Archive for problem
Oil spill who to blame
Posted by: | CommentsThe beaches in Alabama are as white as sugar, wide, and very beautiful. The chemical makeup of the sand on the beaches is quartz. To think of what is happening to the beaches makes us very sad and apprehensive. But what is happening to the sea turtles, our beloved pelicans that are so ugly but soar so gracefully, and all the seabirds really breaks our hearts.
Then there is the human element. From the agony of the loved ones who had family members who perished with the devastation on the oil rig to the oil rig workers, from the roughnecks to the roustabouts, from the members of the management team of BP who were inflicted with terrible injuries to the many small business owners who will never recover from the effects of this catastrophe, from the property owners who depend on the income from individual condominiums to make financial ends meet to many others, the list goes on and on. This accident will go down in history as the worst ecological and environmental episode ever!
The primary responsibility for all of this death and destruction falls in the lap of a good company from one of our staunchest allies, Great Britain. There are other companies that are complicit, if that is the right word, but BP is the primary company of responsibility. The other companies are Transoceanic Exploration, Halliburton and some smaller suppliers. The U.S. government has, and continues to show, disdain for the efforts and lack of urgency BP has exhibited. Based on the recognized magnitude of the problem, the financial implications for BP, and the public relations nightmare created by this cataclysmic occurrence, how can anyone think that BP is not doing everything in its power, with the best technology available, to bring this man made rupture in the Gulf’s subsurface to finalization?
It is true that deepwater oil exploration technology is suspect, as evidenced by today’s events. But the oil companies are drilling in areas of such incredible depths that technology is being created as they go. The oilrig that exploded was capped at 5,290 feet, and the drill was another 17,000 feet below that. But since so many of the areas where oil is abundant and easily recoverable in the United States have been eliminated from oil exploration that the only place left is the oceans surrounding our country. Other nations of the world are drilling in the Gulf, and foreign exploration will continue.
Many people have blamed the Obama administration for its meek response to the problem. Others have talked about the restrictive demand of the environmentalists as being a component of the problem, and all have talked about the overall intransigence of British Petroleum. The critics are all right in their thinking, and I don’t have enough space to discuss each charge. But one thing is clear from the governmental standpoint. Politics pervades our entire life. We can’t even escape it when we have a national catastrophic event such as this.
Obama has talked about “kicking ass,” and the politicians have already initiated a criminal investigation. There will be time for all this political posturing once the situation is under control, and it will be. Now is the time for all parties to focus on stopping this calamity and trying to kick the ass of the only party in this drama that can stop it is really stupid.
The millions upon millions of gallons of oil hemorrhaging into the Gulf of Mexico every day is a crude reminder of the many ways humans are fouling the planet. As forests are cleared, cities and suburbs paved and expanded, as the air and sea warm and become increasingly polluted with cancer-causing chemicals and garbage, and with species dropping like flies, the planet’s health is being challenged in ways that have not occurred in its entire 4.5-billion-year existence.
Action Line: How the Better Business Bureau complaint process works
Posted by: | CommentsI recently filed my first complaint with the Better Business Bureau regarding a problem with dry cleaning. I carefully submitted every detail of the problem and sent copies of all my receipts and pictures of the ruined items with the complaint. I did receive a less-than-satisfactory response from the company and responded back to them, but never heard anything else.
When I followed up today, I found the company had been given an “F” rating for ‘failure to respond to complaints,’ but they wouldn’t tell me who had made the complaints so I don’t know if mine was included. Why wasn’t this company forced to replace my comforter and pillow shams? What good does it do to file a complaint if the company doesn’t have to fix the problem?
The Better Business Bureau complaint process is based on fairness, to both the consumer and the business. We accept comments, both complaints and compliments, about any business regardless of size or industry. We appreciate consumers like you who supply us with comprehensive information in your complaint, including pictures of the damaged items in question. At the same time, we also want to give the company an opportunity to respond to your complaint thereby starting a dialogue that will, hopefully, result in resolution of the problem. In your particular case, the company chose to end the dialogue after receiving your follow-up response and to ignore further efforts at communication. When that happens, the complaint is closed as unresolved and most likely will result in a negative impact on the company’s grade. The complaint will remain on the business’ Reliability Report for 36 months, our standard reporting period.
