Enterprise: Update

By Stephen Anthony Campbell

After I posted my blog entry about my experience at Enterprise Rent-A-Car's downtown Atlanta location, I sent an email to the Chairman and CEO of Enterprise, Andrew C. Taylor. I was very surprised and pleased to get very swift response. I received an email from the Enterprise Regional Rental Manager. He wrote:


" Mr. Campbell,

My name is Jason De Lucca; I am the Regional Rental Manager over the West Region of Atlanta. I have been made aware of the situation that happened at our Courtland location this past weekend and I would like you to know that on behalf of the Enterprise Rent-A-Car and the Taylor family I truly apologize for this terrible inconvenience!

I would like the opportunity to discuss this with you if possible; is there a phone number you can be reached at? Enterprise Rent-A-Car is fully committed to your complete satisfaction as well as respecting and serving the needs of any person with disabilities.

Again, I would appreciate the opportunity to discuss this with you if you are available.

Sincerely,

Jason De Lucca"


I spoke with Mr. De Lucca and he assured me that Enterprise is committed to customer satisfaction and in no way encourages the practice. He also told me that he will have a conversation with employees at that location as well as all others within his territory. After our conversation I was satisfied that this was an isolated incident and the company's immediate action to the matter reinforced is apology. Mr. De Lucca at one point asked me what they could do to win me back as a customer. I told him that I was satisfied with them taking action on the matter. He asked me if I would be willing to accept a free weekend rental to make up for the situation. I accepted, however I made it clear that my main concern was for this not to happen to anyone again.

Enterprise Shamefully Advertises Cars In Disabled Parking Spaces

By Stephen Anthony Campbell

Everybody does it right? It's no big deal parking in the handicap space. It's not like someone will actually use it. It's a waste of a prime parking space. I'm sure those are some of the reasons people who are not disabled use when they park in parking spaces assigned for person with disabilities or "handicap." It's shameful when an individual does it knowingly, for the sake of convenience. It takes on a disgraceful and just plain mean tone when a company violates the use of the space.

It’s July 4, 2009, and my uncle and I were looking to rent cars for the weekend. My uncle is a long haul truck driver, his truck is being repaired in Wisconsin, and so he was able to get a ride down to Georgia from another driver heading to Florida. We were going to book a car for Friday July 3, but my uncle was running late and didn't get into town until after midnight. The airport location was sold out, so I looked for locations that would be open on Saturday 7/4 and found the Atlanta, 303 Courtland Street location open and they had available cars.


When we pulled into the parking lot, I couldn't help but notice that someone at Enterprise had parked two of their cars in the disabled parking spaces, with signs that said "Rent Me 404-659-6050." I found this to be really distasteful. Perhaps they thought that because it's the 4th of July, that disabled people would be interested in renting a car there. Perhaps they thought that no one would be offended by this.

I find it amazing that management at Enterprise would allow this kind of behavior. It's practically a slap in the face of people that utilize those parking spaces. I think the most sickening thing is not the fact that they parked a car there, but they are using the space to advertise. Needless to say, I decided to not rent the car. I didn’t need to rent a car that bad that I'd give this company my money. So I only got out of the car to take a picture of what this Enterprise location did. Enterprise really should be ashamed of their actions. I don't know if I will ever deal with this company again. I'll wait to see what Enterprise's corporate management has to say before I make a decision.

Atlanta City Council President Victim Of Home Break-in

Lisa Borders, the current Atlanta City Council President and candidate for mayor was the victim of a home break-in this week. According to news reports she was home at the time of the burglary. The intruders got away before the police arrived. She posted on the twitter that she was "Ok", and thanks everyone for the well wishes. When the local news ran the reports of the break-in you could see several Atlanta Police personnel fingerprinting and investigating the incident.

Exactly how many people were assigned to this burglary? I know people that have had their homes broken into, I've been a victim as well. I've even been in a Subway restaurant when it was robbed. Not once in any of those incidents did Atlanta police send the fingerprinting unit to investigate. If you live in the city of Atlanta, you are probably lucky to get one officer to respond within 45 minutes of calling 911.

Did Lisa Borders get special treatment in the investigation of her break-in because she is the City Council President and candidate for mayor? That is probably a question every Atlantan should be answering themselves. As citizens you pay taxes, and if Shirley Franklin had her way you'd be paying more than you already do. So you deserve and should insist on getting the same level of service from law enforcement as Lisa Borders is apparently getting.

I've lived in Atlanta for much of my life. When my home was burglarized in 2005 Atlanta police sent one officer out to take a report. I was referred to a detective that I spoke to over the phone. Even though I had serial numbers of the items taken and a pretty good idea of who the culprit was, nothing more was done on my case. I had over $2000 worth of items taken. No fingerprints were collected and I had to write it off ass a loss. The response times for police in the city, in my experience is unacceptable.

When I was present at the robbery of the Subway sandwich shop on Piedmont Rd, it took over 30 minutes for police to arrive. The suspect was long gone. A man robbed the store at gun point. He threatened to shoot the employees and customers if the manager on duty didn't give him all the money from the back office. Subway employees called police three times. The dispatched said they had problems locating the subway. It was really ridiculous. When police finally arrived, two officers showed up and took statements. They didn't send out a finger printer or a detective. They didn't even call me to follow up on my statement.

I've heard of people having their car stolen and having to wait for police to call them back to make a report over the phone. What's wrong with that picture?

You drive around the city any weekday during the lunch hour, you can find officers in groups of 5 or more gathered at eateries across midtown and downtown Atlanta, yet they don't have officers to send to investigate serious non-violent crimes.

Atlanta Police is already under fire about incidents involving officers. I think response times are horrible in some areas, they obviously are having problems with integrity after the Kathryn Johnston shooting and this latest shooting incident. The leadership at the police department and city executive level is is less than impressive.

Atlanta and its citizens deserves more than they are getting from the mayor and Atlanta Police.

V-103's "Frank And Wanda Show" Contest Trips

As I reported back in November I won trips to New York City and Las Vegas as part of a prize package courtesy of V-103’s Frank & Wanda Show anniversary contest. The show selected 10 listeners to receive 10 of Frank and Wanda's 10 favorite things.

My adventure started in New York City, where myself and 9 other winners had the opportunity to see the musical “Wicked.” And what a "Wicked" good time we had. The show was amazing. The hotel we stayed at, the Flatotel was fabulous. We also got the chance to check out NYC, see the sights, sounds and sample the best of New York cuisine. Frank Ski was our host for this trip.

