Shabby Treatment By Leon's Furniture Store

"Make your product easier to buy than your competition, or you will find your customers buying from them" - Mark Cuban

There is a furniture retailer in Burnside, Nova Scotia that could benefit greatly from a training seminar by Mr. Cuban who is well known as one of the "sharks" on the popular television show, Shark Tank. I'm sure Mr. Cuban or any of the "sharks, would be appalled by what I'm about to write.

I love shopping for furniture. Over the last twenty-five years my preferred furniture retailer has been Leon's Furniture. I have happily handed over thousands of dollars to Leon's in the span of a quarter century and earlier today I was just as eager to hand over a couple more. I and my husband were on a mission - we needed a new kitchen range. As we drove into Leon's parking lot we were delighted to discover that they were having a "Customer Appreciation" event.

We made our way directly to the appliance section and quickly chose the range we would purchase but I had no intention of leaving before having a nice look around so off we went. We would return to appliances later and finalize the deal.

My husband decided that he wanted to check out the reclining chairs since the one at home in his man-cave was just about ready for roadside pick-up. We made our way into the Bargain section and he actually found the perfect chair. It was marked "As Is" and marked down to $299.00 so my husband called over the nearest sales associate. The chair, he explained had been a display model and although the reclining features were electrical the actual power unit was gone. He went on to say that they would find another power supply for us if we were interested in buying the chair.

We were interested in seeing what happened when the power button was depressed so I asked the associate if he could get that power supply he had alluded to so my husband to give the chair a test drive. The associate refused, saying he couldn't do that but the same chair was out in the retail section if my husband wanted to test drive that one. But wait I'm thinking, we aren't buying that one, we're buying the discounted chair and that's the chair we want to make sure is working properly. I explained this to the associate and his response was, "it works, trust me". Really? We should just trust him that a discounted "as is" electrically run unit works even though he doesn't seem to want to prove it? 

I again told him that we wanted to make certain there was nothing wrong with the chair in question and the associate simply unhooked the retail model and plugged it into the marked down chair, just as easy as pie. Remember, when we first requested that he find a power supply to test drive the chair he refused, saying he couldn't do that. Well apparently he could do that. And quite easily too. But by this time he was obviously feeling put out.

At this point I don't want to deal with this man any further. But my husband wanted the chair so we told him we were purchasing a range as well and made our way back to appliances. 

Just as another associate was making his way to get the necessary paperwork for the range, Mr. Trust Me approaches us and asks us if we will be taking the chair with us. What? It's a large heavy recliner, customers don't usually throw one of these in a shopping cart and then toss them into the trunk of their car. So we told him that it could be delivered along with the range. 

(FYI - Leon's offers free "local" delivery but we knew from experience that we were not considered "local" and would pay a delivery fee.)

No, said Mr. Trust Me we do not deliver items from the bargain section under any circumstances. But wait we say, the range is being delivered and we're paying for the delivery so what possibly could be the problem with loading the chair on the truck as well? We understand why delivery would be a problem if we were only purchasing a bargain item but we were buying a thousand dollar range as well! 

Then Mr. Trust Me unsealed the pending deal when he stated that he had a customer who was spending over $8,000 dollars (in other words lots more than us) plus one bargain item and they would not deliver that item. That was enough for us. We bought neither and left the store. Even worse? They let us go. 

We drove directly to Sears and bought a better range at a better price from not one but three extremely accommodating, helpful and friendly sales associates who obviously attended the training seminar entitled, If It Wasn't For Customers There Would Be No Sears. 

Lessons learned: 

• We were treated very shabbily by Leon's during a Customers Appreciation Event causing me to be very grateful that we didn't go to Leon's on just a regular day. I'm confused about Leon's definition of "customer appreciation". I believe Mr. Trust Me is too.

• Sears was not having a Customers Appreciation Event but it felt like they were. Enough said.

• Leon's has lost a previously loyal customer. The sad part? They no doubt couldn't care less.

• When I am impressed with the way I'm treated in certain circumstances I enjoy spreading the word, extolling the virtues, sending my appreciation for a job well done.

When I am treated like I was today I believe it's my duty to spread that word as well because really, there was no need of it. And spread the word I will via this blog, on Twitter and Facebook. 

Leon's you really screwed up today. I'm about to spread the word.

