By, SoccerMom
I have both Canada Savings Bonds and Ontario Savings Bonds for my kids and with the move you are required to let the company holding the Ontario Bonds know your new address as this is an outsourced company not tied to your info. As we have now been here long enough that our change of address has run out at the post office, I finally got around to calling them. I know, shame on me but in my defense I am not normally a procrastinator.
I call the 1-800 number to make sure they have my new info only to be told, “I can not help you, you have to submit your info in writing” ~ I now have that tilted head what look...
My question to you phone answer person who is sitting there being paid not to help is;
~ Why are you there?
~ Why do you put your phone number on your paperwork, if you have no intention of assist people?
~Why do you post your website on your info again if we can’t get help unless it is sent into your physical address?
What the heck…
If you are going to be there and not actually help then you need to have an automated attendant that just keeps you in phone-loop-hell.
Why pick-up the phone and frustrate people?
Oh wait I'm having a light-bulb moment... I get it now!!
This is a government agency and their job is to annoy and frustrate people not help.
My bad for getting worked up.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
#40 - The Don't Help Line...
Monday, April 28, 2008
Sunday, April 27, 2008
#38 - Complain, Complain, Complain
By, Lady Java
I hate Malaysian roads. Yes I absolutely hate them. I hate that there are no proper road signs and even when there are, the route always take you through the longer way. I hate there are holes everywhere and I hate that there are so many detour, I always end up lost all the time.
Once I was picking up my friend at the airport and I missed the turn to go the highway. I thought taking the next exit was the safest best so I could turn back and make a turnaround. Due to no proper signage, suffice to say I was 4hours late picking my friend up. 
Then there were times when we had to cancel going to a relative wedding which was held at their home coz we got lost along the way due to, again, lack of road signs. 
Can you now see why I don't go anywhere without hubby in tow??
Friday, April 25, 2008
#37 - Desperate Blogging with Blog Traffic Sites
By, Matthew S. Urdan
I've belonged to several Blog Traffic Sites designed to increase traffic to bloggers. However, I have never seen so much complaining about a site as I have hear on EntreCard, and I've only been on EntreCard for a couple weeks. First there was the complaining about the change in the point system, and then there was the complaining about the placing of the EntreCard widget on the blog, and then there was complaining that while EntreCard does increase traffic to a site, it really doesn't generate that many regular readers as Desperate Bloggers just "Drop 'N Go."
My response, everyone, is please, just give it a rest. Seriously.
These Blog Traffic sites are FREE. These Blog Traffic Sites generate traffic. They are also fun. In the two weeks I've been a member of EntreCard, my Alexa Rank has gone up from 16 million to 3 million. Not that I care, I'm not blogging to make money. But EntreCard works. But do I really expect that all members who find my site are going to become regular readers? Well no!
The truth of the matter is, I drop n run. But while the site is loading and while I'm searching for an EntreCard, I come across some blogs over and over again. In just the few seconds it takes for me to scroll, I can read a headline. I can look at a graphic. If something attracts my attention, I'll stop and read. If it doesn't or if the site is not updated often, I just drop my card and move on. I think most people pretty much do the same. This doesn't mean a blog traffic site doesn't work, it means your content isn't as appealing to the entire blogosphere as you thought it was. So don't blame the Blog Traffic sites bringing traffic to your site.
Personally, in two weeks, I've found about 20 blogs I read regularly now and I've made some new friends and a couple of really good friends. This stuff takes time. It takes work, and you have to comment and build relationships with other bloggers. No blog traffic site is a miracle cure. If you want traffic, you have to take time to interact with other bloggers and build a critical mass. If you're willing to do that, that all these Blog Traffic Sites are 100% successful as the TOOLS they are intended to be.
Thanks for reading.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
#36 - The Dress ~ Part 2
By, SoccerMom
The Dress ~ Part 2
On April 18 the Manager from Bellissima in Square One sent a message to me to ask me to contact her. I received the message on the 19th and called her right away. She said she was very busy in her store and asked if I could call back I asked
her if Mon would be better and she said yes. As at this point I was please that she was making an effort. I called her Mon and she told me that she wanted to fix this could I come in I asked when she would be in and she said she worked 2 to 9. told her
I would be in Tues or Wed. She said she told me to bring in the dress but I did not hear that.
