Store Review - Planet Ford (Car Dealership)

We are all aware of the hundreds of thousands of recalls that Toyota has been dealing with for the past few months. Unfortunately, I am one of the poor victims that owns a Camry, so you can imagine the letters and phone calls I get daily about bringing it into the dealership to be fixed. However, a few weeks ago, I got a flier from a local Chevrolet dealership stating that they would purchase my poor Camry for 110% of its value, plus give me $2000 in cash to put towards one of their vehicles - new or used. At the time, I really liked the Ford Edge. Our finances being in order and the possibility of lowering my payments teased my senses, so K agreed to take me over to a Ford dealership, armed with my trusty flier. Our main goal was to get the Camry appraised and to test drive the Edge before we decided to buy.


We headed a ways away from our side of town to Randall Reed's Planet Ford Dealership in North Houston. Known for its huge selection of vehicles and apparently good prices, we assumed that we could test drive the Edge, and perhaps even find a used one. Unfortunately, the used Edge's didn't have the features I desired, so the used salesman sent us to the new car area, where we were picked up by an eager yet relaxed salesman. Right away I explained that I wasn't 100% ready to buy a car, but did want to test drive it. He said he understood and that he was willing to help us out. We sent the Camry off for appraisal.


According to http://www.kbb.com/, my Camry is valued at $12,000 trade-in. I understood that the value had diminished from the big recall, but I figured I would get something not too far away from it. Once again, I reminded the sales guy that I still wasn't ready to buy. However, after the test drive, the salesman happened to find the car I wanted - a cinnamon colored Edge with the new SYNC system, a few extra bells and whistles, but no sun roof, as mine has been rattling for the past 3 months and Toyota refuses to fix it.


The offer was about $32,000, and the appraisal came in at $7500. I was so insulted that I immediately shut down and ignored all of the wonderful promises the guy gave me, instead asking K to get us out of here. We immediately declined the offer. As the salesman headed back to his office in an attempt to crunch more numbers, I feel defeated. The car that I've worked so hard to pay down and stay on top of is now making me upside-down on it, all because of this stupid recall.


I've forgotten about the sales guy, who has returned with a new deal - $28,000 with $10K for my car. Nope, I've mentally checked out. I told him that I decided that I don't want new debt and to owe someone even more money and that I'll come back when I have a better grasp on my finances. He protests and K steps in, telling him that what I say goes, and that it's my decision; I deserve to be happy. We ask for his card and he went to the office to get one.


You realize this isn't the end of the story, right? Right!


I looked out at my poor Camry, sitting forlornly in the parking lot while employees milled about, waiting to snatch it up to fix and sell tomorrow. The little car has given me over 50,000 of its miles and just asks for an oil change, basic maintenance, and maybe a paint job for Christmas.


Enter J.R, the sales manager. I know this game, but I'm not prepared for this. The manager is a huge guy, poorly groomed, and proceeds to whine and moan and groan about my decision. He promises me $25,000 for the car, 1.9% financing, and almost $12,000 for my trade. He offers $50 cheaper payments monthly. I'm tempted (well, not really...I just want to get back to my car)...until he makes a comment that I'm stupid for not taking the deal. I immediately shut down and refuse to accept the deal. His voice rises and he scribbles numbers on paper. I shoot back with "Well, I wanted a USED Edge anyway."
"What's the matter with you? I'm giivng you 1.9% on a NEW car! Why would you want a new one?" (People are looking at this point, and I'm pretty sure steam is coming out of my ears.)
I told him "Ever heard of Dave Ramsey? I prefer to follow his teachings, and these numbers are making me panic." He asked why, and when he heard my response, he laughed in my face. I said "If I lost my job tomorrow, I would at least know that I only owe $8000 on my car rather than $25000 on your car."


