ENTRY 287
Hello, all. I hope you have all had a wonderful Holiday season.
I have a lot to cover this entry, so let's get to it.
HOLIDAYS ARE OVER...SO IS THE FUN
 |
After a week of fun, food and relaxation, it is now time for a serious reality check...
*DING-DONG*...Brampton Cup is in four weeks !!!!!!!!!!!!
Hello?!
Will was away on Sunday, but I went to Bloor Fitness on Sunday Morning instead of Stockyards. I have actually not been to Bloor for the entire month of December. I have been spending all my training time at Stockyards preparing for the Brampton Cup. I can see that happening this month as well. I need boxing technical that I can only get from Stockyards.
It was bitterly cold on Monday.
It was by far the coldest day of the year at -12°C, but I had to make it into the boxing gym.
There is still lots to do, and little time.
The tournament will be here soon!
MONDAY SPARRING
Richard had me spar Ed on Monday.
I actually felt a bit rusty after a week off, but I don't think I did too poorly, considering.
I had awesome defence. Ed hits really hard, but only nailed be twice during the two rounds.
I did not throw as much as I wanted, because I was concentrating on defence. As I mentioned before, once I am absolutely sure about defence to the point I no longer have to think about it, I will put more into offence.
As long as I can get regular sparring, I can work on that.
COACH PROGRESS REPORTS
Here are the progress reports for December.
November report:
Although, Stockyards failed for the third month in a row, but has shown improvement.
Richard has improved a lot, but Junmar dropped in his grades. Will dropped a bit in one category only.
Despite that, Richard's improvement has brought Stockyards' marks up from last month.
We are still not at a B+, but getting there.
I really want Stockyards to do well, but at the same time I have to be honest with my grading. Otherwise, it does not help anyone, and then there would be no point in doing it.
THE 2015 DUNCE AWARDS
This time there are four losers.
Last year there was one, but this time it was very difficult to pick just one loser.
Therefore, all of the nominees have been given an award.
There are four levels of awards.
Each loser will be awarded one based on their level of incompetence.
A Bronze Dunce Cap is being awarded to the loser who has shown a bit of inconsideration to the point that it has had a small effect on customer service.
A Silver Dunce Cap is being awarded to the loser whose lack of respect for customers has caused a bit more than minor inconveniences.
A Gold Dunce Cap is being awarded to the loser who has demonstrated a great deal of disrespect for customers by being misleading.
A Platinum Dunce Cap is being awarded to the loser who has proven to simply not care about the customer in any way, causing hardship and undue stress to the client.
The losers of the 2015 Dunce Awards are, the website funtrivia.com and Rogers Communications, The Toronto Transit Commission, plus the online finance company Loan Away.
Now, the question is, who gets what?
-
-
-
-
-
Bronze Dunce Cap
funtrivia.com is a website that relies on submissions from members. It was (hard to believe) started in Canada by the University of Waterloo. The current owner is unknown.
I was a constant contributor to funtrivia.com until about mid-2015.
At that time things got, weird.
Upon submitting a trivia quiz, as I had many times before, it was returned with comments from a moderator.
First, I was told that there were six spelling errors. Although, I did proofread and spell-check like crazy before submitting, I did so again to make sure. Sure enough, no spelling errors were found.
Second, I was told to "apply research" to the questions. What the hell does that even mean?
The ultimate tick-off was when I brought this to the attention of the moderator, I did not receive a reply.
This tells me that this person doesn't have a clue about what they are doing. How the hell can this person have the nerve to correct others, while not knowing what they are doing themselves? It is obvious that this person made a mistake, and does not want to admit it.
Besides, when you are running a site that relies on user submissions, you really shouldn't be too picky.
Being inconsiderate and not admitting to a mistake has earned funtriva.com the 2015 Bronze Dunce Cap.
Upon submitting a trivia quiz, as I had many times before, it was returned with comments from a moderator.
First, I was told that there were six spelling errors. Although, I did proofread and spell-check like crazy before submitting, I did so again to make sure. Sure enough, no spelling errors were found.
Second, I was told to "apply research" to the questions. What the hell does that even mean?
The ultimate tick-off was when I brought this to the attention of the moderator, I did not receive a reply.
This tells me that this person doesn't have a clue about what they are doing. How the hell can this person have the nerve to correct others, while not knowing what they are doing themselves? It is obvious that this person made a mistake, and does not want to admit it.
Besides, when you are running a site that relies on user submissions, you really shouldn't be too picky.
Being inconsiderate and not admitting to a mistake has earned funtriva.com the 2015 Bronze Dunce Cap.
BRONZE AWARD BANNER, WILL BE DISPLAYED ON EVERY POST FOR 48 WEEKS
Silver Dunce Cap
The head office is located at 1900 Yonge Street in Toronto.
The TTC has been off and on the list of nominees all year. They finally won the Silver Dunce Cap not just for their unreliable service, but for their encyclopedia of excuses.
