Category Archives: Uncategorized

FedEx FAIL

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[The following has been sent to the folks whom maintain the consumerist.com web site.  It may or may not appear there!]

I recently had to send a notebook computer back to Hewlett Packard for warranty service.  They serviced it and sent it back to me via FedEx Ground–signature required.  I was out of town at a conference during the time FedEx was attempting to deliver this package.  Not expecting a signature to be REQUIRED, I had someone checking my house every day for the package.  All I had when I got home was a collection of door tags.

I called FedEx and spoke with a very nice lady who listened to me, spoke English as her first language (always a plus), and told me that she would put a request in the system which would ask the "local" depot to attempt one more delivery.  I thanked her and went on about my business.  I shortly got a call from the "local" depot informing me that they would NOT attempt another delivery because they have an obligation to the shipper (HP, in this case) to keep the package no more than 5 days.  If I did not go to the depot to pick up the package myself, they would return it to the shipper.

The "local" FedEx depot is over 60 miles away.  It would take me 90 minutes to get there.  I can’t, nor should I have to, take almost 4 hours out of my work day to go get this package!

Recognizing that in this transaction I have no relationship with FedEx (they are working for HP) and respecting that they are simply fulfilling an obligation to their customer, I decided to call that customer (HP).  I called HP and gave them my case number.  I suffered through usual Tier 1 Hell and eventually got transferred to someone with whom I could have a rational conversation.  I explained what FedEx had told me and that I wanted HP, as the company who hired FedEx to deliver this package, to call FedEx and absolve them of their responsibility to return this package after 5 days and to give them permission to attempt sending it one more time.  I was put on hold for some time, after which I was told that there was nothing HP could do.  "But they’re returning it because they think you want it back!" I tried to explain.  "Tell them you want them to attempt re-delivery!"  I was told there was nothing they could do.  I ashamedly admit I was so pissed and frustrated that I hung up on the person who had been reasonably polite while dealing with me through this.

I took one last stab and called FedEx again.  I gave my door tag to the EXTREMELY nice and polite gentlemen who took my call.  I then told him the whole story.  I explained how HP, the company that had hired them and to whom they (FedEx) alleged they were beholden regarding the 5-day rule attempted to tell FedEx to attempt re-delivery of the package already in their possession.  He informed me that the decision to do so is made at the individual depot level and that there was no FedEx procedure that allowed anyone to countermand that decision.  "You’re going to deliver that package one way or another," I exclaimed.  "That package is going to go back to HP, they’re going to slap another sticker on it, it’s going to come back to that same depot and that driver is just going to shake his head and LAUGH."  Then *I* laughed and said, "You’re FED-EX!  I thought you were in the EFFICIENCY business!!"  The nice gentleman understood my point.  He even seemed to genuinely agree with me.

But he still couldn’t help me.

I am incredulous.  If there’s "blame" to be placed in this idiotic scenario, I’ll take my fair share.  I suppose I could have assumed that a signature would be required.  (That they’re required for ANYTHING in this day and age is likewise idiotic, but that’s another rant/discussion.) I could have better timed my arrangement of this repair such that the computer would be returned when I wasn’t out of town.  Fair enough.

I’m all for rules and policies and procedures.  But to follow them blindly without exception is hardly "efficient".  FedEx must be doing something right.  They routinely get stuff from Hong Kong and other exotic eBay and other online origins to my VERY rural address in astonishingly SHORT amounts of time.  That they would EMBRACE glaring, seven-foot, snaggle-toothed and drooling (and obviously very ravenous) INEFFICIENCY as it stands right in front of them instead of taking an obvious and safe escape route when one is presented to them is mind-boggling at best, patently ludicrous at worst. 

So, FedEx (if you’re reading): Have fun!  In addition to the fuel you’ll expend bring that box to my house (which you WILL be doing anyhow), you now have to pay to ship it back to HP.  And I hope you have to refund their account for failure to perform the service for which you were contracted (namely the delivery of my package).  And then you’ll have to ship it right back to the same depot which will have to deliver it to my house.  Unless I request that HP send it UPS instead…

Oh, and HP?  Are you here too?  SHAME on you for closing my CaseID!  When I asked if I could proactively put in a request to have the computer re-shipped to me when FedEx returns it, I was informed that that’s not possible because my CaseID has been closed.  "How can my case be CLOSED?" I asked.  "I haven’t gotten my computer back yet!!"  "We close the case when the product ships back," I was informed.  "That seems remarkably short-sighted of you…" I said.  (I think it was shortly after that that I hung up on the person assisting me.)

