Customer Service that Isn't

Poor customer service has been a pet peeve of mine now for several years. , I am convinced that This week I got a dose of what really bad customer service is. 

After much discussion about our channel lineup that includes half hour to hour long commercials, shopping channels, religious channels and reruns of reruns of shows from the 70s and 80s, we decided to use some holiday gift money for a modest investment in an Amazon fire stick. The rationale was that what we pay for a year of Amazon Prime barely covers one month of internet and TV. Amazon Prime, includes services we were under using like select music as well as some pretty good streaming shows and movies, many that are Prime Original. So we decided to go basic with our cable and lower the bill. 

On Sunday, I logged onto my online cable account to see what was available. Unfortunately, unless you are a new customer, there just isn't anything there. So I decided to answer the chat window which pops up from an agent offering to help. After a 45 minutes circular conversation which went no where, the agent typed "Haan!". I then typed "???" to which the agent replied "Please just hold on a minute." After looking up "haan", I found out this translates to "cock" in Afrikaans. Wow, I just was sworn at by customer service. Really?!? Goodbye chat agent!

At this point I looked up the customer service 800 number and called it, hoping for a better experience. Eventually my call was picked up by a gentleman who was unsure what to tell me about downgrading my service. After 10 minutes with this agent, I was transferred to someone in customer retention. Another 10 minutes and finally got my TV downgraded, internet still the same. Oh happy day! It only took an hour and a half out of my Sunday evening and will save us $17 a month. Hey, $17 is $17, right?

On Wednesday, I to make the favorite list of the channels that we now receive. I had logged into my account to view my channel lineup and noticed there were channels that we had not never gotten before. Rather than risk being sworn at in Afrikaans through chat again, I called the 800 line right away. All I wanted to know was how long it would take the channels that we now pay for to show up in my channel lineup. Simple enough, or so I thought. Silly me, not so, wondering if customer service has a problem with the English language. After a long and circular 45 minute conversation, two resets of the cable box, it was determined there might be something wrong with the cable box and I would need a technician to come out and see what was going on. A service call was scheduled.

Less than an hour later I received a call from customer service regarding said service call while I was in the shower. I returned the call thinking it was a call to confirm the technician coming out to check the cable box. Once again, silly me. This person wanted me to go and check a bunch of stuff to my TV. I told him I was unable to do that right then, could I call him back. He said he would call me back in an hour. Ok, fine. 

An hour and 15 minutes later I got the call back from the agent who after a forty five minute conversation informed me that the channels listed in my channel lineup were not channels I should be getting and therefore was not getting. After asking the agent several times where I can find a list of the channels that I do get, he began mansplaining to me about how the channels for all the tiers were listed on the website, and the blue dots in the little boxes under basic cable were the channels that I get. He then started listing all the channels I should be getting and began having me change the channel to each and every one. Enough already! I told him this was not necessary and I would figure it out myself. He then said he would be cancelling the service call to which I replied that he might as well because I would probably be cancelling my account with them very soon. I then thanked him for his time and hung up.

This entire "customer service" fiasco started at around 12:30 p.m. and the last call ended somewhere around 3:45 p.m. Maybe I am old-fashioned but this is not what I call customer service in any way shape or form. This morning I am off to scroll through the channels I do get, using the chart with my TV package on top and the little blue dots in the little boxes to make a new favorites list that I will probably never use.

Prince Rogers Nelson

June 7, 1958-April 21, 2016

~A true artist and a wonderful human being with a beautiful soul that has~
~now been set free~

Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge

This past weekend we decided to check out the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge. How amazing that you can get back in touch with nature and still see the Denver skyline on one side and know Denver International Airport lies to the east.

This refuge has enough ecosystems to keep you coming back for years with prairie, woodlands and wetlands. Not only does it encompass these three ecosystems, it caters to all with both walking trails and driving trails. The walking trails are plentiful and the driving trail is a leisurely 9 mile trip.

Bison herd in the distance with the Rocky Mountains in the background.

The land where the Refuge now sits, has a long history that started with land hunted by Plains Indians, settled by early pioneers and used as a weapon manufacturing arsenal during WWII before eventually being reclaimed and designated a refuge where endangered species like the bison and the black-footed ferret have been re-introduced into their native environment.

The Visitor Center consists of a gift shop which helps to support the Refuge and carries everything from post cards to snacks, trinkets and sweatshirts. A small museum showcases not only the history of the Refuge but some of the animals who now live there with many of the exhibits being interactive as well. Last but not least, there is a Visitor Center Discovery Room for the kids with all kinds of interactive learning experiences for them to learn about the animals living here as well as conservation efforts.