If the company had belonged to the BBB as an accredited business, their membership would have been terminated. BBB accredited businesses are held to a higher standard and sign a contract committing to excellent customer service and resolution of consumer complaints at the time they join the BBB.
The BBB is not a government agency and cannot compel a business to either respond to a consumer complaint or to provide adequate customer service to resolve the issue at hand. What we do is offer a free process that provides consumers and other businesses with the opportunity to talk with each other and share their views and concerns. The results are recorded in the company’s Reliability Report and provide neutral information for future inquiring consumers or businesses. While your complaint did not result in a satisfactory ending for you, that company’s report now reflects that they have failed to resolve a customer service issue. That information is shared with people calling or going online to check on that company before making a decision to do business with them. (Your name, contact information and complaint specifics are not shared with anyone for privacy reasons.)
I wish I had a solution to change the results of your complaint process. However, as a result of your actions, you have helped protect future consumers who might face the same problems with that company.
Illegal Immigrants ?
Posted by: | CommentsThis article supports a theory that explains the illegal alien problem as part of the general environment in which it is found. It argues that the illegal alien problem is a diverse one and not simply a Mexico-US problem, and suggests that traditional immigration law enforcement strategies encourage an ever-increasing illegal alien population in the United States. Reasons why such a policy of enforcement exists are also discussed.
Characterizations of the illegal alien range from the sympathetic to the xenophobic. Such characterizations contribute to the confusion about the illegal alien problem. The media usually portrays the plight of the illegal alien in the United States using the historical view of a nation of immigrants. Often, the media resists portraying the illegal alien as anything but the hard working border-crosser that simply wants to feed his family. However, the traditional image of aliens may have changed as a result of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.
By way of introduction, immigration law violators are not immigrants . They are aliens who are in the United States in violation of law. There is a profound difference between individuals who legally apply for admission and fulfill all the requirements for admission, and those who decide to enter the United States, or intentionally overstay their visa in violation of law.
Two years ago, illegal immigration was such a hot topic that any conservative politician who even mentioned the word “amnesty” for undocumented aliens—also called illegal immigrants—in anything other than a hostile tone risked being tarred and feathered and subject to a recall. But today the issue of aliens unlawfully present in the United States has been moved to the back burners, if not completely off the stove. The only recent controversy involving undocumented aliens is whether they and/or their children should be covered by the new healthcare plan that is currently being crafted by Congress. President Obama, on the other hand, is supportive of a “path to citizenship” for immigrants who are here unlawfully.
According to the Center for Immigration Studies, the number of illegal aliens in the United States dropped by almost 14 percent, or 1.7 million people, between the summer of 2007 and the spring of 2009. It has been estimated that the number of immigrants entering the U.S. illegally has dropped by one-third, while the number of illegal aliens returning to their homeland has more than doubled.
According to the Center for Immigration Studies, the number of illegal aliens in the United States dropped by almost 14 percent, or 1.7 million people, between the summer of 2007 and the spring of 2009. It has been estimated that the number of immigrants entering the U.S. illegally has dropped by one-third, while the number of illegal aliens returning to their homeland has more than doubled.
What are the reasons for this dramatic turnaround? One reason is that more of our border with Mexico has been fenced in, deterring potential immigrants from trying to illegally cross into the United States. Although during his candidacy President Obama pledged that he would moderate the Bush administration’s tough policy on immigration enforcement, his administration is pursuing an aggressive strategy for an illegal immigration crackdown that relies substantially on programs started by his predecessor
President Obama favors shifting the burden of immigration enforcement to employers, while making it difficult for illegal immigrants to get hired. It is estimated that tens of thousands of jobs created by the economic stimulus law could end up being filled by illegal immigrants, especially in big states like California where undocumented workers make up a substantial number of construction workers. Studies by two conservative think tanks estimate that illegal immigrants could take 300,000 construction jobs, or 15 percent of the two million jobs that new taxpayer-financed projects are expected to create.
Illegal immigrants come to the United States to improve their lives through the opportunities offered in this country, but often end up becoming employed in low-paying sectors that don’t attract American workers. The illegal workers may be abused and exploited by their employers, but they are afraid to report such abuse and exploitation to the authorities out of fear that they will be deported.
Illegal immigrants are a big burden on hospital emergency rooms. Unable to purchase health insurance, they do not receive preventive medical care. If they have a medical problem, they wait until it is serious enough to warrant treatment. Federal law requires emergency rooms to examine everyone who comes in with a medical complaint and to treat emergency conditions regardless of whether or not the person has health insurance or is here legally or illegally. Undocumented aliens should be free to purchase their own private insurance if they can afford it, and if they can’t, then they should be covered by Medicaid (Medi-Cal in California).
Undocumented aliens are vital to the economy of the United States, doing the jobs most Americans would not do. They are underpaid, overworked, exploited, work in substandard and often dangerous conditions, and live in constant fear of being caught by immigration authorities, jailed, and deported. Call them illegal aliens or undocumented aliens, the fact is that the lure of a better life in the once prosperous United States is hard to resist. We who are fortunate enough to live in the United States take many things for granted, such as pure drinking water, healthful and abundant food, easy transportation, a comfortable house or apartment to keep us cool in the hot summer and warm in the cold winter. Can you really blame a Latino or eastern man for wanting better living conditions for his wife and children, let alone himself? The squalor they often live in in the United States is considered by them to be a paradise as opposed to the cardboard shack, impure water, tainted food, and rampant disease of their native country
Toyota Tundra Complaints
Posted by: | CommentsIt’s one ugly truck all right. Problem is, it can be a little uglier than the buyer expects. Tundra is one of the models that is putting a pretty big blemish on Toyota’s reputation for quality, reliability and customer service.
Biggest problem? The brakes. A design oversight can cause the front rotors to warp and wear prematurly. Toyota’s response has been to keep quiet and hope the problem goes away. Not likely.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened an investigation into whether there is a dangerous rust problem with the frames on about 218,000 Toyota Tundra pickups from the 2000-1 model years.
The agency said the investigation was prompted by five complaints from consumers who say brake lines were broken as the result of a rust problem with the frame. There were also 15 complaints that “the under body mounted spare tire separated from the rear cross member.”
Steve McNally of York, Me., said he had to sell his 2000 Tundra because the rust was so bad it couldn’t pass the state safety inspection. In a complaint filed on the Web site of the Center for Auto Safety, he said he was driving on Interstate 95 when “without warning, the back end of the truck suddenly lifted up off the pavement while traveling at 65 m.p.h. When I regained control of the vehicle, I looked into the rear-view mirror to see a tire bouncing erratically across several lanes of northbound traffic. Cars were braking and swerving to avoid a collision.”
Toyota Motor Co. is recalling 3.8 million vehicles from model years 2007-2010 because unsecured or incompatible floor mats can interfere with the accelerators.
The rubber mats, Toyota told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), can cause accelerators to get stuck in the wide-open position, causing high vehicle speeds, difficulty in stopping and possible crashes, leading to injuries and fatalities.
Toyota undertook a voluntary safety campaign in 2007 to remove all-weather floor mats from certain Toyota Camry and Lexus ES350 models, the auto maker told NHTSA. Renewed complaints, however, have caused Toyota to investigate other models as well, it said.
Affected models include the Lexus ES350, model years 2007-2009; the Lexus IS, 2006-2010; the Toyota Avalon, 2005-2009; the Toyota Camry, 2007-2010; the Toyota Prius, 2004-2009; the Toyota Tacoma, 2005-2009; and the Toyota Tundra, 2007-2010.
Toyota will send letters to owners, advising them to remove their driver’s-side floor mats and not to replace them until the auto maker develops model-specific mats. When such mats are available, Toyota will install them free of charge.
