Well, been "communicating" with Amazon.com. They send an email saying their sorry, will I give them another chance. I send one back saying nope. They send one saying will I give them another chance.
So far I've had an email from Prakash, Monica, Subhrajit, and Vipin Sai. I will say that the first paragraph shows they kinda-sorta read part of my email. Kinda-sorta. The rest is canned.
I finally told 'em I didn't want anymore canned emails, not to bother to respond. I received a response saying (again) that they were truly sorry, they hoped I'd give them a second chance, but if I wanted to write anything else it needed to go to their general questions complaint site.
Hmmm... do ya think they're tired of me answering their canned responses?
There's a perverse part of my nature that thinks I could keep this going until they got tired of hearing from me.... How long would it be before they blocked my email? Closed my account?
I'm heading over to the site now to see if there's some way to cancel it myself. I'm tired of playing and they're obviously not very interested in one little peon customer. Oh, I guess I shouldn't say that, they want me to give them one more chance, give them one more chance, give them one more chance, give them one more chance...
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Caffiend Alert for Caffeine Lovers!
Yours truly has one major addiction... caffeine. I am truly a caffiend. Can't stand coffee, so I have to get my false energy from other substances. Hot tea is my favorite, drink at least one to four cups a day.
Energy drinks are great, too, although I'm trying to cut back on the fizzy stuff. Bad for your calcium retention. The doc explained to me that when you drink soda's your body counteracts the carbonation by zapping calcium to your stomach. Hence you're leeching calcium from your system. I know that is an over-simplification of what happens, but that's the general gist.
Here's the point of this blog... If you love caffeine, check out Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate. They have a new one (or at least this is the first time I've ever noticed it) on the shelf: "Pick-Me-Up" with ADDED CAFFEINE. Love hot chocolate? love caffeine? What a great combo.
Energy drinks are great, too, although I'm trying to cut back on the fizzy stuff. Bad for your calcium retention. The doc explained to me that when you drink soda's your body counteracts the carbonation by zapping calcium to your stomach. Hence you're leeching calcium from your system. I know that is an over-simplification of what happens, but that's the general gist.
Here's the point of this blog... If you love caffeine, check out Swiss Miss Hot Chocolate. They have a new one (or at least this is the first time I've ever noticed it) on the shelf: "Pick-Me-Up" with ADDED CAFFEINE. Love hot chocolate? love caffeine? What a great combo.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Hard lesson learned re: Amazon
My husband has surgery earlier this month and was still unable to be left alone for long periods of time. I have shopped on-line before, love having packages just show up on my front porch. When Greg's daughter-in-law sent a list for the grandkids with the suggestion that I shop on Amazon I thought it was a GREAT idea!
I popped over, found the things we wanted and ordered. Voila, done without any hassle. They guaranteed arrival before Christmas, we had 8 full days so there was a fudge factor allowance in case there was a glitch.
One of the books arrived on the 20th. Checked email and found a note saying that they'd split the shipment, the rest would arrive by the 24th. Cutting it close as that's Christmas Eve and that's when the grandkids were coming, but they promised.
On the 22nd I called as it hadn't arrived. On-line tracker showed only that the carrier had been notified to pick up. I was starting to do a mini-panic.
The person I talked to (from India I believe based on accent), was rather abrupt. He said they were getting a lot of calls and that my shipment was like everyone else's and it would arrive by Christmas. The carriers were very busy and they were not all scanning the items thus it was not showing on their tracker that it been picked up but it would arrive. Basically he said I was wasting his time calling. Frustrating as it seemed he didn't even bother to check anything, just spouted his standard lines.
Christmas eve day... no packages. But the mail was running behind, we saw trucks zipping up and down the road delivering packages and knew they worked late to make sure the packages arrived.
The kids came. The kids left. No Christmas presents from Amazon. The grandkids were so good about it (probably because the parents had warned them on the way over that their Christmas presents might not have made it to our doorstep). Disappointed but good. I was so frustrated. We must have sneaked outside 20 times to see if maybe the packages had been delivered.
What a rip. That is the last time I will order presents on-line from Amazon. I know that only allowing a week for delivery at Christmas is a risky proposition. However, I think if when I called their so-called help line someone should have done some cursory checking. It they had followed up, the presents would have been found and delivered. I used to manage an area where we dealt with similar situations. I am well aware of what COULD have been done.
I'm not giving up on ordering on-line. I just won't be shopping Amazon anymore. If it hadn't been for my recovering husband, I wouldn't have allowed Christmas to sneak up so quickly. I'll know in the future to shop earlier...
