Getting a Little Something Done..Little Being the Operative Word Here

Sunday I harvested the garden and here is what I got.....

I just don't know WHAT I am going to do with all this???lol

Oh wait!
Here's what I'm doing.....

Adding him to his little green friends I harvested last week, blanching them all and stuffing them into the freezer. ;-)

And remember this pic......

I finally got around to processing them and they now look like this....

3 lovely quarts of tomato sauce!

I also got lucky this week when I called the courthouse and they said I had finished my Jury Duty Service. 
I hadn't actually had to report to the courthouse any of the weeks this month but oooookay! 8-)

That meant I was able to participate in my 1st paid online video focus group earlier this week. 
Let me get this.....you're going to pay me to sit at the computer and give you my opinion on something?
Oh, they just don't realize the monster they have unleashed upon the "focus group world"......

I am off now to run some errands that have been neglected thus far this week, including mailing off the latest Boring Blog Box Giveaway Winner their box of prizes.  I've got another Boring Box of Stuff set to launch in the next day or two so don't touch that dial! ;-)

Sluggy

5 Steps to Effective Complaining...Make it Pay Off!

At my advanced age....cough, cough.....I would hardly consider myself a shrinking violet when it comes to speaking up about something.

True, when I was younger I may have let problems slide and not made an issue of something just for the sake of "not making waves".  It was easier to just let problems with products and companies go.
Who needs the hassle of having to write a letter to complain that a food product wasn't fresh or edible even or that some houseware  broke the first time you used it? 
It was easier to just move on and mentally make a note in the back of your brain not to EVER buy that item again or even to blacklist the entire company that provided you that defective product.

But, that was many years ago.....back before I racked up many many MANY incidents of products that didn't live up to what they were suppose to be and companies that didn't provide what was promised.
Eventually we all get to that point in life, when dealing with companies, where we become Howard Beale and get fed up with the status quo and just let them know how we feel about the situation....



(I love this movie!  Even back in the '70s it was so ahead of it's time...)

Ok, so yelling out your window won't get you much except a case of laryngitis when it comes to getting satisfaction from a company.

You need to practice a little thing called "Effective Complaining". 
 Here are the steps I use...

*Seek out a venue for communicating with the company.
Use the internet to find their website.  From there navigate the site for any contact links(email, telephone, mailing address, etc.)they provide to communicate with the company's representatives.

*Present your complaint.
Be factual.  Don't let your emotions run wild and just call them names and tell them they suck.....even if they DO suck and the little man in your head won't shut up saying that.  The person taking your complaint is not the one who has wronged you.  They are the one who may HELP you get satisfaction so be cordial or even nice to them.  I like to open with saying something positive about the company or product but that I am disappointed in some way.  Then lay out what is making you unhappy and why.  Give pertinent details.

*Suggest ways in which they can rectify the situation to your satisfaction.
 If you are unhappy with a company, they want you to make you happy.  Happy customers give them more money and dah!...businesses want your money.  Letting the company know what specific things will turn you from an unhappy consumer to a happy one makes their job easier and will help you ultimately find satisfaction quicker.  Do you want a refund, a replacement, an apology?  Be realistic about your expectations.  Asking a company for an all-expense-paid trip to Paris because their ballpoint pen leaked in your shirt pocket is a little over the top.

*Escalate if your needs are not met.
If your first contact about your complaint brings about no satisfaction, try again.  If you emailed, try a telephone call.  If you called first, try another telephone call, as  you will probably get a different customer service rep. who might be having a better day and is more willing to make you happy. If that rep. can't help you, go up the "calling food chain" and ask to speak to the supervisor or to their manager. Or try an email if you called first.  If neither an email or phone contact bring results, mail a letter.
If a mailed letter doesn't kick-start someone to respond, you can consider contacting outside sources to help you beat them into submission, er.....help you get some resolution.  There is the Better Business Bureau, among others, as well as your local newspaper or tv investigative reporter.  For serious issues, these outside sources can put pressure on a business on your behalf.  There is always the A-Team but calling them will only help you rescue a hostage or blow something up. 

