...born april 17, 1951 makes me an Aries/Taurus,
or, in other words, a logical romantic...

...so my mouth runs away with itself and i'm a dreamer
but that's tempered with the strength of my convictions
based on a core belief in honour, truth and fairness...

bd



In the last decade "Corporate Canada" has filled our lives
with their definition of convenience.

Some of it was based on promises of better things to come.

Buzz-words like cheaper, easier-to-use, more convenient, new and improved,
instant, sex-appeal, fast, faster, fastest and on sale, drives the consumer market.

"CC" managed to fill our lives with a mess of time-consuming little things...
and "hardly noticable" pains-in-the-ass!

Well, with some things, I don't want to play anymore!
Below is a list and some personal opinions on some products,
adverts, and behaviors I just don't do or I find offensive.

I've made the calls to let the appropriate people know my feelings,
and that in itself can be a real trial-of-fire!
People who can make any difference are above the 1-800 (call-center) level
and long distance phone charges can really add up!

But,
in order to have any chance of changing anything,
you must let them know how you feel.

Make the call, write or fax them.
It is the least that they should expect from you
and you can't really complain if you don't try and effect change.

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First on the list of most aggravating behaviors is

VOICE-MAIL!

I consider VM an insult and believe that we deserve better treatment
from people we give our money to or are public servants.
It is set up so "they" call you back at their convenience, not yours...

The only thing worse than VM is the touch-tone process you get stuck in
before you get that voice mail
Press 1 for this, 2 for that, and 3 to get there...
and then s'more 1,2,3, or 4

One
The oxymoron of the 21st century
"Your call is important to us, please hold."
If me call is so important to you, answer your damn phone!

Two
All this button pushing is just a time tax!
If you spend 1 minute a day on hold, you wasting 6 hours a year!
Figure how much life-time you spend on hold and do the math.
It's scary how much time-tax we pay listening to dead air
or someone's idea of background music...

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HEWLETT PACKARD has got to have the most frustrating voice-mail process.
I have an environmental concern about how ink-cartridges are packaged and priced.
So, I decided to make my opinion known to the powers that be at HP.

Talk about multiple layers and choices. I started dialing at 20 min before noon.
I didn't get a person until 10 min after noon. It was a process of
choose, choose, choose, choose, and choose again and then the line was busy!

Start again with choose, choose, choose, choose, and choose again and then
on hold for 8 more min and then dead air and a disconnect!

Okay, so dial again, at long-distance cost, to Head Office Canada
to talk to someone in charge. Guess what! More voice-male!
It's lunch time and no one in management is there.

Start again with choose, choose, choose, choose, and choose again
Same-O, Same-O except that I was on hold for over 10 min this time.

Started again "after the lunch break" and spent another 15 min. of
choose, choose, choose, choose, and choose again and then more holding.

My latest and last effort, at long-distance cost, to Head Office Canada
Guess what!
I got someone but they couldn't tell me who could address me concerns.
They said that they would find someone to call me back.
(by now they are not concerns, they are issues!!!)

Does Hewlett Packard even care about how they treat their customers?
Do they ever call themselves to check their front line, first contact process.
I think not!

I'm ready to smash my HP Deskjet 692c into small pieces
just for the principle and impact.
I think I will video-tape it for myself too!
It could even be a media event!

The least that is going to happen
is

NO MORE HP FOR ME!

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Have you been a victim of SEALTEST CREAMERS.
They leak when opened!
You have to struggle to even get them open.

The container is called a trim-line and evolved when it was down-sized
from 11 to 10 ml of creamer.
That means you can get a few more in the bulk bag,
(usually for the same price/unit), which equals more profit!

You've just had a nice dinner
and relish that cup of coffee as a relaxing final touch.
The creamer top is a struggle and you manage to get more on your sleeve
than in the cup. Not very nice and the dinner $ now includes cleaning!

I called a Sealtest PR person and gave her a challenge.
I suggested she find the youngest, oldest, a management male,
and a management female type person. Give them each ten creamers
and see how many they can open properly.

She got three while we were talking and the first one she opened
spilled out on her hand, phone, and desk. Do dar!

That was a year ago...
Nothing has changed so...
DON'T USE EM!!!

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