Perhaps I am old-fashioned but I feel when you say you are going to do something, then you should do it. Case in point, this morning I dropped the car off at the dealership to get that shifting problem fixed. I dropped it off at approximately 7:45 AM CST (-06:00 GMT). My appointment to have them look at my car was for 9:30 AM CST (-06:00 GMT). When I dropped the car off, they told me they would call me back when the car was done or if it would require parts/maintenance not covered by the warranty.

It is now after 4:00 PM CST (-06:00 GMT) and have I heard one peep out of them? Nope. Feeling more than a little indignant at this turn of events, I tried calling them. I got a hold of a receptionist who asked me a couple of questions; presumably to route my call to the correct portion of their service dept. Then I was put on hold…

For all of 60 seconds. *Grrrr* After which I got transferred to some nameless persons voicemail. *Grrrr^2*

I was polite and left a message simply asking them to call me back with an update. I even went so far as to give them both my work and home numbers again. And to tell them when I would be leaving work, so they would have a better chance of catching me. Not that I have seen any sign that they’ve tried calling, but I am still trying to be nice and give them the benefit of the doubt. Now, I’m waiting again for them to call me back.

Update: About 10 minutes after I called the dealership, they called me back to say the car was fixed. All the repairs fell under the warranty, so I didn’t have to pay a dime. For those curious as to what was wrong:

  • The brake light switch (what they call the sensor for the ASL) was bad.
  • Additionally when they checked the car with their diagnostic software; it reported there was a problem with one of the engine coolant temperature sensors. So they replaced that as well (again this was under warranty).

Am I pleased with the customer service I received? Not especially but now that we have the car back (and particularly since they didn’t charge us for any of the parts/labor); I’m not quite as upset about it as I had been. Would I buy another VW from this dealer? It’s a bit too early to say. Their sales and finance departments are great, but the so-so treatment from the service department makes me feel hesistant to say yes.

A Washington Post columnist posted an article last Friday covering a bit of research claiming that Jon Stewart’s popular comedy/news show on the Comedy Channel may cause people to stop voting. The report’s title was not given, nor was there any link to the results. So we have no way to read the report for ourselves to judge the accuracy of the columnist’s claims and have to rely on the quotes from the report he gave us. Quotes like this one:

“Ultimately, negative perceptions of candidates could have participation implications by keeping more youth from the polls,” they wrote.

Maybe I’m just a bit cynical myself but I’d think there’s also the possibility these youth will start working the political scene to replace the loser candidates we have now with somebody who might actually represent their interests.

Back in April, we bought a new car from Carousel Motors. And until yesterday, it’s been great. I let me explain…

Yesterday, I went home for my lunch hour. When my time was up, I went down to the car to get back to work. The car unlocked and started up without any problems. What was a problem is the ASL light turned on and stayed on. Normally, this light turns off once you press down on the brake pedal. It’s there to prevent you from shifting into gear without having the brake pressed to avoid accidents. Except now, my foot was on the brake and I was still stuck in park. I fiddled around with it for a bit, but couldn’t get aything to happen1. I rushed back inside, called by boss and worked the rest of the from home via the corporate VPN.

After work, I called the dealership but found out the service department closed an hour before I called. I talked to the salesman who sold us the car and he suggested calling the VW roadside assistance 800# to have them tow the car out. I called them up, waiting on hold for several minutes and then got to talk to *mumble, mumble #1*. He had me go out ot my car and try several things to get the car out of park. I was just nearing the end of his instructions when the battery in my phone died. *grumpf*

I tromped back up into the apartment and called back on a wired phone. Again I had to wait several minutes and then I got to talk to *mumble, mumble #2*. I explained what was wrong and what I’d done so far. He gave me the complete instructions and I wrote them down. Then I set down my phone and ran outside to try them. Success! I could now get my car out of park! Before I ran back inside to relate my success, I turned off the car and tried starting/shifting normally. No luck, that was still screwy. I went back inside, picked up the phone and… And nothing, all I got was dead air. *double grumf*

I called the roadside assistance a third time and once again had to wait several minutes for the privilege of talking to *unidentified pissy man*. This guy never gave me his name. I told him everything that I’d been through and the resuylts of their procedure for getting the car out of park. I asked if I was supposed to be ok now, or if I still needed to get it to the dealership? He grumpily answered that “of course I needed to get it to the dealership.” All this around, though not entirely their fault, was not exactly making my evening any better.

Today, I called the dealership and their receptionist was waaaaaaay to gorram happy for 7:45 AM. Fortunately, she quickly transfered me to their service department. And they answered the phone with a “Good Afternoon”. While time is relative and there was a period in my youth where I always used “Good Morning” as a greeting that was high school for crying out loud. Still, she could have just been tired by the early hour of the day, so I didn’t go off on her. I explained my problem and that the roadside assistance people had given me a procedure to get the car out of park. She said since I could technically drive it; their first opening to have somebody look at the car is next Monday. I made the appointment, but it left me feeling very disappointed. I think if this is the average level of customer service I get from them then when we replace our other car, it’s not going to be another Volkswagen. As much as I like driving the car and as good as their sales department is; if the rest of their team is lacking in customer service then it’s not worth it.

