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Sprint: I was with them for 4 years. 4 years and my biggest complaint was that I couldn’t use all the minutes in my plan. I had a good plan- and at 4 years old compared to the current prices I was indeed getting a sweet deal by staying with them and renewing that plan. A great benefit of Sprint- was their cheap data plans in a world filled with the rising costs for other carriers. $15 a month on my awesome plan and I could pick out a sweet PDA/Smart phone and still be a great price.

I never needed to call customer service. When my phone broke I went down to the local Sprint store in Orem and they replaced it - twice - for free. I recently had my contract run out and I thought I would take advantage of upgrading to a new phone and get $150 discount by renewing. They have 30 day trials there, which I am gracious for because I wanted to find a phone that fit my needs/likes: and it was nice to know I could try a few. Initially I tried the HTC mogul, LG Musiq, and messed around with a few others. I didn’t quite like any of them so I took them back- and each time I was always using my old plan and the added data plan to it.

Finally they pitch me this “Samsung Instinct, the iPhone killer”. . . the new hotness. . . I double check- make sure I can do the 30 day trial, that I don’t have to buy a different plan, and that if I cancel I will still retain my old plan. With an annoyed looks, my ignorance cost their patience and the rep said in a pissed off tone, “Yeah…. of course…You’ve tried it 4 or 5 times now already, just figure it out and realize that’s how it’ll always be”.

I go to buy the phone, and guess what: I HAVE to buy a new plan. The rep who made me feel stupid was probably laughing inside when he asked, “which plan do you want? $89.00 plan?”… What?! Double what I am paying? .. ..needless to say, I had a debate right then and there. If it is a lot like the iphone, I could love it and only have to pay $100 for the phone and the plan is the same price as the iPhones. Also- this is my last attempt with Sprints phone selection before I stick to my old plan and just get a one of their freebie flip phones….besides, it’s just a trial anyway and I was curious. They sales reps tell me he’s sure I am going to love it, and blah blah blah. I double check that I can cancel and go back to my old plan within 30 days- and pull the trigger and buy it.

So when I decide I don’t like it? The Sprint store in Orem tells me I CAN’T go back to my old plan. No way- no how- their system is programmed that no matter what I do- I can’t have my old plan back even if I return the phone and cancel. I have to pick a new plan? For the same price as my old plan I had to choose a plan that had half of the services I was getting before. But, I am not in contract- but have to pick a new plan? They say the plan is ‘best for the company, an enhancement for more streamlined services’.

I made my decisions based on getting the plan back. I took a cheap plan and tried calling into customer service to see if they could help. Of course they gave me the ‘we upgraded our system’ BS and that I can’t go back. I mention I’ll likely cancel and I get nothing back and the call just became frustrating. If I would have been given clear and truthful information in the beginning, I would have not done the purchase trial of the Instinct- i would have just spent a lot of time in the store testing it out- but my old plan and my desire to stay with it was much higher than risking it on a $100 P.O.S. poor attempt at giving an alternative to the iPhone. Not to mention……. there were 4 or 5 other people at the store at the same time as me, returning their Samsung Instincts too!.

The Iphone 3g comes out not too much later, and I’ve been a very happy camper with Cingular/AT&T/Apple and I really do think my current phone is what I was looking for. AT&T has even proactively called ME 3 times since I signed up to ensure everything is working and to remind me of some benefits.

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When it comes to retail, customer service, and everything someone would expect a company to provide, you’d first of all expect a mass retailer would consider the huge securities around being able to run and use your debt/credit card properly. If ever they don’t do it in the secure, trusted process we all expect: we would at least hope they’d provide some compassion and assistance in rectifying the situation. This was not the case in my experience at a local Best Buy store in Nampa, ID.

In November of 2007 I made a purchase of Guitar Hero II at a recently opened Best Buy. I paid by debit card and received my receipt as usual. As completely opposite to my expectations for that kind of an establishment, two weeks later I noticed in my online-banking account summary that I had two exact same amounts taken out of my bank for the Guitar Hero purchase at Best Buy. One was posted the same day of the actual purchase (this was charged as a regular debit) and one three days later (I later discovered this was charged as a credit card transaction, AND was dated the same day and time of my original Guitar Hero purchase).

I immediately called the store at the Best Buy in Nampa Idaho where this all took place to express my concern and get more details. They of course promised the manager would call me back very soon. It didn’t happen. Three days later I called back and asked for the Manager to get on the phone right then and there. I explained my situation and she said that she would “investigate it.” She didn’t call me back.

