Review - Priceline

I have used Priceline for travel for years now--every since I first heard of it. It has it's quirks but I understand that for the most part you get what you pay for. The biggest issue I saw was not knowing where you were staying until the bidding process was over & you were committed--with no refunds allowed. So I have always been ultra-careful about the bidding process, & have often used the "best price posted" feature to bypass the uncertainty completely. Nevertheless, there have been a couple of times through the years when I ended up paying for something I didn't use, but I know the rules & am willing to abide by them.

A couple of years ago I made a reservation online & used the bid process. I was surprised to find that my reservation got accepted for a city that I wasn't bidding on but had checked into earlier that day for another trip (yeah, I like to travel). I called customer service & they elevated the request to tech support who evidently analyzed my keystrokes & issued me a full refund. They told me it was a caching issue between the Firefox browser I was using & their website. No problem-if there's anything I understand it's tech support issues. I kept on using them.

Yesterday however, all that changed. Here's how it went down:

• I looked in Greensboro, NC for hotel rooms & eventually bid & won a reservation.
• A couple of hours later I looked in AVL (Asheville airport) for rental cars & found one.
• I bid & as I hit the submit button I literally watched with my own eyes the airport code change to GSO (Greensboro airport).
  
  This was exactly what had happened before & I knew it was the caching issue I spoke of earlier. So I got on the phone to call tech support. That was when the problems began. The customer service person could barely speak English & I could barely understand her. She said she would "make an exception for my mistake" & only charge me a $16 fee. My accepted bid was $17. I explained to her again that it wasn't my mistake, but rather a known tech issue between the website & the browser I was using, explained to her that she could go into my customer history & read the results from the previous time it had happened. It was like talking to myself. She repeated by rote what she had told me before. We went back and forth that way a few times & finally I asked if there was someone else I could speak to (I wasn't entirely sure she understood English well enough to understand what I was trying to explain). After a 5 minute wait, (I checked) another person came on the line. I was still pleasant at this point because I know that unpleasant not only doesn't usually work, but I knew she was only doing what she had been trained to do.
  
  I explained the whole thing again, this time to a fellow who barely spoke English & who evidently didn't care whether I could understand him or not. He reeked of bad attitude from the minute I got on the line with him, speaking polite words with an incredibly sarcastic tone. He basically implied that I was telling lies just to get out of paying for my own mistake. That burned me up but I still didn't lose my cool, I was just trying to get the problem fixed. He kept interrupting me & finally just said that he was through with the conversation & if I wanted the $16 refund I could take it now or leave it. Grrr.
  
  I asked him if there was anybody else he could elevate the issue to & he told me no. I asked him if he was the highest level of management that could make a decision & he said no. Ok, can I speak to someone else? He said no. He said I could write to someone in management but that they didn't speak to customers by phone, & he would not do anything else to help me.
  
  I asked for his name & he would not tell me. I asked again & he said "Ivan" (yeah, right). I asked for his employee number & he told me it was 526008. He didn't give me the addy to write to--wonder why?
  
  After I get through disputing the entire charge with my credit card company (& winning) I'm going to write a nice long letter to Priceline to let them know that they will never have my business again. And since I make the travel arrangements for most of my family too, they just lost that as well.
  
  All because "Ivan" can't make a $16 decision. Sorry Shatner, I love you, but it's the principle of it now.
  
  What a difference between my 15 minute conversation on Wednesday & my 2hr 47 minute tech support nightmare with Verizon Tuesday. The people at Verizon went above & beyond it to help me out with some advanced user issues & even though I didn't want to be on the phone that long, I very much appreciated their professionalism.
  
  Maybe Priceline could send their employees for training at Verizon? Nah, it would probably cost more than the 2 or 3 dollars they are obviously already spending on customer service training...
  

Tech Support Purgatory

Have you ever been on a 2 hr 47 min. tech support call? I was yesteday. I promise to tell you all about it as soon as I recover (& the problem gets fixed).

Whew, I'm tired!

Win Win

How's this for saving $$ ?

Randy & I have lived in the same place since 1995 & have had our electric bill averaged since 1997. Since that time we have been able to monitor our consumption pretty closely.

Last fall I decided to put out a small clothesline--the kind that is shaped like an umbrella. I did it for environmental reasons. What I didn't anticipate was how it would transform laundry from a ho hum kind of thing into a fairly enjoyable experience. Funny how little I actually used to go into my own backyard. It's kind of nice out there : ) So I consider it a lucky side effect to doing laundry now. I watch the birds & squirrels (of which there are many), I check out the backyard plant life--doing pretty well this year, & I get a bit of fresh air at the same time. Not to mention that our clothes smell great too.

Here's another benefit--we got our new electric bill average & we're actually going in to the year with a $500 credit! That's pretty good don't you think?

I love a win-win situation!

