Found In the Woods

You know the adage. Well here’s a perfect example of customer service gone terribly wrong and customer service gone terribly right… in two examples. First…

Macys vs Chateau d’Ax

We purchased a new Chateau d’Ax (* sorry about the link; the only thing good about their site is the model on the sofa) leather recliner sofa from Hecht’s (Macy’s) back in February ’06. This was a long process and we were thrilled to finally have it over with. Kristin and I trucked all over the DC Metro area to find something to go in our sunroom where we spend most of our time with kids, eating, playing, etc. The couch replaced a scary old dog hair covered futon which was uncomfortable and hard to get in and out of, but came to us free so we didn’t complain about it openly much. Getting the new leather recliner really boosted the look of the room and the usability of the space. Although Maggie was a little bummed because she wasn’t allowed on the new sofa.

The troubles started happening a few months later when a rip cord style pull (used to extend the recliner footrest) started to weaken and then broke off one day while reclining. The design really isn’t that good, as it’s located right next to your leg when you sit down it tends to bend, sometimes pretty sharply. Well, Kris called Macy’s to set up a repair call. They told her that they would order the part and once it arrived to call them so they could schedule a tech to come out and install it. Few weeks later the package arrived, Kris called, tech arrived, and guess what… wrong part. Strike one. Guy tells her to call Macy’s back and order the correct part. Which she does… but it doesn’t arrive… for weeks and weeks we wait. Eventually she calls. “OH, the part is there… UPS says it is.” …”no, it’s not here” … “well, they say it is… have you checked your front porch?” Strike two.

So Kris calls… again and again, trying to get them to reorder this part. The miscommunication and incompetence levels were soaring, just burning us hotter and hotter. We waited patiently for the part to arrive. Kris lamenting the hours of her time she lost calling Macy’s (20-30 minutes at least on each call she made, mostly on hold) still holding on to the hope that the part would arrive. Remember, this was last SUMMER that this started.

Last month she got a call from Macy’s telling her that they won’t be able to find the part and that they’re giving us the option to a) keep the sofa, b) get a full refund or c) choose a new sofa and deduct the cost of the old against the new. Strike three. We just love the sofa we have. We did not want to get rid of it. But having a recliner that doesn’t recline is like having a car that you can’t adjust the seats in. Not very comfy. This had to be fixed… but how?

Enter the internets. Sunday (yesterday) morning I sat down on the sofa and pulled the rip cord on the left side (the side that still worked) and it popped off, just like the other side had done 8 months earlier. Now neither side reclined and that was that. I went down to the office hopped on the trusty Mac and ran around online trying to figure this out. All I had was my sofa manufacturer and model and the receipt from the store. Wading through all the rubbish (goodness there is so much of it) I eventually found a forum discussing Chateau d’Ax furniture ups and downs. Anyway, someone made a reference to Gardiners in Towson, MD. I thought “ah ha!” a local place that carries Chateau… I bet they could help.

So if you’ve stayed on this far, you’re ready for the happy ending… right? OK, here it comes. So Gardiners tells me that they can’t locate the replacement part for my sofa because I didn’t buy it from them. BUT, they do have the number of the Chateau d’Ax factory in the USA and I could try them. “Finally!” I thought, “a real lead.” So it’s a Sunday and I don’t expect to talk to anyone, but luckily the number they gave me went to the Chateau d’Ax directory listing and I was able to easily leave a number for their parts department in which I described my problem, the model number, etc. I fully expected to not hear from them for days, maybe weeks… if at all, based on the experiences I was having with Macy’s. SURELY if a store like Macy’s couldn’t summon the resources necessary to locate a part for my sofa I would have little chance. Right? WRONG.

This morning (that’s right, at 8:47am) Ed from the parts department at Chateau d’Ax phoned me and told me that he was going to send me a couple of the replacement parts, no charge. All he needed was my mailing address. I was flabbergasted. Almost tongue-tied. All at once I was happy and utterly confused as to why Macy’s had such a problem locating this part. I guess they have some sort of arcane method of managing their parts program, because this was possibly one of the best experiences I’ve ever had! Ed was very friendly and straightforward. He informed me that I could order more in the future from him if I needed them. I felt so good after that call, but it burned inside when I realized how bittersweet it would be to inform Kristin since she spent all those hours on the phone dealing with the grunts at Macy’s “Service” department.

OK, that’s all for this one. Now we just need to get the parts in hand and get ’em installed so we can go back to the leather recliner luxury goodness. Thanks Chateau d’Ax! Thanks Ed! Thank you for restoring my hope in this situation.

thanks Paul

A lot of you know me as Slug. Some of you don't. Some of you call me Slug, some of you don't. There are mixed feelings about this nickname, some like it, some hate it. Forgetting all that, it's a nickname I've had since 11th grade when a couple friends (you know who you are) at a party gave me the name – it stuck… hard. Personally, I like the name. To me it's nothing but a name. Most of if not all of the folks who still call me that say it out of adoration and not hostility. In fact I don't know if it's ever been used in a negative way.

Well, without further ado, something I've wanted to have for a long time, I give you www.sluggyjunx.com . Please update your links; the blog is now located at blog.sluggyjunx.com and the Gallery is now located at gallery.sluggyjunx.com . Thank you Oozy for getting all this up and running and for being the best damn web host EVAR. 

Folks, I know it's been a long, long time since any photos were posted to my Gallery . (See previous post for main reason) Well, I'm hoping to get back into the habit of doing so, and I have a LOT of photos to share. So be patient with me (if you're reading this, I think you already are) and keep bugging me to get more up!

First up are some pics of Kyle & Anna from this winter, the College Park Aviation Museum, Christmas @ Bruce & Dotz's and some recent work on my model railroad. I hope you enjoy.