I went to the store Monday approx 3:35 or so and asked the clerk is Kavi was there. She was sitting on the floor assisting someone and I said who I was, she asked if I could wait a few minutes and I said of course finish helping that customer at this time I stepped back from the counter and away from any traffic in the store. She was then finished and come over to see me.
I opened the original receipt and put it on the counter and she asked me where the dress was. I told her I did not have it as it was at my seamstress being altered. She said oh I wanted the dress back and I was going to give you your money back. I again said well I am sorry it is being altered and that I was surprised that she was not going to refund my $100.00, she again
repeated if you give me back my dress I will give you a refund and we can be done with this. I once again explained that the dress was being altered. Again she said well you just bring it back and I will give you your money. Once again I said the dress is being altered besides my daughter loved the dress and all I wanted was my money back.
We then got into the price tag switching and at that time she said. Well we had gotten a lot of clothes in at that time and maybe the girls marked it wrong at 49.99 she had not had a chance to come over to the store and check everything that weekend, I told her about the various tags and at that time she said my girls said that did not happen and I have to believe my girls so immediately I said are you calling me a liar? She said oh no but my girls said that they did not touch the tags. I said do you think I would have gone to all this trouble if I was lieng. She again said I did not say that. Again I said yes you did , do you think I would have had spent this much time and energy and involved all these people and authorities and she said in a very snotty condescending tone yes I know you called the mall, and the police and the Toronto Star.
She then turned to her clerk working with her and said she claims that the dress is being altered and I said I don't claim it is.
She then said she had to call her Manager/Office and got a voice mail so she said it was going to be about 10 min
before someone got back to her. She put the phone down and then called another someone and spoke in her Indian language and said she in English is claiming that the dress is altered again I said it is and that is when I pulled out the claim tag from my seamstress and showed her and said not claims it is being altered.
She said well my girls said she left the store and went to Sear and saw a dress that you like better for $49.00 and that you wanted your money back. I said that is not right I left your store and went around the corner and when I realize what she had done I immediately returned to your store you can watch the mall video tapes. She did not respond to that. She said well my girl has worked her for over a year and I believe her. I again said are you calling me a liar, she did not respond again. She then said well I paid 89.00 for the dress so I can sell it to you for that I said look I though I was coming her to get my money back and you were going to do the right thing but all you are doing is upsetting me again and wasting my time I came here out of my way to which she responded well I am going out of my way.
I was totally taken back at this point and almost in tears from her abuse, but I did manage to hold it together.
I have to tell you I am very surprised that she is able to stay in business when treating customers in this manor. I am also surprised that this type if business is allowed to be in such an upscale mall.
She now has my original receipt and I will not be going back to her store ever again, I will not subject myself to her abuse or her staff's lies. I have now made three extra trips to the mall to deal with this and left the mall in tears twice.
I can tell you this come graduation time from high-school I am heading to Buffalo to get "that's the dress"
I know no one at Walden Galleria would ever do this to a customer they understand the value of a customer.
#35 - Ladies Unite it's a Dress Fight…
By, SoccerMom
I took The girl out to find a grade dress and this my friends is not an easy task. But we did manage to find “The Dress” it is a really cute cotton orange halter that is not too revealing and will be dressy enough and great for grad (pics to come). As we are checking out I am not paying attention to the cashier lady but rather The girl and I are talking about shoes and things that would look cute with the dress (like any mom and daughter would be), when the cashier puts the changes through, I sign the credit-card slip and out of the store we go.
A few seconds later I went to put something in my purse and opened the bill only to see that instead of $49.99 she changed me $149.99 so I immediately went back to the store and explained she had over charged me to which she replies “No I did not”, Hey lady “yes you did”. I showed The girl the price and commented how proud her dad would be at our fab find. She had taken the sale tag off the dress and discarded it. And while we were gone she did the same thing to the only other dress in the store that was the same as the one we just purchased.
