in the form of making sure the right paperwork was taken care of. There are many attorneys who can do the thing for possibly a lot less money. We decided not to sell our house last year. But when we do we’ll evaluate all our options. And one of them won’t be calling Mister Windermere Spammer.

My favorite real estate sites: Trulia, Zillow, Refin, Housing Maps

Mentioning blog on customer support call

I recently purchased a product online, the company charged my Visa but the product never arrived. I wasn’t getting anywhere when I called to speak with customer support. Things hit a low point when I was told it wasn’t their problem I didn’t receive the item I paid for and that I should call the USPS since they are responsible for delivering it.

Before I got off the phone, I asked for the person’s name and said, “I’d like to make sure I spell it correctly when I post the details of my experience with your company on my blog this evening”. Less than 2 hour later I received a call back from this same person saying he’d discussed the situation with his manager and the decision was made to send out a replacement item which they did.

I’m not sure how I feel about mentioning my blog in this type of situation. I’m happy at the outcome but wonder if I went too far. The item in question was just over $100 in value. I was more upset and frustrated with how I had been treated when I called than I was about the money.