I just had a call from a very nice customer service representative that basically said that the tea does cost more when with a meal then if I bought it alone.
What a cool system to charge people MORE for a product when included in a value meal then purchased alone.
Such is life :)
Tim
Thursday, May 1, 2008
McDonald's: Have it whatever way the manager feels that day!
Today was like many others where I visit McDonald's at
11230 St. Augustine Rd, Jacksonville, FL 32257
Store #11738
I come in and get a breakfast meal and an iced tea. It wasn't long ago I was given a styrofoam cup instead of a plastic cup for a large tea. I asked about the plastic cup because I wanted the free RedBox movie token that comes with the plastic cup. But when I asked about swapping the styrofoam cup for the plastic cup, a manager told me that they would charge me more then the $1.00 for the "regular" cup (plastic). So, I decided to keep the styrofoam cup to save some 79 cents.
Since way back then, things have been fine and I double-check my receipt to see that the tea only costs $1.00 plus tax.
Today; however, was a day of new policies and prices. I have a picture of the cashier and of the manager to his left behind the counter. The gentleman charged me $1.79 for the drink saying that for breakfast meals, there is no way to charge just the $1.00 for the tea. I asked him to check with the manager and she explained the same thing.
So, besides being very abrupt to me, there was no explanation of why I have been coming and a different manager told me the tea should be a dollar, or if there was some policy change or something .... something besides "He has to pay $1.79!"
I asked for the district manager's name and number: Dave at 904-288-6750. I just left a message. I also called the 904-262-9901 customer comment line and I got a recording there even during normal business hours. Perhaps no one is accepting any comments at all lol!
What ever their price is whatever their price is. But why have advertisements saying tea is $1.00 AND have been charging me a dollar yet today the computer, as I was told, "doesn't allow it"?
Another question. Why is it a "Value Meal" when I have to pay 79 cents more then buying a tea separately?
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Greyhound Bus - It isn't what it used to be
Hello
I'm currently sitting on a Greyhound bus just leaving from Savannah, GA with the next stop being Atlanta, GA. Oh, its 2:02am, Tuesday April 8, 2008. Nope, I didn't plan to be here at this time of night nor am I suffering from sleep walking and accidentally walked to a Greyhound Bus depot.
The Idea
I drove a 26' truck of my "stuff' to Rhonda's house in Jacksonville, Florida several weeks ago. In fact, just last week Rhonda and I were married in a hot-air balloon. You can read about the wedding in the balloon on the postin just prior to this one. Since I couldn't tow my truck behind the U-Haul truck, I decided that taking Greyhound would be a good alternative to more expensive airline tickets. I studied the Greyhound schedules and found a trip taking 18 hours to go from Jacksonville, FL to Cincinnati, OH where my brother would pick me up and bring me to my home where my personal vehicle is.
Take note that the ticket is for leaving at 4:25pm and arriving in Cincinnati at 10:25am the next morning.
First Leg - Jacksonville, FL to Savannah, GA
My ticket said to leave Jacksonville at 4:25pm and arrive in Savannah, GA at 7:00pm. Reality didn't meet expectations at all. If you read Greyhound policy, there is a rule saying "Greyhound will not be responsible for delays caused by breakdowns, road conditions, weather, or other conditions beyond the carriers' control. " That's true, I can understand mechanical failures.
Our bus broke down about 75 miles north of Jacksonville on I-95. That's cool, things happen. But what annoys me is the way Greyhound handled the breakdown and how its handling my trip to Cincinnati.
1. Greyhound claims their not responsible for events beyond their control. the breakdown our bus suffered was not beyond their control; atleast, not completely. The bus was overheating JUST AS IT WAS OVERHEATING BEFORE arriving into jacksonville where it eventually picked me and others up for the trip to Savannah. The mechanic checked it and found nothing wrong. But what I wonder is did the mechanic actually have someone else drive the bus for enough miles to verify the temperature rising was merely a fluke? I wonder why they didn't take the bus out of commission, substituting another bus for ours before we ever left Jacksonville.
2. We wait on the side of the road for about 90 minutes. The driver was doing good at calling his people trying to determine the best course of action. While I didn't hear the conversation on the driver's phone, I could tell it wasn't going well. It seems that there was questions on what people should do and then what people could do and finally, I have lots of questions over what was actually done.
3. Our driver did, what I believe, to be a great course of action. With exasperation at his people, the driver drives and finds an exit. Incidentally, I pulled out my GPS and gave him information on the nearest exit (6.2 miles away) where we could reverse course. I'm not called TimToolMan for nothing! (shameless self-plug lol) The driver took us around heading back to Jacksonville when he had to stop again but he made it to a much safer location - a rest stop.
