Thursday, September 13, 2007
Monday, August 06, 2007
Arghhh....Ebay!
Ok, I call back.......30 more minutes on hold. I got a customer service rep by the name of Jeff. He knew I was pretty frustrated by now. Again, their trust and safety department tried to tell him that the documentation that I faxed wasn't enough. They already had a copy of my drivers license and my bank statement and NOW THEY WANTED A COPY OF MY UTILITY BILL!! I wanted to know why they are trying to collect all of this personal information on me. I faxed the same information to him and he had my account reinstated within minutes.
Kudos Jeff! I honestly believe that Meg should share some of that 1.2M salary of hers!
Day 12 of Ebay 7 Day Suspension
Yes it is day 12 of my 7 day suspension. One of EBays customer service emails had said that these issues would be resolved by August 6th. Well, today is August 6th, so I guess I have to wait until whatever they consider to be the start of their business day. I still have not received any answers to the questions that I submitted to them and then resubmitted after the first time they didn't answer them. In reading all the discussion boards, it is apparent that this has been an ongoing issue with customer service, or rather lack of customer service on eBay's part.
Here's an interesting question. If a department works 24/7, but they don't consider weekends a business day, do the people working there just go in and get paid for not working? EBAY HIRE ME!!! Then again, does hitting reply and sending out a form letter (to speed up the response time) not answering any questions...does that qualify for working? According to some report that I read over the last week (have read hundreds!!!), Meg Whitman (CEO of eBay) makes $1.2M year as her salary. How many people would jump on that job. Gosh, you don't even have to make your customers happy or even attempt to. Your business can be used as a fence for stolen goods and sit back and tell the media....we don't like to get involved.
Saturday, August 04, 2007
Day 10 of 7 Day eBay suspension
If anyone gets into this situation with eBay....check out the internet for alternative ways to make money on eBay.
Stolen goods are doing wonderful on eBay, and eBay doesn't care so you should be pretty safe....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCrzFkbYnWw
Selling your soul brought in $504.00 as reported by Fox TV! This is also acceptable on eBay...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tIJZGkf1vI
Do you search out sellers with good feeback? I always do and my feedback is very important to me. Well, it seems that even feedback is abused on ebay and sold on the black market as reported by the US News. (This is probably a good one if you choose to go the stolen merchandise route for selling on ebay....just buy yourself some feedback!)
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/biztech/articles/070129/29ebay.htm
And for those that are skeptical like I am do a search on eBay for e-books. You can buy an "e-book" for .01 with free shipping and they promise to provide feedback within hours if not immediately. I just did a search and sorted by price and the whole first page was this kind of stuff!
Here's the article about this. Ebay Feedback Farms
Have you been suspended from eBay? Don't worry, their are lots of websites out there that will get you back on under a new identify. They range from free advice to paid information. You can even buy information RIGHT ON EBAY on how to open a second account in case yours is suspended. Wow....here you go (just in case).
To summarize.....I have made an honest living on eBay. Apparently, the real money on eBay is the dishonest and shady!
Friday, August 03, 2007
More Ebay replys
I sent another email asking them for the answers to the same questions posted 3 days prior. They have already responded! With a Form Letter!
Here is the response:
Thank you for contacting eBay regarding your suspension. Your account was suspended because you listed a potentially infringing item. When an item is labeled "potential infringing" it means that the item may violate certain copyrights, trademarks, or other rights.
So I am arrested (suspended) for potentially committing a crime.
Well, it's Friday and I've been told the parole board (Trust & Safety) works 24/7. Their emails state "business" days. Well, if you work 24/7, everyday is a business day....isn't it?
It's very hard to remain civil at this point. Nothing they say holds any water.
Day 9 of my 7 day EBay suspension
They finally responded today!!! YEAH!! (Not!)
"We apologize if our responses seem automated or 'canned'. Please understand that this is partly due to our business processes and partly due to our efforts in providing a rapid response to our members. I assure you that for each reply there is a real person at our end who is dedicated to helping you resolve your concerns."
This entire statement is an oxymoron because the rest of the email DOES NOT ANSWER ANY OF THE QUESTIONS THAT IT WAS IN RESPONSE TO!!!
I was referred to the EBay user agreement, which also DOES NOT answer these questions.
Please understand that this is partly due to our business processes???????? So apparently, eBay has set up their business processes to NOT assist their members.
and partly due to our efforts in providing a rapid response to our members????? Let's see, if I ask a question and it is answered by an email that does not provide an answer.........HOW IS THAT HELPING?
