Why I won't return to Tony Roma's

Today I had a great meal and decent service, but a really bad experience. I live near Tony Roma's Doral. I've been eating there regularly since they opened. I've been eating at their chain since the very first one opened in North Miami Beach back in the 1970s. Yeah, most people don't know it started right here near my Grandma's house -- a dark, dingy place up against the railroad tracks; but long since closed. Mighty good eating at fair prices.

Over the years they have continued to jack up their prices but I still go. You know what? It's all about the food. If the food's good and the place is clean you can forgive a lot. But I can't forgive being insulted as a customer. They've managed to do it.

So we (me and a business associate were there) ordered our drinks, then when they came, our food. My associate asked for the bread right away because he was hungry. We were told that "bread now costs a buck." The entrées are now $16 to $22 each -- just raised recently. Our particular entrées were $18. I bumped in and asked specifically why they would do that to which our server had no answer. He was hungry so we paid the buck (and were charged) for the bread over my strenuous objections. It's not the buck, which I can afford but the principle of the matter.

They could raise their prices a little more and still give the bread away. Or they could serve it on request? I was offended at how cheap they were. Our tab was around $60 for two people and they wanted that extra buck really bad? Maybe the should have charged for that last minute glass of water too. Cheap bastards is what they are.

I wrote them (in their itty-bitty feedback form box) a short note. I wonder if they shall reply. I don't much care because if they don't change their policy, I won't ever go back: and I hope none of my loyal readers go to any of their restaurants any more.

Here's what I crammed into that itty-bitty box if you're curious:
I've been a loyal customer of yours since I was young. I used to eat at your original NMB store and now eat regularly at the Doral location. You raised your prices again and I understand that. However what I don't understand is how you can raise your prices and ALSO charge me $1 for bread that every restaurant gives out for free. I objected when told, but they say it's been that way for a few weeks. I won't be returning until you change this policy. Shorty's BBQ is just down the block. Not quite as good but they don't insult me by charging $20 for an entrée and then another buck for bread. Nice work -- you should be EMBARRASSED.

4-24-08 Update:

I received an e-mail reply on 4-16-08 which was CC'd to 6 people:

Dear Mr. Seiden:

Thank you for contacting Tony Roma's Guest Relations. Please accept our apologies for the disappointment you had at the Doral Tony Roma's in Miami, FL. Each guest plays an important role in helping us maintain the standards by which we operate and we appreciate your feedback. Your message is being forwarded to Karen Weinberger, Executive General Manager. Management would like to discuss your visit to Tony Roma's and will contact you at the earliest opportunity. Thank you.

Martha Killion
Guest Relations
Romacorp, Inc.
(Phone redacted)

Having not yet received a reply from ANY of those people as of 4-24-08 548pm:

Dear Everyone:

Judging by the lack of any further contact, I must assume this to be entirely untrue. You sent this email to quite a few people. Nobody's made any effort to contact me. (I don't specifically care, but this certainly does make me just a bit more ticked off than I was). "Earliest Opportunity" implies some level of urgency. The time elapsed has indicated there is no sense of urgency.

Peace Out.
-- E

All Sorts of Tidbits II

Ah, yes, the compendium type post. Sure to be of interest to no-one, except, guess what? You're here reading it. So it must interest someone at least little on some level. That or your RSS reader has let you down in a spectacular fashion.

