Emails are evil!

Have you ever read an email and not known if the person who sent it was angry or not?

Emails are a horrible way to communicate. Let me give an example. Let's say I write my wife at work asking if she would like to go to Outback Steakhouse for dinner. She writes back "whatever".

What does that mean. Does that mean she doesn't care if we go out? she doesn't care where we go out? She is mad that I suggested my favorite place to eat and not hers? Is she in a meeting and getting chewed out by her boss while the office water cooler is leaking and someone is breaking into her car in the parking lot?????

THERE IS NO WAY TO KNOW WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING IN AN EMAIL.

I have seen arguments breakout between coworkers because one person wrote an email with certain intentions and the recipient read it with different intentions.

Here are the rules of emails:

1. If you have to write more than 4 sentences to someone, then pick the phone up and call them.
2. If you are just delivering facts and not discussing anything, then email is fine.
3. ALL CAPITAL LETTERS MEANS YOU ARE REALLY ANGRY OR EXCITED. IF YOU ARE IN EXCEL WORKING WITH CAPS, TURN OFF THE CAP LOCK TO WRITE AN EMAIL.
4. If you are forwarding STUPID EMAIL JOKES please cut out the joke and put it in a fresh email. Stop being LAZY and forwarding the email addressES of the last 79 people it was sent to. It's takes a minute to clean it up. (if I see this, I immediately delete it)
5. Please go to SNOPES.COM to confirm a story before you forward false information to everyone in your address book. Once again, don't be lazy.
6. Lastly, call to confirm that an important email was received. Oh yeah, don't be lazy.

Emails are bad for business. Be careful when writing to people. What you hear in your head while typing an email isn't always what the recipient hears when reading it.

Press "0" to be disconnected

I just got off the phone with Washington Mutual Bank. I spent 10 minutes trying to get a real person.

My debit card allows me to spend $7000 in one day.
YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING. Like I need to have a limit of $7000 a day. So I called WAMU to lower my limit.

I tried to use their automated phone system to change my limit, but then never offered what I needed, so I did the next best thing. I pressed "0".

The recording told me I made an incorrect entry. So I pressed "0" again. They continued to tell me I have made an incorrect entry. I then started pounding the 0 like it's a video game button. The recording finally says I am sorry you have made an incorrect entry. Please call back later. Then it disconnects me.

I was now livid. So I quickly learned to play the automated game. Then only way to reach someone is act like you are going to spend money. So I chose the "open a long term CD" option. Wow. You'll never guess what happens next. I got a voice immediately. Well I'll be darned.

I then proceed to rip this person a new one. I told her that I have three business accounts with WAMU and they had better put in an entry fur customers to speak with a representative or I am pulling everything from WAMU and going to another bank.

Now get ready for this. She apologizes and tells me that all I had to do to speak with a representative was to......................... wait for it ......... press 0#0# and I would have been sent directly to a representative.

HOLY CRAP. I ALMOST BUSTED A BLOOD VESSEL. FORGIVE ME GOD, BUT HOW IN THE HELL WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT. IT WASN'T ONE OF THE OPTIONS.

I am getting all worked up AGAIN just writing this.

Anyway, for those of you who bank with WAMU, press 0#0# to get through to someone on the national 800#. IN FACT, I ADVISE YOU TO ALWAYS BYPASS THE AUTOMATED SYSTEM NO MATTER WHAT.

If your calling your local branch just press option #3.

your welcome.

What needs to change in this country.

When are we going to stop the archaic forms of politics in the United States.

How about no Republican or Democrat parties. The lines are blurred anyway. Some say John McCain is a Democrat in Republican clothing. Some say Barack Obama has conservative values. Who cares about sides. Why not just vote for who you want.

How about no more electoral votes. Electoral votes were designed back in the Abraham Lincoln days when some people of the land couldn't travel to a voting place. THERE IS NO NEED FOR THIS ANYMORE. Everyone now has a horse and buggy and we all can make it to the voting booths. Every vote should count as one vote from now on. If they can track our votes for electoral voting, then they can keep track of our votes for President.

Here are a few things I would like to see the USA change:

1. Stop meddling in other countries affairs unless it DIRECTLY threatens us.

2. Stop giving money to other countries until we take care of our own deficit.

3. Make punishments fit the crime. I will not steal from my neighbor if it means 10 years hard labor. Murderers get three meals a day, a warm bed, clothing, TV, internet, books to read, paper to write on, basketball and weightlifting equipment, just to name a few luxuries. God help us when homeless people realize that they can have a better life by committing murder.

4. Teach parents in this country how to parent. Playstation 3 is not a babysitter. The parenting is at an all time low. If you don't believe me, just go to Hometown Buffet or Country Buffet and just look at the kids running around putting their fingers in the public food.

5. Clean up the High Schools immediately. If you don't want an education, Great! Get the Hell out, so the kids who do want to learn don't suffer. High Schools are just glorified jails.

6. Stop paying the Indians. How long are we going to pay for this country. We said we were sorry. Now move on. Once again, another archaic thing this country hangs on to.

7. Build a wall at all boarders. Have one entrance into the country at each state that touches the boarders. For example, California, Nevada, Texas, North Dakota, etc. would each monitor there own entrance into the country.

If I could find a candidate who cares about these issues, they will get my vote.

Otherwise it's just another four years of Saturday Night Live making fun of our president.

Best Buy - Finally!

Usually I do nothing but complain on "All That Bugs."

In fact, it's been so easy in the past to just complain about Best Buy being a horrible store. They have been infamous for inventing the restocking fee, dragging out the repair game as long as possible before giving you a replacement product, and they never EVER answering their phones.

I would always hate going down there and finding out they didn't have what I needed.

As a blogger it is my responsibility to also inform you when something has been improved.

I called Best Buy yesterday. I was looking for a Linksys print server so my wife's laptop could print from anywhere in the house. Cassandra answers and asks if she can help me. She answered in 3 rings. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT. They never pick up their phones.

Cassandra tells me that the computer is showing two print servers in stock. She takes down my cell number and says that she will call me back. She physically went to check to see if they were really two available before making me drive all that way for nothing.

A few minutes pass and I get a call from Cassandra telling me that my product was left at the service desk with my name on it. As soon as i walked in, I can cashed out. I was so blown away.

Did Best Buy answer their phone in three rings with a real voice?
Did Best Buy pull my product off the shelf and call me back to confirm.
Did Best Buy have it waiting for me when I walked through the door? YES!

Cassandra explained that Best Buy now has a new phone system and that every call will be answered by a person.

I told her that if this service remains, I would become one of their best customers.

Best Buy impressed me so much, I picked up a Playstation 3 while I was there. It's the only way I could show them my appreciation. :-)

Hell No - We Won't Go.

I can remember the exact day I had my movie revelation.

I was on a date night with my wife, Tammy. We are standing in line at AMC movie theater to see Bad Boys 2 and at that moment I realized it cost me $22 to get in.

I then asked Tammy if she wanted something from the snack bar while we were waiting to be let into the theater. it seem that it takes 5 teenagers 20 minutes to clean the theater and still there is crap on the floor, but that is another post.

I was about ready to buy a large coke for $5 and a popcorn for $5 and a box of candy for $2.50. This would have brought my date night to a total of $34.50.

Then it hit me. Why am I paying $34.50 to watch a movie that I am going to pay $14.95 for the DVD at Circuit City in 5 months.

So now I have to make a choice. I can pay $34.50 to watch a movie and walk out with nothing or pay $14.95 and own the movie FOREVER and play it as much as I want for my friends and family. Hmmmmm........This truly was a no brainer. We got a refund on our tickets and we will never go back.

Even if I hate the movie when I buy it on DVD I still saved $19.55 with an option of trading it in to the video store for credit or selling it on Ebay.

In addition, Hollywood has been putting out crap movies for years. I see better writing on TV. Why would I pay that much money to see a movie and walk out with nothing in my hand. That's like going through the Mcdonald's drive-thru and ordering a Big Mac. Once you pay for your food the guy in the window holds up the burger so you can see it, but never gives it to you. Then you drive home.

Stop wasting your money at the movie theater. Especially since Apple TV will be delivering movies in HD to your home for as low as $4.99. That' right $4.99 HD movies. Of course, that's another post.