HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: wallich@ncd.com (Ken Wallich)
Newsgroups: ba.general
Subject: Pleasant Experience at REI
Date: 6 Jan 93 21:45:16 GMT
Reply-To: wallich@ncd.com (Ken Wallich)
Distribution: ba


With all the irritation I've had lately with retail sales places, as
well unreliable and just plain flinky gear I've bought, I had a very
pleasant experience at REI yesterday I thought I'd share.

I bought a cold weather sleeping bag from them in '91.  I used it for
a couple weeks that winter, but the conditions ended up not being as
cold as expected, so I didn't need all the features the bag provided.
I did notice that one of the seams inside the bag had come undone,
obviously due to faulty stitching.  I fixed it myself, not wanting to
deal with 'customer service' personel, who generally are people who
were too surley to get a job at the DMV or the Municipal Court.  It
sat through the summer, then last month I used it for a weekend trip,
and it got *cold*.  When I tried to bundle it up, I found that one of
the drawstrings was sewn such that the hood could not be closed.  I
guess the machine they use to sew bags had an off day when they built
mine.

Since I'm going on another trip back east in March, I figured I'd
better get the bag fixed.  Of course, I've long since lost the
receipt, but I figured they'd repair it for free anyway.  I brought
the bag to the customer service desk, and the woman there looked at
the bag, listened to me tell her why it was broken, then told me to go
see if there was another bag like mine in the sleeping bag area.  I
reminded her I had bought the bag a year ago, and had used it a few
times, but she said that didn't matter.  They had one bag, just like
mine, and she wrote 'return' on the tags, and sent me on my way with a
brand new bag.  I knew that North Face had exceptional service when
you paid full-price, but I had no idea that REI had such a liberal
return and repair policy.  I am again a happy camper (literally).

Now if only we got this kind of service at home electronics, or
appliance, or automobile, or computer dealers.  Naww, it would never
work.


-- 
Ken Wallich

wallich@ncd.com ~ ken@wallich.com ~ kmw@al.org ~ [...]decwrl!vixie!amber!ken
From: robinson@jetsun.Eng.Sun.COM (David Robinson)
Newsgroups: ba.general
Subject: Re: Pleasant Experience at REI
Date: 7 Jan 93 20:17:33 GMT
Distribution: ba
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Mountain View, CA  USA
NNTP-Posting-Host: jetsun

In article <wallich.726356716@lupine> wallich@ncd.com (Ken Wallich) writes:
>They had one bag, just like
>mine, and she wrote 'return' on the tags, and sent me on my way with a
>brand new bag.  I knew that North Face had exceptional service when
>you paid full-price, but I had no idea that REI had such a liberal
>return and repair policy.  I am again a happy camper (literally).

Insider tip on REI, they have a policy of making the customer happy.
They will take back anything they sell for any reason.  They may
not give you back all your money (obvious wear and tear) but  you
will get something.

A very good friend of mine works for REI and was in customer service
for 6 months.  He took back a pair of boots that had been up a
mountain and back (and looked like it), customer was unhappy with
the fit so they gave him partial credit towards a new pair.

It all makes sense, REI is a coop and the customer is also the owner,


	-David
Newsgroups: ba.general
From: henry@ADS.COM (Henry Mensch)
Subject: bay area paging companies: any differences in quality, coverage?
Organization: Advanced Decision Systems; a div of Booz, Allen & Hamilton
Date: Tue, 12 Jan 1993 00:02:26 GMT

my current paging company is PageNet, but i'm not happy with their
customer service so i'm shopping around ... is the service quality
much different among PageNet's competitors?  in this case, "service
quality" includes coverage all over the bay area, as well as optional
coverage statewide ... i'm particularly interested in alphanumeric
paging service.

thanks in advance.