1. First, the blog is approaching 200,000 posts and I expect we'll hit that number this summer. Though recent traffic has dropped off a bit. I cannot believe how many hits I get, though about 70% of them are what I deem a "worthless" hit. To me, that's someone who reads the one post they came across and never comes back to the blog again.
2. Secondly the mix of visitors has slowly started to change. Search engine referrals are down to 73.5% while website referrals are up to 26% -- Google still provides most of our traffic (75% of that 73%).
3. My post on Led Zeppelin still remains the single most popular post and it generates people who linger and read the 300+ comments. Following that is the post about Daniel Radcliffe's Penis which generates more worthless hits than anything -- apparently people think they're getting the goods from my website. I think not. In third place is the Dell Sucks post which generates traffic as well as getting me lots of sympathetic e-mails. In fourth place is the Crazy Frog post, which like the Penis post, is worthless for valuable traffic. All other posts generate insignificant traffic when measured over time. Short-term some posts like mine on Wolfgang Van Halen and Terry Brooks generate short-terms bursts but then people move on to whatever else is news.
4. A special shout-out goes to Maury Wilkinson. She's the one who challenged me to make a blog. So I should thank her for that. But that's not why she's getting the shout-out here. She's been bugging me forever to get a TiVo. I broke down and got a DVR today (which she calls a Ti-Faux because it's a generic one) so I don't have to miss House, Heroes, and Lost any more. We'll see how I like it.
5. I love being a grammar Nazi. No, really. I'm not perfect but I am better than most people. And I certainly know the difference between your/you're and it's/its -- which about 80% of the people who write me obviously don't. I started a thread on my Panthers Hockey Message Board (which actually tracks back to another thread on a different board). I am only mentioning this because the thread is awesome. And better yet, the spiteful bitch on the original thread, who apparently runs the LED board, made an ass out of herself, engaged in petty-name calling, and then used RED on the matrix board to make the error worse.
The thread got locked and the entire ad was gone from the last game. Victory is mine! (Okay, it's got nothing to do with me or anything I said, but still.)
6. My guest room is now wired for HDTV for the benefit of my guests. And I've installed a new flat-screen LCD TV. Isn't that great? Except I don't like guests. Damn -- I think that may be ironic. That's why I'm in the process of finding a new home for my Sony KV27EXR10.
7. I saw Horton Hears a Who. It is surprisingly good. Really. Except when they break into song at the end -- a clear Shrek rip-odd. Everyone knows the story, has read the book, etcetera so there's no point in me going over it. You will like it. Visually appealing, very entertaining, and just a good film. Really. Saw previews for Ice Age 3, Narnia: Caspian, Wall-E and Speed Racer. I can't wait to see the first three. I was looking forward to Speed Racer but the preview has me reconsidering.
8. My neck still hurts (see accident report) and though it was getting better, it's acting up again. Not sure why. But my C4 vertebrae is in the wrong place according to the x-ray the chiropractor took. I definitely have whiplash. Progressive Insurance are being serious poopy-heads about it, and I've written a letter to their CEO and the State of Florida Insurance Commissioner. They lied to me, and I caught them in the lie. They also tried to get me to sign a waiver of rights including all future rights. I'm not even cured yet and they want to buy me off for a small pittance. I was very up-front. I want them to pay my medical bills. Nothing more and nothing less. Apparently they think this is unfair. State Law entitles to me reimbursement for missed work and other benefits. I wasn't really excited about the paperwork, but I suppose I have to do it now. It's clear they are lying scum and do not have my best interests at heart. Ultimately, I will be better so I'm not worried about long term issues, but if they think I'm signing a waiver for something down the road, they're nuts. What if something was missed on the x-ray? Too many things could go wrong. Woe be the person who gets rear-ended by a Progressive policy holder. Progressive Sucks. They must use Dell laptops :)
9. I am opposed to bio-fuels. Why? Food should not be used to operate cars when people are starving to death all over the planet. I can't imagine why anyone thinks this is a good idea.

Why Led Zeppelin Sucks, Part II

(This post was edited on 27 October to include additional chart data)

On 5 March 2005, I made the obvious and ludicrously titled post "Why Led Zeppelin Sucks" which has generated tens of thousands of hits on this blog. Two-and-a-half years later, it's still generating traffic every single day as well as random hate-mail to go along with it. I have finally decided to say more on this matter because there's obviously still massive interest in this.

I am amused because at no point did I ever actually say Led Zeppelin sucks, because quite frankly they don't. However, the people "reading" the post -- who quite clearly haven't read it -- reply with such vehemence and often vitriol, it's amazing.

First, if you think Led sucks, I will not argue with you one way or another. You certainly can have your opinion. You won't be alone, but I will surmise you will be in small company. Led is talented and there's no question about it. You can dislike them, certainly, because that is a matter of personal taste. I dislike Luciano Pavarotti, but I don't like opera. That doesn't mean he sucks or lacks amazing talent. It just means I'm not a fan. Pretty simple concept many people miss.

Then, I made a most tragic mistake of comparing them to Pink Floyd. I say tragic because of all the fighting it caused. Do I think Pink Floyd is better than Led Zeppelin? You betcha! Go read the original post and comment away if you'd like. However, it's still a matter of personal opinion. Dark Side of the Moon is, perhaps, one of the very best albums ever made. Every single song on it's very good, stands on its own, and evokes emotions. The album IV (Zoso/Runes/etc) on which Stairway to Heaven appears is a very average album overall. It happens to have one of the best songs ever created on it: only a philistine would dare say Stairway isn't one of the best rock songs ever written and I love that song. But it's one song. The album has seven other songs, and some of 'em, they ain't great: just average.