I also gave my facts about new cars losing value as soon as they leave the lot. He tells me that I have no idea what I'm talking about and I'm wrong, new cars don't lose their value that fast. HELLO...do ya not see what I drove in here??? I bought a $24,000 car that is now worth $7500 and I owe $8500 on it!!! I'm livid and tired of him calling me beligerant and berating me. K has to grab my arm and steer me out of the dealership, all while the manager is cursing up a storm about not know what my problem is and how stupid I am.


We get in the car; I'm so irate I can't drive. I proceed to hug my little car and promise to drive another 100,000 miles before I consider getting rid of it. I ended up writing a letter to the managing partner and sales director of the dealership, plus I'm sending a letter to Ford headquarters for their lack of customer service. I said that I felt discriminated because I am a young woman, and was treated very poorly.


Overall, I highly advise you readers to avoid Planet Ford. They do business unethically and will do whatever it takes to put you in their car, even if it means insulting your character. We are to the point of desperation in this economy that test-driving a car is no longer an option - you have to buy it. How do we know what car we want if we aren't able to try it out? A friend of mine called up to the dealership earlier today and asked for a quick quote; when they demanded she come in and she declined, she was treated so poorly that she recorded the conversation on tape and sent it off to headquarters.


My email to the sales director and GM of Planet Ford was met with profuse apologies, but it's not their fault my car is worthless. Gee....thanks.

Review - Costa's Gym

Ok, I'm not known for being a fitness buff. In fact, I purposely avoid looking at gyms while I drive down the road, stuffing my face with a deliciously greasy hamburger and smearing fries on my hips. Since my divorce from a meat-head of a husband and a boyfriend who insulted my physical appearance being 'sub par' (AKA: not 2% body fat and size 0 pants), my fear and loathing of gyms has increased to the point where I hyperventilate when I come close to one.

So you can imagine my dismay when I stepped on the scale last week and realized that running every so often - especially in my area's weather - wasn't cutting down the pounds like I needed it to. I sighed, gave in, and looked up 24Hour Fitness prices, grumbling and moaning and gnashing my teeth. As I drove to a location one evening, my eye caught a small gym on the side of the road. Located in a shopping center with minimal parking, it promised no bright lights and fancy colors. The words on the front of the building read: "Costa's Gym". On a whim I pulled into the small parking lot and stepped inside.

The gym itself is smaller than the typical uber-gym with 42 treadmills and 18 TVs, social cocktail hour on the outskirts and Barbies walking by giving you dirty looks for not coordinating your hair scrunchie with your socks. A few people were on the machines, concentrating and unaware that their lack of makeup was the end of the world. There are 2 or 3 machines of each and a full weight set, plus a boxing room and 2 separate locker rooms. The owner popped out of his office and offered to give me a real tour, sending me into the women's locker room, explaining the use of each piece of equipment, and finally sitting down with me to discuss my health and fitness routine. We talked about nutrition and my workout goals and plans for the next 6 months, afterwhich he wrote up an exercise plan for me. He offered my fiance a 30 day free pass to see if he would enjoy coming/had time to come in and workout.

Last night I met with a trainer for my free introductory session. He stayed with me for about a half hour to show me the ropes and teach me the proper way of lifting weights, then left me to my own devices. I was checked on a few more times afterwards, otherwise never bothered nor made to feel uncomfortable for being in my own skin and not being able to run 3 miles straight.

Overall, if you live in the local area, you need to check this gym out. The location is not as convenient as 24Hour, but the service, the lack of snot-nosed teenagers who spend more time texting than answering your questions, and the friendliness of the staff is something that makes it worth driving a little out of the way for.

Review - TVDVDMania.com

I wanted to spread the word about this website.

Christmas is fast approaching, boys and girls. I know most of you aren't quite finished with your shopping, and what makes things even more difficult and stressful is when you aren't able to find that special movie or television series. If you use a search engine to quickly locate one, this website will show up in the search results.

