David Pitlyuk

I’m leaving out the door for the beach house right now.  I’ll be spending the weekend jet skiing, boating, drinking, and all that good stuff.  Have a great weekend, and I’ll hear from you guys on Monday!

I was doing a Google search for my name, and I stumbled across a conversation I had with Dell tech support that I had posted on a forum a long time ago, and got reposted on another forum.  The conversation is a horrific example of bad customer service, but looking back at it, it’s at least funny to read.  Notice the amount of time between each message, and how long it takes to respond to me.  Obviously I was frustrated, and a customer service rep should not leave me hanging for minutes at a time.   On top of that, it took me 36 minutes to get this simple question answered!  Have you ever had a similar experience?  Tell me about it by replying with a comment.

Welcome to Dell Chat. Please wait for an available agent. You will be notified when your chat is accepted by an agent.
{David Pitlyuk 10:43:52 PM} Complicated situation
The visitor has ended the chat session.

{David Pitlyuk 10:44:01 PM} Complicated situation
{David Pitlyuk 10:45:04 PM} Here’s the situation. I placed two SEPERATE orders with two DIFFERENT customer numbers.
{David Pitlyuk 10:45:15 PM} Both orders are for the 2005FPW monitor
{David Pitlyuk 10:45:30 PM} The first order I pay over $500, and the monitor is scheduled to arrive tomorrow
{David Pitlyuk 10:45:50 PM} The second order I paid just over $400, and the monitor is not scheduled to arrive for another week or so
{David Pitlyuk 10:46:42 PM} What I’d like to do is keep the monitor I recieve tomorrow, and the monitor that is supposed to come in a week not delivered, and I get refuninded the $500 order. So in the end I have one $400 monitor here tomorrow and not in a week. Can this be done?
{David Pitlyuk 10:46:59 PM} I can provide all the customer and order numbers
The session has been accepted.

