The Most Ridiculous Protest

Just down the street for Winco in Midvale is a retirement community that is nearing completion.  I happened to drive by the other day, and I saw that there were two people (one man and one woman) in front of the building with a big sign that said, "Shame on Cascades at Riverwalk."  It was right next to a sign that said, "Cascades at Riverwalk- Now Hiring."I was curious, so I stopped and rolled down my window.

I asked what the protest was all about, and the man said, "We're not allowed to talk about it."

I was silent for a bit thinking, "WHAT?!  Then why in the hell are you out front protesting?  Why can't you talk about it?"  After awhile the woman said, "But we can give you a flyer..."  It then took her a minute or two to find the flyer and give it to me.

First of all, I would consider it an embarrassing failure if only two people showed up to a protest.  Secondly, if they can't talk about it, then why are they out there?  What do they want from people?  What do they expect us to do?  Thirdly, if their objective is to educate people and hand out flyers then they should have them ready to go when people stop to ask about the protest.

Do you want to know what the protest was all about?  Apparently the construction company that worked on Cascades at Riverwalk doesn't fully pay for family health insurance.

Call me a heartless bitch, but who really cares?!

First of all, employers are required to OFFER health insurance for their workers and their families NOT fully pay for the insurance.  Many employers will cover PART of the cost of the insurance for their employee, but I haven't heard of a single company that fully pays for family health insurance.  Some companies don't cover part of the health insurance at all- even for their employee.  My husband's job doesn't supplement the cost of insurance at all.  Health insurance is offered but it's REALLY crappy, and we have to pay the full cost of insurance out of our own pockets.  I have no sympathy for the protestors.  At least they have a job.  If they don't like it, they can look for another job with a company that has better benefits.

Secondly, they are targeting the wrong people.  They should be targeting the construction company, not Cascades at Riverwalk!  As a business owner, if I were to need something built, I would get a quote from two or three construction companies and choose the one that gives me the best deal for my dollar.  I WOULD NOT check to see if the construction company pays full health insurance benefits to it's employees.  (That's just me)

They claim that Cascades at Riverwalk is desecrating the American way of life.  Give me a break!  And give them a break!  They are a new business just getting ready to hire employees and open.  Even after reading the flyer of the protestors, I would still apply to work there if I was looking for work.  I would still check out the community to see if it's appropriate for my grandmother.  I think their protest is an embarrassing failure.  Maybe the protestors should apply there to see if the benefits are any better at Cascades at Riverwalk.

Doing business by email

I live in a planned unit development.  We have a clubhouse that can be used by all, or reserved for special events and private parties.  The following happened as I was trying to reserve my clubhouse:

I called the HOA to ask a few questions about reserving the clubhouse, and check availability.  The receptionist told me that I need to speak to Alison, but that she wasn't available, and it would be easier to get in touch with her by email.  She wouldn't even give me the option to leave a message.  So I accepted the email address.

I sent an email asking about advance notice to reserve the clubhouse, security deposit, etc.

Alison answered all of the questions in my email but stated that in order to reserve the club house, I would need to fill out a reservation form.  She said that the form could be mailed, faxed, or submitted electronically, BUT she DID NOT include a copy of the form, nor a link to where I could access the form or submit it electronically.

EXCUSE ME?!  I obviously want to reserve the clubhouse!  Why couldn't she be thorough and include the form and/or a link to the form.  This causes me MORE work because I have to email her again to ask for the form and/ or the link.

I emailed her again asking for the form, asking if it was available on a certain day, and asking if she knew the address to the clubhouse.  She DID NOT send me the form, but responded that she didn't know where my clubhouse was.  She continued by saying that I should ask my neighbors were it is.  She didn't answer my question about whether it was available, just asked what time I needed it.

HELLO!
I KNOW where my clubhouse is, I just wondered the address so I can tell other people where it is.  There are other PUD's in my area, and I wanted to make sure they get to the correct clubhouse.

FURTHERMORE, she couldn't say, "There is another party that day, it depends on what time you need it."  Nor did she say "It's available any time that day, what time are you thinking?"  She was implying that she wouldn't even look up the availability on that day without the time.  AND she still didn't send me the form!

I emailed her back with the time.
She emailed me back and said that it was not available.  Couldn't she have just said that when I asked her about the day?

Then I had to email her back to check other available dates.  Is there a calendar somewhere I can look at the availability for myself?  Can't I just talk to her on the phone so that she can check multiple dates for me?

What is so annoying to me about all of this is (besides her incompetence) is that I have to do all of this through email.  That means that I have to wait for her answers, and I have to email her multiple times to get the info and forms that I need.  It would have saved me multiple emails if she would have just sent me the form in the first email, and it would have saved me a lot of time and headache if I could have just spoken to her on the phone.

My two cents take away lesson if you do business by email:

I realize that forcing people to conduct business with you through your email may be more convenient for YOU, but think about your CUSTOMERS!

If you do business this way, please think ahead.  If you tell them that they need to fill out a form, include the form and/or a link to the form so that your customers do not have to email you FIVE times to get ONE thing done.  And think about doing some of your business by phone.