Steel Kaleidoscopes

Home Depot - Bad Customer Service

So I go to Home Depot in Marlboro, Mass., yesterday to buy two paint brushes and a few plastic tray liners. I anticipate a quick five-minute breeze-through, hassle-free.

Not quite.

As I'm making a decision about the paint brushes, a Home Depot employee asks me something about taking a survey. I look at him quizzically, as I'm not here to take a survey. After my cool response, he says, "Didn't they tell you about the specials when you came into the store?"

Um, no, "they" didn't.

I tell him I'm in a hurry and he walks away.

I walk up to check out, and there are no live bodies to ring me up. The only way to pay is through the self-checkout lines. Now I'm hardly shy about technology, but I'm in no mood to scan my purchases. I would rather have someone else do it. Especially since no one is in line and I just want to move through quickly.

I see a girl wearing a Home Depot vest hanging out near a register talking to a guy wearing a Home Depot vest and ask if she's open. She says, "no, but I can scan your stuff." 

So I set my two paint brushes and plastic tray liners on the counter and I tell her I have two liners. She dryly says "you have three." Um, OK. Didn't mean to take three. I thought I had two. At 99 cents apiece, who cares? Really, I wasn't trying to pull one over on Home Depot.

She scans my paint brushes and trays, but I still have to go to the self-checkout register and swipe my card. I guess that would be too much to ask the girl wearing the Home Depot vest talking to the guy wearing the Home Depot vest.

I go through the exit and the door buzzer goes off. I stop, but she tells me it's OK, I can leave.

So, here's the summary:

In my 10 minutes at Home Depot, I'm solicitated, offered no option other than self-checkout, and accused of shoplifting verbally and electronically.

Not a good experience.

Next time I'm going to Lowe's.

eBay Conflict

I'm dealing with my first eBay conflict.

After years of casually making purchases and entering auctions on the world's largest flea market, my level of trust has been compromised.

With dozens of outdated DV cassettes, I need a camcorder to upload family memories onto a hard drive. My initial camcorder no longer plays back tape (it still records) so I looked for one on eBay (you can't buy these new any more and they are expensive to fix).

The seller, in his description, said the camcorder was used but functional. In other words, it works.

So I spent $75 on the camcorder and $5 for shipping, eagerly awaiting my purchase so I could get back to my DVD cassette project.

The camcorder arrived and it doesn't work. I can't even insert a cassette.

I contacted the seller who basically told me I was SOL.

He said it worked when he shipped it.

Um, no it doesn't.

I asked for a full refund and he basically told me in so many words I was SOL.

So I escalated the badly behaving seller to eBay customer support.

They told me to work it out with the seller. If I don't get resolution, they will intervene and make a decision.

We'll see how this plays out.

eBay in motion. What happens when things don't work out?

Yet Another Comcast Rant

So we had this freak storm blow through our back yard last week, knocking out our phone and Internet.

I'm hopeful that Comcast will resolve the issue and get us back online. Nothing doing.

No problem. I'll call Comcast.

After listening to a recording asking if I'm interested in a pay-per-view boxing match (I have a problem; not good timing), I get to the options for phone/Internet/TV. Despite not choosing the "TV" option, I get a message telling me that universal caller ID for television is not functioning in my area and that it's being worked on.

Finally, I get a rep who asks me the usual troubleshooting questions before agreeing someone needs to come to the house. I'm told between 12-2 p.m. on Friday.

Friday comes and it's 2:20. I call Comcast asking where the technician is when I was told 12-2 and the response is, "no, you're down from 12-4."

Um, kind of a big difference when I have a lot to do.

So I say I was told between 12-2 p.m. and the rep responds with "the person you spoke with probably thought it was military time."

OK, then. That explains it.

So in the military, two hours means four hours? The days are twice as long? Time frames are doubled in military time?

The technician finally arrives at 3 p.m. and manages to solve the problem. But as he's working, he informs me that he always carries a generator in his RV because, "as a circus entertainer, you always need to be prepared."

So my Comcast technician doubles as a circus clown.

Gotta love Comcast. It's always something new.

More Comcast Rants:

• Paying for HD Twice
• Text 'Support'
• Overcharging
• Hello, Louisiana
• No Phone
• You're Lucky to Get Through

No Happy Birthday from Starbucks

So yesterday was my birthday and I decided to walk the mile to Starbucks to get my free iced coffee.

Starbucks prides itself in its "free drink on your birthday" campaign and I thought I'd reap the rewards.

So I get there, show my driver's license and ask for my iced coffee.

Wrong.

The barista informs me that I need to present the birthday coupon that was e-mailed to me. Even though I proved it's my birthday, there's no free drink.

Pay for your coffee and wait 10 minutes behind all the people on their phones who ordered cinnamon spiced mochas, caramel macchiatos and white mocha frappuccinos.

Just like any other day.

For a company that prides itself in cutting-edge customer service, my birthday visit was a very analog, old-school experience.

Whatever.

Another Comcast Rant

OK, so we've been down this road before with Comcast, whose monthly bill is slowly approaching the size of our mortgage payment.

So we're watching TV the other night and decide to rent a movie through OnDemand.

The little person who lives in our house wants to watch "The Muppets." We browse through the menu and come across two choices: $4.99 for the movie or $5.99 if you want to watch the movie in high-definition.

Um, we're already paying Comcast for an HD-enabled cable box. Why is Comcast charging us an extra dollar to watch a movie, through the Comcast service, in HD? Isn't this why we invested in the HD box?

I'm surprised a Comcast truck didn't pull up outside to sell us popcorn.