It's very sad that eBay has become what it is today because of all the people out in the real world like me. Since they are the only venue on the internet such as they are....they feel that they can screw around like this....because where else are you going to go? Customer service is only a required department, but not required to actually provide what the title suggests.
Over the last several days.....the most common response that I have gotten was "I'm sorry". I don't know about anyone reading this, but I know that when I am sorry for something, I try to make it right.
Welcome to the year 2007, where faxes have made all of our lives easier. Not with eBay. Did you know that it takes an average of 3 days for eBay to receive a fax!!!! That is what customer service told me! They also state that it takes them 5-10 business days to read that fax! Unfortunately, if we ran our businesses in the way that eBay runs theirs, we would all be out of business within 30 days!
I will continue to post here to let you know what is going on with this nightmare! Wish me luck!!!!!
Thursday, August 02, 2007
ARGHHHHHHHHHH.....Ebay
Envision this scenario:
You are shopping at a mall. You’ve spent hours browsing and found just the items you were looking for. You are at the checkout and have paid the cashier. In rushes the mall security and they take all the inventory from the store and gather it up and throw it in a dumpster, including the package that you have just paid for!
Customer: (outraged) Wait, I just paid for that!!!
Security: (shrugs) Yeah, so what?
Store owner: (frazzled) Wait, stop. What are you doing??
Security: (non-chalantly) We received a complaint that someone doesn’t like what you are selling.They think you may be infringing on their trademark.
Store owner: But I’m not infringing on anyone’s trademark. Don’t I have the opportunity to defend myself?
Security: Nope, you can email the mall owner. If they are in a good mood, maybe they’ll even look at it.
Store Owner: What about my business, what about my customers??
Security: Hey lady, we really don’t care. Do you think we really have the time to check out every complaint to see whether or not it is valid? Think again, it’s easier for us to just handle things this way. As for you customers who paid, not our problem lady.
Store Owner: Let me at least take care of my customers who have paid me.
Security: Lady, are you crazy. No, screw your customers. Oh yeah….we emailed all of your past customers also and told them that you were no good to deal with!
Store Owner: I thought that this was my business and that I owned it. I pay you guys good money every month for my rent!
Security: (rolling on the floor laughing) YOUR business, that’s the funniest thing we’ve heard all day. Let’s get one thing straight. This is OUR business. When we see fit, we ALLOW you to sell your products. You are a speck of dirt to us and if the mood strikes us, we will sweep you under a rug. Anyways lady, we’re too busy to talk to you. You want to talk with us, email us. You don’t like what we’re doing….follow the yellow brick road.
Store Owner: Ok, that’s what I will do. I’m sure that you work for reasonable people.
Store owner picks up phone and dials the mall owner. Ring…ring. Hello, please push 1 to talk to…., please push 2 to talk to….please push 3 to talk to…. Ok, I think I need 1. Hello, thank you for contacting us. Please visit our website and click on 78 links to get the answer that you need. Ok, let’s try 2. Hello, please visit our website and click on 94 links to get the answer that you need. ARGHHHHHHHH!!! Ok, let’s try 3. Hello, the great wizard does not speak with people on the phone! Please email us and we will return your email within 48 hours with a form email that has nothing to do with your question. Thank you!
Saturday, April 21, 2007
Veternarians in Port St Lucie
For those of you that know Raven (Michael's dog), you know that she has been sick a lot. She had another one of her "asthmatic attacks" today. Of course, this usually happens on weekends or in the middle of the night....when there aren't any vets open!
For all the animal lovers out there...here's the run down.
Mike is low on cash and needed a vet who would understand this and make arrangements with him.
1. Emergency clinic...forget it. All about money, your animal will only get the treatment that it needs up until your wallet is empty. They will watch an animal die if they can't get paid in full up front.
2. Morningside Animal Clinic. We have been customers of theirs for years. They have received numerous referrals from us. They refused to see or treat Raven due to a balance being owed from her last episode. Mike took them the money and requested that they look at Raven and help her. The receptionists reply was "we have to eat too" and they still wouldn't look at her.
While Mike, Kanesha and Teddy were trying to get Morningside to treat her, I was on the phone looking for someone open.
3. Port St Lucie Animal Hospital. Not in, but said the vet would call me to give me advice. The vet called me and when I started explaining everything to him, his comment was "Spare me the editorial, this is my cell phone. Call my office on Monday and set up appointment." Not in this lifetime idiot.