After a few days I, yet again, called back and asked for her by name. She said, “Oh, I will call you in one hour”. This I was naturally very skeptical of, based on past history. She did call me back a few hours later though and said that she had completed her investigation of it and found nothing out of the ordinary. I asked her what she had done specifically in the investigation to which she replied, “We counted the inventory and it came out as it should.” I erupted and said, “What?!!! Do you think that a double transaction for the same item isn’t worthy of doing some accounting investigation?! What is to stop an employee from taking one, when they know the inventory would be just fine?” She said, “Oh our employees would never do that.” Thinking, and knowing that’s absolutely ridiculous, I say “What planet do you live on?! Employee theft is the number one cause of shrink in a store – I work for a large retailer and employees do take money and products.” Well…… I never got anything from her but a denial and the runaround until she could end the phone call. No more investigation followed on BestBuy’s part..

So, I contacted my bank again (previously I had them explain the two transactions which as mentioned before were done at the same exact time – one debit and one credit) and they said that they would put that transaction on hold and would investigate. Two weeks later I got a resolution letter and a copy of just my debit transaction. I had explained to them what they should be looking for and they only provided one small piece, the debit receipt. I called them back and pushed for a supervisor - this call went into an foreign call center.

By now I have lost patience with the whole thing. I am frustrated. I am trying to find someone to just simply help me by either showing actual proof or realizing how easily recognizable this problem is. I explained that they need to get BestBuy to show me legal documentation (signature of a Master Card “credit” transaction would suffice) which should have been posted to the bank. Full well knowing they need to at least prove the two sales, they say “oh, we are sorry about the last investigation, we will do it thoroughly this time.” They again put my transaction in my account on hold.

About two weeks later I received an official letter from the bank that they were satisfied that I had made two purchases at Best Buy – one a debit and one a credit on the same day yes still didn’t provide me with anything other than lip service. Likely, it was yet again coming down to an ‘inventory count’.

I called up the bank and they refused to do any more work. They never provided me with a copy of a credit receipt with a signature which BestBuy requires for credit purchases. I called Best Buy and asked for a copy of my credit and debit transaction. Yet AGAIN, They only sent me a copy of the debit purchase. As far as they are concerned I purchased two guitar heroes but refused to do anything more for me.

So – as you are now gathering, I have truly gotten the royal run around- all co-ordinated by BestBuy. It seems SO obvious that there is a problem needing a legal resolution with had taken place, but I do not have the evidence I asked for, because they (best buy and/or my bank) won’t produce it. What ever they said to the bank made the bank go to their side: but why still leave the customer in the dark with ambiguous nonsense? Neither has produced a copy of my credit card transaction to at least resolve my part of the dispute.

I think that Best Buy has a very poor method of looking for an accounting problem and if any of their employee’s really catch wind, they could easily (if they don’t already) have some serious issues with employee theft via double charging a random shoppers card. Granted the store was newer so we can assume some stumbling blocks, but this whole thing with BestBuy was ridiculous. “Our inventory count matched our records.” Well of course it does and someone at that store is secretly laughing about how easy it was to get a Guitar Hero probably knowing full well you wouldn’t give a hoot.

I guess one would resort to small claims court, but I don’t have any evidence to prove my case at this point. I would need a lawyer and some subpoena’s to get to the bottom of it. Alas, it is not worth that type of effort and I am sure that this retailer and many others know this. What effort is it worth? Telling my story online. BestBuy sucks. If I had to review BestBuys overall service, it’s probably for family friendly for you to enter the expletives/4 letter words of your choice.

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I have been with Sprint for 4 years. I have grandfathered my $50 plan (which was great even back then, but is after a 20% discount I got from a previous job) all this time which comes with 1000 anytime minutes, unlimited night and weekends at 7:00 PM, and unlimited text. Not a bad price and something worth sticking around Sprint for. I’ve tried lots of their phones and all-in-all, their options basically just suck right now. Especially when I have kind of had the iPhone itch for a while.

