They never help out with groceries. Especially the Krogers in Coweta county. Doesn't matter if you have a cart full of groceries and 2 kids. They just look at you as you walk out. I was told by a manager that it is Kroger's policy to always ask if you want help out with your groceries. Yet, 1 out of 10 times I get asked. Since all of the Krogers that I have been to are that way, I'm thinking the problem is in the management higher up. I hate that store.

I agree, the Kroger at Banks Rd. has bad customer service. I don't go there anymore.

Comcast is # 1 for worst service I believe. I get nothing but grief from them.

Someone correct me if I am, but didn't I read that Lowe's had pulled out of their upcoming PTC location? I know someone did, I think it was Lowe's.....

Comcast is a monopoly so it's no wonder the service is bad. Who else is going to give you broadband in Fayette County?

Where is the free market?

Satellite.

Yep, that's where the free market is . . . satellite. There is satellite internet, satellite radio, voice over IP and, as you know, satellite TV.

You're only a prisoner of the cable mafia if you choose to be.

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If you and I are always in agreement, one of us is likely armed and dangerous.

Don't know of any!

Dollar, you can get broadband speed/quality from satlink (satellite link internet service). DSL is tied to the phone lines. Well, at least, for now it is.

The next big wave is broadband over power lines (BPL). The power companies could offer broadband service over their existing infrastructure. The problem is that it would cut county and local governments' franchise fees (which they counted on receiving in forecasting their budgets).

But, even that is doubtful as a technology because it will be obsolete in about 3 years and, therefore, not worth investing in the upgrade to the power infrastructure for such a brief window of opportunity/profit. In that time, air cards (which give users the ability to use cell phone technology anytime, anywhere for broadband access) will come down in price and you'll be able to surf/view/talk anywhere a cell phone works.

It's a brave, new world, my friend.

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If you and I are always in agreement, one of us is likely armed and dangerous.

I am aware that we will do internet and TV through an implant in our head in a few years. Some of us have room for one, some of us do not.
Homes will be built with their own power lines and so might factories, so that the dear old power company will no longer be neeeded.
Each location will make their own water, thereby doing away with those nasty water lines in the ground.
We won't need to go to school, our chips, injected at birth will serve for that using the same brain projector as does the implant.
It goes on, but it is not very brave!

That competition is right around the corner. The AT&T / BellSouth merger is going to bring some competition that will bring some extreme competition to Comcrap. I can't wait.

My concern is that AT&T doesn't lower "better" telphone customer service to that of Comcast. Time will tell.

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"That man was Griffin Judicial Circuit District Attorney Scott Ballard".

CLICK HERE FOR THE REST OF THE STORY

Comcast only beat AT&T in the poll by 4%. Comcast placed third and AT&T placed 5th. I don't think there is much danger of ruining AT&T's service. Whew, dodged that one....

I disliked Bellsouth with a passion. Ever since my companies Bellsouth customer service rep told me that we were not thier only customer and we had had one trouble ticket too few for them to do maintenance to prevent any further trouble, I wrote them off as #1 in my book (I'm using the middle finger to indicate #1). I took care of the problem of our service rep having too many customers very quickly after that, and I have not had Bellsouth in my home or office ever since. Makes life so much more relaxing.

Now, normally, I would have been overjoyed to hear some one bought BellSouth, but AT&T was one of the few that actually were worse in the customer department than Bellsouth.

Now, normally, I would have been overjoyed to hear some one bought BellSouth, but AT&T was one of the few that actually were worse in the customer department than Bellsouth.

ShortField, back in the 80's, when I switched to MCI (anyone remember them?) I got a phone call from some pushy AT&T sales rep trying to get me to switch back. I was immediately peeved at the number of times I got poor customer service from AT&T but they had the nerve to call to ask me to continue doing business with them. Anyway, the sales rep made the fatal mistake of saying "they don't have the experience of AT&T." I promptly fired back that AT&T had monopolized the market to make sure no one would ever have the experience of AT&T and that, on that basis alone, I would never go back to them. Now, post BS/ATT merger, the only way to get around the behemoth for residential phone service is VOIP.

Works for me!

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If you and I are always in agreement, one of us is likely armed and dangerous.

ON the whole bellsouth thing, swmbo made me think about this. This is my favorite. I was a Bellsouth residential customer for a number of years before the proverbial stuff hit the fan completely with me and them. They know how to spell my last name. At least they did.

