Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Is The Stress Really Worth It?

So, you went through college.
Acquired some talent along the way?
Got some experience too, I bet.
Then you find yourself in a career
You're there! You've made it halfway.
Gradually, it dawns on you.
You aren't achieving the big dream.
You aren't getting out of it what you got into it in the first place for.
In fact, if it's true with 10 of you out there, including me,
Then it's true with 10,000 of us as well.
We are hanging on to whatever career we happened to drift into by now
By the time this thought has hit us,
We've plowed a wide swath
Very nearly all the way down that primrose path
To Hell

In our night mares we awake sweating
No, it's not the big dream.
It's not the best of the best of situations
It's not nearly all you can be.
Maybe it's not the worst either.
With the economy the way it is,
You've wisely heeded what you've been told
By others not so lucky as you, to hang your hat on it.
Because by now you have a dog or two
Maybe kids and a wife and they all have lives
And so do you

Even Nicolai Tesla died in abject poverty
Though he was the father of so much of this technical age.
Yeah, you hang in there don't ya? Yeah, me too.
Because the price of pursuing what you want is still high enough
That it might just cost you everything that you've worked that thankless job to obtain
But what about that tightly held dignity you still cling to?
Convinced of your purpose and your fate
Hanging in the balance everyone who counts on you at this stage
Find another job? Start over? At this point? At this age?
We weigh the stress of holding on to the job that we know isn't the best
Or even close to what we hope or expect
Against the odds of starting over on the right foot this time
Having done it in our career, oh maybe 5 or 6 times.
Sure, as we sit for that company picture that goes on our access card,
We have that hopeful glint in our eyes.
In time we hope it won't fade into hopelessness as each job we take ebbs and flows
As if pushed and pulled by a diabolically fickle tide.

You see, the resume and the portfolio maybe landed you
Close to where you thought you could make a difference.
Then you meet that one person who is yet a step above you
A little wiser, little bit more experienced.
A company man who preaches that he still admires you
For thinking the world can be changed again by just one man.
You might have to admit along the way your imperfections as you strive to grow.
Maybe share a bit too much, only because you've learned to trust those in leadership roles.
If only to explain to him that your ideals are only as good as your opportunities to act.
Gee, won't he give you a chance to run with your ideas and talents, just once.

But no, there's work to be done
And you are asked to go where it is.
Supporting the company,
an opportunity for new skills.
It's the job that counts, he reminds you. It is what it is.
And so you sweep your aspirations aside
With the broom they handed you to just clean up the crumbs
From the real work they gave to someone else
Because there was just too much at stake
To stick to your guns, in the end.

Adobe Bait and Switch Cancellation Charges for Product Membership

Just cancelled my subscription with Adobe and was charged a cancellation fee. Oh I told my story to the online "chat' support person. What I did was try to cancel 2 months ago and there was an alternative selection on the page to keep my subscription two more months and then I would not be charge a cancellation fee and the contract would end. I read it over and over  and over before I checked the box. I couldn't believe Adobe was going to be that cool.  Lo and behold, Today the Adobe support person said that they waived two months of charges and that I was under contract for the rest of the year (6 more months). So I would have to pay half to cancel. That is not what i agreed to when I first tried to end my contract and was given that "nice" option to pay for just 2 more months and then quit free of charge. I figured it was about $100 either way. I was on the premium plan. What a waste of money. I paid the cancellation of $156.00 today, just to end the senseless debate with the online "customer service" guy. 

When a company has to resort to tactics like "cancellation fees" to try to retain customers that shows me how dedicated they are to true customer service. How's that plan to charge monthly fees over just selling the product outright going for you now Adobe? Used to be you could retain customers because you had a great product. Now you charge them if they want stop using your product? Bad idea. Just lost one more customer. For life. Unfortunately, Adobe doesn't give a damn about customers anymore or their product. Or they wouldn't be penalizing them for not using it - after locking them in to eternal contract that auto renews forever. Had enough. So for your $156.00 bucks I gave you I am blogging on every social media site I can about how you treat your customers. I paid thousands for previous products and at least I still could use it after my wallet was cleaned out. Seems now Adobe isn't satisfied with just not allowing you to use the product after you cancel your contract - no matter how long you've had it, but will charge you for quitting them too. 