--
# henry mensch / booz, allen & hamilton, inc.  / <henry@ads.com>
# "fight the real enemy."  -- sinead o'connor, and many others.
From: avs20@ccc.amdahl.com (  134  Atul V Salgaonkar)
Newsgroups: ba.general
Subject: Buying A New-92 car: Get it professionally checked?
Date: 6 Jan 93 18:10:25 GMT
Reply-To: avs20@juts.ccc.amdahl.com (  134  Atul V Salgaonkar)
Distribution: ba
Organization: Amdahl Corporation, Sunnyvale CA

I expect to purchase a new (not-demo) 1992 Mercury Sable this week.
Should I get it professionally checked by people such as AAA or Car Chkrs
etc? Most of my friends say just to give money and buy the car but in
light of recent postings, I am a little nervous.
Of course, we have test driven the car and will give it a 5-min inspection
for new scratches etc., before handing over the check.
Sincere thanks for your advice/suggestions/comments; Atul
Post or email to avs20\@juts.ccc.amdahl.com
Newsgroups: ba.general,ba.market.misc,ca.wanted
From: shedevil@leland.Stanford.EDU (Anne P. Mitchell, JD)
Subject: Cleanly/Clearly Canadian House Cleaning?
Reply-To: shedevil@gw.home.vix.com (Anne P. Mitchell, J.D.)
Organization: DSO, Stanford University
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 93 21:08:55 GMT

Does anyone have any information about the house cleaning service called
either "Cleanly Canadian" or "Clearly Canadian"?  I believe that it is
run by a woman named Laurie (?).

Thanks!
From: arnet@hpcupt1.cup.hp.com (Arne Thormodsen)
Newsgroups: ba.general
Subject: Re: RESULTS of: Need Advise on one hassle deal at Capitol Honda
Date: 7 Jan 93 21:29:25 GMT
Organization: Hewlett Packard, Cupertino

/ hpcupt1:ba.general / eparker@megatest.com (Eric Parker) /  1:51 pm  Jan  5, 1993 /

>Go to another dealer. Preferably one that sells AMERICAN cars.
>Finance your car through your credit union
>
>eric
>----------

I'm sure all those Japanese guys who build Hondas in Ohio appreciate
your comment... :-)

--arne

P.S.  - I bought my Honda at Capitol, and had it serviced there twice.
My purchase experience was terrible, and they almost ruined the car the
second time I took it in (installed the valve cover gasket incorrectly,
so that it leaked oil like a sieve).  When I made an appointement to
have it repaired they did not honor it when I arrived.  I have never
returned, and now use Larry Hopkin's in Sunnyvale.
From: knotts@hpl-opus.hpl.hp.com (Tom Knotts)
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1993 20:40:47 GMT
Subject: Re: pressure those nasty Bay Area cable companies!
Organization: HP Labs, High Speed Electronics Dept., Palo Alto, CA
Newsgroups: ba.general

> 
> Most of the good channels are scrambled.  You'll have to either pay them
> for descrambler codes, or receive them illegally.
> 

Apparently you buy a registered descrambler, and pay for the channels
you want. It's suppose to cost about the same or less as regular cable,
depending on what you want; AMC costs < $1 per month. Of coarse, there
is the expensive dish that you have to buy.

I am having some info mailed to me about the prices. I'll post a summary
when I get it.

Tom

Xref: sparky ba.general:5504 ba.mountain-folk:353 scruz.events:33 scruz.general:132
From: lefty@apple.com (Lefty)
Newsgroups: ba.general,ba.mountain-folk,apple.general,scruz.events,scruz.general
Subject: San Lorenzo Valley Community Chorus Mozart Concert
Date: 6 Jan 93 18:58:41 GMT
Distribution: ba,apple,scruz
Organization: Our Lady of Heavy Artillery


              SAN LORENZO VALLEY COMMUNITY CHORUS
                    with Chamber Orchestra

                          Performing

                            MOZART

                Vesperae Solennes de Confessore
                               &
                        Kyrie in D Minor

                          Conducted by
                          Diana Nieves

                   Special Guest Performance
               Mozart's Piano Quartet in G Minor

  Friday, January 15, 8 pm  Evangelical Free Church, Felton, CA
Saturday, January 16, 8 pm  First United Methodist Church, Santa Cruz, CA

             Admission: $6.00  Seniors/Students: $4.00
                    Tickets: 408/338-6232

--
Lefty (lefty@apple.com)
C:.M:.C:., D:.O:.D:.
From: charleen@net.bio.net (Charleen Bunjiovianna)
Newsgroups: ba.general
Subject: Re: Where can I donate food?
Date: 5 Jan 93 19:48:38 GMT
Distribution: ba
Organization: BIOSCI International Newsgroups for Biology

In article <Jan.4.16.15.03.1993.15558@net.bio.net> charleen@net.bio.net (Charleen Bunjiovianna) writes:
>In article <1993Jan4.202011.27296@adobe.com> dauphin@adobe.com (Kimberly Dauphin) writes:
>>
>>Does anyone know of any place either on the Peninsula (specifically
>>Mountain View/Palo Alto area) or East Bay (specifically Milpitas/
>>Fremont area) that will accept food donations?  In the same vein,
>>do you know of any place that needs volunteers to serve food?
>
>There's an organization (no, I don't know the name) that runs "Hotel
>Zink", a program to temporarily house the homeless, that rotates among
>churches, spending a month at each location. 

