Gita launch next week

June 3rd, 2006 will mark a great day in history. Swami Kriyananda will speak at the offical launch of his book "The Essence of the Bhagavad Gita" at the Herbst Theater in San Francisco on June 3rd at 8pm. The event is already sold out. One may marvel at what promise this event and book might hold for the future of truth-seekers and for the world at large. Paramhansa Yogananda predicted: "A new scripture has been born. Millions will find God through this work. Not just thousands, millions. I have seen it."

My wife and I already have two copies of this book (his and hers). One Indian edition and one limited copy U.S. edition, so that we don't have to fight over it. It's a great scripture indeed. Never have I seen a scripture so clearly and simply explained with extraordinary practicality. It will be a treasure for eternity.

It is already advertised in Amazon.com, though not yet released.

Brithday facts

Here is a fun link: enter your birthday and learn lots of interesting and fun facts.

The dire state of customer service in the U.S. - a Tmobile story

About two months ago I bought a Tmobile phone with a pay-as-you-go plan. I don't have cell phone coverage where I live, so I only use it when I travel. Tmobile's pay-as-you-go plan ends up being about 8 dollars a month for someone like me who doesn't live with his cellphone. It came with 60 free minutes, which I needed to refill shortly. My refill experience was quite a story. I used their online refill feature, which was quite simple in appearance, as one would expect. You enter the number of dollars, credit card number and a callback number just in case there is a problem with the transaction. Simple, eh ? The trouble is the refill didn't get reflected in my account. I waited for a day or two and sent them an email.

I am including here my email exchanges with them.

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Thank you for contacting T-Mobile. You should expect a response within 24 hours. Please reference case number 1528615 in the event you need to update your request. Please submit your request only once to ensure a timely response.

Sincerely,
T-Mobile Web Correspondence
12-05-2006
09:06:36 PT

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Dear Koral:

Thank you for contacting T-Mobile about how long it takes for a refill to reflect online. I understand how important this is for you, and I can definitely assist you today!

Once the refill transaction is complete, it will update in all systems in real time, so you should see it right away; if you do not, sign out and sign back in to My.T-Mobile.com.

I see that the last refill on your account was $15 on April 19, 2006; if you have added a refill since then, you should have a confirmation code; please provide it so we can look into it. If you do not have a code, but have a bank statement that shows money was withdrawn, please call our Refill Center to have the missing refill researched. Call 1-877-778-2106 or dial *ADD and press send on your T-Mobile To Go handset.

If you have any other questions or concerns regarding this particular issue, please reply to this message, making sure to reference case # 1528615; if you contact us with a separate issue, please use our website and create a brand new case number. Alternatively, you can call our Customer Care Department at 1-800-937-8997 or by calling 611 from your T-Mobile handset.

Thank you for being a Valued T-Mobile Customer!

Sincerely,

Matthew K.
Rep id # 7263495
Customer Care Specialist
T-Mobile USA

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Does my cell phone need to be turned on during the time of the refill ?

I did this transaction online. I did not save my confirmation code.
It hasn't posted to my credit card yet. Once it gets posted
to my credit card, I will call the Refill Center.

Koral

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Dear Koral Ilgun,

Thank you for taking the time to contact T-Mobile. My name is Douglas and I will be happy to assist you.

I understand, Koral, you wish to know if your phone needs to be on when you make a refill. I know it is frustrating to try and add minutes but nothing happens.

Your handset does not need to be on and working when you refill your account online. If the payment worked it would have happened immediately and reflected on your T-Mobile To Go account and your credit card as soon as they normally post changes. If no payment has been taken from your credit card and no minutes added to your account then the refill did not work. If a payment was taken from your credit card but no minutes added you need to contact our refill center as soon as possible as they only have 48 hours to find missing refills.

Hopefully this answers your current concerns but if you have any other questions you can reply to this e-mail (use the Case ID of 1528615 in the subject) or did you know that you can call T-Mobile To Go ustomer Care at 1-877-778-2106 from your handset (or by dialing 611 and pressing SEND) and it is free of charge and it does not cost you minutes.

Thank you, Koral, for allowing me the opportunity to assist you today. We appreciate your business and value you as a loyal T-Mobile customer.

