| BUSINESS PRACTICES (The good, the bad & the ugly)! |
| BAD PRACTICES Hollywood Video Canyon Park Bothell, WA I have been a customer of Hollywood Video for perhaps 20 years. I suspect a conservative guistimate of the money I've spent there during that time would likely be around $1000. Admittedly, that's not a huge amount but it's not insignificant either, especially when you realize my video rental business has been exclusively with Hollywood Video and not shared with other vendors over the years. My use of the Canyon Park store covers only the last five or six years since we've lived in Bothell. I received a phone call from the Canyon Park store a couple of months ago where I was informed that they had not received a movie back I had rented about three weeks prior. I specifically remember returning that particular movie because I had to make a special trip and it was an inconvenience because of other activities going on around that time. I informed the caller that I had indeed returned the movie. The person said they could not locate it but that they would look again and he asked that I would do the same. I agreed and as a courtesy I checked to see if perhaps the movie was still sitting on top of the DVD player and that I returned an empty box by mistake. As I already knew, there were no DVDs belonging to Hollywood Video in my possession. I did not hear anything further from them so I presumed they must have found the errant copy. A couple of months later a letter arrived in the mail from a collection agency informing me that my bill for $46 had been turned over to them and that they were demanding payment under threat to do all sorts of nasty things to me. Here's my complaint. I returned the movie but I can't prove it because once it goes down the night drop it's no longer under my control. They say they didn't get it and they can't prove that either but that doesn't matter, I was still turned over to collections. I also was not given an opportunity to pay for the missing video they can't prove I didn't return before they sent the bill to collections which, for the record, I would have paid for, though you can bet I wouldn't have been happy about it. My record with Hollywood Video over the years will show there has never been an issue with returning videos which I would think might be a clue that when I say I returned it, maybe, possibly, I was telling the truth! So, what am I going to do about it? Well, I have a bill from a collection agency demanding money. I can't prove I returned Hollywood Video's property any more than they can prove I didn't, so I'm going to donate $46 dollars to their coffers. I will however, respond to what I believe is their very foolish treatment of a loyal customer and a very poor and unjust business practice. I will never use Hollywood Video again and I will tell anyone who asks me exactly why. 02-15-10 |
| GOOD PRACTICES Eastside Auto Care 17525 NE 67th Court Redmond, WA 98052 Dave Matchett's Eastside Auto Care is a rare business in the industry... an auto repair shop you can really trust! We first discovered Dave when we were researching options after catching our previous repair shop in a $7000 fib. Dave was working for another shop at the time and we switched all our business fleet maintenance there after giving him a shot and being very impressed with his work. Eventually he struck out with his own business and we followed him with all our personal vehicle maintenance. What distinguishes Dave and Eastside Auto Care from all the other shops out there is not his mechanical skill, though he is a great mechanic. What gets him our business is his DIAGNOSTIC skill. Anyone can fix a car but figuring out what the problem is in the first place... that's what distinguishes a Mechanic from a Diagnostician. And believe me, when there's something wrong with your car, you want a Diagnostician, not a Mechanic who will trial and error his way through a repair job at YOUR expense! Besides skill, Dave has character... he is a character too... but the most important thing is that he won't gouge your eyes out with the bill and you never have to worry about weather or not you really needed that repair. He will give it to you straight and that wins our recommendation. So, if you need auto service and have neither the time or money to waste on a hack job, give Eastside Auto Service a call... you won't regret it! 11-29-10 The Network 22833 Bothell-Everett Highway Bothell, Wa 98021 The Network is a family owned Verizon Wireless store. The owner, Ryan Olson, impressed me the first time I wandered in and I've been a customer ever since. I remember that first visit I had to wait a while... he was spending a lot of time with another customer and that gave me an opportunity to listen. What I heard was a man with a lot of product knowledge and a good handle on customer service. As he helped his customer I thought to myself, "If he gives me this much time and attention, it will be worth the wait". Well, he did and it was! There just isn't a substitute for someone who cares about his customers and is willing to take all the time it takes to service the need at hand. So what services does The Network provide? Ryan is a retailer of Verizon Wireless equipment and services. That means he's the person to see if you need a new phone or a new line or an accessory or information for future consumption. Now, prices on phones and services are pretty much set by Verizon so they will be fairly uniform wherever you go. Accessories tend to be full retail but wherever possible I pay the full retail to Ryan for two reasons... yes, I may be able to save a few bucks on that car adaptor if I go to Wallmart or eBay but I buy from Ryan because I want to support all the other services he provides. And secondly, I choose to support Christian Owned business wherever possible. So if need a new wireless device, accessory or just have a question. Give Ryan a try. Don't have Verizon service? Then upgrade now to the best wireless service in the country. The Network can help you with that! 11-29-10 Outback Steakhouse Canyon Park Bothell, WA I am not a regular customer of the Outback Steakhouse because its out of my price range. As a rule though, on those rare occasions I've eaten there, I've always experienced the best food and service I could hope for. As a matter of fact, the best steak I have ever eaten in my life was at an Outback Steakhouse in Fresno California. In my recent experience with the Canyon Park Outback, my party and I happened to arrive during a busy time with about a 40 minute wait ahead of us. Maybe 15 minutes into that wait, a waitress informed us there was a booth available in the lounge if we didn't mind being seated there. We took her up on the offer and shaved over half hour wait time off! We placed our order, ate our appetizers and received our meals in no time. My steak unfortunately, seemed to still be alive! I don't think even a steak ordered rare could have legally left the kitchen being that undercooked. It was literally Cow Sushi! I informed the waitress and within moments the manager was at our table assuring us that everything was being taken care of and even offered additional sides to make up for the mistake. And that's the point it was just a mistake and they are bound to happen. I wasn't angry or causing a scene and I didn't expect the manager to be at our table apologizing. I just wanted my steak to make the acquaintance of the grill for a few minutes! The class with which the Outback crew addressed this minor problem was stellar. So, what does this all mean? Well, the Outback Steakhouse is still too expensive for me to be a regular customer but I can guarantee I will eat there again AND I will gladly tell everyone who asks that I've now experienced both the best food AND the best service ever from this fine company! 02-15-10 |
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