Two weeks later our destination was fabulous Las Vegas. Our accommodations for this trip were at TI: Treasure Island Hotel. As New York was cold, with snow on the ground, Vegas was warm, sunny and lots of people. Somehow I always manage to get to Vegas during college spring break. Our host for this trip was Wanda Smith, and her sidekick the wonderful Miss Sophia.

I would never have guessed I would say this, but Cirque du Soleil’s Mystere, was actually pretty good. The show is very interactive with the audience. I have to admit, the show is pretty impressive. I call it a sensory explosion, as there were performers in front of me, behind me, overhead and even below the stage. It was very entertaining.

Being that this was like my fourth or fifth time in Vegas, I stopped counting a while back.... I tried to do some fun off the strip....so

I took a tour of the Ethel M chocolate factory. Ethel M or Ethel Chocolates are the gourmet candy division of M&M's and Mars candy. Ethel was the mother of the company's founder. The factory also has a botanical cactus gardens. All types of cactus species are grown there. What is also interesting about the gardens, the factory uses different techniques to recycle 100% of it wastewater without using harmful chemicals.

Finally I took a trip over to what is called old Vegas. These are the early hotels on and near Fremont street. They are old, but still bustling with life. I’ve been told by some that the odds are much better at these establishments. My luck wasn't so good; I lost $7 on the quarter slots. $10 was my limit; after all we are in a recession.

I have to say thanks to "The Frank and Wanda Show", V-103 and it's staff for the great "recession vacation." In the current economy there would have been no way for me to go to both Las Vegas and New York in the same month. I had a great time. Special thanks to Wanda and her pal George Wallace for inviting us to his "I Be Thinking Show", at the Las Vegas Flamingo.

Oprah Creates Unprecedented Demand For KFC

-Ashville, N.C. Let it be known from this day forward, that the power of Oprah is not to be underestimated. The queen of daytime announced earlier this week that coupons for a free KFC grilled chicken meal would be available on her website. The coupons were available for download until 11:59 p.m. on May 6. The announcement triggered heavy internet traffic which made it difficult to download the coupons. There are reports that it took some viewers three to four hours to get the coupons to print.

In Macon, Georgia, where in 2007 the city was named the location of Oprah’s most loyal viewers, had record turnout for the promotion. It was reported that by noon restaurants in the Macon and Warner Robbins area had all served more than 500 meals per store. A KFC manager that has worked for the chain for 29 years said, “It’s not busy here, it’s a blowout.”

But that’s only half the story, KFC’s across the country were caught off guard by the crowds of people trying to redeem coupons. Some stores called in additional help while some turned customers away after running out of supplies. In New York City there were unconfirmed reports that customers staged a protest over not being able to redeem their coupons. The company has denied those reports, only to say that customers were upset. In Greensboro, N.C., traffic was so congested by motorists trying to get to a KFC that police had to block streets and deny access to the restaurant because the lines of cars created a safety hazard.

A KFC spokeswoman said that there has never been this kind of demand for a KFC promotion in the chain’s 50 year history. Because of the delays and unexpected crowds, the company will be issuing rain checks to people with coupons. KFC wants its customers to have a positive experience eating their new grilled chicken. It’s KFC’s hope that grilled chicken, will attract customers that don’t usually eat at thier restaurant. They have even created an entire campaign with that theme, “Unthink what you know about KFC.” The website they created for the promotion is unthinkfc.com. KFC may indeed benefit more than they ever expected from the enormous turnout for free chicken. The chain has been struggling with sales in recent years amid controversies regarding unhealthy food, cruelty to animals and it’s rebranding to downplay the “fried” in its name. The move to align itself with Oprah means new customers and a success in offering a healthy alternative to its trademark fried chicken.

I’m sure corporations are taking note of the “Oprah Effect.” It’s pretty much a sure thing that anything promoted or endorsed by Oprah, will be an instant hit. From books, music and politicians, Oprah’s word seems to be gold. After all she did pick our nation's President.

CBS Turns The Lights Out On The Guiding Light

The longest running soap opera in televison and radio history was put on the chopping black last week by CBS. The Guiding Light started out as a 15 minute program on the radio 72 years ago. In the 60's it made the leap to television as a 30 minute live serial eventually going to an hour broadcast.

Rumors have been swarming for years that another popular soap would get the ax, many speculated that NBC’s Days Of Our Lives would be the next soap to fall. In the last 15 years NBC has nearly eliminated all of its daytime soap operas. In the 90's it did away with "Generations ", "Santa Barbara", "Another World" and the Aaron Spelling production "Sunset Beach". Days Of Our Lives is the only NBC soap still on the air. Daytime televison is currently feeling the economic pinch, it has been for years now. Shows are tightening it budgets just to remain on the air. Just last month Jess Walton walked off the "Young And The Restless" set over a proposed pay cut. "Y&R" is the number one soap on the air for 16 years running, If they are cutting salaries imagine what the other shows are doing to stay afloat.

At the end of the day, the soaps that are loved by many and have been a staple on televison as long as televison has been around, is just a business. And like any business it has to make money for it’s owners. Declining ratings over the years as viewers mostly housewives either lost interest after two writers strikes or moving into the workforce, has forced significant cuts in daytime programming. My fear is that the soaps will go the way of the radio serials, a thing of the past.

Soaps have always been apart of our pop culture. The theme song from the "Young And The Restless", is famous the world over. Susan Lucci is a celebrity because she’s a soap star. Many of today’s biggest celebs got their start in Daytime TV, "CSI: NY’s" Melina Kanakaredes, "Heros" Hayden Panettiere, movie stars Rachel Miner, Brittany Snow and Kevin Bacon all got their start on "The Guiding Light". It’s a shame that a show with such a rich history is coming to an end. Even though I understand the reasons CBS is pulling the plug, still I feel like the networks are not in touch with what the viewers want. They pull shows off the air, leaving the audience hanging. It took a massive letter writing campaign to convince CBS to bring "Jericho" back on air only to see it cancelled again. When NBC canceled "Passions" they tried to move it to Dish Network but it was just prolonging the inevitable. In the end the nets only care about dollar signs and not what the viewers really want. They wouldn’t hesitate pulling a show or changing its time slot in favor of something they think will attract the preferred demographic. If only we the viewer could launch an effective protest to get our point across, a couple of million dollars in lost revenue would get their attention.... wouldn’t that be something?