I finished my conversation with the FedEx rep by telling him that this experience will affect my decision making the next time I need to ship something.  "If you’re taking notes," I said, "put that in there, would you?" 

"Yes sir!  I certainly will!"

Disgruntled,
Romeyn Prescott
Potsdam, NY

REVIEW: Labman 11 Conference

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Many people I know don’t see the value of professional conferences.  Some can’t stand the thought of being around so many people all day long.  Some don’t think they have anything to learn.  While it’s true that the Internet has dramatically shrunk our planet and that "getting together" can happen in all kinds of ways that don’t involve actually "being there"; there is no substitute for face-to-face discussion, presentation, celebration, and commiseration with one’s peers.  I derive a great deal of value from conferences and am better at my job for having attended them.

This week I attended the 11th Labman Conference, held this year at Northampton Community College in Bethlehem, PA.  This was my third time attending this conference.  There were sessions and presentations on many topics.  I did not choose to attend them all, but will offer my reviews and opinions of what I did experience.

Day 1

The opening keynote was given by Professor Keith Hartranft of Northampton Community College. He bounced around a bit, but was engaging and interesting.  His overall message was that as I.T. Support at our campuses, we should keep the needs of the teaching Faculty in mind when designing our systems.  I tend to agree to a point.  We all–Faculty and non-teaching professionals alike–tend to forget that the real reason we are ALL here is to serve the STUDENTS.  It is with THEIR needs we be primarily concerned.  Everything else is secondary.

The first session I attended was by Joseph Williams of Temple University titled "Are Computer Labs Still Necessary?" I was looking forward to someone stating that what with almost every student having their own computer that we now didn’t need to have so many computer labs on our campuses. I was disappointed.  In studies of their own campus, Temple has determined that with student computer ownership approaching 100% demand for campus computing resources is higher than ever.  Reasons? Students can’t be bothered to carry their computers around with them; when they do, they won’t necessarily have/own the software necessary to do their coursework; and even if they do, they would rather work on the comparatively large screens provided in the campus facilities.

I next attended the first of a two-part vendor presentation given by John DeTroye of Apple Computer.  The presentation was on Systems and Client Management and Best Practices using Apple’s OS X Server. It was a pleasure to hear John present.  He is obviously a decision-making, high-level engineer at Apple who knows EXACTLY what he is talking about. I knew much of what he was presenting, but picked up a few ideas to research. John seemed fond of letting us know that he knew lots of cool stuff he wasn’t allowed to tell us, prompting me to ask, "so that’s NOT an iPhone *5* you have on your hip?" This got a few laughs from the room, but Jon deftly countered with, "No, this is just something I picked up in a bar in Cupertino." 🙂

Wright State University presented a spin on the Dual Boot Mac scenario by detailing how they took their tech-bloated instructional podia to lean, clean, and usable by using dual-boot Mac Minis and some of the hurdles they had to overcome to make the tech work in their environment as well as keep their user base happy with the arrangement.  While something I’ve already done myself, the session was very well-received by the attendees.

Lunch was provided in the student center dining court on both days of the conference.  They had a lot of variety and we all had $10 vouchers, which was more than enough.

The highlight of the conference was Tuesday evening’s social function: a AAA Baseball game at Allentown’s Coca-Cola Park between the home team Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs and the visiting Toledo Mudhens.  Sponsored, I am told, by Computer Lab Solutions (makers of LabStats), we had a section of the park’s picnic pavilion available to us with GREAT seating down the third base line and all-you-can-eat ballpark food.  Josh Norman of Computer Lab Solutions even threw out one of the opening pitches.  It was a screaming fastball dead-center in the strike zone and after catching it, I saw the catcher remove his glove and flex his left hand as he winced in pain.  I know from sitting with him for most of the game that Josh has a family in Idaho, so it was probably bad news he gave to the managers and scouts who were doubtless trying to recruit him after witnessing that throw!  But at least the kids at the game will live happy lives now that they all have Josh’s autograph.

