NOWHERE…!
In Germany they first came for the Communists,
and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew.
Then they came for the trade unionists,
and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn’t speak up because I was a Protestant.
Then they came for me —
and by that time no one was left to speak up.
By Pastor Martin Niemöller
We had eight years of Bush and Cheney, Now you get mad!?
You didn’t get mad when the Supreme Court stopped a legal recount and
appointed a President.
You didn’t get mad when Cheney allowed Energy company officials to dictate
energy policy.
You didn’t get mad when a covert CIA operative got outed.
You didn’t get mad when the Patriot Act got passed.
You didn’t get mad when we illegally invaded a country that posed no threat to us.
You didn’t get mad when we spent over 600 billion(and counting) on said illegal war.
You didn’t get mad when over 10 billion dollars just disappeared in Iraq.
You didn’t get mad when you found out we were torturing people.
You didn’t get mad when the government was illegally wiretapping Americans.
You didn’t get mad when we didn’t catch Bin Laden.
You didn’t get mad when you saw the horrible conditions at Walter Reed.
You didn’t get mad when we let a major US city, New Orleans, drown.
You didn’t get mad when we gave a 900 billion tax break to the rich.
You didn’t get mad when the deficit hit the trillion dollar mark.
You finally got mad when the government decided that people in America deserved the right to see a doctor if they are sick. Yes, illegal wars, lies, corruption, torture, stealing your tax dollars to make the rich richer, are all okay with you, but helping other Americans…oh hell no.
Sisters and brothers are finding new ways to circumvent old conflicts as they take on one of the toughest roles in their lives: caregiver
By ANN TERGESEN
WALL STREET JOURNAL
March 27 2010
When Rene Talavera’s father, Jesus Talavera, 69, was hospitalized for kidney and heart failure last fall, the 45-year-old Chicago resident and his four siblings were catapulted into an uncomfortable new phase of life: caregiving.
At first, Rene Talavera says, the family descended into “disarray and dysfunction.” The hospital staff didn’t know who was in charge. And soon after Jesus Talavera was discharged, the only family member available to stay with him was Kristopher, a 20-year-old grandson. “It was very haphazard,” Rene Talavera recalls.
But even as the Talavera siblings absorbed the shock of their father’s illness, they set aside old conflicts and concerns to work together. “The common thread is that you all love your parent,” says Rene Talavera. “It’s not about you or an argument you had 20 years ago. It’s about Dad and what you can do for him.”
Family cohesiveness is a tall order at any time of life. But as parents grow frail, brothers and sisters often encounter new obstacles to togetherness—at precisely the time they most need to rely on one another. Sibling rivalry can emerge or intensify as adult children vie, one last time, for a parent’s love or financial support. And even as parents grow dependent on children, the desire to cling to old, familiar roles can create a dysfunctional mess.
Today, with the economy and household finances in disrepair, such strains are more pronounced. According to a recent report by the National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP, about 43.5 million Americans look after someone 50 or older, 28% more than in 2004. In comparison with 2004, a smaller percentage—41% versus 46%—are hiring help. And more—70% versus 59%—are reaching out to unpaid help, such as family and friends.
Experts say it’s crucial that families figure out ways to work together, to work through their differences, for the common goal of caring for a parent. If they don’t, their parents will suffer—and so will they.
“Family caregivers are the backbone of the long-term-care system in this country,” says Francine Russo, author of a new book about how siblings can cope with aging parents, “They’re Your Parents, Too!” Siblings who work together, she adds, can help preserve not just one another’s health and sanity but also a “last link to their first family.”
With that in mind, here’s a look at the challenges brothers and sisters might face when caring for aging parents, along with advice on how to navigate this transition.
Starting Fresh
Experts say that as difficult as it can be to leave entrenched roles behind, siblings should try to wipe the slate clean.