4. A vet from Palm City called me and when I told him we needed to make payment arrangements, he said if the dog was that sickly and financially draining, we should consider euthanasia. For those of you that know me....you know exactly what I told him. He then told me that we should take the dog back to where we got her and give it back after all, Florida does have a "lemon dog" law. We are talking about a puppy here, a part of our family, not a car. We want to get her medical attention, not return her because she is too much trouble! I ended up hanging up on him as he really pissed me off with his non-caring attitude. He called back and suggested that we "sign" her over to him and he would treat her and find a good home. I told him he should not be a vet!
Well, we DO have people that care. They took Raven to a firestation where the paramedics gave her oxygen. Those guys are the only ones that cared enough to help her. Kudos to those guys.....you were wonderful! I'm not mentioning what firestation or any names so as not to get anyone in trouble. You know who you are and we thank you for what you did. You did not have to, but you had more compassion than those who were trained and supposedly took an oath to help sick animals.
Veternarian Oath (Adopted by the House of Delegates in 1969, Amended by the Executive Board in 1999 and added to by the Herb's in 2007.)
Being admitted to the profession of veterinary medicine,
I solemnly swear to use my scientific knowledge
and skills for the benefit of society
through the protection of animal health,
the relief of animal suffering, as long as we get paid in full before looking at that animal!If owner of said suffering animal does not have the financial ability to pay us in full upfront, the above oath is null and void.
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Midway cooperation sought in PSL
The council voted 4-1, with Vice Mayor Jack Kelly against, to hammer out an agreement with the county within 90 days to widen Midway Road west of I-95 to Okeechobee Road, an area that will see tremendous housing growth in coming years.
"This will be our northern entryway into the city," Mayor Patricia Christensen said. "I don't want to see a two-lane rural roadway 10 to 15 years from now."
City Manager Don Cooper recommended the county do the $50 million project, saying the city could not take on the expansion without hiring more staff.
"This will add another project to a very long list (of 18 major road projects)," he said.
Vice Mayor Kelly sided with city staff.
"It's a county road, let the county build it," he said. "I don't know when they (last) built a road in the city."
Engineer Butch Terpening and lawyer Bobby Klein, who represent some of the two dozen-plus developers with a stake in the area, said the developers will pay for designing and expanding the road, a hurricane evacuation route.
A taxing arrangement called a special assessment district would be set up with developers voluntarily joining because they wanted the road expanded for their projects, with funding set up for extra staff, Terpening said after the meeting.
After the expansion, Midway Road would be six lanes from I-95 about a mile west to an unnamed arterial road, then four lanes west to Okeechobee Road, with bike paths, sidewalks, and landscaping throughout.
Klein said it would be "difficult" to work out an agreement with all parties in the 90 days set by Cooper, but council members said that there shouldn't be surprises because city staff had previous meetings with the developers about the plan.
IN OTHER BUSINESS
The City Council:
• Approved 5-0 a site plan for Lowe's at St. Lucie West, to be across the street from Home Depot. Lowe's Senior Site Development Manager Chris Thalmann said he expected the home improvement store to break ground by April or May.
• Discussed possible road names for City Center, with several north-south and east-west streets to be named at the Council retreat at the end of the month.
By CHRIS YOUNG chris.young@scripps.com
Monday, January 15, 2007
PSL residents wary of planned parkway
PORT ST. LUCIE — As engineering plans for segments of the Crosstown Parkway get finalized in coming months, homeowners near the corridor's edges wait nervously for the earthen barriers to shield them from vehicle traffic.
"We're not too thrilled," said Teri Paisley, who expected a road expansion when she bought her property four years ago but noted the project has gotten bigger since then.
The segments from Interstate 95 over Florida's Turnpike to Manth Lane should be finished by sometime in 2009, allowing a major east-west route through most of the city. Workers will build berms on both sides of the road with grass, bushes and trees on top through the entire project, although the height will vary, officials said.
Project manager Jim Angstadt, who oversees the segment from I-95 to Florida's Turnpike, said the city will leave in place a berm abutting Lake Charles, a neighborhood in St. Lucie West. Workers will start adding a 5- to 8-foot-high berm on the south side of the Parkway in March or early April to shield neighbors on Southwest Janette Avenue, Angstadt said.
