"weird alarm salesman" written by Tiburon1724 on estrip.org

05/08/08 08:31 - 51ºF - ID#44277

weird alarm salesman

So I'm about to go out the door and someone knocks....I look out the window and it's a guy in a white polo with a clipboard...my new Dell laptop has shipped so all I really thought is maybe that's the delivery guy! It's a college aged kid trying to sell me an alarm system by APX Alarm. So he tells me they're doing a special offer on specific neighborhoods and I've been selected blah blah. Shows me a paper with a panel they'd install free etc. etc. and ends up muscling into the house observing the existing ancient ADT system that's installed, then saying "well you don't have a door sensor there" so I get immediately suspicious that this is all a scheme to case the house.

He said this was an internship for him. He goes to school in Utah and is from California. In the end I said not interested.....I was able to see exactly what he was doing...play on my fears (of being robbed etc...talking about rental units nearby, busy street I'm off of, crimes that have happened nearby. He tried to establish a bond....poorly executed though, he out of nowhere goes "is there a six flags magic mountain here?" um ok. He talked about "Joe" across the street (I don't know the neighbors yet) and how they signed up. I should have said "well let's go see if Joe's home and get his input" to see if he was full of shit. Repeatedly says I won't find a better deal and he'll go online with me right now to show me. Also, I have to decide NOW. No deciding later, it's now or never. So I told him never. Now get the hell out of my house. Went to their website, apxalarm.com and it does exist but from the site it seems this is the only way they sell?? Very strange.

I ran down to the store afterwards for a few minutes and passed a car parked across the street with Utah plates, so maybe it was legit. Even so, I'd probably use a dog as a security system before a real one anyway.

Permalink: weird_alarm_salesman.html
Words: 365
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: computers

05/01/08 02:08 - 57ºF - ID#44210

help!

ok I'm an idiot. I used to be totally up on computers but in the last several years I stopped keeping up with it and as we all know it changes rapidly. So my desktop is way too old. I decide to order some RAM just to speed it up enough to make it bearable until I eventually get a new PC. Now the computer doesn't work!!! I took out the new ram so it's just like it was originally, but I get nothing when I power it on...everything lights up but there's no signal to the monitor and it doesn't seem to go through the boot sequence. Now I'm using my even older laptop that barely runs. (Bought it cheap refurbished about 6 years ago). I think it was incompatible RAM but no idea really. Any suggestions?

Permalink: help_.html
Words: 138
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: people

04/21/08 12:09 - 59ºF - ID#44074

Sheltered!!

So today at work a customer, a woman about 30 with a daughter about 6, asks where Military Rd is. We're in Amherst. I tell her to go down Sheridan and it will hit Military. She gets this real confused look on her face and says "is it in Amherst?" I told her no it's not and she seemed worried and asked how far it was. I explained she'd cross Delaware....then she stops me and goes "Delaware? Is that a dangerous street? I try not to leave Amherst." This wasn't a visitor folks this was someone from here. I know most suburbanites tend to stay away from the city but holy shit. I hate the suburbs.

Permalink: Sheltered_.html
Words: 115
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: volunteerism

04/12/08 11:36 - 44ºF - ID#43989

Brush Up Buffalo

I know it's two months away, but I'd like to take part this year. It's Saturday, June 14. Time and place TBD. I thought maybe we could get several volunteers from (e:strip)? Check out their website for more info and let me know if you're interested.

Permalink: Brush_Up_Buffalo.html
Words: 46
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: house

04/03/08 08:29 - 53ºF - ID#43888

becoming domesticated

So I finally closed on my house Thursday. The family came and helped me move on Saturday and helped me get things setup in the house. I absolutely LOVE IT!! I love living in N Buffalo....not far from anything really, and my neighborhood is very nice. The inside of the house really needs no work, all updated very recently. I do have some work cut out for me outside though...need a new roof, privacy fence along the back, and now the insurance company wants me to replace the driveway/walkway?! Screw them, that's 3rd on the list! :) Also have some work I can do myself...scraping and painting the sides of the garage, replacing gutter downspouts, repainting the trim (I don't like the color), etc. My parents bought me a washer/dryer which was a HUGE boost and picked myself up a lawnmower yesterday.

I'm finally at that point where I get just as much if not more out of spending money on something for my home as I do the latest video game :) It's weird to be grown-up!

Permalink: becoming_domesticated.html
Words: 181
Location: Buffalo, NY

03/18/08 09:16 - 40ºF - ID#43725

what happened!

