February 15, 2008
Remember my overnight shipping via UPS that wasn’t? I wrote a letter and mailed it off to a few company big wigs, letting them know I was unhappy. I just got an email notification that they refunded me $33.58! Whoohoo! That means in the end, I paid for 2 day shipping, instead of over night. Two day shipping is actually what I got with UPS’s delay. One point for me for writing a letter of complaint!
Now THEY can go after UPS for the screwup if they want to recover their money. It’s not my problem anymore.
2:48 pm
Filed under Bitchy-Poo, Buy Me!
1 Comment »
February 7, 2008
**This post has been updated as of 2/8/08 - read all the way to the bottom to see my fufill the request of a commenter from Fark.com!**
Let me preface this by saying if you are:
- Easily offended
- Easily grossed out
- Have a rotten sense of humor
Stop reading NOW and go elsewhere.
The rest of you still with me? Good…you’re going to enjoy this story! It all started a month ago, before my trip to Amsterdam. I decided to head to the after Christmas sale at the Old Navy in my town and get new pants for the trip. I found two pairs (same style, different colors) on sale and after trying on one pair, bought them and took them home.
I am not a “wash clothes before I wear them” type of person. Well, I am now, but I didn’t used to be that way. In fact, I’ve made fun of my husband on more than one occasion because he would wash brand new clothes that had obviously never even been tried on! I saw it a waste of time, especially when you could see the crease marks in a brand new shirt, or the pants still had the tages and size sticker attached.
So I head home from Old Navy with my new pairs of pants - the green pair I tried on in the store, and the brown pair in the same size that I didn’t try on. A few days later, I put the pants on so that I could head out. I had the pants on all of 10 minutes before deciding I should hit the toilet before leaving the house…just like I tell my kids, you always potty before you go out. As I sit down on the can, pants down around my knees, I noticed something odd in the crotch area of the inside of the pants.
So….hypothetical question for my readers:
If you bought new pants from the Old Navy, and as you went to put them on, noticed a VAGINAL DISCHARGE in the crotch, that was crusty, and NOT BELONGING TO YOU, would you:
A. Return the pants to Old Navy for a new pair of pants, no questions asked?
B. Call the media, and get noticed, and get more from Old Navy for your trouble?
C: Call a lawyer, and bank big on your pain and suffering?
Yes folks, I’m not making this up - upon closer inspection, there was DRIED vaginal discharge in the crotch of these new pants, and it wasn’t MINE!
EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!
I can’t even describe HOW grossed out I was. Now, I’m a mom, and I’ve dealt with a lot of gross things over the years. I’ve wiped butts and caught vomit in my hands to prevent it from landing on the carpet. I’ve had a child who needed a catheter due to an injury, and I was in charge of emptying out the pee bag. On top of all that, I have a sick sense of humor. But to think that I had these nasty pants on for 10 minutes, with someone else’s…dried juices…near my underwear, and next to that, my nether regions? I was disgusted.
The tag had been missing from this pair of brown pants, so I deduced that someone (henceforth referred to as “juicy bitch”) bought the pants, wore them commando for several hours, and then returned them to Old Navy for a refund. Old Navy obviously didn’t take a close look at the pants, and put them back on the rack, where I picked them up.
About a week later, I finally had the time to go back to Old Navy to return the pants. Realizing that this was a sensitive issue, I asked for a manager at the checkout counter and attempted to be reasonably discreet when I spoke to her. It wasn’t pretty. The manager was SO defensive and although she did say “I’m sorry” once, her attitude was horrible! She made me feel like I was in the wrong for being disgusted about the pants. She wasn’t empathetic at all and it went badly, with excuse after excuse about WHY it could have happened, instead of saying, “I’m so sorry, how horrible, let me take care of this for you.” She actually said, “Well, it’s not as if we did this on PURPOSE!” Sheesh lady, I never said you did, I just want you to know so you can prevent this in the future!
Realizing I was getting nowhere fast, I quietly told her I would call corporate to express my dismay, and her response was “Go ahead!”. Nice! So I did, literally dialing their number on the way out of the store. The rep there WAS empathetic and understanding, and promised that she’d have the district manager call me. I told her I had planned to return two items and shop in ON tonight, but after dealing with the manager, I was so turned off I left. I felt mortified when she was talking to me, and I was so embarrassed that she reacted like I was somehow in the wrong for expecting to buy clean clothes! I don’t even want to go back to the store.
