Recently, I received a letter from Virgin about my “unreturned modem”. This is what it said at the bottom in bold:
“Please note that if the Modem is not returned by May 23, 2008 you will be charged $400 for the Modem as per the conditions of your agreement with Virgin Broadband”.
Did any of you receive the same letter? I’d be interested in hearing from you. If you are new to Mr Feedback, check out my earlier posts: here, here and here.
Sadly, I had the receipt from Toll Priority who collected the modem in the pre-paid satchel. I promptly rang them up, and informed them of their mistake. The call centre guy did not seem surprised, and said it was an “oversight”. Bloody oathe it is! Hopefully this is the last I have heard from Virgin Broadband. These guys are a joke!
There is so much talk about Hollywood and cinema companies being greedy, and wanting to make more money. Most of this is related to the illegal downloading of their movies, months before their release. I guess they have a point. However there is tremendous opportunity to exploit file sharing networks to generate publicity about a movie, particularly for low budget film makers. Similarly, the music industry has its gripes, but here’s an interesting article about it.
I was hoping to catch the new movie Iron Man, at the Century City Village Cinemas, near The Glen Shopping Centre. Everything was going well, until the car I borrowed broke down en route. This was on a Sunday, so there was no hope of getting it fixed quickly.
So I rang up Village customer service, and explained my situation. In fact, in the haste, I also emailed them to see if they respond quickly. The lady in customer service said, if I presented myself within 30 minutes of the movie starting, then they can initiate an immediate refund onto my credit card (since I bought it online).
First of all, I think it’s a bit silly to ask someone to physically present for an immediate refund. If someone’s car broke down, then obviously transportation is a problem. Anyway, I borrowed another car and the manager was more than happy to refund the money. That was kind of surprising to me. I was expecting a verbal onslaught, and requests to document my experience so their “finance department” can assess my situation. It was pretty easy (although I still haven’t received the refund on my CC, but I hear it can take up to a week). If I had not gone within 30 minutes, then all “sorts of paperwork” will required to be filled before I see any dime.
The service The telephone service was prompt (waited about 1 minute on hold), and the desk service was alright. But, no one at the desk really knew what to do until the manager rocked up. Fair enough, not many people get refunds from movie tickets. From their perspective, a refund need not have been given. It wasn’t their car that broke down, so I appreciate their efforts to satisfy their customers. When I came back home, I even got a reply to the email I had sent. Wow!!
Inside tips * Purchasing tickets is so much easier online, and you don’t wait in line.
* You need access to a printer
* You can select the seats in some cinemas when you make an online booking.
Suggestions * When someone asks for a refund, then obviously they cannot make it to the movie nor the premises. So asking someone to present physically within 30 minutes for a refund, otherwise condemning them to fill out paperwork is not the most efficient way of handling it. Refunds can easily be handled via the phone, or even online.
* I was told tickets may not be transferred to another session. Why not? I could have easily seen the movie on another day, at another time. This should be allowed, because you will maintain your customers. Now, once I get my refund, potentially I could not watch the movie at all (although I will be going next weekend).
Rating - 8/10 (annoying rules, but thanks for the refund) I hope to see the movie this weekend. Heard lots of good comments. Don’t ruin it for me.
This is a follow up on the post a few days about Samsung’s delayed delivery of their free LCD TVs. It seems Sony is also having similar issues with their PS3s. According o this article, there are also talks of a class action lawsuit. They promised delivery within 28 days, but four months later some customers are still waiting. 28000 people had taken up the order according to Sony Australia.
Wow, these guys know how to feed someone. Their portions are huge, and prices are reasonable. Food is not the best, but the value is definitely there.
The Stats 5 people, entree, main course, and 1 desert: $71.60
The value By far the best value for money I have ever come across for the restaurant size that it is. They have a number of restaurants across Melbourne, but the Wheeler’s Hill one is absolutely massive with ample car space. Their portions are huge, and “normal” people need only order their small size. I ordered a small Gnocchi Calabrese and still couldn’t finish it.
The service
I went for lunch on a Saturday to my surprise the restaurant was quite empty. Usually the restaurant is packed out to the max. It is wise to book in advance for weekends anyway. I have been there a few times, and their service is prompt. We were a bit of a hurry, and finished our meals and got out of there in less than 75 minutes. Not the fastest, but way up there. Due to the size of the restaurant, sometimes it can be hard to get attention of the serving staff but I had no extensive problems. The owner is a nice fella and is friendly with all his customers. (I think it was the owner whom I saw today. Their community contribution is quite significant. Once I saw a contribution cheque worth thousands of dollars to the Royal Children’s Hospital. Good on ya guys!!
The electronic ordering system is unique, and it is nice to know they are a tech savvy business.
