Aaaack!

Oh, holy cow!  Ricë Freeman-Zachary (Notes from the Voodoo Cafe), one of my all-time favorite artist/bloggers, has posted about an outrageous thing that happened to her and her husband in the West Texas town of Midland, where they have lived all their adult lives.

I don't usually post directly about another blogger's post, but this one is important.   Ricë is such a creative writer that all her blog posts are incredibly interesting (she writes professionally for several big-name art and fiber-art magazines).  When she posts a "rant", we all run to read it ... don't miss this one.

It will most likely make you see red.  It is not fiber-art related.  If you don't like to read "rants", please take the opportunity to read her other posts, which ARE fiber and art related, and which are always intelligent, informative, and often very funny.  You won't want to miss her fabulous writing.

Iced Coffee and Hoarding ... a Rant.

I was so happy to find this wonderful iced coffee mix at The Dreaded Walmart.  It's quick and easy, it's delicious, and it's zero-fat and low calorie!  When you mix it with milk, as the directions state, the resulting iced coffee is 110 calories.  But I discovered that I liked it even better when mixed with plain water ... for a cleaner taste and a grand total of 20 calories per 8-oz. glass!

It comes in other flavors too ... French Vanilla is my favorite.

Now, why am I creating a whole big blog-post about an iced coffee mix?  Because it's NO LONGER AVAILABLE at Walmart or anywhere else!

Oh, there are other iced coffee mixes, all right ... Maxwell House, for instance, at a higher price, higher calorie-and carb-count, and less flavor.  Why Walmart would discontinue carrying the superior product, when every time I went to buy it, it was nearly sold out, is not really a mystery.  I have accosted the food manager at my local store, and the answer is always the same ... "we don't control purchasing, the orders come from on-high".

In other words, it doesn't matter that the product was more popular in this particular store ... someone at the head office took an average count from some anonymous numbers, and picked Maxwell House as the winner. Why there can't be a choice for customers is something I'm getting used to in San Antonio, Texas, the home of  "you live here now, you don't have a lot of choices ... get used to it".

For instance, HEB several years ago ran all the other grocery stores out of town (Randall's, Krogers, Safeway) by severely undercutting their prices; then once they folded, raised their prices right back up again.  There are literally no other supermarket choices in San Antonio (the ONE and only thing I hate about this town!)

So, back to the North Sea Iced Coffee Mix (which I discovered, by the way, was formerly known as Frappe' Creme Iced Coffee Drink Mix).  I looked and searched and combed the internet for more sources of this wonderful product.  I finally tracked down the parent company (not easy) ... Sturm Foods ... and begged to be able to buy directly (in bulk) from them.  No such luck.  I received a very nice response to my request, which stated that Walmart is no longer carrying their product, and that it is currently no longer being carried in any other store.  And that they can't sell to individuals.

I guess I wouldn't be so bent out of shape about this if it didn't seem to be the norm instead of the exception.  Favorite lipstick color?  Not made anymore.  Best diet soda?  Discontinued.  The only hand cream that works on my super-dry skin?  No longer available.

My paternal grandfather ("Papaw") was what some might call a hoarder.  You would never have known it, because he was very neat and tidy, and everything was stacked neatly behind cabinet doors.  But when he found a product he liked, he bought mass quantities of it, because he never wanted to run out.  He blamed his hoarding on The Great Depression.  I blame mine on The Dreaded Walmart.

Printers and Another Rant

I came so close to buying the absolute wrong printer for my needs today.  (Cue violins)

Wait, let me back up.  My trusty (Hah!) HP Photosmart Plus printer died an unnatural death earlier this week, just months after the 1-year warranty expired.  I had a hard time forcing myself to do all the research all over again, to find the best printer (for a decent price) on the market for printing on fabric.

I really wanted to try one of the new Kodak printers, and sent out cries for help on the internet for those who might have used it for printing on fabric ... to no avail.  To be honest, I didn't try really too hard, just hoped someone might have already made all the mistakes before I did.

