Nibbled News

Sales Receipts -- Effective Feedback Tools

" If a diabetic, on his way to buy insulin , is killed by a runaway truck, he is the victim of an accident. If the truck was delivering sugar, he is the victim of an oddly poetic coincidence. But if the truck was delivering insulin, ah! Then he is the victim of an irony." -- George Carlin.

Consumers often bemoan the fact that no one ever listens to or respects their concerns and complaints. Retailers according to these folks are out for just one thing: profit and the customer be damned.

In many situations there are no feedback mechanisms by which a customer can either complain about or praise the quality of the service or product they received from a particular retailer.

Many businesses today now offer customers the chance to either praise or critique the quality of service they received at their place of business. Astute consumers will notice that their receipt now includes a website address to which customers with a gripe or concern can express themselves and hopefully have their opinions heard, appreciated and ultimately acted upon.

The one irony in this scenario lies in the fact that not many consumers will visit the company website and express their concerns. They are either not reading their receipts fully or are dismissing the site as patronizing and not worth their while visiting.

Bookstores, large chain grocery stores, computer retailers, pharmacies and national retailers offer cash rewards and other incentives to those folks who will visit their site and tell them about their in store experiences. Many folks still resist the temptation to visit the site no matter how appealing the incentive offered.

Three weeks ago Sarah , a single mother with three young children, is one such person who often hesitated to express herself no matter how insistently her friends and family encouraged her to do so. She is a working mother and as such tries to maximize the dollar return she receives for money spent.

She had purchased a package of sweet and sour spare ribs she planned to cook for her family and inlaws. The top layer of the platic wrapped container displayed two ideal cuts of the ribs. The package offered a four dollar discount and she gladly purchased the meat.

When she opened the package at home she discovered that she had been scammed. The second layer of the ribs was laden with fat and the quality of the meat not top grade as she had expected it would be. She felt betrayed and ripped off by her favorite grocery store. She has been shopping there for many years and her customer club card describes her as being an "elite" customer.

She then decided to visit the grocery chain's online website site and express her dismay and outrage that the meat department would engage in such deceptive marketing practices. The in house meat department had processed the meat and labelled the meat as the store's own product. There were no middle men involved in the preparation of the ribs.

She expressed her dismay and opinions freely, frankly and forthrightly. She said it helped her to vent all the negative feelings she had against the store. At the time she was doubtful that the large national grocery chain would either appreciate or act upon her comments and critiques.

Recently she received a letter of apology from the store's regional manager in charge of customer relations. The letter heartily apologized for the poor quality of the meat she received. She was also offered a one hundred dollar gift certificate from the store and the private telephone number of the store's regional office should she have any other concerns or critiques.

In her opinion the letter was sincere and not merely patronizing. The manager hoped that this negative experience would not dissuade her from continuing her long term relationship with the outlet. He told her that she was a valued customer of the store. The incident would be investigated and the involved parties spoken to and handled.

Sarah was grateful that she took action and visited the site. She encourages other folks to also visit similar sites and offer their experiences and opinions in this public forum. She added that she will now scan all future receipts for web site addresses and will visit them if she experiences similar situations in the future.

People living on fixed incomes, retirees, widows , students and others know the importance of getting value for their dollars. They also must realize that they need to make their voices heard by way of these company web sites.

To stoically suffer in silence or gripe your dismay to family and friends is no longer acceptable in today's fast paced, consumer oriented world.

A Bad Day For A Birthday - February 29th

"People love to admit they have bad handwriting or that they can't do math. And they will  readily admit to being awkward. "I'm such a klutz!" But they will never admit to having a poor sense of humor or being a bad driver.'  ---   George Carlin

 

Folks born today, February 29, enter the world plagued with a social handicap. They face the difficult decision of determining exactly when they will celebrate their birthdays with friends and family. It helps if you were born with a sense of humor.

The slap on the backside the doctor gave them in the delivery room on that special recorded day of their entry into the world is easily forgotten. The actual date of their birth is a social reality that they must come to grips with and eventually accept. 

Many accept their fate stoically and with a somewhat reserved sense of humor. Others feel that fiendish calendar creators and mathematicians have doomed them to a lifestyle as carefree as Peter Pan's -- never growing old too quickly.