The President Signs Economic Recovery Plan Into Law

This week President Barack Obama signed his $780 Billion economic stimulus bill into law at a Denver, Colorado event. The President warned of hard times ahead as he signed the bill. The bill is supposed to be designed to help the country get out of this recession. The bill is intended to help with the massive amount of foreclosures across the country, create over 3.5 million jobs, create tax cuts for millions of low to middle income households, provide $150 billion for infrastructure repair projects for roads, water systems and dams and $10.5 billion towards healthcare.

It looks as if the Presidential honeymoon is over and things are back to business as usual in Washington. The President extended more than one olive branch to the republicans in an effort to get some kind of substantial economic relief package to help turn the economy around. All but three republicans in the U.S. House voted against the bill, citing that Democrats locked them out of the process. No one in the House of Representatives have clean hands in this recent skirmish. The Democrats have been heavy handed and uncompromising in drafting this bill. The very nature of politics involves compromising with the opposite party for the benefit of the people they represent. I think most people understand that everyone can’t get what they want, but when a bill this important comes up our representatives are suppose to put their differences aside and help the country.

Both parties have to find a way to work together, it’s essential. There is very little room for mistakes as we go forward. One needs only to look as what happened to Japan in the early 90’s. It’s only recently that Japan has leveled out of its recession. They made many mistakes including waiting too long to take action to correct the downturn of their economy.

I’ve been thinking about we got into this mess and it doesn’t make anyone look good. We bought our lattes at Starbucks everyday, we had to have our I-pods and Sony flat screen TV’s, and we bought more foreign cars than domestic. Looking at it differently American car companies haven’t been producing autos comparable or better than imports; banks gave out bad loans and enriched their executives as a reward. So if the mortgage crisis helped pull us down, but there are far too many other things we did to reach this point. Now is the time to act, we can’t afford to wait any longer. We have already waited too long as it is.

Barack Obama Becomes The 44th President Of The United States

Just a few minutes past noon, President-Elect Barack Obama took the oath of office to become the 44th President Of The United States Of America.

Barack Hussein Obama was sworn into office by Chief Justice of The United State John Roberts. During the oath, the Chief Justice made a gaff in the wording of the oath. It was awkward for a moment, but the wording was easily corrected and Barack Obama in front of millions of people in attendance took the oath and became the 44th President of The United States of America.

Watching the ceremony on television you couldn’t help but see the hope, happiness and joy in the people watching from the National mall. Tears of joy, smiles and an immense sense of pride were just some of expressions that were obvious on the faces of people attending the inauguration. I find it fascinating that on the very steps that were built on the back of slaves hundreds of years ago, now a black man would become President. It took generations of black people being enslaved, beaten, killed and oppressed before this nation would elect a man of color as President, not because of the color of his skin but for his character and intellect. It’s a partial fulfillment of Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream. Most civil rights leaders agree that we; as a nation still have lots of work before we truly reach Dr. King’s dream

I only wish that my relatives that lived during the times of segregation and the struggle for civil rights for black people could have been here to witness Barack Obama become President. As the ceremonies on television broadcast I can’t help but think of all those that came before, those that fought for the right to vote, fought for desegregation in schools, those that died so that we could reach this moment in history. I’ve heard news anchors on almost every network ask their black guests, “What you think Dr. Martin Luther King would say about today’s inauguration.” Many people give a similar answer by saying that he would think it was great but there is more work to be done. I think he would probably say something simple like “Well its about time.”

President Obama will hit the ground running. It’s expected that the majority of his cabinet will be confirmed no later than the end of the week. Not a moment too soon, the financial crisis continues to get worst as new set of mortgages are scheduled to reset, banks are having to write down more bad loans because of the increase in unemployment causing many to default on credit cards debts. The President has lots of problems to deal with and so little time in which to do so. The clock has already started on what President Obama and his administration can do fix Americas problems.

Circuit City Announces It's Going Out Of Business

Circuit City, the nation's second largest electronics retailer announced on Friday, January 16, 2009 that it will be closing all of its 567 stores. Circuit City recently filed for bankruptcy and was looking to sell the company or try to refinance its debt. According to media reports, negotiations went south with a potential buyer, forcing the company to close its doors.

Circuit City's web site wasn't available for shopping today, instead there was a full page explaining the company's current circumstances.

"Circuit City would like to thank all of the customers who have shopped with us over the past 60 years. Unfortunately, we announced on January 16, 2009, that we are going out of business."

It goes on to say:

"Due to challenges to our business and the continued bleak economic environment, Circuit City is going out of business and the company's assets will be liquidated to pay off creditors."
"The process was extremely difficult and we were left with no other choice but to liquidate. Circuit City had a proud heritage of serving the public for 60 years and we deeply regret the impact this decision will have on our associates, our customers and the communities where we have operated stores and other facilities."

It's is very sad to hear that more than 30,000 people are about to lose their jobs. Times are hard, harder than they have ever been during my lifetime. Again, I fault the company's management for part of its downfall. Circuit City in my opinion did not make customer service and satisfaction a top priority. That may have been their biggest mistake, allowing stores like Best Buy and Wal-Mart to sneak up and steal not only their customers but the market itself.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year

It's 2009

Out with the old and in with the new as they say. As we say goodbye to 2008, I look back to see what made it the worst year in recent memory and also why it’s been the most interesting year.

City Of Atlanta Budget Cuts
Mayor Shirley Franklin broke the news that the city would have a $60 million budget deficit in 2008. She warned that city would have to make drastic cuts. Apparently while she was traveling all over the country accepting awards for being a great Mayor, she had been neglecting books. When questioned how she could let this happen a second time under her watch, she would deflect the question by saying something like it doesn’t matter how we got here, what matters is how we get out of it. In actuality it does matter how this happened. By knowing what caused this problem it can help competent leadership avoid this happening again and may also help in fixing the problem. The city laid off hundreds of workers, furloughed workers, closed fire stations and cut city services in an effort to save money. A second slap in the face came when Mayor Franklin announced that the deficit was even bigger than first thought. An effort to remove her from office would probably have been started if it weren’t for the fact that such an effort would put a strain on the city’s finances to recall the Mayor and hold a special election. At least there is good news, this is her last term in office.

