Bad Organization: US Census

If you read my other blog, I'm no "The US Census is the Devil!" Glenn Beck supporter. In fact, I was looking forward to the census. Unfortunately, we live in a very active household where we get lots of junk mail and - long story short - the census form made its way into a trash or shred pile at some point.

Two weeks ago, I received a visit from a census worker. I expressed my willingness to complete the form and camaraderie with her cause and function. But I was about to get a call from a client and was shooing the dog from the door and didn't have the time or fortitude to fill it out on my front porch. I asked her if I could just fill it out, explaining the situation, and she said no. However, she informed me we could do it over the phone. Sold! "I'll call you tomorrow after 1pm," she said.

And that was 2 weeks ago.

I don't have her number, so I can't call her to complete it. She has never called me back. So I called the only number I could find: The US Government.

The gentleman on the phone explained that he could not just send me another form. He kept reiterating that the woman should've called me back and was surprised that I didn't have her number, as though I should have anticipated her failure to do her job. He said he'd take my information, but was worried about her contacting me afterwords. He mentioned not being counted twice if we did that and she called (oddly, my least worry at this point).

I suggested I'd wait for her to contact me for another week and if not, call back.


The Right is all a-flutter about how filling out the census is an invasion of privacy. We actually want to fill it out. Why isn't there a standard "If you lose it, we'll give you another one" policy? People are f'ing busy these days. Things fall through the cracks. Why the supposed protocol on an obviously badly-planned system?

I'm calling Bad Business on the US Government for the census. There's enough negative publicity coming from audible conspiracy theorists. The last thing you need is busy, working people who misplaced a piece of paper to turn against you too.

GoDaddy Needs a Spanking

As a web developer, I have occasionally bounced against clients who use Go Daddy as their hosting provider and even used them to purchase a domain name, but have never really needed to delve into their hosting administration and transfer services until yesterday.

It's a damned disaster.

If they had told me it was going to be a damned disaster, I wouldn't be surprised, but here's the story:

A client of mine is looking for a redesign. He was currently hosted - by another company, on GoDaddy.com. Having a rudimentary login, I figured a transfer wouldn't be that difficult (he managed several accounts and - understandably - didn't want folks poking around his clientele). After he called Go Daddy and told me the process, I called Go Daddy to confirm, and we were assured of the "best" way to do it, and that it would be seamless.

24 hours later, I've been on the phone with Go Daddy help 5 times, and each time I get more information on why the last guy I talked to didn't know what he was talking about. My client's email has been down over 12 hours, his website 8.

The only reason I'm hanging on and not going to another provider (that I already have in waiting) is that the email is still on their servers, ease of login for my client.

Advice:

• Avoid GoDaddy.com
• Caveat emptor when it comes to setting your main business email with a hosting provider.
• Avoid GoDaddy.com

See the next post for your Award Winners when it comes to the alternatives for this disaster.

Proactiv Solution - Good and Bad

About 4 weeks ago, I ordered the 3-piece Proactiv Solution comprising of the cleanser, astringent, and lotion. As a man of slightly over 30, I realized several years ago that when they told us in high school that skin problems usually drop off for men around 20 that they were fucking lying. I'm by no means a pizza face, but have always had a couple small blemishes on a regular basis. Time to make them go away.

The Good
Proactiv Solution is amazing! After a little fine-tuning (I only use it once a day and add supplementary moisturizer to avoid excessive dryness), my skin is perfect and has been so for over a week. Not a spot or blemish or hint of such. Yay!

The Bad


Note to Proactiv: If your product bleaches fabric, you might want to mention that someplace other than in the absurdly small print under the directions label that's virtually impossible to remove, let alone read. I lost 2 shirts and a towel in the first couple days.

The Ugly
Today I noticed my bank account was overdrawn. Why? You guessed it: Proactiv took it upon themselves to - without notification - ship me more product and charge my card which is attached to my account.

When I signed up, there was no language or any warning that I was joining a recurring subscription. When I called customer service, they explained that "it says on the internet" that I was creating an account and that constituted a membership.

Okay, maybe, but I have a membership to half a dozen email newsletters; I have a membership to Web MD; I have a membership to Technorati. These things cost me nothing. The point I'm making is that in the world of quick internet sign-ups, the word "membership" can and often does mean nothing more than "now you have a login to our site and we might sell your email address."

There is nothing implicit or explicit in the meaning of the word to imply that they would charge me automatically for more product. And genuine give-a-shit-ness for the customer would at least warrant a notification email, a reminder that: hey, in a week, we're going to send that automatic shipment you signed up for whether or not you knew that for sure. Heck, they even allow you to manage exactly how long you would like between shipments.

Because of this, the statement must be made: Proactiv Solution engages in misleading and shady consumer practices. Be aware that your "membership" implies automatic shipments and charges without so much as a fart in your direction. No warning. No email. No regard. And it bleaches your clothes.

The Verdict
Proactiv Solution probably makes tons of money due to its shady practices, and I think that's what pisses me off the most. They don't need to. They have an amazing product that does exactly what they say it does: clears up blemished skin to near or at perfection.

So I'll write an official complaint to customer service. I'll point them to this blog. But I'll keep using the product, probably even keep the shipment they have in transit. Why not? It's an amazing product.

But Proactiv: why all the shady?