If you want to compare songs, Stairway will probably dust anything Floyd wrote -- and I am a huge Floyd fan. But if you want to compare albums and oeuvres, then Floyd will win. Their overall output was of far better quality overall. And there aren't hundreds of accusations of plagiarism over Floyd's heads, either. For the record, Led has settled several of these suits out of court, so there is merit to the accusations. (Stairway remains untouched by any allegations.)

If you want a true measure, here are the top 10 entries for the most weeks on the Billboard Top 100 charts. Note that totals are for the main albums chart only, catalog chart totals are not factored in. Please note who is in SOLE POSSESSION of first place -- remaining on the top 200 chart for 14.25 years. YEARS!

1. (741 weeks) The Dark Side of the Moon — Pink Floyd
2. (490 weeks) Johnny's Greatest Hits — Johnny Mathis
3. (480 weeks) My Fair Lady — Original Cast
4. (331 weeks) Highlights from the Phantom of the Opera — Original Cast
5. (302 weeks) Tapestry — Carole King
6. (295 weeks) Heavenly — Johnny Mathis
7. (283 weeks) Oklahoma! — Soundtrack
8. (282 weeks) MCMXC a.D. — Enigma
9. (281 weeks) Metallica — Metallica
10. (277 weeks) The King and I — Soundtrack
11. (277 weeks) Hymns — Tennessee Ernie Ford

There are many theories as to the hold of Pink Floyd on the charts. Most center around the fact that people bought their copies on vinyl and wore them out. It wasn't until it came out on CD that it finally drifted off the charts. Led is conspicuously absent.

If you go for best-selling album of all-time in the USA, then Led and Pink are tied in third place behind Michael Jackson's Thriller and The Eagles Greatest Hits (which I refuse to count, as it's a compilation album and not an original work). If you go worldwide, then The Eagles drop down and Led drops even further.

I just had to say this because the debate will not die. But it bothers me when people say I hate Led Zeppelin. I don't. I am not a fan, but I respect them, what they've done, and can assure you both Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin will both be remembered long after rock dies*.

(*Rock will never die, dammit.)

Bush and the Deficit

The US is nearing its credit limit according to Henry Paulson, the treasury secretary. Yes, not only have the past seven years turned us from a budget surplus to being in the hole, that hole is now $8.9 trillion dollars. Trillion. With a "T" to be exact. Or in numbers that's $8,965,000,000,000 -- which is what it will be on 10-1 when the US government will exceed its credit limit. I am not making that up. Yep, we're about to overdraw our checking account. The Senate has approved raising the limit to $9.82 trillion as a temporary fix, the fifth such increase in the past 6 years. The US has never missed a debt payment, and has always upheld "the full faith and credit" motto making our currency stronger.

Everyone wants to know why the dollar is currently hovering at record lows against most major currencies. This is a big part of the answer. Not only has Bush sold our integrity, our respect, he's sold our souls to the highest (or perhaps it's lowest) bidder.

Sleep easy. If you were to pay this off at $1 million per day and there was no interest, it would take you 26 years to pay it off. And that assumes the budget is miraculously balanced. To put it in different terms, if every living person from newborns to those about die, who was a US citizen were to pay $30 per day, it would take a year to pay it off. Or if everyone paid $11,000 we could do it right now. I'll ask Bill Gates for his share -- you go ask the new baby next door and the homeless guy down the street.

For shame, shame, shame.

I hate Christmas

Dear God Almighty. I was at BJ's Wholesale today to buy some bulk stuff for work -- this is a routine event. Today, I wish to point out is 22 September 2007. They had artificial Christmas trees, wrapping, decorations, and were playing Christmas music. It's 93 days away. Save us all from holiday creep.

How on earth can you have Halloween Decorations next to Christmas Decorations. They haven't even got that Thanksgiving stuff out yet. It's unseemly and just a little bit creepy.

In other news, Thomas is still in the rehab center for his hip. I went and got his keys and got him stuff from his house. My good deed for today, I suppose. He was under quarantine in his room because of some infection from surgery, so we really couldn't visit much. Went to lunch at Smokey Bones with Erin, Kathy & William, and Adrian. Got home around five, and then went off to BJ's which is what started this post.

The weather outside is frightful.