Finally (and I do mean finalllllyyyy), a replacement bus came with a new driver.
I'm glad to say the rest of the trip to Savannah was uneventful with us finally arriving at about 11pm. In case you don't recall, I was scheduled to arrive at 7:00pm.
Here's where things go south (literally) - Getting to Atlanta
Recognizing the itenary printed wasn't accurate any longer. So, walk up the the bus ticket counter in Savanah. I won't go into detail how I spoke to several people at the counter before talking to someone who actually was a ticket agent. I carefully explained my situation to the woman. I explained how our bus had a mechanical failure and I would like a new itenary showing the rest of my journey and, in particular, the arrival into Cincinnati so I can update my brother.
Was this like asking for gold! First of all, I have to restate my issue and my question several times being sure to re-word it each time trying to use words and key phrases I felt the ticket agent would be able to understand. Now this isn't a case of someone being from another country and ot having full command of the English langauge. This person knew English and was most likely born here but her grasp of concepts was definitely lacking.
Finally, I get an answer, but not one I liked. The ticket agent told me they can't print an itenerary without charging a $15 ticket change fee since I bought non-refundable tickets. I chuckled and explained my situation again and how that it wasn't my fault that the bus had issues and why should I be held liable for wanting to get an updated and accurate itenary.
Her only answer was "you purchased a non-refundable ticket..." and I went several volleys trying to change my working to make my point. It wasn't working. She would tell me the arrival time in Cincinnati but NOT the times for all the miscellaneous stops and definitly NOT print th new itenary out without a $15 change ticket fee.
I thought for a moment and remained very calm knowing that this person was operating at the top of her game - she was doing as good as she could possibly do.
Time to call Customer Service
I decided to call Greyhound's Customer Service number. Calling that number gained me nothing at all. I explained to the service representative what the ticket agent said from the counter. The customer service person did agree the ticket agent was in serious error but the next thing I asked for was still impossible.
I told her that since I was to arrive in Cincinnat at 10:25 am and now I won't arrive until 6:05pm (yes, some 7 hours in additional time), that Greyhound hasn't fulfilled their promise to me and I wanted a refund as well as let me coninue my journey to Cincinnati.
No, because I didn't buy a refundable ticket. Once again, I used the same reasoning I tried with the ticket agent at the counter. Atleast, the customer service representative understood my point but went right back the the non-refundable ticket. I again told her that I wasn't seeking a true refund as much as paying me back for the ticket. "Oh no, we can't do that ...." as her response. I explained that wasn't a case of me changing my mind and not needing a ticket or anything of the like. I explained how Greyhound is causing me much pain and suffering with this long delay to get home. I have to reschedule my brother pciking me up as well as a carpenter to look at doing repairs to my rental house in Cincinnati which, in turn, affects my landlord showing the house and refunding my deposit.
Back to the present
I've put this all down as it was very fresh in my mind. Greyhound is clearly responsible for me being very late. Greyhound is responsble for this, was around 18-hours, trip now taking some 26 hours I do hold Greyhound responsible since the bus that failed was reported to authorities and I don't believe proper procedures were taken nor was the best interest of the customer taken into account.
Later on, I will share about some good things from the trip. But its now 2:45am and I'm getting tired.
Thanks and really try to avoid Greyhound like the plague.
Tim
I'm currently sitting on a Greyhound bus just leaving from Savannah, GA with the next stop being Atlanta, GA. Oh, its 2:02am, Tuesday April 8, 2008. Nope, I didn't plan to be here at this time of night nor am I suffering from sleep walking and accidentally walked to a Greyhound Bus depot.
The Idea
I drove a 26' truck of my "stuff' to Rhonda's house in Jacksonville, Florida several weeks ago. In fact, just last week Rhonda and I were married in a hot-air balloon. You can read about the wedding in the balloon on the postin just prior to this one. Since I couldn't tow my truck behind the U-Haul truck, I decided that taking Greyhound would be a good alternative to more expensive airline tickets. I studied the Greyhound schedules and found a trip taking 18 hours to go from Jacksonville, FL to Cincinnati, OH where my brother would pick me up and bring me to my home where my personal vehicle is.
Take note that the ticket is for leaving at 4:25pm and arriving in Cincinnati at 10:25am the next morning.
First Leg - Jacksonville, FL to Savannah, GA
My ticket said to leave Jacksonville at 4:25pm and arrive in Savannah, GA at 7:00pm. Reality didn't meet expectations at all. If you read Greyhound policy, there is a rule saying "Greyhound will not be responsible for delays caused by breakdowns, road conditions, weather, or other conditions beyond the carriers' control. " That's true, I can understand mechanical failures.
