samiam.com

It took them a couple of years, but ShopNBC.com has sold my email address - without my permission, of course. (That or their customer information database has been compromised.) I just received spam from AtomicShopping.com at an email address given only to ShopNBC.com. Anything sent to that address will now automatically be trashed. I purchased something from ShopNBC in April of 2004. I wonder if my address was sold because I’ve not purchased anything else since then. Perhaps they were trying to make money by selling my personal information since they weren’t getting any of my money. Well, in so doing, they’ve ensured I will never purchase anything from them again and that they receive a little black mark on the Internet in the form of this post.

From ShopNBC’s privacy statement:

“To prevent our disclosure of your personally identifiable information to one of these third parties, you can choose not use their services or order their products.”

It’s an interesting statement, no? My not using the services or ordering the products of the third parties ShopNBC discloses my personally identifiable information to will prevent ShopNBC from disclosing my personally identifiable information to said third parties.

More from their privacy statement:

“We employ other companies and individuals to perform functions on our behalf. [snip] They have access to personal information needed to perform their functions, but may not use it for other purposes.”

I wonder if an unscrupulous company/individual snagged my info from ShopNBC.

And here’s a wee bit more:

“ShopNBC.com uses industry standard practices to safeguard the confidentiality of your personally identifiable information, including “firewalls” and Secure Socket Layers (SSL). ShopNBC.com treats data as an asset that must be protected against loss and unauthorized access. We employ many different security techniques to protect such data from unauthorized access by users inside and outside the company. However, “perfect security” does not exist on the Internet. It is important for you to protect against unauthorized access to your computer.”

At least they acknowledge the impossibility of “perfect security” on the Internet.

Barbara in customer service (1-800-676-5523) assures me they do not sell customer information, says I’m the first person to call about this, and acknowledges that their customer database could be compromised. Damon, the supervisor on duty emphatically denies their selling of email addresses and the possibility of their database being compromised. No email has been sent to management about any breaches but, after further discussion, he accepts that their database may have been compromised and they don’t yet know it. When I asked to speak with someone in I.T., he said he didn’t think there was anyone I could talk to. Finally, he started verifying my contact information and said he was drafting an email as we spoke. The email is apparently going to several people and he agreed to copy me on it. (Oddly, he said he’d blind copy me…) He also told me someone would contact me when they knew something. When I inquired as the timeframe in which I would be contacted, he faltered, saying he was off tomorrow and couldn’t tell me. I assured him I would follow up on this and did not want to “fall through the cracks” that I want this to be handled professionally. He said it would be. I also informed him of my documenting this on my website.

I await his email…

I am so impressed with this company! I needed a device to copy the contents of a client’s failing hard drive to their replacement drive. I’d been researching these devices a bit for my other job, looking for an inexpensive hardware solution for erasing hard disk drives. I’d found several multi-purpose solutions that did copying, erasing and such, but all were upwards of $1000 - certainly more than we wanted to spend and way beyond what I would spend for PCIAM.

In my research, I had not yet found the Disk Jockey by Diskology. (I’d been searching for hardware to erase, not copy.) A need arose for copying and I found Diskology. I perused the site, downloaded the user manual (nice touch: making that available), and decided I wanted it. However, it was almost 1:00 on Thursday afternoon and I was concerned that even with overnight shipping I might not get my order before Monday. (You know how some businesses offer overnight shipping, but still take a business day or three to fulfill the order and then ship it overnight?) I emailed them and, initiated from that one email, experienced some of the best customer service I’ve ever had.

Tony Overbay and I had a veritable conversation through email throughout the transaction and afterward. He noted my need and, though I’d paid for AirSaver (delivery by 3:00 p.m.), shipped the device Standard Air (delivery by 10:00 a.m.). He informed me when the item had been shipped. He checked with FedEx about signature requirements and told me of their waiver procedure. Of course, he’d given me the tracking number, so I knew when the package had been delivered. I left work early (to demo the Friendly Robotics Robomower to coworkers - more on that another day!) and was able to get started on the project sooner than expected.

The device was in excellent packaging that included some of the same style of humor that’s on their site and in the user manual. It is a technician’s device, meaning that it’s not for the average computer user. I found it easy enough to operate and using it saved me at least 8 hours of work in the first use. It virtually paid for itself in the first use!

Small businesses like Diskology, run by individuals like Tony, are the saving grace of customer service in America. The personal touch afforded customers by small business owners can never be reproduced by large businesses. As virtually every product has multiple retail sources these days, the only thing that’s really being sold now is customer service. Diskology has two great products: Disk Jockey and customer service.

Glass Pro
(336) 323-6400
1601 W Lee St
Greensboro, NC 27403
Glass Emporium, Glass Pro & Glass Masters

After going through several rounds of calls and redtape with an auto dealer, my insurance company and the windshield replacement company they recommended, I was more than ready for some good customer service. Thankfully I got it from Glass Pro. You may have seen their ads on TV: “What Grandma says, Grandma does!”

I should have called Glass Pro first. I certainly will next time. After finally getting everything arranged with the other glass company, I saw Glass Pro’s ad during the noon news. I called and spoke with Brian, the manager of the Greensboro shop - an energetic guy who is eager to be of service, provides useful information and is just generally pleasant to be around. He told me if I brought my car in, they would knock $100 off my deductible, putting my cost at $150. I called the other glass company and left a message asking if they would match Glass Pro. When they returned my call, I was informed that they would/could not mathc Glass Pro. In fact, they could not even honor our original deal of $50 off! They are under contract with my insurance company and part of the small print says they cannot provide these discounts lest they be sued and other litigation. I called Glass Pro and spoke with Brian about this. He said it is true, BUT Glass Pro is not under that contract. As a matter of fact, they just recently got out of it! That cinched it. A few more calls to the insurance and other glass companies and I was back on the phone with Brian. He absolutely amazed me by orchestrating it so that I could have my windshield replaced if I could be there by 4:00. Keep in mind that he did not have the glass in stock and it was about 3:00 when we had our last call.

I got there at 4:00 and it was on. We reviewed the damaged windshield and completed the initial paperwork. One of his techs took my keys and away went my car. The car was returned, we completed the paperwork, I paid my bill and was on the road again before 5:00! I’m impressed. My only complaint (and it’s truly minor!) is that I’d like to have driven away with a clean windshield. (I HATE having to clean the inside of my windshield. There are always streaks, even using newspaper or coffee filters and Invisible Glass brand cleaner.) In light of the amazing service I received, the surprising timeliness of the service and the great price, I think I can easily forgive having to clean my windshield.

Thanks, Glass Pro!

(Oh… and State Farm Insurance, I’m not wasting my time to write a rant about you. However, my partner and I are already shopping for a new insurance provider. Hmmmm… two houses, three cars, a motorcycle, life and umbrella - I think we’ll easily find a company that will gladly serve our needs.)