To make the rest of a long story short, I never heard from a district manager. I did hear back from the Old Navy rep at corporate who apologized again, and sent me a $50 gift card for my troubles, and told me I didn’t need to return the pants. (Um, yeah, cause I’m going to wash them and wear them after this?) The pants were close to $20, so the end result here is that Old Navy puts my value as a customer at $30. I think Old Navy blew it. I should have been contacted by the district manager in this area, and I should have been reassured that this will never happen again to anyone.
I’m now auctioning the snail trail pants off on eBay. If you’re in the market for a pair of light brown wide leg size 2 pants, complete with someone else’s vaginal discharge in the crotch, please check out my eBay auction! (Note: eBay auction now gone due to being reported by internet police….*snicker*. Apparently selling items with bodily fluids on them is against eBay policy, but not Old Navy policy! If you happened to screen shot the auction before it was removed, let me know! Maybe you’re a fetish freak who is into user underwear and the like - these pants are just as good! If you have no need for this item, please feel free to Stumble and Digg this post. Email it to your friends as a warning to ALWAYS check out the new clothes they buy, and ALWAYS wash the new clothes you buy. If you don’t, you may find someone else’s bodily fluids a bit too close for comfort!
(Don’t forget to Digg this post!)
Edited to add: Holy crap! As of 4:41 eastern time, Thursday 2/7/08, my eBay auction already has 477 views. It’s been up for 4 hours.
Hi to all of my visitors from The Consumerist! You’ve got questions, I’ve got answers:
1. She can’t just wash them now and then wear them? She now has to sell them on Ebay? Once they’re washed they should be fine - why not just keep them?
Ick. I’m not even touching them. I originally took the pictures to show my friends, so they could share in my mortification. The pants are in a bag, and I don’t think I would ever be comfortable wearing them, no matter how much hot water and bleach I used.
2. It’s not clear (1) why she’d take there “eww” pants back after trying to return them to the store and (2) why she’d photograph and list them on Ebay for a profit. does she really thing someone wants them? And a BIN for $50, come on!
I didn’t get satisfaction with the store manager, so I kept the pants when I called corporate. I thought eventually I’d be returning them and speaking to the district manager. I’m not really selling them for a profit - note the 99 cents. This is about drawing attention to what happened.
3. Had those pants been returned by someone else that way and been put back on the rack? Or were they tried on briefly by a woman who just enjoyed the Old Navy experience a little too much?
I think someone bought them, wore them, and returned them.
4. 50 bucks buyout….That’s soooo Quagmire.
I had to pick a number. Giggity, giggity, giggity, giggity!
5. I’m confused…so Old Navy wouldn’t let her return the jeans? Why did she leave the store with them? Why is she selling them on Ebay? Was she trying to extort additional money from the store manager and that’s why she’s saying that her business is only worth $30 to Old Navy? There’s no way in hell I’d leave the store with those nasty things still in my hand so I’m thinking that she didn’t want to just return them, she wanted money and not “gift card” money. …I’m such a pessimist…
I never got to the point of return with the first manager. Corporate told me to keep them, burn them, throw them away - they didn’t care. Given my experience, I didn’t think the gift card was a fair trade.
6. I just reported the auction to eBay. We’ll see how long it takes them to pull the listing.
Party pooper.
7. Wouldn’t this have been noticed before purchase when the shopper tried on the clothes?
I bought two pairs, same size, same style. I tried on one, but not the other.
Updated again 2/8/08 - this link has hit Fark and it’s been stated that the story is useless without a picture. You asked for it!
1:00 pm
Filed under Bitchy-Poo, Buy Me!
54 Comments »
January 31, 2008
I’m an instant gratification kind of girl. I want results, and now please, ok? When I submitted my chapter 1 homework for my statistics class online last night, I was excited to see it graded within two hours. (I was even more excited to see the comments from the instructor on the assignment saying “Outsanding! Perfect score!” Kudos to my husband, the tutor.) I’ve got chapter 2 due on Friday, and we’re stuck on the last question, so I posted a question to the profession on the online discussion board for the class last night. She still hasn’t answered it, and none of the other 25 students have chimed in either. The assignment is due tomorrow night, and I’d rather not be working on homework at that point, considering I’m done except for this single question.