Friday, January 15, 2010

GID Ripoff

This is a blog about my recent online experience. I bought a really expensive camera package from an online company. I told them that it was a gift. I was concerned about the restocking fee they said they had. The salesman (we'll call him Jay) assured me that they wouldn't charge a restocking fee as long as I returned the item. They then extended the return period. So far so good.

I received a phone call by one of their salesman, we'll call him Manny. He suggested that I buy the upgraded package that features professional lenses and equipment for $450.00 more. Since this was a gift for my girlfriend and I wanted to give her the very best I went for the offer.

When I received the package sure enough the camera (Nikon D90) had with it some pretty decent lenses. However, the "other" lenses and equipment including tripods and filters etc. were substandard. I was not happy with the package as I had paid $2650.00 for the whole package.

I called them back and requested a return since I had been informed that it wouldn't be a problem. Yeah Right! Not only did they take the next few days and several phone calls to try to convince me to send back only what I didn't like for a partial refund, they told me that they would only refund me the money less the 5% restocking fee and shipping (that was originally free - but they told me had to be included on a return) for a positive rating on EBay. OMG! I was about to be ripped off!

Even after I was forced to comply by promising a positive rating on EBay for a refund of $2490.00 instead of the original $2650.00. I still did not receive ANY MONEY back.

I immediately raised an issue with Paypal about the entire transaction. Paypal has assured me that they will help me out. To this date, 2 weeks after I returned the camera package and insist on a refund for the original transaction I have NOT received a refund from Get It Digital. Paypal is doing everything they can. Their customer service has been excellent so far. I also requested that this issue be escalated to EBay. I'd hate to think that a company such as Get It Digital can swindle people out of their money. They promise to take returns and then switch their story to charge a 5% restocking fee. The original contract does say 5% restocking fee, but when promised by someone that they would not charge it in my circumstance it becomes an issue. In addition, What company has the right to make someone give them a positive rating on EBay or they won't give them their money back. WTF!

More to Follow

FINALLY!!! 2 months after the original purchase. TWO MONTHS!!!!! Paypal has researched the case and paid me all of my money back. It wasn't just one payment. Since GID "up sold" me and I foolishly went along with it and paid them the extra $450.00 on top of the $2200.00 I already had it constitutes 2 payments. Paypal got me the original $2200.00 back in about 2 weeks, but the $450.00 I paid for the "up sold" items became an issue. It wasn't easy to prove. They had to link it to the original sale some way. I had no idea at first what that meant. The explained it to me. The policies of Paypal really only cover 1 payment (or 1 transaction). You can't start tacking on items after the auction and expect buyer protection. It's buyer protection for the original transaction. Was I about to get F'd? They had exceptional customer service. If you have to work with them it's true that you will get a different person every time, but they keep excellent records and their reps are responsive and intuitive. One such representative. We'll call him Wayne. Put 1 and 1 together to link the two payments I made to one shipment and tracking number. That is the key for Paypal. They have to link the shipments to the auction. So word to the wise - keep your transactions very trackable and one for one. One auction, One payment. CYA. Most people are honest, but in this case This GetitDigital company really tried to screw me and Paypal saw through their scheme as I explained more and more through many phone calls. You have to be diligent, honest and forthright. Make sure what your claiming is what happened and what they can prove. I almost lost the $450.00 because the rep I worked with first listed the item as "did not receive". What will happen is they'll prove that you did recieve it with a tracking number and then ask that you send it back. In my case I didn't have anything to send back because it was the same thing. GID basically upsold me air. I either received it but it wasn't what I expected as in crappy equipment. Or I looked at it as I was up sold something, but didn't receive what they promised. You have to explain what happened to the rep carefully and follow the claim. I called back every week. There is a phone number, but it is very very hard to find. I am not sure I want to publish it here because if you need it you should really find it yourself on Paypal as they intend it to be. My girlfriend WHO IS A GEM! had it. She felt so bad because originally it was a present for her that I had to send back. Not being a millionaire yet, I couldn't just get her one while I saw this through. Too much money out of pocket. But Paypal did decide in my favor and got me the $450.00. The extra time it took was basically due to the fact that I agreed to go along with the "seperate" transaction from GID. Don't do that. Make it through their system as they want you to. Your account on Paypal and Ebay is a privilege not a right. They set up a really cool system for you to buy and sell nearly anonymously. Read their guidelines sometime. Oh it's a pain? It's your pain maybe....if you get into a situation that I did. They warned me not to do it this way again. I will comply to the letter. One transaction One Payment. One auction. One time. One very traceable sale communicated through the Ebay system and paid for by Paypal only.

