customer service – Nomadic Noesis

Book Rec Because I Look Fun or Like a Cowgirl

I don’t go out a whole lot. But three friends in one of my writers’ groups all have birthdays in the first half of November. So we decided to have a non-writing brunch yesterday at a locally owned restaurant.

Here’s a fun thing (for book lovers anyway) that will happen if you eat at Cafe Berlin in Columbia, Missouri. Instead of bringing your bill in one of those vinyl folder things, the waiter will tuck it into a used book. I must look like a fun person or a cowgirl, because this was the title presented to me.

Of course, the danger to the restaurant staff in presenting books to avid readers is that we spend time reading before paying our bills. The six women at my table had a few hoots from this before we left.

It’s a quick read, full of wise, pithy bits of advice.
“Avoid becoming emotional over a jackass.”
“Convincing yourself that a bad idea is a good idea is a bad idea.”
You get the idea.

On a final note, how great is the name Gladiola Montana?

p.s. The food was also excellent.

Props for Excellent Customer Service

to Kodak. I figured since I wrote at length about poor customer service with a different company, I should be fair and note when I receive excellent customer service.

I bought my teenager a Kodak Easyshare camera for her birthday several weeks ago. She uses it a lot. But one day the display was full of not much but wild psychedelic colors, and not because that’s how our house is painted. Looking at it, it seemed the lcd screen had a puncture wound of some sort, but I couldn’t be sure. The camera was still well within the warranty period, but this didn’t look like a manufacturing defect to me. It looked as if the camera had perhaps been swung from the wrist strap & hit something. My kid didn’t remember anything happening, but she is pretty active.

I called Kodak, explaining the situation. I like to think it was my honesty that paid off. I told the cs rep straight out that I thought the camera had been damaged after purchase, but wasn’t 100% sure. I asked for & received a quote for repair, worked out the financing of said repair with the camera’s owner & shipped it off.

I received an email two days later notifying me they had received the camera. The day after that, I received an email notifying me the camera had been shipped back to me. In less than a week, it was back in our hands, along with a note saying the damage was not covered under warranty but they had repaired it free of charge anyway as a courtesy.

So. Yay Kodak people!

The Meaning of Life – Updated

Update: Tracfone has responded to my e-mail, and I have to give them credit for quick answering. The issue, as they explain it, is two different double minutes plans, one for life and one for one year. They believe I purchased the one year double minutes plan and I was sure I purchased double minutes for life (since I didn’t even know the other was an option.) Unfortunately I can’t find any documentation from when I bought it. I’m pretty sure it was in an e-mail, which I lost a lot of upon switching computers. I do remember my husband and I both purchased double minutes at the same time and having much discussion beforehand about whether to spend the money, and clearly remember we believed we were purchasing double minutes for life. It’s completely out of character for me to have spent so much money only for one year. I also remember my husband dropping his phone in a lake and then being informed his double minutes were only for the life of the original phone (my understanding) and not the life of him having *a* phone from them. Of course, me saying “I seem to remember…” is a far cry from having saved the receipt. So if there’s a lesson in this, it’s the importance of saving receipts.

Having looked at other cell phone plans, Tracfone is still the best option for me. I don’t use my phone that often. I have it in case the school needs to reach me if one of my children is ill, or if my car breaks down. Being able to purchase the minutes in advance and not worry about a monthly bill works for me. I think I’ll pass on the double minutes card for now, though. Apparently, one of us – it could be either – has a history of doing that part wrong.

I discovered the meaning of life today. It is one year. Tracfone (you know, the cell phone company) explained it to me via e-mail. When I bought double minutes for life, that was good for one year. If I want double minutes again this year I’m supposed to buy a second double minutes airtime card, for my second life presumedly. I don’t know if I’m required to create an avatar to use it.

I’m a bit stubborn about holding onto my first life, however, so I haven’t let the matter drop. Here is the text of my response to their response:

Thank you for your prompt reply.

I thought that double minutes for life would mean the life of the phone, at least. If I had realized “life” was so fleeting, I would have adopted a Carpe Diem attitude and spent the money elsewhere. Please advise me where life is defined as one year in your fine print.

I look forward to hearing back from you about a resolution of this issue within this lifetime. In this case, lifetime means the next week.

Regards,

Harumph!