Every time there is a problem with service, like the infamous Route 79A (Never on time), the TTC makes up some amazing excuse, instead of admitting there is a problem with their staff.
There are many examples of this in addition to the constantly late 79A.
One night a couple of months ago, there was an excessively long delay eastbound on the Line 2 subway. We stuck under the Bloor Viaduct for 22 minutes with no explanation.
The next day, I contacted the TTC, and was told the delay was due to a fire investigation at Old Mill station.
Okay....
So, how does that affect service 17 stations away, while travelling in the opposite direction?
Oh, wait, I know. "We made a mistake, don't tell anybody".
The Silver Dunce Cap is being awarded to the Toronto Transit Commission for poor service reliability and not taking proper measures to fix the problems over a period of 12 months and with over 50 complaints about service.
There are many examples of this in addition to the constantly late 79A.
One night a couple of months ago, there was an excessively long delay eastbound on the Line 2 subway. We stuck under the Bloor Viaduct for 22 minutes with no explanation.
The next day, I contacted the TTC, and was told the delay was due to a fire investigation at Old Mill station.
Okay....
So, how does that affect service 17 stations away, while travelling in the opposite direction?
Oh, wait, I know. "We made a mistake, don't tell anybody".
The Silver Dunce Cap is being awarded to the Toronto Transit Commission for poor service reliability and not taking proper measures to fix the problems over a period of 12 months and with over 50 complaints about service.
SILVER AWARD BANNER, WILL BE DISPLAYED ON EVERY POST FOR 48 WEEKS
Gold Dunce Cap
Loan Away offers financial services to individuals through internet advertising on sites such as Facebook.
They are a Canadian company located in British Columbia.
Their slogan is, "We hate to say no."
In November, I applied to them for a debt consolidation loan.
First of all, we all should understand that nobody has to loan anybody anything for any reason. However, if it is your job to loan money, and you "pre-approve" somebody for a loan, I feel that at that point you are obligated to do so.
First of all, we all should understand that nobody has to loan anybody anything for any reason. However, if it is your job to loan money, and you "pre-approve" somebody for a loan, I feel that at that point you are obligated to do so.
These idiots "pre-authorized" me for a loan consolidation, and then after doing all the things they asked me to do, they told me that they would not loan to me. So...I wasted all that time for nothing.
Thank you for that.
The kicker is that the reason for not giving me a loan consolidation: I have too many loans.
No shit, Sherlock.
I think this is another case of "We made a mistake, but don't tell anybody".
The Gold Dunce Cap is being awarded to Loan Away for being misleading, wasting my time, and just being stupid at all levels.
I am still looking for a debt consolidation solution.
Thank you for that.
The kicker is that the reason for not giving me a loan consolidation: I have too many loans.
No shit, Sherlock.
I think this is another case of "We made a mistake, but don't tell anybody".
The Gold Dunce Cap is being awarded to Loan Away for being misleading, wasting my time, and just being stupid at all levels.
I am still looking for a debt consolidation solution.
GOLD AWARD BANNER, WILL BE DISPLAYED ON EVERY POST FOR 48 WEEKS
Platinum Dunce Cap
Rogers Communications provides mobile and stationary communications services including internet at TV distribution to Canadians. They also own several radio and TV stations throughout Canada, including but not limited to 98.1-CHFI, 680-NEWS, and CITY-TV in Toronto. They also own the national TV network Sportsnet.
The head office is located in Toronto on Bloor Street East near Jarvis Street.
For about a year, Rogers has been driving me crazy with billing errors. They were constantly complaining about not receiving payment, and I constantly had to provide proof of payment.
After a while, I stopped giving proof of payment, because I simply got sick and freaking tired of it.
One weekend in December, while I was at work, I noticed that my cell phone did not have service.
I found out later that service was turned off on purpose because the cry-babies at Rogers once again claim to not have been paid.
I work at night, alone, at a fairly remote location. I need a mobile phone for my work. Actually, it is required. I need to be able to communicate with someone in case something happens.
Rogers gave me no notice of a disconnect. What would have happened if there was a problem, and I needed help?
Rogers wants customers to give 30 days notice to cancel a service, but it is okay for them to cut service without warning?
After a while, I stopped giving proof of payment, because I simply got sick and freaking tired of it.
One weekend in December, while I was at work, I noticed that my cell phone did not have service.
I found out later that service was turned off on purpose because the cry-babies at Rogers once again claim to not have been paid.
I work at night, alone, at a fairly remote location. I need a mobile phone for my work. Actually, it is required. I need to be able to communicate with someone in case something happens.
Rogers gave me no notice of a disconnect. What would have happened if there was a problem, and I needed help?
Rogers wants customers to give 30 days notice to cancel a service, but it is okay for them to cut service without warning?
Rogers is the loser of the 2015 Platinum Dunce Cap not only for their poor customer service, but also for putting a customer's safety at risk. That is inexcusable for any company.
"Oops. We made a mistake. Don't tell."
I have since switched all services to Bell.
"Oops. We made a mistake. Don't tell."