Or I could just be grumpy from having to handle all this so flippin’ early in the morning.

1 Actually, that’s not entirely accurate. All I did appeared to make things worse. After my fiddling with it, the EPC light came on. Though after following the instructions from roadside assistance that light went back out.

Americans have set aside today as the specific day of the year we honor the fathers among us. Though my own father passed away a couple of years ago, I thought I’d take a moment to share some of the things he taught me.

  • No matter how hard you want it to, money does not grow on trees.
  • Respect is never given away, only earned. And the easiest way to earn it, is to give it.
  • Changing the oil & filter in your car can be a rewarding and bonding experience between a father and his child. And when it’s not, at least all the yelling and swearing should entertain the neighbors.
  • Plumbing is a noble art, best left to the professionals. As what you can destroy in minutes fix over several hours, they can fix in one (though they’ll probably charge you for more).
  • He really wasn’t kidding about that money/tree thing.

Oh and to my faithful readers out there, feel free to add something your dad taught you in the comments.

This week I had the privilege of serving as a jury member. I took a small notebook with me and recorded my thoughts through both days, as time allowed1. Below you will find a copy of those notes I took to read or ignore as you choose. No real attempt has been made to make the notes any better than they were originally written.

~~~~~~~~~~

Slept poorly, slow to awaken.
Rush to courthouse for jury duty. Hallways packed and warm.
Waited in courtroom in chairs of oak & iron. Old, lovely and totally uncomfortable.
Surrounded by young pups to old farts. By ladies of brown hair to blue.

Ate a granola bar on the drive in, carrying a second one in my pocket.
Drank some tea, but left bottle in the car.
Still we wait…

Hats removed from heads upon request. People go quiet.
A sense of beginning flows over the room. But is lost as the court assistant leaves.
A man, looking grumpy, leaves for second time. A cellphone rings when it should be turned off.
The doors close and the murmuring gets louder. People start to quiet again.
Expectation, boredom, sleepiness & muffled laughter sweep the room.
And still we wait…

I look around the room and wonder what kind of person would have all these people as their peers?
What could they be accused of?
And still we wait…

Housekeeping is done.
To clerk of court must report to get proof of attendance.
Educational video is watched.
The video’s attempts at humor failed.
Brains leaked from ears as video bored us to tears.
Some slackers walked in late.
And still we wait…

The video completed.
A break was announced.
And still we wait…

Break concluded.
Lawyers at their desk.
Perhaps now we will progress.

In truth the break runs long.
And still we wait…

A man with white hair sets a laptop on the judge’s bench.
Is he the decider of fates or an IT flunky like me?
A pool of potential jurors gets taken across the hall.
And still we wait…

The lawyers get called behind closed doors.
Yet a man waits across the fence where they say.
Casually dressed, I like his shirt.
Defendant, plaintiff, which is he?
I know not.
And still we wait…

Pages rustle, laptops beep, people babble.
And still we wait…

More names get called and the herd thins.
But still we wait…

Both lawyers finally return
But still we wait…

A book of haiku
waits at home wishing
it were here.

But still we wait…

Glasses removed for cleaning
Room all a blur
From poor eyesight & action not
And still we wait…

Lawyers conferring
whispers unheard
Doors a closing
And still we wait…

White haired man returns
In robes, a judge he is.
Waiting is done for now.

Into jury box, I go.
Questions are asked and answered.
Recommended Woodchuck Hard Cider I do.
Questions on alcohol use are frequent, as the case deals with OWI2.
Then a break we take.
And still we wait…

Back in we go.
Strike one, strike two…. strike eight.
Into the the final 13 for me.

Opening statements are made.
Prosecutor’s are long and dry.
Defender’s are short and sweet.

Now it’s time to eat!

Quizno’s my lunch did cook.
Then I bought some comic books.

And now we have to wait
Till we return to decide
One man’s fate.

Prosecutor shows videos and questions witness.
Defender tries to discredit both.
State rests and court adjourns.

~~~~~~~~~~

Day 2

Defender calls defendant to the stand.
Claims it’s all lies and the videos were faked.

Prosecutor calls the actor from the videos to the stand.
Voices were not a match, though their builds were vaguely similar.
Both sides done presenting.
Now with the judge they are blathering.
And we wait…

~~~~~~~~~~

There was more to tell, but that’s all I recorded in my notebook. In the end, well… that’s all a matter of public record. Go look it up. I will only admit to the follow:

  • I got a nice lunch on the court’s dime the second day
  • Now I don’t have to serve at the county courthouse for a couple of years.
  • It was nice to be out my office.

1 I used the official notepad for taking notes on the case, which the court kept to be destroyed after my service was completed.
2 As in operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol.