on "Dollar" Rental Cars

Actually, this really isn't specific to Dollar, they are all sneaky rip-off artists but since I used Dollar, I'll pick on them specifically. You want to rent a car but you aren't really sure how far you'll be driving. You go on line and look for a budget. At Orlando International Airport, that low priced winner appeared to be Dollar. For a mere $63.10, I could rent a small economy car for two days. I made the reservation and put in my "frequent flyer" miles account, they asked, why would I question it? By the time you pick the car up and get the paperwork you are up to $86, this includes the $0.95 per day charge for accumulating frequent flyer miles. I was asked if I wanted to pre-pay for a tank of gas at their current price per gallon of $2.69. I declined thinking I wouldn't be using that much gas. After driving to my destination, I realized I just may use a tank a gas. I called Dollar the next day and asked if I would be able to bring the car back empty, they said yes, never mentioned anything about paying a whole lot more than the going rate. I returned the car having used about 5/8ths of the tank. The attendant goes in the car and hands me a receipt for an additional charge of $71.38 for gas. Virgin car renters-beware!

on NJ Junk

I took a week off and decided to do some things around the house. I removed wallpaper and painted my living room. I cleaned out my attic. I decided to replace my shed that was falling apart. Upon inspection of the shed, I realized that everything in it was destroyed, there were creatures and eggs and all kinds of lovely things living in it, as well as the cat that I scared, that went running. I decided to search Craigslist to find someone that would remove it and the other trash from the attic. I sent messages to two people. I then found a website for NJ Junk and sent them an email. I never heard from the two people I emailed on Craigslist but NJ Junk called me later that day. There were at my house 36 hours later. They pulled up in a very large truck. I thought it was way too big for what I had to remove. They gave me an estimate of $425. I thought this was high at first, but then I thought about the critters in the shed and all that was involved in removing the trash and decided to go for it anyway. They were quick, efficient and even swept up the concrete blocks under the shed. My trash, to my embarrassement, filled up the truck. Mark, one of the guys that came out, was very polite. The money was well worth it and I highly recommend them.

on Eddie B Plumbing

The company I used to work for used Eddie B's for their plumbing needs. When I had the problems with my toilet running, I called Eddie B's to come out. I also wanted a quote to put a water connection on the driveway side of my house. They were out the next business day. The advise I got was to buy a new toilet. They said they would want $325 to install the water connection and could be out in two days to do it, which would be a Wednesday. Wednesday came and went, they never showed. I called the office and was told they never scheduled it but they would come out the next day to do it. I wasn't available that day, so I said I would call when I wanted it. That was 2 months ago. I can't seem to get past the no-show.

on Harris Fence Company

I had my 4 ft green chain link fence installed by Harris Fence Company in 2001. It took too months to get the fence installed because it was summer and that is there busy time. I ordered it in July and it was installed in September. When I had the gate installed, I opted for a little garden gate instead of a big swinging gate. Seven years later, I was thinking about installing a detached one car pre-fab garage. I called Harris Fence to come out and give me an estimate on replacing the garden gate with a swinging gate. I called on a Tuesday. The gentleman that answered the phone said he would be at my house Thursday at 1pm. As it happened my daughter was home from work that day, so I didn't have to leave work to meet him. It's a good think. He never showed up. I called Harris's office at 2pm and was told I probably talked to Keith and he called out that day. He would call me tomorrow (Friday). He never called. I then changed my mind about getting the gate changed. Their loss. If the economy is supposed to be so bad...why don't businesses want business???