(I have to create my own data sets - 2 of them in fact - and then put one on a regular frequency table and the other on a grouped frequency table. The twist is that she stated to use a max of 10 scores, and grouped frequency is best used, per the book, on 15 or more scores. I don’t get it. Anyway…)
And my other class…there’s no gratification there, instant or otherwise. I submitted a paper online Sunday (the due date) and haven’t heard a thing back yet. I’d like to know if I’m on the right track BEFORE I start my outline for my research paper.
I’m also bent because the statistics teacher has got chapter 3 work due on Monday, but the forms and questions to submit said work won’t be available until tonight. I guess that’s her way of saying enjoy a few hours of statistics this weekend? I could be done with it if I had the questions to turn in!
4:13 pm
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3 Comments »
Ah….there’s nothing like starting your day by talking to three clueless customer service reps, and then writing a poison pen letter to the company they work for.
I purchased a textbook online this week for Jim, and paid for next day air, which cost me an extra $56. (Ouch!) The book should have arrived last night, and it’s still not here. I called UPS and was told some adverse weather in Missouri held things up, and that I should contact the seller for a credit. Okey-dokey!
I called the online bookstore this morning and explained things to them, and how even as of last night, the UPS tracking indicated the package was on time and would be delivered on 1/30. The first customer service rep informed me that since the delay was due to weather, my shipping fees would not be refunded or credited. Hmm. That hardly sounds fair, since the returns and refunds information in my confirmation emails doesn’t mention weather delays, and it wasn’t brought up when I selected next day air either. I asked to speak to her supervisor and got transfered to the team leader, a.k.a customer service representative #2.
She stated that the weather refund information was located in the F.A.Q. on their website, cause of course, EVERYONE reads that before ordering things online, right? She told me I should have read it before calling in…oh, I’m sorry, am I BOTHERING YOU? Keeping you from a morning smoke break? Oh, and “shopping elsewhere from now on is your prerogative”. Huh? Did she just tell me it was ok to take my business somewhere else? Isn’t she supposed to try and KEEP business for her company?
She transfered me to customer service representative #3, who was a supervisor. Finally, I was cooking with gas! Eh…not so much, since this one was only willing to give me a $10 credit on the shipping. Actually, her first option was to give me a $10 credit on a FUTURE order, and I pointed out I don’t need more books now. She reluctantly said she’d credit me $10. Wow, a whole $10?
Let’s recap, shall we?
I spent $300 on books in this store in a single week, over the course of 2 orders, paying for next day shipping twice. I’ve spent over $100 on shipping alone, and they offered me $10 to make up for the delay. I get that it’s not THEIR fault - weather happens. But policies need to be clear and upfront so you know they’re not going to refund you in advance. And the willingness to let me shop elsewhere? With customer service reps like these, it’s no wonder half.com is doing a booming business!
I’m currently writing a letter which will be sent to the company big-wigs. Even if I don’t get a credit, they can definitely identify some training needs from my experience.
10:04 am
Filed under Bitchy-Poo
5 Comments »
January 29, 2008
I live in an area of retirees and families - there’s a ton of new construction and families in the area, complete with stay at home moms and dads who are free during the day when the kids are in school. So why, when I just hit my local voting precinct at 3pm, was I the only person under the age of 60? Not only that, but the line was OUT the door. This is why people don’t vote, and why retirees are the ones determining who our next President will be. They actually CARE about voting, unlike most of my generation, judging from the lack of young people at the polls.
When I finally got inside, I noticed things had changed from the last time we voted. Previously, you went to separate lines according to where you fell in the alphabet, and signed into a book once you presented your photo idea. Now everyone goes into the same line, where your drivers license is scanned into a special computer, and you sign electronically to get a receipt, which gives you the correct ballot.
My polling place had TWO of these computers, both being operated by two little old grannies, both sets moving like a herd of turtles. In fact, no one working at the polls had any sense of urgency at all. Here’s my suggestion to the polling authority for the county - more computers, and people who can put a little hustle into it. It took me less time to vote (selecting a candidate for President and voting on an amendment to increase the homestead exemption here in Florida) than the time I spent in line OR at the computer getting scanned and signed in. While most of the people in line didn’t mind the wait, treating it like old home week and a chance to catch up with your friends you haven’t seen since the last V.F.W. dance, I minded. The freedom to vote should come with a guarantee that you don’t need to wait more than 10 minutes in line to do so.
