y. whitelist

It’s a Love Hate Thing

We have loved (and Yelped and rated 5*s and bragged about) Time Warner Cable, eventhough everyone else hates them. If you doubt me, look them up on any ratings site like Yelp or Google Places.

This week, though, I’m ticked at the total runaround we are getting while trying to transfer (i.e. keep) our current cable plan.

Emil called to set up the appointment for after the move-in date of the 25th. He expected this to be on Monday the 27th. But, we know they fill up and want to get an appointment, soon. We pay $110.16 a month for cable and Internet. We don’t want to miss anything. (Remember, we have TiVo. It only needs to record so we can watch it later. It doesn’t matter that we’ll be busy unpacking for a few days.)

• He was told they can’t set it up until after the 25th. No, no, no. We don’t want it set UP before that date, we want an APPOINTMENT on/after that date. TWC “Customer Service Rep” does not understand. He’s a drone reading from a script with no authority to think for himself (standard) and no authority to escalate the call to a supervisor, apparently (unacceptable).
• We sign our lease and mention it to the new apartments; she’s only ever heard of this one time. Still, we have the pages.
• I go to the Time Warner Cable office and show them the lease. They not only won’t set an appointment, they tell me there are “no supervisors”. It’s a ~five story building and there is no one who can be any help. I talk to the receptionist “nazi” for the building. She directs me back to “billing”. I explain that I don’t have a billing issue, I have a service issue. Still, she reiterates that no one in the building can be of any help. She might be a good “guard dog” but she’s a liar. Why do they think customers are stupid?
• I call again when I get home. I’m told that if we have the lease we can go up to the office. Nope, just got back from there. I demand a supervisor.
• While I’m on hold (for a good 10 minutes), I Tweet the problem and get an instant response from @TWCableHelp. I send them the account number and my phone number and they escalate the problem to management in a matter of moments.
• Supervisor finally comes on the phone and swears there is nothing they can do until the current residents move out. He’s condescending and says, “how would you like it if we shut off your cable while you were still living there.” I try and try to explain to him that I don’t care WHAT they do with regard to that other account. And, since we move in on the 25th, even if they forget to turn off their cable, they won’t notice because they won’t be living there any longer. It’s like talking to a wall. He just doesn’t get it! All he can offer is some kind of reminder in their system. What? That’s useless.

Flawed Logic

So, let’s pretend they’ve had some big series of problems to require this new rule. Just for fun, we’ll assume apartments can be flipped in 5 days.

• We need to move in on the 25th, but we can’t get cable until the people moving out on the 20th.
• They need to transfer their cable, but can’t because the people before them aren’t out and won’t be until the 15th
• Those people can’t transfer their cable until the 10th
• …the 5th
• …and so on.

How is it possible that our account is depending on someone with a window of time from Feb 10-15 three levels “removed” from us? It’s not like any of us know each other. Are we supposed to knock on doors and leave notes, “please call to have your cable transferred so I can do the same.” WTF?

Monkey Wrench

We don’t have to be out of Riata until 22-March. And, I’m assuming it would be our prerogative to have cable in two places if that’s what we wanted to do. So, we could “hold” the cable at this apartment for an extra month…keeping the future residents (who might even know now that they are getting this apartment) from getting their cable installation appointment.

But, if we could have the appointment to transfer our cable on the date of the lease….which makes SENSE, then their system would show that ours is turning off on the 25th and would leave time for the new Riata residents to schedule their installation/transfer, too.

Time Warner Cable’s system is making all of us into squatters….and screwing it up for anyone waiting in line behind everyone else. No wonder I see more and more satellite dishes.

Real Help

So, if you are on Twitter, know that @TWCable_TX is useless. They were rude. Their logic is only based on what they can read on a screen. They even refused me the chance to talk to a supervisor of any kind. Um, we pay you people $110+ a month. If I request a supervisor so I don’t have to be talked down to, I better get it.

By contrast, @TWCableHelp is quite nice. They were quick to respond and I had a call back just moments later. What’s more, I didn’t have to start the story over from the beginning. Before Laura called me back, she called the gal who lives in our apartment, set up a time to get her new info, and it will be taken care of by 10pm this evening when Laura’s shift ends.

I did ask her, what happens when that customer runs into the same problem from the residents at the place she’s moving into? Laura said that’s really rare and won’t likely happen. Well, I guess that’s good news, but I’m going to laugh in her face if it does. She did say that if it does, she’ll figure something out. Turns out this a BILLING problem. Surprise! Billing runs the show at ye olde Customer Service department. I guess that explains why I we had to try four times before we could get any real help from someone with any authority.

