Sometimes we all just need a little laugh…
This really just made my cheeks hurt from laughing so hard, I had to share it.
1-800-Flowers was a 1-800-FAILURE
February 16, 2011
My husband is such a great guy. A romantic to the core, he really tried to make this Valentine’s Day a great one for me. A few weeks ago, he got me the Nook Color as an early gift, and then surprised me with a beautiful necklace from our favorite jewelry store, Roger’s Jewelers. (Remember the whole purity ring incident? I LOVE Roger’s Jewelers!)
Anyways, back to 1-800-Flowers and why they are THE SUCKAGE this Valentine’s Day. Soooo… My husband is a big fan of talk radio, and had heard about this special deal through 1-800-Flowers, using a special promotion code of “Savage”. It was for two dozen assorted roses in a vase, and a box of chocolates for $49.99 plus delivery charges (see picture). A killer of a deal on Valentines Day, right?
He placed the order online on February 10th. He received a confirmation email:
Dear Mark Arnold,
Thank you for your recent gift purchase. Your order number is W00652302686204.
Here are the details of the order you placed on 2/10/2011:
Your Gift(s):
TWO DOZEN ASSORTED ROSES, VASE & FREE CHOCOLATEProduct Code: 91688MVCH
Delivery Date: 02/14/2011
Quantity: 1Your Card Message:
(Deleted for privacy reasons)Recipient Information:
(Deleted for privacy reasons)Billing Information:
(Deleted for privacy reasons)Payment Method:
MASTER CARD
Last four digits: 6745Order Details:
TWO DOZEN ASSORTED ROSES, VASE & FREE CHOCOLATE(#91688MVCH) $49.99Subtotal: $ 49.99
Shipping Charge: $ 14.00
Tax: $ .00———————————————————————
Order Total: $ 63.99
———————————————————————
What Happens Next?
Your order is being prepared for delivery. You may receive another email telling you that your gift is on its way, and you will receive a final Delivery Confirmation email once your gift is received.
Our normal delivery hours are between the hours of 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM in the destination (recipient’s) time zone. Times may vary due to peak holiday times or adverse weather conditions. During these periods, you may experience a delay in receiving a Delivery Confirmation email.
If you need to cancel your order or make changes, please call us at 1-800-468-1141 or e-mail us using our Online Customer Service Inquiry Form. Note that if your order has already been shipped or delivered, we will be unable to cancel it nor make changes.
After the order was placed, and my husband got the confirmation, he noticed the delivery times in the email. (I bolded them above.) Now, because he was having them delivered to my office, and I only work until 3:30, the chance of them coming after 3:30 was a good possibility. He contacted them via their website on February 10th and indicated that he needed them delivered prior to 3:15 pm on February 14th, or there was a possibility he might need to cancel the order.
The following is the email he received in return, from Axel Ernesto Gonzalez Herrera, Sales and Service Specialist:
In addition to these two emails, there was another email that arrived the following day– a WELCOME note to 1-800-Flowers. It was an email thanking us for our order and requesting that we add them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter:
So, if you’re keeping track– that’s three emails my husband had gotten.
Fast forward to Valentine’s Day. Flowers, balloons and all other kinds of goodies were getting delivered left and right to our office complex on Monday. With 1,200 employees, it was a flurry of deliveries all day long. My husband had hinted around at lunchtime, asking if there were a lot of deliveries that had been made that day. I kept wondering if maybe something would get delivered to me, but then I quickly dismissed the thought, because he has NEVER sent me anything on Valentine’s Day in the 12 years we’ve been together. We’ve always hated the way florists jacked up their prices on Valentine’s Day just because they can, so flowers on other days of the year are always a much better option. (And much more unexpected!)
Finally, around 3:15 Monday afternoon, I got a text message from my husband, asking if I had received the flowers he had sent me. When I replied that I hadn’t, he finally confessed that he had ordered a bouquet of flowers and a box of chocolates and was worried that they hadn’t been delivered yet. I called the front desk to make sure there were none waiting for me, and sure enough– NONE.
