Complaints

Printer

Posted on by backuphill

green and black industrial machine

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I should have known. Experience has taught me otherwise, but I went against my better judgement…

Someone in the house burned up the rest of the toner in the printer and I can’t print the documents I need for work this morning. So, I am hastily trying to figure out how to make things work before the meeting (oh, yes, while frantically Pissing and Moaning to you all).

When the printer gave a “low toner” alert, I went on Amazon and purchased an off-brand toner cartridge because the reviews said it was good and the description said it would fit the printer. Model numbers, everything lined up. Better judgement (and some spotty past experience) in me said this was risky but when trying to save a penny here and there you sometimes feel like you gotta take a chance.

Well, that chance failed. The box clearly says it should fit, but the toner cartridge clearly doesn’t! The printer manufacturer must have changed the loading cartridge without this off brand company getting the message because it isn’t even close.

So, work arounds and a little added stress. I can do it and it wasn’t the other household member’s fault since they, just as I would have, assumed we had a replacement ready to go.

It’s just really irritating when you do all the necessary research to make sure you are doing it correctly (forget the off-brand part, LOL) and still have it end up wrong.

TGIF.

This too shall pass, but I am going to Piss and Moan loudly about it on my Amazon review and return.

Last minute

Posted on by backuphill

round silver colored wall clock

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Despise.

Irritation.

Annoyance.

Let’s just say, I don’t like it when people wait till the last minute to do something and then act like it is everyone else’s fault when it doesn’t get done on time. Oh, and they take it out on everyone around too!

Like seriously? You had all freaking day to get it started. It’s not like the schedule right now had ya so busy that you didn’t have time. So why exactly did you wait until the last minute to get started?

Want me to help? OK. Fine. I can do that. Wait? Gonna yell at me because of the way I am helping? OK. I’m out. I’m done. Handle it yourself. I’ll be over here minding my own business while you scramble to correct your procrastination. Good luck with that.

Co-workers? Spouse? Kids? Extended family? All of them – check!

What is with people? Why do they do it to themselves, let alone others?

Anyone else had it up to their ears with these kinds of issues? Especially these days since our daily lives and schedules aren’t as full as they used to be?

 

 

Breakthrough

Posted on by backuphill

As Gomer Pyle used to say, “Surprise, surprise, surprise!” You could also throw in his “Shazam!” or “Golly!”

There was a breakthrough. I am holding my breath, but at least there may be a payoff to my concerted effort and persistence.

Goal Zero finally responded to my customer service inquiry – only nine days after submission. Not with an answer I liked, but at least it was an answer.

And Ryobi, finally, after two hours on hold yesterday and then resorting to the “call back” (yeah, don’t fall for that ever…) option for no response. I called again this morning and after 20 minutes on hold, someone actually picked up!! They were very nice and got the process started for tool replacement via the warranty. Mind you, this was just the first step so there are still things on their end that they need to do, but I am hopeful. Hopeful that at least the process will now go the way it should have at the start.

Persistence. Patience. Bargain with the devil? Nah, I didn’t have to go that far, but I was contemplating the next step…a witch’s curse? Pentagram on the garage floor? Flaming sacrificial alter for burning the tools? There are a lot of options when you think about it.

Hopefully none of you out there are doing customer support. If so, know that you may not be safe from the dark world. As a matter of fact, maybe that is why I have had strange happenings in my home office…perhaps I have been cursed in my role for customer service…that might explain the strange goose-pimples at odd times of the day…

I’m out! I gotta go get my protection on.

man wearing gray and red armour standing on the streets

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Most popular

Posted on by backuphill

food breakfast fork bagel

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I am not sure why, but one post on here seems to be the most popular.

Apparently there are a lot of people dealing with moldy bagels! Specifically, moldy bagels from Costco.

A post I wrote, “Costco’s moldy bagel problem,” shortly after I started this blog gets over a 100 views per month. It isn’t all that entertaining as it is much more of a complaint than anything, but apparently people are looking for answers so they click on the link.

The only answer they will find is that freezing them, in an attempt to stave off mold after a day or two, is the only think you can really do. Defrost each time you want one, and eat. There is no other way to stop the mold.

Oh wait, there is. Buy bagels from some place else! Bagels from a local grocery store that makes them fresh each day actually has better bagels for a better price on a dozen. They don’t mold nearly as quickly! Plus, the habit of slicing and freezing hasn’t gone away. It just works for me.

Anyway, I always find it interesting that this post is the most clicked on. Do you have a post that surprises you for the frequency that it gets visited?

Blah!

Posted on by backuphill

It’s been that kind of week.

Blah!

Customer service issues that still haven’t been resolved. Radio silence. Crickets everywhere.

Work has been overwhelming in trying to help schools with distance learning with little to no guidance from the state on how they should be tracking attendance, engagement, or even if they need to do it. Every call is a lot of shoulder shrugging, head nodding, what ifs, and apologies for not being more helpful.

BLAH!

It’s Friday.

I have never run a marathon, but is this what it feels like?

I need this weekend like no other.

Customer service?

Posted on by backuphill

 

The saga widens.

If you’re a business, staying in contact and helping your current customers is important for continuing to be a business. This shouldn’t even be a question. It’s a given!

If you’re a business and want to stay in business, you should respond to potential customer inquiries so they can decide if they want to buy your product. Again, this should be a given.

Customer service these days (well maybe always, but definitely more noticeable these days) is severely lacking in all kinds of different places. With most business being shifted online because of the current lockdown, customers are trying to reach out to companies as they deal with product issues or consider purchases. I am no different.

The Ryobi issue is still ongoing…no call back from the Warranty Department. Do I call every day now? Do I wait it out? Should I create a Twitter account just so I can go on there and shame them into helping me?