Foreign doctors working in walk-in clinics

No doubt what I'm about to write is going to upset some people. They will huff and puff and go all holier-than-thou and accuse me of blatant and intolerant racism. But guess what? I no longer care because this has to be said. I live in Nova Scotia Canada and over the last several years more and more so-called walk-in medical clinics have opened up in part to address the long wait times of hospital emergency departments.

The theory behind clinics is a sound one - a patient with a sore throat shouldn't be seeking treatment at an ER. Non-emergency ER visits have clogged up the system for as long as I can remember and no one wins. The reasonable alternative is the walk-in. Unfortunately for that person with the sore throat, these clinics are more and more being staffed with immigrant doctors. Let me make this clear - it is not the immigrant status that I have a problem with. I do however have a huge problem with:

--an increase in immigrant doctors who do not have a working knowledge of the English language;

--an increase in immigrant doctors who do not have a working knowledge in the practice of medicine.

Now combine the two and there exists the potential for disaster. You're feeling unwell - you have a head cold, a sore throat and a headache. It's the weekend. Or a holiday, Or after hours and you can't call your own doctor if you're one of the increasingly lucky few who actually do have their own GP. Your symptoms are not an emergency but you're feeling miserable enough to seek the advice of a physician. So you go to the nearby walk-in clinic.

The doctor assigned to you has a very broad accent and you're suddenly having a difficult time understanding what she is saying to you but even more worrisome, she doesn't seem to be understanding you either. You find yourself repeating many words to her and you even resort to hand signals before she finally understands you're telling her you have a very sore throat.

A couple of times during the consultation she becomes so frustrated with the obvious language barrier that she actually lashes out at you in anger. You end up leaving in considerable frustration of your own without having received any medical attention.

The above scenario did not actually occur in one visit but each point that I describe did, as reported to me by others during several visits to several different walk-in clinics and several different doctors. One doctor with a language barrier is an anomaly but several different doctors with the same problems is a pattern. A disturbing pattern that has been developing in this province over the course of a few years.

The original viable alternative to non-emergency visits to ER departments has gone very, very wrong. The very same patients who have tried doing the right thing by using walk-ins are again ending up back in the ERs thus clogging the system once more. Eventually we will be right back where we started from because the powers-that-be are not monitoring and overseeing these clinics. Or they are but are looking the other way.

The pen is mightier than the sword every time

A few days ago I was verbally assaulted by a group of kids. They were between the ages of 10 and 12 probably and had a ring leader who was the same age but physically bigger than the rest - the head bully. They decided I was fair game for singling out and I was assaulted with a barrage of foul words and not-so-subtle threats. What did I do to deserve their wrath you may ask - I was driving my car and stopped so they could cross the street in front of me. The head bully thanked me for giving them the right-of-way with words that no child should even be aware of their existence - "f***ing white bitch"...."f***ing c**t".....more "f****ing bitch"...just while he and his lapdogs were crossing in front of me.

Apparently I made the mistake of making eye contact with the kid with the golden tongue. My second mistake was rolling said eyes, an action eagerly pointed out to him by one of his lackeys. The head bully faced me, put his hand into his pant's pocket, slowly drew it out again and raised his hand toward me - the hand was now shaped and positioned like a gun - and said to me, "you dead, bitch".

At that point, there was a break in traffic and I was able to drive on. These kids screamed obscenities at me until I was out of earshot.

The experience left me a tad shaken but I found the entire incident quite disconcerting. I was left with the impression that they were more angry with my gender than my race even though they used street language for both. I was left wondering where they had learned such misogyny...such disrespect. The answer is glaringly obvious: they've learned all this behaviour from watching and hearing and seeing how the male elders in their lives treat the mothers of these kids and their sisters and maybe their grandmothers.

So like I said, I was left with a feeling of consternation but they didn't manage to hurt me. After all, they were just kids....right?

But then earlier today someone did manage to hurt me with words. He didn't resort to gutter-speak like the kids did but what he wrote to me was certainly the adult equivalent and so much more cutting than any child could manage. The kids were strangers...he is someone I had come to respect and admire. The kids' attack confused me and will be eventually forgotten....his attack saddened me and will stay with me for a long time.

Words, eh? They can make you soar and they can cut you in half...

What happened to intelligent debate?

I'm a conspiracy theorist. Yeah that's right, I'm a nutjob, a moonbat and I'm intellectually challenged. Oh and I suffer from a mental disorder. At least that is what I've been called of late by others who are of the opinion that their particular thoughts and beliefs must be shared by all. It seems that fewer and fewer people want to debate and discuss and even argue a contentious topic, they just move directly to the ad hominems.