The State Of Georgia Strapped For Cash
Even the great state of Georgia finds itself affected by the current financial crisis. Governor Sonny Purdue has ordered State agencies to cut spending up to 8% in an effort to beat a $1.6 billion deficit. The economy has been so bad, state tax revenue intake has been very slow. It didn’t help matters when the Georgia DOT announced that an audit revealed the agency had more than $450 million budget shortfall. The shortfall threatened many current and future projects for 2008. Among some of the state’s cut backs in spending are new hires, pay raises and non-essential purchases.

Brian Nichols
An Atlanta jury spared Brian Nichols from death in 2008. The trial finally started and concluded in a guilty verdict for the 2003 courthouse shooter. Nichols killed 4 people as he tried to escape the Fulton County Courthouse. He shot and killed Judge Rowland Barnes, courtroom reporter Julie Brandau, Fulton County Sheriff’s Deputy Sgt. Hoyt Teasley and U.S Immigration and Customs agent David G. Wilhelm. The trial and conviction was more than fair. There was a huge backlash from legislators and the victims families about the jury being deadlocked on whether or not to sentence Nichols to death. Some Legislators even suggested that the law be changed so death is carried with a minimum of 10 Jurors voting in favor. I think it’s a bad idea. Although we put a lot of faith in the legal system, its not perfect, and innocent people are often found guilty. Taking someone’s life is huge, because that sentence one it’s been carried out can never be appealed. It should take all 12 jurors agreeing that this person should die for this crime. A person’s life is too precious to leave any room for doubt or errors. It’s all for or life in prison.

Marta’s Budget Woes
Marta, Atlanta’s rapid transit authority has announced its money problems and is not looking for ways to not only save money, but help generate revenue. Marta is looking into allowing vendors to sell food and drink inside rail stations. In order to do this, Marta would have to repeal its policy of food and beverage in stations, trains and buses. Marta is also looking at charging for parking, cutting bus and rail service to save money. A few years back, Marta spent an insane amount of money for a new fare collection system. Replacing the old token based system, that was said to allow for easy fare evasion. To solve the fare evasion would have simply assigned a gate monitor at stations for a fraction of what the new system cost. Money saved by doing that alone. Marta’s problems wouldn’t be so bad if it had more support. Part of the problem is that Marta is only operation in the immediate metro Atlanta areas of DeKalb and Fulton Counties. The other counties have long expressed no interest in bringing Marta to their community. However these counties have very recently started their own transit systems. The Georgia Regional Transportation Authority is an agency with the state of Georgia that helps fund the transit systems in Cobb, Gwinnett, and Clayton counties. If this agency were to merge with Marta, and expand, maximizing the state’s money in transportation, We would have a transit system that connects more counties seamlessly. By combining agencies and resources the system would have a better chance of surviving the current financial crisis than going it alone.







Financial Meltdown
With the new year, say goodbye to some companies that were once staples in the financial world. Bear Stearns closes its doors. Bear Stearns was once the one of the world's largest investment bank and brokerage firms collapsed because of sub-prime mortgages.

Washington Mutual, the nation's largest savings and loan and Wachovia both two of more than a dozen of banks that failed in 2008. WaMu was bought by JP Morgan Chase. Wachovia was purchased by Wells Fargo, and will over the next three years assume the Wells Fargo brand.

The big dips in the stock markets cause many Americans investing their pensions to lose a substantial amount of money. Although many experts predict that the market will correct itself and that people will get back most of the money they lost, at the moment that path looks far away.

2008 saw the largest increase in gas prices. At one point each week brought new record in gas prices. The rise in prices started with the damage Hurricane Katrina made when it hit the gulf coast. After the disaster oil speculators drove the prices even higher, all to make a profit for themselves.

Increased gas prices ensured prices of almost all other consumer goods would also rise, especially food. 2008 saw the largest and fastest increase in food prices in history. In an economy where the bottom has fallen out, people where making hard choices on weather to buy food, medicine or gas to get to work. It's probably the top thing people will not miss about 2008.

Home foreclosures skyrocketed in 2008 especially in Dekalb County. As most sub-prime loans interest rates adjusted, most homeowners could no longer make their mortgage payments leading to beginning of the current financial crisis.


Store Closings
The economy's slide south proved to be too much for some major retailers. Circuit City filed for bankruptcy and is closing over 100 of its stores nationwide including all Atlanta area stores. KB Toys filed bankruptcy for a second time and closed its doors at many of its mall locations. The country's financial woes are also pushing a lot of other stores out of business like Mervyns Department Stores, The Sharper Image, Linens 'n Things, Value City, Bill Heard Automotive, The Bombay Company, Steak and Ale, Shoe Pavilion, and Levitz Furniture.

Michael Vick
What does a man do when he has fame and fortune? He runs a dog fighting ring of course. Michael Vick shocked many of his fans when it was discovered he funded an illegal dog fighting ring on his property. His arrest led to him being let go from the Atlanta Falcons and fired from endorsements. He is currently serving time in federal prison.

President-Elect Barack Obama
Senator Barack Obama made history by being the first black candidate to win a major party nomination. He went on to become the nation's first black President. He also set records in fundraising during his presidential campaign. President-Elect Obama will be sworn into office on January 20, 2009.

City of Lithonia
2008 also saw one of the nastiest and most embarrassing squabbles in politics Mayor Joyce McKibben vs. the Lithonia City Council and Lithonia Police Chief Willie Rosser. All parties behaved badly after the brouhaha when the Mayor attempted to fire the police chief. The city council rehired the chief and proceeded to lock the mayor out of city hall. Lawsuits were filed, people were arrested and prosecuted. It led to city government grinding to a crawl. Lithonia became the fodder for You Tube entertainment and numerous news reports over the political conflict. Eventually the Mayor’s rivals mounted a campaign that was successful in her being recalled and a new Mayor was elected. It’s funny how the Mayor is the only one out of a job when members of the city council and the police chief deserve to be ousted as well. Still no one really acknowledges the reason the battle lines were drawn in the first place. The mayor accused the Police Chief of unauthorized purchases and hiring issues.

Could This Be The Beginning Of The End For Circuit City?

A few weeks ago, Circuit City announced that it was closing over 100 of its store including all locations in Georgia. The company cited the ailing economy as the cause. Well I wish I could be one of those people that after hearing the news, their jaw drops and have such a surprised look on their face. Well I can honestly say that I’m not surprised, in fact I predicted the company’s downfall, but not because of current circumstances.