“Often, family members say they can’t count on someone because of something that happened years ago,” says Steven Barlam, co-founder of LivHOME Inc., a Los Angeles-based employer of home health aides and geriatric-care managers, who help families find services, vet living options, hire home health aides and figure out a long-term-care plan. “Our philosophy is generally to encourage them to give the person a second chance,” he says.
As in many families, the Talaveras are used to playing certain roles. Rene, a hairdresser turned real-estate agent, is a free spirit: “I always danced to my own beat,” he says. Rebecca, 39, who was a high-achieving student, is now dean of students at a suburban Chicago high school. Valerie, 40, had a rockier time: When her father fell ill, she was working to put substance-abuse problems behind her.
But when caring for their father, the Talaveras moved beyond the labels that defined them in the past. Along with a fourth Chicago-based sibling, Richard, they divided up the work. Rebecca assumed responsibility for her father’s finances, Richard runs errands, Rene handles medical appointments. Valerie is the live-in caretaker. “He brought me into this world. Now it’s my turn to take care of him,” she says.
“I can look at the past and say she screwed up,” Rene says of his sister. “But this is now, and I am not going to hold that against her. I am very proud of her.”
Mr. Barlam recommends that families take steps to hold everyone accountable. After dividing tasks, for example, a family might schedule a conference call within 24 hours to see what has been accomplished. Rene Tavalera says what works for his family is “a system of checks and balances.” While Valerie runs her father’s household, Rebecca holds the purse strings.
Asking for Support
Still, in many ways the Talavera family is unusual. The vast majority of families fall back on one primary caregiver—often, a daughter or the child who lives closest to Mom and Dad. Among caregivers nationwide, fewer than 10% say there is an equal division of labor, according to the National Alliance for Caregiving and AARP, the Washington-based advocacy group.
For those taking the lead, the stress can be significant. According to the recent NAC/AARP survey, 17% said the responsibility had taken a toll on their health, and 31% described the situation as emotionally stressful. Among those with jobs, two-thirds said they had gone to work late, left early or taken time off. And 15% said they had made significant financial sacrifices.
One obvious solution, to ask for help, is something many find difficult, says Barbara McVicker, author of “Stuck in the Middle,” which offers tips for caregivers.
Like many with aging parents, Kelly Jackson, 58, thought she could juggle the competing demands of caregiving with a high-powered job—in her case, as executive assistant to Republican political adviser Mark McKinnon. But as her mother’s health deteriorated, the pressure got to be too much.
One day in 2007, Ms. Jackson pulled into her mother’s Austin, Texas, driveway with a car full of groceries. While talking with her boss on a cellphone, she took a good look at the lawn: “It looked like a West Texas prairie dog town,” she says. Suddenly feeling overwhelmed, Ms. Jackson burst into tears, hung up on her boss and dialed her sister in Los Angeles.
“She said ‘I don’t know what to do anymore,’ ” recalls Sally Jackson, 59, who eventually moved to Austin to help Kelly and their mother. “I had never heard Kelly say anything like that before.”
Experts recommend asking for help as soon as possible. Often, they say, it’s a good idea to call a family meeting, in person or over the phone, to discuss how the responsibilities can be shared. “When you are a caregiver, you have to think of yourself as the [chief executive] of a very small nursing home,” says Ms. McVicker. “CEOs ask for help and delegate all the time.”
Rona Bartelstone, a senior vice president at SeniorBridge, a New York-based company that provides care-management services, often coaches clients on how to ask for help—without drama. While you might feel like accusing your brother of neglect, for example, Ms. Bartelstone instead suggests something less incendiary, such as explaining that “Mom needs a call every day” and asking, “Which days are best for you?”
If family members are at odds, consider hiring a geriatric-care manager (caremanager.org), a mediator who specializes in the elderly (mediate.com) or a family therapist.
Help From a Distance
Technological advances have made it easier for far-flung siblings to get involved. Web sites, such as GenerationsUnite.com and caregiverhelper.com make it possible for the entire family to access a parent’s calendar or documents such as medical records.