In addition, the city will install a 6-foot-high chain-link fence clad in black vinyl along the property line as an extra barrier on segment two, from the turnpike to Manth Lane, and possibly a similar fence on segment four, from the turnpike west to I-95, he said.
Segment two's berm will be lower — 3 to 4 feet — in places, Angstadt said, but will have more landscaping than in other areas.
Officials sped up constructing a berm along several blocks east of the turnpike between Empire and Hibiscus streets last year after residents abutting the future parkway complained that dirt from immense piles was swirling into their yards.
Teri and Bob Paisley said the city could have kept residents like them more informed on the project. They researched the parkway before they bought their land but said it got bigger since then, including going from four to six lanes.
"I'm afraid (the parkway) will decrease property values of the houses backing up to it," Bob Paisley said.
Residents in Lake Charles have voiced concerns as well, even taking their Councilwoman, Michelle Berger, on a golf cart tour of the areas closest to the parkway. They told her they wanted more berms, but she said, "We want to make sure one neighborhood doesn't get more than others."
Armand Moniz, 80, a resident near the parkway's southern edge, said he was fine with the road as long as the berm was put up.
"Anything to stop the congestion and traffic," he said.
By CHRIS YOUNG chris.young@scripps.com January 15, 2007
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Port St. Lucie debates tax relief for poor elderly
PORT ST. LUCIE — In eight years, Florida voters have twice enthusiastically supported property tax breaks for poor senior citizens, but 3,556 eligible city residents haven't seen their city tax bills drop by one dime as a result.
Mayor Patricia Christensen would like to rectify that, especially since the city has never complied with the first voter referendum in 1998 that authorized local governments to extend an additional $25,000 homestead exemption to residents 65 and older whose household income is less than $20,000 yearly.
Voters in November ratified a second $25,000 shield to elderly residents, meaning local governments that enact both measures would extend a $75,000 homestead exemption to low-income seniors. Although past city councils declined to extend the initial $25,000 tax shield to eligible taxpayers, fearing it would rake too much money from their annual coffers, Christensen said she wants to explore the impact and afford the greatest tax cut possible to those most in need.
"It's the least we can do now that the second exemption has passed," Christensen said. "To some people it would mean a lot."
St. Lucie County commissioners in 2002 ratified the 1998 voter amendment, voting to gradually phase in the full $25,000 exemption over five years. Property Appraiser Jeff Furst told Christensen there are 3,556 low-income seniors in Port St. Lucie who receive the exemption on county tax levies.
If all 3,556 eligible city residents received an additional $25,000 homestead exemption on the city portion of their tax bill, it would reduce the city's property tax revenues by $391,160, given a tax rate of $4.44 per $1,000 of taxable property value.
Extending the additional $50,000 exemption would double that loss to $782,320, assuming all eligible residents owned property with taxable property values of at least $75,000 each.
Other city council members are mixed on the plan, with Councilman Christopher Cooper opposed and Councilwoman Linda Bartz undecided. Councilwoman Michelle Berger supports both tax breaks, and Vice Mayor Jack Kelly said he'd like to phase in the breaks, much as the county is doing.
"There's a small portion of people who fall into that category," Berger said. "I don't need to be hit over the head three times. I'm a proponent of actually listening to what the voters want."
Cooper said granting special interest groups tax breaks simply shifts the burden onto other taxpayers, some of whom may be needier than the ones receiving the benefit.
"We need to go back and revisit the entire homestead exemption program to make it fair for everyone," Cooper said. "For us to grant people exemptions based on their age, income, military status and everything else, is not the answer."
Christensen said she will schedule a council discussion on the topic after receiving more information about the financial effects.
City Manager Don Cooper said he considers the tax loss minimal given the city's $62 million general fund budget, which depends largely on property taxes. "It never helps, but it's not the end of the world," he said.
By Teresa Lane
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Monday, January 08, 2007
PSL to open pet-friendly hurricane shelter by June
It would be the first shelter in St. Lucie County available for pets and their owners.
Emergency Management Coordinator Don Freedland said the city had a tentative agreement with a church to use its community room to house dogs, cats and birds."I don't want St. Lucie County to go through another year without a pet shelter," he said Friday.
Other counties in South Florida such as Broward and Miami-Dade have pet-friendly shelters available for their residents, Freedland noted.
"We have a lot smaller population than some other counties; there's no reason we can't accomplish this," he said. In past hurricanes, some special-needs residents were hesitant to leave their pets behind because there wasn't an appropriate shelter for them, so they stayed home, he said. After past storms, homeless animals fled buildings and roamed city streets disoriented and possibly injured, he said.