I left work at 3:30 and got home about 15 minutes later. He was on the phone, pacing while on hold with someone in their so-called ”Customer Service” department at 1-800-Flowers. After over an hour dealing with several different people, it turned into quite the mess as to what actually happened with his order.
Here’s what he was told:
1. The flowers weren’t delivered because my husband called in and cancelled the order. WRONG. My husband never called in and cancelled the order. If the order was cancelled, why were we charged for the order and where was the credit? Also, why were we continuing to get emails about the order?
2. The charge had already been credited back to us the same day it was charged. WRONG. We were charged for the amount of the order on the 11th, plus shipping (see above). As of today, we have yet to see a credit. They told us we should see a charge and then an immediate credit. WRONG.
3. They would go ahead and deliver the flowers to us for FREE, but they wouldn’t arrive until the 16th. Um, why bother now? You’ve already pretty much screwed up everything you could possibly screw up with this order.
So now, we sit and wait on our refund. Anyone care to wager on when we see our money credited back to our debit card?
Abuse of Power
February 11, 2011
Whenever a controversial news story first comes out, most people draw a first impression of what they think happen based on the limited details the news media releases. Recently, our local news media broke a story of a local high school band director who they say allegedly sexually abused a student. Very few details were included other than to say he had been arrested, and he was on paid administrative leave from the school.
That was three days ago. Think of the conclusions you would draw from that story.
Today, things changed. Another news story comes out.
More details come out. The teacher admitted to having a “relationship” with a 17-year old student. This relationship included having sex. The 17-year female student also admitted to the sexual relationship, confessing it had been going on since November of 2010.
The way the article reads, when it deems what was going on as a “relationship” leads me to believe that there is more to this story than what the media is telling me. A sexual relationship went on for nearly three months before she decided to report it.
I understand that the teacher is wrong for participating in this “relationship.” I get that. He was in a position of power and authority, and this was highly inappropriate. The student is a minor, and not only is it illegal, but highlly unethical.
But what aren’t we being told? Why did she decide to report the relationship NOW? Something tells me if he was pressuring her, this would not have been deemed a “relationship.”
What do you think?
(Photo Credit: WHO-TV, Des Moines)
Is It Too Late To Move to a Different State?
February 9, 2011
There is a bill being “considered by a House subcommittee” today in Iowa that is literally making me sick to my stomach.
It is the House Study Bill 50, also known as the Religious Conscience Protection Bill. Basically, this bill would allow businesses in Iowa to deny services to same sex couples on religious grounds.
“House Study Bill 50, called the Religious Conscience Protection Act, would allow a person, business or organization such as a charity or fraternal group to deny services without fear of facing a civil claim or lawsuit if they think doing so would validate or recognize same-sex relationships. ” (Des Moines Register, 2-7-11)
WHAT? Since when is this OK? Is this a JOKE? Did the calendar just flip to April Fools’ Day and no one told me? Are some of my state’s elected officials really trying to make this happen? This saddens me to no end, as the Bill not only would allow same-sex couples to be treated this way, but it opens the door for all types of discrimination to actually become LEGAL.
So, let’s set aside the same-sex issue for a minute, because we all know they would be horribly discriminated against under this Bill.
Let’s say you are an unmarried heterosexual couple. It’s Valentine’s Day and you want to spend a romantic evening at a hotel with your honey.
Did you know under this Bill that the hotel management could REFUSE to give you a room if they felt that your relationship of “living in sin” and not being married was against the hotel manager’s religious beliefs?
What about a bi-racial MARRIED couple? Again, if the hotel manager felt the bi-racial marriage was against his religious beliefs, he could refuse service to the couple.
A Christian landlord would not have to rent an apartment to a couple that was made up a Jewish man and a Catholic woman, if the landlord felt the relationship was inappropriate.
When is this hatred, bigotry and mistreatment of our friends and neighbors going to end? Because the way the news articles read, it’s been brought up that the Bill is too vague, or too broad, and therefore could eventually include racial discrimination as well. So it sounds like they will purposely rewrite the Bill to make it specific to same-sex marriages and/or same-sex relationships. They are going to specifically go after and target a group of people and try to make it legal to discriminate against them.
And then there’s our newly elected Governor, who promised to bring back the good times and strong State that Iowa used to be when he Governor years ago. What did he have to say when asked if he believed this Bill would legalize discrimination?
