Lynn

Lately the quality of products purchased has been acceptable as has been the speed of delivery. However, once again, Amazon has disappointed! Kids' clothing was shipped in only the flimsy thin clear plastic manufacturer's bag that is much thinner than an ordinary freezer bag! It's somewhat amazing that it didn't arrive ripped open! This was not the first time that Amazon mailed something with just a label on a manufacturer's package (happened at least twice before). When I reported the issue on chat, the chatbot stated "This may be because the item was certified to ship in product packaging, which reduces packaging waste. If you prefer, you can request Ship in Amazon packaging at checkout at no additional cost for added protection.
We're sorry your L.O.L. Surprise! set arrived without proper packaging." I didn't recall seeing that declaration or that offer being available at check-out. By communicating with a chat agent, I learned that the way to get that information is to click on the 'Buy It Now' button. It looks like if you make the purchase by working from the cart page or by choosing an item from the 'save for later' list, that 'courtesy' is not available! It's rather aggravating to have something delivered for a child when it comes in clear packaging that would spoil the surprise! Pre-Christmas purchases should be kept private! Right now, I feel pretty reluctant to buy any kids' clothing or toys for Christmas from Amazon.

Meijer has had a diapers and wipes in-store coupon promotion where a purchase of $70 or more in diapers and/or wipes would earn a $20 coupon 'good on next in-store purchase.' I purchased 3 jumbo boxes of diapers and a package of wipes that easily 'earned' the $20 coupon off next order. I split the very large purchase we were making that also included groceries, toys, and clothing, including some clearance items. I asked the cashier if the coupon could be used on the second half of our order. She said 'sure' and added that a customer had done the same earlier in the day. So far, so good. The register spit out the coupon and I used it toward the rest of the order, totalling over $50. As we were both watching the tally on the register, we noticed something odd. The system didn't take $20 off, but only $12 and change. I mentioned that maybe I had that much in M-Perks built up and asked whether the coupon wouldn't be activated until 24 hours later and asked for my coupon to be returned. She said that the register was showing the the coupon had already been applied! An associate was sent to customer service to find out why only $12 and parts was taken off and not the $20. The answer was that it had something to do with buying clearance items and the coupon not being good on clearance items. Yet not every item on that half of the order was 'clearance.' That part of the order, though, did include some baby items that were buy one, get one 40% off. The tags on the merchandise shelves have very small print, and it didn't look like those small tags included any text disclaimer on limitations for the coupon use. The cashier got some assistance from another associate to remove the $12 and cents discount and to reverse the coupon, but the system wouldn't budge. It still behaved as if the coupon had been applied. The cashier took the coupon and got a customer service associate to mark it with the promise that the coupon will be honored next time we shop there. I want to trust that, but should I? Meijer's register-level accounting and coupon policy seems pretty sketchy to me. Nobody had been able to explain why only $12 and change was discounted! I sincerely hope that it wasn't some M-Perks mix-up so that now there could be fewer M-Perks. And, if coupons are not supposed to work on orders with clearance items, then why didn't the system just reject the coupon in the first place? There is definitely something weird about how the registers have been programmed to accept the coupon generated by the diaper sale promotion.

I fully understand that retailers are under pressure to remain profitable in the wake of tariffs and a tough economy. However, it looks like Dollar Tree may be engagng in opportunistic price gouging as a result. It's been a while since Dollar Tree rebranded itself as 'Dollar Tree Plus' with prices ranging from $1.25 " and up." However, now there's a new wrinkle in the 'and up' pricing -- marking over existing $1.25 prices printed directly on the item packages and now charging $1.50! Stores raise prices -- I 'get' that. But just putting a black permanent marker line through a printed on price instead of a covering sticker? Perhaps it's fair to say that when there is a diagonal 'hand-marked' line through a price (pre-printed or with a price sticker) the average customer associates that marking with a PRICE REDUCTION -- not a price increase! How stupid can they be? And how stupid do they think their customers are? And some of the items marked $1.25 didn't even have the slash marks, but still rang up at $1.50 at the register. When I pointed out the discrepancy in the price of one of the items to the cashier, mentioning that it was last year's merchandise, so only the 'new' ones should have the higher price, she replied, "but they have the same UPC number." Yes, an excuse for just raising prices throughout the store when most of that merch has been there for a quite a long time. It feels like they are just trying to take advantage of customers.