She out-right refused to refund my money or help me in any way, so I told her I wanted to talk to the Manager so she called the Manager and spoke to her in some East/Asian Indian dialect that I do not understand then hands me the phone, at this point the Manager basically tells me "Pound-salt" I bought it, no refund. I am so upset that I go get Mall Security to see if they can Mediate this as there is nothing that this store will do. All they had to do was refund my credit card but she absolutely refused. She called her manager again and spoke some East/Asian Indian dialect then handed the phone to the Security Lady. At this point the security tells her the right thing to do it just refund my money, again she flat out refused.
I can not believe in this day and age that someone would try this. See what I think is these be-otches forgot about is some mom’s love to blog, yup especially this one and to tell their stories of wrong doing is one of their favorite things to do!! So that old tell one friend now becomes tell 100’s of friends in a snap.
So ladies please listen closely;
I need all those in the GTA and immediate surrounding area to tell everyone they know about my story ~ DO NOT whatever you do shop at Bellissima Boutique located at Square One in Mississauga. As this is where this happened to me. They also have a location in Pickering and at Cloverdale Mall. Also they operate at Cloverdale as second location under the name Fine Clothing Limited. And if that was not enough they also have a store in or near Sherway Gardens by the name of Josephine Shum in addition the other two that I just mentioned.
See I think that they forgot that at grad time a lot of other moms have a lot of influence on where “The Dress” is purchased and since I am in Stoney Creek where it more then matters what your daughter looks like that anywhere else in Ontario, she chose the wrong person to pick-on.
Oh yes, I did contract three major consumer assistance ombusmen who report for three major media outlets in Ontario along with the Mall Management who said they will do everything to make this right
~ Hey be-otches ~ who’s laughing now…
#34 - Better Service Please!
By, Farah
There are a lot of things here which I am not satisfied about. I don't think I have to time to list down everything, so, I'll just highlight a few. First, about 'goods sold are not returnable or refundable'!
Well, if we are talking about 'goods' such as food or drinks then fine- totally and definitely acceptable, but I am referring to material goods. Why is it in Malaysia, the policy is as such? Recently, I entered a PC store to get a laptop
sleeve, I took one out and I wasn't quite sure if it would fit my laptop, so, I checked with the salesman. He told me that, it might fit (after telling him what my laptop make and model is), so, fine, I bought it. While at the cashier, I was still unsure about the size, so, I told him that if it doesn't fit, I would come and get a change (a different size). Straight away, he stopped and told me, "NO".I was stunned and asked why not? He told me that once bought, I can't change or get a refund. I was pissed at the statement and told him that I am not asking for a cash refund, I might just have to change the size of the laptop sleeve. He told me that, it is not possible because he would have to do a lot of 'work on the cash register'. I said- so what, just do it, I can wait if I have to! At that instant, my blood had really rose up to my head! I said, fine, I don't want this bag now and he asked me why? He told me that I can't return it since he has punched it in the cash register, until and unless it's faulty or damaged! So, I asked him, if it was really damaged and I need to get my money back, what would he have to do? He said, he would have to go thru a lot of of 'processes' again before giving my money back. Angrily, I grabbed the laptop sleeve, and within 30 seconds, I spotted a 'damaged corner' at the item and DEMANDED my money back. To my surprise, he gave my money back in less than a minute- so, what was all the 'fuss about processes' about?? Just lazy? or just lying? or maybe just stupid?
I think the retail system and policy we have in Malaysia is just so pathetic and obtuse! It is not giving any rights to consumers. Stores might be selling broken goods, and you don't realise it. You might be buying it and bringing it back home only to realise that it is broken! After that, if you go back to the store to complain, it will be your fault for not checking it first before purchasing- they don't give you any returns or refunds even when it's not your fault at all!
Similarly, recently, I was shopping in Body Shop, Penang, Malaysia. I bought myself the Vitamin E moisture cream and paid for it. Then, as I was walking out of the store, on a different shelf, I saw the Vitamin E moisturiser with SPF 15- which I thought would be better than the one I had just paid for. (Bear in mind that I have not left the store yet). I took the other moisturiser and told the cashier I want to change the earlier one to this later one (the one I took later was more expensive, so, I thought I would just pay the difference). Believe it or not- they refused! Once sold, it can't be changed! HOW BIZARRE???? Just plain idiots! I have not even stepped out of the store yet! They said it's the store's policy- that's what they've been instructed to do.