I’ve told this story it seems like hundreds of times, but I don’t mind doing it again. I only wish I had my blog around this time a year ago. Perhaps things would be different. Anyway… last Christmas I decided to treat myself to a new HD TV. Because I don’t believe in just walking in a store and buying the prettiest model I see, i did tons of research on brands, models and prices. After crunching all the info I decided that I would not buy just one, but two TV’s. When I bought my last two TV’s I paid nearly $2000. So when I decided to buy these new TV I was expecting to be paying around the same price. To my surprise the price had drop considerably, partly due to the demand but also because of the holiday discounting the stores do to move inventory. I quickly realized that for the price I was prepared to pay, I could buy two TV’s. My original intention was to buy an HD LCD TV for my den. But now I could also buy a TV for my new bedroom. So that is that was the plan I went with.

After careful research I choose two TV’s. They were two different brands, sizes and located at different stores. The TV for my den I decided to buy a Polaroid 42’ LCD TV from Circuit City. The best deal I could find for the size I wanted was on Circuit City’s website. So I bought the TV online would pick it up at the closest store. The Closest store to have the TV in stock was a 25 minute drive away. So by the time I was able to get to the store, they had already closed for the night. So I go the next evening to pick the TV up. By the time I get to the store the next night it’s already more than 27 hours since I originally ordered the TV and received email confirmation. So I go to where you are suppose to go, to present the confirmation number, ID, and method of payment verification. They tell me to go over to the merchandise pick up area. So I’m waiting over there for nearly 10 minutes, so I knock on the service window and ask about my TV. The lady that said they were trying to find a guy that was big enough to bring it out. So after another 6-7 minutes a guy emerges with the TV and helps me load it into my car. So after ordering the TV 27 hours ago, and waiting nearly 20 minutes, I believed that I was owed a gift card for waiting because of the Circuit City’s 24 minute guarantee. According to the store’s guarantee the time you wait in line inside the store is excluded from the 24 minutes. I waited nearly 20 minutes for my item to be brought out from the stockroom, when it should have already been ready to bring out. So I explain this to the manager on duty and they say no. You have to give them time to get the item. I countered, “That’s not what the guarantee states, if that were the case you would never be violating your guarantee.” So instead of arguing with the manger on duty, which turns out was only a supervisor, I decided to call the Store Manager the next day.

The next day comes and I call the store and ask to speak to the store manager, I’m told he’s not available but they were the Assistant manager. I tell her my complaint, and she says no problem. She gives me her name and tells me it won’t be a problem. So I’m happy that it’s resolved. The Assistant manager tells me to ask next time I’m at the store to get my $24 gift card. So a couple of days later I’m in the area and stop by and try to get my gift card. I’m told that the Assistant Manager I spoke with is off that day, and I would have to speak with her because no one knows about the situation. So I’m thinking ok, I’ll come back another day. I was kind of bummed in the fact that this store is 25-30 minutes away from where I live. I do not really want to make a special trip for the gift card. So I call the next time to see if she is there, and I speak with her to let her know I’m on the way, they she pulls a 360 on me. She totally changes her tune and says that she can’t issue me a gift card because of the incident. So I ask to speak with her manager, and he tells me the same thing. I get all the way to a regional manger that apologizes but doesn’t issue me a gift card. So At this point I’m pretty ticked. If it were not for the fact that the TV was so big, and I had a hard time getting it out of my midsize car, I would have taken it back. I was so mad; I came close to renting a truck or van just to return it. But I decided to exact my anger in telling people my story and not recommending Circuit City for anything.

You see my revenge is very satisfying to me. I’m the person that people I know go to ask recommendations on what to buy and where. So when I recommend brands or stores, I just don’t include Circuit City in my advice. So when people ask what about Circuit City or why I didn’t mention them, I explain what happened to me. I am happy to say that in the last year I’ve bought or helped people buy several thousand dollars worth of electronics. I’ve often joked about becoming an electronics personal shopper for people that are not tech savvy. My only concern with the downfall of Circuit City is the status of my extended warranty on the TV a purchased.

Circuit City shot itself in the foot a few years back. It put more emphasis on it’s spin off CarMax, that it allowed store like Best Buy and Wal-Mart to come up and take control of the market. They had to play catch up, like creating their tech repair unit fogdog after the successful launch of Best Buy’s Geek Squad. Sales have taken a nose dive for years, and the economy over the last few years did not help their position. Big box retailers still have not learned the basics of retaining customer loyalty. In this economy companies can’t afford to lose repeat customers. $24 dollar gift card in the long run is a small price to pay to retain a repeat customer. There isn’t much in Circuit City that one can buy for just $24, so pretty much any purchase made with the gift card will require additional money. That gift card would translate to additional purchases in Circuit City and another opportunity to sell even more merchandise. It’s a cliché, but it’s very true, a bad customer experience cost a company more customers as opposed to a good experience. People like to tell as many people that will listen to a bad experience, this blog entry as an example. I call it therapy for a frustrated consumer.

Georgia’s Senate Race Decided

The Georgia Senate race between incumbent Saxby Chambliss a Republican and Democratic challenger Jim Martin is finally over. Sen. Chambliss retained his seat by a clear majority. Chambliss beat Martin by receiving nearly 57% of the vote. Voter turnout for the race was about 20% of registered voters.

Both candidates put up a fierce 4 week long battle of campaign ads, big name speakers and of course the name calling and mud slinging that we have come to expect. Some of the Republican’s superstars came to Georgia to campaign for Saxby Chambliss such as Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, Arizona Sen. And former Presidential candidate John McCain and for Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee. Jim Martin had Former President Bill Clinton and former Vice-President Al Gore come down and help his campaign. Martin had asked for the Democrats biggest star, President-Elect Barrack Obama. However it seems that the President-Elect wasn’t interested in making any kind of significant effort to help Jim Martin win the Georgia Senate seat and help the Democrats gain the so called “Super Majority”, 60 Senate seats that would make the democratic controlled senate filibuster proof. To his credit, President-Elect Obama did help Jim Martin’s campaign by recording a radio ad that was released the week before the run-off, robotic calls to residents to ask them to vote for Jim Martin, and he mailed out a postcard with “Happy Holidays” on it along with a picture of the Obama family.