Making a complaint to your child’s school
Posted by: | CommentsIf your child has a problem at school you should be able to sort it out through an informal discussion with your child’s teacher. If you can’t resolve a problem informally, the school should have a formal complaints procedure that you can follow.
Contacting your child’s school
If you’re worried about your child’s learning or welfare at school, your child’s class teacher or head of year is the best person to approach first. Teachers will usually be in the classroom during the day, but you can leave messages with the school office asking the teacher to get back to you.
If the teacher can’t help, or you are not satisfied with their response, you can talk to the headteacher. You should be able to arrange a meeting or a telephone conversation with the headteacher through the school office. If this isn’t practical, you may wish to make a written complaint.
Complaining to the governing body
If your complaint is not resolved, the next stage is to approach the governing body of the school. All state-funded schools are required to have a procedure to deal with any complaints relating to the school, or to any facilities or services that the school provides for the local community.
If you want to complain to the governing body, ask the school for a copy of its complaints procedure. All complaints to the governing body must be in writing.
Complaining to your local authority
Complaining to the Secretary of State
Finally, if you believe that your school’s governing body or your local authority is acting ‘unreasonably’ you can complain in writing to the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families. Complaints to the Secretary of State are handled by the government’s Department for Children, Schools and Families.
This should be a last resort, and you should highlight in your letter the steps you have already taken to resolve the problem. You should be aware that the Department for Children, Schools and Families will not usually be able to investigate your complaint if your child no longer goes to the school where the incident took place.
Government’s Consumer Action Handbook tells how to pursue complaints
Posted by: | CommentsReporting from Washington – The statement “I’m from the government, and I’m here to help you” is considered one of the great lies of our time.
But if you’ve ever had a beef with a contractor, wanted to check the complaint record of the company offering you a cut-rate homeowner insurance policy, wondered how to escalate your problem with the local electric company or couldn’t get the installer to come back to take a look at your new but balky furnace, Uncle Sam really is here to help.
Just off the presses, the 30th edition of the Consumer Action Handbook from the General Service Administration’s Office of Citizen Services and Communication is chock-full of goodies for aggravated citizens who don’t know how or where to complain.
Even the savviest consumer has an issue from time to time with a product or service. But those who remain calm, maintain an even keel and pursue their grievances quietly but firmly are the ones who turn lemons into lemonade.
As the Consumer Action Handbook points out, the first step in resolving a problem is to contact the seller. Not only do you have a right to gripe, you have a responsibility. A problem can’t be corrected if no one knows about it. Do it as soon as possible. Don’t let that leaky connection go until more damage is done. And don’t stew until the problem has become larger than it really is.
If your issue is settled on the first call, you’re better off than most people. But if you are not satisfied, ask to speak to a supervisor or manager. And keep going up the ladder — to national headquarters or the manufacturer, if necessary — until you reach someone who will listen to your tale of woe.
If a home builder is a national outfit, for example, and the local office is apathetic to the fact that your bathroom tile is cracked, by all means, go to the next level.
If you are dealing with a manufacturing defect — say, the ice maker in your fancy new refrigerator keeps freezing up — realize that many companies have special customer service offices whose primary function is to solve such issues. The directory portion of the Consumer Action Handbook has listings for several hundred firms, or you can visit a company’s website, where you can click on the “contact us” link.
Each time you make a contact, keep a record of the date and time, and write down the name and phone number of the person with whom you spoke. Also take notes, recording your recollection of whatever was discussed, the solutions discussed and the offers, if any, that were made. Similarly, keep copies of all e-mails.
Type up your notes so that they are legible, and follow up with the person to whom you spoke with a letter that reinforces your position and states what actions you expect the company to take. But be reasonable. The maker may be willing to send someone out to re-stretch the rugs in your living room, but it cannot be expected to replace the set of dishes that broke when you tripped over the hump left by the original installer.
“Your letter should be brief and to the point,” the consumer handbook advises. “State exactly what you want done about the problem and how long you are willing to wait for a response. Don’t write an angry, sarcastic or threatening letter. The person reading your letter probably wasn’t responsible for your problem, but could be very helpful in resolving it.”
