"I'm never shopping THERE again!" Share your story!

[HoneyBee42]

Well, I went shopping today with middle son (my baseball player).  He's doing workouts now w/ the high school team (try outs are in Feb, but do not expect to make the team if you haven't been doing the workouts).  Oldest son is the only one willing to play catch with middle son, except that his glove is shot.  So I went shopping for a new glove w/ middle son as advisor (oldest declined to come on the shopping excursion).

Shop A is at the end of the mall with an exterior entrance and you can't continue into the mall itself from that store. We walk in, head for the baseball equipment and start looking through the gloves (which are very poorly organized).  Baseball equipment is loosely organized as when you walk down the aisle the bins on the left have gloves, the bats are on your right.  As we're picking out gloves and middle son is slipping his hand into some to check the feel, I hear on the overhead "Baseball line 1".  Shortly after that, a female clerk comes into the aisle, doesn't even speak to us, and just starts twisting bats around in their display holders. I was somewhat interested in looking at bats too and when I asked middle son about looking at bats, she seemed to hover *right* in my personal space (I mean, less than 12 inches from touching me).  Both middle son and I felt like we were being suspected of being potential shoplifters.  So we left, and I said out loud as we're leaving "Let's go, I don't appreciate being treated like I might be a thief."

So we go out of Shop A, and walk to the mall entrance.  Shop B is inside the mall (no exterior entrance).  We walk in, and are greeted by a female clerk who asks if we're looking for anything particular.  I tell her we're looking for a glove for a left-handed player.  She then directs us over to the area, and tells us that there is no back stock, but that if we see a style we like in the wrong size, she can call another store and see if they've got the one we need.  Then she backs off and lets us browse.  We look over about five gloves and find one that felt really nice, and decide that we'll get that one.  Then we're walking by the bats, and decide to look at them.  Clerk comes over and asks if we're interested in bats and says the display is locked but she can get the key if we want to look at a bat.  We're still browsing, but she then goes off and does other stuff and lets us consider the bats until we decide there is one that we might want to get today.  Another clerk (a guy, taller than the female clerks) comes over and asks if there's a particular bat we're liking, we id it, he gets it unlocked and hands the bat to middle son who moves over to a slightly open spot to give it a little bit of swing.  Male clerk talks to us a little bit more about what was going on w/ the bat and whether it'd be the right one for middle son.  We decide yes on the bat, the glove, and a heavy ball (some sort of training thing, it weighs 10oz, so basically double a regulation ball).

Unsurprisingly, Shop B made the sale today.

Shop A had only one glove that we thought might be suitable.  Surprisingly, it wasn't any cheaper (though it wasn't as nice as the one we did buy) than the one we found in Shop B.  I don't think I'll ever go back to Shop A even if they're giving stuff away.

[Twik]

Argh. Just got back from a business trip, staying for three days in a hotel I'd used before, and found fine.

I got checked in, and called to ask for the internet password. Oh, dear - it's not quite working now, I was told. Should be fixed soon.

I left three days later, it still wasn't working. The fault of their provider, they assured me - except that they had working internet in the business center. Unless they have two different providers, that sounds as if their internal network wasn't working, not the ISP. To my mind, not having internet in a business hotel is only slightly less serious than no running water.

I also ate one night in their restaurant, where they had no wait staff. The bartender had to run in and out to serve meals and take orders.

I found out the hotel has been sold, and everyone is apparently in limbo until the new owner takes over. I hope for the employees' sakes it's soon.

[artk2002]

I left three days later, it still wasn't working. The fault of their provider, they assured me - except that they had working internet in the business center. Unless they have two different providers, that sounds as if their internal network wasn't working, not the ISP. To my mind, not having internet in a business hotel is only slightly less serious than no running water.

It's likely that they don't have an IT staff and they contract their internal network support to someone else. Lots of businesses do that. Frequently, that "someone else" is the ISP, so it's not impossible that it is the fault of their provider.

[Acadianna]

the one where the paint was applied on the glass with colored burlap (rough woven sacking fabric for those not immediately familar with fabric names) allowed to show through as the backing.

That sounds fascinating -- sure wish I could see it!

[Wulfie]

Maybe they were going to put it in a show or something?  One show that I know of requires all paintings to be either glassed or covered with shrink wrap. I think it is to protect them from getting damaged from people touching them even though signs all over the place tell you not to.

[Jocelyn]

the one where the paint was applied on the glass with colored burlap (rough woven sacking fabric for those not immediately familar with fabric names) allowed to show through as the backing.

That sounds fascinating -- sure wish I could see it!

Reminds me of a News of the Bizarre show I saw, where the woman painted by applying paint to her breasts, then swirling them around on a canvas.
Apparently, the painting sold, even though they looked like...well, like you'd applied paint to a curved, smooth surface and then daubed it onto the canvas. I think a balloon might work equally well, although it was interesting watching her 'paint'. Although I suspect she could have sold videos of her painting, and made more money...

[iridaceae]

It's likely that they don't have an IT staff and they contract their internal network support to someone else. Lots of businesses do that. Frequently, that "someone else" is the ISP, so it's not impossible that it is the fault of their provider.