*Follow-up goes a long way.
When your situation/complain is resolved let the company(customer service dept.)know that you are satisfied.  If you contacted via email or mailed letter, send a "thanks for resolving my issue" email.  Just a couple of sentences is enough.  If you go on & on, they may flag you as a nut job, and avoid future emails you may have to send them.  If your interaction is via telephone and they resolve your problem then and there, just thank the customer service rep on the other end for their help before you hang up.

Let me illustrate the process with a situation I had at Chez Sluggy.
See this bottle of juice?

I purchased it at KMart late last year during one of their Double Coupon Events, using a coupon.  It was on sale and with the coupon doubling, I paid maybe $.10 for it.
When I went into my stockpile to use it some months later, I found that this had happened.....

The glue holding the spout to the paperboard container had crapped out.  Yes, crapped out is my technical term, what of it?
My first thought was to find the receipt and return this bottle to the store for a refund or replacement.
Well, it was well past the 90 day KMart Return Policy period so that option was off the table.
Since I had only paid .10¢ for the juice, I considered just chucking the bottle in the garbage and moving on with my life.
But.....I couldn't do that. 
This "juice malfunction" ate at me.  Ok, so tell me I 'need a life'!
Knowing I was letting this company off the hook and NOT being satisfied as a consumer drove me to contact them and attempt to find relief from my sleepless nights.

My first plan on attack was to see if the company had a customer service email address.
The company website had a contact form so I filled it all in, including complete product information(size, type, UPC any other code I could find on the container,etc.), when and where the item was bought, and then I laid out the problem (container malfunction). I added what steps would satisfy me(a refund or replacement)and closed with the fact that my family has been a consumer of their products for many years without encountering any problems.

Had I received no response(after 1 week had passed), I would have tried a phone call, as the company supplied a customer service phone line on the website as well.  I prefer to go the email route first since I am not a big fan of the telephone.

The next step, if a phone call had not gotten me what I wanted, was to drag out the BIG GUNS and write an honest-to-goodness letter.
A letter takes a bit more effort than an email or phone call.  Popular wisdom is that companies believe that for every complaint letter they receive there are scads more unhappy customers out there that don't bother to write that letter.  Every letter represents many more disgruntled consumers, therefore companies seriously don't like to get complaint letters!  Because of this, I have found that writing the company a "I'm mad as hell & I'm not going to take it anymore!" letter will at least get you a response & an attempt to placate you, if no other form of contact does.

Luckily for me, the email did it's job, so I didn't have to escalate this and spend any more time to communicate my displeasure.
And fairly quickly, a response arrived in the mail....

A free replacement item coupon plus a $.75/1 Coupon good on my next purchase of this item, good until mid December.
So, a few more high value coupons would have been nice but for the amount of time I spent on my complaint, this was a decent outcome.

I did follow up by using the contact form on the company's website to let them know that my coupons had arrived and to thank them for taking care of my issue. 

I had asked them when I had contacted them initially if there was a known issue with the glue holding the spout onto the container.  They never did address that part of my inquiry so I have no clue whether this is an ongoing problem or just an isolated incident I experienced.  Because of their unwillingness to response to this issue, I will be avoiding these types of containers in the future, so they have lost me as a consumer of this particular product.

In closing, I'd give Nestle a B- for their customer service.
Good response and follow-through but they lost the A by avoiding my glue question.

Do you contact companies when their products don't live up to your expectations?
If not, why don't you pursue a resolution?
Do you have an interesting story about a product complaint issue?
Let us know!

Sluggy

Rite-Aid Trip on Monday....Receipt Tape for Days!

Since I hadn't been to Rite-Aid since a week ago Sunday, I was due for a trip.
There are lots of yummy deals at Rite-Aid this week that will net you items for free or cheap out of pocket costs.
I decided to concentrate on the J&J deal, which is 'Spend $30 on specific Johnson and Johnson branded items and get a $10 +Ups Reward'.  Many of the qualifying items are on sale AND also give an individual +Ups Reward as well so a true Double Dip opportunity!  Add in a $X off $XX purchase coupon and individual items coupons and you have the making for very little out of pocket or for Moneymakers after figuring in the +Ups that you'll receive on the purchase.