{Nara 10:47:53 PM} Thank you for contacting Dell Consumer Customer Care Chat. My name is Shamshun, you may call me Nara . Please allow me a moment to review your question.
{David Pitlyuk 10:48:03 PM} Sure
{Nara 10:48:58 PM} I apologize , we are currently updating our online chat tools .We are facing technical errors with tools and I am unable to check the necessary information regarding this.
{Nara 10:49:02 PM} For further assistance you may get in touch with us after some time.
{Nara 10:49:12 PM} Your patience is highly appreciated in this regard.
{David Pitlyuk 10:49:16 PM} After some time?
{David Pitlyuk 10:49:22 PM} What does that mean?
{David Pitlyuk 10:49:26 PM} Like in 10 minutes?
{Nara 10:49:38 PM} Please get in touch with us after 1-2 hours.
{David Pitlyuk 10:49:44 PM} I don’t have 1-2 hours
{David Pitlyuk 10:49:55 PM} I’ve e-mailed support about this about 6 times now
{David Pitlyuk 10:50:10 PM} And every time it seems like in their resolution they are ignoring my request
{David Pitlyuk 10:50:19 PM} And my last response was sent 2 days ago with no response
{David Pitlyuk 10:50:28 PM} I would like a resolution to this matter right now
{David Pitlyuk 10:50:49 PM} So what do you recommend I do?
{Nara 10:51:01 PM} David , please get in touch with us via chat only just after one hour and we will be able to help you regarding this.
{David Pitlyuk 10:51:08 PM} I won’t be here in an hour
{David Pitlyuk 10:51:13 PM} It’s midnight and I work tomorrow
{David Pitlyuk 10:51:27 PM} I am surely not staying up another hour
{David Pitlyuk 10:52:16 PM} Do you have a phone # of a manager or something I could call right now to get this issue taken care of?
{David Pitlyuk 10:52:41 PM} I need to know by tonight so I know whether or not to refuse the package from UPS
{David Pitlyuk 10:53:52 PM} Helllo?
{Nara 10:53:56 PM} Please be advised that you may contact Dell Customer Service at 800-624-9897 extn:7266966
{David Pitlyuk 10:55:37 PM} The phone centers are currently closed it says
{Nara 10:55:42 PM} I am sorry that you have been inconvenienced.
{David Pitlyuk 10:55:55 PM} And as I stated, I need to know now, that way I know whether or not to refuse UPS shipment
{David Pitlyuk 10:56:15 PM} If somebody had responded to my e-mail I would know the answer by now
{David Pitlyuk 10:56:21 PM} What can I do at this point?
{David Pitlyuk 10:57:57 PM} What else are you doing besides responding to me if your systems are down? What is taking so long?
{David Pitlyuk 10:58:06 PM} So far I have had the worst customer service experience with Dell
{Nara 10:58:09 PM} David , please note that this is not an available option to charge you a different amount han what is listed in our database.
{David Pitlyuk 10:58:20 PM} I have already been charged
{David Pitlyuk 10:58:23 PM} Twice
{Nara 10:58:31 PM} If the order is invoiced at $500 , your account is already charged $500.
{David Pitlyuk 10:58:39 PM} Yes, I realize this
{David Pitlyuk 10:58:52 PM} I am essentially returning one of the monitors
{David Pitlyuk 10:59:09 PM} But it seems easier to return the order that has not shipped yet
{David Pitlyuk 10:59:15 PM} As it is the identical monitor
{David Pitlyuk 10:59:28 PM} And it is more convenient to me as I will have it tomorrow
{David Pitlyuk 10:59:31 PM} Rather than a week
{David Pitlyuk 10:59:36 PM} Does this make sense to you?
{David Pitlyuk 11:01:31 PM} Hell
{Nara 11:01:31 PM} David , you may choose to return the monitor once it reaches to you , however you need to ship it back on your own .
{David Pitlyuk 11:01:32 PM} o
{David Pitlyuk 11:01:50 PM} Are you reading my messages?
{David Pitlyuk 11:01:58 PM} Are all of you people idiots over there?
{David Pitlyuk 11:02:17 PM} And can you type faster?
{David Pitlyuk 11:02:32 PM} You are still not answering my question
{David Pitlyuk 11:02:39 PM} I want to keep the monitor
{David Pitlyuk 11:02:43 PM} there are two orders
{David Pitlyuk 11:02:45 PM} one $500
{David Pitlyuk 11:02:49 PM} second $400
{David Pitlyuk 11:02:54 PM} $500 order shipped arrive tomorrow
{David Pitlyuk 11:03:00 PM} $400 not ship yet for week
{David Pitlyuk 11:03:14 PM} Both orders are the same product
{David Pitlyuk 11:03:30 PM} Can I keep the monitor that comes tomorrow and can dell not ship out the 2nd one
{David Pitlyuk 11:03:37 PM} But refund the $500 price
{David Pitlyuk 11:03:45 PM} Is this hard to understand?
{Nara 11:03:50 PM} David , I do understand that the delayed order is of $400 and the one you are going to receive is $500.
