A certain large financial institution

Ok, so there is this one particular financial institution that the federal government deemed too large to fail. I will allow it to remain nameless but lets just say it can be found in most any city in America I know exactly why the government saved this bank. Its because they are run the same way. If it can be done inefficiently, thats how this bank does it. So far in my fledgling career, I have had 3 interactions with this bank. All three have been lousy. The first one was with a "local" branch (which is laughable by the way). The young man purchasing my first listing went through them. We closed about 2 weeks late (a little over 6 weeks after binding agreement). Why, you ask? Because the guy didn't have a credit score and they had to do actual underwriting. It completely freaked them out. Selling Sam and Candace's house, I am dealing with these folks again. The loan guy will not ever answer his phone or return calls. We are already about 3 weeks after the "realistic" closing date. We bumped the date to this past Wednesday. On Tuesday he tells the closer on our side that he needs 24-48 hours to complete this one extra task. Do we have anything yet, NO!!! Meanwhile Sam and Candace are incurring charges every day on their house. On the other side, we are buying a home in short sale with this particular institution. It is going somewhat smoother but still, the communication is lacking. They keep everything secret. A tip for them, let folks know what is going on and what to expect. If you don't meet your own deadline, let people know. It's called customer service. Apparently when you are too big to fail and nanny government will always bail you out, you forget what customer service is (or perhaps you just plain don't care).

Addendum: I understand that some people will say, just go somewhere else. The problem I am having is that I never solicited their business. Buyers of my listings have come to the table with them as business partners. I am at their mercy and my client's (much more importantly) are at their mercy. It seems as if they take their time because they can. I also understand that the actions of a few do not indicate the performance of everyone in the company, but, I am 3 for 3. 100% of my interactions have been lousy. I also know that the bailout money is not the cause of the bad service. They were lousy before the bailout. That's probably why they had to have it!!

My advice, if there are good people at the local level, let them run it. Decentralize and allow efficiency to take over. Quite being so dadgum big and corporate and inefficient! Remember, the customer is the first part of customer service. For all of you out there, stay away from this bank. They tell everyone that they are struggling with the overwhelming amount of work. Help them out by not giving them any more work to worry about.

I will never have another very first opening night

Well, it's done. I have had my very first opening night. What an experience! The room we waited in was hot and crowded. I kept my son on a little bitty foam couch for 2 hours, we dropped a few lines (not as many as I expected) but all in all, we did very well! The audience was great. They took a little time to warm up (perhaps it was us taking a little time to warm up for them) but by the time we got to the really funny parts, they were rolling. I have discovered that Vanessa, Sherry and Nathan are all pretty frickin brilliant. Sherry portrays her character PERFECTLY. Vanessa and Nathan are just really sharp witted and play off everything. The rest of the cast did a great job too, but these three in my opinion stole the show. Jessica saved our butts once also--thanks very much for that.

I had a wager going on my facebook about how many times I would puke. The good news is that I did not puke or dry heave at all! So I guess everyone that said I would be fine won the pool. What do you win--my undying appreciation for your support--CONGRATS and thanks for playing.

Jonas did a great job too. He was confined to a very small space for almost 2 hours. Of course, he had the undivided attention of a pretty young teenager so I am sure that helped but even so, he was well behaved, cheerful and generally a pleasure. When it was his turn, he did his part very well, adding a great little twist to the play. I am so proud of the little guy. Ok, I also bribed him with ice cream. When we left, we went to the McDonald's right there on Church and Broad. As I pulled up to the drive through, they turned all the lights off. I was 5 minutes before they closed! I said something to the effect of "you gotta be kidding me." The guy came over the intercom and I asked for an ice cream cone. He said the machine was down. What a bum!!!! I figured I could go to Sonic because it is open late (was around 11). They were closed. I ended up stopping at the BP and getting him a nutty buddy. I had to make good on the promise--otherwise the bribe wouldn't work tonight!!!!

Well, it was a great night. I hope plenty of others get a chance to see the play. There is a great message and some really funny parts.

Catching My Breath!!

Wow!! It has been a flippin busy past few...uhh...however long.

In the past 2 weeks I got an offer and negotiated a contract on Sam and Candace's house. We should close mid-March. It was (is) an interesting transaction to say the least. We have parties involved that live in Boston, travel to Japan and are buying in Christiana. Quite a mix!! I picked up a listing in East Nashville, got an offer on it and am in the process of negotiating it. I picked up a listing in my neighborhood and have a coming soon sign in that yard. I am taking a new buyer out tomorrow and will hopefully find him a home quickly. All this and I am studying hard for a role in a play (more details in a minute), co-teaching a class at church, playing Mr. Mom, and have been working hard to win the Biggest Loser contest at work (which I did win, by the way--go me).

