My new car and my awesome product advisor

I got my new car on Wednesday. I love it. It's like my previous car, but quieter and with more features.

I asked my product advisor (he's really my sales guy, but his new title makes more sense) if I could get protector film on my new car, similar to what I got on my old one. It protects the car from stone chips and such. I remembered this feature a week before getting the new car, so I knew that it may not be applied in time.

Sadly, it wasn't. I went back on Friday to drop off my car to get it installed.

The problem was that the dealership doesn't offer shuttle services since the pandemic. I'd have to wait for the work to be done.

"I'll drive you home," he said.

"Really? Thanks," I said.

"You're welcome," he replied.

He took me home and dropped me off at the dealership once the work was done.

He has been my product advisor for three different leased cars. I truly landed a good one.

Paid off a credit card

On Friday, I paid off a credit card that I've had for over a decade. It felt good.

I actually had to call customer service to get the final payoff balance. I had to wait another seven minutes on hold to have the woman calculate it.

I was on hold for nearly half an hour. At least I got the payoff total that I needed.

That's one problem about Canadian banks. They aren't upfront with your final balance. You are expected to pay what you owe on your statement. You then wait for another statement that calculates the interest.

I like how my bank in the US does it. There's the payoff balance and your statement balance for credit cards and lines of credit. You know exactly how much to pay off. You don't need to call customer service to have someone calculate the payoff balance for you.

Weird, Canada.

I'm happy that I have got rid of a loan and a credit card so far this year. My financial situation is looking better.

Loans and my debt

Here's an update on my financial situation. It'll be a medium post in length.

A couple of years ago, to repair my credit rating, I decided to take out a secured loan. Looking back, I shouldn't have done it. This loan company alleges that when you make regular payments to a secured loan, it helps your credit rating. Although somewhat true, repairing your credit rating takes time and dedication. It's not a quick fix like this company had implied. I didn't need to take this loan out.

Luckily, its term is only three years. I was closing in on two years of my loan. On Monday, I received a text message from the loan place saying that I could take out a cash loan thanks to my positive payments on my secured loan.

Now, I didn't want a cash loan. However, it allows the equity for the secured loan to get deposited back into my account and close that loan account. He said that I could pay off the new loan immediately. I decided to do it, as I just want out of both this secured loan and this cash loan that I never wanted.

The guy that I was dealing with was a pain as the process unravelled. I wanted the smallest loan amount possible, which is $2500. His confirmation text said $7500. Huh?

I also didn't want insurance protection, as I was going to pay the loan off immediately. At least he got that detail correct.

I have to call a special department to have my loan completely paid off. Fun! I wanted a specific day to have automatic payments come out of my chequing account to coincide with my payday. Nope, that didn't happen. It's the same special department that I need to get that changed. Even though I am not making regular payments, I'd rather be safe than have money taken out of my account that I have not budgeted for.

He asked for my bank statement overs the last three months. Since we were texting, I sent them that way. He then asked for them sent to his e-mail account. Why not say that to begin with? I actually had to download the statements from my laptop and transfer them over to my phone. I could have avoided the extra work.

During this process, I felt like this guy wasn't clear and upfront. He wanted a pre-authorized form filled out with my banking information. I put the company name in. When he got it, he wanted it blank. Well, why not tell me that upfront? I'm sending you a document with my banking information through the Internet. How safe is that it have any person take that information and authorize taking money out of it when the company name is blank?

Yeah, I had it. I told him off that I didn't appreciate these missing details, including the loan term. He frankly wasn't understanding my point of view. I told him so and said that we need to move on. I was tired of texting him who had the listening skills of a brick wall. I'm sure that I hit 100 text messages just to this guy by the end of this loan setup.

In the end, the loan money has been deposited to my bank account. My secured loan has been closed. I am waiting for the equity to get deposited. I'll call this special department to pay off this loan and close this account later on today.

What I am not thrilled with is the fact that having this loan company do a credit check on me will temporarily make my credit rating go down. It's sad that I simply couldn't pay off the secured loan without opening another loan. Then again, the secured loan was at a higher rate of interest and it's really not worth going through the loan for another thirteen months.

Other than this weird loan situation, I am thrilled that I can make more payments towards paying off my debt and improving my financial situation.