{David Pitlyuk 11:03:57 PM} Ok
{David Pitlyuk 11:03:59 PM} And…
{Nara 11:04:15 PM} You may return the monitor and get he refund for $500.
{David Pitlyuk 11:04:59 PM} So what you are telling me is that even though both orders are for the identical monitor, I must refuse shipment on the one tomorrow from the $500 order, and wait another week to get the same monitor
{Nara 11:05:04 PM} However you need to ship it back on your own , once it is received back at dell your account will be refunded within 10-15 business days.
{David Pitlyuk 11:05:21 PM} I was told by customer support in an e-mail that I could refuse shipment
{David Pitlyuk 11:05:42 PM} If I have to ship it back on my own, then this is another reason that I would not like the 2nd one sent, since it has not been yet
{David Pitlyuk 11:05:52 PM} It would save the me the money to ship one back and hassle to do that
{Nara 11:06:09 PM} You may do so however accepting and returning it back will process the refund faster.
{David Pitlyuk 11:06:35 PM} Answer this question please
{David Pitlyuk 11:06:41 PM} CAN THE SECOND ORDER NOT BE SENT
{David Pitlyuk 11:06:57 PM} and replace the monitor as the refund on the $500 order
{David Pitlyuk 11:07:08 PM} This way I do not need to return a monitor a tall
{Nara 11:07:08 PM} David , I apologize for the delay in receiving your order. Due to the many factors involved, Dell is not able to guarantee any delivery date.
{David Pitlyuk 11:07:18 PM} What are you talking about?
{David Pitlyuk 11:07:23 PM} The delivery date is tomorrow
{Nara 11:08:17 PM} David I am referring to the delayed order for $400 .
{David Pitlyuk 11:08:27 PM} Ok so what is your point then
{David Pitlyuk 11:08:37 PM} I am asking that the delayed order for $400 not be shipped at all
{David Pitlyuk 11:08:50 PM} Rather than returning the $500 order
{David Pitlyuk 11:08:54 PM} Because it is the SAME product
{David Pitlyuk 11:09:14 PM} Why send back the product to Dell, when the same one I paid for is already sitting there
{David Pitlyuk 11:09:19 PM} Do you see what I am saying?
{Nara 11:09:32 PM} David , the orders are shipped from several locations and these issues are handled by manufacturing department.
{David Pitlyuk 11:09:40 PM} By me not having to send it back I get the monitor earlier, I do not need to pay ship it back, and it is more convenient
{Nara 11:09:59 PM} I understand David.
{David Pitlyuk 11:10:06 PM} So is this possible or not?
{David Pitlyuk 11:10:09 PM} Simple question?
{Nara 11:10:29 PM} However they are two separate orders and will be processed individually.
{Nara 11:10:36 PM} No.
{David Pitlyuk 11:10:47 PM} Ok so 20 minutes ago instead of wasting my time, you could have said that
{David Pitlyuk 11:11:17 PM} I will therefore refuse shipment on the first package tomorrow, it will be returned to Dell and refunded, and then in a week or so I will get the 2nd order. Correct?
{Nara 11:12:06 PM} David , once the order is received back at dell , it takes 10-15 business days to refund customers account.
{David Pitlyuk 11:12:30 PM} Ok I didn’t ask how long. I asked if this is the correct situation?
{Nara 11:12:58 PM} David , they are two individual orders and they have nothing to do with each others refund or invoice date.
{David Pitlyuk 11:13:26 PM} Again. I am not asking this.
{Nara 11:13:38 PM} It may happen that your account is not refunded back and the later order is shipped to you.
{David Pitlyuk 11:13:57 PM} I am asking you to confirm. I will refuse the shipment tomorrow. Within 10-15 days of recieving that order will be refunded, correct?
{Nara 11:14:04 PM} Yes.
{David Pitlyuk 11:14:27 PM} Ok, do I need to fill anything out that the order will be refused tomorrow, and that I would like a refund?
{David Pitlyuk 11:16:18 PM} Yes…no?
{Nara 11:16:48 PM} You just need to provide the case# XXXXXXXXX regarding this chat interaction.
{David Pitlyuk 11:17:00 PM} Provide the case # to who?
{David Pitlyuk 11:17:49 PM} It will be another hour before we end our conversation if it keeps taking you this long to type
{Nara 11:18:13 PM} Any customer care rep will be able to help you with case#.
{David Pitlyuk 11:18:54 PM} Ok so what you are saying is that after refusing the package tomorrow I should contact a customer care rep with that case # and let them know I am returning that order. Is this correct?
{Nara 11:19:08 PM} Yes.
{David Pitlyuk 11:19:12 PM} Thank you.