I was reassured that no matter what I can always keep my plan if I re-sign. Since nothings satisfied my needy/picky desire, I was encouraged to wait for the Samsung Instinct. Since my biggest problems so far with other phones Sprint offers has been operating system related (and a few times hardware as well), Samsung was releasing their own OS on this ‘great hardware’ to boot. It’s my last attempt to stay with Sprint before I leave for greener pastures (which really might not exist… I know)

Over all features (and if you know the iPhone 3G’s capabilities, you’ll see lots of the same thing): Touchscreen, Large Icons, Expandable memory (up to 8 gig’s micro-HDSD), multiple e-mail accounts, GPS navigation, FULL HTML WEB-BROWSING, extra battery and charging kit, ( each with almost 6 hrs talk time, how awesome it is that they (Read the article)

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I have had an Apple Macbook for about a year an half now. I have owned a few accessories that I have really enjoyed but many of my options for other accessories were somewhat limited. The annoying thing seemed to be that most Macbook accessories that I wanted cost a fortune. Let’s not forget to mention, that I didn’t like them enough to abandon hope that I wasn’t going to find anything I liked better.

Enter: Isis Dei. Before I get into the cost, first the product. The one thing that has bothered me about most Macbook Accessory manufacturers, is that their products all look like they are made in the same factory, just with a different brand on it. Isis Dei on the other hand, is right up my alley with their designs and Macbook Laptop Sleeves and Cases. Original designs that are appealing and original in comparison to what I’ve looked into in the past. They also are integrating memory foam into some of their Apple laptop sleeves, and with what many people usually pay for those generic brand laptop sleeves you can pick up a couple Isis Dei Macbook Sleeves for the same price. Everyone likes to diversify a little.

Check out their homepage at IsisDei.Com and while you are there, check out their awesome Macbook keyboard jimmy’s (I use the black one and it looks great on my white macbook) and check out how great their prices are for a memory foam macbook laptop case, or even the neoprene ones.

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Bill Gates was asked what one product they (microsoft) have released in that last 5 years, that he wishes they could have actually polished better “Ask me AFTER we ship the next version of Windows…. then I will be more open to give you a blunt answer”.

I don’t really need to go on a “I love mac” rant- on the opposite side, I actually wonder how well Microsoft is actually going to learn their lesson when they release the next Windows version. . . I will probably always have an Apple portable, but I would be open to a solid desktop actually running some solid Window’s action, depending on how much they can learn from the annoying Vista platform.

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According to a CNN Money article, 2006 online retail grossed an all time high of $102 Billion dollars, which is a 24% increase from 2005.

Most medium and large businesses have fairly large budgets to spend online. Search Engine Optimization, and Pay Per Click advertising accounting for two large portions of where that spend goes which is why many of them get their portion of that $102 Billion dollars. Internet Marketing is still a fairly new industry though, and there are a few reasons small and some medium size businesses haven’t had the opportunity to have a very strong presence in this arena despite having a competitive if not better service than large businesses.

Generally, the small business owner can’t meet the minimum spend of Internet Marketing Agencies. If they want to optimize for more search engine traffic such as Google and Yahoo, or manage a pay per click advertising on those engines, they often have to resort to a less than effective means of getting it done. It usually comes down to them having to business owners having to learn Search Engine Marketing themselves. This is never as effective as the expertise and technology that large ad agencies have so competing against larger companies who have hired an agency is really rough. Many small businesses deserve their fair share of the pie, and trying to manage a business and its many tedious aspects, along with learning how to optimize their site and market online can take years and waste a lot of time and money.

OrangeSoda Inc. is a company focused on providing Internet Marketing for Small businesses. They offer onsite and external Search Engine Optimization (SEO), as well as Pay Per Click Advertising for these small businesses with budgets both small and large. A business can get highly relevant traffic from a locally targeted area, or nationally for just $100 and up. Obviously the more a company spends, the more an ad campaign can accomplish, but lower spends can help small businesses test and get a feel for potential success through online retail, and potentially grow out of the small business arena.

Orange Soda also provides all of their clients a single reporting interface for both SEO and PPC. They have their own analytics solution which ties into the same simple and easy to use Pay Per Click reporting. Their reporting interface also provides a keyword position tool, which allows business owners and webmasters to watch the progress and growth of their websites position for keywords day by day, all along side the daily visitors, conversions by source, top PPC keywords and more.

Contact a representative at Orange Soda.

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Monday night, Sept 24th, 11:30 PM. For many, this is the time where you are either in bed, or preparing to go to bed soon. All so you can wake up, hit your 8-5 job the next day with plenty of rest. But since you are in line at a local game store, waiting for the release of Halo 3. You are thinking; “I won’t have it in my hands for another hour with this long line, and the only reason I am staying up late to get one of the first copies is so I can play it all night.”

