Wild Tangent Games: Yay on the Game Console, Boo on customer service

When I got my HP Pavilion DV7 last February, it came with this weird game console thing that I avoided like the plague for weeks. I assumed it was some stupid ad or something. But one day I decided to check it out and, after setting a restore point, I tried it out. And I loved it!

The Wild Tangent Game Console seems to come preinstalled on HPs, since I bought two in 2009, my DV7 and a Mini for my daughter, and both came with it. It gives you access to the ginormous catalog of WT (Wild Tangent) games, and you get two untimed trials of any game for suffering through a little ad shorter than the one shoved down our throats before many tv and cable network website's videos.

I loved the hidden object and puzzle games. I would literally just lose myself in a game late at night and feel the tension slip away. With a glass of wine, it was absolutely heavenly. I never had to give any payment information to use the game console, and if I hadn't upgraded to Windows 7, I would most likely be happily exploring the new games as I did and never spending a penny.

But then the Windows 7 Release Client came out, and I resisted for a few weeks or months, but eventually caved and installed the Win7 RC. It wiped out my WT Game Console, along with all my other applications and settings, so I found the WT website and downloaded the console myself. Again, I enjoyed free games frequently, and I was very pleased with the service.

Until the Win7 RC expired and I had to reinstall Vista, and then upgrade to a final retail version of Win7. Ever since then, I can't get any games to open. I reinstalled the Game Console, and it will download and install whatever game I choose, but it will not start. The error page just says there was an error and the game did not start.

So, I thought maybe it was a Game Console issue, and since I had enjoyed the games for free for so long, I decided I would just sign up for the two month Wild Coin Club membership. It's normally $9.99/month for 50 coins/month, but I had a promo code that gave me my first month, March, for $5. But when I tried to use the Wild Coins, the same thing happened.

Since I couldn't use any of the coins I paid for, I canceled my membership in April. I was charged for the second month of my commitment and I thought that was that. Until in May, I was charged *again* for a monthly membership. Before it had even cleared my bank I had contacted customer service. They next few days brought back and forth about how I did not cancel until the same day I made the complaint, and therefore, would not receive a refund. When I insisted I DID cancel, I was pretty much told I did not, (Ma'am, you're lying!), and/or that I misunderstood the terms of the membership, (Ma'am, you're stupid!).

I was getting madder and madder with each email, thinking, "Really? Ten bucks is worth the risking my patronage? Wow." And then I realized that I could check my browser history. and I did, and there you have it, plain as day.....I was all over those cancel pages. Just like I said.



I was also by this time bitching on Twitter about the whole mess, and I Twitpic'd my screenshot, as well. I was shocked to get yet another email from customer service saying if I had canceled, I'd have received an email, and if I could produce that email, I would get my refund. Well if I had received an email, don't you think I'd have said so? If I was supposed to get an email, and I didn't, and yet the cancel pages are in my history, it would stand to reason that perhaps that was where whatever glitch caused the problem had occurred.

Immediately after, I received another email saying that after reviewing my account, they were willing to grant a one-time, courtesy reversal of the charges.

So, in the end, I am not having to pay for the third month, and I still have the 100 Wild Coins. However, it was a hassle to get refunded, which was disappointing and made me feel unvalued as a customer for several days, and, most important to me, I *still* can't get the games to play on my HP DV7 since upgrading to Win7.

So, my advice is that the free Game Console is *well* worth the download. Apparently many other users with Win7 have been using their Game Consoles, so it appears that my situation is somewhat unique to my system; you shouldn't have any problems. You get two free untimed trials at any game listed in their Game Console-and there are games for every type of gamer, from the casual puzzle gamer like me to the RPG player. I often beat the entire game in one play, since it isn't timed, so most of the games you wouldn't have to buy or use Wild Coins to complete if you can play until complete, with periods of non-activity lasting no more than 20 minutes. You can take bathroom or smoke or go get the baby and then put the baby back down later breaks, as long as you do something in the game before 20 minutes is up. If you do take longer than 20 minutes to return to your game, one of your plays will be considered used, and you can continue your game at any time by activating your final free play.

If you want more than two plays at a game, you'll have to get Wild Coins or buy the game outright. The Wild Coin memberships all provide 50 Wild Coins a month plus occasional bonus Wild Coins and the best deals on game play for different price points, depending on the commitment you make. For a two month commitment, it's $9.99/month; for a six month commitment, it's $7.99/month; and for a twelve month commitment, it's $6.99/month. If membership isn't your thing, you can buy 400 Wild Coins for $69.99 with no rebill.

My billing experience was fine until I canceled, so if you do sign up for a membership, and you cancel, be SURE you get an email confirmation. If you don't, do it again. If it happens again, contact customer service, and don't wait until the last moment before your commitment is up, in case it takes a few days to get the issue sorted. If you cancel before the commitment is up and the month to month rollover period begins, you will be charged for the balance of your commitment upon canceling. Which really means that it doesn't make any sense to cancel before your commitment is up, right?

Customer service wasn't up to par, in my experience. I shouldn't have had to argue so many times and tattletale on Twitter to get satisfaction. I have to say that my customer service experience is the bigger factor in my personal decision to not join the Wild Club again in the future than the actual glitch causing a billing problem in the first place. Machines are not infallible, and when a company chooses to treat it's customers as if they are, you will have unfairly treated customers at one point or another. I happen to be one of them, and while my experience is likely far in the minority, I do have a voice, and treating me as if my patronage and my influence are less valuable than the $9.99 that was mis-billed does not bode well for other customers.

