Lycos says NO!...
OK another rant about service...however this one, I don't even recall asking for.
We all hate spam, and I get quite a bit of it. Now we all know that the "super stock deals", the "v..i..a..G..a..r..A D..e..a..l..s.." messages and the "just send me your bank account info, and I'll transfer you 40 million dollars" scams that come from individual accounts that will not remove you from a spam list, cause they don't keep one. Well here's a big one....LYCOS.
I get this stupid Email "relationship-timeline@lycos-newsmail.com". Now I don't use Lycos, maybe I did...14 years ago...but have used nor heard from them at all, ever.
So I want to get off this SPAM LIST, and figuring that this is a large company, going through the paces to have my email removed from their list might be worth the effort.
To unsubscribe, at the bottom of the email is this link: http://www.lycos-newsmail.com/us.
Now on this page, you have to login, to unsubscribe. Since I don't recall subscribing to anything, I click on the "lost your password" link, so I can get it, so I can sign in, so I can cancel.
OK, the next page, you must provide your username (once again, don't have...didn't signup), my Last name (WTF?) and my email address. So I have to have all of this info, just to have it emailed to me? What for? Here's my email...just send whatever my username and password that is linked to this email account.....ummm... TO THIS EMAIL ACCOUNT.... Ahhh.. another link...feedback....
Clicking this, only brings you to the LYCOS homepage....GRRR...
OK to the bottom of the hompage....there it is..."Help".... Now I got it. Clicking help brings me to another page...."questions and answers"...hmmm...Dont have a question...ahhh...this is definitely it...."open new support ticket"....
FUCK!!! I have to have my username, to send in a support ticket, to find out my username, so I can have my password emailed to me, so I can log in, so I can be removed from a mailing list.
OK now going to scream at someone via phone cause this is just Bullshit...
I get a number (781) 370-2700...la la la..."press 2 for customer service"...ok...2.
"We're sorry but Lycos no longer provides customer service via telephone. Please visit our website..." FFFFFUUUUUUUCCCCCCCKKKKKKK!
Well I try several more extensions at the above number, leaving nice messages to all of these people who don't seem to answer their phones.
So I am turning to you, the internet public for assistance with this LYCOS issue. Anybody got ideas???
Friday, February 23, 2007
Sunday, February 18, 2007
OK... yesterday's rant was a bit much... or so I have been informed.
Today's rant is once again about people, but in a larger scope. I'm talking about public spaces in general, with the example coming from our experience last night.
Yesterday was the birthday of the devoted Matriarch of my better half's family. The big 79!!!
As a request for her birthday, she wanted to go to Carrabas, somewhere in/near Frazer, PA. I would like to specifically direct this to the Owners and Patrons of this establishment...
We arrive at this restaurant, our party of nine, promptly at our agreed time of 7 pm. To find a line. "35 minutes to a table" Now myself, coming from the land of York, unless you are attempting to eat at a chain/restaurant in/near a mall, or if some sort of large unscheduled event happens nearby, a wait for a table is pretty much unheard of...even if there is a short (under 10 minute wait), there's always the restaurant next door, down the block, or...wait the ONE WHERE YOU MADE A RESERVATION...what the hell happens to the ability to make a reservation, once you lose sight of a city skyline?
Of course we all know it is more efficient to have a staff of 3 or 4 off duty cheerleaders, loosely organize a scribbled list of names. They can herd the cattle into the isles between the already seated customers, and issue modified blinking versions of the pager I carried back in 1984. Why have a single person manage a reservation list...I'm so dumb.
So we decide to wait (what other choice do we have?). So we say that we will "be in the bar". It seems that the grand wizards in the corporate offices of Carrabas, responsible for the design of the space, has neglected to make any suitable waiting area for this situation. In this box, it seems that the "bar" is a mere foot and a half away from a wall of "bar height" tables, all occupied by people who have equally waited their half hour for a seat.
So we, and many other potential diners, are forced to stand between the door, the bar, and the wall of already seated persons...this is wrong on SOOO many levels.
First off, for the staff, having to constantly "excuse me", and "pardon me" through the sea of people who are waiting to be seated, just to do their job. I hope the management give an extra hazard pay to the staff working this section of the restaurant.
Second, the persons already seated in this area...if I were one of them, I would insist on a discount on my meal...to have flocks of people standing behind/over me as I attempt to enjoy my meal, never mind the delays to my now cold meal, by my servers having to carry tray fulls of food through coughing, sneezing, aggravated patrons, who have no place else to wait, than on my shoulder.
