Scrooge Award Winner: Ulta.com **UPDATE** **UPDATE**

**UPDATE #2**
This just gets better and better. Just now got a SECOND response from Guest Services. (By the way, my niece said she didn't see the snark in 1st response. Pshaw!)

So... at what point was Guest Services going to let me know that part of my original order was missing??? Does this mean that my original order was not late but instead not sent off? They don't even offer alternatives to the missing item. Wow.

I just told the family that their gifts would only be late. Now I have to let one of them know that their gift isn't even coming.

This whole thing has been a bad joke. What crap customer service. The best thing I can say about Ulta now is that their Twitter reps are way better at customer service than whoever is in Guest Services. 

What do you want to bet that if I were someone with a more important name (or social presence), I'd have gotten a better response to my complaints? 

Whatever.

I'm so mad now I could cry. No time to deal with this b.s. anymore because I have to go and find a replacement gift for my niece.



**UPDATE**

So. I finally get an email from Ulta "Guest Services". Their response to this whole fiasco is as strange as the fiasco... I'll just let you all see this for yourselves:

I shaking my head at a couple of things:

1. "Reship"??? What happened to the original shipment? Are they admitting that something happened with that one? If so, I find it a little crazy that the best they can say is "Oh, sorry. Our bad. Merry freaking Christmas."
2. Why so snippy since they are the ones who screwed this all up. If it is my choice to "no be" (yeah, I caught your sloppiness there) to be involved with their rewards program...

Yeah, I love it. They screwed up and can't even just admit that. Then they want to go and get all snarky with me.

Thanks Ulta. Glad I learned this lesson the first time ordering from you. Merry Christmas to you!

********************************************************************************

I think I was just bragging about how I did all my Christmas shopping early and on budget. I started buying gifts for the kids back in September so that I could get everything wrapped and paid for. Thank God I used Amazon for most of that because everything came in on time.

My problems started when I shopped online for smaller items to give to the adults in my family, plus a birthday gift. For some reason, I decided to pay attention to all the flyers and emails I was getting from Ulta. I have an Ulta credit card that I'd never used and, of course, I have the Ulta membership rewards card.

On November 25, I ordered approximately $80 worth of items for my nieces and nephews, including a birthday gift for a December 13th occasion. Even though we drew names this year, I still wanted to get something thoughtful for the other folks. And remember that Ulta was sending out all those emails and flyers with their holiday offerings...

(By the way, I have to say that when I placed my order, I didn't initially get the "free" shipping, Because ~drumroll~ I live in Alaska. A very nice Ulta rep refunded the shipping as a "one-time courtesy" when I questioned this policy.)

Actually, the shipping was reasonable

You all know that I do a lot of product reviews. That means I get lots of package deliveries. That means I track my deliveries because I don't want to have parcels laying around outside my door, tempting passerby thieves. (I've already had my car broken into several times this past year!)

When I started checking the tracking of my Ulta order, I was surprised that there was zero movement after a few days. Finally, I notice that there was nothing done with my shipment until December 2. Still, I wasn't too worried because the estimated delivery date was December 14.

Of course, I contacted Ulta. Their response on December 14 was that there had been a "delay" in processing my order and it was sent on December 4th. (I don't know why USPS Tracking showed that they accepted the shipment on the 2nd, but, oh well.) I thought it was cute that they reminded me that they had refunded my shipping fees as if they had done it because of the inconvenience instead of because a rep had done that from the get-go.

The USPS site was not updating the Tracking info so, on the 20th, I used the USPS site to check on the package. They responded with a phone call. How amazing is that? The USPS actually called me about my inquiry. I wasn't given any more tracking updates but was told that my parcel should arrive within the week.

Me: "Before Christmas?"
USPS guy: "Hopefully. The package was sent regular rate."
Me:  "Regular?"
USPS guy: "Slow."

I wanted to scream at him, but what was the use of that?