At the hotel I work at it has happened that the wifi will be down and the business center (which uses a T1 line)  will be fine due to equipment issues or Acts of God (summer monsoons) blowing out equipment.

[StuffedGrapeLeaves]

Argh. Just got back from a business trip, staying for three days in a hotel I'd used before, and found fine.

I got checked in, and called to ask for the internet password. Oh, dear - it's not quite working now, I was told. Should be fixed soon.

I left three days later, it still wasn't working. The fault of their provider, they assured me - except that they had working internet in the business center. Unless they have two different providers, that sounds as if their internal network wasn't working, not the ISP. To my mind, not having internet in a business hotel is only slightly less serious than no running water.

I also ate one night in their restaurant, where they had no wait staff. The bartender had to run in and out to serve meals and take orders.

I found out the hotel has been sold, and everyone is apparently in limbo until the new owner takes over. I hope for the employees' sakes it's soon.

This reminds me of a business hotel I stayed in about 8 years ago.  The hotel billed itself as a luxury business hotel with a business center.  When I got there I needed to use the business center to print out some extra materials for my presentation the next day, and I found that it was two old computers and a dot matrix printer.   I asked the front desk if they have another printer I can use, but they said no.  I ended up leaving and finding a Kinko's instead. 

[gramma dishes]

...   The hotel billed itself as a luxury business hotel with a business center.  ...  I found that it was two old computers and a dot matrix printer.   I asked the front desk if they have another printer I can use, but they said no.  I ended up leaving and finding a Kinko's instead.

I'd certainly mention this on at least one of the web sites devoted to hotel customer reviews.  I think that's just plain false advertising!

[StuffedGrapeLeaves]

...   The hotel billed itself as a luxury business hotel with a business center.  ...  I found that it was two old computers and a dot matrix printer.   I asked the front desk if they have another printer I can use, but they said no.  I ended up leaving and finding a Kinko's instead.

I'd certainly mention this on at least one of the web sites devoted to hotel customer reviews.  I think that's just plain false advertising!

I probably should have, although I didn't think about doing that at the time.  I did tell our corporate travel office, who stopped making reservations at the hotel.   I sincerely hope the hotel has improved the business center since then.  It was strange because the hotel was quite luxurious in other ways. 

[BabyMama]

I posted a thread this summer about a company I bought a gift certificate from. (End of May, beginning of June I think.) I called to order one, they said they would send one out, but never did and also never charged me. I called again and asked if they could rush it, as it was for a gift. They didn't have online payment on their Web site, and though I offered several methods of payment, he said I could pay him on receipt.

We were in town that weekend so he offered to drop them off at my sister's house, and we set a time, to which he never showed. He e-mailed me early the next morning to say that he had been running late the previous night but would drop off the GC that morning. We could work out payment later. 15 minutes later he showed up, left the GC, and before I could even open the door he dashed off and was gone. (I had cash on me that I was going to pay him with.)

I gave the GC to the recipient and contacted the owner the next business day to set up payment. I gave him my CC (and backup CC) number half a dozen times, and their machine wouldn't take it, and I know it wasn't an error on my end. I e-mailed again asking what I should do, and got no response. (Which is when I posted the thread.) As per advice there, I had told the gift recipient that if they did use the GC to just pay in cash if they were accosted and I would pay them back.

I sent a check to the address on their Web site. It was returned with a "does not live here" stamped on it.

I e-mailed him a couple more times with no response. OK, ball's in your court, buddy.

Several weeks ago he tries to take my CC number again, and again after several attempts it doesn't go through. He finally e-mails me back saying "Send a check to this address." OK. I accept that this part was my fault, time got away from me and honestly at this point he wasn't high on my priority list.

He called me today asking where his money was. I apologized and said I could get a check out today. (Remembering that I'd given him my CC number a ton of times already and if he's this flaky I really didn't want to give it to him again.) "No," he said. "That won't be acceptable...it's been months." AHH. I tried to pay you, a dozen times, four different ways (cash, check, and two CCs). Let's make it sound like it's my fault though, shall we. I'm the one giving you my personal CC number over and over and over because your business can't get their @(#&$ together and take my $20. I think it finally went through though, as they sent me what looks like a receipt.

Needless to say, even though they have a very cool and creative service, I will not be doing any more business with them.

[RebeccainGA]

Mine is more of a 'If I have a choice I'll never use them again" kind of thing. My company moved me halfway across the country, from Arkansas to Georgia, last month.

They were supposed to be there Monday morning - they didn't arrive until Tuesday late afternoon. They seemed to be great at first - polite, friendly, worked hard, asked questions, etc. I will admit, our old house was a zoo - a few steps up from hoarders - but I'd spent months going through and discarding everything I could, and while it wasn't clean and wonderful like I'd have liked, it was at least MUCH BETTER than it had been before my work. The last day of packing, however, when they said they would be out of the house and on to the storage unit by noon, was insane. We had scheduled HVAC work to be done that day (my DD is staying in the house) and were expecting them after noon. They got there, and the movers, who had known the HVAC guys would be there, had left to the last the very back bedroom. The one you had to pass the HVAC closet to get to. The one that had all the huge heavy furniture in it. Yeah, that one. As you can imagine, it was insane.