Warcraft has been a huge time sink in my life over the last few months. In fact, on one of my characters alone I've spent 16 solid days of my life playing. I have enjoyed every minute (save those when getting ganked by Horde) and plan on spending many more. Warcraft allows you to choose from various races and classes and further customize your character by choosing various talents (doled out 1 point at a time each time you level up), professions and skills.

For my first character, now my Main, I chose a Human Warrior spec'd out in Arms and Fury talents. For all you Warcraft geeks out there, here's a link to my talent trees as of level 50, where I currently am. For professions I chose Blacksmith/Mining of which I'm up to 262/276, which allows me to make some great weapons/armor. Anyway, I'm having fun w/ this and it's a work in progress. Kristin is leveling up her Mage character (currently 43) and both of us have started new Alts to enjoy the low level game play once again. I've said it before, this is hands-down one of the best video games I've ever played. I'm having a blast leveling the characters and I have been lucky to get into a great Guild with tremendous talent and potential for end game play. To battle!

So well put. This is one of the things I hate most about the internets, online gaming (say, in HALO when you get trash-talked by a teenager because you didn't get 26 kills), and email lists. Folks need to think before they type… is that too much to ask?

http://www.boingboing.net/2007/02/21/flame_first_think_la.html

"Normal Person + Anonymity + Audience = Total F*ckwad" 

A trip a long time in the making is finally happening this weekend. On Thursday I'm leaving work around 2pm and heading North. I'll pick up Bob & Brett in Wilmington and then we're off to Rutland, VT for 3 days of skiing. It's been a long time since I've been to Vermont and I miss it. I first skiied at Ski Roundtop in PA on a Fourth Presbyterian Church youth retreat back in 1991. I learned to ski in VT back in Jan '96 with Bob & Brett. That trip was a riot. I turned 21 while there and spent the evening at this place, drinking beer with the locals and being served by a bartender that closely resembled (and may have been; it was off-season) Santa Claus. After that trip I was hooked on skiing and hooked on Vermont. Between that winter and '99 I must have driven up to Vermont about 12 times with these guys and others. It has a very special spot in my memory.

Which is why I'm particularly siked about this trip. It's been a long time since I've been up there (last time was with Kristin back in 2002, I think) and it's been even longer since I had a trip with Bob & Brett. It'll be tough (I'm way out of shape and haven't skiied much in the last few years) but worth it. I hope to have some pics to share when I get back. No doubt I'll have stories. 

This just makes me sad. I have been looking forward to The Hobbit coming to the big screen by Peter Jackson since the LotR was announced. I just knew it would happen. Now a lawsuit is getting in the way. Why does this kind of isht have to happen? Well, here's hoping that things are resolved and the movie is made by Peter and Co. It just wouldn't be the same. New Line would be silly not to make it happen.

More reading here: http://www.theonering.net

Hey folks. I've been away from the blog for a few weeks now. When Christmas hit everything went into a spin and only recently leveled out. Oozy's server died a couple weeks back and the blog was offline while he waited for some drives to come in. Christmas was fun. Got to see my brother which was really nice – he's only in town once a year. I got a new toy for Christmas; haven't had a chance to spend much time w/ it but I have big plans ahead.

The kids are doing fantastic. Kyle is really starting to become his own man. He's got ups and downs with his attitude just like every two year old and has a tremendous amount of wonder about him. He spends so much time setting things up and taking them apart. His imagination is already really active as he's always telling us about "the elephants" that are coming and what they tell him. He seems to have developed a strange fear of the dark; "it's dark in there!" Anna is starting to get the rollover thing down. She's been transitioned to solid food and just loves it. She just started biter biscuits the other day and it's a riot watching her work on one of those. She's got the most magical full-face smile and I swear she knows how to laugh now. She is great fun and the cutest thing I've ever seen.

I'm still hopelessly addicted to Warcraft. Now I've got Kristin addicted too believe it or not! We even purchased a second computer (A Dell XPS 410, made easier with my Trump Taj poker tourney winnings from last October) so we could play together. I still think it's one of the best games I've ever played – the sheer level of immersion is incredible – you can get lost in that game for hours and hours.

Stay tuned for some posts and photos coming soon to the Gallery.

Three days ago, while driving home I noticed my first glitch. While sitting at a light in neutral w/ clutch disengaged I heard a faint grind for a moment, and it almost seemed the car was going into gear. Nothing more happened that day.

The next morn on the way to work, same thing happened a couple times, again, only for a moment at a time.

On my way HOME from work that day, it all went bad. While performing a three-point-turn, the tranny locked up. I depressed the clutch and went to shift from first into reverse and when I got to neutral the shifter locked me out. If I released the clutch, the car would stall out as if it were in gear. I couldn't move the car, so I eventually just tried letting the clutch out a little and stalling the car. It was enough to move the car (and gears) so that I could then restart the car and engage first gear and drive away.

When I pulled away from the nearby traffic light, while shifting from second to third, the tranny let out a LOUD griiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiind. I clutched and managed to get it into first and into a gas station. Same thing there. I couldn't shift into any gears and had to stall out the car and then I was able to shift into gear and pull away. I didn't feel like having a tow and knew I needed to get it to a dealership. On my way home, this gear-lock-out happened once more, this time at speed. No fun. I did manage to get it to the dealership.

They tell me that they have to remove the transmission to have a look-see b/c something is definitely borked.  And they're replacing the clutch. All in all I'm expected to pay about $660. Luckily the transmission is still covered in the 60k powertrain warranty (I have 55k on the car now) so I'm dodging the bulk of the repair expense. I'm frustrated that my transmission is going bad this soon but pleased that the warranty is still ineffect. Maybe I need to change my driving habits.