The ambience Can’t really comment on this much because the restaurant was quite empty. But there is plenty of space for everyone. The tables are appropriately spaced out. However, I have been there at night when it is absolutely packed, the ambience is bustling! The view while driving past is extraordinary, with the restaurant lit up with people having a great time.
The food I never really looked at the menu much during my previous encounters. They have quite a small range of options for the size that they are. None the less, there are plenty of options. However I have seen smaller restaurants offer a much wider variety of options than what Sofia offers. The taste wasn’t the best, I must admit. They did lose some points for this. It was served hot, and well displayed. I ordered one of their pasta Gnocchi. I have had pizza there before, and it is much better but unfortunately, I rate according to my experience now - not from before. On the other hand, the chocolate mousse is the best!
Inside tips * Book in advance for weekends
* The pizzas are great tasting. The chocolate mousse is the best I have ever tasted.
Suggestions I attempted to make an online booking, and couldn’t (email bookings possible). However, unlike recent businesses I have reviewed, it is nice to know that you are working on a website, albeit a very basic one at that. I am not sure why you have different websites for the same restaurant at different locations, granted it may be a franchise. Why not just have 1 website, and then have different sub-sites within for each location? The Burwoodstore has a better site, but the music is annoying.
Rating - 7/10 (great value, great service, food needs work) I would definitely go there, and take my friends there. It’s a great restaurant, and going on a busy night is a must for anyone who has not tried it yet.
I moved house about 3 months ago, and was on the hunt for furniture. I have always lived in furnished apartments, and it was time to venture out to buy my own furniture. I was quite keen on Fantastic Furniture - as they had deals featuring whole lounge and bed room sets. I wasn’t into buying really expensive furniture (not just yet anyway), and wanted a complete set so I could get it over and done with. One day, while driving back from Ballarat I spotted Michael’s Furniture in Melton. This is my story.
The service in store It took a while before we got some attention from one of the staff members, but that was fine with me. I was measuring out the lounge set, and bed room set to ensure they fitted into the new apartment. I spent a good 30-40 minutes having a look around the shop, and really liked the Montego package which was on display. The main priority for me was the length of time for delivery. I was told it would be 6 weeks maximum, but in most cases it will be earlier than that. Fantastic Furniture also had similar time frames, but their deal did not include a bed, tallboy, side tables etc. After having a think about it, I decided to go ahead with the package, paid my deposit. The order was placed on 15/01/2008.
The staff member answered all my questions well, and I did have a lot of them. He even convinced to treat the furniture for“extra protection”. Anyway, now I have some life time stain warranty and free removal of stains or something like that! Read the rest of this entry »
I was quite impressed with Samsung’s promotion of offering a free LCD TV when you purchased a plasma TV > 40″. Many TV companies have since started offering similar deals, and as expected customer demand has sky rocketed. As per Samsung, more than 23,000 people have taken up these promotions, many of them solely because of the free TV offer. It seems Samsung are struggling to fulfill those orders, with some people waiting even today to get their free TV’s for purchases made in Nov/Dec 2007. There is even talk of going further with the complaints to NSW Office of Fair Trading.
I hope that will not be necessary, and Samsung get their act together quickly. Similarly, Vodafone and Optus have major problems with their mobile broadband network, particularly bandwidth and speed issues. Vodafone at one stage had massive waiting lists to get their mobile broadband modems.
This brings us to an important lesson. When you organise a marketing or promotional scheme, then you have to ensure you have adequate planning to accommodate for potentially thousands of customers. If you do not, then your company can fast lose reputation and have a negative impact on consumers. This will affect future sales. As this story highlights, communication is a major part of customer service and it seems Samsung have neglected their customers from this angle.
This post is relevant to my upcoming take on Michael’s Furniture. Stay tuned!
Pepperoni’s Pizza 7a-9a Elizabeth St
Melbourne, VIC 3000
(03) 9614 2274
First of all, sorry for updating the blog for a few days. It kind of gets hard when you are working nights for 7 straight days without a break.
I was working late one night about 10 days ago, and needed something quick and easy. As always, Pizza is my favourite and so far have tried out a few different places. I saw a scooter delivery guy at a 7 - eleven, and that’s how I found Pepperoni’s Pizza. It is located quite centrally in Melbourne, and have some great tasting pizza.
I went there quite late - past 10pm, and grabbed a quick bite to eat. They have one of the best tasting pizzas yet. I know Pizza Minded was excellent, but these guy’s are one step above. I know that may be impossible, after Pizza Minded received a perfect 10/10 - but it will have to do.
I ordered a Vegetarian pizza, and it was just mind boggling. At about $14.00 it was totally worth it. The girls that worked there were friendly, it was served gourmet style. For a small pizza place located in downtown, attended by “all sorts of people”, they have it good. Certainly a recommendation from Mr Feedback. Again, my interaction with them was based on 2 minutes of ordering, so I guess this review is largely based on their EXCELLENT TASTING PIZZA.
