Whew

Got my biopsy results yesterday--negative. Whew. Say no more. Mind you, I likely should still have my thyroid removed, but at least now there's no urgency. I was going to do it in June, but with my impending conference at work, I might just wait until the fall when things calm down a little. We'll see. So thanks for all the good wishes out there!

Wachovia: #1 in Customer Dissatisfaction

Warning: big, huge, unbelievable rant ahead.

I have been a Wachovia customer for the past 10 years. I have multiple accounts, debit cards, online banking, yadda, yadda, yadda. Now granted, I’m not a millionaire, so I’m sure they’re not clawing to keep my business, but this is ridiculous.

My debit card—WHICH HAS A VISA SYMBOL ON IT SO IT CAN BE USED LIKE A CREDIT CARD!—expires 6/08. That is in approximately one week. Yesterday I received my new debit card—with a completely different account number!

Last time I checked, when your credit card expires they just issue you a new one with the same number and new date. Not Wachovia.

Now, since they are trying to “simplify my life” with online banking, etc. I have used said debit card to sign up for automatic drafts from my account. Many automatic drafts from my account. Which means I have to call many vendors to tell them I have a F*CKING NEW CARD NUMBER WHEN IT’S REALLY NOT A NEW CARD.

I am COMPLETELY, ABSOLUTELY LIVID about this and spent ½ hour on the phone today (before yoga, ironically) yelling to Dipshit Customer Service Rep (DCSR) #1 and her Dipshit Supervisor. Below is the gist of the conversation, with actual quotes from both sides. I am totally not making this up. You can ask Jeffro, who just sat and ate dinner and hoped I wouldn't chew him a new one next.

Me: Excuse me, why are you changing my debit/credit card number and making my life completely inconvenient and miserable because I have to call all these vendors to change my account number?

DCSR: Whenever we issue a new debit card we issue a new card number.

Me: Um, this isn’t a new card, it’s just an updated one.

DCSR: Well, we do this with all debit cards in case there are any problems with the card.

Me: Um, there are no problems with the card otherwise I WOULD BE CALLING YOU ABOUT A PROBLEM WITH MY CARD! I would like to have my old number back.

DCSR: I’m sorry, there’s nothing we can do.

Me: Don’t you realize you’re causing an awful lot of problems for an awful lot of people this way? Aren’t you supposed to be making my life easier instead of harder?

DCSR: I’m sorry, this is our policy.

Me: What about customer service? Isn’t Wachovia supposed to be #1 in customer service? How exactly are you helping me and making my life and banking easier? You are making it incredibly inconvenient to do banking with you.

DCSR: Well, I apologize for the inconvenience.

Me: Again, how is that helping me? Do you want to spend the day tomorrow making the calls for me?

DSCR: {giggles} No.

Me: You are completely useless.

DCSR: I’m sorry that you feel that way.

Me: I’m sorry that you suck. {Click}

Can you believe this crap? I have to spend the rest of the week trying to figure out who I have to call and how to call them, then I have to spend a day making calls from work, where I’m supposed to be working.

I threatened to change banks, but in actuality that would make matters even worse and more inconvenient—since the card expires like tomorrow I have to do all the changing now anyway so I don’t bounce payments, then do it all over again if I were to get a new account.

I’m headed to Wachovia tomorrow. Just pray that I don’t get escorted out by security.

New Rick Springfield CD!

Make sure you mark the date 7/29 down so you can be one of the first to buy Rick Springfield's upcoming CD, Venus in Overdrive. Me, I plan to pre-order from Amazon and I would strongly advise you to do the same. Check out his merchandise store here.

Nashville Update

Nashville turned out to be a pretty good time, lots of excellent free food and the craziest closing reception I've been to at any conference. They closed off BB King's, Wildhorse Saloon, and part of the riverfront downtown for the party. Crazy! We also went to Tootsies and went to an open mic at the Bluebird Cafe. For more details, photos, and music videos from the Grand Ole Opry, check out Jeffro's blog.

Nashville Notes

I'm headed to Nashville Opryland for most of the week for a business trip. However, since I really don't want to go and my office is making me against my will, I won't be doing much actual work while I'm there. Jeffro is going with me, and it's his birthday so we'll be playing a lot of tourist as he's never been to N'ville before.

I'm really looking forward to staying at this great hotel on the company dime.

Wish Me Luck

Well, tomorrow is my long-awaited biopsy on my thyroid. I've been very anxious about it all week, to the point where even my yoga class couldn't calm me down much on Monday. It's been a very busy couple of weeks, as I've been to another doctor that a friend recommended to help me figure out why I feel so darned crappy all the time. But I might actually find the answer out tomorrow, who knows.

In any case, wish me luck. If I find out anything exciting, I will make a post. But I don't think I will until the end of the month.

And in a complete nonsequitor, wish that Syesha gets voted off Idol!

Jeter Gig at Bistro Europa

Jeff's band, Jeter, has got a show this Saturday, May 10th, at Bistro Europa in Old Town Alexandria. They'll be rocking from 10-12, and then Willy Nilly will be going on from midnight until closing. There's no cover, so come on out, and bring your mothers along to rock with Jeter!

MP3: Lay Down - Jeter

MP3: Down & Distance (live) - Jeter

New FDA-Approved Weight Loss Pill?

Here's the caveat, this new pill is for overweight dogs. I am not making this up. I saw the ad for SLENTROL in a magazine. The ad talks about how hard extra pounds are on a dog, which is true, but then goes on to say "if you've tried diet dog food, reduced feedings, more exercise and nothing seems to work, you now have another option: FDA-approved SLENTROL." FDA approved? Doesn't the FDA have anything better to do, like approving safer drugs for humans, than approving dog weight loss pills? Now I'm all for pills that can help dogs, but have we become a country where we think everything, including fat dogs, can be fixed with a pill? Apparently so. So, according to the ad, you should "speak to your veterinarian and ask if SLENTROL is right for your dog." No joke, it says that.