What it feels like to be "Half" a Customer??

I will get back to the Disney stuff for those that are interested but I have to write today about what it means to be a valued customer. CRAP!!! If you ever bought a car at Snell Motors in Mankato this is what you should expect. (Since they are a big car company and their logo is red, I thought I would extend the courtesy in my post.)  OK let me tell you the story and you form your own opinion. I purchased not one but three cars at Snell Motors in Mankato. Lets go back 5 years. My 2nd daughter was born and having a sports car was not a great idea. They are hard to get in, short on room, and not real safe in the winter. I decided to get a SUV, and since I had purchased 2 cars at Snell motors of Mankato I thought this would be a good place to start. After test driving quite a few vehicles I decided on a GMC envoy with about 30k miles. I signed the paperwork which included somewhere in the fine print the agreement to pay the difference in the balance of the loan if they didn't figure it correct. Well of course the finance people at Snell motors in Mankato can't add and we ended up with a $400 bill after everything was signed. This only came to light a year later in a collection notice from a gutter shark. “Fine way of doing business” I say. I told the grub digger that I would not pay this bill since it was part of the original loan and I was never made light of money that was owed on this contract. (They also tried to keep $1500 on the rollover extended warranty, but this is another story)

Let’s flash forward 5 years to today. I got a notice in the mail from a Cow Crapin' Shit Slinger that I never paid the bill. Do these people listen, take notes or even have ears? I thought this was a dead issue. I decided to call Snell motors in Mankato to put the disagreement to bed for the last time. I spoke with a lovely lady who read me the terms of the contract. I told her plain and simple, "I don't care what the contract says, what are you going to do to keep me as a customer in these tough times, especially since I might be in the market for a new car”. I would think that for a car company like Snell motors of Mankato they might say, "we value you as a customer and am very sorry for this overage on our part. We see this has been mistake for a long time, and will forget the amount owed and hope you make Snell motors of Mankato your choice for your next vehicle" WOW that would have been awesome! Sucking up $400 is a big deal to me. BUT...That is not what happened. Instead the nice lady at Snell motors of Mankato said they would pay for half. So as the customer I still have to pay for the mistake? Keeping me as a customer didn’t even ring in her head. She even brought it up to the president and he agreed to stick it to me. So I have to pay for “HALF.” So as a “half” customer is Snell motors of Mankato going to sell me half a car? Fix half my engine when it breaks? Clean only the back seat of the car when I use their new wash. What is the price of customer service and doing the "RIGHT" thing? I gave Snell motors of Mankato the chance to do the right thing and they choose to do "half." I guess Snell motors of Mankato will find out what "HALF" means when only half of their customers show up to buy only half their products.  Please re-broadcast this post. I think Snell motors of Mankato needs to know how their “half” customers feel!!

I Interrupt this Disney Experience for an Important Announcement

I just went to the new burger joint in town and wanted to update everyone on the experience.  5 Guys burgers and fries! That's what you get.  The place reminds me a waffle house on the inside, all red and white.  Menu is very simple, 5 big burgers 5 small burgers and 2 types of fries.  That's it!!!  If you need desert there is a DQ at the mall.

To the food part.  I ordered a bacon cheese burger with lettuce, pickles and BBQ.  Large cup of original fries, and a cheese burger for the first lady. She is still working so I will await her response when she gets home, (I hope she reads this blog and starts drooling) Burger was everything a burger should be, 2 greasy slabs of goodness with crispy bacon smothered in American cheeeeeeeese.  Killer burger done just right.  No California crap like Gouda ,Avocado, French Italian seasoned mayo with chapatti chips. Meat, cheese and bun...DONE. Fries were in a cup, skin on and chewy, not crispy, with plenty on sea salt.  Reminds me of the fry that sits at the bottom of the bag and ages to perfection before being consumed. There wasn't one thing healthy about this meal and I loved every minute.  Everything came in a plain brown paper bag.  What no branding??  Did they miss the marketing meeting?  NO.  The food says it all.  10 minutes after I ordered I was out the door with my to go bag, grease just starting to leach though the side of the bag. Oh btw they have peanuts to eat while you wait, ahhh don't, let the hunger build a few more minutes.