Apparently, Ulta uses ground shipping (cheap) for Lower-48 customers. When shipping to Alaska, they pass the package off to the USPS for the rest of the journey.

I can understand that shipping to Alaska is not as easy as ground-shipping to the other 48 states. But how about this: how about you start with the USPS for Alaska and Hawaii destinations, It's not as if we are still using the Pony Express! By now, a horse could have made the journey up the AlCan with the package.
                                            
Anyway...

The same day, I contacted Ulta again with the info from the USPS guy and asked that they cancel my credit and memberships cards. I got the standard auto-reply ensuring me of their Ulta's full attention and the promise of a response within 24 hours.

Let me mention that I also kind of blasted Ulta on Twitter on the 19th. And I can tell you something, you get a much faster response on Twitter than you do if you use the standard contact email addresses.

Via Twitter, I at least got an apology. They encouraged me to send incident info to a specific email.

Now, today, on the 22nd (not exactly within the 24-hour time fram) Ulta tweeted that I should check my in-box for a response sent earlier today. I'm checking my in-box, spam-box, deleted mails, etc. I will keep checking, but it really doesn't matter at this point. I've already mentioned to the fam that their gifts will be late. I'd already apologized for the birthday gift so I'm getting used to being left empty-handed and red-faced.

I feel bad that I didn't go with my back-up plan of ordering gifts from another seller when I still had time. Thing is, I can't afford to double-shop like that.

Christmas is not about the gifts, but that's not my point. My biggest gripe here is that at any time of year, customers should be valued more. When Ulta had a "delay" with processing my order, couldn't they have stepped up their game and rushed the shipping to make up for that delay? Or is that my small order (and the fact that I didn't pay the six bucks' shipping) wasn't important enough for them?

Whatever the case, I got burned this time. I bet Ulta would not be so understanding if I was late making a card payment! No worries, though. I am going to pay that credit card off pronto, then cut it into little tiny pieces.

                                           

Let me say right now that if I find out that I just missed seeing an email or am wrong in any other way, I will come back and apologize to Ulta. I'm not really expecting to have to do that, but I just want to be fair.

Peace
--Free

**REVIEW** Fiber Challenge (with a personal story)

I am going to review my Benefiber challenge, but I'll give you the personal story first. Warning: this involves TMI...

I recently had my first ever colonoscopy. My doctors insisted. It's recommended that people have this done at age 50. I had enough other stuff going on with my health for a while so I managed to delay the procedure for 5 years. It wasn't as big a deal as I expected.

If you have ever been a big fan of Jeff Foxworthy (as I am), you may have heard that the worst part of a colonoscopy is the preparation. That involves cleaning out your colon so that the way is clear for the scoping part of the procedure. When the docs talk about cleaning out your colon, they are serious.
There are different laxative treatments prescribed to prep people for the scoping. I was given something disgusting to drink called MoviPrep. Perfectly named. I was certainly moved and prepped. That stuff cleaned out my colon and the soul of my colon. I am not kidding when I admit (rather shamefully) that I literally lost 4 pounds. I'm pretty sure that half of that weight was from the calories I burned just making it to the bathroom. I haven't moved so fast since I was running from a childhood whipping.


Once I was good and cleaned out, I still couldn't stay away from the toilet. Maybe it's just my reaction to the MoviPrep, but I continued having the sensation of needing to "go". That lasted up until they gave me the sedatives for the procedure. I actually learned something interesting about this from the prep nurse. She said that I was having the weird sensation because, even though I'd emptied my bowels and colon, the body continually produces enzymes. I guess I was sensing those enzymes needing to come out of me! By the way, I will now forever refer to the laxative I took as "MoviPoop".

I was really worried about having an accident on the exam table, but the sedatives I was given solved that. I wasn't knocked completely out by the drugs but I went into a bit of a Bobby McFarin haze of 'don't worry, be happy'. (Okay, I was still slightly worried, but that's just my nature.)