Moreover, you don’t have to live nearby to pay bills, talk with doctors and insurers, or locate transportation and paid help.
About a year after Trish Goodwin was diagnosed with cancer in July 2007, the mother of two gave up her condominium in Westfield, Ind., and moved in with her older daughter, Amie Peele Carter, 39, in nearby Zionsville, Ind. With two young children and a job as a partner in the Indianapolis office of a law firm, Amie managed to care for Ms. Goodwin until her death, at age 62, last August. “We never did hire a nurse,” Amie said.
But Amie received plenty of help—from a distance—from her sister, Melanie Martin-Peele, 36. A medical researcher at the University of Connecticut Health Center, Melanie spent hours researching her mother’s illness and treatment options. The Windsor, Conn., resident also helped her sister set up a Web site through carecentral.com, a service that helps families communicate and find caregiving help. The sisters used their site to ask for help with meals and transportation for Ms. Goodwin.
Ms. Martin-Peele also scheduled periodic visits to give her sister a break. In the two years between Ms. Goodwin’s diagnosis and her death, Melanie traveled to Indianapolis about a dozen times.
“She would provide me with a respite,” says Amie, who frequently called her sister for moral support.
“She and I weren’t always this close,” Amie adds. “But when Mom got sick, we would talk all the time.”
When playing a supporting role, experts caution not to criticize or second-guess. “Understand that in a short visit you may not see the same behavior your sibling does,” says Ms. Russo, who adds: “Caregivers need to feel appreciated.”
What if your sibling rebuffs your offers to help? Keep asking, says Deborah Newquist, director of geriatric services for ResCare Inc., a Louisville, Ky., company that provides care management, among other services. You might also ask a third party—such as a friend or clergy member—to lobby on your behalf.
Building Consensus
Siblings often have different ideas about everything from whether an aging parent should live independently to how often they should visit. While daughters often feel it’s their duty to make a parent happy, sons tend to focus on providing care, says Ms. Russo.
To further complicate matters, brothers and sisters often come to grips with a parent’s decline at different times. Some may be in denial. But parents can also “put on a good show” for children they don’t see often, says Ms. Russo.
Ms. Russo says siblings need to be flexible. “Don’t insist there is one right way to do or see things.”
Sylvia Thompson, 42, says she and her five siblings didn’t always see eye-to-eye about their mother’s situation as she got older. Jeannine Thompson was a diabetic whose behavior became increasingly erratic later in life, the daughter says. Ms. Thompson, who thought her mother belonged in an institution, works in the field of caregiving and says she “saw red flags the others didn’t see.”
But Jeannine Thompson was fiercely independent. And some of Ms. Thompson’s siblings felt their mother was competent to make her own decisions. Though disappointed, Ms. Thompson says her colleagues at LivHOME—where she advises families of seniors and the disabled—helped her learn to “deal with the different rates at which people accept things.”
Opinion Shift
Gradually, the family came around to Ms. Thompson’s view. One reason: In 2002, the police in their hometown of Canton, Ohio, found Jeannine Thompson in a park, on the verge of a diabetic coma, Ms. Thompson recalls.
Concerned for her mother’s safety, Ms. Thompson, who lives in Santa Monica, Calif., filed a report with an Ohio office of Adult Protective Services. Soon after, all six siblings filed for legal guardianship—a court proceeding they won, much to their mother’s dismay.
Ms. Thompson says she has no regrets about waiting for her siblings’ support before making such a move. “I love my siblings,” she says. “They were my moral compass growing up. I didn’t want to alienate them.” Moreover, Ms. Thompson says, by sticking together, she and her siblings were able to provide better care for their mother, who died in 2007 at age 74.
“We decided everything would be done by consensus,” says Ms. Thompson, whose brothers and sisters divided the work and kept one another informed through weekly conference calls.
If you have legal power over a parent’s finances, experts say, it’s crucial to share information with your siblings—for example, by sending them quarterly updates of what you’ve spent. They also suggest including your siblings in as many important decisions as is practical. “Doing otherwise can breed suspicion,” says Harry Margolis, an elder-law attorney at Margolis & Bloom LLP in Boston.
