I believe I mentioned that my truck died. The cost to repair it would have been more than I what I would pay for a new truck. I wasn’t sure I even wanted to replace the truck, but it was Laura who talked me into it, saying that she liked having a third vehicle available.  It just had to be a small one she could drive to get gardening stuff. So, we set a budget for that amount and decided to see what we could get.

I had already test-driven a couple of trucks and had some candidates in mind. I had looked through the papers, and I had checked several online websites. Having done my research, I felt like I had a fairly good grasp of the market for small pickups, so on Saturday I set out to see what was really available. I did get a truck, but I’ll save that for last

Used car dealers run the gamut, from cliched plaid jacket wearing caricatures to some decent folks just trying to make a living selling cars. I think I ran into just about all of them. I stopped at one place where the salesman puffed a cigarette the entire time. He apologized, saying that the only time they are allowed to smoke was when they were out on the lot with customers. What??? I left.

I stopped at several little lots along Poinsett Highway. On close inspection, the little trucks on their lots led rough lives. It was a good thing that no one came out to answer questions or let me take a test drive.  Eventually I made my way to Toyota of Greer.  This is where things really took a turn for the bizarre. (more…)

What’s the buzz, tell me what’s a-happenin’,
What’s the buzz, tell me what’s a-happenin’,
What’s the buzz, tell me what’s a-happenin’,
What’s the buzz, tell me what’s a-happenin’,

Why should you want to know?
Don’t you mind about the future?
Don’t you try to think ahead?
Save tomorrow for tomorrow;
Think about today instead.

- “What’s the Buzz?” from Jesus Christ Superstar by Andrew Lloyd Webber

Back in the Good Ol’ Days™, AOL had dominance in the online world.  It started as a self-contained entity with its own news, shopping, and social interactions.  The “Internet” was this other stuff that you had to pay extra to get to on a per minute basis, unless you purchased AOL’s more expensive unlimited plan.  In fact, less savvy users often thought that AOL WAS the Internet, and couldn’t imagine accessing information through any other method.  Browser?  What’s a browser?

Fast forward a decade or so and we like to think we’re so much better off with so many options, especially within the realm of searching and social networking.  However, there’s much evidence today’s social networking corporations have the same attitudes as AOL did.  They only want you to play in their sandbox.

Bing

Let’s start alphabetically with Bing.com.  While not a social networking site, they have inherited all of the exclusivity of their parent company, Microsoft.  They have even invented their own malady, Search Engine Overload, to scare others toward their “decision” engine.”  I think what sent me over the edge was when I tried to install their Bing 3D Maps, supposedly their answer to Google Earth.  I go the following message:

Make Bing my default search engine and prevent other programs from interfering with my choice.

If I had checked that box I would have been locked into Bing permanently, I guess.  The second part of that statement, “interfering with my choice,” is deliberately misleading.  If you click this box, you have no choice. (more…)

Two different stories of breakdowns in customer service.  One had a very simple solution, but one was most difficult to resolve.  Both resulted in ill-will on the part of the customer (us.)  Both of these prove the old saying my former boss used, “It takes ten ‘atta-boys’ to make up for one ‘Oh Sh*t!’”

The Lazy Goat

This was the simplest to resolve, but that didn’t happen.  The customer service faux pas could have been fixed with just one simple phrase, but the offending parties didn’t.

Laura and I celebrated our 21st anniversary last week.  However, we decided to wait until we got home from Florida to have a celebratory dinner at The Lazy Goat.  I made reservations, and specifically requested a table at the windows overlooking the Reedy River.  When we arrived, we were seated in the middle of the restaurant, our request notwithstanding.  The window tables had been taken.

Here’s where things broke down… (more…)

Monday evening was the first rehearsal of the season for the Greenville Chorale.  This fall we’re doing some of my absolute favorite music – Rachmaninoff’s All Night Vigil.  We’re doing it in Russian, which  has caused me no small amount of headaches – not because of the difficulty in singing, but because of inability to say no.

Musica Russica is a company dedicated to making Russian choral music available for performance.  They have also produced an audio pronunciation guide for the Church Slavonic in the vigil.  We have a license to provide the audio guide to the group, and Bing Vick asked if I could find some way to distribute it. (more…)

Warning: Rant ahead

I have a dream.  I don’t know if it’s even possible.  For once, I would like to place a large order of computers, have them be priced appropriately, be delivered on time, and work like they are supposed to when we get them set up.  Is that really too much to ask?

This summer instead of purchasing HP computers we bought Dells.  Pricing and support arrangements through our local system integrator were the main reasons for the switch.  Also, we have had TONS of problems with HP products over the past few years.  Last year deliveries were late and we had the perennial problem with the drivers not wanting to do an inside delivery.  To compound matters, they tried to overcharge us for half a million dollars AND tried to tack late fees onto that as we worked to get the price sorted out.

That was last year.  This summer Dell has let use experience even more different levels of frustration.  Our first delivery had the driver refusing to do what was asked.  That got ironed out quickly, and we didn’t have any more problems.  Then came the deployment.  When we tried to boot up the computers, we found that we had purchased 850 bricks – the computers wouldn’t work. (more…)