So you stayed up all Tuesday morning playing the game. Campaign mode, xBox live, system link with all your friends that have a 360 and a new copy of the game too. 6:00 AM rolls around. You might be able to get an hour of sleep in before heading to work, maybe just little more since your dedication to the game means sacrifices; no morning shower, no breakfast unless it’s packed with caffeine, wear the same clothes you have been for the last 24 hours. You don’t care if you look like crap, aren’t productive for a day. The only light at the end of the tunnel is a power nap on your lunch break, and the feeling that you can just go home and crash for a few hours before you meet up with your friends online yet again night.

Not.

That was a not joke. I told a story about the scenario you too were planning on likely, but that’s not how it ended up right? You played hookie, you snuffed work, called in sick, or in the thick of trying to memorize the new maps, and the new button set up for reloading your weapons and switching between your arsenal of mine variations you totally forgot you had a job.

Halo 3 wasn’t released in secret. It’s been all over the news for weeks. Commercial spots on TV are prolific, and it’s pretty hard to buy a slurpee (which you know your boss buys daily) with out seeing Halo 3 and the release date all over it. I really enjoy this more than v.1 and v.2, ( though my idea for Halo 3 Features wasn’t implemented), I still will probably play it quite a bit for the next little while, (making sure it doesn’t affect my performance at work like you didn’t).

Update.exe: Halo 3 broke the single day entertainment releases of all time. The previous was held by Spider Man 3, with 151 million dollars. Halo 3 took in $170,000,000.

Question: Have you been reprimanded, written up, or even fired basically because of your dedication for Halo 3? Was it traumatic? Lets hear your story in a comment. Share your gamer pain.

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State Farm Review

Like a good neighbor, State Farm will screw you over .

I normally try not to whine too much on my blog, but some events surrounding a car accident I was in has lead me to detest State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company. My experience was bad enough that I not only left them likely forever, but I also pro actively prevent people from using their services and will use my blog to share my story with others. After writing and re-writing this a few times, I realized it’s hard to comprehensively explain the problems that happened in a short summary, so my apologies for the long post.

The Wreck

I thought about going into major details here, but basically the wreck wasn’t small. My car flipped around and almost slammed into a store front, pretty bad neck and back damage. An ambulance came, Provo police gave the other guy a few tickets since it was clearly his fault and he broke laws designed to prevent accidents. I was hauled off to the ER for X-rays of my neck and back since both hurt quite bad. The police got the other man’s insurance info and grabbed some of my personal effects out of the car. My family has been with State Farm for as long as I can remember, and we have never had any major wrecks, so no major claims to really test their service until this.

The car was hauled to a holding lot in Provo, and at State Farm’s recommendation we have it later moved to a lot in Springville, UT nearby where I live, to be close during the repair, or assessment of total loss process. I already knew for a fact that the car was totaled. It was likely destroyed enough to be totaled and I am sure every insurance company probably would have agreed. Luckily I had Comprehensive coverage from State Farm. Luckily right?

Insurance Mess

They (State Farm Insurance) A.K.A. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company arrange for a rental car, and since I know for a fact my car is totaled, they said the rental will be covered until a few days after they make an offer/settlement on my totaled car. At this point, with the 5 minute conversation to make the claim, and arrange the rental I felt comfortable with State Farm handling it. I asked them what processes I should follow, who I should contact for what, etc.

I missed work, started physical therapy on my back and neck, State Farm agreed to cover everything and said they would “take care of me” and all the bills from the wreck, with which they said they would pay upfront and then later get the money for everything from Nationwide Mutual, the company who covered the driver who was at fault. I thought this was a good idea because I didn’t want to have to deal with both companies, and have some bills go through one and some through another.

The first major problem anyone might encounter with State Farm and the way their claim service is set up, is that you will rarely talk to the same person twice unless you have a super nice dedicated agent that wants to be the middle man between everyone. They have a “team” of people (call center style), and as they started collecting statements and gathering info about my car, the wreck, and my bills, made an offer for my car, etc, no one communicated very well with anyone else and everything is based off of “notes on your account” which never said anything to help me. I had to deal with Nationwide Insurance for the medical bills once State Farm actually came forward and said they wouldn’t pay for them anymore. At Nationwide, there was one person over my entire claim who remembered me very well every time I called in.