Sincerely,

Douglas M Rep ID 7255465
Customer Care Specialist
T-Mobile USA

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There is still no change in my T-Mobile account.
There is no charge on my Credit Card either.

So, I tried refilling online again and after more than 3 hours there
is still no change on "My T-Mobile" Account Balance.

This time I got the Order# : .......
It was a $XX order.

So, why is online refill not working ? Is it not possible to refill online ?

Thanks,

Koral

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Dear Koral Ilgun:

Thank you for taking the time to contact T-Mobile today. My name is Angel and I will be happy to assist you. I understand from your e-mail that your minutes did not post to your account.

I do apologize about any inconvenience this has caused you. I understand how frustrating this can be. Upon review of your account the last refill I show is 4/19/06. If you purchased minutes and they did not post you would have to get in touch with our refill center at 1-877-778-2106.

If there is anything else we can do for you, Koral, please let us know.

I would like to take this opportunity to remind you that you may log into http://www.myt-mobile.com at any time, this is a convenient way to check your account information or phones available to you and make any changes you want to your account online.

I hope I have addressed all of your questions and concerns. Our goal is to provide you with World Class Service. If we can assist you with anything else please do not hesitate to respond to this e-mail case # 1528615. We are here 24 hours a day to assist you. Also you can call customer care at 1-800-937-8997 or 611, send from your handset and a representative will be able to assist you today.

We would like to thank you for being a valued T-Mobile customer.

Sincerely,



Angel f
7236985
Customer Care Specialist
T-Mobile USA


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Thank you for your response. I called the refill center and they told me that my
internet transactions were denied. They didn't contact me via the phone contact
number I left, claiming that it was "too late". They could have emailed me that
it was denied, but they didn't do that either. So I was waiting for several days for
these transactions to appear on my account. They could not tell me why my
transactions were denied either.

I then tried the same transaction through a landline phone. I talked to a
representative at the Refill Center and gave my phone number, credit card info,
refill amount to refill my account. They transferred me to a "specialist"
to finalize my transaction. It took me 35 minutes on the phone to refill my
account, they asked me all kinds of security questions as if I am applying
for a million dollar mortgage loan or something. This is ridiculuos.

I don't know if refilling my account through my-tmobile.com will ever work.
It's insane to put someone through such an ordeal to make a refill transaction.
(By the way, the URL you have below is incorrect, there is no such website).

I do not need a response to this email. If you want to do T-mobile a favor,
please forward this email to any and all responsible parties in your
organization so that they may improve the quality of your customer service.
At this point, T-mobile has a big negative mark in my book and I cannot
recommend it to anyone.

Regards,

Koral

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Dear Koral Ilgun,

Thank you for contacting T-Mobile. My name is Shawn and I will be glad to assist you today with your concerns regarding the issue you have been experiencing performing a refill. I can understand the importance of having your concern addressed.

To best ensure that your concerns about the refill process are handled, I recommend contacting out Customer Relations team. Their fax number is 1-813-353-6545.

Thank you once again, Koral, for contacting us here at T-Mobile. We will be happy to assist you with any further questions or concerns. We are available 24 hours a day and can be reached by replying to this email referencing case number 1528615 or by calling Customer Care at 1-800-937-8997 or 611 and then Send from your handset.

We appreciate your business and thank you for being a loyal T-Mobile customer, 1528615. It has been my pleasure to assist you with your concerns regarding the refill process. I hope you have a wonderful day.


Shawn M.
7261202
Customer Care Specialist
T-Mobile USA

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What is the email address for your Customer Relations team ?
Surely they must have some email address at this day and age
at a modern company like yours.

Regards,

Koral

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Dear Koral Ilgun:

Thank you for contacting T-Mobile. My name is Sherryl, and I would be happy to assist you today.

On May 18, 2006 you wrote to ask what the email address for the Customer Relations team is. I realize that faxing is not always an easy option to use through the computer, but unfortunately, the only way to contact the Customer Relations team is by fax.

The number is 1-813-353-6545. When contacting the Customer Relations group, I recommend that you include your mobile number, pin number and an alternative number you can be reached at. If you are writing by hand, please write in a clear legible hand, as some faxes machines can distort written material.