UPDATE: Since my primary post, I've received some great comments on the post. I've also seen a huge improvement in my red cheeks. A little background: I have keretosis pilaris rubri facii. The first two words mean that I get clogged-pore bumps on my upper arms and thighs. The second two words mean that it's the form of the skin disorder that causes ruddy cheeks. I've had noticeably red cheeks since I was a child and only now - at 32 - has Proactiv anti-flushed them to match the rest of my skin. A minor miracle.

Coming soon: Does Proactiv work on my arms? Watch out non-white clothing!

Subway Sadness II: The Apathy Machine

This is a different Subway story. The first one was never brought up by the individual store after that information was passed on by corporate.

Traveling to Danville, VA, I stopped on the way in Reidsville, NC.

Worst. Subway. Evar.

Two of the four employees were outside loudly conversing. As I walked in, the energy inside was that of a funeral parlor. The other two employees were loudly conversing in the restaurant, but quickly quieted when I entered. Four people were seated and eating. One of the employees shuffled behind the counter.

I walked up to the counter, chipper as ever, and it took about five seconds to realize that I was not going to get a "Hello," "Good afternoon," or even a "Hi." I let it stew a couple seconds more.

"Subway club, please," I said.
No response.
"Um, on wheat?"
"Okay." She never made eye contact.
She put the meat on the sub and stood in front of the veggies.
"I'll have..." blah blah blah. She wrapped the sub and slid it over to the second in-store employee.
Second employee, even worse.
No words. I just handed my card to her. After she swiped it, she held it in a limbo between the register and where I would be marginally expected to expect that it was being handed to me. I took the card.
I said "Thanks!" and walked out.

Read the last post. This puts it to shame. Totally deplorable.

Subway: Their Way, and Screw Your Money

Last Thanksgiving, I was on an unexpected trip to Maryland to see my sister. NC to MD takes us through Richmond, VA. We decided to stop before the required 95 traffic mess that was to ensue. Just south of Richmond, we hit a gas station that was fully-equipped with a Subway. Excited for our evening snack, my wife, daughter, and I ponied-up to the counter. We were all getting the deli rounds.

Sara ordered. Ariel ordered.

And then me.

"I'd like a roast beef round, and could you add pepperoni?"
"No, sir, I can't do that."
(stunned)
"I'm sorry, could you just add pepperoni to the sandwich?"
"No, we can't do that."
"Are you kidding?"
"No."
"Can I add it and pay for it?"
"Sorry sir, we can't do that."

WTF?

So I laughed through the experience, joking about getting extra cheese.

Not two weeks later, Sara went to our local Subway with Ariel in prep for a Christmas show. They had a special for six inch turkey and ham subs. Related interaction:

"Can I get one of those turkey and ham subs with no ham?"
"I'm sorry, we can't do that."
"So I'd like a turkey and ham sub and you can keep the ham? You can't do that?"
"No. Sorry."
"You can keep the ham. I just want the turkey on it."
"Nope."
"Okay, how about you make the sub, take off the ham, put it in a bag or something, and then add the toppings."
"That's cool."

My daughter got her turkey sub and a small packet of ham went into the trash can in the store because of it.

What the hell's going on? When did it become a problem to train your workforce to accept money for anything. Especially things you were already offering?

I have written a letter of calm complaint to Subway and hope to make this my first Bad Business that turns. I hope (and by that I don't mean coupons. I mean "hey, sorry," which is excusable for this offense).

I love you Subway. Make it right.

[!!UPDATE!!]
Email from Subway:

My name is Kenny Partin, and I am a Business Consultant for the North Carolina Subway Group, Inc.

I received your comments concerning the Subway located in Clemmons, North Carolina. A copy of your comments have been forwarded to the owner of this store for his action.

I would like to apologize to you for any inconvenience this has caused you and we hope to rectify this situation so that it will not occur again. Thank you for your loyalty to the Subway brand and we hope that we can continue to be of service to you.

Thank you,

Kenny Partin
_____

Well, it's something. Hoping for a follow-up from the actual store. Then I could call this complaint closed.

Verizon/Sprint (or Any Cell Company) - Bad Business July/August 2002

So a couple of years ago, I was sitting pretty with Verizon. Except that every month, I went over my minutes. Seeing an ad on TV, I called to see if I could get the deal. Verizon was very good about upgrading your plan. Unfortunately, it turned out that I only had a "dual-mode" phone. I needed at "tri-mode" phone in order to get the deal. To get that, of course, required a two-year contract.

But this whole thing soured me. Why would I rejoin a contract that was limiting me so?

I decided to abort. The first woman I spoke to said that it would be over $100 to cancel my contract. Really? Because when I signed up, no one mentioned the excess fees involved in cancelling (Remember Lease prices before the big disclosure scandal?). So I stayed for another month and called back. This woman said that it would be about $40 to cancel. Sweet. I talked to my wife, set up an account with Sprint, and called them back. Suddenly, it was over $100 again.

What?

So I dumped on a supervisor. This was not acceptable. But after wrangling and complaining, I still was only let off at about $87.

Point being: Get the cancellation info in writing before you commit. They're all shady.

_____

My one friend was happy with Sprint forever. Praised them whenever he had a chance.

But then he went to Mexico.

He was sold a package that would allow him to call home in the US for a very small fee. The package cost about $75. When he got down there, he could rarely get connected. And when he got back, he found that the times he did get connected cost him several hundred dollars.

Did I mention that this was his honeymoon?

So, speaking to a supervisor, he found out that the package never shoud have been sold to him, especially by a lower-level, local person. But they wouldn't reduce his bill.

He spent a good deal of his wedding money paying for Sprint's goof.

Lesson: Speak to a supervisor before purchasing ANY plan.