FeedMe

Garbage Disposal Tips

The best way to deodorize a garbage disposal is to never let it get stinky in the first place. I used to avoid running it longer than necessary, thinking I was saving water. But it turns out that the best idea us to run it several seconds after all grinding has stopped. Doing that, it stays fresh.

Other tips:

• To clean a disposal, grind lemon slices and ice.
• For a deeper clean, disposer manufacturer Insinkerator suggests you put a stopper in the sink opening and half fill the sink with warm water. Mix in 1/4 cup baking soda. Turn on the disposer at the same time you remove the plug, to flush the mechanism. With the disposer off, remove the rubber baffle at the opening and wash by hand.
• My experience is that the underside of the baffle and the neck of the disposal are a source of stinkiness. but much less so since I began running it a little longer.
  
• Small bones, fruit pits, and ice are good for your disposal.
• Use cold water. I read arguments on both sides on this one but most of the manufacturers recommend cold water.

One more tip: Compost. By feeding your vegetable remains to the garden, you don't have to use the disposal as often.

Wallet Hint

Every six months, photocopy (or scan it, or photograph it with your digital camera) everything in your wallet. If you lose it, it will make it easy to get replacements.

Cinnamon and Cassia

A friend asks: "What am I buying at the store that calls itself cinammon, and
why don't they sell real cinammon? Where can I buy real cinammon and
would I notice the diffference?"

Answer:

What you really want is a better grade of the same thing you get in the grocery store -- and yeah, you will notice the difference!

What we call cinnamon is actually cassia. There was a worldwide shortage of cinnamon early in the 20th century and suppliers switched to cassia. We have become accustomed to it and most of us prefer the stronger taste of cassia now.

High-grade China Cassia is my favorite -- it has a bright, strong spicy-sweet flavor that makes supermarket products dull by comparison. I buy it mail-order by the half-pound. I also sometimes buy the Vietnamese but for most people, just get the China Cassia and you will be happy. You can get some true cinnamon, too and compare.

Buy from Penzey's -- here is their article on cinnamon and cassia. Ordering links are at the bottom.

More info on spices and Penzey's is in an earlier article here including a list of other items you should order while you are getting your cinnamon.

Use What You Have

Posted on the Good Eats discussion group:

My instructor was very definite about this: "Use what you have, Idiot! If it does not work at first, then try something different! Argh, why am I cursed with such morons?"

I love that!

Diet Tip

My diet tip: All things in moderation.

I find eating healthy becomes a burden when I ban certain foods. So instead, I allow myself to eat anything I want -- just not often. Nice thing about this is that when I do eat it, I enjoy it more -- no guilt, and it's special, so I pay attention to it and make it a reward. Then I find healthy things I like, like fruit, and add them to my diet.

Another recent idea: I use Hassle Me. I have its "hasselbot" set to send me a reminder every three days: "Eat healthy today." Then I try to be extra mindful that day of what I eat.

Behind the Politician

Did you see Hillary's emotional moment? I never saw the actual video, I just read the reports. I wanted to see the real thing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EahseKxvBoc

Reporting about an emotional response can't capture it. If you haven't seen it, please do. A rare look past the public persona into what drives a public figure.

It's easy to be cynical about our political system but I think most politicians are motivated by real caring and a desire to make a better world. It's true for the few I have met (except Darrel Issa who was a bigger ass in person than he is in public.) I think that in order to withstand the hurdles of major politics, one has to have extraordinary motivation, which means either a deep caring, or a needy ego, and I prefer to think there are more of the former than of the latter.

My Last Dell Purchase?

I am perfectly happy with my Dell monitor. But I don't think I'll be buying from them again. Why? A small problem (stuck switch on a product with 3-year advanced replacement warranty) turned into 2 hours and 15 minutes on the phone. I took notes (having learned that notes are a good idea for all support calls, no matter how straightforward they seem at first). Glad I did, this is pretty incredible and no way I'd have remembered what transpired.

I don't expect anyone will read the notes, below. (If you do, skim to the end, where the action gets more interesting and I start making witty (or at least, sarcastic) comments, then you can read on to see how this thing ends up.)

I especially don't expect anyone from Dell will read it. I have sent a note asking for assurance that someone at Director level or above read the notes but I don't expect that. The system, training, and procedure problems are so plentiful that I don't imagine they are paying much attention to customer complaints. I especially doubt they will fix these problems. And that is why I will not likely be buying anything from Dell again.

Background:

24" Dell monitor (Dell item number 320-4335) purchased May 2007. Included in purchase was 3-year warranty with "Advanced Exchange" (Dell item 983-2847).

Power switch stuck in ON position, will not turn off.

I went to support.dell.com in two occasions to find a way to do warranty returns. Also tried dellcustomercare.com. Tried the present support site and the new support site which is in beta.

Without an Express Service sticker (I think that's what it was called), which this monitor does not have, there seems to be no way to do this via the website and no advice there on what to do.

Found the packing slip and called the phone number listed there...

January 10, 2008

06:03 PM Called 1-800-www-dell

06:07 PM Gave up. Voice response ran down wrong branch and would not let me out.

