I gave up Monday Night Football and an evening of virtual Spades to watch the first Presidential Candidates' debate.
I was happy to see fellow journalist and baby boomer Lester Holt acting as moderator, although I was somewhat disappointed that he didn't take better control of Donald Trump's rants. But, then again, that is who "the Donald" is so he was true to form.
And speaking of being "true", Trump stated something during the debate that I have been saying for years about the Democratic candidates. He said they court Blacks and other minorities during election season and then dump us once they get elected. Now that, in my opinion, is a TRUE statement. I am not sure how we (especially Southerners) got hoodwinked and bamboozled into believing the Democratic Party was our Saviour from the economic, racial and social ills that continue to plague us. Obviously, black people in the South don't recall the history of the Dixiecrats, the Southern Democrats who seceded from the party in 1948 and created their own agenda which included states' rights to freedom from governmental interference and the right to exclude whomever they wanted from business and other organizations.
Democratic candidates constantly dangle a carrot of hope and opportunities in front of us making us believe they will fight for our rights once they get elected. What they NEVER tell us is they will be fighting against a majority of other elected officials who have their own hidden agendas that don't include the well-being of minorities.
Case in point: About 10 years ago when my daughter was entering college at North Carolina A&T I had an issue and wanted my local Congressman, David Price, to get involved and help me or at least guide me in the right direction. I called his local Durham, NC and Washington offices repeatedly and left messages. I got no response. I lost all respect for him and his staff after that and have never voted for him again---although he keeps winning. He is a great example of "showing up" when he needs us but he obviously didn't need me at that time or I'm sure there would've been a response.
So even though I think Donald Trump is an imbecile and unfit to be President I do give him a kudos for ranting one truth at the first Presidential debate.
Tuesday, September 27, 2016
Sunday, September 18, 2016
Blogging for Good Customer Service
This is written as a follow-up to my previous post Avis Needs Some Customer Service Tips.
First of all, let me say kudos to Avis for taking the time and effort to respond to my September 6, 2016 rant. When I posted the blog link on Twitter for all the world to see, Avis sent me a tweet asking me to contact them directly about the issue. Although I didn't respond to the tweet, the local rental car company did notify me that my grandson's cellphone was miraculously found----even after I was told the car had been rented out to someone else just hours after I called to report the phone had been left in the vehicle.
OK---today all is well and now I can move on to the next issue but here's my point: If there were no social media platform to air my grievance, that cell phone might still be missing today. Had I not taken the time to write about my experience and post it on Twitter, Avis would have never known how one of their local franchises were responding, or in my case, NOT responding to their customers. Remember, I called a total of 18 times before I wrote anything.
It's a shame that anyone would have to resort to a social media arena to make a complaint but perhaps this is what is needed more often. Companies would be forced to stop ignoring or taking advantage of little people like me if we use our social media voices.
Hopefully, one day the police who have been killing young black men and under the alleged "I was threatened for my life" banner will get that message.
For me, blogging is a means to a resolution.
First of all, let me say kudos to Avis for taking the time and effort to respond to my September 6, 2016 rant. When I posted the blog link on Twitter for all the world to see, Avis sent me a tweet asking me to contact them directly about the issue. Although I didn't respond to the tweet, the local rental car company did notify me that my grandson's cellphone was miraculously found----even after I was told the car had been rented out to someone else just hours after I called to report the phone had been left in the vehicle.
OK---today all is well and now I can move on to the next issue but here's my point: If there were no social media platform to air my grievance, that cell phone might still be missing today. Had I not taken the time to write about my experience and post it on Twitter, Avis would have never known how one of their local franchises were responding, or in my case, NOT responding to their customers. Remember, I called a total of 18 times before I wrote anything.
It's a shame that anyone would have to resort to a social media arena to make a complaint but perhaps this is what is needed more often. Companies would be forced to stop ignoring or taking advantage of little people like me if we use our social media voices.
Hopefully, one day the police who have been killing young black men and under the alleged "I was threatened for my life" banner will get that message.
For me, blogging is a means to a resolution.
Tuesday, September 6, 2016
Avis Needs Some Customer Service Tips
When you do business with Bev, you need to bring your "A" Game because I have lived long enough to know the difference between good, mediocre and bad customer service.
In the past 24 hours, Avis RDU has shown me why the Company is #8 on the Top 10 Car Rental Services list for 2016. It all started when my grandson informed me he left his phone in our Avis rental car upon returning from a trip on Labor Day. Whether or not you think my grandson was irresponsible for leaving it in the vehicle or I, as his grandmother, was irresponsible for giving a cell phone to a nine-year-old is IRRELEVANT. The point is how Avis RDU responded after that has driven me to write this post. Ahhhhh....the power of blogging and social media. Now instead of me complaining and letting it fall on deaf ears, I have the potential to reach thousands of people who may think twice about doing business with them.
So when we discovered the cell phone was missing I started calling the car rental place. After getting through their horrible automation and speaking to people who weren't in the location I was calling, I finally got to someone who swore to me they would look for the phone and call me back to let me know if they found it.
Well, 18 calls later, no one has had the decency to return a call and update me on the status of the lost cell phone. 18 calls!!! You would think someone would just call you back to keep you from calling.
After the 18th call, I decided to drop by Avis RDU to speak to a manager to find out why they had such poor customer service. Of course, the manager I spoke with (Connie) said she just couldn't believe no one would call me back and it was so unlike the designated person (Brenda), who was the one I managed to speak to briefly. And she sounded like she had an attitude---as if I was disturbing her day.
Oh, and I did learn the car had been re-rented Labor Day evening at 10pm---a full three HOURS after I called. And I also learned from Connie that the vehicle could've been put on hold while they did a thorough search.