Now I have been getting mail addressed to a misspelled version of my last name asking me to come back for the last four years. My last name isn't hard to spell, but they are the only ones who spell it like this. Guess what, I don't even open the Bellsouth mail anymore, just see the mispelling and toss it in the trash can. Even the tricky ones that look like a check... misspelled and in the garbage. It never even makes it to the house. Now AT&T is using the same misspelling.

What a way to ask me to come back.

How do you get around power outages. One thing is that my land line is never down.

As for BS...I have gotten outstanding business class service from them. Yes, I've heard other peoples horror stories but they sure don't compare to Comcast. Guess you and AT&T get along about as well as me and Comcrap.

________

"That man was Griffin Judicial Circuit District Attorney Scott Ballard".

CLICK HERE FOR THE REST OF THE STORY

Hey all.

Just a quick note on this service thing.

I signed up for Bellsouth internet in '97 when we moved into this house. I still have them. In my own experience they have provided excellent support. Honestly. I am able to talk to real, live people when I have a problem (even if, over the past few years, those real people have been in Pakistan or Outer Mongolia or ???), and they have usually been able to resolve whatever issue prompted the call.

I hope this new deal with AT&T won't hurt their service.

Anyway, I'm still with them.

An Uninterruptible Power Supply is how you get around a power outage. I have one large enough to accommodate a network and in a power outage, I can stay on my computer for up to 2 hours. That's long enough to do my work and forward my home calls to my cell phone if the outage lasts longer.

I don't play well with the cable mafia, either. Comcrap . . . that's priceless.

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If you and I are always in agreement, one of us is likely armed and dangerous.

That you, dollar, were a waffle house man.

What's wrong with Waffle House? One of my grandchildren and I like their Texas Cheese Steak. We eat there sometimes, but not often. Too greasy.
I do think it's better than McDonalds or Wendy's.

I wish we had a Mary Mac's here!

I think a GOOD cafeteria is needed in PTC.
Not the heat light type, but the steam table type, cooked fresh every 20 minutes. $10-$15.
I really get tired of the chains where one eats a steak, terrible raw vegetables and bread; or, a piece of salmon with the same vegetables and bread; or pasta with something in or on it. $20 to $25 with a drink.
Having a seater, a waiter, a drink filler, and a carrier from the kitchen, plus a large tip, is not why I eat out.
A three million dollar lot and building which adds $5 bucks to the price, and where a crowd gathers for the "atmosphere," I also can do without.

The only Mary Mac's that I know about is near the Fox theater. It's a landmark, like the Varsity. It is a tourist place I suppose. I like the veggies. It is not a cafeteria type place. I enjoy eating there.

Personally, I would like to have a place like that in PTC or Fayetteville. Now, if Wheeler's opened up again, that would be the best place to enjoy that type food!

Tug

Do you want a restaurant here that is a tourist trap and NOT a chain that expands?

Honey, if you think Mary Mac's is good, you don't get out much. (ick!) That place is on my list of tourist traps to which I direct people I don't want to see again (like the in-laws). For good cafeteria, I'm told that the Picadillys that used to be S&S cafeterias are better than the ones that started out as Picadillys. And the only one I know of that matches that description is North on 279, right turn on Godby Road. I haven't tried it but I've been to the one in Shannon Mall/Union Station and, good golly, it was awful. The food was cold and tasteless.

Now, according to an article I read about Popeye's Louisiana Kitchen (which is supposed to be going in the space that used to house KFC in F'vlle), it is intended to be a "fast casual" concept. So, the dishes will be Louisiana fare but not chicken (think jambalaya, smothered chicken, shrimp creole). A friend of mine has been to the one on the north side of ATL and says it's great. Next time I'm up that way, I'll have to try it out and do a blog report.

I eat out for a lot of different reasons. Sometimes, I want the atmosphere. I mean, really, the love of my life will die a slow painful death if he were to take me to Mickey D's for our anniversary. Sometimes, it's an opportunity to eat something that I can't make at home and can't buy in the grocery store (e.g. ethnic food or some labor-intensive dish). Sometimes, it's for the convenience without "atmosphere" but, like you, I don't want to give up nutrition for convenience. Unfortunately, there just aren't many choices in our county that fit that bill.

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If you and I are always in agreement, one of us is likely armed and dangerous.

