Oh, but I’m not going to paint everyone with the same wide brush, though I think we all know that this is a concept lost on a lot of corporate types who seem to think they’re God’s gift to the world and the customer is someone to be endured, rather than courted.
One company that still hasn’t succumbed to this bizarre mind-set is CROCKPOT ~ The Original Slow Cooker. I wrote to them when the knob on my Crockpot broke. It’s well-used, but it still works, so I was just wanting a new knob to fix it and asked if I could order one from them.
I guess they didn’t have the part, because they wrote back and offered me a whole new crockpot.... no charge. Whoa! After years of experiencing deteriorating corporate attitudes, I was really very pleasantly surprised by this. They kept me notified of how and when it was coming and it arrived quickly and in good order. That was cool! I fixed the old one with a makeshift part and still use it, but having the new one in the wings is a good thing. Consumer relations live!
A couple of months later, summer arrived and I got out the canopy for the front yard shelter. I put it on the metal frame. It wasn’t in such good shape. It was pretty much down to the consistency of a dirty hanky, due mostly to UV exposure. It was tearing of its own accord. It’s a Woods shelter, so after checking in a few stores that carry such things (and not finding a replacement), I wrote to Woods to ask if I could get a new canopy from them. They kindly sent me back a copy of my request, so I know they got it, but they didn’t bother to answer me. Is that a no? Heh... I guess so. Not impressed. I made do with what we had on hand. There’s nothing wrong with the metal frame, so I’m not buying a new shelter just because the canopy is shot. And when the time comes to buy a new shelter, I will avoid the Woods brand, of course. In fact, I’ll avoid it for all and any outdoor products. And now I’m thinking in terms of something more permanent for a shelter anyway, so I don’t have to invest in any of those very temporary ones again. So maybe they did me a favour, eh?
A couple of weeks ago, I made up a nice batch (or what was intended to be a nice batch) of lemon/dill hummus. I appreciate that there are a lot of people who can’t relate, because there are a lot of people who don’t like hummus. In fact, I don’t like the store-bought stuff myself. It’s a lot like dipping food into toothpaste. But I make my own. I like it creamy and garlicky and so I make it that way. My daughter was hesitant about hummus for a long time, but curious, she finally dipped a chip into it and discovered that it’s not all that bad. She tried it with different things at regular intervals and over time she got so she quite liked a snack of something dippable with hummus. She even had me change brands from the PC Organic Chick Peas I like to make it with, to Yves Garbanzo Beans. Chick peas and garbanzo beans are the same thing of course... one of those things with two names. Anyway, she wanted the change because the PC product comes in a can with a plastic liner and she was concerned about BPA exposure. The Yves Garbanzos have no plastic lining in the can. So, even though they’re more expensive, I was giving them a try.
So there she was one evening, enjoying some chips with lemon/dill hummus for a snack, when suddenly she made an odd sound and yelled "eeeewwww... what’s in my hummus!!??" She spat something out and I went to see. She thought it was a piece of chicken, and it did indeed look like a piece of chicken white meat. She was aghast and since she’s vegan, also quite horrified. She wound up barfing up her snack.
I’m not sure if this is supposed to make it ok or not, but I don’t happen to think that finding any foreign matter in your mouth from a canned food product is ok. I told Yves Veggie Cuisine about it. They evidently passed the matter on to the PR department of the Canadian distributor, Hain-Celestial Foods, who contacted me via email and asked me to phone them. I did so, using the 1-800 number, which was the second number she offered. (Do they really prefer customers to call long distance at their own expense???) Anyway, I spoke with a woman who was not apologetic, but really rather indignant and haughty about the whole thing. It seems to me that under the circumstances, the indignation should be mine, shouldn’t it? When I suggested there should be no foreign material of any kind in a can of garbanzo beans, she vacillated between claiming that the company keeps the highest health standards known to man, and then excusing the matter because the garbanzo beans were actually canned in the States. Huh? Isn’t this trying to have it both ways?
She offered to send me coupons. I guess this is the standard thing, but I told her we wouldn’t be eating their garbanzo beans again any time soon, and I started to tell her why other products might not be suitable. I mean, Yves makes many vegetarian products, but a lot of them contain gluten and both my daughter and I are gluten-free. Thing is, this woman kept interrupting me and I never got that out. Then she told me a bit later that I had refused to give her my address.
"When did I do this?" I asked, perplexed. I had not refused her this information at all, of course, she just hadn’t let me finish what I was saying. She was too busy condescendingly telling me how great they all are... or how American. Feh. I gave her my address. Again, unlikely I can use anything she sends (and I won’t believe she’s sending anything till it gets here). Do I give it to another unsuspecting consumer if she does? I’m not sure that would be right. Coupon kindling?
I wrote to Yves again, but they’re not talking. Apparently this is their consumer relations policy. Dump the upset consumer on someone who apparently graduated from the Godzilla PR program of some misguided college, and ignore the whole thing. You know, I would have dared hope for better, even for some useful compensation, maybe something in the way of a gift card from a major grocery store chain or something, since we can’t really use their products. But that clearly isn’t their style. Apparently they have no style... at all. So hey, just a heads-up people, if you’re trying those veggie foods and you find something strange lodged in your food, or in your mouth, and it has a lasting negative impact on you and/or your family, don’t expect Yves Veggie Cuisine to give a flying rat’s ass about it. Just sayin’. It’s back to PC Organic chick peas for me... plastic liner notwithstanding. My daughter won’t be eating hummus or anything with chick peas in it any time soon. *sigh*
I’ll still enjoy it, just so it isn’t Yves garbanzo beans. In fact, by this time next year, I hope I’ll be enjoying my veggies and hummus in the shade of a nice gazebo in the front yard, while my new Crockpot makes veggie broth on the back of the stove in the house. Caveat Emptor, people... Caveat Emptor.
See also: http://writimages.blogspot.ca/2010/07/on-phone-again.html
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