Good Customer Service Goes A long Way At Boston Market

I often blog about bad experiences here. But here is a good one.

I purchased a meal for 4 at Boston Market. Comes with 4 larges sides, 4 cornbread and a whole chicken and a half. I got home and there was only 2 quarter pieces dark and 1 quarter piece white. Well that is not even a whole chicken.

I called them up told them about the debacle and they told to come back then or the next day for the piece of chicken. I am happy to say that my local Boston Market made it worth my while.

I explained to the manager, showed my receipt and she shook her head and disgust. She said "only three pieces of chicken?" I confirmed. She said -"How about I will give you a whole chicken?" I said great. She gave me a whole chicken and 3 extra cornbread pieces. That made it worth the trip back to the store, and obviously I will return for future meals! It is rare but when it happens - its great.

Moral of the story? - Never be afraid to speak up for yourself and always get what you pay for.

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Tips On Selecting Health Insurance For Your Pet

Increasingly, pet owners are going the extra mile to make sure their pets are happy and healthy. For many, that means protecting their pet’s health-and their own bank account-by purchasing pet health insurance.

Such insurance has been available in the United States for more than 25 years, and it continues to grow in popularity. For example, from 2006 to 2007, the growth rate of pet insurance policies jumped from 13 percent to 23 percent.

Over the last decade, it has grown to become a strong, viable and expanding segment of the insurance industry. For instance, since November of 2005, more than a half dozen new companies have entered the marketplace with different pet health insurance products.

With this growing number of providers to choose from, selecting the policy and provider that are right for you and your pet can be a real challenge.

Here are some tips on what to look for when selecting a policy from the experts at VPI Pet Insurance:

Company Stability

When researching a pet insurance company, it is important to know how long it has been in business and if it is financially stable. What is the rating of the company’s underwriter and how long has it been with that underwriter?

Veterinary Recognition

Is your veterinarian or his or her staff member familiar with the pet health insurance company he/she recommends? Inquire if the person making the recommendation is receiving financial incentives for suggesting a particular company.

Wellness Coverage

Preventive care is critical to the long-term health of a pet. In order to encourage and remind pet owners to take their pet to the veterinarian on a regular basis, the company should offer coverage for common preventive treatments and procedures: wellness exams, vaccinations, heartworm protection, spay/neuter, teeth cleaning, prescription flea control, etc.

Continued Coverage for Chronic Conditions

Companies should continue to cover conditions as long as the policy remains continuously current, without charging you an additional premium.

Coverage Away from Home

A policy should be effective whether your pet is in your home, traveling with the family or accidentally lost.

Full Transparency Regarding Reimbursements

Does the company use a schedule of benefits or a usual and customary fee list? It should be clearly communicated to policyholders which of the two reimbursement programs is being used.

Transparency in Coverage

If the company claims to cover hereditary and congenital conditions, are the benefit limits for these conditions enough to cover treatment? For example, a company may claim to cover hereditary conditions, but then only offer a $200 lifetime maximum benefit.

Physical Exams

How often does the company require physical exams? Some companies, for example, require a physical exam every year in order to maintain coverage.

Preauthorization

for Treatment

If a condition or treatment is covered under the policy terms, no preauthorization for treatment should be required.

Claims Submission

Companies should allow policyholders to fax or mail claims, and there should be a reasonable time limit on submitting claims. If a claim is denied, there should be a review process in place available to the policyholder.

Premium Increases

Premium increases should be based on your pet’s age and not on the dollar amount or number of claims filed.

Policy Cancellation Penalties

There should be no penalty for canceling your policy, whether because of choice or loss of the pet.

Click here--> Pet Health Insurance
for more information.

Do the research before buying pet insurance.

Listen to Tripadvisor Reviews When You Are Planning to Travel

I do not make a reservation at a hotel before I check tripadvisor.com, which provides user generated reviews of hotel stays virtually around the world. You can find reviews of beautiful resorts like Sandals Luxury Included Resorts or Beaches Family Resorts. Sure you can go to the resort website, but the fluffy info provided doesn't compare to the juicy tidbits from REAL PEOPLE.

I would like to tell you the story of the Embassy Suites Dorado Del Mar Beach and Golf Resort at Dorado in Puerto Rico - NEVER CONSIDER STAYING THERE. I consulted tripadvisor.com before I booked my trip and there was a mixed bag of good and okay reviews for the property. I had a horrendous stay. They were filming a Chilean soap opera on the property (banging noise at 8 am) and they had convention group there which played loud music one night until 11:30pm. ( I ended up complaining there and they gave us a free night.) When we returned from our trip, we immediately posted to tripadvisor. I also complained directly to the Hilton which credited us for a second night.

Since we complained in August, the tripadvisor complaints about this hotel have gotten worse. That Chilean soap opera filming when I was there in August - is still there SIX MONTHS LATER. I believe the Chilean soap opera is using the Emabassy Suites Del Mar Beach & Golf Resort as its permanent set location. If you go to the reviews you will see what I believe to be planted short reviews about how nice the property is. Clearly, those are staffers trying to cover up the horrendous disclosure posted by real people.

The lesson here is to listen to travel reviews you read on the internet. Real people have real stories. And you can always trust that if you are reading several bad reviews - they are real. No vacation property would post its own bad reviews. Also, if you are planning to go to Puerto Rico - don't bother staying at the Embassy Suites Dorado Del Mar Beach & Golf Resort, it is not a place for tourists - just locals and Chilean soap operas.

Read another story about a Hertz rental car bad experience I had in Puerto Rico and how I got free money for my trouble!

Calling Customer Retention with Problems Leads to Refunds

Have you ever had a problem with your cellphone? When you called to complain was the customer service representative you spoke with less than helpful? If you answered yes to either question, this Retail Secrets for Savvy Consumers tip is for you.

On December 26, 2007, I noticed my blackberry cellphone was no longer receiving emails. The emails from my home email service are configured for my Blackberry. Although I could check email at home, nothing was coming through on my Blackberry. This lasted for about one week.

On January 4, my emails miraculously started coming in, but nothing from the week before. I knew the issue had to be a service interruption. Today I called my cellphone provider, but I didn't ask to speak with regular customer service. My trick to get the best service possible is to speak to the customer retention department. Those folks are there to retain customers so they will always go the extra mile to keep you happy.

When I call my provider, the automated systems asks "how can we help you today?" My response is "cancel service." The system repeats it and puts me through "right away" as it says. Don't worry, if you call and say to the automated system that you want to cancel your service - it will not cancel you immediately. It will switch you to a HUMAN in customer retention. This is a very important department to cellphone services, they are there to deflect your decision to go to another provider.

When you get through to retention, you will almost always find the jolliest person on the other end. Again, they want to keep you as a customer. Today, I spoke with a gentlemen and told him my issue with my Blackberry. He told me to hold while he checked to see if there were any reported outages in the area. But while he put me on hold he was reviewing my account. I have been with my provider through three mergers since 1997.

The chap came back on and said since I had been a customer with them for so long they would meet me half way. He gave me a $10 credit (for one week of failed service)which is half of what I pay for my Blackberry service. I was stunned. I expected a couple of bucks off - a prorated amount. Never did I expect to receive half off of my fee. But with the cellphone providers high competition, they must do all they can to keep customers happy.

Calling retention departments is one of my tried and true savvy consumer tips. I have always been satisified with retention department customer service. Had I called the regular customer service department, I am sure I would not have been offered any credit.

Remember this tip the next time you have a problem with your cellphone provider.