"Luckily", I ran into the Kodak sales rep at an Office Max, and he was such a terrific salesman that I very nearly bought the thing on the spot.  However, I had promised myself that I would do my "due diligence" and try out everything possible first.

Snake oil salesman

But, oh boy, it sounded so great ... cheaper (pigment-based) ink cartridges, interchangeable among all Kodak printers, cool new features, it was even cute, and had a relatively small footprint.  And Kodak is famous for printing PICTURES!  Plus, they were going to give me a cool little $99 video camera as a bonus, THIS WEEK ONLY! How could I go wrong?  OHHH, I wanted that little baby!  (The very smart salesman "didn't know" how it would work on fabric, "but it must be good, because we're famous for printing pictures!")

Kodak 3250

Then, on top of that, the salesman slipped me an ad for a $50 credit at Best Buy this week, if I traded in any other old printer, broken or not, for any Kodak printer.  Hot Diggity!  Combined with a $25 gift certificate generously donated by my brother, this little dude would only cost me about $25!

But still, determined to do my research ... I came home and looked for customer reviews ... which were mostly bad.  Among other issues, "fantastic prints on photo paper, crappy prints on plain paper".  This did not bode well for printing on fabric.

So today, armed with my stack of beloved-but-costly Printed Treasures and Jacquard Silk Sheets, I trekked down to the nearest Best Buy and tried out a lot of pigment-based-ink printers, including the Kodak.

On both floor models of the Kodak (operated by the Best Buy techie), the sheets jammed without exception, and what partial images I could make out were absolutely awful.  The Kodak printer prints beautifully on photo paper, but not even marginally well on fabric.

Oh, and I discovered that although yes, the Kodak ink cartridges are less expensive that Epson's and HP's ... they are also much smaller and contain less ink.  So any perceived savings is probably just that ... perceived.  It's one of those things that's hard to quantify, especially since ALL the manufacturers are so cagey, not to say secretive, about revealing exactly how much ink their cartridges contain.

I finally ended up with another HP Photosmart Plus, since it even uses the same inks as my dearly departed printer.

HP Photosmart Plus

And as long as I'm sort of ranting about manufacturers and big-box stores, not a single printer had a brochure available for the customer.  They "must be all out of them."  And I had to practically demand that the techie-kid break open some new ink cartridges so that I could test the HP printers.  Not a single one of the "demo" printers had enough ink in them to print a single picture.  When I asked "what is the customer supposed to do, just buy it on faith?", the kid just shrugged.  I had to threaten to go to a manager before he would take the trouble to ask for permission to do it.  (Evidently, the marketing reps for each manufacturer are supposed to come by occasionally and replenish the inks in their printers.  The kid said that the HP guy hadn't been there this week, so I was just out of luck.)  As the kid was opening all those little ink cartridge boxes, he even took the trouble to admonish me that these inks were "very expensive", and that the store would have to swallow the cost.  I just stared at him, open-mouthed.  I couldn't even think of a snappy comeback.

Techie-Kid

I'm just getting really, really tired of having to demand simple customer service.  The kid who "helped" me was more interested in playing on his iPhone than he was in assisting me.  Not to mention, I had to track him down and drag him away from his computer in the first place.  I swear to goodness, I'm nice most of the time!  Why do these people seem to be on a mission to force me to be a crabby old lady?

To quote Paul Lynde in a Bye Bye Birdie song, "What's the matter with kids today?"  Modified to add, "What's the matter with Business today?"

AAARRRRGGGHHHHHH!

Rant Success: (Or at least a step in the right direction)

After having written a scathing letter (see my original Rant here) to David Green, owner and CEO of Hobby Lobby, I received an emailed response from a regional manager.  My two major issues were lack of management visibility/accessibility, and the insulting practice of confiscating backpacks at the front of the store before allowing the customer in to shop.

(Sorry, the above-pictured backpack is no longer available.)