I picked up a couple new goodies recently that I thought I’d share. First, I finally replaced my brick Canon S60 digital camera with a new 10mp Canon SD900. It’s about half the size, much more convenient, and much more capable. I’m very partial to Canon digital cameras and video cameras after having a few bad Sony cameras.

I also picked up a Guess Collection square diver class watch. It’s part of Guess’s new higher-end Swiss made watches. I decided to get a nicer watch to wear when dressed up, and it had to have a big square face:

While it’s nowhere near a “super nice” watch, it’s worthy enough for me. I picked it up for about $500.

I was tagged by Derek Semmler to post 8 fun facts/oddities about me which you guys probably didn’t know. Here’s the rules:

Rules To Follow

• Each player must post these rules first.
• Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
• People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
• At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
• Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

Fun Facts

1. I’m a first generation American. Both of my parents were born in Russia, and I was born in America.
2. I should have been born in Chicago, Ill but my mom was visiting my grandmother in Louisville, Kentucky…where I was born. So by technicality I am a Kentuckian.
3. I dated the same girl for almost 7 years. I started dating Crystal when I was 17 and a senior in high school, she was 18 and a freshman in college. We dated for 6.5 years, broke up for exactly one year, go back together for 3 weeks, and broke up again. It was the only really serious relationship I’ve been in.
4. The Y in Pitlyuk shouldn’t be there. When my parents came to this country, they didn’t speak any english. In Russian my last name is pronounced “Pitlyook”, but the Russian characters are different than in English. They ended up spelling it Pitlyuk, my parents divorced when I was young, so my mom got re-married, and my dad changed his name to the correct spelling of “Pitluk”. I never had my last name changed.
5. I went to college at the University of Maryland Baltimore County. It’s part of the University of Maryland system, but it’s a school that is big on things like engineering, computer science, etc. My major was Imaging and Digital Arts with an emphasis on 3D animation. I ended up hating my major, but finished it out. The last two years of college I really put an emphasis on taking a lot of classes in information systems management, and I practically double majored in it.
6. I’ve traveled internationally a decent number of times for my age, here are the countries I’ve visited:

• England (twice)
• France (three times)
• Chile
• South Korea
• Aruba
• Bermuda
• St. Croix
• Canada
• Germany
• Italy
• Puerto Rico
• I think I’m forgetting a couple

7. I was one of the two people behind SmashMyViper.com, which was a viral experiment to try and generate a million dollars through advertising and destroying a Dodge Viper.
8. Here’s a list of jobs that I’ve had in my lifetime:

• Van Heusen: Sales associate for a clothing store
• PC repair store
• Jillian’s (now Dave & Busters): Server at the restaurant
• Circuit City: Installed car audio for about 9 months, then moved into car audio sales for 3 months
• SAIC: Data analyst aka data entry type work for a US Army contract
• Current Job: Project manager for a large media company

I hope you enjoyed my 8 fun facts :)  Here’s 8 bloggers that I’m tagging for the same:

1. Ryan Christensen
2. Brandon Hopkins
3. Jane May
4. Scot Smith
5. Joshua Dorkin
6. Ray
7. Dan
8. Stubsy

I just wanted to post a quick update in regards to the new ridiculous civil traffic fines in Virginia. There is a petition against it online, and I encourage all Virginia residents to sign it!

If you want to vent, feel free to post your comments below on what you think about the new fines.

7/12/07 Update: There are now over 22,000 signatures on the petition as of about noon today. It looks like it’s really starting to spread around, as the numbers are getting higher much quicker. Make sure to sign and spread the word around so that it can really make a difference!

7/13/07 Update: There are now close to 50,000 signatures as of about 10:40am, it’s definitely picking up! A co-worker this morning told me he was watching NBC4 news this morning, and they mentioned that Virginia was considering repealing the fines. I haven’t been able to find a story about that anywhere, so if you know of one, post the link. It looks like there may be some hope!

7/17/07 Update: We just hit the 100,000 mark!  That’s a huge milestone, but lets keep it going.

I’m going to be taking a break for blogging for the rest of the week since I’ll be in Ocean City, MD for the July 4th holidays.  I’ll be back either Friday or Saturday I think, so I’ll be  in full blogging mode next week.  Until then, enjoy your holiday!

I’m back from Atlantic City, and happy to report that I made a little extra money. Here’s the full report for the weekend:

We made the drive up to AC from Virginia with two cars and 7 people, but traffic was horrendous. It was a good 5+ hour drive that should have taken about 3 hours. We finally arrived around 7:

We stayed at the Sheraton…although we were only in the hotel sleeping for about 4 hours:

Here’s the view we had:

After going out to dinner, we went over to the Tropicana to meet our friends and start gambling. We ended up pretty much staying there for the majority of the night. I came planning to spend $100-$200 at the most, but I was also planning to lose it.