A friend of mine Craig celebrates his birthday today. He admits that he is 64 years old. The candles on the top of his cake belie the fact. His wife accomodates his wishes and carefully places 16 candles on his homemade cake. It's his sweet sixteen party and  he can easily blow out the candles with one deeply inhaled breath. 

Craig and a number of other folks he has met online share this birthday dilemma.  They have not as yet formed a local support group to celebrate their uniqueness but they do send online birthday cards to one another as freely and as easily as the rest of us do.

Being born on the last day of February might technically excuse a person from not really having to act their age. Biologically, these folks mature at the same rate as the rest of humanity. The only difference is the acutal chronological registering of their birthdate. What do you do when you have to wait four years to enjoy a slice of birthday cake and ice cream?

It would be a nice gesture if greeting card companies would create a special card noting that the recipient is a unique individual who just happened to be born on an unusual date. It's tough buying a regular card for a person who has recently turned eighty but can only celebrate the day every four years.

Happy birthday wishes to all those celebrating today!

Four Cent Phone Bill Hilarious But True

"Quality in a service or product is not what you put into it. It is what the client or customer gets out of it."   -----    PETER DRUCKER

 

I used to think that  those humorous television commercials which jokingly insinuate that many telephone providers are actually money-hungry charlatans whose sole purpose in life is to extract as much money as is humanly possible from their long term, contract obligated customers were merely stretching the truth in an orchestrated manner. Now, however,  I tend to whole heartedly agree with their overall accusations.

I recently received a long distance telephone charge of four cents from my former service provider. The total length  of the call was rated as being one minute but that duration of time was enough to generate the charge. It was a call made on December 31 to a family member who was not at home at the time. Their answering machine had intercepted the call. 

I had signed up for a new service provider effective January  2012. The shabby service offered by my former telephone service did not warrant me to continue paying its exorbitant monthly rate. The company had also offered internet and televison service as well. I had been on a one year trail contract. The total package expired the last day of 2011.

In January I received what I thought was the final bill from the former provider and sent in my payment by the 15th of the month. This week I received a letter from the phone company informing me that I owed the grand total of four cents for services rendered. The letter indicated that if I chose to ignore paying the outstanding amount I would be charged a $25 administrative fee.

I was shocked that they would waste so much time, effort , paper and administrative effort to ferret out the four cent charge. I wondered how I was going to pay this charge: cash, cheque, credit card charge or visit my bank and have them process the amount.

A telephone call to my former service provider was not that enlightening. The female associate I spoke with explained to me the options by which I could settle this outstanding amount. She recommended that I settle the account by making a one time Visa payment over the phone at this time. This she suggested would be the easiest way to settle up. I thought easy for who me or the phone company.

I decided a few days later to go to the bank, have the charge taken from my account and settle the debt that way. The female bank teller was amused that this phone company would pursue such a triffling amount in such a costly and aggressive manner. 

The contract I had signed with the former service provider offered quality service at an affordable price. But the unreliable service forced me to contact their customer support staff once a month to correct faulty and flagging internet and television reception.

I had been with this telephone company for the past 25 years and had never had a late fee charged to my account. This past year has opened my eyes to the fact that even the high profile telephone service providers need to perform a bit of rethink and reevaluation of the way they service and retain customers.

TV Ads Overly Concerned About Body Hair

“There's a reason why forty, fifty, and sixty don't look the way they used to, and it's not because of feminism, or better living through exercise. It's because of hair dye. In the 1950's only 7 percent of American women dyed their hair; today there are parts of Manhattan and Los Angeles where there are no gray-haired women at all.”
― Nora Ephron

 

 If you watch any amount of late night television you will eventually begin to notice that many advertisers are beginning to zero in on a major problem that is currently plaguing many, many people these days and apparently growing to pandemic proportions.

What is this threat that is affecting the lives of a great number of men and women these days? Namely,  the absence or the over abundance of body hair. Men and women are actually afraid that they have either too much or not enough of it in all sorts of places on their bodies.

Female viewers are constantly bombarded with a number of gadgets that are guaranteed to rid them of unsightly body hair from their arms, legs, faces and of course that most embarassing of all places the area immediately adjacent to their bikini tan line. 