Why can't we be like countries such as UK or US. Almost all items (of course not the undies and other tangible items) sold are returnable/ refundable/ exchangeable within a certain period of time with the original receipts. Below is an excerpt of the return policy in almost every stores in UK:
I better stop now...I am getting angry! hahahahahahah
#33 - Hwingin' and Complainin': Your Patriot Media Internet Service is Going to Be Comcastic!
By, Roxiticusdh
Mariuca tagged me a couple days ago with the following "Complaint Meme," and now I have just the rant for her, so here goes!
The following message from Comcast and Patriot Media showed up in my e-mail last Thursday, April 17th.
You might be asking yourself, "What is going to happen to my Internet services?" Oh, no, I don't have to ask myself, I know it is nothing good.
Be on the lookout for your invitation to transfer your Patriot e-mail account(s) to Comcast. Please keep an eye out for this email--it will inform you when the change to Comcast has begun and provide instructions for you to begin the email transfer process. Yes, in the last two months, you've signed up for thirty-seven (37) blogging-related services with your @patmedia e-mail address, so now we're going to change it to @comcast and stop forwarding your mail. Just Comcastic!
We are working to make the transition to Comcast High-Speed Internet as smooth and easy as possible. However, during this transition, you may experience some temporary service interruptions. You will have to completely re-boot your computer over and over again to restore your annoyingly intermittent Internet access. Your Internet will shut down every time you attempt to post to your blog, or leave a comment on Other People's Blogs (OPB). Should this occur, we appreciate your patience and understanding. We know you're getting madder and madder; however, we know where you live and you don't know where we live. Please be assured that we will act quickly to fix any problems and minimize your inconvenience. We don't really care one bit.
Should you encounter connectivity issues, you may be able to resolve them on your own by following these simple steps:
If you are experiencing connectivity issues with your high-speed Internet service, you will need to reset your Internet modem. To do this, simply unplug the modem for a minimum of 60 seconds, plug it back in, and then restart your computer. If a router is connected to your high-speed Internet modem, please follow the manufacturer's instructions to reboot it.
Shut down your laptop. Get out of bed. Go down two flights of stairs to cable modem central in the basement. Stub toe on children's craft project left out on the floor by the stairs. Turn modem off, name the capitals of all 50 United States, then turn modem back on and start on international capitals....or whatever they call them DownUndah (hi, Buffy!). If any of the green lights turn on and stop flashing wildly, count your blessings and go up one flight of stairs to the office and turn the router off and on. Watch for more encouraging green lights. Go back upstairs, get in bed, turn on laptop. Still no Internet? Go ahead and use those words, your kids have been asleep for hours.
Your world is about to be Comcastic! Brought to you by the same Comcastic people who shut your cable service down in Bay Head, may never turn it on again, and keep asking you to return your modem (which was purchased online at Circuit City) to the local Comcast office in Brick, NJ.
Roxiticus Desperate Housewives
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
#32 - Hard Shell Plastic Packaging
By, Hoover Maneuver
Why? Why oh why do they use that awful hard-shell plastic packaging for so many products today?
I bought a flash drive a few weeks ago and for the life of me, I couldn't get the darn thing out of the package with my bare hands. So, I resorted to the teeth.
Nope...no good. Then I had to break out a box-cutter razor. So I sliced a hole in the package and then reached in with my fingers to pull the plastic pieces apart. Guess what? I cut my fingers on the plastic that I had just cut!
Ugh! I've heard the phrase, "wrap rage" to define how frustrating it is to try to open these things. I think that sounds about right! The Consumer Product Safety Commission says thousands of people are injured every year by trying to open these sealed plastic packages! 
It's gotten so bad, some companies are selling products like the "Open X" just to help you open the other products you bought! (Oh...and in case you were wondering...the Open X comes in a cardboard package!)