To put it all in perspective, this post isn't about a lost cell phone, it's about business and customer service which Avis RDU has certainly NOT PASSED THE TEST.
Years ago, they had a commercial admitting to being #2 behind Hertz, which made them try harder. Today they don't even rank in my book---and they don't seem to be trying to change my opinion.
In the past 24 hours, Avis RDU has shown me why the Company is #8 on the Top 10 Car Rental Services list for 2016. It all started when my grandson informed me he left his phone in our Avis rental car upon returning from a trip on Labor Day. Whether or not you think my grandson was irresponsible for leaving it in the vehicle or I, as his grandmother, was irresponsible for giving a cell phone to a nine-year-old is IRRELEVANT. The point is how Avis RDU responded after that has driven me to write this post. Ahhhhh....the power of blogging and social media. Now instead of me complaining and letting it fall on deaf ears, I have the potential to reach thousands of people who may think twice about doing business with them.
So when we discovered the cell phone was missing I started calling the car rental place. After getting through their horrible automation and speaking to people who weren't in the location I was calling, I finally got to someone who swore to me they would look for the phone and call me back to let me know if they found it.
Well, 18 calls later, no one has had the decency to return a call and update me on the status of the lost cell phone. 18 calls!!! You would think someone would just call you back to keep you from calling.
After the 18th call, I decided to drop by Avis RDU to speak to a manager to find out why they had such poor customer service. Of course, the manager I spoke with (Connie) said she just couldn't believe no one would call me back and it was so unlike the designated person (Brenda), who was the one I managed to speak to briefly. And she sounded like she had an attitude---as if I was disturbing her day.
Oh, and I did learn the car had been re-rented Labor Day evening at 10pm---a full three HOURS after I called. And I also learned from Connie that the vehicle could've been put on hold while they did a thorough search.
To put it all in perspective, this post isn't about a lost cell phone, it's about business and customer service which Avis RDU has certainly NOT PASSED THE TEST.
Years ago, they had a commercial admitting to being #2 behind Hertz, which made them try harder. Today they don't even rank in my book---and they don't seem to be trying to change my opinion.
Avis Needs Some Customer Service Tips
When you do business with Bev, you need to bring your "A" Game because I have lived long enough to know the difference between good, mediocre and bad customer service.
In the past 24 hours, Avis RDU has shown me why the Company is #8 on the Top 10 Car Rental Services list for 2016. It all started when my grandson informed me he left his phone in our Avis rental car upon returning from a trip on Labor Day. Whether or not you think my grandson was irresponsible for leaving it in the vehicle or I, as his grandmother, was irresponsible for giving a cell phone to a nine-year-old is IRRELEVANT. The point is how Avis RDU responded after that has driven me to write this post. Ahhhhh....the power of blogging and social media. Now instead of me complaining and letting it fall on deaf ears, I have the potential to reach thousands of people who may think twice about doing business with them.
So when we discovered the cell phone was missing I started calling the car rental place. After getting through their horrible automation and speaking to people who weren't in the location I was calling, I finally got to someone who swore to me they would look for the phone and call me back to let me know if they found it.
Well, 18 calls later, no one has had the decency to return a call and update me on the status of the lost cell phone. 18 calls!!! You would think someone would just call you back to keep you from calling.
After the 18th call, I decided to drop by Avis RDU to speak to a manager to find out why they had such poor customer service. Of course, the manager I spoke with (Connie) said she just couldn't believe no one would call me back and it was so unlike the designated person (Brenda), who was the one I managed to speak to briefly. And she sounded like she had an attitude---as if I was disturbing her day.
Oh, and I did learn the car had been re-rented Labor Day evening at 10pm---a full three HOURS after I called. And I also learned from Connie that the vehicle could've been put on hold while they did a thorough search.
To put it all in perspective, this post isn't about a lost cell phone, it's about business and customer service which Avis RDU has certainly NOT PASSED THE TEST.
Years ago, they had a commercial admitting to being #2 behind Hertz, which made them try harder. Today they don't even rank in my book.
In the past 24 hours, Avis RDU has shown me why the Company is #8 on the Top 10 Car Rental Services list for 2016. It all started when my grandson informed me he left his phone in our Avis rental car upon returning from a trip on Labor Day. Whether or not you think my grandson was irresponsible for leaving it in the vehicle or I, as his grandmother, was irresponsible for giving a cell phone to a nine-year-old is IRRELEVANT. The point is how Avis RDU responded after that has driven me to write this post. Ahhhhh....the power of blogging and social media. Now instead of me complaining and letting it fall on deaf ears, I have the potential to reach thousands of people who may think twice about doing business with them.
So when we discovered the cell phone was missing I started calling the car rental place. After getting through their horrible automation and speaking to people who weren't in the location I was calling, I finally got to someone who swore to me they would look for the phone and call me back to let me know if they found it.
Well, 18 calls later, no one has had the decency to return a call and update me on the status of the lost cell phone. 18 calls!!! You would think someone would just call you back to keep you from calling.
After the 18th call, I decided to drop by Avis RDU to speak to a manager to find out why they had such poor customer service. Of course, the manager I spoke with (Connie) said she just couldn't believe no one would call me back and it was so unlike the designated person (Brenda), who was the one I managed to speak to briefly. And she sounded like she had an attitude---as if I was disturbing her day.
Oh, and I did learn the car had been re-rented Labor Day evening at 10pm---a full three HOURS after I called. And I also learned from Connie that the vehicle could've been put on hold while they did a thorough search.
To put it all in perspective, this post isn't about a lost cell phone, it's about business and customer service which Avis RDU has certainly NOT PASSED THE TEST.
Years ago, they had a commercial admitting to being #2 behind Hertz, which made them try harder. Today they don't even rank in my book.
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