The Play--So, I am in this play, right. I have never acted (except acting up as a youth, I don't act up any more--see my halo?). I always wanted to but never took the time to work on it. I am in a group called Consider This Productions. It is quite a fun group. Barry Hardy is the "leader" of the group (when we let him). We are currently rehearsing "The Curious Savage." I play Titus Savage, Senator Titus Savage. Sherry Gastineau is my sister--Lily Belle Savage and Sam Channel is my brother, Samuel Savage. The three of us are real snots. We have our mother (Kim Chunn playing Ethel Savage) committed. Not that Kim shouldn't be committed, but we don't do it for the right reasons (when there are so many reasons to pick from!). Daniel Chunn, Nathan Chunn, Vanessa Maleare (sorry, I probably spelled that wrong), Nancy Wells, and Hannah Gastineau are all crazy people in the play (and outside the play). Danny Wells is the good doctor and Jessica Wells is the nurse that keeps things running. My character is a real blowhard. I yell and get angry a lot and really don't have a ton of substance to me. It will be very easy for the audience to dislike me. It will be even easier to dislike Sherry. Her character is a cross between Cruella Deville, Ms. Hannigan from Annie and Carol Burnette. Sam is just a limp noodle. We will be performing on March 11, 12, 13 and 18, 19, 20 (Thursdays through Saturdays) on the 15th floor of the NHC building in Murfreesboro (the lone skyscraper in the 'boro). I am really excited. Last night Barry complimented us on our facial expressions. Given the intimacy of this venue (the audience will be within about 2 feet of the actors), we will really be able to convey emotions and expressions. It should be awesome. I just hope I don't screw it up for everyone else!!

At church I am going through a survey of world religions. This past Sunday we looked at Bahai Faith. What an interesting religion! Basically, they believe that the God represented in the various major religions of the world is the same God and that all the various prophets (Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Mohammed, Buddha, etc.) are messengers from God and that the individual messages are revelations that get increasingly more sophisticated in order to reveal more about God each time. I don't agree with them, but I do find it quite a fascinating take on things. What do you think?

Oh yeah, and there have been the headaches, car repair place stealing my cable, getting in trouble at the post office, the stupid gym, and some others--but who likes to dwell on bads stuff when God is so good?

Name Change

Well, I changed the name today. It was a small, but significant change. I realized that my blog title did not fit. It was "Jonathan Harmon's (mostly) Real Estate Blog, when in fact, I rarely write about real estate. I think that blogging is a bit therapeutic for me. It allows me to write to an indeterminate number of people and just get stuff out there. I don't have a ton to complain about or anything, it just feels good to write sometimes. Since it is not really about real estate, I changed the (mostly) to (sometimes). It feels better.

Update to Gym Post

After reading my below gym post, read this one

Flex Gym in Smyrna, 6670 New Nashville Highway. 462-6593.

So this time I made what seemed like a pretty good offer to them. I asked them to change the 2 year contract to a one year contract. Monthly membership fee for a one year is $54.98 plus tax. Monthly membership for a 2 year is $44.98 plus tax. I offered them the difference for the months we already paid, plus the rest of what would be a one year contract all up front. Total came to $329 and some change. Would have completely satisfied the obligation for a 1 year contract and would have released us to go to a gym where they 1) didn't lie about the services they offered, 2) had some people skills, 3) had up to date equipment (none of which exist at Flex Gym). I typed up a nice spreadsheet explaining exactly what I was offering.

Doug, the owner calls me and says he would allow us to pay out the 2nd year in full and then convert our monthly payments to the monthly payments of a 1 year contract, effectively ADDING to our total payments. Are you KIDDING? Why would we pay you MORE for substandard services that we are trying to get away from? I told him no, of course. The thing is, he thinks that his contract ties us to only use Flex. I am contending that their product STINKS and I don't want to pay for it anymore.

Here are my gripes:
1) Cindy was promised certain classes, Yoga, Pilates, Cardio Kickboxing--they don't have any of these and haven't had them since September
2) Their machines are ancient. I like to use ellipticals. They have 3 with the arms that work. One of them is usually broken and the other two are not smooth operating. Plus, the position you stand on them is very uncomfortable on the back
3) They can just plain be rude. I don't expect 5 start hotel service, but at least say hi when you walk in or say bye when you leave. Even before all this mess, they were rude.
4) There are MUCH better gyms at cheaper prices in Smyrna. Even the Town Center is better!