Let's be honest: I know that retailers are demanding packaging that deters theft. But there has to be a better way, doesn't there? I mean, it's 2008 for crying out loud. Maybe we aren't to the point where we are driving flying cars or colonizing Mars, but you can't tell me that we can't come up with a better solution to plastic packaging!
Or maybe we can at least come up with a better use for it. What if clamshell plastic packaging was how we wrapped all nuclear weapons? Then we'd never have to worry about a nuclear war! Who's gonna take the time? Or think about how much weight we'd all lose if candy bars came wrapped in this stuff. But oh no! They want THAT to be easily accessible!
Hard Shell Plastic Packaging
#31 - Well, My Turn
By, Zubli
Well, my turn…
So, do I wanna complain? Yes!
http://www.soyouwanttocomplain.blogspot.com/
Selangor is rich with abundance sources, resources, and opportunities.
As a Consultant, I place my expertise with two Consultancy Training Companies at Shah Alam.
We prepared our proposals, and began marketing.
Soon enough, we see that what is a tiny light of a chance became darkness of nothing, when opportunities are no longer there for us to enjoy this huge economic cake. Yes, in Selangor.
My complaint is: Units, Departments, Agencies, and the Public Sector in Selangor already have their own consultancy and training companies engaged for the next number of years. To us, the number can be a hundred. So, these two companies in Shah Alam, Selangor, shall be given nothing.
We have also met at least two Yang Berhormat s, who refused to benefit from our consultancy and training expertise, to develop their kawasan (areas).
Perhaps, the message is clear, you must be UMNO, Barisan Nasional, one who says what I prefer to say.
or go here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrCdvdgexvY
Thus, from 1999, 2004…we get almost nothing. Apart from gaining a bit from the private sector.
Boom! 2008 in the 12th Malaysian General Election, Barisan Nasional lost Selangor, and now Bulatan Alternatif leads this state.
One of the companies I am with, met the new Menteri Besar, Abdul Khalid Ibrahim.
 | Abdul Khalid Ibrahim dilahirkan pada … 314 x 461 - 116k - jpg ijok2007.files.wordpress.com |
My friend told me, yesterday Abdul Khalid Ibrahim who now sit on the Menteri Besar Chair of Selangor, said, “We are not like Barisan Nasional people. We prefer to share the cake with all concerned. So, please set up a Consortium of Consultants and Trainers, so that the Selangor Government can past this opportunity to the Consortium, and the Consortium will share amongst its members.”
Well, how nice.
 | Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim 375 x 511 - 144k - jpg ijok2007.files.wordpress.com |
Are we grateful? Yes!
http://areyougrateful.blogspot.com/
We know that when it is the Barisan Nasional leading Selangor, we cannot earn from providing consultancy and training services, so when Bulatan Alternatif did promise, we may not earn, but again we hold to the promise, perchance, there is a chance.
A chance is now offered. Wow!
#30 - Complain, complain
By, Emila
Complaint 1: The sign shows it opens at 11.00am; as my watch showed 11.01am, I walked in and sit. I sat down for 5 minutes or so until one of the waitress finally looked at me and asked,"Having here?" in a rushing manner, without even caring to say good morning and address me well. She didn’t approach my table, instead asking from where she was at, about 5 metres away.
"Having here" I said, a bit annoyed.
"But the kitchen is not open yet," she replied, half screaming.
I got angry instantly, enough not to say anything. I got up from the seat, looked at her with the you-suck look and just walked out. Another waitress who was just finished cleaning up the corridor went in and asked me, " Do you want anything?" Her mop was so close to my face. I simply said, "you girls are ridiculous!" and walked away.
No I don’t want anything, I went in because I want to lurk you girls and watch you work. Eeee!!! Of course I want something, I wouldn’t have been there the first place.
Complaint 2: Again, I was disappointed with a bad service at a local restaurant. When a nasi lemak that my husband and I ordered failed to reach our table, my husband decided to cancel the order. We’ve been waiting like 40 minutes and even finished our coffee. I asked my husband to wait and went to find somebody to talk too. I found one at the cashier counter and gave her a long ‘pep talk’! After the final question, "how long does it take to prepare one, actually?", I got the nasi lemak within a blink of an eye! Yassin was so hungry that I pitied him for the long wait.