To those of you conference attendees who chose NOT to attend the game, I first must thank at least ONE of you.  Your decision freed up a ticket for my wife, who came with me on this trip, and allowed her to come to the game with me!  The rest of you will never know what you missed.  A picture-perfect evening in an impeccably-groomed, well-maintained ball park with great company and good food.  Oh, and look over there…a baseball game?  Even if baseball’s not your thing, this was a great social and networking venue.

Day 2

Day 2 was more sessions.  I attended the following:

Managing Windows 7.  This was presented by Purdue and was a listing and explanation of the Group Policies used during their Windows 7 rollout.  I look forward to the posting of this powerpoint more than any other.

The Casper Suite JAMF Software.  Presented by Lauren Nicholas of Moravia College, this suite is a combination Mac deployment and management suite.  Initial impressions are that it doesn’t do much more than Apple’s own Remote Desktop, Workgroup Manager, and Automator can do, but there must be something to it because a lot of people are using it.  I will be investigating it at some point.

The last session I attended was put on by Northhampton Community College.  Some students had taken some old x86 computers and kit-bashed them into a SOLID and powerful (and power SUCKING!) computing cluster!  This was absolutely incredible and something I’ve dreamed of doing for many years.  It was great to see someone actually do it.

The "goodbye"/closing session was fun and mercifully quick.  The organizers had more prizes than attendees!  Everyone left with something.

I close with some comments on the Vendors.  Computer Lab Solutions and Faronics were their usual, personable selves; well-represented and friendly.  I was also very glad to make John DeTroye’s (Apple) acquaintance.  He’s someone I hope to meet again.  But Apple really "phoned in" their presence at this conference.  If they didn’t have logos on their shirts and if their name tags didn’t say "Apple" on them, we might never have known who they were!  No banner, no sign, no iPads/iPods for people to play with.  They just sort of…sat there!  Given their status in the industry, I expect them to SET the standard, not sit there and get shown up by everyone else in the room.

I applaud Randy Brodhead and everyone else responsible for pulling together this year’s conference.  On an arbitrary and just-made-up 1-10 overall scale, I give this conference a 9.5.

iPad impressions 2

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Do you remember the thread/storyline in the Peanuts comic strip in which Linus decides to once and for all give up his baby blanket?  He gives it to Charlie Brown and tells him that under no circumstances is he to give Linus back the blanket.  

I did the same thing in college when I got my first Turbo Mouse.  (It’s a trackball mouse.) I kept habitually using the regular mouse over the Turbo Mouse.  One day I took it down the hall and gave it to my friend Lisa and instructed her NOT to give it back to me for at least a week no matter how much I begged for it.  After a week, I didn’t even WANT it back!

I think I might need to do the same thing with my Macbook Pro, though not on so dramatic a scale.  Perhaps I’ll just start leaving it at work for a few days (a week?) and see what happens.  Not that I can practically live without it on a long-term, day-to-day basis–but it’s the only way I’m going to give the iPad a proper shakedown.  I keep gravitating to my Macbook pro.  It’s pure habit.  Like a well-used, trusted baseball glove.

iPad First Impressions

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I was on the fence about the iPad when it was announced.  I wasn’t sure I wanted one, but I knew I sure wasn’t going to get one on day one.  I wanted to see one first.  And I was pretty sure that if I ended up wanting one I was going to want the 3G version (which meant waiting a few weeks anyhow).

About a week after they hit the stores I still hadn’t even seen or touched one.  I happened to be in my CIO’s office talking about other stuff.  When our meeting was done I asked if he knew anyone who had one.  Long conversation short: he told me to buy one to "evaluate" for our campus.  I didn’t argue very much!

My iPad arrived 2 days ago.  It is everything you have read about, both good and bad.  Its interface is incredibly intuitive and easy to use.  If you don’t jailbreak it, you’re stuck with whatever Big Brother Jobs says you can load onto it.

So how am I going to use this thing?  I’m still trying to figure that out.  For an Administrator–someone who is in meetings a lot–this thing will be very popular.  Put it in a simple, leather case like the one I bought and in a small, light form factor you have everything the average executive needs.  But I’m not an administrator and I don’t attend many meetings.

