Monday, March 30, 2009

What luck!

Sometime after dinner, last Friday my refrigerator/freezer ceased to function. I had no idea until Saturday morning when I made a bowl of Rice Crispies. Warm milk, warm everything. I just went shopping and it was packed. Meat, fish, chicken, microwave meals, ect, ect, ect. Newly purchased milk, yogurt, butter, as well. All went into the dumpster. My dear daughter neglected to tell me anything until it was too late. I could have went out and bought ice to at least save something.

I really am not so wealthy I can just go out and buy more food. I was between paychecks, and the food money was already spent. I was only able to save very little food.

I live in an apartment complex and told them and a semi-new dented appliance was delivered within an hour. I was amazed, only one hour, as it took one month for them to fix my neighbors broken sink.

I called the office to thank them of the quick delivery of the new appliance, albeit dents and all. I also asked them if I would be reimbursed since all my new food spoiled, and the co-owner; Susan said she “will look into it”. I am not placing any bets here.

My nice red wool rug was also stained when the maintenance man failed to dump the drip pan and bad gunk was dripped all over the rug. Now, it needs to be cleaned and that will cost a lot of cash, which I do not have.

I was preparing for my surgery by having a stocked freezer of easy to prepare meals as I may not be able to cook and of course my daughter never helps at all with anything.

Now I have to start over.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

I am totally scared of having surgery

I will lose control, they can't use a local, must be a general. They have no idea if it is cancer, I am hoping for the best and preparing for the worst. Ovarian and cervical cancer is treatable if caught in time, but on the other hand can be deadly.

So if it is the big C, I'll need more surgery and probably chemotherapy. I'll lose my hair, I never liked my hair anyway. Hell, I can go goth or metal with all the wigs available. I have always wanted long thick hair!

I just want to go shopping now. That is how I feel better...shopping. Not the best thing to do, well besides eating chocolate.

I know when I have the initial surgery I'll need help in the home with my dog Cosmo, and my dearest daughter will have to step up to the plate. But I am having doubts and she is most laziest human I have ever known. She doesn't even have the ability to replace a roll of toilet paper, let alone wash dirty dishes. Her bedroom should be condemned by the health department.

I don't have the income to hire a helper, just to walk the dog. I have no one to help. I have a friend at work who will stop by, she is a nurse and I hope she can help me a bit.

Sometimes I wish I never became a mom.

Monday, March 23, 2009

Wonders Never Cease

The Finish Line credit came through today!

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Mentor Dog Park 3/15/09




They took the shoes back!!!

I had to go further up the chain to the VP who put me in contact with the district manager...

The shoes went back and a credit was applied to my card today. (supposedly)

Well, as of 3/22/09, no credit has shown up. Hummmmm....

Friday, March 13, 2009

I need your help!

I called the Finish Line again today. 1-888-777-3949. I asked for "Valerie" at X5071. Guess what she is not the district manager like I was told. She is a CS rep who is out of the office until SUNDAY!

Finish Line had no intentions of calling me back within 48-72 hours! I was told there is not a district manager in the office. WTH???

The current cs rep would not let me talk to a supervisor at all.

She said I have to file another complaint. What happened to the original complaint???

I basically argued with the cs rep over the phone. She would not help at all.

My dear daughter is quite upset.

I am going to the consumerist.com now to see if they will help. I am very frustrated.

First contact with management:

Dear Mr. Marchetti,

My daughter bought a pair of high top tennis shoes about 1-2 weeks ago (2/28/09) at The Finish Line at Great Lakes Mall in Mentor, OH. She thought she would like them, she came home put them on again and didn't like them, had them on for about 5 minutes. Stayed in the home and on carpet the whole time.We took them back to get another pair today, however they had nothing in her size at all that she liked.

The store assistant manager would not accept a refund. He had a horrible grin on his face the whole time. He was mean and crude and extremely rude. He was practically laughing at both of us. I felt so embarrassed and worthless at his actions. Accused my DD of swearing, I thought my daughter was going to have a psychiatric meltdown. I get their catalog all the time and my DD did not see anything she liked. My DD, who is disabled was extremely upset. Upsetting a child like mine who has multiple mental health issues is not wise, trust me!

There was nothing wrong with these shoes. They are "Baby Phat" patent leather hi-tops. The minute you put the shoes on they crease. That is the nature of patent leather. I called the number on the back of the receipt to open up a complaint with a district manager. I was told I would receive a call in 1-3 business days.

UPDATE: as of 3/11/09 @ 1:06pm I have not received any calls from Finish Line's district manager.

UPDATE: as of 3/12/09 @ 10:45am, still no call from the district manager.

UPDATE: as of 3/13/09 @ 6:30pm, still no call from the district manager.

I called the Finish Line again today. 1-888-777-3949. I asked for "Valerie" at X5071. Guess what she is not the district manager like I was told. She is a CS rep who is out of the office until SUNDAY!