If, after you have given the company a reasonable amount of time to respond to your complaint, you are still not placated, consider filing a grievance against it.
Most people know they can file a complaint with their Better Business Bureau and the state or local consumer protection office. But as the consumer handbook points out, you also can take your problem to the state or federal agency that regulates that business.
Real estate brokers, for example, answer to state real estate commissions, and builders and remodeling contractors are often licensed by agencies that sometimes have systems in place to help consumers resolve their problems. Problem lenders can be reported too.
Politicians are another great resource, and so are local media outlets. Many state and local elected officials are able to help their constituents. Newspapers, radio stations and television stations are often interested in stories in which consumers are harmed, particularly if they are hoodwinked. Some still have action-line or hotline services.
Even national consumer groups may be able to help. If they can’t assist on specific complaints, maybe they are interested in hearing about issues that could influence their educational efforts or might become the focus of one of their advocacy programs.
Still not satisfied? Try to find out whether the company in question belongs to an industry trade association. Many associations have dispute systems in place for helping consumers resolve problems with their members.
Maybe the company will submit to conciliation, mediation or arbitration, in which a neutral third party meets with both sides in an effort to figure out an acceptable solution. If so, the handbook advises that you obtain a copy of the rules beforehand so you will know whether the decision is binding or whether participation places any restrictions on your ability to take legal action
Government’s Consumer Action Handbook tells how to pursue complaints
Posted by: | CommentsReporting from Washington – The statement “I’m from the government, and I’m here to help you” is considered one of the great lies of our time.
But if you’ve ever had a beef with a contractor, wanted to check the complaint record of the company offering you a cut-rate homeowner insurance policy, wondered how to escalate your problem with the local electric company or couldn’t get the installer to come back to take a look at your new but balky furnace, Uncle Sam really is here to help.
Just off the presses, the 30th edition of the Consumer Action Handbook from the General Service Administration’s Office of Citizen Services and Communication is chock-full of goodies for aggravated citizens who don’t know how or where to complain.
Even the savviest consumer has an issue from time to time with a product or service. But those who remain calm, maintain an even keel and pursue their grievances quietly but firmly are the ones who turn lemons into lemonade.
As the Consumer Action Handbook points out, the first step in resolving a problem is to contact the seller. Not only do you have a right to gripe, you have a responsibility. A problem can’t be corrected if no one knows about it. Do it as soon as possible. Don’t let that leaky connection go until more damage is done. And don’t stew until the problem has become larger than it really is.
If your issue is settled on the first call, you’re better off than most people. But if you are not satisfied, ask to speak to a supervisor or manager. And keep going up the ladder — to national headquarters or the manufacturer, if necessary — until you reach someone who will listen to your tale of woe.
If a home builder is a national outfit, for example, and the local office is apathetic to the fact that your bathroom tile is cracked, by all means, go to the next level.
If you are dealing with a manufacturing defect — say, the ice maker in your fancy new refrigerator keeps freezing up — realize that many companies have special customer service offices whose primary function is to solve such issues. The directory portion of the Consumer Action Handbook has listings for several hundred firms, or you can visit a company’s website, where you can click on the “contact us” link.
Each time you make a contact, keep a record of the date and time, and write down the name and phone number of the person with whom you spoke. Also take notes, recording your recollection of whatever was discussed, the solutions discussed and the offers, if any, that were made. Similarly, keep copies of all e-mails.
Type up your notes so that they are legible, and follow up with the person to whom you spoke with a letter that reinforces your position and states what actions you expect the company to take. But be reasonable. The maker may be willing to send someone out to re-stretch the rugs in your living room, but it cannot be expected to replace the set of dishes that broke when you tripped over the hump left by the original installer.
“Your letter should be brief and to the point,” the consumer handbook advises. “State exactly what you want done about the problem and how long you are willing to wait for a response. Don’t write an angry, sarcastic or threatening letter. The person reading your letter probably wasn’t responsible for your problem, but could be very helpful in resolving it.”