Lotions, creams, high tech shavers and of course lasers are actively promoted daily to assure women that their concerns are being taken seriously by national advertisers. Informative infomercials employ the services of well known actresses who readily offer their own personal endorsements for the products reliability.

Many of these alleged panaceas even promise that unsightly leg hair and embarassing stubble will be gone forever with just  a few months faithful use of their laser enhanced system. The hair according to the advertisement will be effortlessly removed without the pain and suffering the competitor's hair removal system offers.

Men with thinning hair are also offered quick fixes which will make them look vibrant, sexy, dynamic and desirable. The actors in this commercial sport a full head of hair after supposedly using the restorative process for only thirty days.  They claim that their appearance and their overall confidence has been boosted. Attractive females rave about the new found confidence a full head of hair offers a man.

The commercial warns that this process is not for everyone. I suspect that men will readily shy away from a hair restorative system that requires that an acrylic product resembling human hair be surgically attached to their scalps. The cosmetic affect might be pleasing to the eye but can the invasion on a person's pain threshold and pocketbook justify the expense

A person viewing these "info"-mercials should realize that actors are supposedly portraying real people and events and what is viewed on the television tube is not always the gospel truth. We all want to look our best but we all should take a few minutes to realize that our personal assets are not dependent on an advertisers agenda.

 

 

 

 

 

Safeway Lagging Behind On Product Quality

The traditional mom and pop grocery store has these days almost been  entirely replaced  by the mega markets promoting their bulk buying offers and huge discounts meant to entice and secure customer support and loyalty.

We trust that the modern day players in the burgeoning food industry will also adhere to the same standards of quality, freshness and safety that the local entrepreneurs subscribed to.

Sometimes this trust is naively placed into outlets that care more about profits then customer safety and satisfaction. Many times there are too many fingers in the operational pie to guarantee anything substantial for the consumer.

Last Thursday the 19th of the month  I visited my local Safeway outlet and purchased a package of extra lean ground turkey breasts. There was a two dollar deduction listed on the front of the prewrapped package.

The contents appeared to be pink and wholesome and I looked forward to enjoying it in a chili recipe to be served on the upcoming weekend. The freshness label indicated that the product was good until the 28th of the month.

Saturday evening I noticed that a clear liquid had somehow mysteriously formed and accumulated inside the package. I had not placed the carton in the freezer but on one of the fridge's inner shelves. This was a procedure I had done for years.

The package was opened gingerly and the excess mositure was drained away. The chicken did not smell tainted so it was placed on an electric fry pan. It slid easily out of the container. A few minutes after the heat was applied a white, odorless ooze began to appear around the fringes of the bulky slab of the ground chicken.

As the electric fry pan started to cook the meat more and more of the white goo encircled the meat. After a few minutes the fry pan was turned off and the chicken was thrown into the garbage bin. It seemed to be too risky an item to eat.

I suspect that the product had been previously frozen and thawed and then placed in the meat section for sale. I did not know how many times this had been done. A number of times in the past whenever I had bought the same product and frozen it at home for later use the same reaction had occurred in the fry pan but to a lesser degree.

There were no external markings on the outside of the plastic wrapped container warning a customer that the product had been previously frozen. The two dollar discount seemed to justify the fact that the product had been handled somewhat badly.

The product line, Eating Right, is not processed in the store. It is an item mass merchandised and handled by a national conglomerate. Somewhere along the line the product may have been frozen during transport and then placed on the shelf in the meat section for sale.

Chicken has traditionally been associated with salmonella. This alone should inspire large retailers like Safeway to place a higher emphasis on caution when selling this product for consumer use.

I wrote an email to the Safeway business ethics division detailing the problem I had with this product line. I tried contacting the local retailer via their customer complaint hotline but their site has been experiencing technical difficulties the entire weekend. Go figure.

 

 

  

Shoddy Tech Support Plagues Giantmatrix

 

Online software companies promise potential customers that their product is second to none and that their product 's technical support team will go out of its way to assist you should you experience problems with their products.

One company whose after sale technical support is sorely lacking is Giantmatrix (www.giantmatrix.com) whose product "Anti Tracks" offers consumers hours of software frustration, little or no product support and of course questionable marketing strategies.