So that's it. $2650 recovered from a really really slimy company by a Paypal. I also filed a complaint with Ebay. As I said before they wanted me to give them a positive rating in order to get my money back.....yeah that's what EBay calls "feedback extortion". They take that very seriously. More about that in a sec

Ebay - Feedback Extortion Get It Digital company. In order for me to get my money back GID told me that I would have to give them a positive rating on EBay. A representative from that company who took the liberty of calling me ALOT trying to up sell me as I have indicated, plus when I wasn't happy tried to bargain with me by having me send parts of the camera package back to them that I didn't like. Yeah right....I priced all the items on Amazon.com and found that not only were the items way overpriced from GID they weren't professional items as GID had suggested. I estimated that amazon prices for everything in the package that I ordered and was up sold from GID was a full $650.00 under. This means including profit margin I could have put the same package together on Amazon.com for $650.00 less than I ordered it from GID. In the many phone calls that, we'll call him Manny, had fired he told me that "oh the items were professional grade" - bullshit! the tripod wouldn't hold heavy equipment. That 3 year equipment guarantee that they said was worth a couple hundred bucks I looked up on the site that they sent it from. It's $75.00. The 12 hour battery - nope not worth $200.00. It's under $100.00. Way under. Here's something...don't believe anyone you don't know. Make them prove it and put it in writing. those that have nothing to hide will. They couldn't. But Manny did write me a nice email saying that for a positive rating on EBay they would refund my money. This of course was after a few phone calls requesting it. You see they know how to swindle. They know that if they call you they can up sell you and none of it is recorded. (that's what they think anyway.) contacting buyers using the EBay system to procure your contacts is NOT part of the EBay policies. Nope. They don't seem to like it too much when a company calls a buyer and tries to extend the sale and up sell. It's not right. EBay strictly enforces it. However, you have to have proof in an Email. You have to copy the "header" of the email into a form that they supply. It was really hard for me to get that part right. I called EBay 6 times to try to prove that GID was calling me and had up sold me on this camera deal plus had told me to give them a positive rating for a refund when I sent the items back and then when I wouldn't give them a rating they kept the money forcing me to rely on Paypal to get my money back. OMG did that suck. I have NEVER had to do that. Thank GOD for PAYPAL. They rock and will protect you. Also don't know if I mentioned this use AMEX for every transaction. They have excellent buyer protection too. $50.00 a year isn't too much to pay when your buying thousands of dollars in equipment. You might have to return it. DON'T rely on the company you are buying from. The economy sucks so badly that it's a war out there. Companies would rather rip off a higher percentage of their customers or at least deal them hard when it comes to returns betting on a lower percentage don't put up a fight. They need to make money more than ever...and according to some of them they don't seem too proud to try to steal it. God! That's scary. I suggest we fight. Social Media isn't just "electronic friendship" it's true democracy. Every try to fight off a pissed off colony of ants? Kill one or even a hundred if you can...the rest will sting you to death. Together they can take down a cow in about a day. Watch the Discovery channel sometime. It's not about ants....it's about the power in numbers. We have those numbers. It's a huge responsibility, but think about it if one person complains about an injustice who cares. (so sad)...if 10 complain...that's a lawsuit. If 100 that's class action. If 10,000 it's a bill that can be passed into a law. Yes it's a system, but it's run by us. It has rules. Did I go somewhere with that? Who cares...it's my blog.

Go after them. If they try to screw you prove it. There is justice. You have to want it as badly as they deserve it. I don't know where I heard this, but for evil to succeed it's only necessary for good people to do nothing. That's sad...hopefully the next blog I start will offer more positive fare. This is my first and I hope people read it. If it helps one person then all this time I spent writing instead of studying was worth it. Take care. Fight when you're pushed. Forgive when you can.