“No, I don’t think so. What it does is protect people who want to exercise their moral and ethical rights under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.”(Des Moines Register, 2-7-11)
Mr. Governor, I’m so disappointed in you. You have to remember you represent the entire state of Iowa, even those that did not vote for you. You represent white people, black people, straight people, gay people. You represent many ethnic backgrounds, many types of familes. EVERYONE deserves rights under the Constitution.
Maybe the Governor needs to read the Constitution of our State, specifically Section 1, Article I, in the Bill of Rights:
Rights of persons. Section 1. All men are, by nature, free and equal, and have certain inalienable rights – among which are those of enjoying and defending life and liberty, acquiring, possessing and protecting property, and pursuing and obtaining safety and happiness.
Or if that’s not enough, how about we read farther down in the Bill of Rights. Let’s look at Article I, Section 6:
Laws uniform. Section 6. All laws of a general nature shall have a uniform operation; the General Assembly shall not grant to any citizen, or class of citizens, privileges or immunities, which, upon the same terms shall not equally belong to all citizens.
How is this Bill NOT not infringing on certain people’s rights as citizens of our wonderful state?
While I hope that the predictions are true, when I hear that “this will never get passed” and “it will never make it through”… the fact remains is that the Bill was written and created in the first place. It was in the minds and on the hearts of the men and women we trust with leading our state.
And that, my friends, makes me very sad.
Hey Mom, I got a D for “Developing”
February 7, 2011
One of the local school districts in my area is making waves. Next fall, the Waukee Community School District will eliminate letter grades for their middle school students. “Middle school students consists of 6th, 7th, and 8th graders.
According to an article in the Des Moines Register, rather than receiving the typical As, Bs, or Cs, students will now be receiving “statuses” such as “beginning“, “developing“, “secure“, or “exceeds” in several different standards in each subject. The article goes on to say that other districts in the area are considering switching to this method of grading as well, but Waukee is the first to actually make it happen.
The article lists reasons why this method of evaluating the students is better than a letter-grading system, and I won’t go into all of that. You can just go read the article if you want. I will mention the one point they made that I DO agree with is that one instance where the letter-grading system may NOT be an accurate representation of a child’s understanding a certain class or subject is when points are given for things like attendance, extra credit, and class participation. For example, my daughter can maybe earn an extra 10 points in her science class for having perfect attendance, maybe boosting her from a B to an A, but that doesn’t mean she understands the subject matter more than a student who just got the B.
BUT. (You knew there was a BUT.)
If your child brought home a report card, and they received grades like “Developing” or “Secure” what does that mean to you? It seems to be like this method leaves the door open for the teacher to be a lot more subjective in evaluating each student, and possibly let the grades reflect their opinion of the student. Possibly different teachers in the same grade level with different teaching styles might interpret when a student has reached a level of “secure” in a particular subject, rather than just knowing that when you score 90-100% on something, it’s an A. (Or in the case of our school district, it’s actually a 93% needed for an A– I know, we’re a bit tougher around here!) With a letter-grading system, you know that if you take a test and get an 85%, you receive a B. It is not open to interpretation by the teacher, who can subjectively determine how well you grasp the subject matter.
And what about preparing these kids for high school? The four years where GPA is everything? The article seems to insinuate that grading kids on a letter basis promotes competition between students, but I don’t necessarily consider that to be a bad thing. I think it’s healthy for kids to want to be successful in school, and heaven forbid we let them worry about their grades!
In our school district, the letter-grading system starts in 4th grade, which is the grade my youngest daughter is in now. I don’t consider it a bad thing, because I am not kidding when I say she had been EXCITED and looking forward to it for YEARS. She couldn’t wait to start getting letter grades like her older siblings! She works hard to get good grades, and the joy on her face when she sees her report card? PRICELESS. Somehow I don’t think I would get the same kind of reaction out of her if she was getting a report card that had things like “Secure” and “Developing” on it. What a snoozefest.
I’d love to hear your opinion on this. Does your child’s school district use the letter-grading system or another system? How would you feel if this change was made? Let’s hear it!