Particularly when caregivers make financial sacrifices, elder-law attorneys say it can be appropriate to compensate them. Howard Krooks, a lawyer who practices in Boca Raton, Fla., and Rye Brook, N.Y., says nearly all of his clients who serve as caregivers are compensated. Such cases currently comprise about 20% of his workload—a figure that has doubled since before the recession.
Write It Down
The family should document the caregiver’s responsibilities, hours and pay, in a formal contract and disclose the arrangements to everyone in the family, Mr. Margolis says. If the parent may need to rely on Medicaid to cover future nursing home costs, the family also should consult an elder-law attorney about how to avoid the appearance of trying to hide assets.
When Sally Jackson gave up her job as a Hollywood casting director in 2007 to help her sister, Kelly, care for their mother in Texas, she decided she “couldn’t move without some income.” The sisters talked it over, and Ms. Jackson now earns a caregiver’s salary, which she supplements by performing stand-up comedy in Austin. The sisters also hope to make a little more on “the midlife gals,” fictional sisters whose caregiving escapades the Jacksons chronicle via a blog and videos (themidlifegals.com).
“Humor helps us cope,” says Kelly, whose mother, Dorothy “Dee” Jackson, appears in some of the videos.
Ms. Tergesen is a staff reporter for The Wall Street Journal in New York. She can be reached at encore@wsj.com.
By ELLEN E. SCHULTZ for the Wall Street Journal – March 8, 2010
A little-noticed law could soon result in smaller Social Security checks for hundreds of thousands of the elderly and disabled who owe the U.S. money from defaulted loans and other debts more than a decade old.
Social Security benefits are off-limits to creditors, such as credit-card companies and banks. But the U.S. can collect debts to federal agencies by “offsetting,” or withholding Social Security and disability payments.
The Treasury currently withholds benefits of 3.1 million Social Security recipients to recover defaulted student-, farm- and small-business loans, unpaid income taxes, amounts veterans owe for health care, and other debts to the government.
Previously, the U.S. hasn’t been able to withhold Social Security payments to recover most debts delinquent for more than ten years.
But a provision in the 2008 Farm Bill lifted the ten-year statute of limitations on the government’s ability to withhold Social Security benefits in collecting debts other than student loans—for which the statute of limitations was lifted in 1997—and income taxes, where the limit remains 10 years.
This means that a person who defaulted on a small-business loan in 1995, for example, and who is receiving Social Security could be notified that his benefits may be reduced each month until the debt, with interest, fees, and penalties, is paid. The Treasury can withhold 15% of the benefit, though it can’t be reduced to below $750. Tax debts have no floor.
The change will add more than $6 billion to the $75 billion in delinquent debt individuals owe the government, according to the Financial Management Service, the Treasury’s debt collection unit.
A Treasury spokesman says the new legislation “allows Treasury’s Financial Management Service to collect older debts and levels the playing field so that all eligible debts, regardless of age, are subject to debt collection. Treasury expects this legislation will result in increased collections of $10 million per year in delinquent federal non-tax debt.”
Though no one argues that people shouldn’t repay their debts, the change is coming at a challenging time for older Americans already pinched by mortgage woes, pension cuts and spiraling medical costs.
The shift applies to debtors of all ages, but Social Security recipients will bear much of the brunt. A Wall Street Journal analysis of Treasury Department data shows that Social Security recipients comprise a large and growing percentage of people from whom the Treasury recovers debts.
For years, most debt the Treasury collected through its “Offset Program,” came from withholding income-tax refunds. But with an aging population and growing unemployment, roughly 10% of the $4.3 billion in debts collected by the Treasury came from Social Security benefits in 2008, the latest figures available. That’s up from 1.6% in 2001, according to Journal computations that the Treasury confirms.