State Farm stopped paying the medical bills after about 3 weeks, and since I still needed therapy I had to pay it out of pocket (send it to my crappy personal insurance I was paying for) and then try to get Nationwide to pay back the bills. After a few weeks of having a rental car, State Farm came to me and said that they wouldn’t pay for the past week, and nothing further. This was stressful because I still had a loan out on my Galant, they hadn’t made an offer yet for my totaled car, and I was broke from not being able to work. The rental was 30$ a day, so close to $300 in the last few days of driving, and how ever much longer I might need it until I find a replacement car. I needed a rental until I could finally get an offer, accept it, and buy a new car. I was forced into a situation where State Farm eventually changed their opinion after a few heated conversations and said they would cover the rental, but might bill me later. They reversed their stand on the rental car issue with every person that I talked to. I got uneasy and was kind of forced into buying a super cheap Daewoo to hold me over.

I left my stereo system and after market rims and other stuff on the car because there was a chance State Farm might give a fair value for them ( this I did at the recommendation of one of the State Farm employees I talked to). If they wouldn’t pay fair market value, then I would pull everything off/out of the car and put the stock ones back on. I still owned the Galant, and had not received payment for it, nor gave permission for anything to be touched. State Farm called me and said they wouldn’t consider those parts in the value of the car so I could go get them, I verified the car was still at the local lot/repair shop it was supposes to be at and literally just 5 minutes later I go over to the lot to get them off and the repair shop said the car was moved by State Farm Insurance a week or 2 previous. State Farm moved the car I still owned to a wrecking/auction yard way up in Northern UT, despite me never giving permission to do so.

My car was stolen by my own insurance company with (Read the article)

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Shepizzle is a new internet source for learning about new or recently discovered Indie musicians. Here you will have an online music review site to find out who’s who and what’s what. As an Indie Music Review Website, SHEPIZZLE provides you with a variety of authors/reviewers with a diverse range of different musical preferences, like any good Indie-music review website should. Be serious, people don’t want a single emo-pain-inflicting-fast-food-worker to be a trusting source for a variety of underground music, a variety works. Even the emo kids get sick of and tired of My Chemical Romance an feel the urge to stop cutting themselves and possibly even move their black hair to see out of both eyes for a little while, let’s just hope they don’t turn to Jack Johnson in the emo off-season.

Shepizzle is turning to multiple people who actually have different musical preferences from one another, and who each look for new Indie music in different places. Result? You get exposure to a wider range of music and you get an increase in the chances of finding something you like and had never heard of before. New bands and musicians are being spotlighted and reviewed all the time, and your suggestions of musicians that Shepizzle should review are more than welcome. Even you can take part in sharing new Indie Music around the internet. Oh yeah, don’t do drugs.

Website location: http://shepizzle.com

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As you should be able to tell by my recent posts, I went on a road trip. On longer trips, it can be a strain to fork out cash for a hotel every night. A friend of mine recently left on a one month trip around Europe, which could have ended up being extremely expensive even staying in a hostel for 30 evenings in a row. He turned to the internet and used Couch Surfing to find people who would let him borrow their couch in the various countries and cities he would be staying in.

The concept for Couch Surfing is that you research an area you will be in, find people willing let strangers sleep on their couches (that also have good reviews from past surfers), and e-mail them a request. If they are socially able to let you stay with them, and check to see your reviews as a guest during other couch surfing experiences they reply with a request accepted or possible denied (maybe you peed the couch).

I don’t know a ton about couch surfing, because I just had my first experience using it a few days ago.

Kind of last minute, we e-mailed someone in down town San Francisco a request for 3 people to stay with him. He confirmed that it would be OK and provided us with an address. We were a little apprehensive about it since we were couch surfing virgins and weren’t sure what to expect. It was not some weirdo who’s apartment had a strange indescribable smell and was located disturbingly close to some busy train tracks. We met our host outside and found him to be seemingly normal and friendly. His past user reviews spoke highly of him, and we left with the same attitude. We had a free place to stay for the night, with a host who was just willing to share his living room with some people in need.

Though I rarely find myself in a situation where I don’t know where I will be sleeping, I actually left my recent trip with the feeling that I would be comfortable using www.couchsurfing.org again if I need to and would recommend it to others. As I gain more experiences form couch surfing, I will try to come back and leave updates. Possible I may or may not still recommend it. Hopefully I continue to have good experiences, and you will too if you give it a try.

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