Animal Medical Clinic: Local haven for your pet

So, you aren't going to care about this post unless you live in Hernando County, but I am so pleased I have to share. I got a 6 month old Black Lab and American Bulldog mix from Hernando County Animal Services two days ago. He's an amazing dog, I seriously do not have a single complaint, other than that we have to break him of jumping on the kids when he is playing with them. But that's to be expected, anyway.

When you adopt from Animal Services here, your adoption fee covers sterilization, rabies vaccination, and county registration. I also was going to have additional tests and vaccinations done. So today was Harley's big day, and I took him in this morning for a little snip snip and his shots. As it turned out, he was ill, and they were unable to safely perform the procedure.

So I looked for a vet that could see him right away. We've only had him since Tuesday, but he fits in our family like he was made for us, and we all just LOVE him. I need him to be okay. When I called the Animal Medical Clinic at 10:15am, they said they were able to see him at 11am..now that is some short notice. When I realized they were literally blocks away from home, I was doubly pleased.

When we went, Harley was feeling bad, and it was the third place we had been this morning, since I had tried to walk in at another vet first. He was not thrilled at the prospect, but he's a good boy, and he obediently padded in. They took us back right away into a comfortable exam room with seating for three and a monitor with a video of many of the fuzzy patients they see, complete with their names on each photo.

We wound up being helped by two staff members and the vet himself, as well as the front office staff...and let me tell you, these people LOVE animals. I loved the way they handled Harley, the way they spoke to him, and how thorough they were in trying to find the problem. They also waive the fee for an exam and rabies vaccinations for animals adopted from shelters to encourage and reward the practice, and their vaccines are the same cost as at PetLuv, our local low-cost vaccination and sterilization clinic. It wasn't a cheap trip for me-$160 total. But veterinary care is expensive, and for that amount I got an exam, a CBC, a stool sample examined, two regimes of medications, and a dewormer. That's a pretty reasonable cost for that course of treatment. I'll probably get Harley neutered and microchipped at PetLuv, but his vaccines and routine medical care will be provided by the Animal Medical Clinic.

As it turns out, Harley has some kind of intestinal tract infection. It's not Parvovirus, which was what I was so worried about, so I am relieved. He's on meds and we expect him to be much better within 24 hours.

I'm thrilled to have found a vet so close that truly cares about our new family member. If you are in the area and you have furry family, I highly recommend the Animal Medical Clinic.

Animal Medical Clinic
3449 Deltona Blvd.
Spring Hill, FL 34606

(352) 686-0671 PHONE
(352) 688-3999 FAX

HOURS OF OPERATION
Monday thru Friday - 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Thursday evenings by appointment only

Birds Eye Steamfresh tray: a little less than expected

I know that fresh veggies are best, but I'm a busy mom, and really, my family is lucky I cook at all most days, so frozen it is. I normally love Birds Eye Steamfresh because it is so easy to just nuke my veggies for five minutes or so while I finish up the other components of my meal. They always come out tasting delish, which is just as important as easy because no matter how easy it is, if your family won't eat it, it's a big fat waste.
So, when I found a coupon dispenser in Publix for Birds Eye Steamfresh veggies, which also happened to be on sale, I wanted to try out the trays I have seen recently. I wasn't really sure what the difference was, but Birds Eye already does things pretty well, so I was pretty confident it would be good.

I tried the Lemon Pepper Vegetables the other day, and true to form, they tasted fantastic. However, I have no clue why these need to be in trays. I had the impression that they would be full trays, you know? But it was a tiny bit, way at the bottom. I didn't understand the waste of the tray, when a bag works fine for so many other varieties.

So, I did some Googling, and I found that the intent of the tray is so you can serve in it as well..something the Steamfresh bags don't allow for. It seems that Birds Eye Steamfresh has absorbed the Steam & Serve Tray line. Okay, well that makes a little more sense, but still...my verdict? Yummy stuff, but very small portions in wasteful containers. I'm all for convenience, but I would rather use the traditional Steamfresh bags and use a serving container I already have.

PS You can get $1 off two Steamfresh products; just click here.

CiCi's Pizza left a bad taste in our mouths

I first heard about CiCi's Pizza before we even had one available in my town. Home of the pizza buffet for under $4, at the time, I was excited when they branched out to my neighborhood, even if their prices had been bumped up a bit by then. Married, at the time, with four kids...his, mine, and ours...a family dinner out for under $20 was amazing.

The kids grew and so did the prices, and now a family meal out including my ex-husband and his son is a little over $30 there, but still a good value and a relaxed, family-friendly environment. I love the B-B-Q pizza, and all of the kids were crazy about the curly pasta with alfredo sauce. Emily in particular, will somehow squeeze three plates of it into her long, lean, frame. Whenever we gave the kids a choice in where we went to dinner, CiCi's was *always* the top choice from all of them.

So, recently, to celebrate the girls' good grades, their father, Brian, my roommate, Dale, and I took them to CiCi's. They were so shorthanded and busy that the girl at the counter had to ring a party up, then dash to an empty table and bus it before they went through the line and sat down. Finally we were up and I paid for us all. But as we went down the buffet line, we realized that our favorite things were just gone. No plain curly pasta. No alfredo. No cheese bread. Just some icky marinara covered pasta and flavorless breadsticks.

I was not impressed. Emily was so upset she was nearly in tears, and would not eat a thing. When I spoke with the manager about our disappointment and my daughter's reaction, he just passed the buck to corporate for the menu change and didn't even offer to refund her meal.

So, just know that CiCi's menu has changed. Even though their commercials say "Same Great Taste." Even though there are no signs about the change. Even though their website still makes mention of 'endless topping choices' for pasta that no longer exist. Even though their downloadable menu specifically mentions alfredo sauce and garlic cheese bread.