HBO has killed several of its own channels! Some of those channels actually had content that was enjoyable to watch. Some have argued that movies on some of those channels were old, tired and worn, yet some of us really enjoy the nostalgia. Leave it to a company like HBO to continue to increase rates and give customers less and less for the cost. Looks like 'shrinkflation' has hit more than just the grocery and restaurant industries, it looks like it has hit the entertainment/streaming sector, too.

Do any of the warehouse staff receive any kind of training on how to fill boxes? The lack of common sense in how packages are put together lately is, well, just plain stupid! Just yesterday we received a package that had just a shipping label slapped onto a manufacturer's clear plastic zip bag that contains delicate organza bags -- a bag that includes large AIR HOLES about the size of a pencil-top eraser. Just how daft is that -- especially when in the same order was a doll that was sent in a box definitely large enough to hold the bags, too. Well, contacting them about the situation did seem to do some good, because another fabric item in similar manufacturer's packaging was at least packaged with the box of spray bottles of vegetable wash. However ... they put the bottles of vegetable wash UPSIDE DOWN in the box, with no cushioning material whatsover between each bottle and without any protective overwrap on any of the bottles! It seems like the M.O. of warehouse staff is to work as quickly as possible using a little shipping material as possible. Looks penny-wise but pound foolish! The reason Amazon has merited a 2-star rating this time is because at least their customer service chat agent got the message across yesterday to not put the shipping label directly onto the product!

The way Kroger's receipts are organized can be confusing! We purchased several Proctor & Gamble products to get the 'buy two - get $5 off each' and to also take advantage of other dollar-off deals on P&G products. When we looked at our receipt, we noticed that on lines beneath some of our P&G product purchases, it showed "$1 off" but that the one-dollar deductions didn't line up to the items that should have had $5 off! So, I called the store to explain what happened and the customer service clerk was very helpful and said to bring back the receipt next time in the store and that they will take care of it! That kind of friendly attention to the matter is much appreciated! However, there was also some musing on his part about whether there might have been a limit on the number of items that could be purchased for the promotion. If so, there certainly wasn't any signage indicating that policy. Furthermore, I didn't purchase any duplicate products to claim the $5 off part of the promotion. (Sometimes duplicate items are disqualified when using a coupon or promo.) Curious about whether that was indeed the policy (to limit the total number of items per customer in the P&G promo) I called their customer service number and was happy to find that they were working on a Saturday! However, I was put on hold and while I was waiting a rather long time, I very carefully examined the receipt again. Yes... only $1 deductions next to certain items and no $5 deductions shown. However, when I looked at the very bottom of the receipt, before the total, there is a $10 deduction, but with no explanation! We just assume that is the savings from the P&G promo for the two most expensive items. I also noticed on the receipt something a bit odd. The font for the phrase "You saved..." with the dollar amount is in a BIGGER bold font than the total spent in the transaction!
Kroger needs to improve the clarity and precision of their transaction receipts!

Skyline Chili as a canned product is most often flavorful and satisfying. Of course, the price has gone up quite a bit in recent months, so it's not as good of a value as it had once been. The same can be said of their restaurants. Their chili-dogs are suffering from SEVERE shrink-flation! They have become so short now to as look like just a little more than the size of a cocktail weiner! And of course, the prices of menu items in the restaurant have risen, too.

Kudos to the staff at our local store. Our previous order had some mistakes, but the crew there 'made it right' so we were happy to order from them again. However, the online ordering system is aggravating with multiple pop-ups urging to add additional things to an order. There was even a duplicate pizza in size large that appeared on the order for the current sale special of two 2-topping pizzas for $6.99 each. Once the extra pop-up item was removed and details on each pizza verified, the order was placed online. The system requires not just a phone number, but also an e-mail to place the order. Once credit card information was entered, the check-out process was fairly smooth. However, the page showing the order number that serves as a receipt only gives details on how many pizzas were ordered and the total paid but no details on WHAT was ordered to go on each pizza! The problem with the previous order that we had was related to having the wrong toppings on the pizzas. It would be really helpful if the receipt page would show details on the pizza being purchased and not just on the quantity and price.

