The MPAA studios hate us. [...] They see us as stupid eyeballs with wallets, and they are entitled to a constant stream of our money. They despise us, and they certainly don’t respect us.

Yet when we watch their movies, we support them. [...] They use our support to buy these laws.

The next SOPA by Marco Arment. A fine read, with major points everyone should ponder—myself included.

The first visit was good. I ordered two scoops (cinnamon and chocolate) and got a heaping bowl which seemed to contain four scoops. Awesome.

After I paid and received my change, I realized that the employee had only broken my $20 (two fives and one ten). I ate my ice cream inside and waited until the other customers left before informing her of the error and paying.

The kicker: she didn’t seem to realize what she did wrong, even after I explained.

My second visit was yesterday afternoon. A lone employee was cutting strawberries, and a few customers enjoyed their ice cream at the tables. My girlfriend ordered two scoops in a waffle cone, and she was charged $3.50. I ordered two scoops in a bowl (cup?), and was charged $3.50.

I glared at the tiny cup size, clarifying that I’d ordered two scoops (cinnamon and coffee chocolate). I could technically see two scoops, but we told her that a two scoop order in the past has been much bigger — big enough to fit in a paper bowl.

Nope. We were mistaken. The employee insisted their sizes were smaller than most places.

I stared at the paper menu on their wall, and noticed the “official” pricing of their products:

• 1 scoop (with an tiny drawing of one scoop): $3.50
• 2 scoops (with a tiny drawing of two scoops): $4.75
• Waffle cone substitution: $1.00 extra

The employee seemed unfazed, so I gave her a five dollar bill, expecting 25 cents in change. But, I received $1.50 in change.

By her logic, I ordered one scoop?

My girlfriend should’ve been charged $5.75, and I should’ve been charged $4.75.

I shouldn’t be confused at an ice cream shop. If I’m compelled to write a blog post about your customer service, your employees need to be retrained on your item costs, serving sizes, and pricing.

I’m not complaining as a disgruntled customer, but as someone who wants your business to flourish. Since this business is still new, I’d rather give them a chance to make things right for future transactions. Consistency.

I want to enjoy ice cream, not argue about correct portion sizes and arithmetic errors.

Additional notes:

• Mother Moo Creamery has been open since September 10, 2011.
• This sign explains my confusion clearly. Transitive property? (Hat tip: @Jitterro)

That was probably a bad move on my part.

While my contract doesn’t entitle them to get every single photo I took, they’re politely asking for all of them. You know, for posterity.

I already deleted a lot of the bad ones:

• blurry
• underexposed
• duplicates
• mid-blink or non-flattering photos

There’s a few left that I haven’t deleted, but I’d rank them between 1-2 out of 5. Not worthy.

I can’t think of an appropriate response or metaphor to help get my point across.

Wait, what’s your point?

Trust me, you don’t want all the photos. I don’t bat 1.000. Additionally, I wouldn’t want to be associated with those mediocre photos.

Any suggestions (for now or future encounters)?

I requested RMA service with the cross ship option (just for kicks).

Time line:

• 3/22/2010 8:04 PM – Requested RMA number
• 3/26/2010 1:33 PM – RMA request processed
• 3/26/2010 4:34 PM – Memory shipped via UPS Ground from Anaheim
• 3/29/2010 11:40 AM – Memory delivered

Summary:

• It took three business days for my RMA request to be approved (the RMA page said it’d take two business days).
• Kingston Technology shipped my memory locally, so that only took one business day.
• I didn’t need proof of purchase/receipt since Kingston’s ValueRAM has a lifetime warranty.
• The new memory stick is a bit shorter.

Other than the extra day waiting for my RMA request, the whole process was painless. If I went with standard replacement, it’d take a few more days waiting for them to receive my defective memory. I didn’t mind the temporary hold on my credit card.

I think it’s safe to say that you can be confident when buying Kingston Technology system memory.

PRICE CHANGE NOTICE

Attention AT&T High Speed Internet Members: Starting with your March 2010 bill, the monthly rate for your AT&T High Speed Internet Express, Pro or Elite plan will increase $3 (or $3.01) per month. For details and rate information for your specific plan, please go to http://support.att.com/dslupdate or call 1.866.417.6819.

(My emphasis added in bold.)

I have the Pro service for $30/month. So, twelve months from when it starts increasing, it’ll be $66?!

The text is unbelievable. Someone please clarify.

Related: FCC Commissioner Calls For Examination Of Broadband Price Hikes (MediaPost, March 10, 2010)

I didn’t order anything. The last two things I ordered the past couple months was a 8GB CompactFlash card and a 4GB USB flash drive.