I started off with roulette, and was done $30 from the get go. I then headed over Texas Hold ‘Em where I sat on the 2-4 table for most of the night. I ended up leaving about $180 up (including the $30 loss from earlier). We then headed over to Bally’s where we played a little Craps. Within 10 minutes, I was up another $180…but another 30 minutes later, I was up just $2, and decided to call it a night. We got back to the hotel around 6:30am.

The next day, we decided to do a little more gambling. I pretty much played poker the rest of the time, and managed to lose $50, bringing my total gains to about $125. Here’s a recap of how the rest of my friends did:

Jason: Was up $700 at one point, walked away with -$100.
Alex: Was up $65 at one point, walked away with -$250.
Andrew: Was up $700 at one point, walked away about even.
Marcel: Was down $800, came back up to $1,500, then walked away -$700.
C.D.: Walked away down $50.
Greg: Haven’t talked to Greg yet, but I think he broke even.

We never made it to Philly, and never got a chance to pick up the dirt bike…so the $750 story will have to be saved for another time.

All in all, a great weekend. I’ll be heading back to Ocean City, MD again tomorrow for the July 4th week.

I’m off to Atlantic City in a couple of hours with a few friends and colleagues. Half of us (my half) will be staying at the Sheraton which is at the convention center, and the other half is staying at the Tropicana.  I’ve only been to Atlantic City one time a few years ago, so I’m really looking forward to going.  We’re only going for one night, and we’ll be stopping through Philadelphia on Saturday to get some cheesestakes and to pick up a dirt bike.  I’ll be making a post later on how my friend is going to make at least $750 for a 2 hour drive to pick up a dirt bike…so look for that.

Update: There is a petition against these fees that can be found here.  VA residents, please sign!

There is a new ‘civil fee’ aka tax for Virginia residents which goes into effect July 1st, 2007…and it’s nuts. I can’t believe it somehow got through the system.

What Is It?

Any Virginia drivers that get anything from minor to major traffic violations are going to be paying a civil fee over the next 3 years that range anywhere from $250-$1,000 per year. For example a DUI will run you $750/year for 3 years, so you’ll be shelling out $2,250. How about something a little more ridiculous? Failure to use your turn signal is $350/year which is $1,050.

In Virginia anything 80mph and over is considered reckless driving…so if you are on a 65mph road, and going just 15mph over the speed limit, expect to pay either $350/year for a misdemeanor or $1,000/year for a felony.

These fees are before any sort of court fees, ticket fines, etc. It’s also on top of an annual point tax if you have enough points on your record. Judges have no say over the tax, so if you go to court and plead guilty, you are paying the full fine.

What Does This Mean And Why Is It Unfair?

This whole thing just seems to me like it was something that was created by traffic law firms. Why you ask? They will basically not have unlimited business because people would rather pay a traffic lawyer a few hundred dollars to get the chance of potentially getting any charge dropped, then to pay $750-$3,000 over 3 years on top of anything fees, fines, and charges.

I can see some of your arguments…”Drive good, don’t pay”. I agree with you, if you are breaking the law there should be a penalty, but I think that this crosses the border of excessive. For example if somebody were to steal some candy from the grocery store, they should have a fair punishment…they shouldn’t get the death penalty. The death penalty would be an excessive penalty. This fee just seems very skewed towards benefiting law firms to me.

Albo, a senior partner in the Albo & Oblon, LLP traffic law firm, can expect to see a significant increase in business as motorists seek to protect their wallet from traffic tickets that come with assessments of up to $3000 in addition to an annual point tax that tops out at $700 a year for as long as the points remain.

That above quote from TheNewspaper.com is exactly what I’m talking about.

This, on top of property tax on vehicles in Virginia, is really making me start to double think my residency here. I think it may be time to consider going to back to Maryland.

Do you think the fines are excessive? Or do you think it’s ok? What are the laws like where you live?

Feel free to check out the official VA Supreme Court document(PDF) explaining and breaking down the civil fees.

Simple question today…how did you come across my blog?