I think my sister has the right idea, voting by absentee ballot. (Hmm, is that what people my age are doing, in order to avoid the nonsense at the polls?)
3:30 pm
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2 Comments »
December 22, 2007
Angie shared yet ANOTHER story of sexual misconduct by a teacher, and this one is again in my home state of Florida. Isaac Tillis, a 29 year old math teacher at Bartow High told a 16 year old female student she could get an A if she gave him a blow job. She declined (smart girl!) but told police about the exchange. They set up a sting, and the student met with the teacher to accept his proposal. The student was wired, and Tillis took her into the restroom in the teacher’s lounge, pulled down his pants, and told her to perform oral sex, at which point the police came in.
I’m pleased that he was caught, literally, with his pants down. However, I am absolutely flabbergasted that a minor child would be put in this position. Would you be happy if your child, even at the age of 16, was allowed to go into a private room with a man twice her age, and stayed there while he pulled his pants down? I can’t fathom why the police thought that was acceptable, and why the student’s parents allowed it is beyond me. After your child as been propositioned by an adult, why would you allow her to be further drawn into that situation? To see her teacher name? To be TOLD to give him a blow job, while his pants are down?
I’m sickened that people put a child into this situation in order to catch this man. A child, even one who is two years away from being an adult, shouldn’t be used as bait.
9:50 am
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3 Comments »
December 21, 2007
My friend Tim shared a hilarious bit of news from my neck of the woods this week. Yes, only in Florida will an old biddy call the police because her neighbor “stole” from her. 
The big heist? A single tangerine from the lady’s fruit tree. Ruth Snow (ain’t she a looker?) was working on a jigsaw puzzle when she saw her neighbor, Italo Tomaselli, walk to her tangerine tree and pluck off a piece of fruit. Apparently, Italo (who is 80 years old) has been helping himself to Ruth’s sweet, sweet fruit (ha!) for years, and Ruth (who is 81) had enough. In fact, she was so bitter, that she cut DOWN several of her own trees to prevent her neighbor from stealing any of her fruit. (Surely she’s heard of the phrase, cutting off your nose to spite your face?)
Tomaselli admits he was in the wrong. Ruth, proving she’s a hag right to the end, said she wants to see his butt in a sling. Very neighborly! I see a lot of fruit theft in her future, considering her name and address, as well as her spiteful actions, have been broadcast all over the news. She just made herself a HUGE target….karma, baby!
In her spare time, Ruth enjoys driving slow in the fast lane, and confiscating baseballs and footballs that land in her yard.
3:43 pm
Filed under Bitchy-Poo, Ha, Ha!
4 Comments »
Why does it take so long to get things done with the school system?
Remember the letter saying Matthew qualified for gifted? It was dated November 17th. I called the school psychologist this week asking why we hadn’t heard anything, knowing that a meeting should have been scheduled to discuss his results. She informed me that I needed to contact the staffing specialist at his school, who is conveniently only there two days a week.
I left the staffing specialist a message on Monday, and waited, knowing she’d be in the office today. Since she didn’t call me back yet, I called her, and she informed me that his meeting isn’t scheduled yet. I pressed her to schedule it, and explained I’d be gone for a week in January and didn’t want to miss it. (The school typically schedules these things and sends you a letter telling you when to show up.)
She told me the first thing she had available wasn’t until FEBRUARY! What the heck? The testing was done in October, the results sent in November, and you aren’t even going to discuss the plans with me for my kid for another 2 months? Unacceptable. I nicely explained the time line of events to her, and told her that I knew after the meeting it would still take another few weeks before Mathew ever saw the inside of a gifted classroom…would he even get in this year?
It’s absolutely ridiculous that the wheels turn so slowly. Gifted children, learning disabled, those needing speech or other services from the school - it shouldn’t take this long! The only one who suffers is the child who is missing out on things THEY need to be a better student, to grow, and to learn. After expressing my dismay at the time this process is taking, she squeezed us in for two weeks from now. It makes me wonder how often people get pushed to a later date just because the school CAN do it.
