The Evils of Paperless Billing

Being someone who spends a lot of time on a computer and is concerned about our environment, I have paperless billing set up on all of my accounts. I recently have had the worst experience of my life in trying to get a copy of my most recent statement to file an expense report.

I am a Verizon FIOS Internet only customer. That sounds like a lot of extra information but it is important to this story as you will come to discover. Yesterday, I went to http://www.verizon.net to log in and get a copy of my billing statement to submit with my expense report. I was able to log in just fine, I can even see the list of statements with the nice little "View as PDF" and "View as Text" links. Unfortunately, when I click on "View as PDF", the web site responds with a very informative "The tool is currently unavailable!!" message, and "View as Text" responds with an even more informative "Request Unsuccessful" message. So, I decided to try to actually call Verizon Customer Service to get help, and so my saga begins.

For those of you who have never dealt with Verizon, they try very hard to prevent you from talking to an actual person by forcing you through a complex set of voice menus. Yesterday afternoon, I spent 90 minutes or so of my time talking to half a dozen different people and I was no closer to resolution.

Today, I decided to document my saga and so begins the journey. I called the Customer Support number and after going through the series of voice prompts, ended up at Customer Service. I explained to the person what my problem was and they told me that I needed to speak with online tech support, so they transferred me and thanked me for choosing Verizon. When the online tech support person came on the line, they told me that they only supported verizon.com and not verizon.net (where FIOS Internet only customers must go to get their bill) and that I needed to speak with FIOS technical support. Of course, FIOS technical support wanted to troubleshoot my Internet connectivity and when I explained the problem, they told me that they couldn't help me.

By this time, I was getting pretty frustrated, as you can imagine, so I asked to speak with a supervisor. The rep told me that the supervisor could call me back or that he could transfer me to an escalation specialist. I opted for the escalation specialist. When I spoke to the escalation specialist, he told me there was nothing he could do and that I needed to speak to billing. I reluctantly agreed to allow him to transfer me to "billing". The person that picked up the phone was a switchboard operator who asked me where she could direct my call (maybe I should have said the CEO???) and I explained to her that I wanted to speak to the billing department. Once the "billing department" picked up, the lady on the phone explained to me that I was back at the general Customer Service department where I started.

I calmly asked to speak with a supervisor and asked to hold rather than waiting for a return call. The customer service rep warned me while I was waiting that since the account was an online account it was managed online and if the web site was down, there was nothing even the supervisor would be able to do. So foolishly, I continued to wait. By this point, it was more about the principle of trying to get someone to take some sort of responsibility than it was about me actually expecting anyone to resolve my problem. So I waited...

20 minutes later, the lady who had been helping me comes on the line and informs me that she is being told that she has to have someone call me back and that I don't have an option to wait any more. I hung up in disgust. The next call will be to American Express to dispute the charges until Verizon is able to produce a billing statement. So much for the great convenience of paperless billing and online account access...

LG: Life's Good...until you need service

About 18 months ago, my old Maytag washer went out after 10 years of service so I decided to buy a new washer and dryer. After looking around, reading reviews, etc., we settled on a high-end LG front loader steam washer and dryer. The machines themselves have been great but about 2 months ago, we started noticing a squeaking noise when the washer was running so I promptly called the LG Customer Service number that is stamped on a sticker on the unit.

The lady who helped me was very polite and informed me that my unit was out of the 1 year full warranty period so I would need to pay for the service unless it turned out to be a problem with the motor (which is covered for 7 years). She proceeded to collect my information and finally gave me the phone number of two authorized service centers in my area.

I called the first one about a week or so before Thanksgiving. The answering machine that picked up informed me that they were completely booked until after Thanksgiving and would return calls after Thanksgiving so I left a message asking them to call me back to schedule service. I called the second number and the lady that answered the phone at that service center informed me that they did not cover my area. So, it seemed that I would just have to wait for the first place (Miles Appliances in Lake Dallas, TX) to call me back--they never did.

I tried calling them back in the middle of December but the answering machine picked up with the same "before Thanksgiving" message. I left another message but that one, like the first, has yet to be returned. Frustrated, I called a reputable appliance service center that I have used for 10+ years for all my other major appliances (their ad in the Yellow Pages says that they service "all major brands") only to be told that they do not service LG appliances.

It seems that "Life's Good" with LG only as long as you don't need anything from them...

Au Pairs and the System

As some of you know, my wife and I chose to get an au pair to help us with our son after my wife's mother returned to Thailand two years ago. The au pair experience is wonderful but finding the right au pair proved to be trickier than we thought and dealing the company that we went through, one of a few that are approved by the US Department of State for this purpose, to find the au pair turned out to be a completely negative experience. I thought I would share some of our frustration with you in case you decide to go down this path. In the end, it is worth it if you find the right au pair but you should prepare yourself for how these companies operate.