They finally finish the house about 4pm. I'd told them that DP had her last appointment with her oncologist that day, at 4, so I'd have to leave to take her at 3:30. I arranged for the storage people to open the gate for them, and I unlocked my unit and took off for the doctor. When we got back to the unit, they were still working (almost 7pm). I'd told them it would be six or seven dish barrels worth of fragile, and a huge number of framed art piece to pack. They thought I was exaggerating. I wasn't. They finally finished at 8:30, and said they would meet us in Georgia about 12 hours later. This is a 10-11 hour drive, at minimum, so we were frantic - we still wanted to have dinner with DD before we left, and I still had some things at the house to load into our van! We rush through things, and get to Georgia about 7:55 - I think we broke a few land speed records in the mountains.

The movers arrive after 1pm.

The driver immediately starts making noises about having to be somewhere else the next day, and that he would be napping while the guys unloaded. I was unhappy about this, but figured they would work like they were supposed to. It was like I was playing the bingo game from Hades as we unloaded - I was checking off numbers, directing traffic, keeping DP and the dog happy, and trying to unpack the kitchen so I could function. The end result is that we worked until 10:25 at night, no lunch, no dinner, no breaks longer than 5 minutes. The driver came in about 9:30, very cranky, and not in uniform - turns out he'd parked under the bedroom window of my new neighbor's 7 year old, and left the truck running while he napped, and they had come and knocked on the window to ask him to move or turn it off, as their daughter was trying to sleep. He was all but screaming at the guys to get the stuff off the truck. They finally finish, and the guys go outside to close up the truck (and I thought to load the trash like they were supposed to). The driver hangs around for a few minutes, waiting for a tip, until I tell him I'm about to pass out and he needs to leave, now (and I was!).

You guessed it, they left the trash.

They were supposed to be there for two days unloading. They were supposed to unpack and cart away the trash. They did none of it. It took a frantic call to the local branch from our 'moving concierge' to get a local crew (1 guy and a truck) to come out and help me unload the boxes so that I could reach them (they were stacked to the ceiling in places, and still are in 1 room) and to unpack part of the kitchen. He also took the trash.

They did a half job on the whole thing - I'm unpacking a few boxes every night, and the damage bill is in the thousands already. Poor packing, insane things (wardrobe boxes full of junk, and so full of packing paper I'm throwing away almost full boxes of it for every two boxes I open, and hanging clothes not in wardrobe boxes but folded still on the hangers into regular boxes).

I don't know if corporate moves are always like this or not. I certainly hope not. The company I work for is known for moving folks around, once they reach middle management, about every three years. Argh!

So I thought I was done with these folks, and then the company my company contracted with to handle the move contacted me to do a survey. I was honest - not brutal, but honest about how badly they had done. About two weeks later, over the Thanksgiving weekend, I get a letter in the mail from them. With a check, for $100. Very kind, and a minor compensation for all the grief they've put me through.

And they **FORGOT TO SIGN THE CHECK**.

*headdesk*

I've called them, and left a message. I'll see how things go.

[Jones]

Reminds me of a certain cell phone company that sent me a $50 rebate Visa card...and didn't activate it. Hope you can get them to remedy the mistake, which was in itself supposedly a remedy of a mistake...not that $100 is really any compensation for what they put you through.

[faithlessone]

So I thought I was done with these folks, and then the company my company contracted with to handle the move contacted me to do a survey. I was honest - not brutal, but honest about how badly they had done. About two weeks later, over the Thanksgiving weekend, I get a letter in the mail from them. With a check, for $100. Very kind, and a minor compensation for all the grief they've put me through.

And they **FORGOT TO SIGN THE CHECK**.

*headdesk*

I've called them, and left a message. I'll see how things go.

I really want to give them the benefit of the doubt, but wow. Some people are just mean.

[EMuir]

I am a regular Tim Horton's coffee drinker.  I am also diabetic, so I take artificial sweetener instead of sugar.  As you can imagine, this is very important.  I have never accidentally been given sugar by any Tim Horton's employee.

I was at McDonald's in the drive thru and didn't have time to make two stops, so I decided to try their coffee.  I verified that "Splenda" was on the ordering screen.  When I got the coffee back to work, it had sugar in it instead.  I confirmed by testing with one of my strips.

The receipt had a survey URL on it, so I went and filled it out.  Since I was disappointed, there was an option to have the manager of that store contact me.

They emailed me the next day with a copy and paste message that was sorry I hadn't enjoyed my "filet" and giving me a code to use for a free meal inside the store. 

I responded saying that it was coffee, I hadn't even ordered a filet, and I didn't want free food, I wanted them to talk to their drive thru staff and let them know that it's important to get the order right when artificial sweetener is involved.

The manager emailed back and told me they had talked to their drive thru staff about it.  Great, I don't know if they did, but at least they had to actually read my complaint.

I'm not taking a risk like that again at McDonald's.