Okay, the organization is the Urban Ministry of Palo Alto.  Don't have
the number, but they're in the book.  They're looking for volunteers
right now.

I was close on the name of the operation:  It's Hotel De Zink.

Charleen
From: hdeshma@cad000.NoSubdomain.NoDomain (Harshavardhan Deshmane )
Newsgroups: ba.general
Subject: Volleyball Clubs
Date: 8 Jan 93 17:46:21 GMT
Followup-To: ba.general
Distribution: ba
Organization: Intel Corp.

Hi,
I am looking for a club, where volleyball is played regularly in
the evenings( sand or court), preferably every evening:)
Can anyone set me?
thanks,
harsh
-- 
Harsh Deshmane                          email: hdeshma@scdt.intel.com
Design Technology, RNB,Santa Clara      Phone:   (408) 765 6368
From: singer@apple.com (Dave Singer)
Newsgroups: ba.general
Subject: Re: Comments concerning Toyota of Palo Alto?
Date: 12 Jan 93 18:47:01 GMT
Followup-To: ba.general
Distribution: ba
Organization: Apple Computer

I bought a Camry a couple of years ago. First I went test-driving with
my family. I made it very clear that we were test driving; be nice, and
if it's the car we like, we'll be back. Try to sell today and we'll never
return. That worked everywhere. Armed with price quotes from consumer 
reports I went BY MYSELF to three dealers and yold them the car and options
(none) I wanted, and left color open, and told them the price I thought
they
could meet. Told them I was shopping for the car, deal and color.
Toyota Palo Alto didn't have the car. Toyota Sunnyvale had a red
one and quoted me a price. Toyota Stevens Creek had a grey one, and quoted
the same price (within $4). I prefer grey, agree to buy. They can't find
the
car. Go back to Sunnyvale. Buy red one (still there) at agreed price.

All done in two hours (including driving). Price is below invoice (special
incentive weekend, that information I gleaned from newspaper ads).

Be firm, be clear. Tell them either (a) you're looking, not buying or (b)
you're buying, not looking. Mixing the two is deadly.
From: sandrar@garnet.berkeley.edu (Sandi Rollins)
Newsgroups: ba.general
Subject: Recommendations Needed for East Bay Nissan Repair
Date: 7 Jan 1993 19:07:53 GMT
Organization: University of California, Berkeley
Distribution: ba
NNTP-Posting-Host: garnet.berkeley.edu

Well, the time has apparently come for me to take ny car to a professional
mechanic to deal with ignition/carbureution (?) problems.

I need advice as to where to take the car (an '83 Nissan Stanza, duel 
carburetion, standard transmission).  There seems to have been a problem
with the electronic ignition module, so it's likely that some computer
diagnostics will be necessary.  

My boss has gone to McKevitt Nissan (dealer) and has gotten consistently
_horrible_ service and repair results.  I'm looking for reliable work,
quick turnaround, and some level of confidence of customer service if
their diagnosis/repair doesn't fix the problem.  Any suggestions?  Please,
please....

Thanks,

Sandi
From: charleen@net.bio.net (Charleen Bunjiovianna)
Newsgroups: ba.general
Subject: Re: Where can I donate food?
Date: 5 Jan 93 00:15:03 GMT
Distribution: ba
Organization: BIOSCI International Newsgroups for Biology

In article <1993Jan4.202011.27296@adobe.com> dauphin@adobe.com (Kimberly Dauphin) writes:
>
>Does anyone know of any place either on the Peninsula (specifically
>Mountain View/Palo Alto area) or East Bay (specifically Milpitas/
>Fremont area) that will accept food donations?  In the same vein,
>do you know of any place that needs volunteers to serve food?