There are only a few companies that are approved by the US Department of State to participate in the Au Pair program. I am sure that the US Department of State has very strict rules and lots of red tape that they have to go through. However, I still find it hard to swallow the way in which they do business. For our purposes, we chose Au Pair Care. From talking to other host families, I am not sure that they are any worse than the other companies.

The first thing you should understand is that these companies only want to act as the middleman. They take very little responsibility for the quality. character, experience, and work of the au pair. While the Department of State has regulations about the experience of the au pair, Au Pair Care deals with companies in foreign countries who provide the infromation they use to prove the experience. When dealing with third-world countries (Thailand in our case), you should realize that US rules and regulations mean little to the foreign companies and documents certifying experience are easily obtainable by anyone. Basically, you pay the au pair company for an introduction and paperwork to get the au pair admitted to the US and very little else. The au pair companies to provide "emergency travel insurance" to the au pair and does check in with you once a month to make sure everything is going okay but they do very little else--even when you have a problem and ask for their help.

During the interview process, you are provided a list of names, contact info, some information that the au pair has provided about themselves, and little else. You must contact the au pairs, speak with them about who you are, what you are looking for, and basically try to get to know them over the phone. Depending on the au pair's English skills (which seem to be less than what you would want--at least for thoise coming from Thailand), this itself can prove difficult. The other big problem is that you don't really know the motivation of these people for wanting to be an au pair. It may be a honest desire to expereince the culture of another country and learn, or it may be just a way for them to get into the country to find a spouse so that they can escape their country. Unfortunately, you have no way of knowing this upfront.

During one of our last au pair searches, we found a girl from Rayong, Thailand who my wife thought was perfect. They hit it off well, spoke virtually every day on the phone for a month, and even called us when she had finally passed her visa interview process in Bangkok about 1 week before her flight to the US. the Thursday before she was supposed to arrive in the US the following Monday, we got a call from Au Pair Care to inform us that the girl had dropped out of the program and would not be coming to live with us. When I asked what they planned to do to help us in this situation, their response was that they would provide us a list of au pair that were currently in the US and looking for new homes. While that might have been all that you could expect, it certainly wasn't very comforting given the fact that we were now forced to scramble to make last minute childcare arrangements with less than a week's notice.

After a few weeks, we found another au pair that was currently in San Francisco so we matched with her and paid for her ticket to Dallas. After a few weeks, it became clear that she was just not going to work out. After much discussion with my wife, we opted to let her go and leave the au pair program. When I contacted the Area Director to let her know, she was cordial and concerned with finding the au pair a new family (which was good). When I asked her about processing a refund of the excess fees we had paid (you have to pay for a year at a time--upfront), she said she didn't know how that worked and would get back to me. She never did. When I emailed her a few weeks alter, she never even bothered replying to my email.

Finally, I called Au Pair Care's main office in San Francisco to enquire about the refund. When I finally got the right person on the phone, she told me I needed to speak with the Area Director, who initiated the refund process. When I explained to her the situation, she started challenging me if I had p[rovided written notice to the Area Director of my intention to terminate and explicitly asked her for a refund (as if I was just going to let them keep the extra money???). After forwarding her email proving that these communication had in fact happened, she proceeded to tell me that the contract I had signed only allows for refunding $275 per remaining month (the fee they charged were $600 per month)--and only if we are in the first 6 months of a new contract (fortunately, we were). The thing that really frustrates me is that it doesn't matter that the au pair they provided was completely negligent in their duties, beats your kid, whatever--they keep the money if you decide to withdraw from the program for any reason.

Windows has Gone Too Far

Today, I am in Hong Kong and decided to leave my laptop at the hotel since I didn't really need it for my customer meeting. Because I have been trying to finish up my new book, I left the chapter I am proof-reading open along with my email and several other applications without thinking anything about it (do it practically every day for the past...er, well way too many years).

Today, when I got back to the hotel, I unlocked the screen saver by logging in. I wasn't really paying attention, even though it was taking longer than normal to get into the computer, until I saw a little balloon dialog from the Windows Update icon in the system tray. The message was informing me that Windows had not only automatically downloaded and installed a security update (unfortunately, Oracle has set it up where I cannot disable this) but that the security updated required an "automatic restart" of my machine--what??? Yes, that's right. Windows just decided that it was okay to reboot my PC, regardless of what state my applications were in, because I wasn't there to object.

I'm sorry Microsoft but that is unacceptable. What gives you the right to force the reboot of my machine without my permission and lose all my unsaved work? Since I have never, ever seen this behavior before, I must assume that this is something new that the big brains in Redmond thought up. I have to tell you, it is a terrible idea and from now on, I will make sure to unplug my laptop from the network before leaving it idle...or better yet, maybe I will finally just make that switch to Linux or MacOS. Microsoft, get a clue...