They are open 24 hours, which is handy for us late shifters, or anyone who gets hungry at odd times. They also have a delivery service. However, I don’t know about an adult club open just next to them, hmmm…! I guess more people means good for business.
Once again, there is no website. Online ordering is something almost all take away businesses should consider, especially for businesses with the type of volume like Pepperoni’s. Would make the whole process a lot more efficient, and easier. Also a menu will be available online for easy access to prices, toppings etc. Should invest in a basic website guys!
Let’s face it, a bit of bling bling would be nice! Until recently, on the contribute page I had not specified a paid review price. This is largely because I had no idea how much I should charge businesses for paid reviews. I like writing reviews, and wouldn’t writing for free but it would be nice to cover the costs of hosting, and advertising. Besides, it would be more transparent if I was more up front about fees etc.
I am prepared to be a low cost reviewer so set a charge of $5 - $10. I can use the excuse to get out of the house a bit more (a bit hard to do when you’re working nights - i.e.: me, now). It takes me a fair while to write a full review, and do research about it. There may be significant cost associated with it - for example, I reviewed La Spaghetatta, and their dinner bill was $94.00. But that was a review done while I was out anyway, so no loss. If I had specifically gone out that day to review that restaurant, you can imagine the expense.
So I hope the charges are reasonable, but they are negotiable. Businesses can always contact me. I don’t know, what do you think? Is it a fair price?
I am a regular user of Commonwealth Bank’s NetBank. Although it doesn’t look as pretty as Westpac’s interface, its very fast and efficient. I rarely go into a bank these days, until the other day when I went in to the branch at Brandon Park to ask about my credit card available funds.
I have a credit card which has no awards points, and no interest free period. I have purposely signed up for such a card because there are no yearly fees, and it forces me to pay it off regularly. In fact I rarely have any funds due on my credit card at any time, as I use it and pay it off instantly.
Such was the case on Monday 14th (see pic) when I used it to make a purchase worth $550, and paid it off within minutes using Netbank. Usually, the available funds updates instantly and this time it didn’t. I gave it 24 hours, and it still had not. I rang up Commbank, and they said it can take a few days. Still no signs of updating. You see I pay interest on any remaining sums on my credit card, so I was important it updated quickly rather than in “few days” or even “weeks”. Anyhow, I went to the Brandon Park branch, and apparently I had been double charged on my credit card. This is a rare error, because 1) I received an invoice for the amount, 2) the online statement only shows 1 charge being made, 3) Commbank records (in their database) only shows 1 charge being made. Where did the other charge come from? I don’t know, and Commbank were not able to explain it either.
I had my CC reversed back to its full limit instantly after the error was found. This is so weird. Never have I had a problem with Netbank, and hopefully its a once off. So if your statement online doesn’t update instantly, question it quickly - to ensure everything no errors have occurred.
Store Tort’s Famous Catering
Australia on Collins
260 Collins St
Melbourne, VIC
Tel: (03) 9670 7824
I had a wander around Australia on Collins, and it’s like another world there. I have never been to this place before, and actually ran into it because it was the quickest way to the nearest Police Station. Yep, I got arrested! (kidding by the way). They have a nice little food court on Floor 1, and that’s where I found Tort’s Famous. In my pledge to start eating something other than Indian or Italian, I ordered here.
It’s a neat kitchen, and you can freely see the good preparation. In fact, seeing the food prepared is one of their unique specialties. They have a combo meal for $10.95, which is decent. The service was great, although I was one of the few who ordered from there. The food itself was aaright! I wasn’t a great fan of the chips (or tort chips they call it). The tort itself was quite tasty, and healthy at that. It’s a bit like a Subway sandwich, except its wrapped in a TORT (read more here). They have a few stores in Melbourne (although I had never seen one before), you can find them here. Their menu is here.
If you want organize office catering, then you can do so on their website. The more I think about it, maybe some of my catered food comes from here.
There are plenty of options there, but I am just not a Tort person. I guess I shut down when things become healthy, :-).
Rating: 6/10 (great place, good service, but I am not a tort person)
There is so much talk about Hollywood and cinema companies being greedy, and wanting to make more money. Most of this is related to the illegal downloading of their movies, months before their release. I guess they have a point. However there is tremendous opportunity to exploit file sharing networks to generate publicity about a movie, particularly for low budget film makers. Similarly, the music industry has its gripes, but here’s an 
This is a follow up on the post a few days about 
Refer to article: 
Let’s face it, a bit of bling bling would be nice! Until recently, on the 
It’s a neat kitchen, and you can freely see the good preparation. In fact, seeing the food prepared is one of their 