06:08 PM Once I got past the lame voice response system ("sorry, I did not get that. MON-I-TOR!! Sorry, I did not get that....") got to a human in customer service who was very efficient.

06:14 PM - had to transfer to tech support.... Name is "Wael."

06:18 PM - OK, had to give order number again.

06:20 PM - On hold again...

06:23 PM - They want a number from the back of the monitor which he said probably starts "CN."  Which I don't have here. Waiting again...

Nope. Have to have that number, arranged for him to call me at 9 and e-mail me.

06:30 PM: End call.

That was fun.

LATER:

Number on back of monitor is MX-0CC302-46634-74Q-264U.

They did not send the e-mail asking for the number but I did get an e-mail acknowledgment for the first call and case number 184640885.

They also were going to call but I think I only gave my work number, oops.  I called in. Same voice routing problem (after saying "monitor" it asks "desktop or laptop" and insists on getting a computer model. They don't seem to anticipate anyone buying a monitor without a computer.)

09:04 PM Tony. Tells me the "call was routed to software dept. Needs to go to hardware dept."

Tells me hardware tech support is 800-624-9896 and he transfers me.

09:09 PM, Ambi. We're in India now. He read problem to me (three times) and then took the serial number. On hold again now...

09:15 PM
At some point, the call cut off. He had asked for my number "in case we get disconnected." But guess what -- he didn't call. Or e-mail.

09:24 PM -- I dialed back. Oh, no. Same voice system. Same stoopid questions and same incorrect choices. Arg.

09:27 PM, Jonathan. And guess what -- he is in software support! Says he will try to help. He took all the same info before telling me I have to talk to hardware support. I explained the situation and he verified that the number I called is supposed to be hardware support. Anyway, he can't help me. He was courteous but can't complete this. So. He transferred me...

09:34 PM, on hold. Peculiarly loud music. Ow, starting to get painful, adjust volume.

09:38 PM. Sean. We're in India again. Lessee, I think this is the sixth person I have talked to. Waiting now for him to pull up and read the case.

He read back the e-mail address they had which was wrong. I corrected it.

And he had me explain the problem again.

09:42 PM Still reading the case.

09:44 PM: He went to talk to his supervisor. "Normally an exchange is done by customer care."

Uhhh - that's the first person I talked to, at 6 PM!

09:50 PM: They are now reading me the "I'm sorry but" script -- telling me that it had a three month warranty and it over in September and .... I interrupted to point out the 3-year Advanced Exchange Warranty on the sales order. Sheesh, they were about to tell me to it was now -my- problem!!!

Now he is off again, looking up the invoice (which they had in front of them when I talked to the first person, four hours ago).

They again thanked me for my patience. Again.

09:53 PM: Now they say I am right, I do have a three-year warranty with advanced exchange. And I need to call a different department.

1-866-661-7154. Use case # 184 641 683.

09:55 PM: Barrett. Who asked me the case number, my last name, my zip code. Then something else and I offered the order number, which he took and found nothing. Then he asked for a phone number which did not work, nor did the wrong phone number they had on the invoice.

They case number the last guy gave me does no good: "We're a third-party and can't access the case numbers."

OK. Now he asks when it was purchased. Now he wants to know if I "had the opportunity to register the extended service." Well, no, there was never anything that said to do that.

10:01 PM: We need to register it. "This will take me just one moment."

"System is in maintenance and responding slow. Please be patient." I wonder if Dell knows how much they spend having people on the phone. "May I place you on hold just one moment?" I wonder if Dell knows how long a "moment" is.

10:03 PM: I hear ringing! But that stopped. A minute later -- I mean, a moment later -- another ring.

10:05 PM: He thanked me for my patience. "We can't locate your warrant contract and will need a copy of your sales order or e-mail acknowledging purchase of extended warranty."

"But I did not purchase an extended warranty. This was a warranty that was included with the product."

"Oh, we do not handle the manufacturer's warranty..."

But -- I explained Dell sent me to him! I asked, "who do I call?"

10:07 PM: He put me on hold to find out.

10:11 PM: "I have Peter on the line, Dell Tech Support. He has your information."

Now Peter, in Inda again, is reading the logs. Really crappy phone connection.

10:13 PM: He asks my phone and e-mail again.

He is reading the previous case logs. He repeats the problem. Now he wants me to talk to his supervisor!

10:16 PM: On hold now.

10:17 PM: He echoes back the whole thing. And he wants to transfer me to a tech to do some "troubleshooting steps." I am finally starting to lose it. I protested that numerous people have decided the power switch is broken and I do not want troubleshooting. He finally figured out that the power switch is bad, the same determination reached by five techs so far. Now he is transferring me back to a tech to get some "basic information."

10:19 PM. On hold now.

10:20 PM: Back to Peter. Repeats the situation, tells me they will replace the monitor. He is trying to "create a dispatch." He verifies serial number. Waiting now.

10:26 PM: He repeats the problem again. Then he asks my address again. He's very courteous. Keeps touching base with me while we wait.

Am wondering why every transaction takes sooooo long. Dell must have the slowest servers on the planet. I wonder whose servers they use?