Dell Hell Redux: Consumers Fight Back

One of the most popular posts I've made on this blog in terms of readership has been Why Dell Sucks and Blows! Don't Buy A Dell! (aka Dell Hell). Although it's only got 23 comments, I've received tons of e-mails -- probably close to 1,000 from all over the world. Amazingly, they've all shared experiences as bad as, or worse than, mine.

I met a few really decent people including an IT professional from Singapore with whom I still occasionally email. All as a result of this post. By reading my IP reports, I can see people from Dell have read my original post. Naturally none of them are polite enough to actually get a reply to my original inquiry -- well over two years now. But one wouldn't expect Dell to behave in a professional manner, so I ought not be surprised.

A little over a week ago, I received an e-mail from France with this request: "Here's a thought: would you consider posting a 'research help wanted' on your blog? The substance would be essentially what I wrote to you (there is a potential class action suit, but we need invoices to document which subsidiary sold what and when), and you could post my e-mail for folks to contact, so you wouldn't be bothered."

[Please note that on the morning of 30 August this post was partially redacted from this point at the request of the parties involved. No hard feelings, but for technical reasons they thought it best I pulled the information they asked me to share. The offer still stands, but you'd have to send it to me for forward for the time being.]

You may contact me with your information and I will forward it along. What they need is a copy of invoices and/or packing slips. You may, at this stage, remove your personal details if you'd like but leave your city, state, and zip code. (Please remove any credit card information that may appear). You may send PDF files or contact him for other methods that may work.

I'd love to tell you how I participated and sent in all of our documentation, but sadly as the machines have been fully depreciated and the warranty's expired, we don't have the receipts any longer. I'm continuing the search, but I at least want to help them with this project because I support anyone who is building a case against Dell.

When Bill Met Steve (A Computer Love Story)

Right, this isn't a love story. I've misled you. Sue me. But this is about Bill Gates and Steve Jobs of Microsoft and Apple Computer respectively and the first time they shared the stage together in over two decades. It was a relatively pleasant meeting in which they both praised each other, joked around, and talked technology. The only uncomfortable moment was when Apple's famous "I'm a Mac. I'm a PC" ads were shown. A full article is here at the BBC News site. Amazingly, despite predictions, Hell has not frozen over.

In other news, Aetna has tried to fuck me again. Yeah. Last week I went in to renew my prescription and they tried the same crap again. After spending nearly an hour at the pharmacy and being irritatingly persistent, I got it fixed but we just know it's going to happen again next time. I have filed yet another formal complaint with the State Insurance Commissioner as well as sending another copy to Aetna's CEO who will, undoubtedly, pawn this off on his "executive response team" which managed to do nothing the last time. To be fair, they replied and said "you got your prescription" implying that since it was fixed there wasn't a problem. I entirely disagree because their system is flawed and the fact it happened again proved it. They made some patently false claims in their reply (and my original doctor's prescription and matching pharmacy label proves they're false -- I even sent them copies so I have no idea how they're arguing). Further, I still believe their "pre-certification" process in which some clerk decides if your doctor is competent ought to be illegal: I do not believe anyone without a medical license should ever be able to override a decision made by a medical doctor, or in my case made by a medical doctor and confirmed by two additional medical doctors. It's bogus of course. Aetna still sucks. I still want an apology from them and they've done nothing close to apologizing, opting instead to making excuses and telling lies.

Why Blogger Beta Sucks

1. This was reported over one month ago via the Blogger contact mechanism. I never got any reply. I understand it's free, and I guess I'm getting what I'm paying for.
2. This problem happens only with New Blogger (Blogger Beta that is not theoretically Beta any more -- it was not an issue with the Original Blogger). I can FTP normally from any other service and with any FTP client. This issue ONLY affects New Blogger.
3. To publish a single (short) post takes 3 to 6 minutes or more. Prior to beta it took about one minute normally, sometimes two on a bad day.
4. I tried to republish my blog yesterday which used to take 10 to 15 minutes under Original Blogger. It has been over FOUR HOURS. Same result again today. Started at 1705pm and it's 2008pm and nothing besides the "taking longer than expected" error message.
5. I'd have switched to Wordpress but Blogger Beta doesn't convert properly yet using normal channels. I'm sure you may have seen my previous post about conversions. And there is now a solution, which I may try -- though I much prefer someone do it for me if there are volunteers. The problem is, I'd have to get my blog to republish for it to work and it's not working.
   