Although I failed in my attempt to reach Mr. Green personally, I will say that my complaints were readily received, and I've recently received another letter from the regional manager, assuring me that both issues have been addressed at a regional meeting:

"We had a yearend meeting with San Antonio mgrs Friday laying out the great customer service guidelines we expect. At all times every hobby lobby has a member of mgt and should of been available upon request. Proper scheduling was discussed to make sure we have employees available for our customers.
We appreciate you letting us know about the backpack issue and the store has been directed not to be asking anyone to leave backpacks at front."

It's kind of nice to know that sometimes you can make a bit of a difference, just by speaking up.  I'm feeling rather proud of myself this morning.  

Rant: Is a Bone Folder really worth all of this?

OK, we all know what a bone folder looks like, right?  A very common little tool for creasing or folding paper ... used by bookbinders, scrap-bookers, and many other paper artists.

All I wanted was a little old bone folder.  So, I stopped by my local Hobby Lobby, thinking I would just run in, grab one quickly, pay for it, and run back out.  HAH!  I should have known better ... Hobby Lobby is not known for having the best (or in fact, any) customer service.

First of all, of course, there was no bone folder to be found in either the art or the craft section.  After looking and looking, then vainly searching for an employee ... any employee ... on the entire sales floor of this giant store ... I finally trudged up to the front of the store near the cash registers.

There, lounging around the area, were six ... count 'em, SIX ... Hobby Lobby employees, with nary a customer to be seen in the area, laughing and talking and having a wonderful time.  I actually had to interrupt them in order to ask for assistance.  Here's how the conversation went:

Me:  Excuse me, do any of you know where the bone folders would be?  

Them:  (Blank looks.  Confused silence.)  

Me:  You know, a bone folder, used for bookbinding, paper folding ... etc. etc. etc.  

One of Them, who was later discovered to be the Front-of-Store Manager:  Ohhhh, that flat thing that people use for flattening paper?

Me:  Yes, that's the one.

Front Manager:  Well, I don't know if we have any.

Me (After a Long Meaningful Pause):   Well, can you find out if you have any?

FM:  She (pointing) will go with you and show you where they are.

She:  I don't know where they are.

FM:  Yes you do.  They're probably with that scrap-booking stuff.

She:  OK, I'll look, but I'm not guaranteeing I can find it.

Me:  (sighing and following She, with little hope.)

Well, as you can probably guess, there was no bone folder to be found.  Upon returning to the cashier's station with the rest of my purchases (yes, I have no will power when it comes to art supplies), I began asking where the Store Manager was.  

Front Manager:  I don't know, I don't think he's here.

Me:  When will he be here?

FM:  I don't know, they usually don't come in until the afternoon.

Me:  What is his name?

FM (looking shifty-eyed):  I don't know, they keep changing all the time.

Me:  Can you tell me why you have 6 employees up here at the front ... with no customers to be waited on ... and none in the rest of the store to assist customers?

FM (smiling nastily):  I don't know, I'm only the front-of-store manager.  Why didn't you just come up to the front here and I could have sent someone back to help you?

Me (incredulously):  Are you kidding me?

Now, I fully recognize that this little Front-of-Store Manager didn't have any real authority, and that she was just following the rules set down by Upper Management.  Nevertheless, I was trying to get her to understand that I would like my complaints passed up to the next level.  She chose to take the offensive tack, however, by blaming me for not trekking up to the front in order to track down an employee for assistance all the way on the other side of the store.

About this time, one of the Very Valuable Up-Front Employees (the one who stands slack-jawed at the front door to "greet" customers) chose this moment to roll her eyes expressively to one of her co-workers.  Unfortunately, I caught her doing it, and promptly called her on it to the Manager ... who looked me straight in the eye and said, "she wan't doing it about you, she was doing it about someone else."  Yeah.  Right.

