Hurricane Ike has changed course and is no longer forecast to threaten our area.
The forecast for both Tuesday and Wednesday is just a 60% change of showers.
I’m very relieved. But, look where it’s headed!
The people in New Orleans just can’t seem to catch a break. They say bad things come in threes. Is this storm number three since Katrina? I lost count.
Ike is moving towards us and is forecast to gain strength. Currently a cat 3 storm, it’s expected to weaken to a cat 2 and then explode into a cat 4 by Monday afternoon.
Preparing for a hurricane is expensive! Of course, I have the tendency to over-prepare. But, that habit sure does make things a lot less stressful when the sh*t finally does hit the fan.
Take a look at the finally tally …
One Time Purchases
Ongoing Purchases
Total = $1,670… Hmm, me thinks that’s a lot of dough.
I guesstimate our generator will use 3/4 gal of fuel per hour powering the portable air conditioner, the refrigerator, the deep freeze and a couple of other things (laptops, DSL modem, router, etc.). We can potentially have enough fuel for about 54 hours of continuous power.
By the way, check out this coooooooool device I picked up. It picks up free AccuWeather and the color of the screen changes depending on the temperature (blue for cold, red for hot). It gives you the current temperature, the UV conditions, the time and the wind speed and direction and the 7 day forecast.
We’re watching Ike. HB is watching Hanna. And, HL is probably watching One Life to Live.
Anyway, Ike’s forecast has been downgraded and is not expected to be as strong when it hits the coast of Florida. Take a look at the projected path.
Last night, I went to Hell-Mart to buy some additional gas cans (for gas to power the generator), some more extension cords and oil for the generator. Of course, they didn’t have any gas cans or the type of extension cords I needed. But, they did have the oil. That store never has anything I need.
I ended up patronizing amazon.com despite the fact that I was swearing them off less than 24 hours ago. Yeah, yeah. I’m a hypocrite. But whateva, I do what I want!
Using my Prime membership, I will get these items on Monday.
We’ll have a total of 30 gallons of fuel which should be enough to run the generator for about 3 to 5 days.
Of course, now that I’ll have all these things, Ike will probably end up hitting New Zealand.
Ike continues its category 4 march towards Florida. 
I just e-mailed Amazon the following message explaining to them that I’m upset they’re closing people’s accounts so unprofessionally and arbitrarily and it’s making me think twice about placing orders on the website.
I have been reading on many websites that Amazon is closing hundreds (maybe thousands) of accounts because customers have contacted customer service too much, or have returned items or have taken advantage of the post-order price matching guarantee. I’ve only ever returned one defective item and got an even exchange for the same item. I also used to take advantage of your post-order price matching guarantee until you discontinued it. So, will my account be closed because of these things? I was going to buy a Kindle for myself this Christmas, but now I fear that it will be a wasteful purchase if Amazon closes my account, I will not be able to buy books to put on the Kindle. And, I’d lose access to my videos and music I downloaded. I’m afraid to place any orders! What is going on?!
Stay tuned for their response.
Update 9/4 10:30am Amazon responded with this e-mail …
Thank you for writing in with your question.
To protect your privacy, we only send account information to the e-mail address on file for a customer’s account, and we never comment on any other customer’s account or account activity. Also, Amazon.com does not comment about rumors or speculative news reports.
Thanks again for your interest in Amazon.com.
Please let us know if this e-mail resolved your question.
Best regards,
Jared
Amazon.com Customer Service
So, I replied back to say …
You didn’t answer the one question in my e-mail, but instead responded by saying you don’t comment on other people’s accounts or speculative news reports. Funny enough, I wasn’t asking you to do either of these things. I was looking for some sort of assurance that my account wasn’t the next one to be closed, which if you had actually took the time to read my e-mail, you’d of understood. I guess I should interpret your response as Amazon’s way of telling me to get lost. Understood. I won’t bother you anymore. I imagine that’s what you want, anyway.
Jeff,
I’ve been your customer for 8 years. I estimate I’ve spent about $3,000 at Amazon. But, I have decided that I’m probably not going to buy anything from Amazon ever again. Frankly, I’m scared to death to be your customer.
Why? I’m scared you’ll fire me! The Internet has been buzzing lately with reports that you’re closing your customers’ accounts and banning them from Amazon for seemingly minor things - returning an item or two (even for legitimate reasons) or perhaps taking advantage of (what once was) your post-order price matching guarantee one too many times.
The fact that you’re throwing so many of your customers away makes me stop to think, “Do I really want to patronize a company that treats its customers like that?”
I’ll be honest with you…
Based on these facts, I fear that I’m on the top of the list for the next round of customers to kill. That scares me, mainly because I have about 20 videos I downloaded from Unbox (Family Guy, South Park and Bob & Margaret episodes) and a bunch of MP3s I downloaded from Amazonmp3. If you hose my account, I’ll probably lose access to those things. And, could you imagine if I had actually spent the money to buy a Kindle and you closed my account?! What a waste of money that would have been!
So, I guess I should quit while I’m ahead. The fact that you discontinued your ‘30 Day Post-Order Price Matching Guarantee,’ made the decision a little bit easier. Earlier today, I set my Prime membership to not automatically renew in January.
Sprint PCS fired a bunch of dead beat customers earlier this year. Since then, they’ve been hemorrhaging good customers at a sickening pace. Makes you stop and wonder if they ever regret taking that action.
Sorry it had to end this way. I fear I’m just not the type of customer you’re looking for.
In case you’re interested, here’s my Amazon history.
I joined Amazon in 2000. I placed 1 order in 2000, 1 in 2001 and 2 in 2002. I didn’t order anything from Amazon in 2003, 2004 or 2005. In 2006, I joined Amazon Prime and placed 12 orders. In 2007, I placed 16 orders. And, so far in 2008, I’ve placed 52 orders.
Total Spent at Amazon : $3,565.51
Total Amazon Orders Placed : 71 (not including Unbox & MP3 orders)
I have taken advantage of the post-order price matching guarantee 36 times over 22 orders and have saved $186.85 by doing so, for an average of $5.19 each time.
Total Spent at Amazon Marketplace : $348.24
Total Amazon Marketplace Orders Placed : 13
- Chris H.
PS : Congratulations on making the front page of the Consumerist! http://consumerist.com/5044959/amazon-closes-accounts-en-masse
PPS : Have you seen the you’re fired e-mail you sent your customers? How unprofessional can you get?
Hello from Amazon.com.
A careful review of your account indicates you’ve experienced an extraordinary number of incidents with your orders and corresponding shipments.
In the normal course of business, the occasional problem is inevitable. The rate at which such problems have occurred on your account is extraordinary, however, and cannot continue. Effective immediately, your Amazon.com account is closed and you are no longer able to shop in our store. I am very sorry for any disappointment this may cause.
Please know that any accounts related to yours have also been closed. If you were to open a new account, the same will result and it will also be closed. In the event that you attempt to do so, we will not accept the return of any additional orders, nor will we issue further refunds in connection with any future orders. We appreciate your cooperation in refraining from using our web site.
If you require additional assistance, or have any concerns, feel free to contact us directly at account-appeals@amazon.com.
Please do not contact regular Customer Service again, as they will no longer be able to assist you.
Regards,
Account Specialist
Amazon.com
I have adopted this new philosophy at work.
It seems to work.
I suggest you give it a try at work and see if it works for you, too.