You can bless my heart too. I get out a lot, and I like Mary Mac's. Guess it's a matter of taste.

Tug

Nothing is wrong with the Waffle House. Ms. Mixer likes it too; however, we try to look at each other a bit more than in some restaurants since the sight of an unshaven, mostly toothless man (or woman), in a dirty shirt, gumming an omelet with a cigarette hanging out of his(her) mouth and coffee stains on his tooth tends to kill the appetite.

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LOL
Thank goodness smoking is not allowed anymore!

If I want brunch and they are handy, I sometimes eat there. I know that anybody who serves ten million eggs and hour must have fresh eggs!

This is so typical of you. You make up anything you want and accept it as some sort of fact.

I'm certain you couldn't care less about the actual facts - like with Bush and Iraq - but here is the actual stats:

Waffle House customers consume 20,833 eggs every hour.

You were off by 9,980,167 (nine million, nine hundred and eighty thousand, one-hundred and sixty seven) eggs per hour.

http://www.wafflehouse.com/funfacts.asp

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Well, (as Reagan ALWAYS SAID)a half million (21,000 times 24) eggs a day makes them fresh anyway.
What I said is kinda like: "Mission accomplished," or "hunt em down, smoke em out amd bring em to jestice." "Ya see." Or maybe : "they bought yellowcake from Africa!" Or : "schools have re-started in Iraq, the hospitals are open in Iraq, the oil is flowing in Iraq."
Or, "casulties are down in Iraq." Or, "we will surge to victory, but WE will define victory."

Wow! You're writing like a professional. What happened? Did you put that bong and quart of Mad Dog down or what?

One thing about Waffle Houses are that if you don't like the servers, cooks, and service then come back a week later and you'll get a whole new crew and a completely different experience.

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"That man was Griffin Judicial Circuit District Attorney Scott Ballard".

CLICK HERE FOR THE REST OF THE STORY

Huddlestons surprises me. I've known them and am surprised you had a bad experience. I'm with you. Hope it's a fluke.

McDonald's on Hwy 85 South. I WILL NEVER STEP FOOT IN THAT PLACE AGAIN OR GIVE THEM ANOTHER DIME AS LONG AS I LIVE. I swore months ago I'd never go in there again. Well...last weekend I didn't go in but I went through the drive thru. Big mistake. 2 Fillet O' Bait sandwiches that looked like they stepped on them before the bagged them. Before I discovered that I asked if she put napkins and straw in the bag and she said yes. Heck I pull up and no napkins and straw. I'm am so over McDonald's that it'll be a cold day in Ecuador before I ever show up there again.

Comcast. Two and a half years ago I had problems with my cable. To keep this real short and to keep me from getting banned from the Citizen I'll give the really short and kind version. After standing me up on four appointments after I took off work two of the times I got on the phone. Now this is where you have to be proud of me.... I didn't cuss the, the, the, well customer no service lady. I just told her I couldn't take it anymore. As she apologized profusely and begged me to stay her last words were..."what will you do now"? To which my response was...."I don't know, but I won't be a Comcast customer ever again".

Soooo.... It took some adjusting in our household but we are no longer TV addicts. Although I guess you could call me a blogging addict.

So we now have an extensive library of quality and family acceptable DVDs that we watch. I'm in the middle of the first season of Rat Patrol which my girls love and after I post this I'm going to eat my pizza and watch "Night At The Museum" with my daughter for the first time. Talk later after my date.

________

"That man was Griffin Judicial Circuit District Attorney Scott Ballard".

CLICK HERE FOR THE REST OF THE STORY

I forgot about that mess of a store. We (the family) now go to the PTC store located at the corner of 54 and 74 where the service is much better than the one at the Pavillion; however, only because the wait, the service, the incompetence at the store across from the ratvillion is simply awful!

Verizon coverage is great but their customer service - is awful!

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It may just prove the point about the Verizon store, but they told me that the contact backup is free for Verizon customers. Have used it almost every day and never had an extra charge. Perhaps, they are billing you for some other low-value high-cost add on service.

On the service at McDonalds, I have yet to find anyone behind the counter who knows what goes on a Big Mac without asking the "cook". The preparer then pulls down a picture chart and looks up the info. Guess reading English is not a job requirement.

