Oct 20 2013

Ear Worm Getting Ready To Attach/Burrow…

Category: Craig Vapour,Friends,Kazakhstan,Personal,VideosChrisM @ 10:58 pm

Following on in the vein of e-dubble, Game Theory, 360, Bassnectar’s remix of Ellie Goudling’s Lights, Gotye, Dubstep Snowman, Butch Clancy’s dubstep remix of Foster The People’s Pumped Up Kicks, Dub FX, pretty much anything by Rap News, the song Speakerbox – I Like That and video (Perfect Day), Ewan Dobson, United We Rise, Groovy Dancing Girl’s moves to Daft Punk and Greyson Chance’s rendition of Paparazzi, here we have this year’s current contender for “I like this, but could my brain please stop rendering it quite so often at random please?” award…



Craig Vapour’s own words regarding this track…

This song was written for my dear friends Dauren and Kuralay who got married in September 2013. (That’s them chatting in the middle of the track, too!)

Whilst drum & bass feature heavily in the sets I’ve had the pleasure to experience so far, Craig’s production of the track above will, I hope, encourage you to check out his other tracks at SoundCloud, no matter what your usual aural tastes might be.

I’m going to try and embed all the other videos I linked to because, a) I know most people will be too lazy to click the links and b) I’d really like to have them all in one post for when I want to play them. Which reminds me, I need some sort of unique phrase here that means I can search for, and find, this post easily in the future. Ah… apparently “ear worm” has not yet been used on this blog. That will do.

If you’re reading this on the front page of this site, click the link below to see the rest of this post (and therefore the actual videos)…

Continue reading “Ear Worm Getting Ready To Attach/Burrow…”


Oct 18 2013

Need2check if @DryadMusings OK “@newsmary:view fro…

Category: TweetsChrisM @ 8:45 am

Need2check if @DryadMusings OK “@newsmary:view from my roof.red dot=sun.bright spot between buildings=sky. #nswfires http://t.co/vv30b7N4hm”

BWwSPzZCAAABhz9


Oct 15 2013

DX (DealExtreme) Woes

Category: PersonalChrisM @ 11:49 am

Where to start with this post? Well to provide some balance, I’ll start with the positives…

DX offer a mind-boggling array of goods. Sometimes they are difficult to find elsewhere (especially in Kazakhstan), sometimes the prices are a great deal cheaper than in the shops, and the delivery (worldwide) is free! It doesn’t matter whether something costs $200 or $2, or whether I want something delivered to our home in Britain, or here in Astana, the P&P is always free. Free delivery is slow, but unless your needs are urgent, it is OK. When the order arrives.
And so begins the bad side. I ordered an item (an Xbox 360 controller adaptor for PCs) on the 3rd of June this year. Previous orders had been sent to our home in Britain, and arrived fine. This package did not turn up though. After three months (deliveries don’t normally take any longer than 4-6 weeks), I submitted a ticket through DX’s Help Centre, on the 13th September.

I’ll just quote my messages and any replies, rather than try to rewrite them all again.

Me 13th Sept

Good afternoon. It has been three months and one week since I placed this order. It still hasn’t arrived. Please explain what procedure needs to be followed – I will be back in Britain by the time a replacement would arrive, so it would need to be sent to my normal (CUT,CUT, Swansea, CUT, UK) address, or if that is not possible, a refund is requested. Thanks.

Me 16th Sept

Your live chat said I’d receive a reply in 24-48 hours. I just wanted to check this ticket hadn’t been accidentally missed?

DX 16th Sept

Dear Customer,
We apologize for this long delay in the delivery process. In the meantime, would you please confirm your shipping address below? If the address is right,please go to your local post office to check and keep me informed.

FirstName: Irina
LastName:Merriman
Phone Number: +7701 CUT

Country/Region: KAZAKHSTAN
State/Province:Astana
City: Astana
Street1: CUT
Street2:
Postal Code: CUT

Yours Sincerely,
Customer Service

Me 17th Sept

That is the correct address.
I have been checking with the post office weekly. There is still no sign of the package, and the staff there said they do not think it will arrive, as parcels don’t normally take that long.

Please see original comment – if a replacement is sent, please use my British address, as I will not be in Kazakhstan by the time it arrives.

Thanks.

DX 21st Sept

Dear Customer,
Thanks for your swift reply.
I am afraid your package got lost on the way. We can resend it or
give you refund (or save the money as store credit for your future purchase).Please kindly advise your choice.

Looking forward to your reply.

Yours Sincerely,
Customer Service

Me 21st Sept

Please see the original message – I would like it resent, but _NOT_ to the same address this time, as I will not be in Kazakhstan much longer. Please send to the _British_ address you have in your system –

CUT
CUT
Swansea
CUT
Great Britain

Thanks.

DX 23rd Sept

Dear Customer,
Glad to get your message,we can send the goods to your new address.
But would you please tell me the address as the following form, so we can make sure you will get the order without problem.