End of my vacation and a Starbucks birthday memory

In a few hours, I head back to work. I am working from home till the end of this year.

This staycation has been nice. I have enjoyed being stress-free for over a week. I am relaxed. I am sad to see my vacation end, but it eventually had to.

I will share a nice memory of this vacation. At Starbucks, if you are a part of the rewards program, you get a free beverage or food item on your birthday.

I visit my local Starbucks often, which is roughly twice a week during this pandemic. I am and have been a regular customer for several years.

On my birthday, when I went to pick up my beverage, the barista over the drive-thru speaker wished me a happy birthday. I returned the following day and two baristas wished me a belated birthday.

It was such a sweet gesture. They made me feel special. 

Positivity snacks and a jerk who got what he deserved

Some places in the States do not ship to Canada. Recently, I contributed my thoughts about positivity on a company's Instagram account. This company ended up sending me a huge box of snacks as a gift. It was an extremely generous gesture.

Sadly, this place doesn't ship to Canada. However, I have a way to have items shipped up here through a shipping service.

There is one person at this shipping place who has been a pain to deal with. The first time I dealt with him, he asked for my ID. I was fine and asked if I needed to present it all the time, as none of the other staff members had asked me for it. He said no and that it was a one-time thing.

I dropped by a month later and he asked for ID. I reminded him that last time, he said it was a one-time thing. He made up a reason on-the-fly by saying that he will stop asking until he knows me. Um, I have been dealing with your business for four years. I'm a regular. You happen to be new and are making rules up as you go.

The third time I had to deal with him, he stopped asking me for my ID. Yay! The jerk, however, said my last name wrong. It's not a difficult last name or word to pronounce. I happily corrected him, staring sternly at hime. He actually apologized for a change.

On Saturday, I went in to pick up my box of snacks. This jerk was dealing with another customer who was yelling at him and dropped the f-word several times. I grinned. What goes around, comes around.

Luckily, I dealt with his female counterpart who was respectful and nice. She recognized me as a regular. I got my shipment, said thanks, wished her a good day, and left.

It helps to be kind to folks. If you're a jerk, there will be consequences to your attitude and behaviour.

Late checkout, noise, and customer service

It's December. Where did this year go?

I am at home, ending my staycation. My last evening at the hotel was nice. After work, I headed to the check-in counter and asked the man there if I could do a late checkout on Saturday. He asked when. I said 2 pm. He made it 3 pm. Nice!

He asked me how my stay was. I said that it was great. The only bad thing was construction along highway 401. Drilling and construction starts between 10 pm to 11 pm, and runs overnight. I said that it's rather disruptive. The good thing is that I come equipped with earplugs, so I'm good.

He apologized and advised that hotel management has asked the construction folks to change the time. It obviously hasn't helped. This construction is building a train line underground.

What I did expected was a knock on the door an hour after I had talked to him. He personally came up to my room to deliver some snacks and drinks, to apologize for the noise. I appreciated it and thanked him.

That's great customer service. Sadly, this construction goes until 2021.

Striking up a conversation over blue cars

Saturday was a great day chatting with two friends whom I haven't seen for a bit. I have known each of them since grades 8 and 9. I also enjoyed chatting with a fellow shopper.

I had parked in front of Best Buy and went in to browse. There was a grocery store across the parking lot. Instead of driving over there after I was done at Best Buy, I left my car where it was and walked over.

When I came back, both the person who had parked next to me and I were thinking of getting into our cars. We were both parked such that the driver side required one of us waiting for the other to get in. I broke the silence.

"Did you want to go in first?" I said, as I needed to put my groceries in the trunk.
"Sure. Is that your car?" he asked me.
"Yes," I replied, putting my groceries into my trunk.
"I love the colour," he said, admiring the flame blue.
"I love your car's colour, too," I said, as his was a darker blue.
"I really love the colour. It's nice," he said.
"Thanks! I love blue and it looks like you do, too," I replied, noticing his baby blue t-shirt he had on.
"It's my favourite colour, too," he said, with a huge smile on his face.

I wished him a good day. He said goodbye. It's nice that perfect strangers have something in common and great taste in car colours.

