All the RAve - the RAnts of RA

I received two envelopes in the mail -- and boy was I shocked -- one was from my granddaughter, the other was from my grandson. I was so excited to see their names on the envelopes that I couldn't wait to open them. I was a little apprehensive, when I saw just how thick that envelope was.

It was the strangest thing...

Inside the children had written the name of their school (on the line provided for them). It was address to me – the child had written my name and address, then on the opposing side of the coupon looking thing was written...

The opposite side of the envelope-sized card was an order form.

Included also was a brochure from TIME For Kids of magazine listings that claimed to offer magazines at a substantial savings, however, the prices appeared to be inflated, then marked down to regular prices. Along with the magazine listing I found a supplemental insert, return envelope, folded one sheet explanation entitled, "a friend is thinking of you..."

Lastly, I found a post card that totally took me by surprise. (Maybe I'm overly sensitive but this upset me.) The card read...

"I'm happy to support you and the special project you are working toward. I'm proud of who you are!"

Now, I'm certain someone felt that this was a good idea. What friend or family member wouldn't appreciate a little help with sending a post card? Frankly, I don't need a school (or TIME For Kids) to tell my grandchildren "I'm proud of who you are!" I find this demeaning and frankly, insulting.

What are they teaching these young students -- certainly not how to write a cordial letter? They could have used this opportunity to get the children to actually write a letter. A skill these children might put to use at some point in their lives. Instead, they are teaching our children to beg.

Now of course because I refuse to bend to the will of a school, set on taking advantage of the friends and relatives of the children in their charge, I'm the bad guy. I really don't appreciate being put on the spot like this. How do you explain to a child that this is called extortion and you refuse to participate in such schemes?

Oh, and don't get me started on TIME For Kids. What a terrific racket for them. Not only does the school "earn" "free" copies of TIME For Kids, they push over-priced magazines to increase their profit margin on loving family members. Do they really expect us to buy what they are selling? These magazines are anything but free. I would have preferred to purchase a subscription for the kids. Teachers ordering at least 10-copies pay only $4.30 per student, which includes shipping and handling.

At home subscriptions cost $29.95 each and doesn't include teaching guides, supplemental materials or any free gifts. Ouch, they certainly aren't looking to break into the homeschool market with this kind of offer.

I'm almost tempted to purchase a subscription, of TIME For Kids, not for my son's benefit, but just to see what kind of balderdash they are subjecting publicly schooled children to.

I believe instead, I'll sit down and write my grandchildren each a letter and encourage them to write back, putting the skills I hope they are learning in school to good use by writing me an actual letter in return. Just what are they teaching these children in school? It makes one wonder.

Labels: family, mail, public school, TIME For Kids

Part II: Unaccompanied Minors!

We ended up purchasing a ticket from American Airlines, instead of Continental as we had planned. While the rates were cheaper on Continental, they require a 21-day advance ticket purchase to obtain a great deal, as opposed to American Airlines 7-day advanced ticket requirement.

Even so, we aren't certain my nephew will be allowed to actually fly out to California. Only time will tell. I'll keep you posted.

The reason for this post is simple, I couldn't wait to share a recently found website with you. If you remember from my last post, I was not very happy about trying to book a flight from a customer service representative located half-way around the world - in India and dealing with all those automated services.

In a recent e-mail I received a link to the "GetHuman" website. This is one link I can assure you I'll be placing in my favorites. The GetHuman 500 Database provides telephone numbers and instructions on how to connect to a real live human being at many of the businesses people call everyday, such as; utility companies, banks, government, insurance companies and more. I can't wait to try it out.

So next time you are forced into communicating with a machine, take heart, there may be an alternative, and it could save you time, frustration and money. Check it out.

Be sure to respond and let us know what kind of results you get.

Labels: airlines, customer service, database, family, India

Domestic flight plans can lead to international fiasco

Flying Unaccompanied Minors!

An article was posted to Reliable Answers website a few days ago called, "The Ethics of Outsourcing Customer Service," it didn't really strike a nerve in me until last night.

Cross Country Move

My niece and her family live in Ohio. They plan to move to California early next year. We've been chatting back and forth on a daily basis, while she has been searching for the best and cheapest way to move a family of six over 2500 miles across the country.

During this process my ten-year-old and her nine-year-old have been getting reacquainted. The kids cooked up a scheme for her son to come stay with our family for the remaining six-months, until their move. I never expected my niece and her husband to agree, so I said, "Sure, it would be nice to spend time with him." Little did I know, his mother and father, thought it was a terrific idea.

Searching for a Deal

I've spent the past several days hunting down airline ticket deals. I never realized just how complicated it could be to get an "unaccompanied minor" on a flight. I immediately thought of Skybus, a new no-frills airline known for offering some of the best deals around; problem, they don't allow un-accompanied minors at all. So, scratch that.

I searched all the major airlines. Most will not allow you to make reservations online, so a call to the company is warranted. No, big deal. Of course, I got a few of those annoying automated voice systems.

When will companies learn that some people just prefer to press buttons? I hate talking to artificial people. I find it demeaning and more than a little annoying – especially since they never understand what I am trying to say. I end up repeating myself over and over again. I've learned that if I either refuse to respond or if I press 0 several times, I can often bypass their system, but not always.

I used to fly regularly, prior to 9-11, since one rather nasty airport incident that occured in May 2002; I refuse to fly any more. In fact, if I can't drive there, I'm not going. But that's another story.

Checking Out the Airlines

I called American Airlines first. I needed details on how the whole unaccompanied minor program worked. An automated voice program answered my call. I asked to speak to a representative and after only three requests; the machine understood my request and connected me. After a short wait, on hold, a real person, who was polite, knowledgeable and who spoke perfect English, answered my call.

American Airlines has several restrictions, depending on the age of the minor, who is traveling alone, such as:

• Children traveling as Unaccompanied Minors must be booked through our Reservations representatives.
• American Airlines does not accept unaccompanied children when their itinerary includes a connection to/from another airline.
• Children who will be traveling alone will be required to use the Unaccompanied Minor service at a cost of $75.00, in addition to the normal airfare.

Continental is the only airline I found that allows travelers to make arrangements online, after becoming a club member. They charge an unaccompanied minors fee of $95.00 with an additional restriction; unaccompanied children are not allowed to fly on the last flight of the day.

Delta Outsources Customer Service

Back when I flew frequently, I used Delta Air Lines quite often, so I gave them a call for good measure. As expected, the call was answered by an automated voice system, what I did not expect what the voice on the other end of the line, when I finally reached a real person. Who would have expected a major U.S. airline to farm out their customer service to India? Though I knew instantly that this call was not answered in the U.S., I flat out asked the person on the other end of the line.

My suspicions were confirmed, he was in India and it was obvious immediately. I was furious. I asked to speak with someone in the United States, and I was told that he would connect me as soon as we were finished. That never happened. I tried to explain what I wanted, several times. This customer service representative had a very poor grasp of the English language and was having trouble understanding plain English. I grew frustrated and ended the call, not after I had to repeat myself at least ten times, telling him that I was not interested in booking a flight at this time.

It was plain to me that contrary to Delta Airlines assurances that "my call is important to them," it was not. I vowed then and there that even if Delta gave me a free flight, I would never allow my nephew to fly on their planes. It's bad enough that so many companies today are using voice automated answering systems but they add insult to injury when they subject us to non-English speaking customer service representatives.

Someone at Delta has a death wish for their business. There is no way experienced professionals who travel for business will ever put up with such shoddy service. I consider it a slap in the face. There are too many other companies who value my business and are happy to take my money, I don't have to be subjected to this type of treatment and you shouldn't either.

We've decided Continental will be getting our business. Their website is easy to use, with no need to sit on hold. since we can make our travel plans online. They offer terrific savings if you plan your trip at least 21-days in advance. I'll let you know how things go with this trip. After all, we don't trust our children to just anyone.

Labels: airlines, customer service, family, India

Ready for the Rave? I hope you are sitting down; it could get a little messy today. Capitol Resource Institute wrote a piece today called "Capital Bullies." It really got under my skin - but not for the reasons you might think.

I feel Google has a noose around my neck and keeps pulling it tighter. We run google ads on our site to help us fund our writing, but it's very frustrating to have to work so hard to have a political voice. Matt Barber faithfully submits articles to be published by us and often they were right on, but I refused in the end to subject my readers to filth.

Let me explain. Any articles containing the letters G-A-Y in them or their close cousins H-O-M-O... etc. (you get the picture) ultimately presents offensive ads; ads that I find distasteful and out of place. This is a family oriented website written by a (often) radical host, bent on discussing real societal issues. I have found it nearly impossible to ban all of the offensive ads that get displayed whenever articles on certain topics are published.

If you believe in true freedom, the ability to make informed choices, then we, as parents, as sisters, and neighbors should be able to control our Internet experience (not to mention that of our children). A step in the right direction would be to require webmasters to check an 'adult content' box to avoid displaying pornography into our homes, without our consent -- the owner of the domain found liable and fined for offending our delicate sensibilities.

Individuals should be able to decide for themselves, if they want access to adult themes. Face it folks, it's not all that difficult of a request to honor.

I don't think I'm asking for too much. Heck, I've got the government telling me I have to strap myself to the wreckage (of my car), they tell us that it's for our own safety. But don't believe it. The facts tell a different story. The truth is they want to ticket us – any excuse is as good as any, I always say. The other side of the coin is this; it's easy to find a body if it's fastened down.