In November of 2011 I purchased an  online version of Anti Tracks from Avangate the seller of the software. I received an email notification that once my order was confirmed I would receive the payment receipt and "detailed product licensing information" in separate emails.

The followup email I received informed me that I should register my product at the Avangate website (www.avangate.com) so that I would be able to view my order details, gain access to my online shopping history and "re-download licence keys/codes".

An email indicated the download site to obtain the program. No product codes were ever included with the emails. At the time I thought nothing of that fact and installed the program. That was my first major mistake.

The program loaded successfully and promised to protect my identity and personal information online. After I initiated the program two things happened which I did not expect:

1.  I was unable to access any website due to server failure.
2.  My computer crashed and I had to do a computer restore.

I had to perform a computer restore two more times after the initial software conflict. I had downloaded a copy of the program and placed it on a DVD for safekeeping. When I installed this copy the computer once again locked up. An onscreen error message informed me of an error occurring because a product cover page was missing.

I sent an email to the customer support team and told them my situation. I also told them that I had not received the licence keys or special codes in any email from them. I requested the product codes to unlock the product.

I received a short email telling me to go to another website and download another version of the program. No product codes were included at this time but the name of the program was listed a "Anti Tracks - complete version". I still do not know what that means.

Naively I followed their instruction, downloaded the program and hoped for the best. Again my web browsers were unable to access the Internet due to server errors. Two more times the program crashed my computer due to software complications.

I again contacted customer support and have  been waiting now for a reply for about two weeks. Apparently a customer has to purchase "download protection" from the company to avoid such frustrating situations. A reputable company should have to resort to this type of after sale customer extortion to ensure that their product will continue to function as promised.

 In the past week or so I wrote to the sales department at Avangate asking for a refund for the product. I also sent an email to Gianmatrix explaining my frustration with both their problem plagued product and shoddy technical support.

From this experience I have learned not to trust an online software company who requests that a customer purchase "download insurance portection" to guarantee them the right to have future downloads should their product fail to perform. 

This is definitely a situation of buyer beware. The best policy is to do your online research about those companies who toot their own product horns a little too briskly. 

Sometimes Simple Things Become Confusing

Television commercials often tend to trivialize those things in life that start off simple yet in reality offer inherent challenges all their own.

The actors in the commercial effectively setup a situation in which the products are easy to use --- at times so deceptively simple a child can use them effectively.

In reality however there may be hidden product considerations and design concerns that the advertisers and product promoters may have neglected to consider in their overall commercial presentation.

Whenever an advertiser overlooks a product's potential to frustrate customers they  are effectively closing the door on increased sales and product acceptance.

My major complaint involves Pillsbury Crescent rolls and the almost impossible way the dough inside the container refuses to exit the carton no matter how hard a person tries to coax, cajole, pry and eventually tear apart the cardboard wrapping.

I have tried on several occasions to bake the crescent rolls and sample them for myself. The commercials show the ease with which the package opens when gently and lightly tapped on the edge of a kitchen cabinet top. The dough almost leaps from the cardboard enclosure.

Many times in the past few months I have banged the very life out of the container and at no time did the dough ever vacate the packaging willingly.  The cardboard is resistant to any and all attempts to split it apart and empty it of its doughy contents.

Out of frustration I eventually throw away the unopened container and abandon all hope of ever baking the rolls for myself. Although I fervently vow to never, ever purchase another crescent roll package ever again my personal feelings do mellow over time and I find myself at the grocer's freezer display purchasing the uncooperative dough.

A number of web sites claim that the dough is extremely versatile to use and offer numerous tasty recipes praising the dough as a perfect base of operation. At no time do any of the sites demonstrate how to effectively open the container and remove the moist dough from its cardboard packaging.

I harbor no ill will against the Pillsbury Corporation and the many fine products they offer consumers. I only wish they would redesign the crecent roll packaging so that more folks like myself could effectively remove the soft dough , place it in the oven, bake it and eventually sample the rolls without the initial frustration.

 

 

 

Jerks Often Add To Xmas Shopper Stress

Jerks come in all sizes, shapes, colors, age ranges and political persuasions. They enjoy racing with police cars, fire trucks and E.M.S. vehicles to the scene of accidents to prove to themselves and the world at large that they can do that. They seem to take pleasure in the fact that they can add their personal touch of mayhem to other peoples lives.