Good Deal For You

JCPenney coupon: $10 off $10 or more
Use Coupon Code momsgr8
Shipping is $5.95 or free if yo ship to the store.
http://www.jcpenney.com/jcp/default.aspx

Happy Sunday

Hope your day is peaceful & good.

Nice Weekend

It made it up to 83degrees in Hendersonville today. Very nice!

Today Is The Day For Morris Communications

Morris Publishing Group, LLC announced earlier this month that they had obtained an extension on their 9.7 million dollar interest payment on its Senior Subordinated Notes. The original payment was due Feb. 1st. The payment is due today.

For those of you unfamiliar with them, Morris Communications bought Mediacom's WNC holdings last February.

So, what does this mean to us here in Hendersonville? Who knows?

Vitamix Recipe`

This was one of the better vitamix recipes we've created lately. We wanted to make a healthier taco salad & I think it worked : ) We used baby spinach instead of lettuce & a fresh-vegetarian version of the taco meat. The only things in it that were a bit questionable in terms of health were the sour cream & the cheddar cheese but we did go light on them. The whole meal took about 20 minutes to make, about 5 to clean up. It didn't cost that much either, as the ingredients are common. The salsa was especially good--light & tasty.

Raw Salsa:
2 or 3 ripe tomatos
1 small onion
1 small can jalepenos or 1/2 raw jalapeno (for the brave)
1/4 bunch cilantro

Throw it in the vitamix & blend till it's the consistency you want.

Non-meat taco stuff:
2 cans black beans
1 chopped onion
3 tbs cumin
1 package fresh mushrooms
1 tomato - chopped
Mix everything together & mash it with a wooden spoon until it's the consistency you want. Throw it in a skillet & heat.

1st layer - spinach
2nd layer - cheese (use sparingly if you are watching cholesterol or weight or whatever)
3rd layer - taco filling
4th layer - salsa
5th layer - sour cream

This was really good! I didn't regret eating it like I usually do after leaving a Mexican restaurant.

Enjoy : )

Free Shipping on VitaMix

Tom & I decided that we like our Vitamix so much that we might as well start selling them, so we applied & were accepted as vendors. That means we'll probably start a website somewhere with recipes, etc., but I'll always keep posting here too.

As always, I hate a sales pitch, so don't expect one from me. If you are interested in buying one that's fine, feel free to ask questions or whatever, but don't worry about sales pressure as it's not happening here. I just really like the product & don't see any reason not to be a vendor since I talk about it all the time & enjoy sharing the recipes & stories.

An unexpected nice thing they do is give free shipping to folks who use vendor's codes when they buy.

Here's ours: 06-004048
Here's the number: 800-848-2649 ext. 2316 (Janet).

If you buy directly from the site (like I did) there is a place to put in the promo code for the free shipping. It says "enter savings or coupon code". Then hit "apply"

I rarely pay for shipping when I buy on the internet anymore. I hope people like me can continue to find that in the future.

Ok, enough. If you live in Western North Carolina, go out & enjoy this beautiful weather!

Another Raw Food Vitamix Recipe

This is a good one for an afternoon snack or breakfast:

2 apples
1/2 bananna (not too ripe)
2 tbs agave nector or raw honey
1/4 stick cinnamon
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup almonds (soaked overnight)

Take cinnamon, sunflower seeds, & almonds, along with 1/4 cup water & add to vitamix. Set to variable/medium. Blend till soft. Add rest of water & other ingredients. Blend.

Enjoy!

More Free Stuff Coming Your Way Later Today

I'll get the list posted as soon as I can.

Stuff We're Giving Away

Here is a listing of some of the stuff we're getting rid of at the office. We've got lots of books & computer training stuff. Where I could, I included a link to the Amazon.com description of the item, so you could figure out if you actually want any of it. Alot of them come with training CD's included.

If you're interested in any of these items shoot me an email & we'll make arrangements for you to pick them up. We don't have time to package & ship, & I can't really cart this stuff around either which is why I'm giving it away here rather than freecycle. I'll call Goodwill to pick them up on May 1st if they're still here.

Books:

• B2B How to Build a Profitable E-commerce Strategy
• XAML in a Nutshell
• Under Pressure and On Time (Pro-Best Practices)
• SQL Server 2000: The Complete Reference
• Programming Windows Presentation Foundation
• New Perspectives on Microsoft Office XP, Brief
• Microsoft Office XP: Essential Concepts and Techniques
• PHP: Your Visual Blueprint for Creating Open Source, Server-Side Content
• PHP 4: A Beginner's Guide
• Adobe Flex 2: Training from the Source
• Sams Teach Yourself Red Hat Linux 9 in 24 Hours

Dunkin Donuts Deal on Tuesday

Tomorrow is "Iced Coffee Day" at Dunkin Donuts. Get a 50cent iced coffee & they also donate a portion to the "Homes for Our Troops" foundation--a very good cause.