In addition, Laura apologized for the inept Customer Serviceless jerk at the TWC office as well as their refusal of a supervisor. In her words, “unacceptable.” And, she’s right.

One Person (nah, Two!) Makes All the Difference

Laura promised me that she’d have this fixed within her shift. After all the bad customer service lately, I don’t know why I was able to believe her, but I did. At 7pm, she called to say she’d transferred the other resident’s cable and was ready to set ours up. She click-click-clicked through the process verifying addresses along the way. I never once I had to repeat anything because she truly listened to me for the information. Without missing a beat, she said, “There is normally a transfer fee, but we’re going to waive that for all the hassle you’ve had.” She then told us that she personally would be working on the day of our installation. She said she made all her notes in our file and put her extension in there, too. So, if we have any problems we can call and just ask for her. Even a barely-trained employee can put us through to her.

I thanked her and told her she “saved” Time Warner Cable in our minds. I explained that this whole process was making us re-think how much we’ve tooted their horn in spite of others’ hate. She saved them from us jumping on the bandwagon.

One person really can make all the difference. Laura fixed everything that was wrong. We owe our thanks to her and to BP and his/her assistance with the Twitter account, @TWCableHelp for connecting us to her.

I am thankful for:

• my husband, my best friend, my everything
• our mutual childfree belief
• our two cats and one turtle who bring us many giggles and lots of love
• that I still have two grandparents living; two finer people might not walk this Earth
• technology that is more often my friend than foe
• reasonable health for us both
• my small business, especially during this economy, and my clients whom I hold dear
• pants that are too big

Happy Thanksgiving!

BTW, while I had the best of intentions of wearing the new/fabulous earrings to the dental hell this week, they interfered with my headphones. The stems were poking me in that freakishly sensitive area behind the ear lobe. #ThatHurt

So, I didn’t get to wear the Bling to the Thing, but rest assured, they are getting put to good use!

#HellsYeah!

Once again, Thank YOU, Tacori!

If you are paying attention, you’ll notice that this post is coming to you from the not-even-wee hours of the morning.

Insomnia is a bitch.

Weed, that is Weeds–the Showtime series–is great for passing the time at, say, 4am.

Actually, it’s more than that. It’s a great show that I never gave credit to. Of course, this is mostly because we don’t have Showtime, but thanks to Netflix, I can enjoy Weeds (and Dexter, HBO’s Six Feet Under, and some others, too.)

Here’s the real “problem” with the show: It’s funny. That’s not so conducive to sleeping. And, since I tend to finish what I start, it’s addicting (LOL) nature keeps me from sleeping, even after 4am.

Damn good reason to watch the show, if you ask me.

Please, no spoilers, I’m only in Season Two.

While researching some blog material back in the spring, I found that Tacori was giving away an engagement ring from their new line. So, I signed up to win the beauty. I didn’t win the gorgeous ring, but I did win one of the other 99 prizes: a pair of “Jelly bean” diamond earrings in a “pincushion” style mount.

I didn’t know what I’d do with them. When do I ever have an occasion to wear something like that.

They arrived today and I may never take them off. They are stunning.

For the Planet

I read somewhere recently that fabric softener is environmentally one of the worst chemicals to have in your home…not because of the harm of the product, but because of how it’s made. They use a lot of terrible/harsh chemicals to produce it cheaply and then use a bunch of other chemicals to cover up the nasty smells. I used to make my own dryer sheets (sponges soaked in softener)…and since I remembered a method of using Distilled White Vinegar (for the same results but without any smell), I started “the Googleing”.

For the Budget

I found this recipe for softener. Other similar recipes add baking soda, but I’m going to try to skip that part at first. I can always add it in.

In the search, I also found this nifty little site: Being Creative to Keep My Sanity. She made laundry detergent, dishwasher detergent, and some other crafty goodness. The ingredients for these two overlap, so I was off on an adventure. (And, with our grocery store in a full-on renovation, what an adventure it was!)

Shopping

At this moment, we have a full bottle of softener and a full bottle of dishwasher detergent. But the laundry/dish ingredients overlap, so I sought ingredients for all three.