FirstName:
last name:
Phone Number:
Country/Region:
State/Province:
City:
Street1:
Street2:
Postal Code:

Yours Sincerely,
Customer Service

Me 23rd Sept

Thanks for responding. There does seem to be a problem with communications/comprehension here. I’m of course happy to repeat the address in the format requested however, as I’ve mentioned already, it is the SAME address as my only other order (so far) with your company. See Order # CUT .
FirstName: Irina
last name: Merriman
Phone Number: +44 1792 CUT
Country/Region: United Kingdom
State/Province: Swansea
City: CUT
Street1: CUT
Street2:
Postal Code: CUT

So… these problems happen, and since a replacement item will be sent out, I’ll not be out of pocket. The same day, DX did indeed create a new (billed at $0) order, and got ready to ship it. Unfortunately, they had put in the Kazakh address. I was asked by their system to rate the assistance provided by their customer service team.

Me 23rd Sept

Assist you with courtesy and patience: 8
Quickly understand the problem and handle it properly per your request: 3
Show knowledge of the products/services and solve it professionally: 8
Make the reply clearly and easy to understand: 6
Help you understand the cause and the solution to the problem: 5
Rate this Solution: 0
Description:You have sent it to the WRONG address. Please do re-read the messages on this ticket. I can’t believe this has happened. Not at all impressed. PLEASE send the missing item to the address I have repeated multiple times. NOT THE KAZAKHSTAN ONE!

I had hoped that by contacting the “live” customer support, I could put a hold on the order before it was actually shipped.

DX Agent: Welcome to DealExtreme, nice to meet you !
DX Agent: Free live tracking numbers are only available on orders above $15, there is no live tracking available for your order.
DX Agent: Your order has been shipped out on 2013/9/26 21:57:35 without tracking number. Usually it takes 2-6 weeks to reach you. We appreciate your patience while your order is in transit. The delivery time varies from different destinations and different shipping routes.We cannot ignore any unexpected reason causing the delay.
Chris Merriman: STOP
Chris Merriman: for god’s sake

DX Agent: OKAY
Chris Merriman: read my message and understand the background
Chris Merriman: please

DX Agent: FirstName: Irina
DX Agent: LastName:Merriman
DX Agent: Phone Number: +77015350121 Country/Region: KAZAKHSTAN
DX Agent: State/Province:Astana
DX Agent: City: Astana
DX Agent: Street1: Flat 8, 9 Turan Ave
DX Agent: Street2:
DX Agent: Postal Code: AST010000
Chris Merriman: This is beyond a joke
Chris Merriman: WRONG ADDRESS

DX Agent: iS THE ABOVE address correct
Chris Merriman: No
DX Agent: if it was not corret
DX Agent: please open a ticket now
Chris Merriman: I was asked which address this replacement should be sent to
DX Agent:

https://cs.dx.com/ticket/Check/Order.Delay check and ask for resend please
DX Agent:

https://cs.dx.com/ticket/Check/Order.Delay check and ask for resend please
Chris Merriman: I explained it twice, as it seems staff do not always read previous messages within the same ticket when replying
Chris Merriman: after all this delay and problems, DealExtreme ignore everything and send it to the wrong country.

DX Agent: Please hold on for a moment while I check on that for you.
Chris Merriman: Thank you
DX Agent: please open a ticket now
DX Agent: You are welcome.:)
DX Agent: It would be highly appreciated that you would give me 5-Star rating after this chat. Please click “Close” button at the top-right corner to complete the rating. Thank you for chatting with me.
Chris Merriman: it isn’t an order delay
DX Agent: yes
Chris Merriman: that link does not appear to help at all
DX Agent: if the address is wrong please open a ticket to get resend
Chris Merriman: @Haven’t received packages after 20 days waiting@
Chris Merriman: is the title

DX Agent: yes
Chris Merriman: arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh
Chris Merriman: forget it
Chris Merriman: I’ll try again in the morning
Chris Merriman: goodbye

DX Agent: You are welcome.:)
DX Agent: We apologize for any inconvenience brought to you.

That didn’t work, and I was told to submit a new ticket back with their normal DX Help Centre

Me 26th Sept

I was given a link to this page by your live chat. This package is not delayed by 20 days or more. The original order was. This order was a resend. Your livechat agent today seemed to have difficulty originally understanding what the problem was, and upon perhaps comprehending, seemed to think this was still the correct page. (“Haven’t received packages after 20 days waiting” is the page’s title. Perhaps there isn’t a “staff repeatedly not reading messages properly, package sent to wrong address” page?) Please see the existing ticket for #CUT. AND READ THE MESSAGES. PROPERLY. It seems that staff have a problem properly responding to information sometimes. YOU HAVE SENT THE PACKAGE (which was originally ordered in early June, never arrived, and has now been re-sent) TO THE WRONG ADDRESS. read the ticket. please. send the package to the correct address that has been given explicitly twice, and implicitly an additional time. I’ve previously recommended DX to friends and customers. This debacle is making me wonder if I made a mistake. I would dearly love for this to be sorted QUICKLY, you have ALL the information you need to resolve this matter, read the previous ticket, use my account information. This could have been sorted more quickly and certainly with a lot less frustration for me.