SOMETHING IS BROKEN WITH BLOGGER'S FTP PROCESS. My blog is hosted on my own website (Dreamhost is the hosting company) and I'm connected to Blogger via HellSouth DSL but that shouldn't really matter since Blogger connects to DreamHost directly and it's not actually through the blogger's computer.

I really would like some sort of answer and a fix from Blogger, another DreamHost customer, or anyone out there in the world who uses New Blogger. My frustration is enormous and Blogger has ceased to be fun or useful. Please, please, please help.

You can also contact me via e-mail at darsys (at) AOL (dot) com

(I was going to tell everyone how happy I was to have added Digg buttons but since everything is munged right now, I'll have to pass. Some pages have managed to work, though, so you might start seeing them eventually).

One Hundred Thousand Hits

In the next few days, this blog will record its 100,000th hit since it went live 17 October 2004 -- who could have imagined? That's huge. Traffic has died off over the past year, but that's still an impressive number. It's also terribly misleading.

Most of our traffic is currently driven by the world famous Led Zeppelin Sucks post -- in which I say nothing of the kind. They've directed over 30,000 of those hits. Those users do look around the blog a bit after posting their flames, most of which I don't even release anymore.

The next largest chunk comes from that damned Crazy Frog or Coldplay posts (there are two 1 and 2). Those visitors are worthless and they also account for around 30,000 hits, but for awhile it was sending nearly 75% of our traffic until Yahoo stopped listing us first. They come, read, and leave on the provided links, so it's not quality traffic. They aren't even nice enough to click on one of my Google Adsense Ads. Laugh, but those pennies can add up, and I always appreciate anyone who helps support our site. But ultimately, this isn't about the money because I haven't made any yet :)

The rest of the traffic is mysterious. I analyze my blog traffic regularly and there's no real pattern. I always hope some of the visitors tell me why they came but I get very few comments aside from the aforementioned Led Zeppelin Sucks post, which is a magnet of sorts for comments -- not all intelligent.

I thought my random post about the nude Harry Potter pictures would garner traffic, and they did but very little. Amazingly my post on Terry Goodkind's Phantom have generated some nice traffic -- by that I mean quality traffic, the people who stay and look around. Some of these folks even go to my website.

Google Analytics and Stat Counter are very useful, though for most sites Stat Counter is better suited. The Google Analytics page is more practical for corporate sites as it's pretty complex and overly complex.

A. Briggs Passport Service Really Sucks

Why A. Briggs Passport & Visa Expediters sucks the big, fat furry one. Use them at your own peril. On 18 September 2006, I sent two passports and two visa applications in via Fedex. They were signed for 19 September 2006. I was called on the 19th saying a form was missing. I dispute that because I personally checked all documents for both applications before I sent it in. No matter, I sent that form out Fedex the same day and it was signed for 20 September 2006.

The instructions clearly stated my passport was to be renewed and to do the renewal with extra pages, as my current passport was full. I also included an extra $145 for the rush renewal. I did this because, until it was renewed, the Chinese Business visas could not be applied for. The letter also instructed A. Briggs that we were travelling together and the Visa process was to be done simultaneously.

For the Chinese Visas we also paid the expedited fees. We did this because our departure date was 6 October and we didn’t want any sort of delay. We’ve obtained Chinese Visas before and know the process and procedures and time required.

Anyway, on 27 September 2006 -- this was a full week afterwards -- I e-mailed them to ask about the status. It was bounced back "mailbox overflow" -- this is always a terrible sign at any company. So, then I used their "online chat" feature and was told to call. As instructed, I called to check on the status of our applications. Evelyn answered and I told her the e-mail box was full and she thanked me for letting her know. Then she said their computer didn’t have any information and it appeared my documents were lost. She said the “Passport Director” would call me back shortly as he was on the way into the office.

The next day I called again because I hadn’t received a call back and some lady whose name I can’t recollect, but not Evelyn, answered. She said Chris Estes was going to call me right back. Anyone taking wagers? I called again that evening -- because I hadn't received a call back -- and he said he’d be taking it right over then he changed his story and said he meant it was already there and they were taking their times based on our departure dates.

I reminded him that we paid a great deal of money (hundreds of extra dollars) to have expedited service and our Chinese Visas done together. He said he would personally make sure the passport was renewed by 2 October (several weeks after my application had been sent in). He also promised he’d make sure the Visas were done and he promised they would both be in my hands on 4 October.