Our bus broke down about 75 miles north of Jacksonville on I-95. That's cool, things happen. But what annoys me is the way Greyhound handled the breakdown and how its handling my trip to Cincinnati.
1. Greyhound claims their not responsible for events beyond their control. the breakdown our bus suffered was not beyond their control; atleast, not completely. The bus was overheating JUST AS IT WAS OVERHEATING BEFORE arriving into jacksonville where it eventually picked me and others up for the trip to Savannah. The mechanic checked it and found nothing wrong. But what I wonder is did the mechanic actually have someone else drive the bus for enough miles to verify the temperature rising was merely a fluke? I wonder why they didn't take the bus out of commission, substituting another bus for ours before we ever left Jacksonville.
2. We wait on the side of the road for about 90 minutes. The driver was doing good at calling his people trying to determine the best course of action. While I didn't hear the conversation on the driver's phone, I could tell it wasn't going well. It seems that there was questions on what people should do and then what people could do and finally, I have lots of questions over what was actually done.
3. Our driver did, what I believe, to be a great course of action. With exasperation at his people, the driver drives and finds an exit. Incidentally, I pulled out my GPS and gave him information on the nearest exit (6.2 miles away) where we could reverse course. I'm not called TimToolMan for nothing! (shameless self-plug lol) The driver took us around heading back to Jacksonville when he had to stop again but he made it to a much safer location - a rest stop.
Finally (and I do mean finalllllyyyy), a replacement bus came with a new driver.
I'm glad to say the rest of the trip to Savannah was uneventful with us finally arriving at about 11pm. In case you don't recall, I was scheduled to arrive at 7:00pm.
Here's where things go south (literally) - Getting to Atlanta
Recognizing the itenary printed wasn't accurate any longer. So, walk up the the bus ticket counter in Savanah. I won't go into detail how I spoke to several people at the counter before talking to someone who actually was a ticket agent. I carefully explained my situation to the woman. I explained how our bus had a mechanical failure and I would like a new itenary showing the rest of my journey and, in particular, the arrival into Cincinnati so I can update my brother.
Was this like asking for gold! First of all, I have to restate my issue and my question several times being sure to re-word it each time trying to use words and key phrases I felt the ticket agent would be able to understand. Now this isn't a case of someone being from another country and ot having full command of the English langauge. This person knew English and was most likely born here but her grasp of concepts was definitely lacking.
Finally, I get an answer, but not one I liked. The ticket agent told me they can't print an itenerary without charging a $15 ticket change fee since I bought non-refundable tickets. I chuckled and explained my situation again and how that it wasn't my fault that the bus had issues and why should I be held liable for wanting to get an updated and accurate itenary.
Her only answer was "you purchased a non-refundable ticket..." and I went several volleys trying to change my working to make my point. It wasn't working. She would tell me the arrival time in Cincinnati but NOT the times for all the miscellaneous stops and definitly NOT print th new itenary out without a $15 change ticket fee.
I thought for a moment and remained very calm knowing that this person was operating at the top of her game - she was doing as good as she could possibly do.
Time to call Customer Service
I decided to call Greyhound's Customer Service number. Calling that number gained me nothing at all. I explained to the service representative what the ticket agent said from the counter. The customer service person did agree the ticket agent was in serious error but the next thing I asked for was still impossible.
I told her that since I was to arrive in Cincinnat at 10:25 am and now I won't arrive until 6:05pm (yes, some 7 hours in additional time), that Greyhound hasn't fulfilled their promise to me and I wanted a refund as well as let me coninue my journey to Cincinnati.
No, because I didn't buy a refundable ticket. Once again, I used the same reasoning I tried with the ticket agent at the counter. Atleast, the customer service representative understood my point but went right back the the non-refundable ticket. I again told her that I wasn't seeking a true refund as much as paying me back for the ticket. "Oh no, we can't do that ...." as her response. I explained that wasn't a case of me changing my mind and not needing a ticket or anything of the like. I explained how Greyhound is causing me much pain and suffering with this long delay to get home. I have to reschedule my brother pciking me up as well as a carpenter to look at doing repairs to my rental house in Cincinnati which, in turn, affects my landlord showing the house and refunding my deposit.
Back to the present
I've put this all down as it was very fresh in my mind. Greyhound is clearly responsible for me being very late. Greyhound is responsble for this, was around 18-hours, trip now taking some 26 hours I do hold Greyhound responsible since the bus that failed was reported to authorities and I don't believe proper procedures were taken nor was the best interest of the customer taken into account.
Later on, I will share about some good things from the trip. But its now 2:45am and I'm getting tired.
Thanks and really try to avoid Greyhound like the plague.
