Taking a bite out of business crime

So, we recently had a heating problem. The first company we called, John Moore (owned by Satan), came out and gave us a repair estimate that was SEVEN TIMES the cost of what we actually went with (Big Tex A/C - woot!) John Moore's diagnostic was also 3x the cost of Big Tex's.

So, after a call with John Moore's customer service department to verify that it was the actual company that was trying to rip me off, and not just the service tech, I submitted complaints with both the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation and the BBB. And I now submit another complaint to you, internet.

DO NOT call John Moore for plumbing, AC/Heating, Electrical, Pest Control, Insulation, Energy Audit, or Window and Door repair. The "Moore" stands for cost. The "John" stands for poopy customer service. Call Big Tex instead!

Tell all your friends! (If they're not in Texas, I'm sure they don't care.)

Ace is the Place

...at least if you value customer service. I have never had a good customer service experience at Lowe's - quite the contrary. Every time I go - every single time - I end up frustrated because:

1) I can never find anyone to help me
2) When I am actually able to find someone, they are decidedly unhelpful: usually rude, unknowledgeable, indifferent, and lazy
3) It takes contacting at least 4 of these people to actually get someone who has any idea what I'm talking about. And I have to find all of them myself - they certainly will not put forth any effort to find each other.

I do like Lowe's Valspar paint. That's about all I like about their store.

In contrast, every time I've gone to Ace, the people have been friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful. I am willing to pay a few dollars' price difference, if that, to get someone who is willing and able to help me.

Goods and Bads

Whenever I get screwed as a consumer, I always want to get back at the company by spreading the word about what scumbags they are. When I first published this, I put a list of some of those companies here - but, I didn't like the tone that gave this post or the way it made me feel.

Anyway, though, on the plus side, it's good to recognize companies that really do things right. That's why today I'd like to honor Wells Fargo as a good company.

WELLS FARGO = GREAT!

You see, last month someone somehow ripped off my credit card number and was able to make a couple of fraudulent purchases with it before they were detected by Wells Fargo's fraud department. Even before I noticed the charges on my account, good ol' WF had put a hold on it. They were really great about helping me sort it all out, and I received notice today that all fraudulent charges and associated fees had been cleared. Aaaah. Nice to have a company relieve headaches instead of causing them.

Oddly enough, this all took place shortly after Toby's experience. I guess it's just a case of life immitating art. And what higher art could there be than Mary Worth!

The Pot of My Pie

Banquet pot pies are now microwaveable! Hooray, hooray!

I love their golden, crispy crusts - which are surprisingly golden and crispy even when cooked in the microwave. I love their savory innards, made with naturally artificial ingredients. I love their turkey, chicken, and beef. But most of all, I love their price: less than fiddy cent. Could anything be more delicious than cheap food?

And yes, I do know about the recall. That's all been resolved.

Tropicanalicious

A couple of weeks ago, I was at Wal-mart to pick up some chocolate milk for lunch (yes, lunch was to be just that: some thick, creamy, exploding-with-calories chocolate milk). This choco-blast was all husband wanted, and while I like chocolate milk, I wanted something more along smoothie lines. But maybe not a smoothie.

I discovered this:

Yup, nothing says "Pure" like "flavored blend of 5 juices from concentrate with other natural flavors and ingredients."

In spite of this, I really liked it. I bought the pomegranate blueberry flavor. I will list its virtues here:

1) I could taste both the pomegranate and the blueberry juice (in spite of there probably being minimal amounts of each...pure pomegranate juice is the price of liquid gold)

2) The juice was really thick, so it is satisfying - more so than regular apple juice, and certainly more so than soda (or worse, diet soda)

3) The 33.8 oz. bottle cost less than $3 (I have since discovered that this may only be at Wal-Mart, as Smith's prices it at over $4)

4) Because of how thick the juice is, the 33.8 oz. bottle is actually enough for several servings - even 4, as the bottle indicates

In short, Tropicana Pure (TM) is a good buy.