I think that President-Elect Obama might as well make this mistake number one as the highest profile Democrat and as a leader. Let face it, the radio ads, postcards, and “robo” calls are all great, but making an appearance in Georgia would have been a 100 times more effective than all four combined. Georgia had record turnout for the Presidential election. Nearly a million and two-thirds fewer democrats voted in the runoff than the general election. The President-Elect could have taken a few hours at the beginning of the run-off campaign and towards the end to come down to Georgia and talk Jim Martin up, and help motivate people to go to the polls. I really believe that most people didn’t understand how crucial this election was to the democrats. Sure they heard all the spin on TV news show, but it’s different if the top Democrat himself, a superstar came down for the people to see and hear.

Barack Obama’s presence in Georgia would have been the extra boost needed to get people to the polls. People are still caught in the awe and excitement of his election. Having the President-Elect here campaigning for Jim Martin would one, tell people that the election isn’t over yet, two, that he cares about what happens in Georgia, three, that having a 60 seat in the Senate is so important it warrants’ his attention especially since it will help him make the changes he campaigned on. People clearly needed motivation to go to the polls for a run-off.

Recently the President-Elect revealed his choices for cabinet appointments, among them were current Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, and former political opponent Hilary Clinton, nominated for Secretary of State. I think he made some great choices in people, however I don’t think it was very smart to pull an active and popular Senator from a seat that can be strangle defended by Hilary Clinton. But despite the difficult work he is obviously conducting in preparation for the transition of power, there isn’t any excuse why he couldn’t have hopped on a plane and come to Georgia for a few hours. As President-Elect he can be briefed or hold meetings anywhere he chooses. He has time to go to the gym for a couple of hours a day, he could have flown down and help win the Senate race in Georgia. I hope this doesn’t come back to hurt him politically in the future. He has such great plans; it would be a shame that his first mistake could affect the rest of his administration. Let’s hope it doesn’t.

I'm A Radio Contest Winner

So Wednesday morning something really kool happened to me. To be honest I still can't believe it. The V-103 radio morning show, "The Frank And Wanda Show" are celebrating their 10th Anniversary. So they held a contest to pick 10 winners that will get Frank And Wanda's favorite things. It's a play on the annual Oprah's favorite things she gives her audience.

So I never expected to win the contest. Here is how I entered, I recorded 90210 Tuesday night on the CW69 on my desktop computer. So later that night I go to my computer and the TV version of the "Frank And Wanda Show" was still on. I watched it for a while. Towards the end a women called in because she heard her name. So Frank Ski was telling people how to enter the contest, so that is when I decided to enter. I said what the hell, why not. I entered via the web as instructed. The show pulls two names each morning during the anniversary week one at 7:30 and one at 8:30. So the next morning I forgot to listen in at the 7:30 drawing. So I was think what are the chances that I would win anyway. V-103 is like the number 2 station in Atlanta, with nearly a half million or more listeners. What chance do I have of winning, right? So I listen in at about 8:10-8:15. So They finally pull the last name for the day, and I heard them call Stephan. I immediately thought to myself who names their children Stephan? i have never liked that name. People always mispronounce my name Stephen as Stephan. So I didn't even hear the last name until they repeated it and I realized that they were calling me. I couldn't believe it. So you only have 10 minutes to call in and claim you prize. So when I called in they ask me if it was Stephen or Stephan? I was so excited that I won that I didn't even care about that anymore... simple mistake right?

So I guess you are wondering what the 10 favorite things are.... well let me tell you that they are some pretty awesome prizes. Here goes...

Frank and Wanda's Favorite things are:

1. $100 Kroger Gift Card- just in time for the holidays

2. Life size 4 foot stuffed Mickey & Minnie Dolls - my mom loves them on her bed.

3. A bottle of Jean Paul Gaultier Perfume - very nice scent

4. A Dinner at Carrabbas Italian Grill with Frank Ski

5. A Verizon Blackberry 8330 Smartphone

6. A Panasonic Lumix Digital Camera- Sweet camera, 8.1 megs

7. A Night out on the town with Frank Ski with a night's stay at the W hotel, dinner at Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar and VIP passes to the Velvet Room - Let say I haven't had a night like this is a long time.

8. A King Size Ralph Lauren Goose Down Comforter

9. A Trip to Las Vegas with Wanda Smith to see Cirque Du Soleil

10. A Trip to New York City with Frank Ski to see the musical Wicked

How cool is that? I hear that Oprah's prizes this year isn't all that. The Frank And Wanda Show winners were treated to a breakfast at Justin's restaurant in Buckhead. Young Jeezy mad an appearance. There was cake and champagne by Moet.

I have to say Frank and Wanda's gifts are great.... and I can't wait to get back to the cities that never really sleep, fabulous Las Vegas and lovely New York City. What a way to celebrate an anniversary. It should definitely be a fun trip.

You Can Call Him Mr. President!

On November 4, 2008 the world watched in suspense as votes across the country were tallied leading to Barack Obama’s historic win. The Senator from Illinois, was elected the nations first black President. Now more than a week later, reality has set in for most people and it’s not the total calamity that many of President-elect Obama’s opponents thought it would be.

President-Elect Obama seems to moving in a very rapid and smart manner. He has made the financial crisis a top priority. He has his transition team in place before the election to make sure they “hit the ground running”. He has been having regular meetings with his economic advisory board made up of people he trusts.

This new president has many challenges starting out, the financial crisis being at the top, also, a high unemployment rate, a $10 billion a month war and a country divided by a long and brutal election cycle. The best thing Barrack Obama can do, is make sure he retain the help of the very best when it comes to the economy, foreign policy and the war in Iraq.

The transition of power looks like it may be a smooth one. This week President and Mrs. Bush met with the Obama’s at the White House. President Bush has vowed to make the transition as easy as possible. I believe that he will work hard to make sure that the transition is seamless.

Now is the time for all Americans to unite and work together to get this country back on track. The election is over. The winners have been very sensitive and not gloating at their victory. They are reaching out to the opposition to help solve the nation’s big issues. To me, that what a President does, lead the entire nation and not just the party they belong to.