Me at work: the iPad will be useful to me as I am out and about on campus fixing things.  I can use it to make "live" updates to our tracking system (instead of forgetting to do so when I get back to my office which is what frequently happens now).  It will also be useful in maintaining my inventory database, which process currently involves a clipboard.  And, of course, the inevitable PR duties of an early adopter: showing the thing off to people so they can contemplate it’s place in their pedagogical and/or recreational existence.

Me at home: 90% of that for which I use a computer at home can be classified as "consumption".  I’m on the web, or I’m reading e-mail.  Or watching videos.  It’s seems ridiculous to say so, but when you’re all stretched out on a La-Z-Boy, a laptop is unwieldy for these purposes!  The iPad is perfect for Casual Consumption of information. 
I bought a case for my iPad.  (Marware’s Eco-Vue) Unlike my iPhone, I can’t slide this thing into my pocket when I’m carrying it around.  The case is nice for some kinds of use.  It doubles as a stand for typing and for viewing.  But I’ve found that it’s a bit clumsy once you’ve gotten comfy and want to, er, "consume".

I have scads of apps for my iPhone. I was initially disappointed at how many of them have not been ports to the iPad. But the more I thought about it, I realized that most of them have no place on the iPad. They make sense on the iPhone, but not so much on the iPad. This applies especially to those apps that were designed as replacements for web-based functionality that would be clunky on an iPhone despite it’s full browsers capabilities.

It will take me some time to properly integrate this device into my workflow.  I plan on trying to get through a day or two using ONLY the iPad just to see how feasible it is.  That said, my initial impression is that the iPad can’t be any IT professional’s ONLY computing device.

Lastly I need to comment on the "keyboard".  I typed this entire post using the landscape mode keyboard on the iPad.  I know there are pepos who can’t stand the thought of typing and not feeling a button get pressed with every keystroke.  I apparently am not one of them.  It took a few minutes to get used to, but when "special" characters aren’t involved, i do not exaggerate when I say that I can type just as fast on the iPad as i can with a "real" keyboard.

That’s all for now.  Real work beckons! 

How Do You Furlough A Salaried Employee?

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Unless you’ve been living in a cave for the last week, you know that Governor Paterson attached a mandatory furlough for all Executive Branch employees to the latest emergency spending bill, which furlough would mean that all affected employees would work 20% less and get 20% less pay.

Everyone is talking about it, and there are all kinds of questions being asked.  Many are up in arms, pursuing various strategies to prevent the furloughs from happening based on the notion that such a tactic is illegal.  I suspect they are probably right.

But MY biggest question is more philosophical and abstract:  How, exactly, do you "furlough" a SALARIED employee?  If you are paid by the hour, this is a no-brainer.  You don’t work, you don’t get paid.  This happens all the time in, for example, manufacturing jobs.  If you work on an assembly line and the line is down for mechanical reasons or the shipment of raw materials is late and there are no widgets to be made that day, the workers are called and told not to come in.  If there’s no work, there’s no need for workers.  Plain and simple.  Over-simplified: Workers paid an hourly wage are paid for their time.

But as I have always understood it, salaried workers are paid for their JOB.  Every hiring is a negotiation in which the employer discloses the nature of the position and the prospective employee and the employer agree upon an annual salary which will compensate the employee for performing those duties.  It is, in essence, an annual fee split up over (in my case) 26 pay periods per year.  

Being paid to do a job is different than being paid for your time.  If this week "getting it done" requires 50 hours, I will work 50 hours, including long days and weekends if necessary.  If next week is a slow week in my work cycle, maybe I’ll only be here for 35.  That’s how it works.  But some of the answers to frequently-asked questions about this impending furlough are leaving me slack-jawed in utter disbelief.  Based on what I have heard, we will be told that we MUST take this time off (amounting to one full day a week).  The reason?  Workman’s Compensation does not cover someone who is in the workplace but not getting paid to be there.  So what happens to an employee who decides to work on a Saturday to get caught up and has an accident?  Are they not covered either?  That runs counter to everything I’ve ever been told about working as a salaried employee.  I understand that "40 hours" is the work week norm, but what if I was staring down the barrel of a 60-hour week?  Let’s say I KNEW I was going to have to work 60 hours next week to make a deadline.  80% of 60 hours is 48 hours.  If I’m being furloughed 20%, does that mean I should only work 48 hours next week?