I had asked Chris for a refund of all the expediting fees we had paid but he wouldn’t even acknowledge my request saying “these things take time” – even though the whole purpose of an expeditor is to expedite. His company failed in that. And we’ve done this before with other companies so we know what can and can’t be done.

On 4 October my passport arrived without the extra pages. Yeah, my passport only. Greg’s was nowhere to be found. I called and asked for the name of the owner of the company. I was refused that information. I was told I could speak to the local branch manger Pete Davidovich in Washington DC. I pointed out I had called the DC number (202 area code) but was told I was talking to someone in Cincinnati. I said I would talk to Mr. Davidovich but he wasn’t in and would be in “after 6” and I left a message. That’s right. No call back.

I called Greg and let him know the situation. He called and got a horrible run around first being accused of having an application with errors. That wasn’t true because except for the name, his application was identical to mine. And they managed to process it without Greg having to send any more documentation.

Today is 5 October 2006 and Greg still doesn’t have his passport though they assure him it will arrive tomorrow (the 6th) – so now we’re leaving the 7th because of A. Briggs incompetence (assuming they’re even telling the truth, which is in doubt based on their actions to date).

So, just to sum it up, don’t ever use this company because they really suck. Actions speak louder than their website.

6 October update: I tried to e-mail them and it's still bouncing so I just went on-line and told them using their chat service that it's still broken. You gotta' wonder about a company who hasn't cleaned out its mailbox in over two weeks. A high quality outfit to be sure (voice dripping with sarcasm).

They have fixed the problem. Please see my new blog entry.


User mailbox exceeds allowed message count: info@abriggs.com


Original message follows.

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Date: Thu, 05 Oct 2006 19:36:55 -0400
Subject: Adjustment Request
From: Eric Seiden
To: <info@abriggs.com>
Message-ID: <C14B0F57.AA7C5%eric@interstate-screw.com>

Revisting Why Dell Sucks and Blows!

Why Dell Sucks was my original anti-Dell blog post. So I am now experiencing a huge, joyful rush of schadenfreude* at this news:

Shares of Dell Inc. plunged to their lowest level in nearly five years Friday after the world's largest computer maker slashed its second-quarter earnings outlook below Wall Street's estimates, blaming its aggressive price cutting and a slowing global market.

Maybe it's the fact they treat their customers like shit and word is finally getting out? Remember, don't buy a Dell, or you deserve what you get.

The sell-off wiped out nearly $5 billion of Dell's market value in a single day. And even though analysts believe the shortfall is largely a company-specific problem, the news sent shivers through the entire technology sector, with shares of companies that supply parts to computer makers....

Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy.

The news highlighted the notion that the "Dell era" is over, wrote UBS analyst Benjamin A. Reitzes in a note to clients, keeping a "Hold" rating on the company's stock."Internally, the company is in disarray. They are finding it difficult to compete because they are so used to winning,"

I pretty much feel like yelling at the top of my lungs: FUCK YOU MICHAEL DELL -- YOU FESTERING WORTHLESS PILE OF SHIT.

BTW, in other Dell news, my Aunt has a new Dell laptop which he job provided. The transformer sparked and threatened to burst into flame when she tried to plug it in. She called them and they promised to send her one Next Day Air on Monday. As of Wednesday it hadn't arrived. She's surprised at this. I can't imagine why she'd be surprised at it, but she is.


* wow I've used this word twice in my blog -- what a shock

Why Dell Sucks and Blows! Don't Buy A Dell! (aka Dell Hell)

[This document was sent on our company letterhead via UPS Red. This version has certain phone numbers and order numbers removed for privacy reasons. They are, of course, in the original. It is unedited otherwise.]

Wednesday, August 31, 2005

Dell Inc.
Michael Dell and Michael George
Business Systems Division
One Dell Way
Round Rock, TX 78768


Dear Sirs:

I want to tell you quite clearly why this Dell machine is our last. I have never been treated so poorly and so indifferently by a group of people. Your “customer care” department doesn’t care about anything much less their customers. The courtesy of a written reply is requested.

My company distributes construction supplies and hurricane related supplies – check our website to see how hurricane oriented we are. Before and after a storm we are at our very busiest because the products we sell enable people to protect their homes and businesses from the storms and to repair their homes and business after the storm. Without computers our business is brought almost to a halt, as everything needs to be done manually. Plus orders that are e-mailed don’t arrive at all. We’re based in Florida where we get more than our fair share of hurricanes.

