Category: business and consumers
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Keypoint Credit Union and 24 Hour Fitness Customer Service FAILs
I was carelessly logging into my Keypoint Credit Union account online today, and messed up three times. BAM—with no prior notice at all, I was locked out of my account. What would most normal banks do under this circumstance? Require me to answer additional questions that ideally only I would know before allowing me to…
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Doing an expense report for work? Here are some tips
I recently traveled to Brazil and Mexico for work. That’s damn cool, I admit. I’m lucky to have that opportunity, grateful to meet so many wonderful people on my journeys and see so many awesome sights. But, as with many things in life, there’s also a downside. In this case, I am owed thousands of…
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A very quick found-money tip
Earlier this week I spent about 45 seconds and got $134 for my effort. It went something like this: Phone rang. Didn’t recognize number, and was going to let it go to voicemail, but for some reason I answered it. “Hi, may I speak with Adam?” [oh no… not a telemarketer! I braced myself.] “This…
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Airlines charging by the pound (including your personal weight); good idea?
My friend Greg and I just had a fascinating and extensive discussion about the concept of airlines charging their customers by the weight of their bodies + luggage. The way we envisioned it, all airlines tickets would be composed of exactly two fees: a seat fee (fixed) and a weight fee (variable). This is hardly…
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Tipping online — Stupid or brilliant or both?
Have you heard about TipJoy and the still-very-small phenomena of tipping (real money) on the web? It’s quite fascinating, in my opinion, and I certainly have very mixed feelings on this issue. PLUSES: I admire how the founder gets “out there” to talk about his service… but not only about his service. I think there’s…
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Dear PayPal – Please shrivel up and die
I like paying for things with a credit card. It’s typically pretty fast (especially with those merchants that don’t require a signature for
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Paradox of choice
I’m not a crazy athlete, but I like working out at the gym and also dancing a few times a week. Finding good dance shoes wasn’t so hard for me. I got personal recommendations from some of my lindy hopping friends, and was also delighted that the friendly folks at dancestore.com were happy to offer…
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An example of (usually) effective communications
I recently joined an interesting little aggregator / life-streaming sort of service called FriendFeed. I’m finding both the service and the customer service to be admirable. Here’s a recent set of comments on their support list from one of the founders: That is a very good point […] this was unintended […] This was a…
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Second Life doesn’t want me as a member
A while back, I tried Second Life and wrote about it. Many months went by, and—after getting a new graphics card—I figured, hey, why not try Second Life again? I actually remembered my old SL name though wasn’t sure of the password. Guessed a couple of times, wasn’t able to log in, so I clicked…
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Would "Required Donation" work?
I am an avid fan—and financial supporter—of KQED, the Bay Area’s public radio station. And once again, I’ve been massively annoyed by the most recent (and seemingly monthly) pledge drive. A few thoughts have sprung up into my head: Damn, this sucks. I already donated; why do I have to continue to listen to this?!…