I don’t have to account for my time unless I’m declaring vacation or sick time.  How the hell are they going to "account" for a salaried employee’s time in an average week and tell them to not work 20% of it?  They CAN’T!  It’s ludicrous on the face of it and defies all logic and common sense.  

OK…I need to stop thinking about this or I’ll get a headache.  Though I reserve the right to craft an "…and another thing!" entry.  Possibly several.

My Memory of Joe Sarnoff

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The Memorial Service for Joe Sarnoff was held yesterday in the Sarnoff Barrington Student Union here on campus. 

The scheduled speakers were all very poignant, sharing happy memories of Joe’s affect on their lives. It was all wonderful. It was all true. But it was all…SOMBER. There’s nothing WRONG with that. After all, a loved one has passed. We are all mourning. But after reading some memories for someone who could not be in attendance, I decided the room needed a break so I shared MY greatest memory involving Joe and got some well-needed (and deserved!) smiles and laughter out of the crowd. Here it is. I apologize for the audio. The iPhone’s mic is great up-close, but not so much from 15 feet away, apparently.

Here’s a link to the video.

Smart people who disagree with me

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On the TV show "The West Wing" president Bartlett–a Democrat–at one point decided he wanted a Republican as one of his key advisors.  When quizzed about WHY he would want that, the deputy chief of staff (if I recall correctly) replied, "the president likes smart people who disagree with him."

I post here a series of tweets from John C Welch (@bynkii, if you care, and he’s Googlable if you want anything else) that deal loosely with the subject:

—–
[bynkii] pondered unfollowing vs. banning today. conclusion: Unfollowing is how a grownup deals w/ people they disagree with/don’t like on twitter…

…Don’t want to deal with someone’s twitspew? unfollow. you can still interact, but at a slower pace.

Banning is ultimately a petulant juvenile act of hiding that doesn’t work anyway. But some folks can only handle ‘A’ rides.

I learn a lot from people who vehemently disagree with me. I learn a lot from people who agree with me as well.

In both cases, usually things I’d have never thought of myself, because they have different viewpoints and worldviews.

I learn nothing by hiding from people. Better to be pissed off than miss out on learning.
—–

I’ve known many people in my Life who behave this way.  If they disagree with something, they write it off completely.  I suppose in the short term that’s fine, but to never revisit "it" again just because you didn’t care for it once is short-sighted.  As humans, we are constantly growing and maturing.  Our experiences, our attitudes, and our bodies are always changing.  To assume permanence of anything in this existence is folly at best.

I see this most in my peers, many/most of whom see no value whatsoever in gathering with counterparts from other institutions to see how things are done at their places of employment.  When asked, they’ll tell me they’re bored or that there’s nothing to learn.  While I respect their opinion, I scoff inwardly.  That attitude suggests that WE somehow "have it all figured out" and that our systems and methodologies are perfect and that we have nothing to learn.  That smacks of arrogance and arrogance usually leads to a Fall of some kind. 

I want no part of that.  I enthusiastically seek out these forums.  I see them as win/win.  I’ll either learn something I didn’t know and can take that information back to my own organization an attempt to improve it, or I’ll get validation that our ways are the Right Ways (for us) and can share that wisdom with others who may benefit from it. 

In my experience, a whole lot of BOTH actually goes on.  And either way, I’m better for it.

If you don’t tell ME, then it’s not important.

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At some point early in our relationship, Amanda shared with me a very insightful piece of advice.  She said, "it’s important to talk TO your partner more than you talk ABOUT your partner."  If you spend all your time talking about the problems you have with someone to OTHER PEOPLE, those problems aren’t likely to ever get solved.