Finish Line had no intentions of calling me back within 48-72 hours! I was told there is not a district manager in the office. WTH???

The current cs rep would not let me talk to a supervisor at all.

She said I have to file another complaint. What happened to the original complaint???

I basically argued with the cs rep over the phone. She would not help at all.

My dear daughter is quite upset.

Management reply:
Ms. Scheer,
I am sorry to hear about the service you received in our Great Lakes store. I appreciate you bringing this to our attention. This is not the type of service we expect from our stores. I talked to the District Manager yesterday. He said the number he has is your work number. He tried calling it and left a message. He will be following up again tomorrow. If you have another number for him to contact you at, please let me know.

Mike Marchetti
Executive V.P. Store Operations
Finish Line
3308 N. Mitthoeffer Road
Indianapolis, IN 46235
(317) 899-1022

The district manager called me on 3/16/09 and I said I would return the shoes on 3/19/09, which I have done. I'm just waiting for the credit to show up.






Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Wait, wait, don't tell me!

I'm on the show. It is a radio show played on NPR. I'll be on "Bluff the Listener" section. They give you three news item stories and you have to guess which one is for real. If you win, you get Carl Kasell on your answering machine recording. They tape me by phone tomorrow night, it is usually broadcast on the weekends. Here in Cleveland on Sunday afternoon. I was interviewed by a very nice person who asked me a bunch of questions, like hobbies, ect. I also mentioned I had a dog Cosmo and I blog. It is one of my favorite shows on the radio. OK, call me silly, but it is what I like. Listen as I try not to make too much of a fool out of myself!

http://www.npr.org/programs/waitwait/index.html

The Finish Line's sad customer service!

I have posted this on http://creditboards.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=386210


My daughter bought a pair of high top tennis shoes about 1-2 weeks ago (2/28/09) at The Finish Line at Great Lakes Mall in Mentor, OH. She thought she would like them, she came home put them on again and didn't like them, had them on for about 5 minutes. Stayed in the home and on carpet the whole time.We took them back to get another pair today, however they had nothing in her size at all that she liked.

The store assistant manager would not accept a refund. He had a horrible grin on his face the whole time. He was mean and crude and extremely rude. He was practically laughing at both of us. I felt so embarrassed and worthless at his actions. Accused my DD of swearing, I thought my daughter was going to have a psychiatric meltdown. I get their catalog all the time and my DD did not see anything she liked. My DD, who is disabled was extremely upset. Upsetting a child like mine who has multiple mental health issues is not wise, trust me!

There was nothing wrong with these shoes. They are "Baby Phat" patent leather hi-tops. The minute you put the shoes on they crease. That is the nature of patent leather. I called the number on the back of the receipt to open up a complaint with a district manager. I was told I would receive a call in 1-3 business days.

I'm not holding my breath. I have lost faith in the corporate world. It is just all about the money.We went across the mall aisle to Foot Locker and told the manager what just transpired. We had her look at the shoes and she said that the shoes were in perfect condition to be sold, not used at all. Foot Locker does not carry that brand of shoe. My DD found a pair of Nikes that The Finish Line did not have and she bought them, the manager even threw in a pair of insoles for free. What a nice manager and very generous as well. As G-d is my witness, I will never, ever buy anything from The Finish Line.

My daughter is on SSI and is lucky to be able to afford new shoes. I have not been able to get her any shoes this year. The shoes with tax were about $50.00 and change. That is a lot of monery for her. She is so concerned about her looks and worries how others look at her, is a self esteem issue.What are my chances that Visa will side with me and/or a district manager will credit her account? It is a checking account that her SSI checks go to, I am the holder of the account as an authorized representative. The card was used as a credit card, not a debit card. NCB said to call Visa, which I did.I can't begin to tell you how much money I have spent at that store and on-line as well. Since I used a Visa to purchase the Finish Line shoes I called them when I returned home, but the CS rep told me that department does not open until 9am, and that is when I will call.

I know I can file a complaint to escalate this if nothing is done. There is http://www.planetfeedback.com/ and the Ohio AG, the BBB. I hope it does not come to that. I know to some that these shoes cost a lot of money and someone on SSI should not be buying shoes like these, but try to explain that to my DD who has multiple complex health issues.

ETA:
Have mercy on my soul, it is extremely difficult to shop for anything with my daughter!

UPDATE: as of 3/11/09 @ 1:06pm I have not received any calls from Finish Line's district manager.

UPDATE: as of 3/12/09 @ 10:45am, still no call from the district manager.

UPDATE: as of 3/13/09 @ 6:30pm, still no call from the district manager.

I'm sick.

Due to my illness and upcoming surgery, I have abandoned my diet, but still am watching what I eat. I have lost a total of 12 pounds so far. I will have surgery in April and will be off of work for about one week. I just pray it is not cancer!