The Comedy Of Politics

Everyone loves a good joke, especially if it’s at the expense of an elected official. For years politicians have been the source of material for the late night shows. Shows like “The Tonight Show”, “The Late Show with David Letterman” and “Saturday Night Live” are notorious for their political satire. It’s always a treat when the politician being poked fun at makes an appearance and can laugh at themselves. On Saturday night, Governor Sarah Palin did just that. Sarah Palin stopped by the “SNL” studios and made an appearance in a couple of sketches. Although she didn’t say very much, it was obvious she was having fun with it.



Over the years we’ve seen politicians that are often the bud of jokes on late night television make appearances. I remember President Bill Clinton playing the saxophone on “The Arsenio Hall Show”. Janet Reno made an appearance on “SNL” in 2001 and in 2002 Al Gore hosted the show. So why would politicians appear on shows that make fun of them? Well the answer has more to do with who’s watching those shows. Today, younger adults are getting their information from shows like “The Daily Show” or “The Colbert Report”. “Saturday Night Live’s” Weekend Update is so popular that they have a special Weekend Update on Thursdays. The candidates are always campaigning for votes; they want to win people over. So they go on these shows to look more human. People can watch and see that they are people too, and they can laugh at themselves. These shows have a huge followings. Sarah Palin’s appearance on “SNL” was the show’s highest rated episode in 14 years.

With less than 2 weeks until Election Day, we can expect the candidates to step up the campaigning until election night. So I’ll expect the jokes and the sketches to get even funnier as “E-Day” approaches. Although I love the sketches and jokes, my favorite form of political satire comes from Mike Luckovich, a national syndicated political cartoonist. I think his drawings are pretty right on!

Madonna Is Calling It “Quits”

Mega Pop Star Madonna is divorcing her husband of more than seven years Guy Ritchie, according to media reports. News came today that Madonna, considered the highest-earning female singer has given up efforts to save her stained marriage. The couple has one child together seven-year-old Rocco, along with a three-year-old adoptive son from Malawi.

Rumors of divorce have been circulating for months now. Madonna has been linked by the media to A-Rod. She’s even been spotted at his games. She has maintained that she and the Alex Rodriguez are just friends. Friends or more than just friends, it would appear that Madonna is now free to publicly pursue a relationship with Rodriguez if she chooses to do so.

Madonna is believed to be worth more than $500 million dollars. With that kind of money at stake, its no wonder that she has enlisted the legal services of Fiona "Steel Magnolia" Shackleton, she is a high profile divorce lawyer that handled Paul McCartney’s divorce from Heather Mills. It’s being reported that the couple did not have a prenuptial agreement, so Ritchie could walk away with more than $100 million dollars.

Madonna’s marriage joins a long list of celebrity couples calling it quits. It really says a lot when this country is facing dire financial times and Madonna’s marriage is considered more noteworthy one news websites than the presidential debates or the economic bailout plan. You have to wonder what this world is coming to.

Markets Rebound, Cash or Credit

After one of the worst week in Wall Street history, the Dow rebounded with a gain of more than 936 points. We are finally getting some good news from Wall Street. The rebound is believed to be a reaction to news that several central banks from around the world including the Federal Reserve will be giving banks that are in turmoil short term funding. The thinking is that by infusing the banks with cash, it will help thaw the frozen credit markets.

Speaking of credit, it has become very difficult if not impossible for people to obtain mortgages or auto financing during this financial crisis. Banks are very skittish at the moment. You know its bad when banks are afraid of lending to other banks. I’m sure everyone is watching and waiting to see if the government’s $700 billion bailout plan will make a difference.

I remember when I was a kid, not many families had credit cards. Credit was for the rich. Back in the day, we use to have a cash market. If you needed a new refrigerator or a new mattress you paid in cash. Credit wasn’t so easy to get back in those days especially for minorities. If you didn’t have the money for something you needed and didn’t have credit, there was this great program that was very popular called “layaway”. With layaway, customers could pick the items they wanted, have a store put it aside with a deposit, usually anywhere from 10-25%. The customer would then be able to make small scheduled payments on the item until it was paid for and then could take possession on it. I can remember lots of stores that had layaway, Lionel Play World, K-Mart, Wal-Mart, J.C. Penny and Sears. Now, you would be hard pressed to find a store that has a layaway plan.

In today’s troubled times, the middle class needs layaway now, more than ever. Perhaps we are going to learn a lesson from the financial crisis and move back to a predominantly cash market. We will buy only what we can afford. We will buy the cars that match our bank accounts and not our personalities. We will no longer be the fast food society of “I want what I want, When I want It.” I think if anything should be learned from this is we need to live our wage and not above it.

The Atlanta Gas Crunch : The Good, The Bad And Just Plain Ugly

The gas situation seems to be getting better. Earlier this week Quick Trip (QT) vowed to has gas at 100% of its stations by Tuesday, and it looks like that kept that promise. Gas is flowing much better in Atlanta now. Stations that were without has for the longest time now have open pumps. Things are starting to get better, and it’s about time.

Last weekend was pretty rough for motorists. The Georgia vs. Alabama game was Saturday, and hundreds flocked to Athens for the festivities. Out-of-towners were warned not to come to Georgia if they lived more than half a gas tank away because gas was scarce. Law enforcement in the Athens area said that they would be towing cars out of gas to make sure that the street remained clear of obstructions.

So amid the activity going on that weekend, I went to Wal-Mart with my uncle to pick up a prescription. He said that he needed to get gas, and I knew that that particular Wal-Mart had gas earlier that afternoon. So about halfway to the Wal-Mart we run out of gas. I was a little shocked, its been a very long time since I’ve been stuck on the side of the road with no gas. I knew that there was a CitGo gas station about a mile ahead. So my uncle decided to go for gas. On his way to the station, a man in a pick-up truck saw the car the car on the side of the road out of gas and my uncle walking and decided to give him a lift. The man happened to have two gas cans in his truck of gas and offered to give us enough to make it to the gas station. The man just happened to be headed to put gas in his work truck as well.