Now he is asking for phone numbers and when he can call. I don't want them to call but he insists on having this "in case we need to call you back." Huh?

"One minute..."

He gave me his number: 1-800-624-9896, x 7240099. "Leave case no. and best time to call."

10:36 PM: "One minute..."

Seems like Dell's "minutes" are as long as their "moments."

10:38 PM: "just give me two minutes and I will be back with case number and dispatch number."

Two minutes now. Wonder how long those will take.

10:43 PM Case: 184640885 Dispatch: 988-102-30

10:44 PM: Manager wants to have a word... Why do I need to speak to him? But I don't want to mess this up now. He tell me: "One minute." And it is actually one real-world, 60-second minute!

10:45 PM: Manager tells me the situation again. I think he is waiting for my gratitude. Tells me I should get monitor in 3-5 days.

10:46 PM. Done. For now, anyway.

I have also now received five e-mails from Dell Support asking me to reply if there is anything else I need.  I think I will send these notes to all of them. Might as well tie up their servers a little more. Receiving a long e-mail will probably take hours.

———

More!

January 14, 2008, 8:06 AM: The phone rang. It was an automated call from Dell to tell me the replacement has been delayed 1-2 business days due to "inclement weather." I give them credit for letting me know though I never was asked whether it was OK for followup calls. Given a choice, I'd have asked for e-mail. And I think 8 AM is a little early for unsolicited calls.

Yesterday, I got an e-mail asking me to participate in a customer satisfaction survey.

———

January 14, 2008: I received a very nice e-mail from someone in XPS Customer Care in response to my e-mailed complaint. One point for Dell! She seemed to have actually read my complaint and noted that I prefer no phone calls.

Let me introduce myself my name is <deleted>. I am with the XPS Customer care outbound team. I looked into your case and and I have case noted the issue and your concerns fro all the time and trouble you had just to replay a monitor. I as well am setting up for a call back from one of our speialty groups that handles un-resolved customer issues I know you asked to not be contacted via phone so I will see if they will just converce with you via e-mail .

I have noted in our data base under your last case number the disapprovement of how things were handled as well I have set up the emial response for you here is the Incident # 9849155  for that .

Not sure the resonse time it says something like 24-48hrs I hope it will be sooner .

If you have any more questions please don't hesitate to contact me via e-mail.

The grammar and spelling are a little disturbing for someone who is customer front-line but the intent and tone are courteous, so I am not really complaining.

My response:

Thank you. At this point, the dispatch is scheduled so I don't think there is anything more I need to discuss (as long as the replacement actually happens more or less on time).

What I would REALLY like is assurance that someone who cares, at the Director level or above, reads my log of what happened. There are numerous procedural flaws in your systems that seem to be beyond just my incident and really, I would like to see Dell address them. It won't affect me, but I would like to know it made a difference. In addition to creating an unhappy customer, this costs your company a lot of money and I hate to see waste like this, even if it does not affect me personally.

The question is: Will you be able to get this in front of someone who cares?

Let's see where this goes...

———

January 17, 2008:

An answer from the same person in XPS Customer Care:

I have forwarded your concerns to our executive escalations department to voice your concerns for you . I hope that you will hear from someone soon on this issue. I know you really don't want anything in return but I do feel you should be reassured that I care and so does Dell about any and all of our customers.

And the replacement monitor arrived on the 16th.

Water

Buying water in bottles is a zany practice. That water was pulled from the ground, packed in plastic bottles, labeled, boxed, shipped a couple of times, unboxed, retailed,  and finally transported to your house, which has running water.

And guess what: Much of it is filtered municipal water.

Bottled water is touted as cleaner or more healthful, but that's just myth or marketing for most U.S. locations, especially cities. With regard to health, municipal water is just fine.

Taste can be another story.Some cities, such as New York and San Francisco, have especially good supplies and their water tastes as good or better than any bottled waters.

Bottled water is very wasteful. Consider some alternatives:

Don't overlook tap water. If your tap water tastes good, then use it.

If your tap water doesn't taste good, a carbon filter is the simplest alternative. You can install a cartridge filter (large under-sink filters cost least in the long run) or use a carafe or above-the-sink filter. Consumer Reports is an excellent source for reviews of the filtering products.

If filtering still leaves a bad taste, or if your water source is tested to contain problems, go RO! "Reverse osmosis" is the same process they use to produce many bottled waters. An RO filter is $200-300 (the one they sell at Costco is very good) and you will save a fortune over bottled water. But note that RO flushes water down the drain as part of the process (3-4 gallons per gallon you drink). It requires installation and takes up room under the sink. You can rent an RO system. The cost is higher but installation and maintenance are covered.

Lemonize: A bit of lemon or lime is an easy enhancement. To make it more convenient, keep a squeeze bottle of juice in the fridge and squeeze a shot into your glass. Or, store slices of lemon in the freezer.

The only thing more insane than bottled water is soda. A 12-oz. soda contains 8-12 teaspoons of sugar! Build yourself a water habit and you trim enough calories that you can have a treat now and then. And really, wouldn't you rather have a cookie than a soda?