So this morning I'm at work, probably about 8:30 and I notice a Buffalo Police car sitting in the closest parking spot to the store. I guess I noticed because it's Amherst and not Buffalo. He was sitting there for a bit....fast forward about 10 minutes and he was joined by what had to be 20 cop cars, mostly K-9 units...Amherst Police, Buffalo Police, Lockport Police, NFTA Police, Border Patrol, Lewiston Police, you name it. The secretary said they threw a guy into the back of a car behind the building so I figured...something like this will be on the news for sure. Alas, I can't find a thing on it!! But we get news about how well the super draft dodger works on your door. Anyone know what was up?

Permalink: what_happened_.html
Words: 131
Location: Buffalo, NY

03/16/08 12:29 - 33ºF - ID#43691

St Patty's Day

So I'm really happy to see that a big deal is made here out of St Patrick's Day. It seems Buffalonians love every holiday! In Florida you wouldn't even know the day happened...no mentions of it anywhere. We'd get in a little bit of st Pats merchandise at my store down there and barely anything would sell but up here it flew off the shelf!! I guess there aren't many Irish folks down there, but it's not just Irish people celebrating it! Again evidence of the culture and history present in this area. Wish I could check out the parade today from what I hear it's great, but now that I've broken it off with the g/f I have nobody to go with...plus I told my crazy aunt & uncle I'd meet them at some dive on grand island at 2.

Permalink: St_Patty_s_Day.html
Words: 143
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: work

03/16/08 12:23 - 33ºF - ID#43690

No Change for Now!

So I had the Bed Bath interview and the guy was very straightforward about what they were looking for. Basically I'd start 2 levels below store mgr and maybe within 3 years work my way back up. The only new store opening in the area is in Batavia later in the year but that's the reason for the job posting. When he asked me how much $$ I'd need I jacked it up an additional $5k over what I was originally thinking because honestly I wasn't too thrilled about the job at that point...BUT if they'd have offered me that salary it would have made me consider it. I wasn't too sure about having someone else write my schedule and reporting so directly to someone else after a few years of being in charge of my own store. Then the very next day I get a rejection letter. My interview was at 1pm so that means as soon as I walked out he printed it out and dropped it in the mail!! At least make it look like it took some thought :( oh well I really didn't want it anyway :)

Permalink: No_Change_for_Now_.html
Words: 188
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: house

03/15/08 04:26 - 36ºF - ID#43679

Buying a House Sucks!

So in much of the country you can close on a house within 2 weeks. Here it takes 45-60 days on average. There are so many people involved...the attorney, paralegal, both realtors, buyer & seller, processor, adjuster, and many more I'm sure I'm leaving out....so a simple thing takes dayyysss.....my parents said in Florida there are no attorneys involved so that explains that.

My target close date was Fri 3/14...yesterday. On Wednesday I get a message.."oh, we need proof of homeowners insurance" so I send that in. Then later Wednesday PM I get another.."oh we need a receipt proving you've paid the insurance for a full yr" so I send them that...

Thursday.,..."we're ready to close, HOWEVER....."
Great, however. Turns out the FHA inspector wants a little touch-up painting done and 2 downspouts repaired. arghhhh. So we end up getting the ok to setup an escrow so those repairs can be done later...i.e. in better weather. So we're ready to close then!!! Oh, wait...the realtor still needs another document from the seller, who's out of town. He has dropped it in the mail. Regular mail. Not overnight, regular. So now I have to wait probably until the end of NEXT week. I just want to move :(

So I know National Grid is the one to contact for power and I think it's National Fuel for gas, but who do I contact for water service in the city? And didn't I hear people in the city have to pay for trash pickup? Is that something I have to setup or will it just get picked up when I put it out and I later get a bill?

On the other hand, my plasma TV was delivered today and is MIND BLOWING!!!! :)

Permalink: Buying_a_House_Sucks_.html
Words: 297
Location: Buffalo, NY

Category: work

03/10/08 11:53 - 24ºF - ID#43613

Time for (Another) Change?

So Friday I have an interview for store mgmt at Bed Bath & Beyond...I submitted my resume one night when I was especially burnt out from a hard couple days at work and actually got a prompt call. Not completely sure about it yet, but really that's what an interview is for...for both sides to evaluate their fit. I'd say if I can get an additional $10k/yr out of it, I'll jump ship, provided I don't find anything I object to and get a good feeling in the interview.

I do like my job don't get me wrong, and I know there will be hard frustrating times everywhere, but I don't like when my labor budget has been cut so dramatically I have to be the only one in the store for hours a day with a huge laundry list of tasks that need to be done and hordes of miserable, overly needy customers who think their shit doesn't stink because they live in Williamsville/Amherst.

Plus today I got my review..3.4% raise and $9300 bonus. Hello new roof for the new house! 3.4% is good for my cheap company, and that bonus is very atypical. In fact, next year if I stay I'll probably get no bonus. Anyone ever heard anything from current or former BB&B employees?