I sent Amazon an email, not yelling, not nasty, but definitely to the point, regarding the shipment. It's been 12 hours. I haven't heard back from them yet. They're going further and further in the dog house with me.
I popped over, found the things we wanted and ordered. Voila, done without any hassle. They guaranteed arrival before Christmas, we had 8 full days so there was a fudge factor allowance in case there was a glitch.
One of the books arrived on the 20th. Checked email and found a note saying that they'd split the shipment, the rest would arrive by the 24th. Cutting it close as that's Christmas Eve and that's when the grandkids were coming, but they promised.
On the 22nd I called as it hadn't arrived. On-line tracker showed only that the carrier had been notified to pick up. I was starting to do a mini-panic.
The person I talked to (from India I believe based on accent), was rather abrupt. He said they were getting a lot of calls and that my shipment was like everyone else's and it would arrive by Christmas. The carriers were very busy and they were not all scanning the items thus it was not showing on their tracker that it been picked up but it would arrive. Basically he said I was wasting his time calling. Frustrating as it seemed he didn't even bother to check anything, just spouted his standard lines.
Christmas eve day... no packages. But the mail was running behind, we saw trucks zipping up and down the road delivering packages and knew they worked late to make sure the packages arrived.
The kids came. The kids left. No Christmas presents from Amazon. The grandkids were so good about it (probably because the parents had warned them on the way over that their Christmas presents might not have made it to our doorstep). Disappointed but good. I was so frustrated. We must have sneaked outside 20 times to see if maybe the packages had been delivered.
What a rip. That is the last time I will order presents on-line from Amazon. I know that only allowing a week for delivery at Christmas is a risky proposition. However, I think if when I called their so-called help line someone should have done some cursory checking. It they had followed up, the presents would have been found and delivered. I used to manage an area where we dealt with similar situations. I am well aware of what COULD have been done.
I'm not giving up on ordering on-line. I just won't be shopping Amazon anymore. If it hadn't been for my recovering husband, I wouldn't have allowed Christmas to sneak up so quickly. I'll know in the future to shop earlier...
I sent Amazon an email, not yelling, not nasty, but definitely to the point, regarding the shipment. It's been 12 hours. I haven't heard back from them yet. They're going further and further in the dog house with me.
Friday, December 21, 2007
FDA Develops New Tools to Further Improve the Security of Food and Cosmetics
Effort part of Food Protection Plan for ensuring the safety of domestic and imported foods eaten by American consumers
As part of the FDA’s comprehensive Food Protection Plan initiative, the agency today released self-assessment tools for industry to minimize the risk of intentional contamination of food and cosmetics. The tools are companion pieces designed to make previously issued industry guidance documents more user-friendly and practical.
Food protection is one of FDA’s top priorities and that means guarding against both intentional and unintentional contamination of foods. “The tools FDA is providing will help members of the food and cosmetic industry identify opportunities to better guard against intentional contamination of their products,” said CFSAN Acting Center Director David Acheson.
In 2003, FDA issued a set of Food and Cosmetic Security Preventive Measures Guidance documents. These documents are aimed at operators of food and cosmetic establishments, as well as businesses that produce, process, store, repack, relabel, distribute, sell or transport foods, food ingredients, and cosmetics to help them minimize the risk of malicious, criminal, or terrorist actions involving products under their control.
The guidance documents are:
Food Producers, Processors, and Transporters: Food Security Preventive Measures Guidance
Importers and Filers: Food Security Preventive Measures Guidance
Retail Food Stores and Food Service Establishments: Food Security Preventive Measures Guidance
Cosmetics Processors and Transporters: Cosmetics Security Preventive Measures Guidance
Dairy Farms, Bulk Milk Transporters, Bulk Milk Transfer Stations and Fluid Milk Processors
Food Security Preventive Measures Guidance
Using feedback from industry, the FDA repackaged the information found in the guidance documents and created a corresponding self-assessment tool for each document. By using the tools, industry members can get a quick and detailed assessment of the measures they currently have in place to protect against intentional contamination of their products. With this consolidated information, it will be easy for them to see where meaningful improvements to their current practices can be made.
The self-assessment tool asks the participant to mark the presence of a variety of food protection measures with a Y (Yes), N (No), N/A (Not Applicable), or Don't Know for each item. Examples of measures addressed by the self-assessment tools include the possibility of product tampering; identification of security procedures and responsibilities; and evaluation of response strategies in the event of product tampering or other intentional contamination.
For more information
The Food and Cosmetic Security Preventive Measures Guidance documents and self assessment tools http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/defguids.html
The Food Protection Plan
http://www.fda.gov/oc/initiatives/advance/food/plan.html.
As part of the FDA’s comprehensive Food Protection Plan initiative, the agency today released self-assessment tools for industry to minimize the risk of intentional contamination of food and cosmetics. The tools are companion pieces designed to make previously issued industry guidance documents more user-friendly and practical.
Food protection is one of FDA’s top priorities and that means guarding against both intentional and unintentional contamination of foods. “The tools FDA is providing will help members of the food and cosmetic industry identify opportunities to better guard against intentional contamination of their products,” said CFSAN Acting Center Director David Acheson.
In 2003, FDA issued a set of Food and Cosmetic Security Preventive Measures Guidance documents. These documents are aimed at operators of food and cosmetic establishments, as well as businesses that produce, process, store, repack, relabel, distribute, sell or transport foods, food ingredients, and cosmetics to help them minimize the risk of malicious, criminal, or terrorist actions involving products under their control.
The guidance documents are:
Food Producers, Processors, and Transporters: Food Security Preventive Measures Guidance
Importers and Filers: Food Security Preventive Measures Guidance
Retail Food Stores and Food Service Establishments: Food Security Preventive Measures Guidance
Cosmetics Processors and Transporters: Cosmetics Security Preventive Measures Guidance
Dairy Farms, Bulk Milk Transporters, Bulk Milk Transfer Stations and Fluid Milk Processors
Food Security Preventive Measures Guidance
Using feedback from industry, the FDA repackaged the information found in the guidance documents and created a corresponding self-assessment tool for each document. By using the tools, industry members can get a quick and detailed assessment of the measures they currently have in place to protect against intentional contamination of their products. With this consolidated information, it will be easy for them to see where meaningful improvements to their current practices can be made.
The self-assessment tool asks the participant to mark the presence of a variety of food protection measures with a Y (Yes), N (No), N/A (Not Applicable), or Don't Know for each item. Examples of measures addressed by the self-assessment tools include the possibility of product tampering; identification of security procedures and responsibilities; and evaluation of response strategies in the event of product tampering or other intentional contamination.
For more information
The Food and Cosmetic Security Preventive Measures Guidance documents and self assessment tools http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/defguids.html
The Food Protection Plan
http://www.fda.gov/oc/initiatives/advance/food/plan.html.
Whole Foods Market Expands Allergy Alert on 365 Organic Everyday Value Swiss Chocolate Bars to All Varieties and Lots (Dec. 21)
Whole Foods Market is expanding the recall of the 365 Organic Everyday Value Swiss Milk Chocolate Bars with Rice Crisps with a Best If Used By date of 11/21/07, to include all varieties and all lots of chocolate bars with a Best If Used By date prior to 11/08/09.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Hooker Furniture Announces Voluntary Bunk Bed Recall
Business Wire - In cooperation with the Consumer Product Safety Commission, Hooker Furniture (NASDAQ-GS:HOFT) is issuing a voluntary recall on bunk beds from its Albany Park, Swedish Accents, Mariner's Landing and Chelsea's Place youth bedroom groups. A joint press release with the CPSC was issued on December 13, 2007. To see a copy of the joint press release, please go to www.cpsc.gov.
Names of Products: Bunk beds in the Albany Park, Swedish Accents, Mariner's Landing and Chelsea's Place youth bedroom groups.
Units: About 1,300
Importer: Hooker Furniture Corporation of Martinsville, Va.
Hazard: The bunk beds have gaps between parts of the upper bunk exceeding the space allowed by the federal bunk bed safety standard, posing a potential entrapment or strangulation hazard.
Incidents/Injuries: None reported.
Description: The recalled bunk beds come in twin-over-twin, twin-over-full and loft beds in the group names of Albany Park, Swedish Accents, Mariner's Landing and Chelsea's Place. The bunk beds come in natural, cherry, white and black finishes. Some of the bunk beds are also made of metal.
Sold at: Hooker Furniture retailers nationwide from August 2005 through August 2007, for about $1,000.
Manufactured in: Malaysia and Vietnam.
Remedy: Consumers should not allow children to use the recalled bunk beds and contact the retailers where purchased to schedule a free, in-home repair.