Third, and the most important portion of this rant, is the lack of simple courtesy these patrons have for one another...I would personally like to thank Beavis and Butthead... the two frat boys who thought it highly appropriate to have not a loud, but most noticeably over animated conversation, in this tight "wait space". They apparently, through a poor attempt to impress the delta-delta-delta girls they were with, thought that a complete stranger (that being myself), would enjoy a constant literal ribbing, to further their efforts to get laid. Needless to say, I had made a loud comment or two with regard to their complete disregard to their surroundings, and went outside for a breather.
I would also like to thank Marge and George... these two early 60-ish stocky individuals, during their wait, moved somewhat to the far end of the bar. Once their cheerleader issued, magic vibrating light show came to life in their hands, you would have thought there was a fire. Not word pass their lips, barreling towards the hostess station... One member of my party, has a portion of her drink spilled down her jacket, cause Marge likes her some spaghetti, and we all know what happens when you get in the way of Marge - that 5 foot grandma linebacker, with a dyejob selected from a crayola box, and her 30 cents worth of Barilla.
So we wait...30 minutes...40 minutes...50 minutes, we have all at at least, one time or another, gone outside, just to be free from the uncomfortable feeling of of shoulder to shoulder contact with a stranger.
So we are finally called, the table is ready... um... almost. We're seated at the table, with nothing but a tablecloth. Now, I am really not upset by this much, as I am just happy to be seated, SOMEWHERE. After some light conversation, we notice...there's still nothing on the table. We are informed by our waitstaff duo, that the dishwasher is running, and plates will be out soon. But they will take our drink order. At least our stuff will be clean. We put in the drink order, and go about our conversations.
OK finally...bread...side plates...we...get 5 of the 9 required sets of silverware... the non alcoholic drinks hit the table, but the rest of (majority) of us are still waiting, cause the "bar is slow".
The remainder of the meal went fine from this point, as we received everything as ordered, nicely presented, and the service from our duo was stupendous. My veal was surprisingly a decent cut, not expected from a chain restaurant.
Now as far as the wait... I do not expect the staff to be able to read minds, carry a stopwatch, or force out a seated patron, so that I can sit. HOWEVER, it is an all too common practice, for restaurants to completely underestimate the wait time, so as not to lose the customer. I can understand a difference of a few minutes, but DOUBLE? Are you that unaware of your business practices to estimate a wait time within say 15 minutes? And besides, after a half hour, I've already committed myself to this restaurant, why leave now? You'll just have to start again somewhere else. That's right, you've got me trapped.
But I have to say that this was a lousy meal. It was lousy due to the experience prior to being seated. From being herded into an isle for almost an hour, to be pushed and needled by fellow waiting patrons, by the time I sat down, it was already predetermined I would not enjoy what I was served, no matter what it was. On top of that, the situation lends itself willingly to become a horrible experience, because the longer it goes on, the more time you have to be exposed to (and focus on) all of those little imperfections that ruin an experience, and makes the palette bitter prior to any food being served.
A wait (twice as long as stated), a push, standing, concerns for a 79 year old woman standing for almost an hour, move left, "excuse me" right, doing a softshoe shuffle in my 12 inch by 12 inch square, attempting to let the staff do their job, while not hovering over the people seated immediately to my right or my back. Bump left, the plant is in my hair, spilled drink, Beavis, Butthead, Marge, George...
It is apparent by this experience that this restaurant is too small to handle the flow of patrons of the area. There is a standard practice that has been instituted, with much success, in the past. The customer is always right...Take a reservation.
***My apologies to the staff of this establishment, as you have done all that you can do to make my dining experience a pleasurable one, but it is the practices of the management of this (and other similar establishments) that force me to seek an alternate environment, where I am not dry humping a fellow patron for an hour, and paying for the "luxury" of dining on an (at best) average meal. I hope that the generous gratuities I have left in the past not only show my appreciation for your service, but are a source of additional compensation for dealing with your management's incompetence.
Today's rant is once again about people, but in a larger scope. I'm talking about public spaces in general, with the example coming from our experience last night.
Yesterday was the birthday of the devoted Matriarch of my better half's family. The big 79!!!
As a request for her birthday, she wanted to go to Carrabas, somewhere in/near Frazer, PA. I would like to specifically direct this to the Owners and Patrons of this establishment...
We arrive at this restaurant, our party of nine, promptly at our agreed time of 7 pm. To find a line. "35 minutes to a table" Now myself, coming from the land of York, unless you are attempting to eat at a chain/restaurant in/near a mall, or if some sort of large unscheduled event happens nearby, a wait for a table is pretty much unheard of...even if there is a short (under 10 minute wait), there's always the restaurant next door, down the block, or...wait the ONE WHERE YOU MADE A RESERVATION...what the hell happens to the ability to make a reservation, once you lose sight of a city skyline?
Of course we all know it is more efficient to have a staff of 3 or 4 off duty cheerleaders, loosely organize a scribbled list of names. They can herd the cattle into the isles between the already seated customers, and issue modified blinking versions of the pager I carried back in 1984. Why have a single person manage a reservation list...I'm so dumb.
