Good Works Grapevine

Sorry folks, but I have to vent a little to day. I have been an American Express card holder since 2001. I have 2 personal cards and 3 business cards that I use regularly and pay on time. I will admit that I have been a day or two late here and there but, I always pay the bill in full (which is usually several thousand dollars). Over the past year, we have seen our balances incrementally decreased randomly by American Express for no discernible reason. About eight months ago, they did a “credit review” to make sure that I still had “good credit”. All of my calls were directed overseas only to deal with people who were rude, uncommunicative and unprofessional. And after all was said and done,  Amex deemed my credit to be fine. Then they immediately started decreasing my limits. Today, they decreased it to the balance on the flexible spending part of my gold charge card leaving me with $116 credit left…and I just paid a $3000 bill on Saturday. I guess as I pay down the flexible balance (that they gave me and I pay on time), they’ll keep lowering my limit until there is nothing left.

I’ve done enough research to know that this is happening to everyone, but it doesn’t make it any less aggravating and is just plain rude. If I were a deadbeat, I would get it. But, I am a self-employed, bill paying, hard working U.S. citizen who needs Amex to get off my back. I guess that they just want me to go away and that’s what I plan to do. I used to sing the praises of American Express and couldn’t believe that my colleagues didn’t use them. I guess that now I know better.

At a time when consumers are desperately looking for trust in big business and brand names, it’s a shame that Amex has decided to treat their customers like garbage. Shame on you, Amex.

Stay far away from American Express, unless you want to get kicked in the butt for doing what’s right.

One note – if you decide to pay off your balance and Amex doesn’t immediately cancel your card, leave it open. Canceling your card decreases your open credit and can screw up your credit report. Just stop using your card. Cut it up and let Amex pick on other consumers and business folks who need credit to survive.

Thanks for lending a sympathetic ear this morning. It’s much appreciated. Feel free to tell me that I’m whiny or share your gripe.

Now, on to a busy week.

I’m dedicating this Friday’s post to my new favorite company, Love Sac. Aside from the fact that I think their marketing is genius (their bags say “Lovesac.com is not a dirty website”), they offer a quality, flexible product.  We went the Love Sac store in Tysons Corner, VA, because my parents were showing up for a visit the next day and we had no furniture in the new house. I needed seating and I needed it fast. First, I must say that the young hipster that helped us was incredibly knowledgeable and accommodating without being pushy. He seemed like he really believed in the product and I drank the Kool Aid. My husband was a little more skeptical, but soon bought into the shpeel.

We went into the store planning to purchase one Super Sac. After the presentation, we were so convinced that this was what we needed that we bought the Super Sac AND a Sactional (Love Sac’s version of the sectional) called the Movie Lounger. Total cost – a little over $2000.00. But here’s the thing, the Sactional can be configured in a variety of ways that I found very practical. The covers are also interchangeable for all products, so you can change the look and color of the room without having to buy new furniture. The covers can also withstand the slobbering, kneading and jumping of dogs which was critical for us. The covers are also machine washable. All, in all, we are sold.

We were a little concerned about fitting the furniture into the truck. No worries. The Super Sac is vacuum sealed into a cube-shaped bag that weighs about 90 pounds. It was heavy but would easily fit into any car.

I dragged it from the car and up the stairs and began to unpack the heavy cube. Unpacking consists of unzipping the bag, pulling out the heavy plastic sealed sac and pulling the plastic off. It’s interesting because the foam on the inside is essentially still in one big block.

So, you get to spend the next 2-3 hours “fluffing” the sac per the instructions on the outside of the bag. Fluffing consists of digging your fingers into the foam through the sac cover and pulling the foam apart. Then you flip the sac over, rinse and repeat. At first, you don’t think that its ever going to fluff up, but the circulation of the air helps the foam inside to expand.

It was a good workout and my fingers and arms ached. I ended up with a blister on my finger from perpetual fluffing, but within about three hours the foam within the sac was completely broken up.

It wasn’t particularly easy or as fun as the website or directions claimed it would be, but all in all, it wasn’t horrible and we did get immediate seating.

Here, you can see that Max truly enjoys the Super Sac.

We covered the Super Sac in the “Earth” Microfiber cover which is working perfectly. Love Sac recommends that you “chair” the sac before you sit in it to help give it the sustained form of a sofa.