Though the law has expanded the age of debts that can be recovered, it hasn’t addressed the sometimes-Kafkaesque process debtors can face when challenging the validity of a claim.
Consider the predicament of Dr. Robert Steinberg, the founder of Scharffen Berger chocolates, who spent more than six years and thousands of dollars in legal fees appealing the Social Security Administration’s claim that he owed it more than $28,000.
Dr. Steinberg received disability benefits in the early 1990s while undergoing chemotherapy for lymphoma, a condition that ultimately claimed his life. Dr. Steinberg returned to work sporadically at a free clinic before co-founding the chocolate company.
Year later, the Social Security Administration notified Dr. Steinberg he was overpaid in the 1990s. In May 2002, with the matter still unresolved, the agency turned the debt over to the Treasury for collection.
In Oct. 2002, administrative law judge Gary Lee found that the Social Security Administration had never established the amount of the overpayment; had dismissed an earlier appeal “for spurious reasons”; had misinformed Dr. Steinberg and mishandled his later appeals; and had lost his file. He noted that Dr. Steinberg was “without fault,” and told the agency to stop its collections efforts.
Dr. Steinberg died in 2008, at 61. His lawyer, Peter Young, a former staff attorney for the Social Security Administration, has handled more than 100 overpayment cases, “very few of which were accurate,” he says. “Most people can’t find or afford help, and give up very quickly and end up with painful offsets on a fixed budget.”
An agency spokeswoman says mistakes can happen, but “over all, the process works.”
A Treasury spokesman says the new regulations require agencies seeking to recover debts more than a decade old to give debtors the right to review and copy their files, make payment arrangements, and apply for disability and hardship waivers.
But a recent dispute about a student loan shows that even with these rights, a person challenging an old debt can face hurdles similar to homeowners in foreclosure trying to modify a loan that has been resold.
In 2003, the U.S. began withholding $173 a month in Social Security benefits from Annie Brown, a paralyzed 75-year-old widow living in a nursing home to repay a defaulted $8,823 student loan the Education Department says she took out in 1989. The offset reduced Mrs. Brown’s benefit to about $980 a month.
Mrs. Brown said a granddaughter had forged her signature on a loan application. Her daughter and a lawyer spent more than four years disputing the debt with the owner of the loan, United Student Aid Funds, a student-loan guarantor that also was acting as one of the Education Department’s 21 debt collectors. USA Funds itself farms out various debt-collection activities to others, which it did in Mrs. Brown’s case.
Between 2003 and 2008, Mrs. Brown’s daughter and Lynn Drysdale, a legal-aid lawyer in Jacksonville, Fla., corresponded numerous times with USA Funds and two other debt-collection companies it hired. One letter from USA Funds warned that unless documents were received “within 30 days from the date this letter was generated…your case will be closed.” The letter was undated. Another letter required Mrs. Brown to refer to an attached document. There was no attachment. “I don’t know how a lay person could maneuver through this process,” says Ms. Drysdale. “Nobody seemed to know what was needed.”
In 2007, USA Funds denied Mrs. Brown’s claim, citing a recently passed federal rule requiring people claiming identity theft on student loans to obtain a criminal court verdict of the crime. That was impossible for Mrs. Brown; a statute of limitations for bringing a case had passed years earlier. In any case, she wasn’t alleging identity theft, but forgery.
Robert Murray, a spokesman for USA Funds, agrees that Mrs. Brown’s signature was forged. “It’s absolutely a forgery,” he says, “It [the loan] should never have been made.”
But he says that USA Funds couldn’t discharge the loan as a forgery because Mrs. Brown didn’t return a required form in 2005, and that USA Funds must rigorously defend claims. “There are borrowers who want to get out of a legitimate debt,” he says. “By the same token, we want to work with individuals who have a legitimate issue.”
Ms. Drysdale, the legal-aid lawyer, finally sought to obtain a disability waiver for her client. That process took more than a year, and was achieved only after Ms. Drysdale asked for help from the Social Security Administration’s ombudsman, who declined to comment.