The man followed us to the Wal-Mart, and my uncle told him he would re-fill the gas can. So when we get to Wal-Mart there is a line of about 20 cars on each side of the station. It took us about 20 minutes or so to get to the front of the line. We finally became the third car waiting to pull up to a pump, when a man in a car speeds around every one in line and pulls behind a car about to pull away from the pump. I was in total disbelief. This guy couldn’t help but see a long line of people waiting their turn for gas. Was surprised me even more was that the guy that would have been next in line, didn’t really budge. The women in the car ahead of us got out of the car to confront the line breaker. She went over to the guy, and asked him “what did he think he was doing”, but she used some language that I would rather not repeat. He muttered something like he was out of gas, and needed it now. They started arguing at the pump. There was a man riding in the car with the woman, he went inside and told the cashier what happened. The cashier came out and asked the man to leave the pump and wait in line like everyone else or they would be forced to call the police. The man acted like his need for gas was far greater than everyone else’s need. The police were called and made the man leave. We got our gas. Amazingly the man that lent us gas to make it to the station refused us paying him back. He wouldn’t let us give him money or allow us to fill his gas can back up. That was really generous of him. I know that his kindness will be rewarded 10 fold down the line.

This incident reminded me that people are just people. Situations bring out the very best in some people and also bring out the worst in others. During this whole gas shortage I’ve seen people act aggressive trying to get gas, be very generous and helpful, and just outright mean. Life is just too short to bicker and argue especially over gasoline.

Need to Get Away??

If you having been saving to get away from the everyday, now may be a good time to go, that is if you have the dough. I’ve been flooded with sales and deals for travel. Although the economy is taking a plunge, there are some great opportunities to get away if you can spare the cash. I’ve found deals at hotels in Las Vegas, and deals and sales from Delta Airlines, Hotwire.com, and NorthWest Airlines.

I got a notice that Delta is having a sale on flights from Atlanta, Boston, & New York. Fares range from $69 up to $149. The destinations are pretty much across the board. The cities offered are:

Akron,OH - Minneapolis/St Paul, MN
Baltimore, MD -Moline-Quad Cities, IL
Bloomington, IL - New Orleans, LA
Buffalo, NY - New York-Kennedy, NY
Charleston, SC - New York-La Guardia, NY
Chicago-Midway, IL - Newport News, VA
Chicago-Ohare, IL - Orlando, FL
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX - Pensacola, FL
Dayton, OH - West Palm Beach, FL
Denver, CO - Philadelphia, PA
Detroit MI - Phoenix, AZ
Flint, MI - Pittsburgh, PA
Fort Lauderdale, FL - Raleigh/Durham, NC
Fort Myers, FL - Richmond, VA
Gulfport, MS - Rochester, NY
Houston-Bush , TX - San Antonio, TX
Houston-Hobby, TX - San Francisco, CA
Indianapolis, IN - Sarasota, FL
Jacksonville, FL - St. Louis, MO
Kansas City, MO - Tampa, FL
Los Angeles, CA - Washington-Dulles, DC
Las Vegas, NV - Washington-Reagan National
Memphis, TN - White Plains, NY
Miami, FL - Wichita, KS
Milwaukee, WI

I thought it was a pretty good deal. I trip from Atlanta to New York, any airport s on $99 one way. It would be great if you want to buy now and fly later. The fares have a 10 advance purchase and have to be used by January 30, 2008. Delta’s sale on fares ends on October 31, 2008 so hurry if you want to take advantage.

I was checking out prices at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, and they have several days during the week where the room rate is under $80 a night. That is pretty good deal for that hotel. Typically prices are much cheaper during the off-season and especially during the week. I recommend checking the prices at the hotel’s website and then compare them to the discount travel services like Cheapoair.com, Hotwire.com and Priceline.com. Hotels will have promotions from time to time, but the best deals are likely to be found on the discount services, if the hotel isn’t running a special.

Hotwire.com has deals on Vegas hotels as low as $32 a night. They also are advertising deals on flights on United Airlines and hotels in Florida. You can sign up to their travel ticker and they will email you new deals as they become available.

NorthWest Airlines is over a promotion running now on cruises. Just in time as the cold weather moves in, you can take a vacation to a nice an toasty destination. NorthWest is offering, for every dollar you spend you receive a WorldPerks bonus mile (NorthWest frequent flier program.) NorthWest is offering deals on cruises on Celebrity and Royal Caribbean cruise lines. Cruises on Celebrity start at $299 and a free on-board credit. Royal Caribbean cruises start at $399 and also include a free on-board credit. Both cruise purchases earn WorldPerks miles.

Lithonia Mayor Joyce McKibben Is Voted Out 166 to 47

A special election was held on Tuesday, at issue to recall Lithonia’s Mayor. In a vote nearly 3 to 1, residents sent the embattled Mayor packing. 166 votes ousted Joyce McKibben. The Mayor has been the subject of media reports for months, first after she tried unsuccessfully to fire the city’s police chief. Then there was a period of infighting with the city council. And then there were also those now infamous skirmishes with Lithonia police over computers and access to city hall among other things.

The latest part of this saga was the mayor tried to have a concert promoter prosecuted for making threats against her. That case was dismissed. Ironically that concert promoter was part of an effort to recall the mayor. Lithonia has been in the news for weeks now; I don’t expect this to be over. Mayor McKibben hinted in an interview with local news reporters that she wasn’t going quietly.

Only 20% of registered voters in Lithonia voted in the special election. Now the door opens for new candidates to run for the now vacant office. Mayor McKibben can run again if she chooses to do so. Whoever runs and wins this election, they may still face the same resistance. Although I don’t agree with how Joyce McKibben went about cleaning up city hall, I admit it did need some cleaning. The police chief I think was out of line a number of times, especially with the issues over gas cards and hiring. Also, no matter what powers the city charter gives the mayor, she is still the mayor and deserves respect from city employees.

I also take issue with how members of the city council have acted. Instead of trying to reach a compromise they have resorted to petty bickering. Changing the locks on the building, having employees arrested, and directing police to harass the mayor, and someone altered the city’s website removing the title of mayor from Joyce McKibben’s name, all of this was unnecessary. They should have taken the higher road. On the news tonight a member of the city council, Kathleen deCocq was just overjoyed and very excited about the 166 to 47 vote. She should have just made a simple statement and let it go. It just made this whole process look like a big school yard fight.

I think the Mayor has good intentions, and that she may be right on several things. But personalities, lack of tact and perhaps bad judgment help get us to this point. The real looser in this is the residents of Lithonia. Let’s not forget this is the city that had to ground its city vehicles because it couldn’t afford to pay the auto insurance. The city has had some major problems these past few years. Someone needed to go in and make a change in the way things were done. Perhaps that person isn’t Joyce McKibben, but I do think that someone needs to at least investigate some of her claims, if not only to give residents piece of mind.