First American Home Warranty has horrible customer service

Is a home warranty worth the money? I have a home warranty through First American Home Warranty. My compressor for my air conditioner is going out . How can I tell, its the end of June, I live in Phoenix and my home is not cooling off. I called First American to come out for a service call. I called them on a Friday and they sent someone out on Monday. Desert Valley Aire Inc. came out for the service call. They told me that I needed a new compressor. They told me that they would come out on Wednesday to make the repair. They never showed up and didn't call. Then they said that they would be out on Friday. Desert Valley Aire Inc. again didn't show up or call. I called First American Home Warranty that next Friday, keep in mind that a week has already passed, they told me that they forgot to put the work order through. I thought I was going to scream, I think I did a little. After a lot of screaming and yelling they escalated the call and are coming out on Monday to fix it. This will be over 9 days of an air conditioner that wasn't working correctly. Some service. After they fix it, I am going to cancel it. This has been one of the worst customer service experiences all the way around with these people. I don't even have the words to describe how bad it was.

GetPrequalified.com

Joe Arpaio takes the badge away from Shaq

Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio strips Shaquille O'Neal of his special deputy badge for racial slurs against former teamate Kobe Bryant. Shaq was seen in a video posted on the celebrity news and gossip site TMZ rapping that "Kobe couldn't do without me" That's what rap is about, slams. I don't see what the big deal is. I think we need to to get Sheriff Joe's badge back. He seems to not like Mexicans. I think the Guadalupe profiling was disgusting. He is doing nothing to stop the Canadians from coming across our northern border. Canadians have done a lot of damage to this country. They have ruined major league baseball, the NBA and screwed up football with the crazy Canadian football rules. We messed up hockey. But we're America, we can do whatever we want. Haven't we been tortured enough by Bryan Adams?

Hypermiling Test

I will admit that I don't enjoy $4 a gallon gas. In fact it makes me a little crazy at times. When you stop and add it up, it ain't cheap to drive anymore. I just filled up my BMW 328ci and it cost me over $70. It is a 5 speed and gets what I would call fairly respectable mileage at 25mpg. Which for a BMW I think is quite high. I have been testing out a new hypermiling strategy and I got 27.5 mpg using hypermiling strategies. That's an extra 40 miles a tank. I'll take it. Quite honestly it was no big deal. I just drove a little slower and took my foot off the gas when I see a red light coming. It works. Give it a try and let me know how you do. Just be careful.

What is hypermiling?

There is no energy crisis in America

You heard it here on Consumer Dave first, there is no energy crisis in America. People are still buying and driving there SUV's, I see them all over the road. Gas still flows a plenty. Our government is not putting any demands on the public to restrict gas usage not even to sacrifice for the war effort. There are no incentives to buy energy efficient cars and incentives on solar and other alternatives are still falling short.

Everything you read on the news is just hype to drive the price of gas higher so the oil companies can make more money.

Arrowhead drinking water - new eco friendly bottles

Arrowhead drinking water is claiming a breakthrough in the amount of reduced plastic their new bottles use. They claim to use 30% less plastic and are better for the environment. Big deal, plastic in any form is horrible for the eco systems. It takes plastic over 100,000 years to break down. If they said that they would be making their bottles out of bamboo I would be willing to give them praise where praise is due. To me it is just a feeble attempt to look and sound green when in fact they are not. If they were really going to do something good for the environment, they would outlaw bottled water.

Western Regional Mortgage Brokers Conference

I got this email from the Western Regional Mortgage Brokers Conference in my inbox today;

You spoke.

We listened.

Mortgage brokers and LO’s are telling us this is NOT the year for them to spend money to travel to the Western Regional Mortgage Brokers Conference in Las Vegas. We get it!

So we’re postponing this year’s Western Regional show until 2009.

In the meantime, we’re bringing the information and tools directly to you! Watch for more information soon.

We’re confident that we can weather the tough times together!

That must be bad when the whole mortgage industry cancels one of its biggest conventions. I almost think people need to suck it up and go. This is the time when you need encouragement most. Not just when times are good.

