Dopp Juice Archive

Update: 1/29/06The very sweet manager at the local Sprint store defended me to the higher-ups and secured my insurance. Thank you, Duane. And thank you, Sprint. We’ll just put this matter behind us now and get back to the mutually beneficial relationship that we’ve had in the past… sound good?-Sarah

Attention Blogosphere: Sprint is providing me with extremely poor customer service right now to the point where I’m seriously angry, and they just don’t seem to care.Attention Sprint: If you’ll just resolve my issue, I’ll retract this public complaint and once again sing your praises to the world. I really don’t like being angry with you, but you’re displaying a level of incompetence right now that I just can’t accept.Generally, I’m pretty happy with Sprint. They have great coverage in the places I’ve lived. Their customer service is friendly. Their phones tend to have more features than most companies. Their new Fair and Flexible plan makes me jump for joy. They didn’t charge me a contract-breaking fee when my ex left my plan and started his own account. They even have a great website, which is something that matters to me. But they’re not treating me well right now, and I’m running out of options. We’re talking about 3 months of back-and-forth phone calls that have done no more than send me in circles, as well as a number of blatant customer service botches. Let me take you through the experience. Read the rest of this entry »

I have another fun toy for you. This one goes out to all the Creative Professionals out there — those who have something to offer as unique and marketable individuals. And as far as I’m concerned, that’s everyone. LinkedIn is an online community site for networking professionals. Be honest, now. You really don’t want to be searching for a job, client, or new business contact with your facebook or friendster accounts. This one is purely professional, focusing on your goals, accomplishments, and connections. As with any website marketed to professionals, not all of its features are free. But I’ll tell you what is free: creating a full profile, linking to people you know, writing endorsements (testimonials) for your contacts, and introducing your connections to each other. You can also search for new jobs, contacts, services, etc, and use your network to get you closer to those targets. If you’re “A” and you want to get to “C,” go talk to your buddy “B” and she’ll probably hook you up. And that’s enough free stuff for me to dub this site completely worthwhile for all of our efforts. Go sign up, and start by connecting with me (just search for “Sarah Dopp” and I’m there). Or tell me your email and I’ll connect you to my network with an invitation. All of a sudden, you’re network will include everyone I’ve already connected with (instant friends!). If there’s anyone in my network you’d like to have on your side, just tap me on the shoulder and ask for an introduction. If I’ve worked with you and you’d like me to write an endorsement, just give me a nudge and it’ll be up there. Or maybe I’ll notice how I can help you out, and take those steps on my own. Whatever you want to use the site for for, I think you should join the game. I can do so much more for you when we’re working in the same systems. And I think this one will be good.

There’s a new concept floating around out there that I’d like to explore further: Have everything, own nothing. If you can get past the typical American “pride of ownership” issues, you can have a lot more for a lot less. A great example of this is Pandora.com. It’s a music site that allows you to build your own “radio stations,” or audio streams, based on your favorite types of music. But the great thing is, it does it so intelligently. You start by naming your favorite artist or song. Pandora then references the style, quality, and influences of that artist or song, and compiles a list of similar songs by various artists. It’s a great tool for discovering new music based on what you already like. You can have multiple stations, and multiple artists named per station.Even more, I appreciate the interface. They get you started quickly. I went to the site, saw a big text box, typed “Ani Difranco,” and Boom! “As Is,” one of her most popular songs, started playing. They named the attributes of her music style, and then started playing a female vocalist I loved but had never heard of. I checked “I like this song,” and they kept playing good stuff of that variety.For me, this is a gem. I haven’t invested money in new music in years, and I stopped downloading it from the web when it became super-policed (I try to be a good girl, you know…). As a result, I haven’t discovered new artists in awhile. Now I can, and it’s completely free and legal, because I don’t own it. Someone else does, and I just tell them what I want to hear. I’ve also set up some instrumental and world music stations, and I’m using them for backround music when I’m working. I think I just found my new favorite minimized web browser window. Check it out yourself.(Thanks to Dougie for the tip.)