When the Internet goes bad

My new TV is turning into a saga. Having cancelled my order with the hapless Play.com (see my previous blog post), I placed an identical order with 247electrical.com, via Amazon (they're a re-seller). Order placed on Monday - Amazon emailed me to confirm - I've heard nothing from 247electrical yet. Not a single "yes we've got your order" message. I have no idea if they're on the case, or if it's got lost in the ether.

I've tried ringing 247electrical twice so far, and each time have been held in a queue for 10 minutes, before hanging up. They have possibly the worst tinned music imaginable, which sounds like it's being piped through an underwater speaker system. You can't quite make it out, so you listen intently, only for an annoying voice to inform you that your call is important, but everyone is "busy".

So... five days without a TV so far. I've discovered that my PC monitor is quite adequate for watching DVDs, albeit a bit grainy. I'm starting to wish I'd just paid the £80 more and bought it in Sainsbury's last Saturday... maybe the Internet isn't all it's cracked up to be?

Why Play.com are in trouble

Our TV died on Saturday, so I looked for a new one on www.play.com. I found a very natty Sony Bravia 32 inch LCD for £530, with free delivery. Bargain! I ordered it. This morning when I checked my email, I found the following message from the play.com customer service department:

At Play.com, we value your custom and take your online security very
seriously. Accordingly we have an additional security check in place.
To perform this check we ask that you contact our Customer Support Team on 0845 800 1020.

How odd! I've never had this before! I duly phoned them up, and after being held in a queue for 5 minutes, listening to "The Worst of Kenny G", I was put through to a chap who claimed that their 3rd party security system required that I confirm my name, age and address over the telephone before they could process the order. I expressed my surprise at this, but did as he requested, and he apologised again, saying that they would take an extra 24 hours to process the security information.

Not exactly making me feel welcome...

Two hours later, I received another email from play.com, stating that:

We are experiencing difficulty verifying your address details. To proceed with your order we will need to see a copy of documentation which confirms your address and credit/debit card details such as your bank statement. Please fax your documentation to +44 (0)1223 202001 for the attention of Statement Requests.

Hang on... they want me to FAX my BANK STATEMENT to them? What decade are they in? Maybe in 1995 they might be forgiven, firstly for having a fax machine, and secondly for being a bit cautious about online purchases, and whether or not the customers can actually afford the goods in question. But this is 2008, when one-click shopping is a reality, and we (the consumers) don't have to put up with non-sensical, rude and invasive questions and demands from second-rate Internet resellers.

I did what every right-minded person would do - I rang up, cancelled the order, gave them a piece of my mind, and placed the order with Amazon instead.

Play have messed up. I assume they don't sell many televisions. I hope they can put their house in order, before they go bust...

Smooth moves in the kitchen

I've taken the plunge, and bought a smoothie maker, in a bid to consume healthier food during 2008. I bought a Kenwood "Junior", for £23 in Sainsbury's (they're half price at the moment!). What a great gadget! It's really simple to use - just chop things up, throw them in, whisk it up, and pour. I made myself a breakfast smoothie this morning, using these ingredients:

- One banana
- A dozen blueberries
- Two tablespoons of organic yoghurt
- A third of a glass of milk
- A quarter of a cup of ground oats
- Two teaspoons of honey (any type will do, but I prefer Accacia, or Manuka)

You really need a bit of liquid, otherwise the texture is so thick that it'll have trouble getting out of the pouring nozzle. Apple juice is good for non-milk based smoothies. I'll be posting my favourite recipes here, but in the meantime, here's a great article on the wonders of Manuka honey.

Happy New Year to both my readers!

Okay, so Christmas wasn't as bad as my grumpy pre-festive self expected. In fact, I had the best Christmas EVER, courtesy of my brother, and his wife's fantastically lively, lovely family, in their idyllic Roman hideaway. Baby Mimmo had more presents than he could open, so many in fact that we were still opening them on Boxing Day.

The Italians don't go overboard on Christmas. I was able to do my shopping on Christmas Eve, in a large department "store" (I mean "shop", but that word isn't really used any more), which was tastefully decorated, and wasn't overflowing with panic-stricken shoppers hunting for meaningless gumf to inflict on their nearest and dearest. Having said that, I believe they go nuts over January 6th - my Dad's birthday, therefore a highly laudable reason to celebrate.

My favourite present this year was a sea blue Ukulele, and a "teach yourself how to play" book. I've been confidently strumming away at a few chords, pleased that I've managed to remember them, until... this morning, when I discovered that the "teach yourself" book is all set up for the Uke to be tuned to four completely different notes to the ones mine's tuned to. Therefore the chords that I've "learned", while being perfectly in-tune, aren't the chords I thought they were, and I now have to re-learn them! I might just give up and sit back to watch the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain's Barbican gig (here's a clip from it):



Something tells me I'll keep plucking away... I've got tickets to see them in Lewes on February 2nd, so I'll be even more inspired after that.

I'm back at work now, which is fairly busy, and not without its worries, but as the hapless knight from Monty Python and the Holy Grail said, "I've had worse".

Wishing you a happy and healthy 2008,

Pete.