11:08 am
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3 Comments »
December 19, 2007
I’m sure you all know of the battles we had last year with Matthew’s teacher. I never met a person like that, and why she chose to work with children as her profession…well, it’s beyond me. At any rate, it’s been smooth sailing thus far with his teacher this year, and the change in him is remarkable. You’d be a unhappy student too, if you had a teacher who was vindictive and bitter.
One of the things that I like so much about his current teacher is that she’s readily available to chat, be it via email, the phone, or notes in Matthew’s planner, which goes back and forth between school and home each day. The county does a reading program that requires the children to read books on a set reading level (each child is tested to determine what their reading level is) and then take a test on the book when finished. With each passing test grade, the child earns points. Most of the teachers use the points as a reward - it’s not a grade, since this reading is extra, above and beyond what’s required in the classroom.
Matthew didn’t earn a single point this month, and I know he’s been reading. When I saw the notice in his planner showing zero points, I asked him about it, and he insisted he had 3 points. (He was required to earn a total of 5 points for the month to attend a pizza party reward.) I scribbled a quick note in the planner to the teacher, asking:
“Zero points? Matthew says he has three…???”
She wrote back saying no, zero was correct, and included a list showing the books he read and his test grades…more on those in a minute. I asked him about it the next day, and he was SO insistent that he did have those three points, to the point where he cried about it…so I dropped another note in the planner, saying he was so sure he had the three points, and did she know why he was confused?
She replied asking if I had seen the list, which I had, and to be honest, I dropped it. He obviously didn’t have any points, but I wanted to be clear on that, since he was so sure he did.
At any rate, the final report for the month came home yesterday, confirming the zero points, and showing his scores on the books he read. These aren’t grades, but the kids are required to get a certain score in order to earn the points for that book. He didn’t get higher than a 50% on any of them, and I know he read the books. I don’t know if he got bored, didn’t pay attention, or what, but he definitely missed the boat. So we’re asking him about how he got such low scores on the books he read, and I made some mention of the notes I wrote to his teacher about the zero points. What he said next made my jaw drop…
“Ms. SoAndSo said you need to stop sending her those notes. I have zero points and she said ‘Why does your mom keep sending me those notes? You have zero points!”
What. The. Hell? Even if you are COMPLETELY annoyed with my whopping two notes asking about the points, why would you let my kid see that? I don’t think he made it up, simply because it seemed like a sophisticated line of reasoning for him…I was just floored. My husband got to be the lucky note writer this time, and he included his work phone number and asked her to call him today. He hasn’t heard from her yet.
I’m really hoping this is nothing, but given our horrible experience last year, I’m having a hard time seeing how this could be “nothing”. And the kicker is, this woman KNOWS we had a rotten experience last year. I’ve told her so many times how much better Matthew is doing, and we really appreciate her positive reinforcement. I’m blown away that she would make a offhand remark to indicate that I’m a BOTHER or an annoyance to her in front of my child, or any child for that matter.
1:33 pm
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8 Comments »
December 7, 2007
It really irritates me when people can’t follow directions, and can’t do their jobs properly.
I received a letter this week about Matthew’s latest evaluation for gifted. The letter explained that a report was on the school, and we could contact the school to get a copy. So I called the school, and the guidance counselor told me there was no report at the school yet, and they wouldn’t get it for a week.
Really? Because the letter I have in my hand says it’s on file AT the school. Now.
She begrudgingly went to look for the report, and lo and behold, it WAS at the school. Gosh, just like the letter SAID it would be? Imagine that! She said we could pick the report up, and since Jim was already out running errands, I told her that my husband would be over in ten minutes.
When Jim returned home, I asked him for the report. Funny thing about that - when he arrived at the school, there was no report waiting for him in the front office, and the desk clerk wouldn’t call the woman I spoke with to assist because she was “busy”. What. The. Hell?
I called back and DID get her on the phone, and she was….hmm…bewildered. She’s not busy at all, so she didn’t know why the desk clerk wouldn’t have called her. But she did admit she never got around to getting the report up to the front desk, despite me telling her my husband would be there within 10 minutes. I asked her to send a copy home with my son instead. Can’t - again policy. Tell me what’s on it, then? Can’t - against policy. Can you MAIL it? Gee whiz, she’ll have to ask if that’s allowed.
Well, what IS allowed? Apparently, only picking it up, in person. Uh…you mean like we just tried to do, except you botched that for us?
Sheesh.
12:36 pm
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6 Comments »