Thank you 5 Guys burger and fries for making Mankato your home.  This is and will be my restaurant of choice for now on, or until we get a waffle house.   

Planning: Stage 1

Before going or doing anything, I always do research.  I don't go shopping for groceries without doing research.  Most big purchases require a years worth of research.  Disney was different.  I think I spent one night on the Internet looking and booking and 2 weeks drooling and yelling at the first lady to come look at this cool thing we can do.  The kids were in my mind the perfect age, 6 & 9, still young enough for the innocence but old enough for the rides.  Matter of fact our family was made for Disney, 2 children, 2 adults.  It seams everything revolves around a family of four, finding a deal should be easy.  Guess what?  It was!!  I had been told by several people to expect to spend 4k and to use a certain travel agent, nope...didn't do it.  I was told to go to this web site and that web site and ask for "Disney package number one" or "Book the perfect getaway" nope, didn't do it.  Didn't use sky miles, credit card points, gold bond stamps or Sunday circular coupons.  I booked the trip, 7 nights, 8 days round trip airfare from MSP to Orlando, meals, hotel, and 6 days of tickets for under $3K. Here is how to start the magic.  Book thru Disney direct.  Wow, you didn't see that coming did you.  Booked the flight directly thru Delta also.  Boy that was a punch to the gut huh!  Think about it, everyone else has to tack on some sort of commission and they aren't booking anything that you can't.  Did I spend a year doing this, No! Go on the Disney site and look for a promotion, ours started as a reduced hotel price and ended up as a free meal plan.  (Free meal plan I will explain later, that was a deal).   

Lets start with the airfare.  I recently booked a flight to Washington DC and looked at Cheapo air (usually the least amount of money) What I found was that the Delta site was less money.  So I started with Delta. I found the time I wanted to go and started matching flight days.  I found Tuesday to Tuesday the cheapest.  Matter of fact dirt cheap.  $170 per ticket. I then went to some different sites and compared, nothing came close.  I know what yours saying and this was a direct flight.  Point A to Point B no connecting flight in Genoa Nebraska, bang get on get off, done. 

OK lets do the math for you sceptics that think you can drive everywhere and save money.  At least two days down and back, that is 75 bucks a night for a cheap hotel with plywood mattress and birch bark sheets.  Next food.  Have to eat, so budget $40 a meal, two meals a day and I will even throw in a cooler with bread  and cheese for loose meat sandwiches.   Where does that leave us now $640.00.  So now we have to buy fuel.  Yes you have to come back.  I Drive a van for comfort, 25 mpg which equates to 130 gallons round trip at ...drum roll please..$3.50 gallon and we have $455,  plus wear and tear on the vehicle, stopping every 20 minutes to visit every bathroom , 4+ extra days of vacation, and the kids asking every 5 minutes, "What town are we in now?"  Fly!!! and you may live long enough to blog about your experience.  I spent a total of $850 for 4 tickets, baggage fees, and rental car to and from MSP. I think I've made my point.

Next up, Booking thru Disney and getting the right tickets for your stay.

The Whole Disney Truth

I decided to write a multi part blog on what to expect when you take a family of four to Disney World in Orlando Florida.  Since I took this trip recently I feel most qualified.  I spent hours researching everything! (ask the first Lady) I wanted to get the very most out of my trip.  So I prepared by listening to others that have been there before I.  I read blogs, posts, articles, hotel reviews, referrals, just about everything. Here is a real accounting of a real world experience.  I'm gonna lay it out for those who might follow and let everyone know how to get even more out of their vacation.  Don't expect a watered down, pillow under the head, I love Santa Clause version. Your gonna get the whole enchilada, soup to nuts, the plain HARD truth.  No political correctness here; no lobbyist for a safer vacation in my capital.  Here it is, down and dirty, pig in the mud, nose so dry it feels like a triscuit version.  Are you ready?? Can you take the heat?  Feel the burn, stomach the haggis in a bag truth and nothing but the truth so help me judge Judy version.  I'll start the show tomorrow and will update with stories, observations, pictures and little secrets nobody will ever tell you.  I'll get you my little pretty, and don't forget that stupid little dog!