There's an organization (no, I don't know the name) that runs "Hotel
Zink", a program to temporarily house the homeless, that rotates among
churches, spending a month at each location.  This may only be during
the chill winter months...  I know that Hotel Zink uses the facilities
of St. Andrews Church in Palo Alto one month a year and that they
accept donations of perishable food because there is refrigeration
available at the church.  It seemed to me that last year they posted a
list of desirable foods, and they were things that didn't require much
preparation, like apples, oranges, peanut butter, tuna, etc.  I will
try to find out more tonight; our Challenge square dance group dances
at the church Monday nights.

Also, in these difficult times, even families who have homes are finding
it hard to get by.  I posted a note about SHARE, the food co-op, some
months back, but it's worth reminding people that you can sign up with
your local community service organization hosting SHARE, and for $13
and two hours community service, you get a food package worth $25-$35.
It's typically a BIG box full of fruits, vegetables, grains, chicken or
turkey, some processed/frozen foods, etc.  Call 800-499-2506 for the
location of the SHARE site nearest you.

Charleen
From: knotts@hpl-opus.hpl.hp.com (Tom Knotts)
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1993 20:01:17 GMT
Subject: How to clean/oil bicycle chain
Organization: HP Labs, High Speed Electronics Dept., Palo Alto, CA
Newsgroups: ba.general


I am fixing up my wife's old bicycle. The main problem is the chain.
It is dirty, and has some minor rust. My instincts tell me to first
soak it in a cleaning solvent, then soak it in oil. I'd appreciate
any tips from bicycle people on what is the best approach.

Thanks in advance,

Tom

Xref: sparky ba.general:5475 ba.market.misc:9686 ba.market.vehicles:4433
From: sanh@ios.Convergent.COM (Son Anh)
Newsgroups: ba.general,ba.market.misc,ba.market.vehicles
Subject: Need Advise on one hassle deal at Capitol Honda
Date: 4 Jan 93 19:43:44 GMT
Reply-To: sanh@ios.Convergent.COM (Son Anh)
Distribution: ba
Organization: Convergent Technologies


    I am looking for a direction or how to get started to file a complaint
    against a car dealer.

    On December 28 1992, my fiancee and I went to Capitol Honda in San jose to
    buy a car. We had a deal done on a green honda accord lx with the
    interest rate 5.9 that is financed by Honda Financial Incorporation. We also
    had the Purchase Agreements that has been signed by my fiancee and the 
    dealer. But they did not have that car in their stock, so we had to wait
    for them to order the car.

    On last Saturday (1/2/93), we called to ask whether they had the car.
    The saleman said that they made a mistake, they thought that the car
    was grey(gr) not green (gr), so we would not have the car this weekend.
    Also, we have to pay the car with different interest rate not 5.9 as
    we agreed before, because the car will be delivered to us after the day of
    5.9% rate which would be  ended on 1/3/93. We came to talk to the sale
    manager, and we got the same answer. 

    I don't think it sounds right at all, and we want to complain to Consumer
    Affairs.  We also  want to hear any advise from you so that I can solve 
    this problem legally or peafully. Some questions that I want to know:

    - How should I start from here?

    - Is it worth to file a law suit? if yes, will we win?

    Thank you in advance any advise from you.

   
    Son Anh

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: The writting above is mine not Convergent Technology
Newsgroups: ba.general
From: wisner@netcom.com (Bill Wisner)
Subject: Re: pressure those nasty Bay Area cable companies!
Organization: Trailing Edge Technologies, Mountain View, CA
Date: Wed, 6 Jan 1993 17:14:25 GMT

>We have looked into dumping our cable and going with satellite.
>Has anyone else considered this? What are the downfalls (besides
>initial price?).

Most of the good channels are scrambled.  You'll have to either pay them
for descrambler codes, or receive them illegally.

w.
From: herb@hpindda.cup.hp.com (Herb Gellis)
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1993 00:07:57 GMT
Subject: Re: Where to process color film - avoid Calypso Color Labs
Organization: HP Information Networks, Cupertino, CA
Newsgroups: ba.general

Paul Roberts writes:
>A friend of mine had a very bad experience with Calypso Color Labs
>in San Jose, and I'd recommend you avoid them.
----------

Well... I have used them several times and had no problem; they seem quite
professional, did great work, and from what I have heard are the "premier"
place to go. You might be more specific about what the "bad experience"
was to make sure the rest of us avoid whatever problem your friend had...
otherwise your well meaning post ends up being not as helpful.