As our conversation was getting louder and louder (the woman was actually arguing with me), an older gentleman walked up behind me and asked for the return of his backpack.  When the woman very condescendingly assured him that it was "tucked away, safe and sound", he asked, very politely, why he even needed to surrender it when he came into the store.  When she explained that it was to prevent shoplifting, he (again, very politely) asked if his backpack was any bigger than his wife's shoulder purse.

 

At this point, I was already so mad that I told the manager and everybody else within a half-block's hearing distance that it was an INSULT to their customers to automatically assume that they were thieves, depending on the type and size bag they bring into the store.  

Whereupon, the gentleman and I grandly (and I'm sure, hilariously) stomped out of the store together, swearing never to return.

I'll seriously not be going back to Hobby Lobby ... I'll happily drive a little further and give my business to Michael's.

 

I'm also writing a letter to CEO David Green ... it all comes from the top down, of course, and this Ostentatiously Christian Business has decided it's OK to blatantly insult its customers by assuming that they are shoplifters.

Not to mention never having enough (or any) employees on the sales floor to assist customers.  Ever.

 

Can you tell I'm royally P.O.'d?

 

OK, I'm going to go bind my quilt now.  Maybe sitting nice and quiet in my Big Comfy Chair and hand-stitching the binding will lower my blood pressure.  Wish me luck.

A Rare (but inspiring) Rant

After listening to President Obama's address on Healthcare Reform last night, I felt inspired to write my Congress Critters once more. Usually, I try to restrict myself to a two- or three-line, succinct statement of my stance on an issue, in hopes that it will actually be read and counted.

However, I saw my sister Suzanne's excellent letter to Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas), and with her permission, was inspired to post it here in its entirety. She is a much more passionate writer than I tend to be, and she expresses EXACTLY my feelings on the matter. I'm hoping she will inspire you to write your own representatives and try to get this Healthcare Reform passed ... it's ABOUT TIME.

(Her letter is in response to Sen. Cornyn's canned reply to her original letter ...)

Sen. Cornyn: "I believe reform can be achieved by lowering the cost of health care without spending more money and without giving Washington more control over the decisions of doctors and patients."

I know this is hard for senators (who already enjoy Washington-controlled, gold-plated, lifetime health care) to understand, so let me attempt to enlighten you: Decision-making as it pertains to health has already been taken out of the control of doctors and their patients, i.e., We the People. Remember us? Our healthcare is already being rationed (by the insurance industry), and we are being fleeced (by the insurance industry). It is a scam. It is a racket.

You mention "bureaucrats." You are aware, are you not, that officious, petty bureaucrats exist in the private sector as well as in government? The private sector of which I speak is the health insurance industry. A bureaucratic, bean-counting insurance clerk already stands between me and my doctor.

Am I supposed to worry that the private health insurance industry may suffer if there is a public option? Let me tell you something you may not fully understand: The health insurance industry is my enemy. They wish to profit off of my suffering. I care not one whit what fate befalls that industry.

One more point I'd like to make: If a public option out-performs the private sector, it may goose the insurance industry into reforming itself (though I doubt that seriously), and then we will truly have a free market from which to choose. However, if the private sector fails to meet or out-perform the public option, then the free market (rightly) says to the insurance industry: "Adios."

I will do everything in my power as a private, voting citizen of these United States to stymie the future political prospects of any senator or congressional representative who attempts to prevent real, actual, meaningful healthcare reform from being enacted.

I am an Independent. I have no love for either political party. I have no trust in either party. None. I am loyal to neither party. Having promised myself, my entire life, that I would never be a one-issue voter, I have become, sadly, a one-issue voter. My health and my very life depend on it.

My future voting patterns will be decided on this one issue. I'm not alone. We are paying attention. We are personally living this healthcare nightmare, and untruths and sloganeering and ideology won't be effective this time. We, out here, the Great Unwashed, already know the truth ... intimately.

Suzanne and I hereby give permission for you to use any or all of the above for your own letter to Congress, or rant on your own website or blog.

Next time, I promise to get back to a little bit of art ...