We LOVE our Super Sac and highly recommend it for anyone looking for a quality, functional piece of furniture for any room.
Next Friday, I’ll chronicle the set-up of the Sactional. It’s uber groovy. Have a great weekend!

Disclaimer: Please file this under “too much information”.

I use Peapod to do my shopping and about a week ago, I noticed that Secret “Flawless” deodorant was on sale. I can’t put into words how much I despise the commercial for this stuff (you know – the one with the young woman sniffing her armpit?), but I thought – hey, it’s on sale and I need deodorant. (Quick side note – I looked everywhere for a link to the video of this commercial and finding the holy grail would have been easier. However, I did find that most of the world also hates this commercial.)

So, I bought it and, like the commercial, its one of the worst things ever. I threw it in the trash.

I like Secret, but was looking at Dove, and I must have been really tired because I went to Amazon.com to read reviews on deodorant. I was amazed at how informative (and how many) reviews there were about these two brands of deodorant. Ultimately, I ended up trying Dove based solely on the positive reviews of others. I even felt compelled to write my own review of how horrible the Flawless product was.

After I finished my shopping, I realized that social media truly is power. Even for something as menial as deodorant. Had it not been for the gazillions of folks who love the product, I would have been swayed to purchase something else. That’s influential in a big way. Social media in action. I love it!

Since my original plan for Friday was “Know Your Blogger” Friday, here’s a little more info about me.

This question was posed a few weeks ago on a Listserv that I receive. It sparked a lot of discussion and people seemed to like it, so I thought I’d pose it here. What do you listen to when you work?

Lara Swanson took our responses and blogged about it today. I’m on the list so you can see what I’m listening to these days.

So tell me, what DO you listen to when you work?

I jumped the shark and bought an iPhone over the weekend. Our new house is in the sticks and the only cell coverage available is ATT, so I figured – why not? So far, it’s a pretty cool little gadget. It took me two days to get everything set-up the way I wanted and am now discovering the virtually unending supply of apps for it. I’ve compiled a few resources to help out anyone who is looking for social media apps for their iPhone. Please help grow the list by adding your favorites.

• 25+ Social Networking Apps for iPhone and iPod Touch
• iPhone 2.0 Apps: The Social Media App Comparison
• iPhone Apps for Socials Networks

Please let me know your faves.

I am writing an article about online dating and have been out of the dating scene for about 14 years. Luckily, I have lots of friends that are finding love (or not) online via Match.com, Yahoo, etc. and have a lot of stories that run the gambit from inspiring to just plain weird. I’d love to hear more stories about online dating experiences if anyone would like to share. All names will be confidential. Just ping me if you’d like to share – I’d love to hear all the “details”!! Thanks!!

Happy 4th everyone! We’re headed to a friend’s house in Arlington for some burgers and beer. I think that an important part of blogging is getting to know the author. So, while I want to keep my blog as close to its purpose as possible, I often have opinions, ideas and general thoughts about life. I thought that I’d use Fridays to tell you a little bit about myself so you get to know Beth the person as well as Beth the social media junkie.

On Wednesday night I found myself in a haze of nostalgia. When I was a kid, my parents (who were very young themselves) loved to crank up the stereo, sending out waves of Cream, Eric Clapton, Traffic, you get the picture. I was very fortunate to have been exposed to great rock ‘n roll at a very young age and have carried my love of music throughout my life. I’ll admit it – I’m a music elitist. So, the other night I decided to download those tunes from my childhood from iTunes. I downloaded The Very Best of Cream and Feelin’ Alright: The Very Best of Traffic and grooved to Sunshine of Your Love and Low Spark of High Heeled Boys. It really took me back to a time when I felt safe, warm and happy. It was a good thing to do and I’m glad that I did it.

What did your parents listen to when you were a kid? When you listen to that music, how do you feel? Nostalgia is good – and lately I’ve felt a need to embrace it.

E! News – Family, Hollywood “Deeply Saddened” over Heath 

I can’t even believe that I’m writing this. Heath Ledger’s death is so sad and a great loss to the entertainment community. It’s a shock to the system and is a reminder that life is precious. Keep your family and friends near and dear and always keep your priorities in check.

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Tags: HeathLedger, death