New car lease

I have a new leased car. Thanks to everyone who provided details on switching to a new lease early and pointing out details that I needed to investigate. I appreciate it!

Last week, I had a talk with my manager. He loves cars and recommended getting the C-HR. I test-drove it on Wednesday and it handles well. The problem is that it has huge blindspots on the sides. The rear passenger windows are tiny and it's dark back there. I didn't feel comfortable doing shoulder checks. Down the road, if this car model is redesigned and changes are made to the passenger side windows, I'll reconsider it.

I currently have a Scion iM. It was rebranded as a Toyota iM. It is now the Corolla hatchback. It felt comfortable when I drove it. I like having a push-button start like my Priuses in the past. I like going into drive mode and giving my foot a break by pressing the Stop button. I like going into parking mode and having the emergency brake automatically engage.

It felt fun to drive, just like my current car. I didn't experience that with the C-HR.

The crazy thing is that I put less money down and my payments are much lower. I have been with Toyota for nine years, so it's nice that my track record with them has been good.

I get my car in a couple of Fridays. I need to start clearing my stuff out of my car. My glove compartment is atrocious. I will work on not doing that with my new car.

Cell phone plan and corporate discount

Every two years, I have to renew my cell phone plan. I am on a corporate discount. 

It's always an event to get the discount reapplied every two years. I'm at that stage again.

I normally have to get a special passcode. I got mine. Apparently, being able to apply it online is supposed to make it easy. It's not the case. It claims that my cell phone number isn't eligible.

I'll need to give my cell phone provider a call in the morning. Ah, what fun.

This minor hassle ties in with my budget and debt reduction. I save 25% with the corporate discount. I decided to keep the same plan that I have been with for now over two years. I don't need more data. This plan works for me.

Here's hoping that getting this billing issue fixed goes smoothly.

Getting strict with being low-carb

I have been on the maintenance part of losing sixty pounds roughly seven years ago. I was on a strict low-carb diet. I have kept the weight off, which is probably one of my greatest accomplishments.

For five of those years, I changed up my salad for lunch. I find that if I lean towards carbs for lunch, I am sluggish for a couple of hours before it wears off.

I wanted to have a sandwich for lunch. I swapped my salad out for it. After nearly two years of having sandwiches for lunch, I wanted my energy back.

It helps that my guy is on a keto diet. It has inspired me to go back to eating salads for lunch and being more strict with eating low-carb foods.

I'd say that I have been pretty good at ditching processed foods. I make breakfast in the morning, and have enjoyed sautéed mushrooms, eggs, and sausage for breakfast. I even made low-carb pancakes and poured sugar-free syrup on them. They were surprisingly good.

My energy is up. Sometimes, when I work from home, I feel the need to take a brief nap after my day is over. I have been doing that less in the past couple of weeks.

It's all good. My guy has been pretty good staying on his keto diet while he is away on business.

"Remember how we used to laugh when that woman would smuggle food from the hotel lounge?" he said to me the other day.
"Yes, I remember that fondly. She put food in styrofoam cups and left," I remarked.
"I am becoming that person, except that I put cheese and eggs in plastic Ziploc bags for work," he said.

At first, I felt a bit embarrassed for him. However, considering that it's probably easier sticking to a keto or low-carb diet when you bring your own food, his method makes sense. He is also transparent (the clear see-through bag speaks volumes) about bringing his food to work.

Now that I think about it, it's not bad at all. You have lounge access because you either paid for it or have earned it. Why not take a snack with you when you leave? It's not like you are hauling the entire food spread home. I don't find that greedy by any stretch.

I go on business in three weeks. I'll see whether I will be doing the same thing as my guy.

Getting my car serviced and receiving a cool surprise

I work from home on Wednesdays. Thank goodness!

On Tuesday, I got a reminder phone call to take my car in for servicing. I called during my lunch break and got an appointment on Wednesday.

I took my car in yesterday at 10:30 am. Everything went smoothly. I spoke to my regular service advisor, got a shuttle, and arrived home to continue working from home.

Around 1.5 hours later, my car was done. The shuttle came promptly to fetch me. I got my car without any issues. It was in record time!

The best part of the experience was getting a gas card. I get 3 cents off a litre for the next 888 litres of gas that I use for the next year. Every bit of savings counts.