I understand that you experienced a problem when refilling your minutes online. I do recommend that you contact our refill center, as they will best be able to assist you with getting you your minutes.

If you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us again, either by email quoting case # 1528615, or by phone. Our number is 1-877-778-2106. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for your convenience.

Thank you for choosing T-Mobile To Go, Koral. We appreciate your business. Have a great day!

Sincerely,

Sherryl K, 7258055
Customer Care Specialist
T-Mobile USA

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At this point I gave up. I didn't think faxing them would get me anywhere. I think customers will eventually weed out these companies with such ridiculous practices. It may take years or decades, who knows. Having said this, other providers' customer service may not be any better than this, but I hope that in the future the main differentiating factor between these companies would become customer service and only the ones with good customer service would survive.

Nice speed test utility

I came across this link via a friend. So far, this is the nicest speed test utility I have seen. I have been using livingston.net's speedtest, but this one is even better: www.speakeasy.net/speedtest

Glorious weekend

This past weekend we celebrated Swami Kriyananda's 80th birthday and his lifetime of achievements and service to God as a disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda. Saturday evening, after the incredible Oratorio performed by the director's choir, Swamiji made a simple and concise comment: Glorious! That's how this whole weekend can be summed up.

I don't know the exact numbers but I heard that there were over 400 people attending this weekend.

Our dear friend Barbara Bingham posted some wonderful photos of this weekend on her website. Don't miss it.

The cast of Swamiji's play, "Jewel in the Lotus", gave a stunning performance bringing lots of laughter and tears to people's faces.

Inside a computer

I ran across this at my friend Ron Jeffries' blog, Cloudy Thinking. Check it out. Pretty nice animation. How your computer really works !!

Free calls within the US and Canada

If you haven't jumped on the Skype bandwagon, now may be the time. Skype just introduced free PC-to-PSTN calls within the US and Canada until the end of the year. Skype is probably already the market leader for VoIP for the masses. This may be one more blow to its competitors, the names of which I can't even remember. I have been using Skype for several years now. It's quality is awesome. The voice quaity is great even when talking to my overseas parents. I just started experimenting with its video capabilities too. It works quite well. Though I don't think the video feature is for me. It may be useful for some, but I don't feel I need to be seen while I am talking on the phone.

Dogwood and tulips

It's hard to make justice to the beauty of this dogwood tree in our yard by capturing it with a camera. You need to come and see it. I see it through my home-office window and admire it every moment. It's in full-bloom and in its most majestic look.


And here are some picture from Crystal Hermitage gardens for your enjoyment. The tulips are at their peak beauty.

Google releases SketchUp

I recently downloaded the new Google SketchUp application (free download). It's a very powerful yet easy-to-learn 3D design application. I went through its very well designed tutorial and within a few minutes I was able to sketch some simple designs. Of course, the free version is to promote their even more powerful Pro application, but it's a great tool for a DIY kind of person. It's well worth a try.

Trimba

Last Saturday I was doing brush clearing around the turtle pond as part of our Rajasi Day project. I was drooling over Ray's Husqvarna brush cutter. I have the big task of clearing the brush and grass around my house. I bought a decent electric trimmer last year but it takes a loooong time to cut through the overgrown grass. By the time I finish the whole area, I need to go back and do it again because the grass ends up growing back especially if we get more rain. I decided I need a stronger unit that can do the job faster. I started looking at the husqvarna web site. I was amazed to see that they have a "hovering" trimmer. It's a walk-behind trimmer that floats on a cushion of air. I thought that was pretty clever. Don't know how well it works in reality, but it is a clever concept.

Ideally, I would like to see a roomba equivalent of a trimmer. Let's call it "Trimba": a robotic trimmer where you can set the perimeter of your area to be trimmed, turn the thing on and let it whack. Of course you need to make sure it doesn’t whack the paint of your house, trim your pet's hair or damage your flower beds and fruit trees. Roomba has the accessories to prevent it from getting into certain areas, so I am sure the Trimba can do it too. I remember seeing robotic lawnmovers on the web a while back. Drop me a note if you see the Trimba.