Entry bubble ConsumerAction.gov to the Rescue!

By: Colleen | February 20, 2008 | Category: Money

Valentine's Day has a bad rep. for a reason. And despite my best efforts to remain positive this year, the day is now permanently tainted.

Being uncharacteristically nice, I ordered my mom flowers. I specifically indicated that they were being delivered to her office, and paid a few extra bucks to ensure they would be delivered ON Valentine's Day.

By 2:30 p.m. I'd yet to receive a jubilant phone call from Mom. I decided to consult my older, wiser, and much more reliable sister to get her thoughts. She let me know that Mom hadn't mentioned anything to her either, and that I better call the florist.

3 phone calls to the florist later, I was assured the flowers were en route, and due to arrive at Mom's office within 15 minutes. A half hour later (and around the time my mom leaves work) I had to bite the bullet and see if they'd arrived yet.

No dice. I spoiled the surprise by asking if any flowers had come from me that day. I spilled the whole story—Mom decided to take matters into her own hands and call the florist herself. While my Mom was taking care of business (and trust me, you do NOT want to mess with my mother) I called my sister to fill her in on the saga.

"Well, from what you're telling me, it sounds like you didn't get the flowers I sent to you, either."

Double whammy.

My poor sister had spent a good deal of the afternoon trying to contact the customer service representative at the nationally-known flower delivery service she'd paid good money to get my flowers. Turns out, they'd TURNED OFF their customer service lines due to high volumes of calls, on what they are well aware of being their busiest day of the year!

Ticked off and bitter I send both my mom and sister the online link to consumeraction.gov's sample complaint e-mail. It provides a template to be sure you include all necessary info, like:

  • Date of conflict
  • What happened
  • The action you want taken (money back, exchange, repair...)
  • Your contact information

After making our grievances known, we were both (rightfully) refunded our money—but I'm still not sure if that makes up for missing out on what was intended to be a heartfelt surprise.

Cupid better get his act together.

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Entry bubble Get a Dose of Summer in Winter: Visit a Botanical Garden

By: Jake | January 07, 2008 | Category: Home and Family

I can’t claim to have a green thumb, but it’s not due to lack of trying. I have successfully planted some houseplants including my hippopotamus chia pet, but my experience is limited since I don’t have a yard.

I know it’s probably too cold to think about gardening, but the topic has been on my mind ever since I visited the U.S. National Botanic Garden (USNB) last month. My parents were in town and my mom, who is a master gardener, wanted to spend some time looking at the holiday exhibit. While the holiday exhibit was impressive, I was struck by the sheer volume of the 4000 plants growing in  the garden year-round.  Also, the USNBG provides gardening tips and recipes.

There are thousands of botanical gardens around the world according to the Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI), a conservation organization that links botanical gardens worldwide in order to preserve and promote plant diversity. BGCI says that botanical gardens hold documented collections of living plants for the purposes of scientific research, conservation, display and education.

It's very likely there is a botanical garden near you since there are hundreds of botanical gardens in the United States. The U.S. Department of Agriculture provides various resources to find botanical gardens in the U.S. Not all botanical gardens are open to the public, so you should check public visiting hours before you go.

| View Comments [3] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: botanical   flowers   garden   gardening   plants