I'll tell you the same thing I tell the kids. My car (house) – My Rules! The day our all-powerful government buys me a shiny new Rolls Royce, is the day they can force me to buckle up. It just ain'ta goin'a happen. Facts are facts. According, to the constitution I read, the government has no right to "protect" me from my own stupidity.

I have no idea what ads are being served up to our visitors. Google, Yahoo and most other ad generating engines - all base the ads they serve up on "user" defined values, so everyone's experience is different. A parent that views adult sites and allows their child to browse websites on that same computer, could end up responsible for the child seeing adult advertisements.

Which brings me to my next – totally unrelated topic.

Doorway to Danger

When you need shaving cream at 10pm and you live in the mountains, choices are limited, but never fear Wal-mart is always near. Such was our lot in life tonight. My dear spouse ran out of shaving cream and so we traipsed down the "hill" to pick some up.

The store, I'm told, is required to be totally remodeled every five years -- this being the fifth year... if you believe a certain customer service clerk. Needless, to say finding anything was a real challenge. My son trotted off as usual to check out the toy section, to locate whatever new treasures were to be found.

When we went to find him, I couldn't believe my eyes. I was livid with the choice of their relocation of the toy department. Get this... they had moved the entire lawn and garden department outside. The childrens section was moved into its place, near one of only three sets of doors.

I inquired as to why on earth they would move the childrens section to the most exposed section of the store. The section came complete with its own exit door, without a greeter or guard, which on most occasions only has one clerk. (Though, to be fair, the customer service clerk informed me that it is Wal-mart policy to provide a greeter for each exit. I personally have never found a greeter to be present at that door. Ever.)

For those of you that can't see our concern, I'll spell it out: the childrens department is next to an open door. Any nefarious pedophile could use it as their very own shopping aisle for the children they're after. Most parents let their children wander the toy aisles while they shop. The 'temporary' placement of this section next to an unguarded door is a huge – and unnecessary – risk. In the world this has become I would not be surprised if this were exploited before the toys were back in the main area.

Voicing concern with the minimum wage clerk didn't get us very far. She had better things to do with her time. I hope the children that are kidnapped don't weigh too heavy on her conscience.

Fortunately, the clerk assures me this is a temporary situation, while they work on various areas of the store. Currently the pharmacy is under siege. It looks like a war zone. If you want my opinion, they would have been better off giving the employees a paid vacation and closing the store. The work would certainly go a lot faster. Surely people can do without Wal-mart for two weeks? But what do we know? We are just lowly shoppers with an eye for safety.

Labels: ads, adsense, family, freedom, Google, Wal-mart

Can you believe what passes for entertainment? Two-years ago we cancelled our cable television service because to be perfectly frank the programming was terrible. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

In December we turned our cable service back on and our family really enjoyed the change of pace. However, after almost three-months of viewing, I’m bored stiff and more than anything I’m frustrated. I can’t help but think that if more people had the courage to just cancel their cable or dish service the programming would eventually improve.

We have a couple hundred channels but there is nothing decent on to watch. Personally, I thought paying extra for the Discovery Channel, the History Channel, the Learning Channel and other educational type programming would be a good investment and I could have been right but I’ll never know.

The problem is that while the above-mentioned channels have some interesting educational programs, my son will only benefit from them if I take the time to record them and edit out the commercials. The commercials on the programming line-up for these channels are some of the worst I’ve found on the boob tube.

One morning at 6 am I was watching an interesting science program that I was sure my son would love. I suspect at 6 am many children are up getting ready for school, watching the television while they eat their morning meal. I wonder how many parents realize that their children are targeted for “male enhancement” drugs, complete with scantily clad women on the prowl.

I’m certain many 8-year-old boys are on the market to improve their love life. Give me a break!

Either these companies are charging way too much for their products, affording them the ability to air these lengthy, not to mention offensive ads, or they aren’t being charged enough for the ads.

I got a kick out of one ad that aired a few minutes ago. The woman had been eating cauliflower and was experiencing bloating, so she was going to purchase Beano, so that she could avoid the bloating. This simply doesn’t make sense to me.

I’m guessing the woman’s blood type is “O,” cauliflower is on the avoid list (if she’s following the Eat Right 4 Your Type Diet). Meaning she shouldn’t be eating cauliflower to being with. Wouldn’t it make more sense to just stop eating it?

I’m just glad that spring is almost here. I’ve discovered that our family really isn’t missing much as far as the television goes, so it won’t be long until we cancel our cable subscription. I certainly won’t miss the commercials.

Labels: family, History Channel, Learning Channel, television