Example: I do not accept the official government line surrounding the events of September 11. 2001. There are a plethora of unanswered questions along with "official" explanations that simply do not add up.

I run a discussion board which centres on current events and topical issues. Recently a topic was started by a member of this site that eventually merged into a discussion about 9/11. Suddenly other members of the board who already entertain conservative viewpoints on most subjects, begin posting with insults and threats of actually leaving the site altogether if this topic is not ended immediately.

They spout the official line verbatim and will not tolerate any dissenting or alternative viewpoints. Some even go so far as to compare people like me to holocaust deniers.

I have to wonder if this attitude of censorship by threat and intimidation is limited to a small number of people or is this attitude reflective of a larger segment of society - those who are falling hook, line and sinker for the widespread suppression of our freedoms and rights as it pertains to expression and thought.

Or maybe I'm just hanging out with the wrong people. After all, they do worship at the alter of Stephen Harper.

'Nuff said.

Deadbeat Sperm Donor Psychopathic Stalkers

I refuse to call them deadbeat "dads". Dads love their kids, provide for their kids, protect their kids and would put down their lives for their kids; dads do not abandon their kids.

When a man will only work under the table or for cash so he doesn't get nabbed for child support, he's not a "dad".

When a man places his child in peril in order to get to the mother, he's not a "dad".

When a man doesn't even send a card to his child at Christmastime, he isn't a "dad".

When a man is heard shouting, "I don't give a fuck about him!", he definitely isn't a "dad".

But what do you call "a man" (and I have been using that word very loosely) who is of the deadbeat variety but who has further devolved into a stalker of the child's mother? "A man" who will plead, cry, promise and when all else fails, threaten, to get back into the mother's life? Not for the child but because he has become obsessed with owning/controlling her?

What do you call someone like that? Psychopath comes to mind.

And who gets hurt when someone like that decides that it's his life goal to make life as miserable as possible for all involved? Who gets hurt the worst?

The child. Not right away but eventually when he discovers that many of his friends in school have dads and he doesn't and no matter how the child's mother might white-wash the reasons for his absence, that child will conclude that his "dad" left him behind. The child will ask himself, "what did I do to make my "dad" abandon me?"

This is the legacy of deadbeat sperm donors - all the children who will wonder what they did wrong...

But do deadbeat sperm donor psychopathic stalkers care about the child? Of course not. To a deadbeat sperm donor psychopathic stalker, the child is merely a means to an end. To a deadbeat sperm donor psychopathic stalker the most important person in their life is THEM.

So please, let's all stop calling them deadbeat "dads".

DL's Book of Assholes

What kind of people toss their trash out the car window? Were they raised by wolves? Almost daily I see McDonald's bags strewn on the roadsides and even smack dab in the middle of the road. Then there's the ubiquitous Tim Horton's cups just about everywhere except where they're supposed to be - in the garbage.

I would love to talk to someone who feels they have the absolute right to throw their trash out their vehicle windows. I'd like them to try to explain to me what goes through their heads as they finish off that hamburger and drain the last drop from that large pop, stuff all the packaging back inside the bag, roll down the window and just toss.

Until then, people who throw their garbage out their vehicle windows are number one in my Book of Assholes.

Come to think of it, I don't want to talk to a garbage tosser....there's nothing they could say that would shed any light on the workings of their tiny brains.

Apartment for rent - ants & vermin included at no extra cost

One and two-bedroom apartments for rent. Fridge/stove included - not necessarily in proper working order. Sporadic heat/hot water included. Close to schools and shopping. Safe community - we have a permanent paddy wagon patrol! Starting at $550. We offer several "little extras" including:

*Pharaoh ants
*Silverfish
*Bedbugs
*Rats & mice
*Broken window glass - provides a lovely breeze in summer!
*Sporadic heating & hot water - you have to get up early if you want that hot shower!
*Mold- don't worry, it's inside the walls - no visible unsightly stains!
*Open door policy -many unit entry doors are missing locks.
*Overflowing dumpster bins - perfect for bird watching! Seagulls and crows in abundance.
*Absent smoke detectors, sprinklers and fire extinguishers - no annoying & time-consuming battery changes!
*Non-working electrical outlets - usually one per unit is working - hey, we do what we can for the environment!

