Bill was talking to his Son tonight and he told his Dad that they just laid off 21 more people where he works. He’s a welder and they make metal skids for the Harley’s that get shipped, but since Harley is having problems of their own right now they aren’t getting the contracts like before and even John Deere has stopped their contract so things aren’t looking so rosy. I don’t know how I feel about Harley getting bailout money.
Everyone around here is getting scared because all of the businesses around are shutting down or laying off. I know Bill is concerned about the small company that he works for because things are getting tight for everyone, everywhere. I’m even scared that I might have to go find an outside job and I simply don’t think I’m capable right now. I know I don’t want to work in a salon again or a restaurant so it will have to be a sit down position and I’m not qualified for much.
I was reading some of the Entrecard blogs from people that live in New York and they were talking about looking for work and how difficult this task is proving to be because so many people are out of work. I’m sure many already check the want ads in their local papers, but they should also check online. There are many sources to be found for every state, but if your looking for jobs in Manhattan you might want to try that link. I think we should just go back to the barter system, but that’s just me, I don’t understand finance.
Everybody is hoping for a miracle with our economy, but I certainly don’t see it happening any time soon. Those companies that received bailout money are really starting to tick me off with their planned junkets that cost the tax payers. Wells Fargo received 25 billion bailout money and they are still planning their yearly rewards to their valuable employees to Vegas, all expenses paid? I think they ought to rethink that one, it’s disgusting. I think we all better pray.
I’m sure many of you know that if you complain loud enough to customer service you can get some positive action done. I don’t understand company policies as I’m sure some of you don’t either because they like to keep us ignorant and if we are compliant and accepting then it’s better for them. I’ll give you a couple of examples because I’m sure you’re saying what in the world is she talking about.
The first example is about credit cards, last year Bill decided after 20 years of using the one credit card that he was tired of paying the annual fee and he wasn’t happy about the interest rate. He decided he was going to cancel this particular card so we called and they practically begged him not to. They said they would lower the interest rate and also remove the annual charge, well why didn’t they do that on their own?
If they had done that on their own even a year before Bill would have been ecstatic and would still be using their card and think that they were the best company in the world. Since he had already made up his mind the bribes now just weren’t good enough so he told them no thanks that he didn’t want it any more. So if you have cards you think are crap you might want to call and complain and see if they will do something to help you out.
The second example is our cable company. We recently had problems and the cable guy came out to fix our problems. He determined that it was the box so Bill took the old one back Saturday and upgraded it, after connecting we were suppose to call and have it affirmed. After calling and going through a sequence to make sure everything was loaded and working right, I asked the guy about different packages and he said he might be able to help us out.
I put Bill on the phone and Bill told him he wasn’t happy about the increase in pricing and wanted to know what could be done to lower it and if he could get just one HBO channel instead of 10 and all those music channels we never watch. We were very surprised when the guy lowered the whole package by 17 dollars and even took 17 dollars off of last months bill and we still have all those channels we don’t watch, but since it’s now cheaper Bill is happier about the whole deal.
This guy told Bill that if he had complained months ago they would have lowered it then. So why didn’t they just do it instead of waiting for a complaint? Because so long as we accept what is dished out without questioning then we get taken advantage of or at least that’s how I see it. Why should companies act in a human fashion and try to help those that support them and give them a savings especially when companies are folding left and right.
There are always hidden policies that we as consumers just don’t know about and never will unless we learn to complain more. I don’t mean complain to each other, I mean to complain to customer service or someone that has the authority to help. If you have a service that you aren’t pleased with go complain directly to the business that you aren’t happy with and you might be pleasantly surprised by the results.
Just like eating out, if you get a bad meal don’t complain to the waitress go directly to management.
I can’t afford 400 dollars for a dog wheelchair so we are in the process of making Shadow one from odds and ends. I downloaded instructions from the Internet, but they printed out in pink so Bill can’t read them. He has to have a blueprint because he likes to follow everything to a T the same with a recipe, he’s always afraid to use his own ideas and try something on his own.
So sometimes we are at odds because I get an idea in my head and look for things to make it happen and he can’t envision what I see until I break it down so he can get my vision too. Sometimes I really frustrate him, like yesterday when we went to the pet store. I wanted to see if they had anything I could use for my project, I checked the store several times and found not one item that I could use.
I then decided I wanted to visit Tractor Supply and check their wheels and harnesses and see if I could spot something that would inspire me. So I spotted a spreader which I thought would be a start and tried to make Bill see the potential, which of course he couldn’t see what I saw as a start to Shadow’s cart. At any rate we bought it and took it home and I proceeded to take it apart and rearrange it. Now he sees what I was talking about.
I now have it rearranged to start the base of his cart and we bought some more conduit and couplings and elbows so we can add more bended pieces like the one showing so I can attach his harness and the harness type seat I’m going to make for his belly and hind legs so he’ll be comfortable. We are going to go over to the Goodwill and buy a golf cart caddy that we saw for 7 bucks yesterday because the wheels are thinner and higher.
When we get done with the cart I’ll post a picture and I sure hope it works or Bill will be ready to shoot me this time. If it does work I really don’t care what it looks like so long as he can get around and feel like he is functioning again. I did have to buy a muzzle yesterday because he is barking all the time now if someone isn’t near or if he’s getting ready to pee and poop. He never barked so much and he’s getting hoarse so I have to teach him to stop.
After the frickin mess I cleaned up yesterday after the cable guy did all his traipsing outside in the snow and ice putting up new cable and grounding it. Then all the work down in the unfinished basement with his wet boots which of course turned into red mud on his boots, that was then transferred to the area rug and all the wood flooring he could find, not to mention the mess I had to clean up when he pulled the TV hutch out I was ready to shoot Bill.
Now why in the world would I want to shoot Bill you might ask. Well, he is the one that never finished pouring the basement after all so it’s his fault. Since we will probably live here till the day we die and we aren’t getting any younger it will probably stay unfinished. I know for sure I will be cleaning up lots more red mud because the house is so old. For some reason everyone that has to do any work here always for some mysterious reason has to go into the basement.
I love the Oriental custom of having people leave their shoes at the front door and change into slippers, but in my case I would have to have one size fits all and have them at the front door and some type of disposable working ones at the top of the basement steps when workers have to go down there to check things out. I think it would probably be cheaper to finish the basement and eliminate buying new rugs and all the wear and tear on my poor old back.
This weekend someone is coming to flush out the pipes and guess who gets to clean up that mess? Of course I’ll probably put down newspaper, a whole trail of it through the house until he’s gone. Sure wish I’d remembered the stupid mud yesterday and been prepared. This man was about 6’5″ and had huge feet. After all the work he did the TV still wasn’t fixed and he finally came to the conclusion that it was the stupid box after all.
So now we have to take the box and exchange it for a newer model which wont cost anything, nor did the maintenance on the cable and work he did. That’s at least a plus because I was all set to send them my cleaning bill. Bill pays almost 100 dollars a month for all that premium crap that we don’t even watch, he hates commercials and when he’s done at the end of the day and sits down in his recliner and turns on HBO he promptly falls asleep.
If I watch any TV it’s usually in my office while I’m working and that’s very little. I only get the basic channels and there are very few programs I bother with. He keeps talking about dropping the premium channels, but he never gets around to it. I’d be happy to put in a movie for him and keep it going while he watches with his eyes shut, but I think he’s secretly hooked on “”Big Love” I have even watched it in past years because we like Barb. Enough of my online chit chat too bad I can’t do this in person.