That really struck a chord with me.  I’m not the kind of person who generally cares what other people thinks about him.  Most people won’t understand this.  I think most people are consumed by their fear that they won’t be "popular" or that someone might be saying "bad things" about them to someone else.  I will admit that there was a time when this…the gossiping…bothered me, particularly when it came to my profession and the quality of the work I put out.  Then, one day about 10 years ago, I had an epiphany of sorts.  I suddenly realized that if someone has an opinion or a concern about me–about ANY aspect of me–and doesn’t bring that concern to me personally; then that concern, whatever it is, is TRIVIAL as far as I am care about it goes.  I have applied this to all areas of my Life and it sure does make it easier to get through it (life).

If you think I’m fat and you want to talk about it with other people, good for you!  If you want to talk about it with ME, I’d love that too.  If you don’t like my shirt/pants/shoes/hair/beard/whatever, same thing.  If you aren’t talking to ME about it, I don’t care that you’re talking to anyone else.  If your concern was a serious one, you’d be talking to ME.  The way I see it, you’re just entertaining yourself and I’m flattered, should you choose to talk about me, that I am sufficiently entertaining!

It was hardest to adopt this philosophy at work.  I am continually frustrated by the low bar I have to set for the quality of some aspects of service I provide.  But I’m one man supporting well over 500 computer workstations.  That means a whole lot of "vanilla" and not much in the way of sprinkles, whipped cream, and cherries.  Some things are the way they are because I’ve made a conscious decision to make them that way.  Sometimes with a good reason, sometimes "just because".  But a LOT of things are simply at "default" because no one has ever asked or suggested that they be changed.  They way I see it, if it isn’t broken then I’m not going to fix it.  And in the computer support game, no news is GOOD news.  No reports of things NOT working means that everything IS working.

Right?

Apparently not.  I continue to be dismayed as I interact with the people who use the systems I maintain at how much CRAP they put up with but NEVER BRING TO MY ATTENTION.  My systems are NOT perfect.  I know that.  But I can only be so proactive.  I can’t test every SMARTboard on campus once a week. I can’t log in to every workstation to make sure everything’s working.  But there ARE people using all of these systems every day, and it continues to astound me that they run into problems–no matter how trivial–that they never report.  It frustrates me because I take pride in my work.

But everyone on this campus knows that CTS is responsible for the computers on this campus.  And most who use the computers in classrooms know that *I* am directly responsible for the computers in those classrooms.  While it still pains me to know that there are deficiencies in my Systems as I struggle to address the ones I know about, I have had to decide that the ones I don’t know about are simply not important if no one else bothers to bring them to my attention.  I know it goes on.  I overhear some of it myself.  I get some of it second-hand, and some of that from alleged sources that surprise me because I expect more from those people.

I’m under no assumption that anyone but myself reads this.  I know I WRITE it only for myself.  But if, someday, this blog-thing acquires any sort of popularity and actually gets read by any of you who actually use the Systems I build and maintain, take this to heart and do BOTH of us a favor and report the problems you experience, no matter how small.  My job is to make teaching with technology on this campus as painless and seamless as possible.  Doing so successfully requires as much of your input as I can get, because I am NOT a teacher!  So don’t just shake your head with frustration.  Complain all you want in the break room or at the lunch table with your peers.  But in the name of all that is good and holy, do NOT assume that I already am aware of the problem you just experienced or that I am working on it! 

I would much rather get 10 calls about the same problem than NO calls at all.  I can’t fix it if I don’t know it’s broken!

A letter to the management of the Excalibur Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, NV.

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Greetings,

While in Las Vegas on our honeymoon last month my wife and I made sure we purchased tickets for and attended your Tournament of Kings dinner show.  It was incredible!  A decent story with incredibly practiced and rehearsed choreography.  We were impressed.

What did NOT impress us, however, was the rampant nickel-and-diming that went on.  After paying well over $100 for our tickets, we were shocked that a mug of beer was $12 (just $2 more if we wanted a souvenir mug!).  Shortly after having been seated and while soda was being poured, a nice lady came by and took our picture. 

The show began and we ate, cheered, and booed as was appropriate.  At some point in the middle of the fantastic show that lady with the camera snuck back around and deposited our souvenir photo, shrink-wrapped and everything (presumably lest we spill something–very thoughtful!), in front of us.  To our dismay, she showed up about 15 minutes later, still in the middle of the show, and tried to extort $20 from us if we wanted to keep the picture.  Incensed, I sternly told her "no" and sent her on her way.  Shortly after THAT disruption, our "beer guy" came around and gave us a bill!  STILL in the middle of the tournament!  I barely tipped him.