At first glance, the site http://www.tvdvdmania.com/ looks legitimate, with sales and specials, easy navigating, and a large inventory. To the unaware and sometimes unfortunate buyer, this website promises an inexpensive Christmas gift to your loved one. The entire "Murder, She Wrote" series for $60? What a steal.

My mother, a highly intelligent, good-hearted woman, nearly fell victim to this website about a week ago. She ordered my father "The Smothers Brothers" DVD collection, a rare find that even amazon.com does not carry. Within 3 days, she received an email stating her order had been cancelled - the credit card was declined. She tried again, same response. I suggested she use her debit card, and it was also declined, the site stating that her account had been cancelled. Finally, she called her credit card company and discovered TVDVDMania.com had charged her account and included a confirmation code. She called the store. They claimed there was no charge.

After going back and forth and even having the credit card company say to the store that there was in fact a charge (more denial), my mom called me, frustrated. I looked up this store review and after lots of digging, found several reviews that coincided with what happened with my mom.

Check out some of the reviews from this site: http://www.complaintsboard.com/?search=tvdvdmania

"I am one of the hundreds of people ripped off by www.tvboxset.com, AKA Garcia Media Group, AKA SXR.CA. On August 3rd, 2007, I placed an order with said company for a Wonder Years DVD box set (Order #24534). They immediately charged my credit card $71.98. I of course NEVER received the item... "

"Wish I'd come across your posting before making my boxed set purchase. Not only did I receive bogus DVDs (blank) but the my credit card number was used by a syndicate in Nigeria that began to make all sorts of charges. Luckily my bank picked up strange charges immediately and invalidated..."

And some more from the Pissed Consumer website:

"Company sells DVD's of TV shows; not sure if legit as I am having trouble canceling an order and getting my money back; company is ignoring my request for a refund so having to get my credit card company involved ... buyer bewareThere appears to be a lot of companies online selling similar items. I found this company after doing a search on Yahoo so I thought it would have been legit. I hope to prevent others from running into the kinds of problems I am having right now. Always research a company before buying on online! You can never be too safe!"

Once I found these reviews, along with a few more from amazon.com, I forwarded the links to my mom. She immediately called her bank and the CC company and explained what she found. They immediately cancelled the charges for her. She also emailed TVDVDMania to cancel her order, if one was still in process. As discouraged as she was to not be able to give my dad the dvd sets, she is very relieved to have her money back in her account.

I dug around a little more on the site. Check out some of the replies to the FAQs TVDVDMania offers:

Do you offer Express shipping?
Unfortunately, we do not offer Overnight or Express Shipping as our DVD sets are custom ordered.

Um, custom ordered? If amazon.com offers express shipping, along with several stores on ebay - both are considered 'custom' sites. Unless you are talking about taping over previously pirated dvds...then I could see the problem.

I have not received a response to my email and it has been 48 hours. Why?
99% of the time, our email's got trapped in your SPAM/BULK mail folder.
Please note that many e-mail accounts do not recognize our e-mail address and mark us as "Spam". Because of this our e-mails may be sent into your "Spam" or "Junk" box. We ask that you please check your "Spam"/"Junk" box to see if our reply has been placed there.
Also, please check to ensure that we are in your address book so that our e-mails are not blocked. Some known email accounts where this problem has occurred are: Yahoo, AOL, Gmail and Hotmail.

If you were a legitimate business, this problem would also be averted. I have yet to see amazon.com and ebay emails in my spam folder. Oh, and at least there is some form of honesty on their "Terms & Conditions" page, which nobody ever reads...unless you're MsJudgemental!

My comments in bold:

It is understood by the customer that some of the DVDs sold by DVD Mania have been individually compiled from original film stock and public domain wholesaler sources. (Meaning that these are pirated copies.) These sources have an inconsistent level of preservation associated with them. In accordance the playback experienced may vary from movie to movie on any DVD collection purchased. (Meaning that 'it isn't our fault they don't play properly) Every effort has been given to maintain true DVD quality, but the customer understands and accepts that some level of imperfection is present in each film and that level of imperfection can vary significantly between films. This means the customer accepts that their may be "pauses" or "skips" present in the playback of any given film. We have made every effort to keep errors to a minimum, but they may still exist. The customer accepts this as part of their set, and as part of owning films directly converted from original film stock.