Tim
Monday, April 7, 2008
Tim Wells and Rhonda Stancil Tie the Balloon (knot)
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Hello Everyone
On March 29, 2008 Rhonda and I were married in a unconventional place. I wanted a drive-thru ceremony - no muss, no fuss ! But Rhonda, being the loving person she is said No and only hit me a few times, mostly only moderately hard. Rhonda then suggested (after getting a cast for my broken legs and arms) that we do a hot-air balloon ride.
Well, the rest is history and most of my broken bones have healed completely. I've included some pictures at the bottom of this entry.
March 29, 6:00am
We arrived to a parking lot where other riders and the pilots met to judge where to launch the balloons from. It seems that this company has multiple launching spots depending on the winds that day. We meet and we had to sign a waiver that basically amounts to no matter what happens at all, we won't sue anyone.
While other passengers shared a balloon, Rhonda and I paid for a private balloon ride where the pilot could perform the ceremony. Doug was a great pilot and told us a lot of things about what to expect.
March 29, 8:00 am or there abouts
We finally made it to our launching spot. There were balloons from other companies too. This was THE place to launch a hot-balloon that morning. Rhonda and I helped get the balloon inflated by the use of a large fan to force air into the empty balloon. We were told we're not to say "Blow the balloon up!" ... apparently, blowing things up is a real "downer" with them :)
I won't say how but I ended up in the much-less windy spot -- OH DARN !! lol
Once the balloon gets enough air, the ground-crew man lights the burners and shoots flames into the balloon. It was very soon thereafter the balloon was upright. I was going to take a picture of the balloon prior to launch but as soon as the balloon was vertical, we were told to jump in the basket.
Now we're off ....
It was a wonderful day - just the way to marry a wonderful woman. The pilot (Doug) was telling us about lift and what we would be seeing. I'm used to being up high from my pilot lesson days. However, it didn't take long for Ken to mention that I could let go of the brace going above my head. I said something about "I'm good, I'm good ...". Of course, Rhonda is over there being very non-challant and looking around everywhere while I'm thinking how did she talk me into this!
But really, I was fine after a couple minutes. I ran some quick scenarios through my head soon realizing that if I fell, I wouldn't feel much pain for very long. I did cover my bases and had a goodbye prayer prepared in my head incase of a sudden trip to Earth :)
Pictures ...
I took lots and lots of pictures. I bought a new lens and wanted to test it. We saw a beautiful sunrise from about 1000 feet. We saw houses, swamps, and something kind of fun ... for us, not the the driver of what we saw. It seems that someone was 4-wheeling in the dark and found themselves up to the hood in a large pit of mud. That had to be embarressing ! Near the truck we saw a small tent and several campers and I just bet that they were the ones stuck.
Doug brought us down the the height of the trees so we got to touch the very topmost branches of several trees. I even pulled a couple of leaves off wondering how many people get to say they were there.
I do ...
Doug brought us up to a steady altitude and told us it was time. Rhonda grabbed her flowers consisting of many flowers and included two tigerlillies. For those who don't know, Rhonda has a nickname on the Christian dating board (http://www.singlec.com/) where we met and that nickname is "Tiger Lilly". So I really wanted Tigerlillies in her wedding bouquet.
The vows were quick but not as quick as a drive-thru ceremony would have been but it was still good :) I got to kiss the bride (OH YEAHHHHH !!!!!!).
Landing ...
I think about 75 minutes after lauching, we landed. Of course, I was still up there on Cloud 9 knowing I married the best woman on the planet!
We were told how some landings are smooth and some are so rough, because of wind, that the basket may tip over and the balloon itself becomes more of a sail catching the wind. But on our day, the wind was calm and we landed almost perfectly. We had one or two bounces and the pilot "dropped" the balloon by quickly releasing all the air from it.
Perfect Flight
We had a perfect flight. The company we used was Thompson Aire http://www.thompsonaire.com/ and they were great. If you are in Orlando, Florida then really think about seeing things from a whole new perspective - 1000 feet up in the air
Eating ...
Once we all landed and the gear was stowed, we met at a steak place for a breakfast buffet. We got to sit around and chat about where each of us was from and our thoughts of the flight.
"The Rest of the Story" ....
There is a radio show that tells the compete story of something most people only know part of. Rhonda and I don't know the "Rest" of our story yet. What we do know is that God knows the rest of our story and we trust in Him. A lot of people spend lots of money to know their future - some by fortune tellers, some my the newspaper astrology reports, some by ... who knows ... but Rhonda and I know Who makes the days that we have left ... we know the One who loves us unconditionally and totally. We are simply told to make each day count and together we will !
God Bless
Tim and Rhonda Wells
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