Consumer contact: For additional information, contact Hooker Furniture toll-free at (877) 705-8408 between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. ET daily Monday through Friday, or go to the "Contact Us" section of this Website, http://www.hookerfurniture.com/index.cfm/go/contact_us.show.cfm
While no incidents or injuries have been reported, Hooker Furniture has learned that the size of the openings in some areas of the upper bunk exceeds the space allowed by the federal bunk bed safety standard, posing a potential entrapment or strangulation hazard.
Consumers have been instructed to contact the retailer where they originally purchased the bunk bed to schedule a free, in-home repair.
The affected bunk bed designs have been corrected for future shipments, which will comply with applicable safety regulations and standards.
For additional information, contact Hooker Furniture toll-free at (877) 705-8408 between 8 am. and 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, or visit the "Contact Us" section of the firm's Website at www.hookerfurniture.com.
Ranked among the nation's top 10 largest publicly traded furniture sources based on 2006 shipments to U.S. retailers, Hooker Furniture Corporation is an 83-year old residential wood, metal and upholstered furniture resource. The Company's principal customers are home furnishings retailers who are broadly dispersed throughout North America. Major wood furniture product categories include home entertainment, home office, accent, dining, bedroom and bath furniture. Hooker's residential upholstered seating companies include Cherryville, N.C.-based Bradington-Young LLC, a specialist in upscale motion and stationary leather furniture, and Bedford, Va.-based Sam Moore Furniture LLC, a specialist in upscale occasional chairs with an emphasis on fabric-to-frame customization. Please visit our websites at www.hookerfurniture.com, www.bradington-young.com and www.sammoore.com.
Names of Products: Bunk beds in the Albany Park, Swedish Accents, Mariner's Landing and Chelsea's Place youth bedroom groups.
Units: About 1,300
Importer: Hooker Furniture Corporation of Martinsville, Va.
Hazard: The bunk beds have gaps between parts of the upper bunk exceeding the space allowed by the federal bunk bed safety standard, posing a potential entrapment or strangulation hazard.
Incidents/Injuries: None reported.
Description: The recalled bunk beds come in twin-over-twin, twin-over-full and loft beds in the group names of Albany Park, Swedish Accents, Mariner's Landing and Chelsea's Place. The bunk beds come in natural, cherry, white and black finishes. Some of the bunk beds are also made of metal.
Sold at: Hooker Furniture retailers nationwide from August 2005 through August 2007, for about $1,000.
Manufactured in: Malaysia and Vietnam.
Remedy: Consumers should not allow children to use the recalled bunk beds and contact the retailers where purchased to schedule a free, in-home repair.
Consumer contact: For additional information, contact Hooker Furniture toll-free at (877) 705-8408 between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. ET daily Monday through Friday, or go to the "Contact Us" section of this Website, http://www.hookerfurniture.com/index.cfm/go/contact_us.show.cfm
While no incidents or injuries have been reported, Hooker Furniture has learned that the size of the openings in some areas of the upper bunk exceeds the space allowed by the federal bunk bed safety standard, posing a potential entrapment or strangulation hazard.
Consumers have been instructed to contact the retailer where they originally purchased the bunk bed to schedule a free, in-home repair.
The affected bunk bed designs have been corrected for future shipments, which will comply with applicable safety regulations and standards.
For additional information, contact Hooker Furniture toll-free at (877) 705-8408 between 8 am. and 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, or visit the "Contact Us" section of the firm's Website at www.hookerfurniture.com.
Ranked among the nation's top 10 largest publicly traded furniture sources based on 2006 shipments to U.S. retailers, Hooker Furniture Corporation is an 83-year old residential wood, metal and upholstered furniture resource. The Company's principal customers are home furnishings retailers who are broadly dispersed throughout North America. Major wood furniture product categories include home entertainment, home office, accent, dining, bedroom and bath furniture. Hooker's residential upholstered seating companies include Cherryville, N.C.-based Bradington-Young LLC, a specialist in upscale motion and stationary leather furniture, and Bedford, Va.-based Sam Moore Furniture LLC, a specialist in upscale occasional chairs with an emphasis on fabric-to-frame customization. Please visit our websites at www.hookerfurniture.com, www.bradington-young.com and www.sammoore.com.
Nearly One in Five Americans Say They Can't Afford Needed Health Care
Nearly one in five U.S. adults - more than 40 million people - report they do not have adequate access to the health care they need, according to the annual report on the nation's health released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The report, "Health, United States, 2007," is a compilation of more than 150 health tables prepared by CDC's National Center for Health Statistics.
