Pauls Rants & Revelations

Always on the hunt for deals (because I am a cheapo), I came across this one site that has a lot of pretty good deals. For those who have yet to find Shopwiki Electronics, let me throw a few tid bits of information your way.

The first thing that I liked about the site was the simplicity. There were not 10000 banner ads promoting all manner of electronic cleverness. There were 5 entries on the front page of recent deals they have along with a search box (so far so good). Since we watch only movies now, a home theater system would not go missed in my house. After clicking I am presented with a diverse, categorized list of all the nifty gadgets they have available.

Click on the plasma televeisions, I was expecting to find a lot of ads for the name brands currently available. Again, I was surprised. Instead, I am presented with information. A lot of information. And it all relates to plasma televisions (bonus). There is a list of top rated products, but most of the page is devoted to the differences between plasma and LCD,  High-def definitions and if I really need it, and they even had a blurb to help me mount my new purchase once I get it home.

I decided to check out a Panasonic 42″ and I am given a list of the lowest prices, where I can find them, and customer reviews out the wazzu about the product. All in all, it took about 5 minutes (I read the info Shopwiki had on it) and I found something that would be really nice on my wall to watch movies with the family.

The deal aside, the experience I had with it is by far the best I have seen in a while. I would use them again in a heartbeat if I needed a camera or a new ipod. Check them out if you don’t believe. And once you do see for your self, I will accept your apology in the form of a new plasma TV.

-Cheers

The hosting on the new servers is up and working now. This is much better than the old server (at least I’m stoked about it).

The site will be transfered to paulsrants.com in a few days (probably next week) so be sure to update feeds and bookmarks.

Also, if you host a site with me, that fire was nothing to worry about. We were able to evacuate the women, children, barnyard animals, grandma’s cat-plate collection, and your data without trouble.

-Cheers

I just secured a Media Temple hosting solution and will be moving sites (including this one) to them over the next few days. If you currently have a site I host and it goes down for some reason, please dont fret (much).

I will of course try to make things as seemless as possible but there is always the possibility that Murphys law will kick in so please take a backup of your current site within the next few days.

Also, for those that follow this site, I also purchased the domain paulsrants.com, which I will be switching this over too in a fwe weeks. Please update your blogrolls and links accordingly should you wish to continue following the pratlings  you have comes to loathe.

-Cheers

Is there any business nowadays that is interested in helping you out rather than making a buck?

We are needing a new tire for the car. We just need the one tire. Thats all. However, when I shopped around for a deal I was at the very least disappointed with the service I would be getting from the major tire chains.

For instance, Company A (whom I will not mention because their name makes we angry enough to turn into the Hulk) said that they could replace it for $84.95. I though “great” until they told me that that was the price per tire installed. I told them I just need one tire and they said they cant do that; that they would only replace all 4 tires. Bullshit, I told them. I’ll go somewhere else.

So I call Company B (same reason as the company above) and they say they can do it for $60 installed. They also said they only do all four tires. I asked to speak to the manager to ask the obvious question, “WTF?”, and he said that it was their company poilicy to only do all 4 tires.

Well, that company won’t be getting my business thats for sure.

So now I take it to the local Saturn dealership. They said that can do just the one tire (bonus) and I even has time for an oil change thats needed. The price though, will be $138 for the tire and mounting/balancing. With the oil change, that will be $165 total. A somewhat shocking price at the tire thats been sitting in a warehouse for ages and is for a 2 year old vehicle. But as the price is less than what I would be charged everywhere else, I have to accept it. But I don’t have to like it.

At the time of this writing I am sitting in the dealership waiting room waiting for the tire to be brought from the warehouse (at least they have free wifi). I expressed my gripes to the service tech who checked in the car but I can see that he has been doing this for a long time as he took the rather lofty position of “this is how it is, take it or leave is”. Well, I have to respect a man who knows his business.

To get back to the point of all of this ranting, I am wondering where in the world is a business that will give you just what you need and not charge you an arm and a leg for it? Tire companies will give you a deal only if you buy 4 tires; Software companies will sell you a “package” that contains crap you would never buy but have to install anyway to make the desired software function; you can get a 4 piece chicken nugget pack only if you buy a happy meal; its starting to wear on me truth be told.

I think that only place that I go to that gives me exactly what I want is the coffee shop. I tell them I want a half cup of espresso with caramel, raisins, milk, and 2 pepper mints ground in, and I get it. That is the only business that I can think of where I get what I want (or need) exactly.

Any other examples of this? Am I wrong (or right)?