_

Phone stores are similar to the internet. They don't really have a price that is the same for everyone for the exact same service.
They are trained evidently to garner as much income as they think the customer will bear.
If you raise mortal hell, they will often do better.
Trickery is the order of the day as on the internet: for instance; flowers for 19.95 instead of 29.95, just type in your credit card info, please. Now fill out the form. Now realize you have joined the club at XXXX dollars per month, charged to your CC. No matter what you do you will be charged every month til.......
Better yet: Direct buy furniture and kitchens. Save tens of thousands. However, the want to charge you $4000.00 to belong once you have been sucked in. It is crappy used stuff anyway, I am told.
Our government has NO handle on false ads, drugs, the border, or little else.

Re: 50 registers, 3 cashiers and 100 people in line.

You get what you pay for.

As much as I hate Wal-Mart's labor policies at least their prices are low enough to benefit many of the low-wage workers who keep this country running.

But gosh Mixer you're right it can get REAL crowded in there.

I'm a former employee of the Fayetteville Walmart when it was behind Krystal. I hate going to the pavillion store, I avoid it like the plague.

Try this though. Next time you go and the lines are huge when you get ready to check out, leave your stuff right there at the check out and go somewhere else. Make Walmart spend the money (that they should have spent for the cashier to check you out) to pay someone to collect the items from the checkout and return them to the shelves.

The long check out lines only work for Walmart as long as you stay in them and buy the products anyway (plus you pick up a few impulse buys around the register while you wait).

You are now supposed to be using the check yourself out lanes. They have been goading you for a long time now to do so.
If they are going to be forced to pay more, then they will just lay-off some!
Go figure!

These self chack outs always have a few closed. I can't use them if their closed...

I do like the self check outs though. Watch the people in front of you trying to figure out how to use them. It's a hoot. Stupid people are so much fun (unless you are in a hurry).

You are now supposed to be using the check yourself out lanes. They have been goading you for a long time now to do so.
If they are going to be forced to pay more, then they will just lay-off some!
Go figure!

I was trying to decide on my worst. Going with McD's on 85 South.

Went by on my way to a job one morning, had 15 minutes to be in and out of McDonalds. Went inside and ordered. Watched for 15 minutes while the drive through was served and other customers were served. After 15 minutes I had to leave and asked that the clerk write on my receipt that I had not received my food so I could come back later for it. When I was finished with my job, I came back (about 1 hour later) and asked the same clerk to refund the money I had paid for my meal earlier as I never got it earlier and was not hungry now. The manager actually argued with the clerk about this in earshot of me. That was and will be the last trip I make to that store.

So, good choice EOD!

I totally forgot about that wonderful McDonalds.

I ordered something there around Christmas time that came to $1.94. I gave Ms. Attitude behind the register two one-dollar bills and she closed the register door. Um, excuse me? I believe you owe me some change? "Do you NEED that six cents?" Why yes, yes I do. *rolleyes*

If she knew how often we put in our 'two cents' she wouldn't have had ask that. Heck, that was three blogs worth!

By the way, if you REALLY wanted to see her squirm, you could have given her $2.04 and asked for a dime back, or better yet, give them $2.19 when it costs $1.94 and ask her for a quarter back.

Seems they don't have pictures of that transaction on the register at Micky D's.

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I don't like having a bunch of pennies. So, if I pay for something, I try to find a way to get rid of the darned things. Now, I'm not talking about a dollar's worth of pennies but, like you said, I'll give them enough pennies so that I don't get any back in my change. So, can someone please tell me why a company would trust the cash register (i.e. the company income) to someone who can't figure out what change to give back when they get 4 whole freakin' pennies???

And, I agree that the 85S Micky D's is the worst in the county; I gave up on the customer disservice. Some companies haven't figured out that the price doesn't always control the buying decision.

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If you and I are always in agreement, one of us is likely armed and dangerous.

If cash registers didn't automatically tell today's clerks how much the change should be they would not be able to function!
But the worst part is, they don't even know that what you said can even be done.
Also, we don't teach them to drive, balance a check book, or understand debits and credits.
They do know who Michael Jackson is and that he is (was) rich.

It was Micky D's that first developed the process of the register telling the clerk what the correct change is to give back to the customer.

But the characters they're forced to hire couldn't get the change right if the register displayed pictures of the change given. Oh well.... time to bring in the Mexicans.
________

"That man was Griffin Judicial Circuit District Attorney Scott Ballard".

CLICK HERE FOR THE REST OF THE STORY

So that's what "Taco Mac" is.