GetPrequalified.com

Rising food prices offer hope for an expanding US waistline

I think I found a positive to the rising food prices. With food prices rising, Americas waistline should start to shrink. Binge eating may be a thing of the past. It's just too expensive to eat anymore. Therefore people will not be able to buy as much food and they will loose weight. Think of it as a forced diet. I recently went to Ireland for 12 days and food was about 3x what it is in the US. I came back 5lbs lighter. I stopped eating the crap I normally eat because I didn't want to pay for it. Hopefully the same thing will happen in the US. People are just too big here. I don't think it will hurt us.

Tri City Property Management in Phoenix does not return phone calls.

This is an update from a few posts ago about Tri City Property Management. They still have not returned my calls. I can't believe how lame they are. After a straight conversation with the secretary about how nobody is calling me back, I figured I would have received a call today. Nothing.. Strange.. but consumerdave is on it. I will keep you posted.

MBT shoes are the most comfortable shoes

I have to admit that I have never loved a pair of shoes more than my MBT shoes. They have changed my life. I used to suffer with back pain and since wearing them, I can move around in comfort and with no pain. They are not cheap. I paid $250 bucks for them. I ended up buying a second pair. I'm hooked on my mbt's. For this kind of relief I would have paid $1000 a pair.

America's Ice Cream Crisis - forget the oil crisis

I just purchased a carton of Dreyers Slow Churned Rich and Creamy One Split Wonder the American Idol edition. I noticed one thing odd about the packaging. It shrunk. The cartons on all ice cream seemed to have shrunk by about one third. The price seems to be the same. I wonder if packaging on other goods is shrinking as the price of food goes up. Food producers probably are trying to mask the price of food going up. All ice cream packaging not just Dreyers has shrunk. I'm not buying it anymore. I don't care, it's time we put our foot down and got thin.

Tri City Property Management has horrible customer service

Most times I need to contact Tri City Property Management in Phoenix Arizona and leave a message they never call you back. I live in the Scottsdale Vista Townhomes in Scottsdale. You have to keep calling and calling and hope that you get someone on the phone. I had a matter I needed to discuss with them recently. I have called them three times and I have still not heard from them. When I told the receptionist the situation, she didn't seem to phased about it. She said that seems par for the course and that she has been hearing this complaint a lot lately. It wasn't even a big deal for her. It sounds like it happens all the time. I could tell you about the numerous other times that this has occoured. If it were my business I would be embarrassed to have such horrible customer service. Call me back the next day. Never getting a call is a disgrace to the customer service industry. They do not seem to concerned however. If this is the biggest problem in my life I would be satisfied however.

Servamatic Solar Hot Water - Solar hot water is the right solution for todays energy challenges

Servamatic Solar Hot Water heaters work great and are much cheaper than their Photo voltaic cousin. With global warming on the minds of more people, we need to look for clean and cheap solutions. Most of a homes energy costs are a result of keeping a tank of hot water around. If you can get the same result from the sun why not. Every new home in Israel is required to have solar hot water. As a result of this, Israel now can boast that 3% of its overall energy use is covered by the sun. It is the highest of any nation. I live in Arizona, it makes sense that every home in the state have a solar hot water heater on it. The sun is one thing that we don't have a shortage of here in this state. (Servamatic Solar Hot Water Heater benefits)

Additional Green Articles

Why Big Brown Lost the Belmont

Why Big Brown lost the Belmont, it's very simple. The other horses just ran faster. The hopes of a triple crown winner are yet dashed again. You heard the breaking news here on Consumer Dave.

Rosemary McClure Los Angeles Times Ireland Article

This is a response to an article written by Rosemary McClure that appeared June 1st in the Los Angeles Times about travel to Ireland. I agreed with Rosemary about everything until she talk about the discourteous drivers in Ireland. I would like to report that the drivers in Ireland were very courteous and I did not hear one horn the entire two weeks. The drivers in Ireland would always let you in with a smile. The drivers in the US are the worst most obnoxious example of driving, not the Irish. My hats off the the Irish for their good driving and courtesy.

My furniture is making me sick

I just bought a the Belize Outdoor Occasional set from Cost Plus a few days ago. There seems to be some type of fumes coming off of it. Every time I sit on it my eyes get irritated and start to swell. I have to come in an wash them off with water. It is made out of teek wood and was originally manufactured in Vietnam. Anyone else having this trouble?