I emailed a company to ask about a product I currently have to see if they had a connection cable needed to connect to another product I have of theirs so they would work together. As yet, no response to that email from Goal Zero.

On top of that, I took the battery out of one of the vehicles and took it to a local company to have them check it out. It died in the vehicle for no reason and there isn’t anything that was drawing power from it, so I was wondering if it was bad. I dropped it off on Saturday with the understanding they would call on Tuesday or Wednesday with the test results (seemed like a long time to me, but OK). Yesterday afternoon came and no call. I called them. “Oh, yeah, seems to be working fine but we would like to test it one more time.” So, I’ll be picking that up this afternoon, hopefully.

Is this normal? Is customer service normally this bad?

Anyone else having a hard time getting online customer service? This stuff shouldn’t be that hard as it can mostly be done remotely. Are companies really not that nimble to make adjustments for customer service? Is it that hard to pick up a phone and just call?

I would be interested to know if you are experiencing more frustration than normal when contacting customer service.

Warranty Department

Posted on by backuphill

fashion hand hurry outfit

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Continuing the saga from yesterday…

With a phone number and instructions to have tools, batteries, and chargers on had when I call the number, I called this morning to make sure that I was calling during East coast hours.

The call was answered by a machine and the instructions were the same as I received in my call yesterday. Then it proceeded to read back my phone number and ask if I would like a call back when someone to handle my call was available, if so, press 1.

1

And now I wait? Until when? It’s been two hours so far. Am I just supposed to wait all day by the phone, in the garage, staring at the tool that doesn’t work?

So, the saga continues…

 

A tool story

Posted on by backuphill

Technology in today’s day and age allows companies and customers to better interact.

That could mean that customers have better access to product information and new offerings from a company. It could mean that companies provide better support and customer care when issues arise with it’s products. It could mean that customers are able to communicate with the company their needs for tools and features they need.

Regardless of what could happen, customers should have a good experience with the product and the company. It’s what keeps them coming back to the company and it’s what also has them recommend the company’s products to people they know.

A little over a year ago, I decided it was time to update my power tools so I decided that having something with lots of tools and one battery system would be the best since they are all interchangeable. The answer was…

Ryobi.

In general, I like the tools. They 18v One+ system is a great idea because of the variety of tools that will work off one battery system. No need to have a bunch of different battery sizes and no need to have to buy new and newer tools since other companies keep changing their batteries all the time.

So, I invested. I bought a multiple tool set and over the last year I have added several more tools and a new set of extra batteries with a quick charger (30 minutes to be exact). It’s been a little less than a year since I did this and everything has worked as expected until now.

That 30 minute charger just up and died…used it two weeks ago and it work and then went to use it last week and it didn’t. Nothing. No power.

So, I wanted to find out what now. It is less than a year old and is probably under warranty. I logged into their website, ryobitools.com, and navigation is PAINFULLY SLOW! It takes minutes just to get their page to load, let alone navigate from one place to another once you actually get there.

All I could think as I wait and wait and wait is, “Really?” With a company this large with that kind of budget, they can’t get a website that is zippity-do-dah fast? Kind of not really great customer service, ya know?

When I finally get to the “Contact” page I called the Power Tools phone number for support, 800-525-2579, and their navigation system is garbled and hard to understand…and the number they say to push for help sounds like “8” but when you push that number is says it is invalid. I called several times and finally pushed “2” (sounds nothing like “8”) and got through. WTH? Seriously. I am not joking. Call it yourself.

So, besides having a painfully slow website, they also have a call system that is garbled and hard to understand. Makes total sense for a company trying to get and keep customers, right?

Oh, and after I talked with someone I have to call another department (East coast times, mind you) to get warranty help. I’ll let you know how that goes…

Day 5

Posted on by backuphill

man sitting and closing eyes on teal bench

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Vacation, Day 5:

The last day of official vacation.

It has been one for the record books. Not so much that it was epic but more like it was about as uneventful and boring as if I was sitting at home on the couch. Oh wait! I was doing that…mostly.

Today’s plans? More of the same. The sun is out but should I be optimistic about sticking around? Come on, do you know me by now or what? LOL Maybe I’ll go for a drive and reacquaint myself with some countryside I have seen in a while. Maybe not.

The only thing that isn’t the same today is that it is my youngest’s birthday. She is 17 today. There was already a Zoom birthday party for her in the middle of last week (queue the cancelled vacation plans this week), so I am not even sure I’ll get to see her today other than virtually. That sucks, but as she is getting older with more responsibilities so I know it will become more common regardless of a lockdown or not. Still, not sure what today holds for that and her.

I am pretty sure I’ll end today with a fire and a beer. Can’t decide if the fire should be in the fire pit or just set the house on fire and enjoy the fireworks from the front lawn.

This was the most uneventful and worst vacation ever.

Day 4

Posted on by backuphill

Vacation, Day 4:

Irritation. Irritability. That’s what’s on the agenda today.

No plans and it sucks.

Mother Nature decided to give us the gift of sunny weather this week for spring break (it wasn’t supposed to be, plus this is the PNW where it rains all the time). The downside of this gift is that everyone is stuck at home: vacation plans cancelled, with money but don’t want to spend it on big projects because no one is sure how long the lockdown will last, and no place to go but the yard.

Thanks. Thanks a lot.

I guess I’ll wander aimlessly in the garage again today and see if I can find something else to put away or organize. I guess there is always more to do in there…

Vacation, Day 3 Update:

The murder plans went well. All the spray has been used. The results should be evident starting as soon as today, but for sure in a couple more days . No humans or pets were harmed.

Oh, and I started working on a project yesterday that didn’t go as planned (actually just finishing up something started long ago). So I am still stewing over that too. Don’t you hate it when things don’t go as you envisioned them in your head?

This is going to be the worst vacation ever.