Christmas is their favorite time of year. Their targets appear to be harried shoppers whose blood pressure levels are soaring well into the stratosphere while prices at stores are dipping sporadically into the reasonable price range. This high-low, volatile situation encourages many jerks to shine in their own way.

Monday of this past week I wanted to pay my account balance at one of the larger department stores. It was a little before 10:30 a.m. in the morning and the line up at one cashier station was especially light. I took my place as third in line. It appeared to be a quiet time of day.

The female customer at the head of the line appeared to be negotiating with the cashier. She was telling the cashier in no uncertain terms that the item she chose had been on sale the past weekend. She was adamant in her argument. She knew she was right and wanted to convince the cashier to see things her way.

The harried cashier frantically searched through the many in store flyers located at her check out station. She paged another female employee to help locate the item. In desperation she used the register’s computer to lower the item’s price by forty cents.

At this stage of the game the customer handed the cashier her platinum charge card and then told the cashier she wanted to buy two. The item cost four dollars and this big spender wanted to shoot the financial wad and buy two.

Apparently she did not feel guilty about holding up the long line of people waiting patiently for her to conclude her purchase. There was a sigh of relief given by a dozen people when this gal did leave the till.

I was then inspired to risk the long lineups and purchase a new pair of winter boots for myself. The footwear section of the store I visited was busy but there were two female service associates there to assist customers with their selection.

The women were friendly, attentive and customer driven. Twenty minutes later I was ready to buy my new boots. I asked the attendant where I could pay for my footwear. She told me that the service desk in lingerie could assist me.

The cashier station in the lingerie section had one cashier helping a female customer with an item exchange. Luckily only one item was being exchanged when I arrived there. I waited a few minutes and the lineup of customers began again. There were three tills at this station but only one cashier manned the site.

In the distance I noticed another female employee straightening display items and after a short period of time the female associate who helped me in the footwear section arrived on the scene and was animatedly discussing her lunch break with this other employee. The cashier at this till did not vary her speed to handle the influx of shoppers arriving at her till. Twenty minutes later I left the store grateful that their lunch hours were hours away.

The right to be a jerk knows no age barrier. A few years ago I was in a Toys R Us outlet and heard this munchkin voice yelling : “I want this doll and won’t hear another word about it.” Curiosity got the better of me and I walked to the area where this demanding voice had emanated from.

In the center of the aisle stood a youngster about five years old bundled in a snow suit and clutching a life size doll a few inches larger than she was. Her mother stood near the tot embarrassed and trying unsuccessfully to dissuade her daughter from wanting the doll. The event was humorous to onlookers but intimidating to the harried mother.

Ants are attracted to a picnic basket in much the same way that jerks are attracted to social situations which will enhance their own importance. If you happen to find yourself in such an uncomfortable situation keep your cool, take a deep breath , don’t get upset and thank your lucky stars that you are not related or married to such a social oaf.

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

　

Tasty Treats For Santa Thing Of The Past

This year it seems that Santa 's highly anticipated Christmas Eve treats will be slightly altered from the usual kind he has been used to traditionally sampling as he fills our anxious children's stockings with gifts, toys and candy canes.

That small but welcoming glass of warmed egg nog, fragrant Japanese mandarin orange and tasty slice of fruit cake covered in a thick topping of almond icing usually left out for him to nosh will no longer be there for the old fellow to enjoy this Christmas Eve.

The all too familiar imported Japanese mandarin oranges are being kept off a number of grocery shelves due to the concern about radiation affecting the safety of the oranges. Some retail outlets are reportedly carrying the Japanese mandarins but are selling them at a reduced price.

Last year's earthquake and nuclear accident in Japan has made the festive treat an unwelcome marketing parriah at many markets. Chinese mandarins now grace many store produce sections but the oranges are not as tempting as the Japanese.

A number of super market chain stores are also refraining from stocking any type of egg nog from their dairy cases. A number of store managers I spoke with said that this was entirely a marketing decision on their part due to the fact that a significant number of their customers were experiencing high cholesterol and heart related problems. Even those few stores stocking the item did so in very restricted quantities.

