Consumer Maven

EMF WiFi Protection: Love it and Use it wisely

I am part of a virtual organization, which means that the people I work with aren’t in the same office with me. Because almost everything we do requires a broadband connection, before WiFi I was tied to my residence and often felt isolated. WiFi has been amazing in that it has allowed me to literally take my show on the road. Armed with several wireless Internet Connections, I can go to one of several hotspots and use my notebook. Cell phone in hand, I can take care of my voice call requirements as well. Still, one must ask, are there any downsides to Wifi that we aren’t considering???

I am also what some would call ‘a sensitive.’ This has made being at home a huge plus, and being in WiFi environments a huge negative, until recently. My first encounter with WiFi was several years ago when I went to a networking event at a private business club. They were unveiling their newly installed wireless network. Both myself and another attendee found ourselves walking aimlessly and confused while trying to find our luncheon tables.  Being a foodie, normally finding a table to eat at is like a bird with a homing device for me.  I began to notice that other prolonged exposures in wireless environments left my brain feeling similarly twisted up and out of sync. I began to try to avoid them, because I found my brain would turn to mush and I’d go into a zombie like state.

I live in a three flat. After a friend of mine bought a new computer that came with WiFi card, she sent me her old one. Curious, I plugged mine in just to install it. Surprise!! The people above me had a wireless network. I called a friend of mine, who sells products to help protect people from the spiritual effects of environmental electromagnetic fields. It may sound way out there for those of you who don’t live in your spiritual bodies as much as your physical ones. For people like me, products like that speak to me. I told her about the network above me. A psychic, she tuned in. I was only covered 50%, so she upgraded her EMF protection devices. I felt the shift immediately. It also explained why, after the new tenants moved in, I had become increasingly disoriented at home. 

The upgrades left me feeling much more positive about WiFi networks, so positive in fact that I installed one in my place. Eeeee. I began to feel a little odd again. I called my friend. Apparently, by introducing another network (and a total of four computers in the same building on two networks), another upgrade was required. Enter hot, summer weather and a need to escape into air conditioning and have some company. I purchased a month of WiFi service so that I could use my computer at my local coffee shop. The first day there, I checked my WiFi card for available networks. Eeeeks. I was sitting in the middle of six different networks. I called my friend. She did more upgrades. Now that my EMF protection device has been super sized to cover me being in six networks, I’ve noticed that my time in the coffee shop feels so much better, my brain doesn’t feel fried and I can concentrate again.  For anyone interested in feeling better while enjoying the freedom of WiFi computing, her EMF and WiFi Protection devices are a must have!

Purplus and confused

Some friends of mine are still in grad school and they needed a copy of Adobe Acrobat to make .pdf files.  One of them found a good price, or so she thought, at Purplus Software.  Not being an Adobe expert, she ordered what she thought was the appropriate product, for $124.95. Mysteriously, they received an email that the credit card was declined. My friend is notoriously efficient, and cut/pastes their credit card information from a flash drive file, so it is virtually impossible to make a mistake. Perhaps a transposition on the dates?? The CSV code is easy to remember.   

In a hurry, she went back online and put another order through. Haste makes waste is the saying. The price for Adobe Acrobat was $165.95. Out of curiosity she went back to their website and found that they offered an Adobe Acrobat for $97.95.  She requested a price refund for the difference and was refused.  She was also told that she would probably incur a restocking fee if she returned it.  Because they needed to use the software, they did not have the luxury of time and had to use the software.  My friend has major health issues, so simply running to the store is not an option for her. 

I was so floored that a product could have three prices, but here’s what I was told via emails sent to her:

The first order was for item product ID# 8345. Adobe Acrobat 7.0 Standard Academic.  That was the one she initially ordered for $124.95.

The second time she ordered, somehow her search for Adobe brought up Adobe Acrobat 6 Standard, $165.95, which at the day I am writing this, is no longer on their website. 

The third offering of Adobe Acrobat 6 Standard was for $97.95. That item is also no longer on their website.  I do have to acknowledge that it is an abnormally low price so perhaps that was a web pricing error.  My friend really just wanted a price adjustment, ideally from the lowest priced item they were currently selling, but she would have been happy for a price adjustment to the item she first ordered. No dice.

Katie, from Customer Service told her that, “My boss has informed me that we cannot match the previous price as the price we paid for the particular software that you ordered (which was CD with manual, and the one we are currently selling is OEM) was higher than the price of the new software we just received. You may refuse the package however please note we do charge a 15% restocking fee for returned unopened items.”

I looked at the materials that came with the highest price software my friends were charged for, and it too, was OEM for Dell.  Obviously the OEM story doesn’t pan out. We all know that ordering online can be risky, but generally most companies that care about their reputation make stellar efforts to be fair and equitable towards their customers. I can’t help but feel that in this case, this is a company that just didn’t care to go that extra mile.

Fabulous Clip on Ear rings AND great service

Around one to two years ago, I bought a pair of clip on ear rings from an online store called Cliptomania.  I had purchased several ear rings from them before.  One might find online ear ring shopping to be a little challenging because jewelry often looks different in person then it does online, but they have a generous exchange policy for your first exchange.  They also have an incredible selection of ear rings, much more than I've found in any department store, and best of all...they have very reasonable prices.

Last Wednesday, on July 21st I lost one of my favorite ear rings.  Usually I don't get emotionally connected to 'things' to such a degree, but these truly were my fun ear rings.  I took a photo of the remaining side and emailed it to Cliptomania.  In less than an hour, Christy Santo, one of the owners, had emailed me back to let me know that they still had a few in stock, and she gave me the link so I could order directly.  Fast foward past the weekend, it's Monday, and I already have my replacement ear rings.  It always amazes me when some companies make order processing painful for their customers, and it never ceases to delight me when companies like Cliptomania make ordering easy and fun.