Blizzard

So it's been 7 years since the 2003 blizzard that dumped 4 feet of snow here in Ken Caryl Ranch; and like 8 feet up in Evergreen and parts of the foothills. Big fun that kept on giving for days! My wife had a compound fracture of both right leg bones from a few weeks before that snow, and she was a real trooper out in the drifts shoveling away with a garbage bag tied up to her butt to keep her cast dry!

Now we're looking at another blizzard here in the next couple of days, and the news dudes keep referring to that storm. They refer to it as the 'blizzard of 2003'. Hey, it happened on St Patrick's Day! Why isn't it called the St Paddy's blizzard?! Is it like there are so many blizzards on St Paddy's that they can't keep track of them all? I smell some anti-Irish, storm-naming shenanigans here! Let's give the old boy's day his due, and start calling it the "Saint Patrick's Day Blizzard"!

'Nuff said...

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Great Service from Quaker Oats

Now here is a company with GREAT customer service. I called the Quaker Oats Co. to check on the expiration date of a package of Aunt Jemima corn meal, (which wasn't printed on this particular package), and they sent me a certificate for a new box! Without my even asking for it!

What's the deal with credit card companies lately? They don't have enough business, yet they treat their customers like stones that they can squeeze blood out of! (not an easy task, mind you) Mastercard, and specifically Kroger Mastercard, has so little interest in representing you, the card user, in dispute situations, that they come across not just as pro-business-crooks, but actively hostile to your complaints.

They will tell you that they cannot contest a charge for reasons of customer dissatisfaction. Well, what else is there?! Contest a charge because you're slap-happy with the service? I had Payless Car Rental hold my family virtually hostage while they attempted to scam us out of thousands of dollars for a 'wrecked' car that wasn't even scratched! (another story) This was in Mexico, and we felt lucky to get home with our good health.

Even though we didn't sign any final charge statement with Payless, Mastercard says our initial rental agreement is enough, and tough toenails if the thugs running the place should be behind bars. Makes you wonder what kind of business agreement these companies have with each other...

I have other bad-service examples of late as well, but sufficient to say, beware this attitude with Mastercard and look into using a different credit provider. My Discover account is always very helpful with customer's complaints against merchants--just FYI!