Would you live here? What if you had no choice? The above classified ad is fictional but the rental units are real and are located on Churchill/Roleika Drive in Dartmouth Nova Scotia. Most of the people living in this cluster of buildings believe they have no other choice. They of course are not told about the "little extras" when viewing the units but soon discover every one of them as they settle in. The more obvious "extras" are explained away - 'we're having trouble with our trash collector but that is being resolved as we speak' or 'there will be locks on the door and window replacement as soon as we can'.

For the less fortunate in our society the fact that there's a roof over their heads can be the main attraction and they place their trust in the owners to actually follow through on the promises. They sign the lease and move in. It's July so they do enjoy a nice breeze through those broken windows
but they also acquire an ample supply of flies, mosquitoes and hornets. The odd cat if one lives on the ground floor.

They have spotted a couple of silverfish in the bathroom but they convince themselves that most bathrooms have at least a few of them. Later on the tenant will be awakened one night with an itchy arm and discover an extra large silverfish is the cause.

As the season changes to the cooler months they begin to spot the odd ant but these ants are like nothing they have ever seen. They seem to be almost transparent. And they're very aggressive. The tenant has been biten a couple of times by these creatures.

As far as the promised locks on the entrance door are concerned, well they're still waiting for that. In the meantime they do their best to secure the apartment by wedging a chair under the inside doorknob and inserting several kitchen knives between the door and the framing.

One night a tenant was expecting a visit from her boyfriend so she didn't secure the door. She decided to indulge in a hot bath while she waited. Granted, her decision wasn't a wise one considering where she was living but we've all made stupid decisions in our lives. She heard the door open and someone moving about in the apartment. She called out her boyfriend's name but there was no answer. The bathroom door began to inch open and standing there gaping at her was a local well known drug addict male who lives in the neighbourhood. Fortunately he left quickly when the tenant started screaming.

Having locks on apartment doors comes in handy in situations like that. Locks tend to keep the riffraff out.

November starts with a vengeance and the days and nights have become downright frigid. The broken windows that provided a nice breeze in July are now allowing cold air into the apartment and of course, warm air out. But the tenant has more important things to worry about. Those odd
transparent ants that were no more than a nuisance in summer are now taking refuge inside the building because they cannot tolerate the cold.

After some research and discussions with fellow tenants it is discovered that the building is overrun with Pharaoh ants. They can be seen entering apartments in long lines. Once inside they like living behind walls with a preference for electrical outlets. Their numbers become so numerous that they are eventually everywhere - kitchen cupboards and perishable food, bathtubs, beds...everywhere that is either warm or moist or both.

The landlord has been notified several times of the ant situation which has apparently been a problem for quite some time and well before this tenant took residence. The landlord has never addressed the problem. One reason? It would cost too much to have the buildings exterminated.

So the landlord keeps his distance because it just wouldn't do to carry a couple of these little buggers to his home in the wealthier suburbs. He knows all about these particular ants because they hail from the same part of the world he does - Egypt. He also knows that these ants are
particularly difficult to completely eradicate. The insecticides available in this part of the world have no effect on Pharoah ants.

But he does nothing.

It's January of a new year now. The Pharaoh ants have taken over in the tenant's apartment. Taking a bath or shower is now impossible as one must compete with the ants for space and actually share the bath or shower with them if one is brave enough. Perishable food cannot be brought into the unit at all. If something perishable is brought in, the item must be stored in the refrigerator. The tenant is running out of free space in the fridge as all foods are stored in there.

The tenant can no longer relax and watch TV or listen to music or even sleep without being assaulted by ants. That bite. This tenant has lost the battle and will soon be moving on. This tenant is one of the few lucky ones - others in the building don't have that option and are at the constant mercy of a card-carrying slumlord.

But now that the decision has been made to leave, our tenant faces a new dilemma - Pharaoh ants love to hide in the most unlikely of places..how does one move their belongings without bringing along some of the ants? These ants are adept at starting brand new colonies from almost
nothing. Our tenant fears that they will be forced to leave all possessions behind and escape literally with the clothes on their back.

Our tenant is still one of the lucky ones. Escape from this cesspool is imminent. The same cannot be said for the unlucky ones who have no other choice but to live there and suffer at the hands of a cold-hearted slumlord.

How have we as a society allowed this to happen?

Find out about Pharaoh ants here: PHARAOH ANTS