Thursday evening the 25th of August, Hurricane Katrina pounded us rather badly, with the eye wall of the storm passing directly over us. We tried to open Friday the 26th but due to lack of water, electricity, and passable roads we unable to and gave up. Saturday morning we came in and emergency power was in place. Our Dell Dimension 4600 came up and running just fine but within five minutes there was a loud “pop” and it died. The timing could not have been worse. I am not unreasonable I do not fault Dell for an act of Mother Nature.

I immediately called tech support. The man I spoke to (an Indian) was very helpful and after 15 minutes was relatively confident the power supply was the problem. I explained how critical this machine was along with the data on it. I said I didn’t care what it cost, but I needed someone to fix it immediately. He said he couldn’t help with that but that the parts department could. I need to point out I deal with foreign call centers all the time, and unlike most Americans they don’t bother me if they’re well run.

Around 8:50am I was connected to the parts department. The parts department (another Indian) said they could send me the special, proprietary power supply. I said that with no other alternative, that would have to do, but I repeated five times that it must be sent UPS RED EARLY AM delivery: that means by 830am. I specifically asked him if he understood what I needed. I explained how important it was. He took my credit card information and said it would be done. The order number was XXXXX.

I spent all day Saturday calling every single computer store in town that was open, asking if they had a power supply for this unit. They all said “No because Dell uses non-standard parts so you have to deal with them.” Why is such a common part proprietary?

Monday morning, at 9:04am I called parts and asked where my supply was. The nice lady (another Indian) informed me it was in Ohio and that it didn’t ship until Sunday. She suggested that perhaps I call DHL and see what they could do. She didn’t quite seem to get why I was upset and she had this idea it was going to be delivered “later in the day” even though it was still in Ohio. She said I could speak to Technical Support who could help me. After 1 hour and 18 minutes on hold, I got someone who said he couldn’t do anything. I repeated again that it wasn’t the cost, and that I wasn’t asking for anything free, just for someone to come in and fix the computer. He said only Parts could authorize that. After more time on hold, I was finally connected with Parts who said only Tech Support could authorize that.

I asked for the phone number to your corporate office and was refused that information. I called my stockbroker and asked him to look it up. You’re a public company after all. I called your corporate offices and asked to speak to an officer of the company. I was transferred to “Escalation” where I got a “this mailbox is full – please try later” message and got disconnected. I called back immediately and again asked for a human to speak to and was transferred before I even finish my sentence to another voice mailbox which, guess what, was also full.

By noon, I was pretty furious as you can imagine. I called again, and this time got a Customer Care agent in Ireland. She was very friendly but not much more helpful, though she at least pretended to be sympathetic. She transferred me back to Parts and promised to stay on the line, but she didn’t. As always, I was asked for a phone number ‘in case we get disconnected’ but (of course) when I was, nobody called back. It’s nice to have a perfect record but not in this case.

I called your corporate office again and got your “Dell Switchboard” again, which I finally figured out is bogus because you can’t get anybody with authority or anyone who even cares. Finally, I get some lady who tries valiantly to help and stay on the line with me, but said “the hold time is too long” and she’d have to leave me to my own devices. She gives me a third case number (XXXXX, XXXXX, and XXXXX are my three case numbers for the same issue.)

I want to point out that every single person I spoke to was clearly explained to that this was your error and that I didn’t even care about the money, but I just wanted it fixed. Nobody wanted to authorize a technician to come out to our place of business and fix our machine.

I was, sometime around 1pm, after being on the phone with Dell for four hours, transferred to a Tech Support line in Panama. I got a technician named Enrique. You should put him in charge of your company. He listened to me, read the case information, and agreed I had been screwed over. He sat with me on the line for nearly 40 minutes waiting for somebody to come to the line – and they blew him off too. He then took the initiative and scheduled a repair order for an on-site person in an effort to help me (062000311) and I wish to report that I was never called in order to make the appointment. Finally around 3pm, I called the 800 number and they said they’d call me in a day or two to see what they could do. Nobody at your company has any sense of urgency. Do you not understand the severity of this situation?

Tuesday I spent more time on the phone as my system was still down. Your dispatch department couldn’t dispatch anyone because they claimed I didn’t have the part. I told them it was in my hands having finally arrived just before lunchtime, but they argued that their computer reflected otherwise. I asked for a supervisor and spoke to Allison. She took my credit card number and promised someone would be here by 2pm. She never called back and no technician showed up. I left messages for her that were not returned. I called late that evening to cancel the service call as I had made other arrangements. I was told they couldn’t cancel it and I had to call tech support. There is not a chance in hell of me doing that. At least I was nice enough to try to cancel it. If you charge my card I will protest it.