I don't have a clue as to what your friend's problem was, but even the best of
companies can have a bad day once in a while, and its easy for a simple
communication problem to snowball and compound itself. Anyway, let us know
what the situation was so we can profit from the experience.

Just a happy customer,

 .                           .
 |=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=| "What will I be when I grow up?
 | Herb Gellis               | You are already grown up.
 | herb@hpcss01.cup.hp.com   | You mean this is as UP as I will get?..."
 |=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=| 
 |                           | David Gerrold, "When HARLIE Was One"
---                         ---
Newsgroups: ba.general
From: keo@cirrus.com (Kristin Osterman)
Subject: Virtual Reality at The Tech
Organization: Cirrus Logic Inc.  Fremont, California
Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1993 22:28:46 GMT

                    Virtual Reality Month
                at The Tech Museum of Innovation.
     
Learn about Virtual Reality at The Tech Museum of Innovation
in downtown San Jose during January. A series of speakers will
discuss this exciting new technological breakthrough:

Saturday, Jan. 16, 1993 from 1:30-2:30. "Goggles, Goggles, and Wands:
Interactivity in Virtual Worlds," is the topic for Ken Pimentel,
product manager at Sense8 Corporation.  Free with paid
admission.
     
Following the talk, museum visitors have the opportunity for
a (limited) 5-minute experience with virutal reality. Wear a set of
goggles - walk through a simulated place seen in 3-D graphics and
interact with it. Appropriate for all ages. (space limited)
	
Both Mr. Pimentel and Kevin Texeira, co-authors of the
recently-released definitive book on virtual reality, Virtual
Reality: Through the New Looking Glass, will be available to
informally discuss their book and sign copies of their book which
will be available for purchase at The Tech's Gift Shop.
     
On Saturday, Jan. 23 at 1:30 "Computers and Graphics
Technologies for Virutal Reality" is the topic for Joshua Mogal,
product manager at Silicon Graphics who will demonstrate "reality
engine" graphics on a supercomputer simulating complex scenes.
     
On Saturday, Jan. 30, the "Real Applications of Virtual
Worlds" is the topic for Ted Coombs, director of R&D at Pacific
Knowledge of Walnut Creek. Coombs discusses appropriate uses of
this new technology and what he sees as future applications.     
     
The January "Virtual Reality" Tech Talks will be held at the
new Hilton Hotel in downtown San Jose across the street from The
Tech. Members admitted free; visitors with paid Museum admission
allowed free.  Call 408-279-7150 for more information.
     
The Tech Museum of Innovation is located at 145 W. San Carlos
Street across from the new San Jose McEnery Convention Center. 
Hours are Tuesday-Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The museum will be
open Monday, Jan. 18 on Martin Luther King Day.
From: smackie@regal.cisco.com (Scott Mackie)
Newsgroups: ba.general
Subject: Re: Comments concerning Toyota of Palo Alto?
Date: 11 Jan 93 23:03:04 GMT
Distribution: ba
Organization: cisco Systems
NNTP-Posting-Host: regal.cisco.com

In article <mikef.726455860@zen>, mikef@informix.com (Mike Foreman) writes:
|>
|> As for the slime bags at Toyota of Sunnyvale, they wouldn't quote in
|> the mail, they made me wait an hour and then take a test ride (dealer
|> policy they said), then told me the best price was on the sticker. I
|> have also been told that their service department is incompetent.

Too true. Toyota of Sunnyvale were, without doubt, the slimiest salesforce
I've ever had the mispleasure to come across. Unable to quote me a price 
unless I bought that night, straight to high-pressure sales without a 
gasp and unusually aggressive. I walked out after 20 minutes. Toyota 101
were nearly as bad. Capitol Nissan almost in the same league.

Toyota of Palo Alto struck me as being fairly laid-back and without the
bullshit of many other Bay Area dealers. I ended up buying privately
for financial reasons, but I'd recommend Toyota of PA for at least having
the smarts to spot who eventually pays their wages, and treat them with
at least a little respect...

Scott...

---
Scott Mackie, Engineering      Email   : smackie@cisco.com
Cisco Systems Inc,             Paper   : (415) 688 8282
Menlo Park, CA94025            Voice   : (415) 688 4642
"Life's a photo opportunity and you've just run out of film..."
Xref: sparky ba.general:5532 ba.politics:8141