In August 2009, the Education Department agreed that Mrs. Brown is permanently disabled, and discharged her obligation to repay the loan she never took out. The Treasury returned her withheld benefits in December.
Write to Ellen E. Schultz at ellen.schultz@wsj.com
Goodbye Future Shop! link to her site and check out the comments too – lessons for us all!!!
Dear Future Shop, We Are OVER!
The Rumors Are True: I’m Dumping Future Shop FOREVER!
It’s been 28 long days since I dropped my MacBook Pro off at Future Shop for a warranty repair. When I bought the computer 2 years ago I forked out aprox $400.00 extra for the extended warranty in hopes that I would be covered if there were any issues.
JANUARY 21st: I dropped off my computer for what seemed to be a power issue. I was told it would be 1 week – 10 days for the repair. I was also told that Apple sometimes has to wipe the drive clean to repair computers and I should pay $80.00 for back up. I said, “Wipe the drive for a hardware issue?” The Future Shop service associate said, “It could happen.” (95% of my drive is backed up at home. I was not able to backup the most recent data, as my computer wouldn’t power up.) I agreed to pay the ADDITIONAL $80.00 for backup.
The service guy said my computer would be backed up THAT DAY and sent out THAT DAY as “UPS has not picked up yet.”
JANUARY 28th: I was in the area of the Yonge/Dundas store 1 week after drop off, and decided to pop in for an update. The service associate (same guy as the first time) entered my TAG# into the system and told me that my computer was “Still out at Apple Repair.” I asked if the work was in process and if there was an estimated time for return. The Sales Associate said “Hard to say.” For some reason, he didn’t seem to be telling the truth, something about his demeanor changing when he looked at the screen. So I confirmed, “But my computer has been backed up and sent out to Apple?” He looked me in the eyes and said, “Yes.”
All this is fine. It had only been a week. It was a bummer that I was heading to P.E.I. without a computer, but such is life. Future Shop’s warranty states that they have up to 60 days to repair or replace a unit. I agreed to that when I bought it. Hoping that 60 days OR 28 days would be worst-case scenario. Lets jump ahead to where things get dicey and, quite frankly, UNACCEPTABLE!
FEBRUARY 6th: 17 days AFTER I dropped off my computer. I received a phone call from the tech department at Future Shop’s Yonge/Dundas store. I thought it was to inform me that my computer was ready for pickup. NOPE! The technician (different guy) was calling to tell me he was BACKING UP my computer and I had, “TOO MUCH data on my computer! 125GB of data is A HUGE amount of data- OH BOY!” I was told, “We don’t have that much space on our server for backup!” He went on to say that I would have to provide a backup drive, “which Future Shop has a wide variety of on the sales floor.” I said, “so you are JUST backing up my computer now? 17 days after I dropped it off? And you are calling from the Yonge/Dundas location?” He confirmed ALL of these things and repeated that he could not possibly back up that HUGE amount of data on the Future Shop server. He asked how I wanted to proceed, as NO WORK would continue on my machine until I approved the purchase of an external drive or dropped one off. He knew I was in PEI, as I had told him that, so how could I drop off a drive? I was bullied into agreeing to buy an external drive, OR work would NOT continue on my WARRANTY unit. By this point my FULL EXTENDED warranty was costing me in excess of an additional $200.00 and the machine had NOT been looked at in 17 days.