Me 1st Oct

Five days later, and not even an acknowledgement?
Please respond ASAP.

DX 5th Oct

Dear Customer,
sorry for the inconvenience we caused,because we came back from our

holiday so we had not answered your question in time,pls understand.i try to enter the previous ticket,but it seems it not found now.so i think you have problem in your shipping adress?

Yours Sincerely,
Customer Service

Me 5th Oct

No, that ticket still opens fine. I’ve copied in the details below. If you read my description for this ticket, you will see the problem is that
you
have
resent
the
parcel
to
the
wrong
address.
I have typed out these problems so many times now. I really do not understand how your company is able to consistently make so many mistakes.
Previously, agents have either not read the history on a ticket, or just appeared to give me random, unrelated, responses.
I ordered an item on the 3rd of June.
It did not arrive.
Eventually you agreed to resend the package.
I had, from the very beginning of the ticket, repeated the correct address this package should be resent to.
After a lot of frustration, everything seemed to be understood.
You resent the package. TO THE WRONG ADDRESS.
I will not be here in Kazakhstan by the time the parcel arrives. By the time I return, the post office will return the parcel as undelivered.
This will then take us to SIX MONTHS since I

(message exceeded their maximum, so I continued with another one, and also attempted to paste in some of the old ticket information, as they somehow apparently couldn’t access it)

originally ordered

Seriously. This should not be complicated. Send my order to the correct address. READ responses before replying. Find some way to keep severely annoyed and disappointed customers happy, when repeated mistakes are made with ONE order.

ALL INFORMATION YOU REQUIRE HAS BEEN SENT TO YOU. MULTIPLE TIMES. PLEASE DO NOT REPEAT QUESTIONS AGAIN. IF YOU CAN NOT FIND THE INFORMATION YOU NEED, ASK A COLLEAGUE TO RE-READ THROUGH THIS FIASCO FOR YOU.

DX 6th Oct

Dear Customer,
I fully understand it,but the package is full shippped in ,so

we can not change the address,the wrong address item will return to

us.Then we can cope with it.We apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your patience.

Yours Sincerely,
Customer Service

So with the original order not arriving, the replacement being clearly sent to the wrong address, despite all the information being available to DX, waiting for that resent parcel to not arrive, sent back to DX, and then ANOTHER attempt to send my order out, I’ll be waiting around six months!


Oct 14 2013

To whoever was recently trying to convince me that…

Category: TweetsChrisM @ 10:12 am

To whoever was recently trying to convince me that Moscow was in fact safe for non-white immigrant workers… buff.ly/16araFg


Oct 14 2013

A world without shops or factories ( Capitalism wi…

Category: TweetsChrisM @ 10:08 am

A world without shops or factories ( Capitalism without Capital ) – buff.ly/GUa0Wc


Oct 07 2013

Classic albums come to Blu-ray- The Inquirer mobil…

Category: TweetsChrisM @ 10:11 pm

The Inquirer mobile – Classic Albums Come To BluRay … A different British Chris Merriman, worth a read, especially if you have a decent audio setup at home.


Oct 07 2013

Nvidia cripples its Linux driver to match Windows-…

Category: TweetsChrisM @ 10:03 pm

Nvidia cripples its Linux driver to match Windows- The Inquirer mobile buff.ly/1gjWokw different ChrisM again. I’d been looking@4 m…


Oct 07 2013

Current Desktop

Category: PersonalChrisM @ 9:04 pm

So our 2nd (or 3rd, depending if you were going left-right, or in terms of size and resolution) monitor finally went to LCD heaven today. This meant jiggling gadgets and shortcuts around, but I’m happy enough for now. In case you’re interested, I soon intend to write a quick post about the source for the wallpaper shown in the screenshot below.

From Three To Two. One Shown.

From Three To Two. One Shown.



Oct 06 2013

Experiencing the worst customer service I’ve had i…

Category: TweetsChrisM @ 3:46 pm

Experiencing the worst customer service I’ve had in years, with @DealeXtremeFans . Living in Kazakhstan, that is quite an achievement for DX


Oct 06 2013

Dropped the kids off with in-laws, a rare lunch da…

Category: Eating Out,Pictures,TweetsChrisM @ 1:47 pm

Dropped the kids off with in-laws, a rare lunch date with Irina 🙂 (@ Astana Nury) [pic]: 4sq.com/16qODpc

Astana Nury

Location Of Nury Astana Restaurant


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