The inanity at USPS is so very annoying! We shipped a package from overseas that included insurance which, according to the originating country, would have that country paying a claim if the package were delayed or damaged. Sounds good, right? Good for their own citizens but not for U.S. citizens because USPS is involved! There was a slip-up of some kind back in June whereby the package did not leave the country of origin within the specified time promised, making the delayed shipment eligible for a reimbursement claim. The initial shipment delay occurred at the point of origin but was worsened by sitting around in New York for over a week. What should have taken 3 to 5 days to reach the United States, took 17 days to be delivered. I reached out to the foreign post office and received prompt and courteous attention to the matter. I followed the other country's directions on how to proceed with the claim to them. USPS then enters the picture to complicate matters. According to instructions received by the foreign post office, I immediately brought the package to my local post-office to open it in the presence of a postal clerk, pointing out internal damage to box contents and explaining that contents were shelf-stable foods, but ones that could be damaged from extremely high heat. One week in transit would be considered 'safe,' but more than that the quality of the food could be severely affected.
The postal clerk was quite kind and cooperated in witnessing the opening of the box and allowing us to photograph the contents in the post office. We asked if there was anything we needed to sign, etc. and the clerk didn't think there was anything else to do. We made sure to let the clerk know that we would not be able to calculate the full extent of the damage until we opened every box of cakes/cookies to taste them and that we weren't in the position to be doing that there in the post office. We had sent a report to the foreign post office and expected to receive another email from them, requesting the photographs to further the claim. Well, surprise, surprise! Instead we receive a form letter from USPS dated three weeks after we had already visited our local P.O., saying that "Customers are required to present the damaged article, mailing container, wrapping, packaging, and any other contents received to any Post Office for inspection immediately " [Done immediately!] and "The LPO will complete a damage report PS Form 2856 and retain the package [not done and not because we didn't ask!]." To make matters worse, the form letter says that it must be returned to them by mail "within 3 business days" with the "copy of receipt 3831 if provided by the postal employee" [not provided!]. Three business days! USPS cannot even guarantee that it can ship its own priority packages and first class letter mail in three days and they have the audacity to tell customers that they have only 3 days to file a claim! So, to adhere to that guideline, the form letter would had to have reached us in enough time to do that! But, alas, our mail was on hold while we were traveling!
There is a phone number on the letter to call, but it is NOT a direct line for international mail inquiries. Putting in the case number for the claim didn't work and then there is this rather rude message that tries to teach callers how to use the automated tracking system that wraps up by saying (not in these exact words) to call back later once you've figured out how to use the automated system! Then it automatically disconnects. USPS' automated systems and many of their policies demonstrate contempt for customers.
USPS' reputation for doing all they can to avoid paying claims appears to have been well earned.

Had difficulty reaching an AT&T customer who has a landline. They had indicated that there are routinely problems in their area with a lack of service. Given that I'd received a busy signal again, I decided to dial the operator to see if they would do a 'line test' to see whether there is a problem on that line. The operator had no idea what the fee would be for a line test. She did the line test and said that she got a 'rapid busy' indicating that there is a problem and said that she needed to transfer the call to customer service to handle the issue. Upon being transferred the call was dropped into the regular queue, where the automated system has prompts asking for account number or phone number! I don't have the other party's account number, so I kept asking for an 'agent please.' After several minutes on line, I received a message that said that the wait time for an agent today is 'between 35 and 52 minutes! That is RIDICULOUS! For any company that large, they should be able to handle a call in fifteen minutes or less! Perhaps I will get through to someone there yet today to make a report on the problem with the other party's phone. What I don't understand, however, is that why, when an OPERATOR is the one who discovers the problem, why the operator cannot initiate a 'trouble report' for the problem to be investigated!!!! Why does that have to be thrown back onto a customer?