Needless to say: I contacted Future Shop via their website, immediately. I heard back in a very apologetic e-mail on Feb 6th:
Date: Sat, 6 Feb 2010 13:12:59 -0500
From: websupportcan@futureshop.com
To: pdetlor………
CC:
Subject: Re: Email from Future Shop
Dear Pamela,
Thank you for notifying us of your concerns. Please be assured that we will make every effort to provide you with a satisfactory resolution. To help resolve this issue I invite you to forward the requested information below and we will file a store complaint on your behalf
To help us assist you, please respond back to us with the following information so that we are able to provide the store with complete details and your complete contact information:
Store location:
Date of Incident:
Who you spoke with at the store:
Your Full Name:
Your address:
Your phone number:
Thank you for your patience in this matter. If you should have anymore questions or comments please feel free to email us or call our customer service line at 1-800-663-2275. Thank you
Sincerely
Vanessa, 44606
Future Shop Canada
I provide all of the requested additional information, in writing, and also added:
Before closing I have a few things to add. I have over 20 years in sales experience, from retail floor to Inside Sales rep. I have NEVER lied to a client.
I also have an extensive background in computer hardware/software. I was in charge of a team testing hardware & software for the Y2K banking issues, with CIBC’s Electronic Banking division, for 2 years. IF FUTURE SHOP DOES NOT HAVE THE STORAGE CAPACITY FOR A MERE 125GB of DATA, You may as well close up shop.
I don’t know if your tech assumed I would believe him because most people (women especially) don’t understand the inner workings of electronics? I have heard a lot of lies in my life – but that one takes the cake. ALSO, when the first employee took my machine and “recommended” I pay for backup, he had my computer in his hands; he was aware of the model and drive capacity – he DID NOT say we can’t back up a HUGE drive like this. He did not say that $80.00 only covered a certain amount of backup. He said it would be backed up and shipped to Apple repair that day, NO problem.
Here we are – I have no machine. No idea when it will come back. After spending aprox $400 on a full warranty I’m having to come up with $200+ MORE.
I’ve been lied to three times. Once when Employee said the computer was still out (it had never left!) Again when I confirmed: “But it has been backed up and sent out?” And he said “Yes” knowing FULL WELL, by the information on his computer screen, that neither had taken place yet. Then, I was lied to by the employee who was FINALLY getting around to backup, after my computer had been in your store for 17 days.
I don’t want these men fired. I think some retraining is in order were company policy and customer service are concerned. I also don’t think I should be expected to pay a cent after the treatment I’ve received. Last year alone, in addition to what I spent at your store, I have brought in friends who have spent more than $30,000.00 I currently have a friend in need of a new MacBook Pro, I was going to take him to you. Now I’m thinking maybe it’s time to give Best Buy or The Source a chance to get my business and that of friends/family.
Please let me know the status of my repair as soon as possible.
Sincerely,
Pamela Detlor
I HAVE NOT HEARD FROM FUTURE SHOP SINCE!
SO I guess they have 32 more days to DICK me around before they have to do something. I am not a fan of boycotting things for stupid reasons, however – I AM BOYCOTTING Future Shop! WE HAVE NO FUTURE!
If your server is too small for the amount of data that could fit on less than two 84 gig, wee USB little jump drives, that fit in the palm of a CHILD’S HAND, then it’s time to take yourselves over to BEST BUY and get a bigger server.
OR EVEN BETTER:
Head on over to Staples and grab yourself an EASY BUTTON. At this point that is your only option to get out of this mess!
Note*
Generally I don’t ask that you pass on a BLOG post ~ But in this case, I urge you to share my misadventure with your friends if they are planning to buy anything at Future Shop.
Also: I still believe Apple/Mac is a quality company with superior products. The treatment I am receiving from Future Shop is NO reflection on Apple. At this point I don’t even know if they have received my unit and been given a chance to repair it. I have NEVER had a bad experience with Apple.
That’s My Rant!
Pam
A message from her mom Tammy:
This is Amelia. My daughter, my hero. She suffers from a very rare blood disorder, and has to endure countless hospital stays and blood transfusions. Over 300 transfusions in her short 7 yrs. She is the strongest person I know. and I am the luckiest mom in the world. After meeting Bon Jovi 2 years ago,Amelia wants to be a rock super-star when she grows up. Little does she know…to all of us that love her, she already is our super star.
Our Hero Amelia… This is the link enjoy – she is beautiful and a huge fan of BonJovi…
Never believe anything until it’s officially denied.