So we decide to wait (what other choice do we have?). So we say that we will "be in the bar". It seems that the grand wizards in the corporate offices of Carrabas, responsible for the design of the space, has neglected to make any suitable waiting area for this situation. In this box, it seems that the "bar" is a mere foot and a half away from a wall of "bar height" tables, all occupied by people who have equally waited their half hour for a seat.
So we, and many other potential diners, are forced to stand between the door, the bar, and the wall of already seated persons...this is wrong on SOOO many levels.
First off, for the staff, having to constantly "excuse me", and "pardon me" through the sea of people who are waiting to be seated, just to do their job. I hope the management give an extra hazard pay to the staff working this section of the restaurant.
Second, the persons already seated in this area...if I were one of them, I would insist on a discount on my meal...to have flocks of people standing behind/over me as I attempt to enjoy my meal, never mind the delays to my now cold meal, by my servers having to carry tray fulls of food through coughing, sneezing, aggravated patrons, who have no place else to wait, than on my shoulder.
Third, and the most important portion of this rant, is the lack of simple courtesy these patrons have for one another...I would personally like to thank Beavis and Butthead... the two frat boys who thought it highly appropriate to have not a loud, but most noticeably over animated conversation, in this tight "wait space". They apparently, through a poor attempt to impress the delta-delta-delta girls they were with, thought that a complete stranger (that being myself), would enjoy a constant literal ribbing, to further their efforts to get laid. Needless to say, I had made a loud comment or two with regard to their complete disregard to their surroundings, and went outside for a breather.
I would also like to thank Marge and George... these two early 60-ish stocky individuals, during their wait, moved somewhat to the far end of the bar. Once their cheerleader issued, magic vibrating light show came to life in their hands, you would have thought there was a fire. Not word pass their lips, barreling towards the hostess station... One member of my party, has a portion of her drink spilled down her jacket, cause Marge likes her some spaghetti, and we all know what happens when you get in the way of Marge - that 5 foot grandma linebacker, with a dyejob selected from a crayola box, and her 30 cents worth of Barilla.
So we wait...30 minutes...40 minutes...50 minutes, we have all at at least, one time or another, gone outside, just to be free from the uncomfortable feeling of of shoulder to shoulder contact with a stranger.
So we are finally called, the table is ready... um... almost. We're seated at the table, with nothing but a tablecloth. Now, I am really not upset by this much, as I am just happy to be seated, SOMEWHERE. After some light conversation, we notice...there's still nothing on the table. We are informed by our waitstaff duo, that the dishwasher is running, and plates will be out soon. But they will take our drink order. At least our stuff will be clean. We put in the drink order, and go about our conversations.
OK finally...bread...side plates...we...get 5 of the 9 required sets of silverware... the non alcoholic drinks hit the table, but the rest of (majority) of us are still waiting, cause the "bar is slow".
The remainder of the meal went fine from this point, as we received everything as ordered, nicely presented, and the service from our duo was stupendous. My veal was surprisingly a decent cut, not expected from a chain restaurant.
Now as far as the wait... I do not expect the staff to be able to read minds, carry a stopwatch, or force out a seated patron, so that I can sit. HOWEVER, it is an all too common practice, for restaurants to completely underestimate the wait time, so as not to lose the customer. I can understand a difference of a few minutes, but DOUBLE? Are you that unaware of your business practices to estimate a wait time within say 15 minutes? And besides, after a half hour, I've already committed myself to this restaurant, why leave now? You'll just have to start again somewhere else. That's right, you've got me trapped.
But I have to say that this was a lousy meal. It was lousy due to the experience prior to being seated. From being herded into an isle for almost an hour, to be pushed and needled by fellow waiting patrons, by the time I sat down, it was already predetermined I would not enjoy what I was served, no matter what it was. On top of that, the situation lends itself willingly to become a horrible experience, because the longer it goes on, the more time you have to be exposed to (and focus on) all of those little imperfections that ruin an experience, and makes the palette bitter prior to any food being served.
A wait (twice as long as stated), a push, standing, concerns for a 79 year old woman standing for almost an hour, move left, "excuse me" right, doing a softshoe shuffle in my 12 inch by 12 inch square, attempting to let the staff do their job, while not hovering over the people seated immediately to my right or my back. Bump left, the plant is in my hair, spilled drink, Beavis, Butthead, Marge, George...
It is apparent by this experience that this restaurant is too small to handle the flow of patrons of the area. There is a standard practice that has been instituted, with much success, in the past. The customer is always right...Take a reservation.