When I opened the box, an Office Depot catalog is staring at me. I didn’t request it.

On the back of the catalog cover, small text says:

This 4-page cover is printed on paper containing 10% postconsumer fibers.

What about the rest of the catalog?

Ooh, and there’s a $20 off coupon (with an order of $100 or more). Office Depot murdered a tree to thank me and send a coupon.

To make matters worse, I don’t see any way to opt out of this catalog.

At the bottom of the enclosed thank you letter, it was signed by Christine Buscarino, Sr. Director of Marketing.

Until your website includes a check box to opt in requesting a catalog (read: Don’t just send me one for kicks!), you won’t see me again.

Update (seconds after I posted this) — In small text on the back of the catalog, it states:

To update or remove your contact information from our mailing list, please call 800.915.4624, send an email to mailoptout@officedepot.com or send a copy of the address panel to: Office Depot Mailing List, P.O. Box 5009, Boca Raton, FL 33431-0809.

I still shouldn’t have to opt out of a catalog just because I ordered something and had it delivered to my place of work.

Why isn’t there a way to do this online?

Calling wasn’t difficult. But, their prompts are confusing.

“Do you wish to limit information…?”

Then again, I’m not sure how I’d word it. Whatever.

Related: Chase sucks with new privacy policy, opt-out process is painful! (DygiScape, August 12, 2009)

There are currently no options in my account page that lets me opt out — why?!

As of March 2, 2009 in the Privacy Policy:

How do I remove my information from email, postal mailing and telephone lists?

If you prefer not to receive notice of promotions, reorder information or updates on contact lens laws by email, please click the “My Account” link at the top of any of the pages on www.1800contacts.com, enter your email address and password and click on “email options”. You will be able to specify your email preferences on this page. If you wish to be removed from all email communications not related to your order, you can call one of our Customer Service Representatives at 1-800 CONTACTS (1-800-266-8228). If you prefer not to receive postal mail, please let us know by sending us an email at info@1800contacts.com or call one of our Customer Service Representatives at 1-800 CONTACTS (1-800-266-8228).

PLEASE NOTE: Requests to be removed from the postal mail list may take up to 6-8 weeks to become effective. In addition, if you ask to remove your name and address from our email or postal mailing lists, we will maintain your name in a “do not mail” file to ensure that we can honor your request. When you make a purchase, we will send you an email to confirm your order, and send an email when your order is shipped. We may also need to contact you via phone, postal mail or email if we have other questions regarding your order.

Don’t make us do all this work to reduce junk mail and unwanted phone calls. We can easily get email notices, you know.

I haven’t read the book yet, but I know Chris. He loves helping people/companies, so I feel particularly close to him.

While all these social networks are in their infancy, people are the same. We could use advice to make sure we’re focused on the right things.

I don’t care where you buy the book from. I just think you should do it. (Jon Swanson would agree.) I’ll be ordering my copy today, too.

• Buy from Jon Swanson’s aStore
• Buy from my aStore
• “The Big Push” – Chris Brogan
• “The Big Push” – In Over Your Head (Julien Smith)

I’d like help breaking a mentality.

Unless factored into the price, people should not feel entitled to receive a CD/DVD of full-res JPEG photos [for free].

But, what do you tell customers asking why? Do you have any analogies to help?

I thought of:

• It’s like going to a fancy restaurant and asking for (insert awesome main dish here) — along with their recipe.
• An author giving away his novels in PDF format.

If I’m taking photos and giving them away at my expense, how could I keep going for the next five years? (If you want personal examples, ask me and I’ll leave it in the comments. It’ll hurt, but I’ll open up and tell you.)

Of course, this applies to more than just photography.

Please share your thoughts.

Comment policy: I will moderate anonymous comments with fake email addresses. Use your real information. I won’t spam you or share your information.

*****

You’ll want to read John Harrington‘s series:

• Professional Photographers vs. “Hobby” Status (i.e. Working for Free) — Part 1
• Working for Free — Interns and Apprentices — Part 2
• Working For Free — Commentary and Responses to Selected Comments — Part 3

Merlin Mann‘s post “Free as in ‘Me’” struck a cord, too.

Additionally, I’ve ordered “The Photographer’s Survival Guide: How to Build and Grow a Successful Business,”[2. I saw it featured in the May 2009 issue of Rangefinder.] because I don’t want to be a starving artist forever. Perhaps I’ll gain a better perspective after reading it.

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