Want another one?
Complaint 3: I went to one of those franchise well known cafe/bistro and ordered a grilled chicken. After awhile, I ordered another one (takeaway) for my mom. I called the waitress and placed my order but I was quite surprised when she told me ‘there’s no more stock, the new stock will arrived shortly ‘. It was only 12.00 noon, and they just opened at 11.30am. "So how short is ’shortly’?" I asked. She went to the counter and asked her supervisor. She came back and said, "6.00pm". Of course I was mad like crazy! I don’t really know how the franchise system works but they should’ve make sure that there were enough stocks in store for customers who have 10 kids who will probably order 10 same exact meals!
If only they were in Facebook, I would super poke them! 
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
#29 - Boo to Bad Service!
By, Marzie
Boy, do I have something to complain about today! If you know me well enough, you'd know that I am a stickler for excellent customer service. I can't stand inefficiency or being put on a wild goose chase when the person in charge obviously doesn't know his job enough to give me an acceptable answer. Last week, we decided to stay in and order Mc Donald's for dinner, since we were lazy to go out. Besides, it was Idol night, which means we'd be glued in front of the TV, so a home delivery was a perfect solution - or so we thought!
We were in the mood for some fried chicken, so I asked for 2 Fried Chicken value meals. I specifically requested for NO WINGS, since that is the one part of chicken that I do not eat and neither does B. I asked for BREAST and THIGH instead. The lady, who took my order, spoke to me in English, but I still repeated my order in Malay, since I wanted to ensure she understood my request for NO WINGS. I told her "Kepak tak nak, tolong ganti dengan dada dan paha ye" or "No wings, please replace with BREAST and THIGH". I think I was pretty clear with my order and she too, confidently responded with a somewhat irritated and firm "Yes, Breast and Thigh". Perhaps she didn't like that I repeated my order twice, and in 2 different languages too. I couldn't help myself however, since I've been disappointed by Mc D's delivery on several prior occasions, so one can never be too sure.
Anyway, our order arrived 45 minutes later and I quickly opened my box of fried chicken, expecting to see my requested chicken parts. To my surprise, there was a piece of WING and a drumstick, despite my MANY requests not to include any chicken wings! Trying to calm myself down, I checked the receipt to see that my order was keyed in correctly and was HORRIFIED to see BREAST spelled as BRETTS and THIGH as TIGHTTS! No wonder I didn't get what I requested for; the mistake came from the order taker herself! I was fuming by then and my whole dinner was ruined by Mc D's inefficiency to deliver what I, the customer asked for. We were too tired by then to start a ruckus with Mc D's, so I suffered in silence and ended up throwing away the chicken wing! Mariuca was one dissatisfied customer that night! :(
A few days later, we decided to go Italian and order a pizza. It was either Pizza Hut or Domino's and we decided on the former, since our last order was from Domino's. We ordered 2 regular pizzas, simply because we both wanted different flavours and I was already sick of having B's favourite Hawaiian Chicken. I ordered a Pepperoni pizza and added 2 extra toppings - mushroom and green pepper. Then, I happily waited for the delivery guy to arrive since I was ravenous from not eating a proper meal the whole day.
The pizza arrived soon enough and once again, I had the shock of my life when I opened the box and all I could see was a Pepperoni pizza MINUS the mushrooms and green peppers! I was so angry by then because the additional toppings cost an extra RM5. I quickly checked the receipt to see if they charged me for the extra toppings and true enough, I was charged an extra RM5 and yet, there were no toppings on my Pepperoni Delight. What's up with that?! I was all set to pick up the phone and throw one of my famous tantrums, but B pacified me seeing that it was almost 11pm and the call centre would have been closed by then.
That was really the last straw for me and right now, I'm going on strike against their home delivery! What's the point in ordering something when what you get is not what you ordered? What ticks me off the most is that this wasn't the first time my orders arrived incomplete or wrong. Furthermore, I've been a loyal customer despite their many shortcomings and is this how they show appreciation for good customers like me? I think not!
Phew! What a relief to get that out of my system, thanks for listening to my complaints peeps.
