Down to the single digits!

Yaaaaay!!!  I'm getting married in 8 DAYS!  I can't believe how fast these last couple weeks are flying by (but I'm not complaining!)  I'm so giddy excited.  We just have a few little things to wrap up but otherwise we are set!  It's so nice not having the looooooonnnnng to-do list swirling around in my mind every waking minute.  It was starting to drive me a little crazy, but now we can relax and enjoy our last days of being an engaged couple.  Whew!

 

Last weekend I went down to St George with B and the fam.  We went to see "Tarzan" at Tuacahn Ampitheater.  It was my first time seeing a show there and it was SO awesome!  They did cool flying tricks and it was beautiful to sit under the starry sky surrounded by the red rocks.  :D  They guy who played Tarzan was pretty ripped and B's sisters were very excited about getting a photo with him while he flexed.  Haha.  We went to a lake, the hotel pool, enjoyed french toast sticks for breakfast, hung out with some extended family, got a flat tire, and ate lots of junk food (and in honor of that, B made up a song about how if we kept eating all that junk we'd end up being big fat lards.....all to the tune of Phantom of the Opera!  I wish I'd recorded it because it was hilarious!)

 

We went to a friend's wedding on Tuesday and it was fun to see them all happy and realizing that it won't be long before OUR day arrives!!!  On the way up there we stopped to buy their gift at Bed, Bath & Beyond and I saw these adorable measuring spoons that we HAD to get for them.  The teaspoon said "a pinch of patience", the tablespoon said "a heap of laughter" or something......How cute is that?!  We also found the funniest card ever.  Dang I wish I'd gotten a picture of it.  It had a bride and groom cake topper looking image in the front and the groom had a surprised expression.  Open it up and it's the view from behind and the bride is grabbing his butt!  It read, "To have and to hold....Congratulations!"  Hee hee!!

 

Anyway, this is a really random post....maybe I'll get some pics up later.

Ciao!

I love to see the temple...

I'm going there in 19 days!!!!  I can't believe it!  Time is flying SO fast.  Yesterday we met with our stake president for our final priesthood interview (well, not our last one ever...but you know, last one before we're married).  He gave us some excellent counsel and congratulated us on our decision to be married in the temple.  Although it seems so common at times because of where we live (and having about 13 temples easily accessible), he mentioned that in comparison to all the millions of people in the world, we make up a relatively small percentage of choosing to take that most important step.  I look forward to being sealed to B not only for time, but for ALL ETERNITY.  That's a long time to be with someone......ha.  I'm so excited though!  He asked us an interesting question.  Paraphrasing: What do you hope most to get out of your marriage? B, being the gentleman he is, let me go first (Um, thanks B! haha)  After giving our answers, President D said those were good anwers, however he asked us to consider the following answer instead:  Happiness.  

 

The elements we hope for in our marriage are guaranteed as long as we are loyal to the covenants we will make to each other and to God, however, being married doesn't necessarily guarantee happiness.  He reminded us of the scripture in Alma 41 in the Book of Mormon, which teaches us that "wickedness never was happiness".  He pointed out that if wickedness never was happiness, that means that the inverse is true; righteousness is always happiness.  I like that.  And it's true.  And not only applicable for people getting married, it is applicable to every single person.  When we choose to live God's laws, we are happy.  Perhaps our circumstances will not always be perfect, but in the long run, having a clear conscience, and knowing we are headed in the right direction certainly brings happiness. :)

Crappy Customer Service

Seriously, SO annoyed.

I'm sure we've all had some experience with terrible customer service at some point...By far, my experience with American Laser Centers has been the absolute WORST (hint hint, don't EVER go there!!!).

 

Back in April I signed up for a bunch of contests at the bridal expo I went to {Note to self: Signing up for contests/sweepstakes/the car on display at the mall=SO not worth it.}  A few days later I was kind of excited when they called me and told me I'd won a $300 gift certificate. 

 

I set up a free consult and talked to the manager who showed me all the options available.  The thought of getting laser hair removal done and not having to wax or shave ever again was VERY appealing.  Thankfully, I had a tiny ounce of sense in me and instead of agreeing to a $2000+ laser treatment plan on the spot (broken down to payments of about $120 a month for 2 years making it seem do-able), I told the manager I would need to think about it a bit and check my finances.  However, she did sell me on a microdermabrasion facial package for $270 which we charged to my credit card before I left the office.  

 

I discussed it with B that night.  Financially, it was a possiblity.  B said that if I really wanted to do it to go for it.  Still, I wasn't feeling too confident about it, and since we are getting married soon, I just didn't feel right about spending money on that type of thing.  Certainly a want and not a need.  It did sound like a pretty good deal though.....

 

The next day I looked on their website and they were offering a $2000 gift certificate to the first prize winner of the online contest.  Being the sucker than I was, I signed up.  To my surprise, they contacted me shortly thereafter, saying I had won a $300 dollar coupon to put toward services. 

 

First thought :"SWEET!  Now I could get $600 off the package"

Second thought: "Wait a minute, that's kind of odd they would call me so quick..."

And the thoughts the succeeded:

"This seems suspicious."

......

"I bet they give EVERYONE $300 off.....but they probably just jack up the price so they don't lose any money, but it seems they're being generous."

........

"OK, this has GOT to be some kind of scam."

 

At this point I hopped on the internet and Googled "American Laser Centers scam".

Sure enough, tons of complaints.  Now of course, you can't believe everything you find online, but the complaints seemed legit, and just made me worry even more.  A few had posted about how they wouldn't give refunds and all this stuff and I'm like, "Oh great....."

 

That afternoon I called up the ALC clinic and asked for a refund, that I'd changed my mind.  The manager said that since I hadn't received any treatments yet, she'd be happy to initiate the refund with a written request which I could do via email, and warned me it could take a couple months because it had to go through their corporate office, blah-blah-blah.  Ok, whatever.  I hung up with her and two minutes later sent off my written request.  That night I also called my credit card to see if they could put a stop payment on the transaction, but since it'd already gone through they couldn't. 

 

Fast forward 12 weeks (to today), and numerous phone calls and emails to the local and corporate office PLUS making arrangements with my credit card company to get a temporary credit on my account while things got straightened out so I wouldn't have to pay the scammers a cent, or have it mess up my credit, they FINALLY tell me that the request has been put in and it's gonna take another 4-6 weeks to get my refund.

 

What. the. heck.

 

The local office manager finally called back and emailed me, claiming she had tried calling me many times and not being able to reach me (hello, that's what voicemail is for!)  Better yet, she offered a complimentary service of my choice for being patient throughout this process. 

 

Seriously?!?!?!?!  I ask for a refund and you think you can fix things by offering a free service when I don't want to have anything to do with your business!?!?!  What is wrong with people!  I hate when businesses do that, offer you something for free when you are complaining about them.  Obviously you're not satisfied with the service to begin with so what's something free going to do.  Messed up.  I just want my refund and to not have to deal with you anymore!!!!

 

Anyway, so that's my awful customer service experience.  What about yours?