Today is Wednesday and the damned thing is fixed via another vendor who has been promised all future hardware business for helping me with Dell hardware when Dell wouldn’t. Even your competitors can understand a critically important situation. They came to my aid and that speaks volumes about both them and you.

I had sent a draft of this via email before I added the latest travesties and received a call from someone in your Executive Support department. He was very nice and apologetic but I wish to point out that really doesn’t help.

For the record, every single customer who called us and asked why we didn’t answer their emails and why their order wasn’t shipped was told about our Dell saga. I am making this entire letter available to any of our over 15,000 clients who ask, and when we write a letter of apology to all the affected customers they will be told exactly what we think of Dell. Further, a copy is being posted on our website. If Dell cares to write a letter of apology to my customers, I will gladly send it out along with my apology and a copy this letter. (Please make sure you clearly indicate I have permission to do so)

I care that you caused my customers extreme difficulties when they could least afford it. We care about out customers and you clearly don’t. Forget your words, actions speak loudly. We’ve been in business almost fifty years and I can assure you this type of behavior guarantees you won’t be. You should be ashamed. Your activities, while legal, are immoral. You shouldn’t hide from your customers and you do as evidenced by my inability to get anyone in authority on the telephone.

In the meantime, I expect a full refund of shipping charges on the spare part. You probably should do better than that, but I won’t be holding my breath. I can tell you that you have earned the bad press your customer service has been receiving.



Sincerely,

Eric A. Seiden

[9-7-05 Commentary Update: I have yet to hear from Dell. I appreciate the many e-mails and phone calls of support I've received on this matter. I am sad to report, my experience is obviously not unique. Apparently even people with special on-site guaranteed response-time warranties are treated no better.]

[10-11-05 Commentary Update: I have yet to hear from Dell. I have never heard back from anyone at Dell. Not one single person. This URL was provided by Ernie's Blog and is quite apropos: Dell Comic Panel]

[8-29-07 Commentary Update: It's been two years, and I have yet to hear from Dell. But now, there is a chance for you to FIGHT BACK if Dell has wronged you. Read my new blog post entitled Dell Hell Redux: Consumers Fight Back about it.]

Why Led Zeppelin Sucks

OK, that's not true but it certainly got your attention. You're here reading, aren't you?

Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" definitely is a classic work that sits atop the pantheon of rock songs that will last forever. Nobody would deny it is a singular work of art. I love that song.

However, I was realizing today, that after listening to nearly an entire album, that they are perhaps the most overrated band of all time. That is to say, they are very talented, but people rate them way past what they deserve. They have 2, maybe 3, standout songs on a good album. People talk as if they're unequalled and I disagree. "Kashmir" is great, so is "Stairway" but a lot of their stuff is, quite frankly, throwaway.

The Rolling Stones have (on their older albums) more good songs per album. The oeuvre of the Stones, Beatles, and even Elvis is much better. I think Zeppelin's oeuvre pales in comparison.

For example, Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" has more good songs on it than all of Zeppelin's albums put together, yet many people claim Led is better. I disagree. You can all hate me for this, but I had to say it.

-- E

NOTE: I have made a follow up blog post in October 2007.

I hate Bad Service

Today, I took Grandma to Rascal House, because we like it there. Besides, it's an Institution in these parts. The food is always good. The service is generally surly but efficient.

The service was inexplicably horrible today. Grandma hates when I make a scene or the manager would have heard about it. I had the last say. I left a very tiny tip ($3) and on the credit card receipt I wrote (where it can't be removed without damaging the receipt) "Great Food, Horrible Service" -- I hope his boss sees it.

Of course, I will go again because it's a great place to go for very filling, overpriced breakfast.

-- Eric

Medical Crap

Yeah, whatever. I had a horrible medical experience earlier this month. I wrote very testy snail-mail letters to my soon-to-be ex-doctor and CVS Pharmacy. I will spare you the bloody (literally) details of what started this all and fail to mention it continues. I am in search of an excellent dermatologist who actually gives a shit about his patients.

Be that as it may, I was actually shocked to hear from both the doctor in question (who did not apologize or even make an excuse) but he did want to see me again. I am undecided. I also received three e-mails from CVS's corporate office indicating they are investigating. Although it's too late for me (not in a fatal way) maybe no other patient will be put through the hell I experienced.

-- E