We were delightfully surprised by the level of quality and service we received during a recent visit for lunch. Everyone dining with us enjoyed their soup and entrees; there was more than enough salad to go around! The breadsticks were served soft and warm, but a bit too greasy and salty for my taste. They also tasted like they were prepared from biscuit dough rather than an italian bread or french baguette dough (also not really to my liking). The take home meals were acceptable, but in slightly smaller portions; the fettucine alfredo didn't have nearly enough sauce to cover the noodles. Given the overall satisfaction, we will probably visit our local Olive Garden location again.

Mailed a couple of packages at our local post office. Wish there was a way to show an image of the receipt! What I saw on it just defies logic! Each package had estimated delivery dates (3 days for out of state and 2-3 days in-state) that were IDENTICAL for both USPS Ground Advantage and Priority Mail! No identical price, however! So who, in their right mind, would pay the higher fee for Priority mail if the speed of shipping is identical for either method when both come with identical levels of insurance? What is going on with the folks high up in admin in the Post Office? Are they sitting on their brains all day?
And to think that with a package dropped off at a post office early in the morning would take 3 days just to get from the middle of the state to a county up north! And just about the same amount of time to go all the way down south to Houston? Does the Post Office even still use airplanes anymore? (~sarcasm) ... all these years later I can still recall from the 1960's the old 'air mail' letters that arrived in only 2 or 3 days. Look at all these advances in technology and the Post Office can't even match the speed and service they had BEFORE the technology! The Post Office complained about how the advent of e-mail was going to bankrupt them. And what do they complain about now? Too many letters and parcels that make the mailstream slow! Hey, USPS, you cannot have it both ways! Work on improving your systems so that you can at least give us 'antique' level service!

A serious decline in food quality! We have been visiting Chik Fil-A for decades and very rarely would there be a problem. But, more recently, the food quality has declined. This morning we purchased two Chicken Biscuit breakfasts and the Chicken Biscuit I received was pitiful! The chicken filet was so thin, it looked like it had been intentionally pounded flat (as for scallopine) and perhaps pulled from another breast piece. I wish I'd photographed it and had a ruler with me, because I don't want to exaggerate, but the thickness of the filet looked to be somewhere between 1/4" to only 1/3" thick! To be able to taste it, I pulled it from the biscuit to eat it. The biscuit had some kind of 'off' flavor, too. The only reason for a 3-star rating today is because of the delightful and helpful staff. I don't doubt that they would have replaced the sandwich had I asked, but I didn't want to have to wait to be served again. This complaint is really directed toward whomever is managing their kitchen at that location; a paltry filet of that measly size and thickness should never have made it onto the grill for a sandwich in the first place! Somebody should be watching closely to ensure that their ingredients are top-notch BEFORE being served to a customer!

Researched a brand and model of refrigerator that we are interested in buying. The manufacturer's website indicates that Home Depot sells it; the Home Depot website confirms that, too. Home Depot's website is designed in such a way that it is not immediately recognizable whether or not the item is available in a local store. The page is very busy with graphics and requires a bit of scrolling to find that information. By taking just a quick look at the page--without scrolling! -- we saw that the model is in stock, and even at a reduced sale price. So, we drove to our local store to see a floor model. When we got there, two fellows working in the appliance section let us know that they have no floor model available and just told us to 'order it online!' We said that we don't order major appliances sight unseen and left the store. We were pretty shocked that the store doesn't have a floor model for one of the very most popular models of fridge of one of the most major brands! I can understand the difficulty companies face in keeping lots of items in stock -- but failing to have just one measly floor model for customers to examine? Went back to the website to see just where in our major metro area a floor model might be available. Putting an additional zip code in didn't help at all. It looks like there might not be any floor models to see in our general area. The only reason for a 2-star rating is because the local store does seem to have enough staff on hand to help customers -- that is if they happen to have something a customer would be interested in.