History of the Arsenal through 1960 in the museum.

There is an abundance of literature as well as a newsletter that gives dates and times for special activities at the Refuge. The best part is that almost all the programs are free. The only programs I noticed were not free were those associated with fishing season, in which case a Season Fishing Pass is required.

             Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge

             6550 Gateway Road

             Commerce City, Colorado

             303.289.0930

For more information, here are two websites:

http://www.fws.gov/refuge/Rocky_Mountain_Arsenal/

https://www.facebook.com/RMANationalWildlifeRefuge/

Getting Settled In!

Well, it's been a few months now since we actually moved out of Minnesota and settled in Colorado. There have been a lot of ups and downs. Sometimes it feels like more downs than ups but then I look out my bedroom window and see the beautiful Rocky Mountains.

That is when I remember why we fell in love with this place and why we decided to start a new life here. Even through the struggles, if feels right and good to be here and everything always seems to fall into place as long as we don't stop moving forward to some sort of goal.

Our most recent move from stasis has been to move our belongings from storage into our cozy apartment, making it even cozier. It doesn't look like we will be leaving this place anytime soon so the decision was made to save the money being spent on storage space for more important things, and there are plenty of them.

We did go through a lot of "stuff" before coming here but we still have more than we really know what to do with. Even so, when I start to mentally go through what we have and try to decide what to get rid of, there really is nothing either one of us would want to jettison from our lives right now. Besides, one of the goals we both have is to own our home. Whether it turns out to be a house, a condo or a townhome, it will be bigger than the nest we are currently living in making our treasures a non-issue.

One of the up sides to moving storage into our home is that the more familiar things we have around, the more it feels like home. Even the cats seem to be feeling more at home and recognize that the boxes are coming in the door rather than going out the door.

On that note, I am off to jockey some boxes already here in preparation for the weekend and bringing in more "stuff".

A New Nest!

After nearly a month of looking for a place to call our new nest we have found one. It wasn't easy because housing here in the northern 'burbs of Denver is no easy task. I have come to the conclusion that the only reason we were able to procure the place we did was that it is super small and right above the laundry room.

When we got the place I was very disappointed in the apartment but we really didn't have a choice and it was bigger than the motel rooms we had been staying in. Not only was it small but it smelled of stale cigarette smoke in every single nook and cranny and the kitchen is nothing more than a hallway with a stove, sink, pantry closet and refrigerator in it.

After my initial disappointment, I began looking for things that I liked about this tiny little nest. The very first thing that was pointed out to me is that I can see the mountains from my bedroom window. This was huge, a tiny, cheap (comparatively speaking) place with a view. There is also a big old pine tree on that side that gives us some privacy from the building next to us.

This was the start of finding all kinds of cool things about our new nest. This may sound weird but another favorite feature is the tiny window over the shower. I can open this little window and look at the mountains while I shower which is very cool.

The courtyard where the main entrances to the apartment are were strange to me at first but I must say I don't miss those dark hallways that most of the apartments in Minnesota tend to have for added warmth in the wintertime I am guessing. The courtyards have a smaller entrance to them and in the back they open into a community area where they pool is. Yup, we have a pool and a pool key.

There are 4 floors so we also have an elevator which has made moving a bit easier because we live on the second floor.

This brings me to the next thing I decided to look at as a plus. We live above the laundry room, the floors are always warm. It is well into November and we have had our first snow, we have yet to turn the heat on. The laundry room keeps us warm and toasty and the cats love it as well.

As I have begun to move things in, it has occurred to me that there is probably as much space here as we had in Minnesota without the 2nd bedroom. Hoping that once all is said and done, everything will find it's place and we will have a cozy little nest.

Morgan Home has a New Home

Found this in my draft folder, a post that is about a month old. Guess I'll post it now.

Hard to believe that it has been almost a year since I have posted anything here but it has been worse. Hoping to be able to post more as I discover Morgan Home's new location in the Rocky Mountain State of Colorado.

Packed up a U Haul truck and headed west with our two furballs. Two days on the road and we finally arrived in Fort Lupton, Colorado where it seems that oil is a big part of it's economy. Not surprising after seeing all the oil wells along I-76. These 'grasshoppers' dot the ranchland.

Yesterday the motel we are staying at filled up with workers from Midland, Texas. This morning they were all up and about and heading out around 6 a.m. This made me realize how far from Minnesota we were and how much closer to home we had come.

Today was also the fist time since we arrived that we were able to see the mountains. There is snow at the higher elevations already but the trees around here are slowly turning but still green for the most part.