The shelter would be staffed by city animal control officers to feed and exercise the animals, and would be free of charge. Residents should expect to give proof of proper vaccinations and sign a waiver that the city is not liable for the animals, Freedland said.
Owners would need to bring their own cages. Preregistration with the city would ensure a spot.
City residents would have first priority, then residents in St. Lucie County.
The Public Works and Animal Control departments will present specifics at the City Council retreat at the end of January.
City officials would entertain other private groups' facilities to use as pet shelters, said Freedland, who is also the city Public Works director.
More hurricane preparedness information will be offered at an expo at the Community Center May 19.
By CHRIS YOUNG
chris.young@scripps.com
January 7, 2007
Dredging delays are unacceptable
Unfortunately, they'll have to wait a little longer.
Illinois-based Great Lakes Dredge and Dock, the lone company that bid on the project, was scheduled to start work Dec. 6. However, faulty equipment and bad weather pushed the launch date back to Jan. 1.Well, it's now Jan. 8 and the long-overdue, much-needed dredging project still hasn't begun.
This is unacceptable.
Great Lakes Dredge and Dock has a $10 million contract in hand from the Army Corps of Engineers. The company needs to honor the contract by solving its equipment problems and completing the project ASAP.
Time is of the essence — for various reasons.
The first is public safety.
Channels are being buried under piles of drifting sand. Consequently, the inlet has become an increasingly hazardous stretch of water for boaters to navigate. If you're a boater who hasn't used the waterway in recent months, exercise extreme caution.
There's also an economic reason to start and finish the project in a timely manner. Poor conditions in the inlet have forced organizers of some fishing tournaments to move events to Fort Pierce. These hazards are likely to discourage other boaters from launching their watercrafts in Martin County.
The marine industry has an enormous financial impact on the local economy: $688 million in Martin County, according to the Marine Industries Association of the Treasure Coast, a Florida not-for-profit trade association.
The nesting season for sea turtles starts April 30. If the dredging project isn't completed by then, Great Lakes Dredge and Dock will have to pull its equipment off the beach — another reason to get the project under way right now.
Just how bad is the St. Lucie Inlet? In January 2006, the waterway was given the dubious distinction of being named the "most treacherous inlet" on the Atlantic Coast by Saltwater Sportsman magazine. That's bad.
Equally bad is the fact Great Lakes Dredge and Dock has failed to uphold its contractual agreement with the Corps of Engineers — and the taxpayers of Martin County.
Port St. Lucie finally will help Prima Vista
Port St. Lucie residents who live in neighborhoods near a 40-year-old wastewater pumping station could predict the sewage backups.
After heavy rains or especially, during holidays, just when the neighborhoods near Prima Vista Boulevard wanted to look good for the annual influx of visiting friends and relatives, the pump station would fail. Raw sewage would spew into streets, stream into canals and inundate yards. The latest spill happened on Christmas Day, filling the neighborhood with foul odors and leaving lawns covered with caked sludge and toilet paper.
That spill, one of at least six that has occurred in the same neighborhoods in the past 19 years, was triggered when a temporary bypass pipe at a lift station failed. About 1,500 gallons of raw sewage frothed up out of manholes along Prima Vista Boulevard, Naranja Avenue, Serenata Court and Floresta and Sandia drives. Waste filled yards and streets and poured into a nearby canal. Neighbors angered by the frequent failures and backups called the federal Environmental Protection Agency to complain, and local officials sent an employee out to sprinkle disinfecting lime around one of the manhole covers.
But finally, after years of the same scenario playing out again and again, the neighborhoods will get some relief. Though city utility crews have repaired the old pumping station and vacuumed spills for several years, officials finally budgeted a replacement unit, which crews will begin installing this month.
The Port St. Lucie City Council had to buy a house and lot to make room for the larger pumping station, and also had to demolish the house so construction can begin. Another spill Dec. 17 affected four homes on Westmoreland Boulevard, where raw waste backed up into the houses after an old underground pipe became clogged. The city has filed claims with the utility's insurance carrier to pay for damages to residents' carpets, walls and furniture and to pay for temporary housing for residents until the mess is cleaned up.
For the Prima Vista neighborhood, help is in sight. But the city's utility should review all its frequent and recent trouble spots, list them in order of urgency and start making repairs - well before the next holiday.