Experienced 'sticker shock' at the prices of mailing packages since the most recent increase. Two very small and rather light-weight packages sent priority mail cost over $17.00 each! Sending small packages from the Midwest to California and Texas is only half-way across the country -- not across the hemisphere! What was also a bit surprising are new features at the payment terminal... now there is a 'happy face' exit survey to show USPS how satisfied a customer is with the service! And now, the messages on the terminal include a description of 'Priority Mail' as being a '3-day' service (no longer 2 days!). More money for slower service. At least by stating 3 days they might be a little closer to telling the truth! The reason for the 3-star rating has very little to do with USPS' policies and over-all service, but rather is to recognize the hard work and typically great service that we receive from the clerks in our local post office! They should be recognized for their service.

I used to really enjoy shopping at TJMaxx, but lately it has been rather disappointing -- whether that has to do with poor selection on some categories of merchandise, occasionally rude staff or stupid TJMaxx policies, such as refusing to sell last season's merchandise that has lost its tag and where there might still be a SKU in its electronic system for it. How much sense does it make to refuse to sell one last piece of last season's merch -- at full current TJM price!-- to an eager customer, when the policy is to "return it" to wherever it is supposed to go so that it gets sold to a third party for only pennies on the dollar! Talk about STUPID!
Add to that annoyance the current policy to restrict rewards accrual to TJM credit card holders only! Some of us have had TJM rewards accounts --not linked to credit -- established YEARS ago! It used to be simple to just give the cashier a phone number and the sale would be posted to the rewards account. If you view the TJX website, it yet says that "TJX Rewards Access" is still in operation "at participating locations." What the site doesn't tell you is that it doesn't look like their system has any remaining "participating locations" at all! I say that because TJM is a place I'd typically like to shop when traveling across the U.S. (I even visted a TK Maxx while overseas!) It has been MONTHS since any cashier has asked for a phone number for the rewards account. So, lately I have been asking the cashiers up front at what point in the transaction does the phone number need to be entered-- before or after the sale is rung up. The cashiers behaved like they didn't have any idea what was being talked about! One cashier admitted that there didn't seem to be any way to do that now and that rewards are now only for their credit card customers. Hmmpf! So, I tried to call the toll-free phone number for the TJX Rewards Access program and the number doesn't appear to be working! If the program has been discontinued, shouldn't they tell their customers the TRUTH???
Not everyone wants to have 'just another credit card!' Some of us are uncomfortable putting in a social security number at the register to apply for the card! I'd dare say that some of us are a bit too smart to continue shopping at TJMaxx.

We visted Buckybees to dine-in. They were quite busy, but despite the surge in customers, we were served rather promptly and our waitress was very kind and accommodating. The lower rating is given because the restaurant has become tired-looking with worn and wonky booth seats -- so wobbly that every time another diner in the opposite booth moved in her seat, I could feel it jarringly in my back, making it uncomfortable to eat. They were so busy that it didn't look like there would even be an immediate place to move us to. As it was, we had already been moved from one other booth to one we were seated in due to some mix-up in seating assignments. (As mentioned before, they were quite busy!). The other disappointment was in how the Philly Cheesteak sandwich was prepared. The menu indicates the sandwich comes with sauteed onion and green pepper, yet the sandwich arrived with raw diced pepper and onion on a fatty lumpy beef sandwich with melted cheese -- not quite what was expected for a Philly Cheesesteak. The waitress offered to have another one prepared, but I declined because I believed that the condition of the sandwich may have had something to do with a hurried rush in the kitchen and I didn't want to add to the burden nor to wait another fifteen minutes to have it served. We didn't ask for any adjustment on the bill nor was it offered upon refusing to have another sandwich made. Although the beef wasn't the tender thin shaved kind expected, it was still reasonably tender, rather moist and well-seasoned. Even though the sandwich wasn't absolutely to my liking, I did bring it home to share. ( It would have been a sin to throw out a sandwich with just a couple of bites taken out of it!) I wouldn't mind visiting Buckybees again, but would prefer to do that at a time when they are much less busy.