I wasn't expecting this gesture. I'll take it.

O is for odd customer service #AtoZchallenge

I am going to use customer service loosely as a term in this post.

On Friday, as I was driving home from work, I received a phone call on my cell phone. I picked up. I have bluetooth in my car, so the call went to my speakerphone.

This woman said that she was calling from an eye program. This program is a part of the drug used for my eye injection. The first injection is covered by this program.

I asked what the nature of the call was. She repeated herself by saying that I had my appointment on April 7th and that the injection was paid for by this program. Okay, I got that information the first time. It was obvious that she was reading from a script. I asked her specifically what she needed from me.

She said that she needed to ask me some questions. I asked her how long would they take. She said ten minutes. I told her that I needed to pull over and park. I was also starting to get annoyed with her constantly repeating April 7th (she is now at the fifth mention of my appointment date) and talking over me.

I was parked. I was getting so annoyed. I asked her point blank what information she needed from me. Clearly, my ophthalmologist gave her details about my date of birth. She was asking for my drug plan information. I fired back by asking whether she had it, as my ophthalmologist would have forwarded all information to her. She first disputed my claim, but then backtracked.

She then decided to call my insurance company and patch me in. I knew exactly what she was up to. She wasn't upfront with me.

I know that in Ontario (I don't know if it is Canada-wide), medical folks who need to know what coverage patients have on their medical insurance for whatever category cannot get this information directly from the insurance company. Patients need to either call and relay the information to the medical folks who need to know, or in my case, this woman decided to have me on the line, which would allow her to get the information that she needed by calling my insurance company.

She didn't get my consent. She just called. My drug plan covers 90% of the cost of all injections. I could have told her that.

We disconnected with the woman from my insurance company. This woman proceeded to explain that, should I get approved, this program would cover the remaining 10% of the cost, provided that the 10% does not go over $500 for each injection.

I basically let her have it. I gave her this feedback:

• Right off the bat, you should let me know that this program would pick up the cost of my injections, depending on my drug plan and my eligibility in this program that is sponsored by the drug used for my injections.
• You should point out that you need to know whether my drug plan would cover this drug. You should ask whether it is okay for both of us to call my insurance company to figure out what percentage is covered.
• You should then let me know that a decision needs to be made as to whether the remaining 10% will be covered by the program. That decision should take another week or two.
• When you call me, you do not need to repeat April 7th a grand total of seven times during the call. I am fully aware that I had an appointment with my ophthalmologist on Friday, April 7, 2017. I do not need it repeated seven times. Once is good enough, especially when this call is being recorded. Repeating this date so many times does not add value to our conversation. Perhaps your demographic is geared towards older folks, but it is patronizing and is not helping me relax when you won't tell me what information you need from me or exactly why you are contacting me right off the bat.

I flat out told her that I am going through enough stress that I don't need some woman to beat around the bush. Get to the point, so that I can get on with my life and you can get the information you need to continue processing my coverage.

This call, which would have taken ten minutes, ended up being 25 minutes. I vented. I told her that no patient should deal with such customer service. I am going through enough. I don't need added frustration from a woman who is reading from a script. 

I even told her to stop talking over me. This call is being recorded? Good. Let's hope that someone is monitoring it and she actually does indeed provide my feedback to her supervisor. I have worked in a call centre in my past. Often, it falls by the wayside.

She assured me that she would forward my feedback to her supervisor and apologized again. Well, thanks for delaying my drive home, making my blood pressure boil, and wasting so much time when all of this aggravation could have been avoided.

Frankly, I am at this stage where I don't care much about the 10% cost. Being stressed out isn't worth this company paying for it. I am perfectly fine with not dealing with the stress and paying for the 10%. I should be covered, but we'll see what would cause me not to be accepted in this program. My tearing a strip off her? If that happens, I'll be back again to file more grievances, even though I should focus on my health and not dealing with annoying small potatoes like this woman.

My favourite line was this woman repeating her name at the end. I told her that I already got it when she first introduced herself on the phone and when she did the same to the woman at my insurance company. Frankly, I want to forget your first name. I don't want to deal with you after this ordeal. Let's hope that I do not need to call and speak to you again. Ever.