Look, Mania gurus, this shouldn't even be a PART of your disclaimer. You should be standing behind a 100% high quality product with a satisfaction guarantee. Specialized stores shouldn't be half-ass efforts.

And finally, a forum discussion thanks to Amazon.com.

DO NOT purchase anything from this company. I can only hope this review shows in the Search Results section of yahoo and google. Review the store before you buy!

Store Review - Rooms To Go

I recently moved from my small shoebox of an apartment to a larger "boot box" a few miles up the road. However, my new living room is slightly smaller in square footage, as I gained a bigger kitchen and closet. The result was a frustrated woman (me) knocking into couches left and right, no matter which way I angled them. I eventually sold them on Craigslist, ready for a fresh seat (start?).

I ventured out into the furniture shopping world, cash in my pocket, to hopefully find a smaller set. Clutched in one fist was the dimensions of my apartment, and in my other hand a tape measure. Determination and claustrophobia were my motivations.

Have you heard about the newest craze, Rooms To Go ? The premise of this place is that you can buy an entire room of furniture for a steal of a deal, and have your home instantly decorated - EXACTLY how their underpaid designers laid it out within the store - with little to no effort!

Like that denim couch set with the saggy lazy boy? It can be yours for only $2,000, and it comes with the coordinating geometric rug! For added dramatic effect, paint the railing on your staircase a delightful electric blue. It's just an accent, not an overwhelming addition to your already shabby pad with a picture of a window to look at. I'm sure you'll get LOTS of ladies with this set. (Is it me, or does that whole set look like a slipcover set purchased from the clearance rack at Wal Mart?)

Or this cheeky little number, which I had to see in the store to believe:

The color, which reminds me of mashed peas in baby vomit, is called "Silhouette Pear Green" A 7 piece set, yours for only $1700! And yep, you're stuck with the 1974 lamps and coffee table, which looks as though it could be knocked over by a gust of wind at any moment. The oh-so-comfortable sofa is also a sleeper. Perfect for torturing your husband to unfold when guests arrive! You can find the same set in other colors, such as Galveston beach sand, rusty nail orange, and retro-powder blue. Cindy Crawford must be proud to have her name associated with this beautiful set. I love how one of the lamps is eco-friendly - it's growing its very own plant right out of the shade!

There's also an accent chair! Stare at it for a few minutes, and the geometric shapes adjust before your eyes. It goes with all 4 of the collection's colors...

Ok, time to refrain from laughing. I found three sofas on the website, and in my determination to find a set sooner rather than later, I went in on a whim to check out the place.

Disclaimer: This review is of a local store near my new dwelling. This does not reflect the overall customer service of Rooms to Go and its affiliates. Your store may vary in selection, size, and employees.

I have visted 3 times to this particular location, and each time have been more than disappointed. On each visit, I was well-dressed (usually having been on my way home from my real job, which pays me real money to write). And each time, I was given a 'hello', then passed over for a married couple or a non-English speaking family with 27 kids running around. Each time, aside from my last visit, which is written below, I left without being helped. I suppose the salesmen figured I could simply write up my purchase, pay my money, and leave a copy of my receipt on the desk on my way out, couches strapped to the tailgate of my sedan. No bother.

I continued to make my way around the store, then saw a clearance section in the back. What they don't tell you in the clearance section in the back:

1. We are not here to help you, as we are making absolutely no commission off your cheap-ass purchase. Therefore, see number 2.

2. We aren't delivering this furniture to your home. Better get your UHaul flat bed trailer and load this on your own. That's right, we don't even help you load it up!