If, after you have given the company a reasonable amount of time to respond to your complaint, you are still not placated, consider filing a grievance against it.
Most people know they can file a complaint with their Better Business Bureau and the state or local consumer protection office. But as the consumer handbook points out, you also can take your problem to the state or federal agency that regulates that business.
Real estate brokers, for example, answer to state real estate commissions, and builders and remodeling contractors are often licensed by agencies that sometimes have systems in place to help consumers resolve their problems. Problem lenders can be reported too.
Politicians are another great resource, and so are local media outlets. Many state and local elected officials are able to help their constituents. Newspapers, radio stations and television stations are often interested in stories in which consumers are harmed, particularly if they are hoodwinked. Some still have action-line or hotline services.
Even national consumer groups may be able to help. If they can’t assist on specific complaints, maybe they are interested in hearing about issues that could influence their educational efforts or might become the focus of one of their advocacy programs.
Still not satisfied? Try to find out whether the company in question belongs to an industry trade association. Many associations have dispute systems in place for helping consumers resolve problems with their members.
Maybe the company will submit to conciliation, mediation or arbitration, in which a neutral third party meets with both sides in an effort to figure out an acceptable solution. If so, the handbook advises that you obtain a copy of the rules beforehand so you will know whether the decision is binding or whether participation places any restrictions on your ability to take legal action
Customer complaints seen as underutilized resource
Posted by: | CommentsCustomer complaints are the most underutilized resource in the hospitality industry today, said Andrew Schmidt in the white paper “How To Use Customer Complaints to Your Advantage.”
Restaurant operators need to train their staff to see such complaints as opportunities and how to effectively deal with unhappy customers, he said.
Jay Goltz, in the You’re the Boss/The Art of Running a Small Business blog in The New York Times, uses the S.A.V.E. approach to train his staff. The approach includes the following steps:
* Sympathize. Letting the customer know you understand his feelings can be calming.
* Act. Let the customer know you will do something solve the problem with a specific action.
* Vindicate. Let the customer know that the incident is out of the ordinary and not acceptable.
* Eat something. Give them a free menu item or discount as an apology.
No matter how hard you try, things are bound to go wrong once in a while. Food gets burned, orders get forgotten in the middle of a dinner rush, or new servers simply forget all their training. No matter the reason for the complaint, the important thing is to try and please the customer and send them home knowing that, yes there was a problem, but it is not typical of your establishment. Let them know that you, the owner, value their comments and their business.
Complaint to council moves potholed street to top of repair list
Posted by: | CommentsTHE PROBLEM: Ivy Westmoreland’s 1950 Chevy DeLuxe hasn’t been out of her garage much lately, but it’s not because it doesn’t run – she’s afraid of her street.
The condition of the street along a three-block stretch west of Main Street has worsened over the last nine months or so, she said. She wrote a letter, gathered 47 signatures on a petition and protested to the mayor and council at a meeting this month.
Then she was told Mt. Vernon was on the city’s schedule for resurfacing in 2011. “To me, this is unacceptable,” Westmoreland said. “I felt as if they didn’t care about the concerns of the citizens living on this street.”
STATUS: Westmoreland’s complaint and petition to the council prompted city leaders to reconsider, said City Manager Graham Mitchell, and Mt. Vernon became a higher priority.
The original 2011 timetable was based on a systematic assessment of pavement and roadbed quality on Lemon Grove streets a few years ago, Mitchell said.
At the time, Mt. Vernon ranked lower than many busier Lemon Grove streets. But engineers took another look after Westmoreland’s council comment and discovered the road had gotten worse.
“We are moving this street up on the list,” Mitchell said. The work could be scheduled by the end of June, he said, depending partly on any stimulus money the city receives.
NEED A PROBLEM SOLVED: Is there a problem that government hasn’t taken care of despite your complaints? Whether it’s a confusing street sign or persistent leaky pipe anywhere in San Diego County, Just Fix It might be able to help.