Finally the traditional Christmas fruitcake glazed with that yummy almond icing is also being sold in restricted numbers. High cholesterol concerns and health issues especially for people over 50 years of age are the main concern for the boycott. Slumping sales over the past few years are guiding store managers from bulking up on the tasty holiday treat.

For those of us watching our waist lines, cholesterol level and blood pressure counts this was the time of year to forego the negative concerns and concentrate on the tastes, aromas and sweet treats the season offered. But this year economic concerns has skewed the types of goodies the consumer can look forward to enjoying.

This year it appears that Santa had better set his taste buds to enjoying celery stalks, carrot sticks, sesame seed crackers and of course a warming cup of decaffeinated green tea. It's not the traditional way to welcome the season but it is the healthful way to go.

It's Time To Smarten Up About Grade School

"Remember in elementary school you were told that in case of fire you have to line up quietly in a single file from smallest to tallest? What is the logic in that? What, do tall people burn slower?"    — Warren Hutcherson

It is that time of the year when somewhat cranky and sleepy parents wake up their even sleepier children, get them ready for school , drop them off at the front door, drive away and expect the youngsters to do well and not create a social incident for the next eight hours of their day.

The problems inherent in this fabrication of reality lies in the fact  that both the caring parents and the dedicated teachers are equally guilty of placing their young charges under undue physical and emotional stress throughout their school day learning time.

Sometimes well meaning, insecure parents and overly enthusiastic   teachers in the educational system need to step back for a few moments from their immediate concerns, take an institutional deep breath and then try to get a realistic handle on the overall goal of education in our children's lives.

I live directly across from a grade school which includes grades K to six and see the same scenario every day. It's amazing that the children don't revolt out of frustration and stage a sitin to publicly protest the absurdity of it all.

 

The 75 lb Field pack

 

The kids from the youngest to the oldest are all transporting very large and bulky school packs on their back. As they walk to the school or are dropped off by their parents at the front door of the building they all exhibit a visible curvature of the spine. Their gait is slow and strained.... their steps unsure. You wonder what they are carrying in those brightly colored back packs.

 

Bring Your Own Toilet Paper- Kleenex

 

Again many penny pinching school boards are requesting that students bring their own Kleenex and toilet paper supplies to school. Again the supplies will be placed in a janitorial supply closet and used throughout the semester.  Cutting costs and involving parents more in their child's education might be the rationale prompting this proactive and innovative plan.

 

Forty Pencils Per Student

 

Many school boards due to financial cutbacks have asked parents to purchase at least 40 HB pencils for their children to use while at school. The arbitrary number ensures that the children will have a pencil to use for their work. However many parents report that the pencils will be placed in a classrom locker and shared with other students. This situation does not sit well with many of them.

 

Drop Out And Home School

 

These innovative demands are inspiring many parents to consider home schooling for their children. The computerized global village we now live in makes home schooling an attractive alternative to the traditional learning model.

At home computerized learning systems educate and provide learning opportunities for many adults. Many parents feel that the demands of havng their children attend a real world facility could make the learning experience a lot less intimidating in a virtual classroom.

 

Five Gig Memory Stick For Kindergarten

 

We live in an electronic age and computers are a major part of our everyday lives. Laptop computers and add on memory cards and external hard drives make everyone's lives simpler and more productive. But seriously does a kindergarten pupil really need to bring a five gigabyte memory stick to class to keep up with the other students? Many parents question the validity and the sanity of such a demand.

 

Laptops For Grade One Students

 

School boards are feeling the economic crunch of our current economic situation. They realize that their students need exposure to computers so that they can function properly and efficiently in our fast paced society. Parents again question the sanity of supplying their grade one students with a laptop computer so that they can compete in today's world.

 

Temporary Solution To The Insanity

 

As your children once again return to the classroom there are a number of short term fixes you as parents can do to ensure your youngsters get a good start to their day:

 

1. Get their eyes examined by a professional.
2. Feed them a healthy breakfast every day.
3. Buy them decent clothing for school.
4. Give them a hug before and after school.
5. Tell them you love them everyday.
6. Take an active part in P.T.A. meetings.
7. Hope that sanity will return soon to the world.