`It is very frustrating isn't it

Anybody working on the 2010 Census Team?

Not much activity if any.
Most of the comments are dated.

Years ago. Before the Internet one of my managers brought me a handwritten
letter accompanied with a receipt for dry cleaning a leather jacket. Our
Accounting Manager was about to pay it. The letter explained that the
writer had been in our restaurant the prior Sunday night and one of our
staff had spilled tea on his jacket.
The manager and I smelled a rat.
No buffet on Sunday night as mentioned in the letter
No mention of the incident in the shift or MOD log
Why would anybody be wearing a jacket when it was 82 degrees that night?
I brought this up to our corporate Loss Prevention team and it turns out
that this same letter writer had "visited" many of our hotels and others
that same night.

The guy did some time once he was tracked down.

What Happens When Customer Complaints Are Scams
by David Koeppel, Posted Feb 16th 2010 @ 2:00PM
Some customers resort to placing fake bugs in their food for a refund.
Photo: Getty Images

Nichole McCready a manager at an Outback Steakhouse in Mansfield, Ohio, can
handle the many grumblers who complain about bad service and substandard
food quality. But what gets her really angry are those patrons who scheme
to get free food in ways that may not be illegal, but are certainly
manipulative and underhanded.

We feel her pain. Who wouldn't want to kick out the obnoxious customers who
try to use expired coupons and then scream and yell when told those coupons
are no longer valid?

"I'm happy to do whatever it takes to make the customers happy, but
sometimes it just gets so frustrating when we feel like we're getting
taking advantage of," the McCready tells Slashfood. "Our company is so
worried about losing customers in this economy that no one will put them in
their place and tell them no."

On a recent weekend, a customer pulled what we refer to as the free lunch
scam. After mostly devouring the gargantuan 20-ounce porterhouse steak
("there was the bone and literally four or five bites left on this plate,"
McCready says), the guest complained to the server that the meat was too
tough and demanded a new one. McCready told the kitchen to fire up another
porterhouse. "When I walked up to the table she and the other three
customers were sharing two desserts," McCready recalls. "She admitted to me
that she wasn't hungry anymore but would be taking this new porterhouse
home with her to eat the next day."

The free lunch gambit is apparently a popular one at fast food and casual
service restaurants everywhere. Many complainers are extremely persistent.
At an Arby's in Northwestern Pennsylvania, a customer snookered management
into refunding about $50 worth of chicken filet sandwiches for almost a
month.

This particular customer would order a chicken filet sandwich, and then
call to complain that part of the bird was still frozen. He demanded his
money back each time and the restaurant complied, according to an Arby's
server who asked not to be identified, because she doesn't want to
jeopardize her job.

She says the small-time crook cycled through all of the daytime and
nighttime managers before they finally caught on. When the scammer came in
to collect his anticipated refund, the assistant manager told him she was
preparing him a chicken sandwich and would allow it to cook an additional
two minutes to ensure it was well done. While he waited, she called the
cops. They arrived quickly and escorted him out of the restaurant. The
Arby's ignominious walk of shame.

These scams and many others aren't new to Sandy Smith, a former 15-year
veteran of the fast food and quick service industry whose experience
includes managerial and server jobs with Pizza Hut and Ponderosa Steakhouse
in Tennessee, Virginia and Florida. She has seen it all -- from a guy who
planted a bug in his own food, to customers who stole tips off tables.

One of Smith's regular customers in Abingdon, V.A., would always complain
that his sausage was raw, even though he would eat the entire meal. The
restaurant gave him free food and always apologized for the inconvenience.
After about two months of freebies, one manager called his bluff and put an
end to the mooching.

"Food service is a crazy, crazy business," says Smith, 64, and now living
in Bristol, Tenn. "You get to see the best in people and the absolute
worst."

Fellow PFBer's
AOL is my Internet providor.
When I try to access blogs on the PFB site my computer locks up.
Anybody out there on AOL have that problem and or any idea on what I can do
to remedy the problem?
Thanks.
BillR.

For those of you that read the letter about mattress rotation here's the
unvarnished hotel way of handling this task I found floating around:

How to take care of your mattress

New mattresses have a six month break in period. During this period your
mattress should be rotated every two weeks to minimize local compacting of
the comfort layers. You cannot help but notice how thick today's mattresses
have gotten. This thickness is made up of comfort layers that will have a
tendency to settle. This settling is referred to as "body impressions" and
is not considered a manufacturer's defect. Rotating your mattress allows
you to use both sides and will reduce the effects of body impressions. This
body impression, if allowed to get out of hand, will be most evident on the
side of the bed where the phone user would side while on the phone.

In order to properly maintain your mattress, in addition to rotating follow
these simple rules:

Make sure that your mattress and box spring are properly supported. Without
proper support your new mattress will begin to sag after just a few months.
All queen or king frames should have at least six legs and one should be in
the center.
Box springs do not show wear but they do wear out. If your box spring is
old it should be replaced when you get a new mattress.
No jumping on your new mattress
Do not allow your mattress to get wet
Do not bend your mattress. King size mattresses are built with a hinge that
allows them to be bent slightly for tight deliveries.
Keep you mattress clean. A mattress pad is recommended. A soiled mattress
may void your warranty.
After the initial six months your mattress should be rotated every few
months to continue even wear.
Proper Mattress Rotation
To rotate your mattress you must first locate the label that has been sewn
on your mattress by the manufacturer. This label is useful as a point of
reference in the rotation of your mattress. On delivery the label is placed
at the foot of the bed, with the label face up. To start a proper rotation
of your mattress follow these simple procedures.

The first position is with the label face up at the foot of the bed. This
is how the delivery people will leave your new mattress.
The second position is to turn your mattress 180 degrees and flip it over.
The label will now be at the head of the bed face down
The third position is to rotate the mattress 180 degrees so now the label
is still in the face down position, but is now at the foot of the bed.
The next rotation is to flip the mattress over and rotate 180 degrees so
that the label is now face up at the head of the bed.
The final rotation is to rotate the mattress 180 degrees so that the label
is now at the foot of the bed face up, the position that started the
rotation.