Here is what I bought....

4 x Johnson Baby products(shampoo, lotion, baby wash)on sale $3.99 but $3.83 with my 20% wellness discount=$15.32
1 x Desitin on sale $3.99=$3.99
2 x Reach Toothbrushes on sale $2.99=$5.98
2 x Listerine Pocketpacks on sale $2.99=$5.98
SubTotal.....$31.27

Coupons Used
1 x $5/$25 Adperks/VV IPQ=$5.00
4 x $1/1 Johnson's products(some Peelies, some IPQs)=$4.00
1 x $1/1 Johnson's or Desitin product IPQ=$1.00
1 x BOGO Reach Toothbrush ManuQ=$2.99
1 x $1/1 Reach Item IPQ=$1.00
1 x $1/1 Reach AdPerks/VV IPQ=$1.00
1 x $1/2 Listerine products(Pocketpacks)ManuQ=$1.00
1 x $1/$10 any Oral Care purchase Wellness CRT Q=$1.00
1 x $1/1 any Desitin/Johnson item Adperks/VV IPQ=$1.00
Coupon Total....$17.99

$31.27-$17.99=$13.28

+Ups Used....$4/$2/$2/$2/$1=$11.00

$13.28-$11.00=$2.28 OOP put on free Rite-Aid gift card


And here are the +Up Rewards I received.....

Ok....here's a different shot of the bottom half of my receipt.....

Unfortunately, my arm was not long enough to get the receipt far enough away from the camera to get all 4.8 ft. of it in the photo!lolol

1 x $10 +Ups for buying $30 of Johnson products in 1 transaction=$10.00
5 x $2 +Ups for each of the Johnson baby items=$10.00
3 x $2 +Ups for 3 of the 4 Reach/Listerine items=$6.00
Total +Up Rewards received.....$26.00

Since I bought 4 Reach/Listerine items and only got 3 +Ups I guess the limit on this deal is 3.
I was only planning on buying 3 of these items but my Listerine/Pocketpacks Q was a $1 off 2, not $1 off 1.  Oh well....I'll have to suffer with $26 instead of the $28 if I had been able to buy one less Pocketpack and 1 more Baby Shampoo. ;-)

THIS TRIP
Total Spent....$2.28 (put on free Rite-Aid gift card)
Value of Items....$43.61
SCR qualified for...$0.00
+Up Rewards earned...$26.00


MONTHLY TOTALS-September Rebate Period

Number of Transactions......4
Total Spent....$13.86 put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Value of Items purchased....$159.45
SCR qualified for....$0 in cash and $0 in Gift Cards
Other Cash....$0
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....$0
+Up Rewards spent....$29.00
+Up Rewards earned....$42.00

Total 'Spent'...$13.86 on gift cards
Total Cash I'm getting Back=$0
Total Gift Cards I'm getting=$0
+Up Rewards left to spend=$26.00

I might go back in the next couple of days to do another deal or two.  Nothing planned out yet but I'll study  the sales flyer again later today.
What deals did you do or do you plan to do at Rite-Aid this week?

Sluggy

My Shopping Trips and Meal Plan Monday Menu....Rambling Post

Not that this will help anyone directly,l but I just have to post about it since it's the closest to a honest-to-goodness Grocery Deal I've done in ages!  We bought other stuff but I wanted to mention this deal in case stores near you were going to run something like this one in the near future.

Our local independent chain stores--each one is independently owned, but they share an affiliation(shurfine brand markets), so they share the same weekly deals/sales--had a double dip opportunity I just found out about on Sat. morning.  The bad news was their deal was ending that evening. 8-P

This past week they were running a General Mills sale/deal.....buy 12 participating items(most of which were on sale as well and there were coupons in circulation for these items)and get an instant $5 off your bill.  Other chains may run this as a Catalina deal instead of an Instant Discount deal.  Among the included General Mills 'brands' were Green Giant, Old El Paso, Pillsbury, Betty Crocker, Bisquick, Yoplait, etc.