We thought we missed the turning of the aspen in the mountains but a drive through Roosevelt National Forest proved us wrong.

RIP Jeremy Mardis

Louisiana Police Arrest 2 Officers in Boy's Shooting Death

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/louisiana-police-arrest-officers-boys-shooting-death-35037587

Does anybody else find this disturbing? I find it disturbing on so many different levels that I don't even know where to begin so I will begin by sharing a photo of the little boy who died instead of a photo of the police officers who shot him dead. I will not go back over the sordid details. If you care to read them, the link to the story from ABC news is at the beginning of this posting. The only thing I do want to share from the story is this quote from a press conference held Friday, November 7, 2015.

     'Let's make tonight about Jeremy Mardis. That little boy was buckled in the front seat of

     that vehicle and that is how he died,' [Col. Mike] Edmonson said. 'He didn't deserve to die

     like that.'

This is not about race, there are some out there who are jumping on this band wagon.  This is about police authority gone crazy. This is about officers who are not as well trained as they could be. (One of the officers arrested was a reserve officer.) This is about police officers who have forgotten what it means to "Protect & Serve".  Recently I saw a police  motto that read"Prevent Crime & Disorder". Initially it made me smile until I thought about all the implications.

While I realize I have not offered any kind of solution to prevent tragedies like this, I am not sure there is a solution. The public in general don't seem to respect law enforcement anymore, some with good reason. It used to be that respecting law enforcement was safe to do. I am not so sure that it is anymore. Law enforcement also needs to warrant that respect. This means obeying the law in the same manner that they expect the public to obey the law. This might be a good start, mutual respect and mutually obeying of the law.

Cheddar Garlic Waffles

This morning I was in the mood for waffles and eggs and I was also in the mood to be creative and what came out of the mix was Cheddar Garlic Waffles topped with Poached Huevos Rancheros. Kind of a strange combination but it worked and was quite tasty.

The eggs pretty simple here. Just poach however many eggs you want, put them on the waffles and top with salsa and/or sour cream.

Poached Huevos Rancheros on Cheddar Garlic Waffles

Cheddar Garlic Waffles

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups of milk

1/4 cup of vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups of flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder

1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Mix all of this together well. Put about 1/4 cup of batter onto each section of a well greased waffle iron (I like to use a soup ladle). Cook until no more steam rises, about 3-4 minutes. Makes 16-18 4 inch square waffles.

If you don't eat them all right away, they can be kept for later. To get the outsides crispy just throw them in the toaster for a few seconds. 

Basil Water

While this did produce something, it felt a little bit like an epic fail. Found a way to distill herbs into essential oil that sounded easy and like it might just work and to a degree it did.

Started with a big old Dutch oven on the stove, a little bit of water in the bottom and lots and lots of basil as in the end of the season, grab it all picking laid and smashed into the pan. Next step, I put a ceramic bowl on top of the whole mess and put the lid on upside down. The upside down lid is important as the distilled liquid will collect on the lid and the concave shape of the lid will let the liquid drip into the bowl.

Here is a picture of what the whole setup looked like for me.

Once this is all setup, let the whole mess simmer down. The house smelled amazing while this process was going on and I did end up with about an ounce of liquid. The liquid can be stored in a small tight sealing jar and in a cool dark place.

This process can be used to distill most herbs. The key is that you need a lot of whatever you are distilling.

Have fun experimenting with this one!

Where did the Summer Go?!?!?

Not sure where the summer went and here it it is already canning season!

Not make excuses but I did have a small computer catastrophe which was fixed post haste with a new computer. It has been a long time since I have had a new computer and I am not sure I like this new beast. I suppose I will get used to it and if truth be known, I am already sort of getting used to "it" and kind of starting to like it some.

Otherwise, most of the summer was spent hanging out in parks and making music I guess. It was so much fun! Then to end the summer, a quick trip up the North Shore of Minnesota was just what the doctor ordered.

In July Dusty Rockers (see one of my other blogs) hosted the first Potluck Music Jam 7 Mile Creek County Park. It was a blast, new friends were made and the food was wonderful. Everyone enjoyed themselves so much that we hosted an impromptu hot dog roast in August. Good times were had by all.

In September, the North Shore beckoned and we answered the call. Spent time rock hunting on the shores of Lake Superior, checked out Gooseberry Falls...

and saw Split Rock Lighthouse up close and personal for the first time ever. It was wonderfully refreshing and we have both resolved not to wait so long before we go again.

With that all said... on to canning and preserving the summer and fall harvest for the frigid winter here in the frozen north.