3. These prices are not the cheapest around. Like a liquidation sale at Linens n' Things, we have jacked the prices up 175%, then 'slashed' them by 50%, resulting in you paying twice as much for clearance furniture, and no that is not a stain on that microfiber couch, it is a shadow.

I meandered my way through mismatched pieces, a few dented sets, a rather rude sales guy who reminded me that there was no way in Hell he'd help me load up the pieces, and if I have questions to read the back of the cards pasted on the furniture. He then took off to the bedding section to assist a rather busty woman select a sturdy headboard to attach her handcuffs to. Interesting...she didn't look like a police officer...

I gave up in clearance and headed back to the main showroom. I laughed at a denim 'country style' set up, complete with fuzzy cow hide rug, 'iron' (spray painted plastic) accents, and 'wood' (composite shavings) accent tables. The lamps were complete with Texas stars, horseshoes, and cowboys. I sensed a pile of manure was all it took to complete the effect, but due to health codes, R2G was forbidden and had to return it to the dude ranch. The poor decoraters instead threw a large picture of a steer above the loveseat.

Finally, despite being ready to spend money, no one offered any help whatsoever. I caught one sales guy snoozing in a massage chair. I asked him if I could get him some coffee, and he gave me an irritated look, however did not heave himself out of the chair. He rested in the chair for about another 15 minutes before a young kid approached me, asking if I needed help. Finally, service!

Wrong. I attempted to explain my size requirements, which I already knew he could not fulfill (take that any way you want it, kids.) He pretended to understand my decorating needs, and stuttered that no couch in the store was going to fit. Ok, I'll leave. Good job, kid. You just blew a sale.

In his realization that he just put his foot in his mouth and lost his potential new pair of Abercrombie jeans, the kid blocked me from the exit and lead me over to a sagging set that would no way fit my needs. This 7 piece set was on sale for $1788. I explained I didn't need the whole set, that unfortunately the color isn't espresso (aka: dark brown, people) and that those cushions would not hold up to my liking. He ignored my rebuttals and asked me which pieces I was interested in. I told him the loveseat, chair, and ottoman, fully knowing I would not be purchasing the set. He quoted me $1500.

Am I the only one who sees a problem with that? I looked at him, dumbfounded. For $200 more, I get lamps, a coffee table, and a sofa?

"Uh, yes ma'am." he must have thought I was crazy, not seeing the amazing deal for a fantastic furniture set of the highest quality. Der...

$1500 for 3 pieces of furniture is not going to sell me. He made no attempt to cut a deal, instead unzipping one of the pillows to show me the double-layer of fabric they use to keep the foam insulation secure and look at the pretty colors it comes in and do my pants make my butt look big?

I thanked him, reluctantly took his card, asked the other sales guy if he'd like a massage with a happy ending, then said he should get off his lazy butt, as I'm not allowed to do that at my job. "Sucks to be you," he said.

My overall opinion of Rooms To Go? Fail.

The sales staff is biased, probably due to their extensive sales training from corporate, who explains that couples are more likely to spend money than a single person. True, but again, don't sell all of us single cats short, as I had lots of money to spend, had I been stupid enough to take 3 pieces of furniture for $1500.

There is no negotiating prices like individually owned stores (Gallery, Bi-Rite, even Star Furniture in Houston, TX will allow you to negotiate). I was unable to see financing terms. What you see is the amazing deal of what you get. No mixing and matching. You'd better like that snazzy pickled pink coffee table with your room or know how to use a can of varnish. Otherwise, go find another set.

Their version of 'clearance' and the average shopper's view of 'clearance' are entirely different. Full priced furniture is less expensive than what I saw there. I saw a set on clearance that was the exact same set I owned several years ago, for twice the price of what I purchased it at - on sale.

My vote? Go somewhere else. I have a list of good furniture stores to shop at in the area, so feel free to drop me a line and I'll fire it over.