Included in the participating items were the small, boxed Green Giant veggies, which were on sale for $1.25 each.  This chain is also participating in a nationwide Green Giant Catalina through Oct. 3rd--Get a $1 Cat WYB 4 boxes/Get a $2 Cat WYB 6 boxes/Get a $3 Cat WYB 8 boxes or more, making this a great Double Dip Opportunity!

I've got no pic of all the items we bought but here's a shot of some of the frozen vegs...

So I bought.....
8 Green Giant veggies @ $1.25=$10.00
2 Betty Crocker Taters @ $1.25=$2.50
2 Coco Puffs Cereal @ $2.00=$4.00
SubTotal....$16.50

Coupons Used
2 x $.60/3 IP Green Giant Qs(1st identical Q doubles to $1)=$1.60
1 x $1/2 BC Taters IPQ=$1.00
1 x $1/2 GM Cereals IPQ=$1.00
Coupon Total...$3.60

$16.50-$3.60=$12.90
Minus Instant $5 off Bill for buying 12 items $12.90-$5.00=$7.90 OOP
And I received a $3 Catalina for buying the 8 Veggies, so after figuring in that, the 'OOP' is $4.90.

I brought Hubs along and at another register he bought....

8 Green Giant veggies @ $1.25=$10.00
3 Hamburger Helper @ $1.00=$3.00
1 Cheerios Cereal @ $2.00=$2.00
SubTotal....$15.00

Coupons Used
2 x $.60/3 IP Green Giant Qs(1st identical Q doubles to $1)=$1.60
1 x $1/3 Hamburger Helper IPQ=$1.00
1 x $.55 Cheerios IPQ=$.55(didn't double)
Coupon Total...$3.15

$15.00-$3.15=$11.85
Minus Instant $5 off Bill for buying 12 items $11.85-$5.00=$6.85 OOP
And I received a $3 Catalina for buying the 8 Veggies....$6.85-$3.00=$3.85
AND as an unexpected Bonus, Hubs received a $1.50 WYB  Beef/Chicken/Tuna Catalina(for buying 3 Hamburger Helpers)....$3.85-$1.50=$2.35 'OOP'

 $7.90 + $6.85=$14.75 OOP for 24 items(16 veggies, 3 cereals, 5 boxed taters and helpers)& $7.50 in Catalinas to use next trip, since I didn't use Cat from Transaction #1 in Transaction #2, as they were done simultaneously.

 The bad thing is that I have to go to this particular Shurfine affiliated store to use them and I can't use them at the store here in Teeny Tiny Town.
But I drive the 5 miles to go to that affiliated store anyway since they DO take internet coupons!

Other items purchased were 2 gallons of milk, 9 white eggplant, 5lb potatoes, 1 lb. red peppers, 1 lb. broccoli, 1lb. peaches, 6lbs. apples, 1.39lb. bananas, bottle of dipping mustard, 2 packages of Oreos, 9 lbs. of chicken & a pie that was on clearance.
We spent $53.11 combined($14.75 of that was on the GM Cat deal).
Reg. retail of all items was $116.06
Savings of 54.25%


We also went to Weis Markets on Saturday and picked up more groceries......have I mentioned I haven't gone grocery shopping since last month?lol


4 x Perdue bags of chicken tenders(for #2 son on band nights) on sale $4.00=$16.00
3 x Weis shredded cheese on sale 3/$5=$5.00
5 x Weis cream cheese on sale $1=$5.00
1 x 3lb. Jennie-O ground turkey=$5.99
2 x 8 oz. fresh oysters on clearance $3.59=$7.18
1 x iceberg lettuce on sale=$1.50
2 x fresh pears on sale=$.83
3 x fresh limes on sale=$.60
1 x celery on sale=$1.50
3lbs. sweet italian sausage=$6.05
SubTotal....$49.65