***My apologies to the staff of this establishment, as you have done all that you can do to make my dining experience a pleasurable one, but it is the practices of the management of this (and other similar establishments) that force me to seek an alternate environment, where I am not dry humping a fellow patron for an hour, and paying for the "luxury" of dining on an (at best) average meal. I hope that the generous gratuities I have left in the past not only show my appreciation for your service, but are a source of additional compensation for dealing with your management's incompetence.
Saturday, February 17, 2007
This one goes out to the idiot on the New Jersey Turnpike on the early afternoon of February 14, 2007:
You are a stupid ASS!
During this snowstorm that has hit the east coast on Valentine's Day, the roads (needless to say) were pretty bad. The Turnpike itself lowered the speed limit to 35mph, down from it's normal 65mph. For a highway where the acceptable speed limits are 80...the conditions were not good.
So I would like to send this lovely hello to the red minivan drivin, cell phone talkin, clueless soccer mom, who is unaware that in a snowstorm, YOU WILL SPIN OUT DOING 75mph...
I have a heavy foot. I also have EXTENSIVE driving experience on the Turnpike. I drive a "boxy but it's safe" Volvo...I...ME...Mr. "it settles in at 90mph..." was doing 35mph (and doublefisting the wheel to maintain control)....
The road situation during the storm (at this point), was that only the center lane of the Turnpike was plowed, leaving the far left and right lanes, a snowy/sleet mix that if entered...equaled death.
This twat (word I am using in agreement with my better half, since the "C" word is not her favorite, but is interchangeable), comes flyin into the highway on her cell phone, oblivious to the world around her. As soon as she is off of the ramp, she immediately slides into a spin. As she hits the 180 mark (i.e. her headlights facing me), she misses the SUV in front of me by inches... I look at her through her windshield, she still has the phone to her ear, with a huge round "O" where her mouth used to be. I hope she deafened whomever she was on the phone with.
I come to a sliding stop as she is now somewhere around the 270 mark. If I still had my old station wagon, that whale of a minivan would have been a great target, with me now facing the passenger side of the humpback, now spewing snow from the tires, since the twit apparently floored the pedal thinking this would help.
I sit mid highway, now sitting there watching the remainder of the show, where she continues to a her full 360, a drops to a stop. She's still on the phone...
So hello to my turnpike companion, whom I only wish I grabbed your Jersey tag number to post here, so that other travelers might be aware of how stupid you are.
I personally hope that you continue your driving habits, so that one day you can wrap yourself around a tree. I hope that your kids are with you , so that your genes cannot spread into the world. Lastly, I hope you're on the phone with your Mother, so that the last thing she hears is the sound of your death.
This was, by far, the stupidest thing I've been witness to in a long time. My only disappointment was the fact that you did not kill yourself right there and then, because now you have the ability to possibly harm someone else in the future...
To the dude navigating the Silver SUV in front of me...NICE HANDLING!!!
So I would like to send this lovely hello to the red minivan drivin, cell phone talkin, clueless soccer mom, who is unaware that in a snowstorm, YOU WILL SPIN OUT DOING 75mph...
I have a heavy foot. I also have EXTENSIVE driving experience on the Turnpike. I drive a "boxy but it's safe" Volvo...I...ME...Mr. "it settles in at 90mph..." was doing 35mph (and doublefisting the wheel to maintain control)....
The road situation during the storm (at this point), was that only the center lane of the Turnpike was plowed, leaving the far left and right lanes, a snowy/sleet mix that if entered...equaled death.
This twat (word I am using in agreement with my better half, since the "C" word is not her favorite, but is interchangeable), comes flyin into the highway on her cell phone, oblivious to the world around her. As soon as she is off of the ramp, she immediately slides into a spin. As she hits the 180 mark (i.e. her headlights facing me), she misses the SUV in front of me by inches... I look at her through her windshield, she still has the phone to her ear, with a huge round "O" where her mouth used to be. I hope she deafened whomever she was on the phone with.
I come to a sliding stop as she is now somewhere around the 270 mark. If I still had my old station wagon, that whale of a minivan would have been a great target, with me now facing the passenger side of the humpback, now spewing snow from the tires, since the twit apparently floored the pedal thinking this would help.
I sit mid highway, now sitting there watching the remainder of the show, where she continues to a her full 360, a drops to a stop. She's still on the phone...
So hello to my turnpike companion, whom I only wish I grabbed your Jersey tag number to post here, so that other travelers might be aware of how stupid you are.
I personally hope that you continue your driving habits, so that one day you can wrap yourself around a tree. I hope that your kids are with you , so that your genes cannot spread into the world. Lastly, I hope you're on the phone with your Mother, so that the last thing she hears is the sound of your death.
This was, by far, the stupidest thing I've been witness to in a long time. My only disappointment was the fact that you did not kill yourself right there and then, because now you have the ability to possibly harm someone else in the future...
To the dude navigating the Silver SUV in front of me...NICE HANDLING!!!
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