Petco Grooming, Hayden Meadows, Portland OR

We took the dog there for a standard bath and grooming and got a call that "there was something wrong with his tongue," and we should come get him and take him to the vet. They had already called one for us. The woman on the phone was not good at explaining what was wrong with his tongue; she said she couldn't see anything but every time he licked he left blood and maybe he had licked the scissor blade while being groomed.

To be fair the groomer herself obviously felt horrible and looked like she felt sick to her stomach over it. I know that sometimes shit happens despite good efforts.

However, the overall management of it... lousy. I assumed they weren't going to charge me for the grooming and they didn't, but they never said a word about it. I had to ask if they were paying for the vet's visit. The didn't have directions ready for us. They were generally unprepared. The manager asked if she could call the next day to see how he was doing. I said sure, but no one called.

The dog is fine. He did have a cut on his tongue, but in the same way that a paper cut can, it bled for a short time, and then stopped and closed up. He didn't seem to be in any pain.

Signal Gifts, Gold Star mention

I ordered stacking plates. When I opened the package I found only one plate. Hmmm. Because the order arrived two days before a big move, I did not take any action until one month later. I sent an email letting them know that the plates had arrived as plate. They replied immediately, with apologies, and offered to send me a new set of plates free of charge. Keep the one you've already got, too. Wonderful. Rare good service.

Standard TV & Appliance, Portland OR, Part Deux

FAIL: They did not contact me as arranged and agreed upon. They did not call me at work to give twenty minutes notice.

They did show up. Luckily for me, my sister was there to let them in to do the job. If she had not been, we'd be 0 for 3.

Hopefully, the new ice maker works!

Standard TV & Appliance, Portland OR

Shortly after the installation of my brand new refrigerator, I noticed that the ice maker wasn't working (I'm quick like that). On Saturday, the repairman's diagnosis was "broken but easy to fix." That is, if you have the replacement parts with you. He did not. Maybe he just assumed the problem was user error, thus no parts would be needed. He didn't show up as scheduled on Monday and did not call to cancel. On Tuesday, I called Standard. With no apology offered, I was told that he didn't show up because the part had to be back ordered. Oh, so that explains why he didn't call and cancel! Except, no it doesn't. No ETA on the part either. Standard called Wednesday: the part is in and can be installed Friday. Maybe. They "were unable to commit" to any given time or window of time. The repair man is to give me 20 minutes notice so that I can leave work and meet him at home. We'll see what happens.