Homes for Our Troops was founded in 2004 & is dedicated to building new homes or adapting existing homes for severely injured servicemen & women.

So here is a truly win-win for all of us. Now, go get some iced coffee!

Happy Sunday

Hope your day is peaceful & good.

Alotta Crocs

Seems like most people either love Crocs or hate them with a passion. I am with the first group. I have had a pair of Crocs Hydros for 4 years now, have literally walked all over the country, gone to convention, etc., & they still basically look & feel like they did when I first purchased them.

Lately I've been trying to find a replacement for them & getting a bit anxious about it since Crocs has now discontinued the Hydros--the style I prefer. Hydros look more like a shoe--they cover the ankle & are really light, so light they float in water. I found a couple of pairs (not in my size) & one pair on eBay listed for $70. Since I only paid $49 for them brand new, I passed on that offer.

Now, I often say that I'm the luckiest person I know. Here's another example:

Randy & I were at Myrtle Beach a couple of weeks ago. I shopped all day & looked everywhere I could think of trying to find a pair of Hydros, to no avail. At the end of the day Randy decided to wash his truck. I told him to drop me off across the street at the Tanger Outlet mall & I would meet him back out front in half an hour.

About 4 or 5 stores in I spotted a Crocs store. What? I didn't even know there was such a thing! I went in & found out that I was there on their opening day & everything was 70c- 90% off. Yep, it was Crocs nirvana for me.

I walked out of the store with (gulp) 8 pairs for me & 1 for my aunt. What did it cost you ask?

$63.42
In case you're wondering, that's an average of $7.05 per pair! Pretty good huh? Randy was mortified--he is in the latter group of course.

And yes, I did find a pair of Hydros.

Check it out:

Good Deal on Acer Aspire Netbook

Newegg.com has the Acer Aspier One Netbook for $345 (shipped). It comes with 1 gig ram, a 160 gig hard drive, built-in wireless, a webcam, card reader, bluetooth, & 3 USB ports. The user reviews gave the battery really good reviews as well. It weighs 2.9 lbs--perfect for traveling with.

Hendersonville Restaurant Review Binion's Steakhouse

Well, Ol Bob is right, it really is the best steak in town. It's also one of the best salads as well. I decided to review my last meal there, even though I've been going there since it opened several years ago.

One thing I like about Binions is that it is very consistent. I always know what to expect. The staff is cheery, if you come between 12noon & 1:30 pm or between 5:30 & 7pm, it will be crowded--count on a wait in the evening. There are barrels of roasted peanuts sitting around to get you through the wait.

Binions has a gambling/old west motif. Kind of what you expect at a steakhouse--rough floors, red-checkered tablecloths. The staff is uniformly cheery.

I ordered a sirloin, house salad, steamed veggies, & unsweetened tea. All came out quickly & they got the order right. Come to think of it, I can't remember them ever making a mistake on my order. Nice.

The Binions house salad is so good. It's not made with that "bag o salad" stuff that I can't stand. You know--stale lettuce, purple cabbage, & little carrot sticks. Yuck. The salad had fresh lettuce, shredded cheese, tomatoes, onions, & the best blue cheese dressing in town. It's probably PYA or Sisco but I don't care--it's good!

The steak was tender & cooked exactly as requested. The vegetables were...well they were vegetables. Nothing especially good or bad there.

The tea didn't taste like it had been made yesterday. I really don't like skanky tea & have been known to send it back.

It's nice to have a good mid-priced restaurant that is consistent. I know what to expect from Mr. Quattlebaum's restaurants & that is important to me.

Now if we could just get him to take that damn music off of his website! It messed up my mp3's when I was trying to get the link for you : )

Freebies

We have a few things at the office to give away--some lamps, old computer books, etc. If you know someone with a yard sale coming up or a fundraiser let us know. We don't have time to deliver or package & mail, so keep that in mind. I'll get a list up here in the next few days.

Another Raw Food Vitamix Recipe

Sunflower seeds are often overlooked by those looking for healthy alternatives to today's foods, but they shouldn't be. Sunflower seeds are high in protein, low in carbs, & may be the best source of vitamin E. (think heart-healthy).

They have a mild flavor that works well when mixing with fruits. Another great thing about them is that they are cheap--about 1/7th of the price of raw cashews.

Here's a great drink to mix before you do strenuous work.

1 cup raw sunflower seeds
1 cup blueberries
1 cup pure water
2 cups ice
2 tbs raw agave nector
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 bananna (not too ripe)

Set Vitamix to variable/low. Put water & vanilla in Vitamix. Slowly add sunflower seeds, blueberries, & agave nector. Mix till smooth. Add ice & increase vitamix speed till mixture is the consistancy of a milkshake.

Enjoy!

Add sunflower seeds