We had these on hand:

• baking soda (why on Earth did we already have ~7# of this stuff??)
• Borax
• OxiClean
• TOTAL TO BUY THESE: ~$12, I’m guessing

I bought:

• Pink Zote laundry bar soap (Fels-Naptha works, too, but I couldn’t find it and she likes Zote better.) – at Home Depot
• washing soda
• a cheese grater
• lavender essential oil – $10 for a small bottle that will last forEVer – at WholeFoods or your local/favorite health shop
• TOTAL SPENT: $20

If we I make all three, I’ll eventually need:

• citric acid – wasn’t at my grocery store…going to keep looking
• epsom salt
• Lemi Shine rinse aid (powder) – $4
• distilled white vinegar
• TOTAL TO SPEND: ~$15, I’m guessing

Except where noted, all of these are at most grocery stores.

Now, if this were all me, I’d have bought all the stuff to make all of it and made a day of this. It’s a BYE week for both Miami and A&M, so what else is there to do on a beautiful Saturday when I don’t have a wedding? However, Emil is more than skeptical. He’s willing to try this, but has very low expectations it will work. The funny thing is that I do the laundry and dishes most of the time, and he doesn’t even like fabric softener. So, why should he care at all, right? Anyway, Ms. Creative Sanity swears these are both better and cheaper…and then there is the environmental impact, so I’m going to try.

For Blue Lime

Emil & I did our normal thing and compromised. (You can translate this to “she’s crazy, so he brought her down a little closer to Earth” if you’d like.) I’m only making the Laundry Detergent since that’s what we’re almost out of. I’m also making a half batch since the bars of soap were so cheap and I’d only be wasting cheap ingredients if it’s a big ol’ FAIL.

Step 0:

Organize the stuff and take a pic for the blog!

$2 for half the washing soda
+ $3 cheese grater
+ $4 OxiClean (in the ziplock)
+ $4 Pink Zote (for two…leftovers!)
+ $3 baking soda
+ $4 Borax
= $17 (if you don’t count the cheese grater)

Step 1

Grate the soap bars. I expected this to be difficult, but the soap is surprisingly soft. I counted grates for half a bar, ~600 on a new, medium-sized grater. So, 1800 for this batch, 3600 for a full batch.

Step 2

Because I was only using half of each box, I poured half of each into a mixing bowl.

Step 3

Mix well.

To be fair, I really did 1/3 of each product and then 2/3 of each product to help with the mixing.

I had a paint stir to mix, but it was too “slow”, so I just dug in with my hands and mixed it like meatloaf.

Make Time

~15 minutes from set up to storage

Step 4

Blogging…at least 30 minutes of time. Way longer than making the stuff, but also part of the fun!

Bonus

The OxiClean scoop is 1 Tablespoon. Free scoop!

Total Time

~45 minutes. Not bad

Ta Da!

It smells great and isn’t overpowering. I can’t wait to try it out! It’s very strong for cleaning…and only takes 1 Tablespoon per load.

If this works we won’t buy laundry detergent for a very long time!

The Ah HA! Moment

According to Google Shopping:

• the cheapest liquid with OxiClean is $5 for 35 loads
  $0.14 per load
• the cheapest powder with OxiClean is $11 for 95 small loads
  $0.11 per small load

Our math (yes, Emil helped):

• this homemade version is $17 for 224 loads
  $0.08 per load
• the full recipe is $27 for 448 loads
  $0.06 per load

Another Bonus!

Emil likes the smell and was surprised at how much cheaper it was, too. He’s already less skeptical than before!

Even in Texas, we have to be prepared for hurricanes. Here is a list suggested by an online friend, Brenda.

Brenda’s hurricane preparation tips (seen & heard about, practiced from time to time, and thought about again since what happened along the East Coast with Irene) include:

• …Move more than 100 miles inland though even that doesn’t always work as we all have seen over and over.
• Dry cereal (small individual packages can make serving measurements easier)
• Nonfat dry milk.  Very helpful in dry cereal when all refrigeration (and electricity) has ceased.
• Old fashioned hand fans or battery operated ones.  They don’t do much but it provides a bit of comfort in the hellish and endless heat that will ensue.
• After his first few hurricanes my dad insisted on a gas stove (for the rest of his life) so while we had no power for two weeks post-Camille we did have regular meals.  He also had a camp stove that I have now.
• Tins of sardines and hand operated can openers (plural for when the first one breaks after years of trustworthy work)
• Milk jugs full of water
• Outdoor (charcoal) grill; gas okay, too, if you have a new propane tank.
• …Chocolate will melt but still tastes good.  I cannot remember ever wanting one post-hurricane.
• Wine does not taste good at room temperature when air conditioning has ceased & room temp is 95.  I have tested that one.
• Super-long electrical extension cords in case, as friends of mine did, you find that your neighbor on another grid across the street has electricity and is willing to share.  Not sure this is safe but it worked for them.
• Some people use generators.  That is how my neighbors didn’t lose the contents of their refrigerator during the last one we had.
• Wash a lot of clothes in case you have to survive for two weeks without washing any.
• Scan your favorite pictures and documents and upload them at least into emails and DVDs, if you haven’t done so yet, just in case.
  Seems to me this is when laminating back-up copies of pictures seems more important than archiving them.
• Refresh your first aid kit.
• Get extra sanitizers like rubbing alcohol.
• Have that pet carrier handy.
• Free extra ice
• Buy extra ice and put it in your usual picnic coolers
• Lots of batteries and flashlights as you would not believe how easy it is to injure yourself in the dark when no lights whatsoever exist.
• Return…library books so they don’t charge you…
• Buy new backpacks in Labor Day sale (seen advertised at Family Dollar for one)
• Do not feel guilty because that something in the air feeling made you momentarily anticipate the thing as though it wasn’t a pending disaster.  It is atmospheric.  I can sniff one out and stay awake in the night any time the least tropical depression is within about a thousand miles from me.
• Sometimes pictures can be salvaged, but do your best to keep them from any water damage in the first place.  See this Library of Congress discussion.” http://www.loc.gov/preservation/emergprep/ or http://www.loc.gov/preservation/care/photo.html

Thank you, Brenda, for sharing and being willing to offer a re-publish, too!

Please consider these things along with the typical hurricane-preparedness lists you’ll find to be sure you can endure not just a hurricane that might hit your city, but also one where your city might have to endure the fallout. In Austin, Katrina and Rita both caused population booms.

This week’s incident at the Alamo Drafthouse tugs at my heartstrings.

NSFW: She Texted, So We Kicked Her Out

For those who don’t want to endure the NSFW video and blog, here is the gist:

1. Alamo warns (several times) that calls/texting during their movies is forbidden.
2. Girl texts.
3. Girl ignores two personal warnings to stop texting or she’ll be thrown out.
4. Girl continues to text.
5. Girl is thrown out.
6. Angels from the heavens sing down upon those below.
7. (Dumbass) Girl leaves Alamo a voice mail explaining how irate she is that she was thrown out.
8. Girl is an instant Internet legend. Thank you, social media.
9. All is right with the world, again, as order is restored to the adult movie theater experience.

Backstory

And now, for the back story as it relates to me/us.

When Emil and I started dating, I mostly refused to go to movies. We went to a few coveted faves, but each time, I was disappointed, at the very least.

One time (after we were married), when out with friends to see Madagascar, I made a big stink…with good reason.

The punk-ass kids—there were ~6 of them—behind us wouldn’t shut up.

1. I asked them, nicely, to stop talking. (I remember being a teenager with only the movies as a place to hang out. I cut them some slack.)
2. I told them sternly to be quiet.
3. I told them to shut the eff up. (They giggled, so I thought I really had their attention this time.)
4. The fourth time, I stormed through the very large theater building, stopping at each employee along the way, until I found the one-and-only manager. I knocked on the box office door; I saw him look through the peep hole and then walk away. I bet he could hear my blood curdling from that little lack of customer service. I beat on the door with my fist until he came out. After he ignored me, my demands went something like this, “We paid $16 to see this movie and we can’t enjoy it because some unsupervised kids behind us won’t shut up. I want you to take care of it, and I want my money back, too. Oh, and I saw you try to ignore me.”

He followed me all the way to our theater where I dramatically pointed (not unlike the Evil Monkey from Chris’ closet).

He dragged the hoodlums outside for a good ten minutes. When he did escort them back in, it was to the front row and they were perfect angels for the last (what? maybe 20 minutes at this point?) part of the movie. He must have verbally beat them within an inch of their lives.

Grownup: 1
Punk-ass kids: 0
Cinemark Theater: 0 (He gave us a refund and movie passes for the future, which I’m sure Emil used.)
Friends: 0 (They never invited us to go with them, again. …not that I blame them….besides…)

…I vowed to never go to a movie theater again.
I amended that vow when we visited Beth & Marc in Austin and went to an Alamo Drafthouse.