Paying for the Privilege of Repairing a Defective Product

It is no wonder that our economy is in the state that it is in.  Businesses no longer seem to care about providing quality products and services to their customers.  I recently purchased a new BFG Technologies video card for my computer from Best Buy for approximately $250.  The card worked great for the first week or so and then I accidentally unplugged my computer while it was running.   When I restarted the system, the card no longer displayed the color white correctly -- it showed it as bright yellow and everything had a yellowish tint.

Since I had thrown out the original box, I called BFG Tech Support directly.  After waiting on hold for 15 minutes or so, I was finally connected to a live person who spent 30 seconds or so taking my basic information and problem description before coming to the conclusion that I needed a replacement card.  They offered an advanced replacement option whereby in exchange for my credit card number, they would ship me a new one and supposedly a return shipping label.  The new card arrived and it resolved my issue but then I went to figure out how to return the old card so that I wouldn't be charged for the new one.

The box that the new card arrived in was empty.  Finally, I found one of the emails that was sent to me right after I called BFG Tech Support with a link to the return process.  I went to the web site, printed out the return shipping label and such and started reading the instructions.  Come to find out, I was responsible for paying for the return shipping for this card.  To add insult to injury, they have very prominent warnings that I should purchase additional insurance in case the card was damaged during the return (wasn't it already damaged?).

I just don't get it.  How do companies feel that it is the customer's fiscal responsibility to pay for shipping back their crappy products that don't last 2 weeks and therefore need to be replaced under their own warranty?

Next, I go to the UPS Store (owned by UPS, right?) to ship the card back.  The replacement card came in a standard UPS shipping box so I asked the UPS Store for a new UPS box to use to return the package.  Guess what they told me?  Oh, we don't order UPS boxes so that we can sell boxes instead.  What???  As if the shipping costs aren't enough, they need to charge me for the box too?

Finally, the return instructions told me to inform the UPS Store that I was retuning this card under the BFG Corporate Account program.  Having no idea what this meant, I went ahead and told them.  Apparently, UPS allows corporate customers to specify their own requirements and guidance for people shipping under these corporate programs.  Some of the features of the BFG program were to remind me to purchase additional insurance to cover the cost of their already broken card and to charge me $25 for packaging the card for return shipping.  Fortunately, the UPS Store person understood my frustration and simply exited the BFG Corporate Account program and shipped it normally at the lowest possible cost.

So, for the privilege of buying a defective product from BFG Technologies for $250 plus tax, I was granted to privilege of wasting an hour or so of my time, paying for the gas to drive from my house to the UPS Store and back, and paying approximately $10 for shipping and the box.  How likely do you think I will be to buy another BFG Technologies card the next time I am in the market for a video card?

Companies these days seem to be run based solely on statistics.  If there are , for example, 100 million computer users in the world and if 2% of them use a BFG video card and if 2% of them have a defective card and get poor customer service, that means BFG risks losing 40,000 potential future customers out of their 2 million customers to save themselves approximately $400,000.  If the average profit they make on all video cards they sell is $50 per card (probably on the high side), that means that they can afford to lose up to 8000 customers that actually would buy another video card and still break even.  For businesses, this is an acceptable way to do business but it isn't fun to be a customer in this sort of environment...

 

The Land of Opportunity -- but only for some

I usually try to avoid posts that are political in nature but I have been pushed over my personal limit. My political views are mixed, replublican in some ways, democratic in many others, and more liberal than either in a few. So many Americans have never spent any real time outside the US (other than a vacation in Mexico or Western Europe) so it is easy to see how this sort of thing happens...it still doesn't make it right.

As many of you know, my wife is not originally from the US. As such, her command of the English language is not that great, having lived here for only 2 years. Growing up in a country where the alphabet bears no resemblance to what we know as the alphabet, she is still struggling to learn to read English. Even so, she is trying very hard to learn to drive in the US (she already has a Thai and International driver's license).

Today's saga started in June of this year when I found out that Texas actually would allow her to use a translator to help her take the written portion of the Texas Driver's test. We signed her up, found a friend that could be her translator, and she went in to take the test. She got like 18 out of 30 questions right, she needed 21 right to pass. We thought this was great so she went back to study for a few weeks so that we could make sure she passed the next time.

Three weeks later, we go back to the Texas Driver's License office to take the test again. It turns out that the week before, the Agency in Austin had issued a memo that said translators could no longer be used and everyone must take the test in English or Spanish. I was livid but at the end of the day, there really isn't much an ordinary person can do to fight the government in such situations. Fortunately, the test is given by computer in Texas and the computer speaks the questions so we thought that with enough study, she still might be able to pass.