I have since switched all services to Bell.
PLATINUM AWARD BANNER, WILL BE DISPLAYED ON EVERY POST FOR 48 WEEKS
All losers will have their disrespected banners placed at the bottom of every entry for the next 48 weeks.
'Congratulations' to the 2015 losers.
Do you see a disturbing trend here?
All of these businesses had one thing in common. They failed to admit to making a mistake.
In some cases even lying about it. I find this to be very serious. When a business lies to a customer that means the business is dishonest. I don't do business with companies that are dishonest. If they lied one time, they have lied in the past and will lie again.
This is common when stores have the wrong price on something.
What is their excuse?
"Oh, it was in the wrong place".
Yeah, right. Somebody moved the entire display of product, but left the price sign.
Of course, it happens all the time.
Interesting, Stockyards is the closest shopping centre to where I live, but I rarely shop at any of the stores there, because they are all full of crap. Only the Walmart has not been a problem. I will only go to the Stockyards Walmart. Oddly, I go to Dufferin Mall for everything else, except the Walmart. I had one of those :"It was in the wrong place" issues there too.
Yeah,so, no Home Depot, Staples, Canadian Tire, or Metro at Stockyards because in the past they all had pricing errors and refused to admit it.
In all cases the store manager and head office were contacted, and in all cases there was no reply.
I take that very seriously. They should just be honest and tell me they had the wrong price. That won't make me angry, and they will not lose me as a customer. Granted, they will have to sell me the item at the listed price, but so what? They were obviously selling at that price before, so would it kill them to sell it again at that price for their own mistake?
The reason I don't shop at Best Buy Stockyards is because their name implies they have low prices, but in my observation, I find their prices higher than anyone else's. Perhaps, their definition of 'best buy' is different than mine.
There is a mall at Jane and Wilson called Sheridan Mall. I have never been there, but I think I will give it a try.
It will be interesting to find out how many product displays get moved in that mall.
Anyway, that is my rant.
I apologize for it being so long, but it was penned up for almost two weeks.
NEW: Dunce Cap Losers can now be retracted from the Dunce Awards.
Losers will be removed from the current awards if they resolve the original issue(s) on their own accord.
Any of the Losers of the 2015 awards will be removed if all listed issues are resolved by April 30 2016, but will remain as a nominee for the 2016 awards.
If after removal, another complaint arises, the company will be returned to the Losers list for the remainder of the 2015 awards period (48 weeks), and will automatically become a Loser in the 2016 awards.
Do you see a disturbing trend here?
All of these businesses had one thing in common. They failed to admit to making a mistake.
In some cases even lying about it. I find this to be very serious. When a business lies to a customer that means the business is dishonest. I don't do business with companies that are dishonest. If they lied one time, they have lied in the past and will lie again.
This is common when stores have the wrong price on something.
What is their excuse?
"Oh, it was in the wrong place".
Yeah, right. Somebody moved the entire display of product, but left the price sign.
Of course, it happens all the time.
Interesting, Stockyards is the closest shopping centre to where I live, but I rarely shop at any of the stores there, because they are all full of crap. Only the Walmart has not been a problem. I will only go to the Stockyards Walmart. Oddly, I go to Dufferin Mall for everything else, except the Walmart. I had one of those :"It was in the wrong place" issues there too.
Yeah,so, no Home Depot, Staples, Canadian Tire, or Metro at Stockyards because in the past they all had pricing errors and refused to admit it.
In all cases the store manager and head office were contacted, and in all cases there was no reply.
I take that very seriously. They should just be honest and tell me they had the wrong price. That won't make me angry, and they will not lose me as a customer. Granted, they will have to sell me the item at the listed price, but so what? They were obviously selling at that price before, so would it kill them to sell it again at that price for their own mistake?
The reason I don't shop at Best Buy Stockyards is because their name implies they have low prices, but in my observation, I find their prices higher than anyone else's. Perhaps, their definition of 'best buy' is different than mine.
There is a mall at Jane and Wilson called Sheridan Mall. I have never been there, but I think I will give it a try.
It will be interesting to find out how many product displays get moved in that mall.
Anyway, that is my rant.
I apologize for it being so long, but it was penned up for almost two weeks.
NEW: Dunce Cap Losers can now be retracted from the Dunce Awards.
Losers will be removed from the current awards if they resolve the original issue(s) on their own accord.
Any of the Losers of the 2015 awards will be removed if all listed issues are resolved by April 30 2016, but will remain as a nominee for the 2016 awards.
If after removal, another complaint arises, the company will be returned to the Losers list for the remainder of the 2015 awards period (48 weeks), and will automatically become a Loser in the 2016 awards.
======================================================
WITH A LITTLE EFFORT AND A LOT OF DETERMINATION, NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE
======================================================
REGISTRATION IN PROGRESS
"The Brick" is a member of the Stockyards Boxing Team, and trains 5 times a week at:
215 Ryding Ave. Toronto
No comments:
Post a Comment