Another Comcast Gaffe

It's kind of blurry, but below is my "customer service chat" with Comcast last night. I was inquiring about the hours of one of the offices that replaces cable boxes.

Turns out, Comcast puts sales reps on the customer service chat.

It's one thing to have a cross-sell strategy, but I don't recommend using sales reps in a forum when customers are looking for answers. 

Beautiful, Comcast, just beautiful.

Vista Sucks

Is there a more annoying operating system than Vista?

Give me XP any day. Heck, give me Windows 95.

My issue with Vista isn't the usability. Yeah, it's kind of weird to get used to a different look. That's OK.

What is annoying is that you can't get onto the system quickly. Never before has control/alt/delete been more frustrating.

Hitting control/alt/delete is like playing a slot machine. It takes several times to bring up the log-in screen and when you have success, it's like seeing three 7's come up. Hey, I got in on my ninth try. It's going to be a good day.

An operating system should be to-the-touch prompt and consistent. This is 2009, not 1994.

We want to log on quickly and get to work. We want to be productive when we sit at our desks.

Can you imagine Jack Bauer using Vista? Terrorists would take over the world because he wouldn't be able to log on quickly enough. Explosions wouldn't be thwarted. Deadly toxic gases would be released in crowded subways. The world would end.

Microsoft, admit Vista is New Coke.

Let's move on.

And I'll be right with you, as soon as I can log on. 

MBTA Showing Bad Signs

Yeah it's cold, which has made recent rides on the perpetually late Fitchburg commuter rail bone-chilling.

But it's not the cold and tardiness that are the big issues. It's the so-called "digital updates" that are annoying.

One day last week as we stood in zero degree temps waiting for the early train, the rolling update on the sign read "the train is on or near schedule ... due to the weather, the train is 15-20 minutes late ... the train is on or near schedule ... due to the weather, the train is 15-20 minutes late."

Choose one. It's called editing.

The next day I arrive at North Station for the outbound train to see the conveniently posted sign above the entrance doors that declared my train was "boarding." I was pleased to see this as I had not intended to get the earlier train, which obviously was boarding a few minutes late.

So after doing my best George Costanza imitation of fleeing a burning kitchen, nearly knocking several people over as I bolted to Track 10, I arrive at the gate to find the train was long gone. Incredulous, I look up at the sign to see the train is "boarding."

Obviously, someone was playing solitaire.

A few days later, on a minus-6-degree morning, we waited for the train. And waited. And waited. The sign read "the train is on or near schedule," but it was now 20 minutes late. Once it arrived, the conductor made the announcement that there were "air pressure" issues that needed to be resolved.

But no update on the sign.

We could have gone back to our cars for a few minutes to warm up our frozen extremities if we had known the train on a minus-6-degree morning was going to be 20 minutes late.

Memo to the MBTA: If you're going to have signs, make sure they are updated.

We forgive you for being late (it's the culture). We understand stuff happens.

Just pay attention to the signs. We certainly do.

Starbucks' Achilles' Heel

I should probably leave them alone but I need to vent.

I love Starbucks coffee, but their system just isn't working. At least not at the School Street location in downtown Boston.

All I want is an iced coffee — black, unsweetened. I pay for it but watch in disappointment and frustration as my plastic cup is placed behind seven other cups.

Turns out I'm being held hostage by the designated drink maker, who thinks he's Tom Cruise in "Cocktail."

Instead of having the perky person I paid simply turn around and tilt the pitcher of iced coffee into my cup and send me on my way, I watch in horror as the designated drink maker fumbles with triple-shot caramel macchiatos with drizzled nutmeg and whip cream while my cup sits helplessly idle.

Because Starbucks is a friendly place, the designated drink maker chats up the customers, giving an occasional wink as he whips up a cinnamon dolce frappuccino with vanilla creme.

And Starbucks customers, if you want dessert, go to a pastry shop. Don't mask your weakness for gooey desserts by pretending you're ordering coffee.

Meanwhile my empty plastic cup sits idle, now in the middle of the line, four drinks away. It's like waiting to take off on the runway when the pilot cheerfully comes on the intercom to inform you that we're fourth in line for departure.

I just want my black iced coffee that I paid for 10 minutes ago.

Finally my coffee is poured and handed to me.

Will I go back? Of course.

I love Starbucks coffee.

It's the system that needs a jolt of caffeine.

Macy's: Retail Crooks

So I visit Macy's last December to buy some sweaters.

At checkout, the clerk asks me if I would like to register for a Macy's card and save 20 percent on the sweaters.

Considering the cost of the sweaters stacked on the counter, I decide it's worth the time to fill out the paperwork.

The first bill arrives in the mail and I pay a partial amount. Usually I would pay a credit card bill in full, but for some reason (maybe all of those post-Christmas bills coming in at once) I don't.

A few months go by and I don't receive another bill. Being busy, I make a mental note of it but don't react. A few more months go by. In fact, seven months go by and Macy's never sends a new bill.

Until I get a nasty letter and nasty phone calls from a credit services firm, basically telling me I have defaulted on my Macy's card and that my credit history is now tainted.

Problem is, Macy's never sent another bill. To me, that's out of sight, out of mind.

Aren't credit card bills supposed to arrive in the mail each month if they're not paid in full?

So now I have to pay the bill with seven months accumulated interest or live with a bad credit report.

As someone who has never had a black mark on a credit report, this bothers me.

Macy's bothers me.

Macy's should accept the fact that they never followed up with billing and give me the opportunity to pay what is owed, without interest.

But since Macy's didn't bother to contact me before handing my account over to a credit agency, I have to pay off the card with interest.

So much for the 20 percent savings.

Raymond Babbitt had it wrong.

Macy's sucks.