She tried 2 more times with the computer but failed because of the language issue. So we regrouped, she spent several months studying with Thai friends helping her and she was ready to go. Today, we went to the Driver's License office to refile the application (in Texas, you get 3 chances to pass the test then you have to refile the application) so she could take the test. When we got there, we were informed that due to a recent policy change, she was no longer able to apply (for anything) because her greencard only has 5 months left on it.

Just a quick sidebar for those that have never dealt with US immigration, when you are granted permanent residence to the US because of a family connection (e.g., married to a US citizen), they look at how long you have been married at the time the card is to be issued. If it is less than 2 years, they issue you a temporary greencard good for 2 years that is conditional upon you being married. If at the end of those 2 years, you are still married, you can apply for a permanent greencard and remove the conditional aspect of it. When applying to renew your greencard, the US goverment will not allow you to apply until 3 months before the expiration date.

The real kicker here is that this is the State of Texas making policy that goes against the US government policy. From a legal standpoint, she can leave and re-enter the US until the card expires, she can work, she must continue to pay taxes, etc. -- but she isn't able to apply for a learner's permit to learn to drive. Texas says that a driver's license is a privilege not a right -- but they are unable to explain to me what gives them the right to deny her a privilege that according to US law she should be eligible for.

US Airlines - The State of the Industry

Travel today isn't what it used to be. Long lines, antiquated security procedures (have you seen the new X-Ray machines where you no longer need to remove your laptop/camcorder from your bag?), packed flights, and aging airplanes are just the start of the problems facing US passengers trying to get from point A to point B. Given that I fly a lot, I have gotten used to a level of service that people who don't fly a lot haven't seen in a long time and even those of us who do seems to be quickly losing it too.

I recently had the privilege of flying from Dallas to San Francisco for meetings at our company headquarters. My saga began on the return flight. I showed up at the airport around 5:00 AM for my 6:00 AM return flight to Dallas. Not realizing that not only was it Easter weekend but it also was the start of Spring Break for many schools and weather delays the previous day in Dallas and snow in Chicago had made a mess of the airport. Even the First Class and Automated check-in lines were very long so I ended up not making that magic "40 minutes before departure" checkin window. Given that I was sitting in First Class and my top tier status, I just assumed that I would either be able to stand by or get another flight to Dallas later in the day so I proceeded to stand-by on the 6:55 AM flight using the automated check-in machine and gave up my bag to the lady behind the check-in counter.

After going through Security, I proceeded to the Admiral's Club to try to assess my situation. It seems that all the weather delays had clogged the already jam packed system (remember, US carriers have cut back the number of flights so much that virtually every flight these days is completely full under normal conditions). I found out that my chances of making the stand-by flight were not good even though I was number 2 on the list (and the list was 30 people long) because the flight was already oversold. When I asked to find another flight, even routing through one or more other cities, I was told after half an hour or more that there simply were no seats available anywhere that would get me to Dallas that day. So, I decided to try the standby anyway.

Suffice it to say that I didn't make the stand-by flight (they were asking for 8 volunteers to take a later flight so I knew I was in trouble) so I decided that rather than wasting the entire day at the airport, I would just book a flight the following morning and go get some work done. I went back to the Admiral's club to get them to send my bag back up to the front counter. Come to find out, my bag had successfully stood by on the 6:55 flight even though I hadn't. Now, I realize that airlines sometimes violate the TSA policies by sending bags on different flights than the owners but I couldn't believe it. They had no idea when/if I would ever be able to get to Dallas yet they felt like it was okay to just send my bag anyway.

Have you ever seen how they collect these bags? Basically, they wait until everyone has grabbed the bags and then they pick up any that are left and stick them in storage -- there is absolutely no security to make sure that someone doesn't just pick up your bag and walk off with it. Fortunately, I was able to call my wife and have her go to the airport to claim my bag when the flight landed. However, it just amazes me the level of apathy in the US airlines and their employees these days.

I was half tempted to go up to the baggage office when I got back to Dallas the following day and ask them where my luggage was just to see what would happen and what, if anything, they would be willing to do to compensate me for losing my bag...but I decided not to if for no other reason than to avoid the frustration.

Many of you may be unaware but apparently, the US has just eliminated some of the restrictions on our airspace so that it is easier for foreign air carriers to compete with the US carriers for the lucrative international routes (direct flight from Dallas to Bangkok, anyone?). My sense is that this will be the tipping point that will finally either force the US carriers to either change their ways or go out of business. If you have never flown one of these foreign air carriers, I strongly urge you to try them. In general, their planes are newer and their service is better (especially the Asian carriers like Cathay, Singapore, and Thai).

Will there come a day when I have the choice to book my flight from Dallas to Chicago on either Cathay Pacific, British Air or Lufthansa? One can only hope...