Coupons Used
4 x $1/1 Perdue chicken ManuQ=$4.00
1 x $3/1 Instant Discount Q for Sausage=$3.00
Coupon Total....$7.00

$49.61-$7.00=$42.65
Reg. retail $80.53
Savings of 47%

Grand Total spent for all shopping....$95.76
Total value of items....$196.59
Savings of 51.30%


Ok, so I bet you are asking yourself, "self, why did Sluggy buy this particular stuff?".
Glad you asked!! ;-)

To analyze the purchases....
*The Cat deal stuff is obvious--veggies for the freezer, helper & instant potatoes for quick fix nights, 1 cereal for me and the chocolate stuff for #2 son snacks.
Other items bought at Gerrity's Shurfine....
*2 gallons of milk--we were totally out of milk
*2 packages of Oreos--tried to use the free Oreo/milk Q but they wouldn't take it so I bought Oreos anyway for #2 son snacks(they were on sale at least)
*9 white eggplant--great price for this so Eggplant Parmesan is on the menu this evening
*5lb potatoes--cheap price for this
*1 lb. red peppers--ditto, I'll slice and freeze these for use this winter
*1 lb. broccoli--for dinner this week
*1lb. peaches--great price
* 6lbs. apples--ditto
* 1.39lb. bananas--ditto...daughter is on a fresh fruit binge lately
* bottle of dipping mustard--had $1 off coupon so got it for $1.25. #2 son likes this with his chicken tenders
* 9 lbs. of chicken--great price on boneless chicken breast so I stocked up some
* a pie--Hubs wanted this and with the $2 off instant coupon stuck to it, I said ok!lol
*4 bags of Perdue chicken-#2 son is in the midst of Marching Band season so he needs easy meal protein most nights since he isn't here for dinner.  It was $2.99 a bag after coupons so I bought as many as I had coupons for.
*3 Shredded Cheese-on sale for $1.66 bag and I still needed some in the stockpile.
 *5 Cream Cheese--stock up price so I did.lol
*Ground Turkey roll--Daughter needs easy meal protein some nights as well due to her part time job schedule. I divided this roll into burger patties for her.
*Fresh Oysters--50% off on something we hardly ever buy.  At this price, we splurged and had fried oysters for dinner last night. ;-)
* Lettuce-good price, we were out.
*Pears--sale price, daughter wanted
*Limes--sale price, I wanted for my iced tea
*Celery--good price, we were out.  I'll make clam chowder this week, plus use some for raw veggie sticks for snacks.
*3lb. italian sausage--with Instant Meat Dept. Coupon this was $1 a lb....half of any sale price around here so I grabbed it.  Many uses for this item....in spaghetti sauce, in meatloaf, in various other casseroles or just grilled and eaten on a bun.

My Meal Plan Menu so far for this week....
Sunday--fried oysters, fried potatoes, fried crabcakes, sauted yellow squash
Monday--eggplant parmesan, steamed broccoli
Tuesday--leftovers
Wednesday--grilled chicken, potatoes and onions, tbd fresh veggie-all on the grill
Thursday--spaghetti & meatballs, salad
Friday--Game night so Hamburger Helper, assorted  steamed veggies
Saturday--clam chowder and sandwiches or leftovers again

I'm using some of what I bought this week but I'll have chicken, chicken tenders, potatoes, ground turkey, italian sausage, cream cheese and the shredded cheese, along with most of the GM items from the Cat deal left for next week's meals.

Have you found any good Deals lately?

Sluggy

Go Print the $5 on 5 Kraft Products Again!

That awesome $5 off of 5 participating Kraft dairy items coupon has reset.
If you printed it off last week, go HERE and see if you can print it again. (Be sure and hit the back button to print it twice.)
It has reset for many people, including yours truly!   Maybe it's reset for you too! 8-)

Speaking of this coupon, has anybody had any problems using it so far?
And if you did, what store gave you a hassle??

Sluggy