I admit we signed the contract and therefore we are obligated, but most contracts have some kind of way out if the product does not pan out to be what you were promised! These people are totally unreasonable! I am so angry I could spit!

My next step is to contact the Consumer Affairs Division. They are the ones that have the Consumer Protection Act.

I wonder why this business does not see the value of having happy customers. I mean, I offered a reasonable way for both of us to end the relationship on good terms and not have to do all this mudslinging but they are unreasonable! I believe in the importance of contracts. I think our economic system is built on the enforceability of contracts. My job depends on contracts. But even in real estate, if the product does not fit the initial expectations (fails an inspection, etc.) you can get out of the contract.

A little out of the ordinary for me

Ok, those of you that know me, know that I am generally a pretty happy-go-lucky kind of guy. You also know that if I am passionate about something, you will most likely hear about it. When I get some fantastic service or find a fantastic product, I am a great spokesperson for it. Generally, when I get bad service or a bad product, I keep it to myself unless it is just horrendous. That is the case here.

Most of you know that Cindy and I both struggle with weight issues. We don't eat the best and don't exercise enough (makes us normal, right). Well, we are always looking to improve this. Cindy's favorite way to exercise is in classes, like Yoga, Pilates, Cardio Kickboxing, etc. Well, back in July, Stephanie told us about the great new gym that opened right down from our house. They were offering cardio kickboxing and were going to expand their offerings in the very near future. I was out of town so Cindy went and checked it out. She liked the owner a lot and the owner told her the same spiel about expanding class offerings. Cindy signed the contract. She attended a few classes (which were at odd times, like 2PMon Tuesdays and 10 AM on Saturdays or something like that). Then, abruptly in September, they quit offering the classes altogether due to "lack of interest". Cindy quit going to the gym because that was the whole reason she went. I kept going (though somewhat sporadically) because I used the (very old and decrepit) elliptical machine. December rolls around and we realize that it is stupid to pay $50 per month for a service we don't use enough because they don't offer the same product we signed up for. (Here is our first mistake) So we asked them to release us from the contract and offered a settlement. They said no. We wrote them a letter telling them we could not afford it anymore. What we should have said is that we did not want to pay for a service there that they did not offer and still have to pay for it elsewhere. They again said no. I did some research into the consumer Protection Act and found that:

"47-18-303. Unenforceable health club agreements. — A health club agreement shall be unenforceable against the buyer, and the buyer shall be entitled to a refund less that portion of the total price which represents actual use of the facilities and less the cost of goods and services consumed by the buyer if:
(1) The buyer entered into the agreement in reliance upon any false, deceptive, or misleading information, representation, notice, or advertisement;

At this point, I contacted the Better Business Bureau and filed a complaint explaining my issue. I also included a link to the gym's website where they advertised "an amazing array of freeweights, training classes...". In addition, I called the gym posing as a prospective member and asked if they offered any classes (this was January 14 or so). The owner said, "no, we had to cancel them due to lack of interest. We will look at having them again in February." I said thanks. So the owner's response to my BBB complaint was that they did offer classes. I went in today and saw that they offer one class, Endurance Boot Camp, 3 times a week. Wednesday during church time, Saturday 10AM (the only doable time for us) and Sunday at 2 while I am at Play practice and they don't offer childcare. I re-submitted all this info and am now waiting on the next response. I don't think I am being unreasonable. I have offered a settlement and they won't even counter the offer. If I offered too little, they should say, "how about this much instead." My question is, why would they want me to stay there? I will do way more damage spreading bad will about their business. I have purposely not included the name of the business and won't unless the company still does not see how freakin terrible their customer service is. You tell me, am I being unreasonable? Be honest and provide some insight for me.

Winter coats

This is more of a rant than a blog. Cindy informed me a few weeks ago that she needed a new winter coat (after Christmas). I have been worried about this ever since. Is she cold? Does she shiver? I can't stand the thought of her not being comfortable. So I have been on a mission to find a coat. Do you know that every stinkin retailer in Rutherford County gets rid of their coats before Christmas is over? How stupid are they!!! The coldest part of the year here is almost always January and February. We even get snow in March! Walmart, Kohls, Target, Dots, Fashion Bug, Dress Barn--all of them!! We will make a trip up to Burlington in 100 Oaks tomorrow I think. I just don't get it.