Instantaneous Price Hikes! Yikes!
A word to the wise, take screen shots of each page in the ordering process, just in case some glitch shows up and something goes wrong! Ordered some hand support devices and ironically the system moved swiftly from payment to shipping, appearing to bypass the option to choose a different address. When we realized that it needed to be sent to another address, we figured it would be simple to just make a duplicate order and then cancel the first. Oh, but not so simple! The price on one of the items immediately jacked up, because the "5% off" coupon was no longer available! Cancelling the original order was not simple, either. Contacted chat and still as yet haven't gotten an answer on having the coupon applied to the present order. Was told that points would be restored, but not how long that would take. Also discovered another issue in this process. When an order has been cancelled and is put into the list of cancelled items, that page DOES NOT GIVE FULL DETAILS ON THE ORIGINAL INVOICE! No price information whatsoever!!! So, there was no immediate means to demonstrate that missing coupon / price hike. I think that Amazon is deliberately witholdhing such information to make it difficult for customers because they really do not have 'price transparency.'

Tried to post a review on Europcar Dublin and the system appears to have a lock out on more negative reviews! Tried to post a review a couple of days ago... still not showing there. Instead, I got a prompt to review Horse and Jockey Hotel! It almost feels creepy to know how their AI has figured out that we stayed there, especially because we booked with the hotel directly and not via Trip Advisor nor any of their 'partners.'
There are LOTS of negative reviews of Europcar Dublin, so what's the deal with just one more? Does Trip Advisor's AI now have some kind of quota to limit negative reviews?

Mailed several packages home to U.S. while overseas. All but one arrived swiftly and on time. That one is now here in the U.S., but in a distant city -- still awaiting processing of some kind? Per USPS tracking, it hasn't budged from its present location for several days since arrival. That package is considered by USPS as a 'priority mail' parcel. "Priority mail" is supposed to be given 'priority,' in sorting and processing right? (LOL!)
Anyway, I entered the tracking number again and confirmed that the package is still not yet 'in transit' for local mail delivery. The tracking page directs customers to follow a link to enter an 'international inquiry' on another page. However, that other page only handles inquiries about packages EXITING the United States and doesn't address issues with inbound packages. There is no listing in the drop-down menu for the United States (only for "United States Outlying Minor Islands"). There are several functions on the USPS website that amount to frustrating feedback loops where clicking on a particular link will bring the customer back to the same page where they began! That is especially true of the "Contact Us" page. On that page, customers can choose the option "Email Us." Instead of going directly to an email option, the page goes back to "Where is my package," "where is my mail" or "USPS.com" as the first view of choices. Clicking on "Where is my package" (with the link labeled as "email us about your package status") goes right back to the page to enter the tracking number! Upon entering the tracking number, it goes right back to the current tracking info and the direction to file an inquiry! The only choices given on that page are to go to the previous page or to "close" it! Here is the series of pages that is supposed to be available: 1 of 6. Tracking
2 of 6. Mailpiece
3 of 6. Contact
4 of 6. Recipient/Sender
5 of 6. Review
6 of 6. Confirmation
But, it appears that if you have an international package that is missing or slow in arriving, USPS short-circuits a customer's ability to contact them.
When you visit the page entitled "Where is my mail?" there is no choice to follow up on delayed or missing mail. The only choices are: Change of Address
Daily Mail Delivery
Hold Mail
Package Pickup Services
Premium Forwarding Service
Redelivery
Theft of Mail

It looks like USPS may not be all that eager to be helping customers with issues related to delayed or missing mail originating outside the United States.

I was able to contact USPS via the link for 'website issues,' reporting on the annoying feedback loop between tracking and inquiry. Perhaps it is a glitch, but I'd like to think that IT staff for a major government website would be aware enough to avoid creating 'loops' like that --unless, of course, USPS really wants to discourage direct interaction with customers.
What is most annoying about this situation is the inane way in which the website operates and the pesky feeling that USPS might want to discourage customers from asking for more details about their packages and especially, why, for instance, a package has just been sitting around in some hub for days without being entered into the mailstream.
The world is not perfect; mail can be delayed now and again. That is understandable. What is not acceptable is how difficult USPS seems to make it when there IS an issue that needs looking into. Also unacceptable is USPS' gradual decline in overall quality and service over the past few years. There appears to be an inverse relationship in the cost of shipping to the quality of service received in return: higher costs for less service. (Sigh!)