Frontstory

What is annoying about most of the comments is how the “authors” are completely ignorant of how an Alamo Drafthouse theater is set up or how it works. “Take over our theater” won’t work. The reason Alamo is successful is:

• Every row of seats is its own “level” or landing. Everyone has a good view. You aren’t sitting on a slant.
• Every row has sections of a drink/food rail. It’s like a small bar or counter so you can eat/drink at your seat.
• The layout prevents the possibility that someone could kick your seat during the show. There is an aisle back there and another rail.
• You can/will get food/drinks during the show (good and inconspicuous service, too!). You write your order on a piece of paper and tuck it into the rail. Servers see the paper standing up, crouch & sneak over, and quietly whisper questions if they have any. It’s a little like the flags at Panchos. They don’t bother you, ever. But, they are there if you need them.
• They tell you to arrive at least 45 minutes before the show so you can get seated and order. They ask if you’ve been before so they can give you the “orientation” if needed. They serve buckets of beer, so you can order food/drinks and then be done to enjoy the show.
• They bring the checks in the last few minutes of the show. They have this down to a science and know exactly when to do this.
• The atmosphere of Austin being “weird” is the big reason the theater is successful: Austinites appreciate the arts!

Today

I’m still not a huge go-to-the-movies fan, but when we do, we Alamo.

I’m sure that “irate” is an SAT word that she didn’t remember from any prep course in high school.
Scott coined the term punk-ass-kids. A similar group of teens rear-ended him/Jenn at a red light at ~40mph…with no brakes. They were chatting and no paying attention. The brand-new-hadn’t-even-been-home-yet SUV was totaled.
One time, Emil and some friends coerced me into a Lord of the Rings showing. While I love the movies and seeing them on the big screen, I hate their “cult”. I was all set to sit in the car for three hours until Emil made puppy-dog eyes at me. I told him this was the last time. Since it was the last LOTR, he didn’t care.

When we first starting looking at cars to replace BB and Little Blue Car, we went to the same family of dealerships where we bought BB. It’s a Honda/Toyota/Scion/etc. group. We were looking at and drove the Honda Fit. While we had a fabulous experience buying BB, in the wake of the quakes/tsunamis in Japan, and coupled with Honda’s slimy sales tactics, we weren’t happy. But, apparently, they don’t read their Yelp reviews before repeatedly calling formerly-potential customers.

Our sales person from that day had called right when we got back…and with the luxury of Google Voice, I blocked him from calling again. However, as technology would have it, he can call from a number of lines and, today, manged to get through . I was on my way out the door and off my game for just a moment….a moment of weakness. argh!

The convo went something like this:

Hello, Ms. Loosa, this is (not his real name) from Round Rock Honda. How are you today?

Fine. How are you?

Great! Listen, I just wanted to see if you and Aaahmeeel (also not Emil’s real name!) were back in town from your trip and if you were still looking for a Honda or Toyota or a Scion or any other “.
(Really…he said something not much different than that!)

“Actually, after we left your dealership, we drove up the road to Mazda. They were willing to work with us on the price,
so we bought TWO cars from them.”

Well, if you ever need anything from our family of dealerships, maybe with your next vehicle purchases, I’d be happy to help.

Thank you.

When I told Emil the story at dinner (’cause it’s just too juicy to tell in a 140-character Tweet!), he was all giggles!

#Booyah, Honda. Don’t let the door hit your ass on the way out!

zoom-zoom

I will repeat this because I know they care: Round Rock (city of), you lost the tax revenue on not-one-but-two vehicles because of one slimy salesperson. We quite likely would have purchased two cars from that RR dealership. But, by driving just a little further north, we found some down-to-Earth and real people. And, we contributed to all that lovely tax revenue in Georgetown, instead. (You’re welcome Ali & Andy, and the Winklers, too!)

Google Voice gives me an extra layer of call screening. He got through because he called from a different number. He still had to state his name to connect the call.

Our experience with Roger Beasley Mazda was so good that Emil (yes, Emil!) wrote a letter to Mr. Beasley to thank and recognize our sales person and the rest of the staff at the dealership. You should have seen the faces of our salesperson (Mark, who was at the top of the board for the month with-or-without our purchases) and the other staff members when we gave them a printed letter. I guess no one does that anymore! Our full review on Yelp will come when we get our real license plates and my cargo net.

Emil even signed our letter “Zoom-zoom, Emil & Lori Luza” Nice.