At the prices you charge for that show and the mediocre food that accompanies it, the audience ought to be entitled to experience it unfettered and uninterrupted.  To that end, if you insist on charging exorbitant prices for these "extras", you should let your customers know about them at the time of purchase.  Not everyone’s raking in thousands of dollars at your casinos.  Some of us are on a budget, and after paying $140 for the dinner and show, we were shocked, surprised, and upset to discover that we owed anything else. Had we known about these extras, we might have thought differently about our purchase.  And even if we hadn’t, we’d still be upset about the "pay me!"-driven interruptions in the middle of the show.

We urge you to reconsider your practices as we found them to be deceptive and disheartening.

On a positive note, we found your all-day buffet to be one of the best deals on the lower strip!  We stayed in Mandalay Bay on our Honeymoon.  If we ever return to Vegas, we will give Excalibur a hard look when deciding where to stay.

Sincerely,
Romeyn & Amanda Prescott

PS: When we got home and unpacked, we realized that the logo on one of the mugs was a little crooked!

Why “free” isn’t really free

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Since they were old enough to understand the concept, I have made it clear to my children that "there’s no such thing as ‘free’."  I do this wherever and whenever the opportunity presents itself, and I love the weird looks I get from people in stores; people who, based on their facial expressions,  clearly think that my brain is on fire and that worms are crawling out of my ears. 

Simply, there is opportunity cost associated with every transaction.  And in most cases, when an advertiser uses the word "free" what they really mean is "at no additional monetary cost".  This is what I tell my children: if you have to spend money to get it, then it isn’t "free".

Not everything advertised as free costs money, however.  Well, at least not up front!  Some time ago someone clued me in to the existence of Freecycle.  Anyone can join and post stuff they want, or stuff they want to give away.  It’s for people who realize that someone might actually want that "piece of crap" they would otherwise throw away.  So they give it away.  This isn’t eBay.  There’s no bidding, no money, and no shipping.  If you want someone else’s crap, you have to go get it.  And the first one there wins.

A couple of weeks ago someone posted that they had a Kenmore portable dishwasher.  By its description it was in very good shape, but it did not drain.  I contacted the poster and he said someone else was scheduled to pick it up, but that if that didn’t work out I was next in line.  A few days later I got another e-mail: "Come and get it!"  I set a date and time and was off to get my "free" dishwasher!

Here is what this thing actually cost me:

  • I don’t have a truck, and my Van is currently in need of some service, so I had to borrow a truck.  My friend Tom was nice enough to not only let me use his truck, but he went with me to pick up the dishwasher as well!  Cost: Tom’s time, my time, and mileage on his truck.
  • 3 trips to the hardware store.  I tested it and, as reported, it did not drain.  But to test it I had to hook it up to my kitchen sink’s faucet.  IN order to do THAT I needed the sink spout adapter, which was NOT supplied.  It took me three tries to get the right fittings.  Cost: about an hour of my time, $6.50, and 5 miles on my car.
  • 1 trip to Lowe’s, and 1 trip to Radio Shack.  Having (incorrectly) deduced that there was something plugging the drain hose, I needed long, think needle-nose pliers to extract that which I "felt" to be the blockage.  I ended up with forceps from Radio Shack.  Cost: 4 miles on my car and about $10.00.
  • The "blockage" turned out to be some kind of "flap" which I presume prevents backflow into the dishwasher or something.  But it wasn’t the cause of the blockage.  Further analysis revealed a suspect impeller at the bottom of the unit.  I made a post to Sears online "expert" support forum along with a couple of pictures and in less than 2 days someone confirmed my diagnosis.  I ordered a new impeller.  Cost: Half an hour of my time and about $16.00.

Yesterday I installed the new impeller.  Having a new part to compare to the old part made it obvious what the problem had been.  I fired it up and it works just great!  For the first time in over 15 years, I have the luxury of a dishwasher!  It’s a nice unit, can be retro-fitted into our existing cabinetry if we ever want to, and gives us a little more kitchen counter space!

But it was in no way "free"!!