The report also contains a special section focusing on access to care, which shows that nearly 20 percent of adults reported that they needed and did not receive one or more of these services in the past year - medical care, prescription medicines, mental health care, dental care, or eyeglasses - because they could not afford them.
"There has been important progress made in many areas of health such as increased life expectancy and decreases in deaths from leading killers such as heart disease and cancer. But this report shows that access to health care is still an issue where we need improvement," said CDC Director Julie Gerberding, M.D., M.P.H.
In 2005, nearly one in 10 people between the ages of 18 and 64 said they were unable to get necessary prescription drugs during the past 12 months due to cost. Nearly 10 percent said they delayed receiving needed medical care. This report did not study the relationship between access to health care services and health outcomes.
Other major findings of the report include:
* Young adults 18-24 years of age were more likely than children or older adults to lack a usual source of care and to be uninsured. About 30 percent of these young adults did not have a usual source of health care, and an equal percentage were uninsured.
* One in 10 adults ages 45-64 years did not have a usual source of health care, and more than 5 percent of adults in this age group who had diagnosed high blood pressure, serious heart conditions, or diabetes reported not having a usual source of medical care.
* In 2005, one out of five people under the age of 65 reported being uninsured for at least part of the 12 months prior to being interviewed. The majority of this group reported being uninsured for more than 12 months.
* One in 10 women aged 45-64 years with income below the poverty level reported delaying medical care due to lack of transportation.
* About one-third of all children living below the poverty level did not have a recent dental visit in 2005, compared with less than one-fifth of children with higher income.
The report features data on virtually every health topic from all stages of life, and does show a number of important gains:
* In 2006, 87 percent of children age 19-35 months received three or more doses of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, an increase from 41 percent in 2002.
* In 2001-2004, the age-adjusted percentage of adults with high blood cholesterol was 17 percent down from 21 percent in 1988-94.
* In 2001-2004 about 25 percent of adults 20-64 years of age had untreated cavities, down from nearly 50 percent in 1971-74.
The full Health, United States: 2007 is available at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/. For more information about the latest Department of Health and Human Services initiatives proposed to provide affordable health care coverage to every American visit www.hhs.gov/everyamericaninsured for more information.
The report, "Health, United States, 2007," is a compilation of more than 150 health tables prepared by CDC's National Center for Health Statistics.
The report also contains a special section focusing on access to care, which shows that nearly 20 percent of adults reported that they needed and did not receive one or more of these services in the past year - medical care, prescription medicines, mental health care, dental care, or eyeglasses - because they could not afford them.
"There has been important progress made in many areas of health such as increased life expectancy and decreases in deaths from leading killers such as heart disease and cancer. But this report shows that access to health care is still an issue where we need improvement," said CDC Director Julie Gerberding, M.D., M.P.H.
In 2005, nearly one in 10 people between the ages of 18 and 64 said they were unable to get necessary prescription drugs during the past 12 months due to cost. Nearly 10 percent said they delayed receiving needed medical care. This report did not study the relationship between access to health care services and health outcomes.
Other major findings of the report include:
* Young adults 18-24 years of age were more likely than children or older adults to lack a usual source of care and to be uninsured. About 30 percent of these young adults did not have a usual source of health care, and an equal percentage were uninsured.
* One in 10 adults ages 45-64 years did not have a usual source of health care, and more than 5 percent of adults in this age group who had diagnosed high blood pressure, serious heart conditions, or diabetes reported not having a usual source of medical care.
* In 2005, one out of five people under the age of 65 reported being uninsured for at least part of the 12 months prior to being interviewed. The majority of this group reported being uninsured for more than 12 months.
* One in 10 women aged 45-64 years with income below the poverty level reported delaying medical care due to lack of transportation.
* About one-third of all children living below the poverty level did not have a recent dental visit in 2005, compared with less than one-fifth of children with higher income.
The report features data on virtually every health topic from all stages of life, and does show a number of important gains:
* In 2006, 87 percent of children age 19-35 months received three or more doses of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, an increase from 41 percent in 2002.
* In 2001-2004, the age-adjusted percentage of adults with high blood cholesterol was 17 percent down from 21 percent in 1988-94.
* In 2001-2004 about 25 percent of adults 20-64 years of age had untreated cavities, down from nearly 50 percent in 1971-74.
The full Health, United States: 2007 is available at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/. For more information about the latest Department of Health and Human Services initiatives proposed to provide affordable health care coverage to every American visit www.hhs.gov/everyamericaninsured for more information.
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