Let me just say here that I think there should be a law that certain doctors should be either really, really old or really, really unattractive. The doc who did my procedure was neither of those things. Thank God he kept chatting and eye contact to a minimum. That's the only kind of bedside manner needed for this kind of thing.

My procedure went okay and I have nothing to be concerned about. However, I was advised (strongly) to get more fiber in my daily diet. That's what brings me to this review of Benefiber.

If I was just going to be using something for temporary constipation, I would probably have gone with a chocolate-based product. Or maybe some of those new fiber-loaded cookies. I could also do a big change in my overall diet. Because I am really happy with my keto regimen (and am finally seeing results resume!), I chose Benefiber powder.

PRO: Benefiber is priced really well against other brands of fiber products. I was able to get a large size (200 servings) at Costco for around $14.

Usually, when I pick up a super-sized item, I end up regretting it because I don't use it up fast enough or I find that I really hate the product. This time, I'm glad that I got a big container. I am using more than the suggested daily dose of the Benefiber because I'm not getting much fiber from my food. Since I have gone keto, I get a lot of oils and fats (helpful to the bowels) but not as many fruits and greens.

PRO: What I like most about Benefiber is that it's easy to incorporate into my daily life. Also, it's totally tasteless. Perfect. Best of all, it forces me to up my water intake.

I add the Benefiber to my morning coffee and water. During the day, I add the product to my water bottle. One of the warnings about fiber supplements is that they can cause constipation if not taken with enough fluid.

While you can add Benefiber to food, I haven't done that. On a daily basis, I am down to about one meal a day - fish and steamed veggies or something 'cheesy and greasy'. Other than that, I stick to water and coffee.

CON: I drink more sparkling mineral water than I do flat water. Benefiber does not mix well with carbonated.sparkling beverages.

OBSERVATIONS:  It's been 20 days and I am starting to feel and see a difference since upping my fiber intake. For the first six/seven days of taking about 30 grams each day, I didn't notice any changes in my, um, movements. I continued with that dosing for another couple days and I mentioned that to my best friend. She thought that I should be careful to not overdo the dosing because I can be so lax (hah) about drinking enough clear water. I did go up to 40 grams a day though. By the middle of the second week, I started seeing some daily action.

Now that I am getting more and more clear water (not sparkling), I have been rotating my dose of fiber: 40-50 grams on the days when I drink less water (about 3 16-oz bottles) or 50-60 grams when I drink more than 3 bottles of water.

RESULTS: Here's the good part. I am losing my stubborn pot belly. I thought that was fat, but I think it must have been all bloat. On my keto diet, I had been losing the weight in my legs and butt and couldn't understand why I had that pudge-gut. It was very discouraging. The higher intake of fiber did make me feel flatulent for the first week. That has gotten better. Maybe I was just full of hot air, huh? LOL

                                               

Anyway, I have heard from others that some people actually use Benefiber specifically to lose weight. That makes sense when you think about it. Fiber is filling and the fuller you feel the less you eat. In my case, I like that this fiber is helping to flatten my tummy. I just hope that as I do lose weight, I don't go back to a pancake-flat behind!

Finally, I don't think that it will hurt any of us to get more fiber. Benefiber is great for anyone who wants to keep it simple and just can't get enough food source fiber. This works well for me and I will be going back for refill of Benefiber in about 3 weeks.

Here is the Benefiber site, or just check out the FAQs. If you want to get an idea of how much food source fiber you are getting, this is their handy calculator.

Peace
--Free

The Spirit of Christmas and Christians

My aunt and I were talking the other day and she mentioned that she does not give out Christmas gifts. In her opinion, Christmas is just one day, meant to mark the birth of Christ - not to shop and indulge each other with presents.

I have a friend with that same opinion. All through the year, she gives money and presents to her loved ones when she thinks they need something or when she just wants to convey her affection for them.

I am a Christmas shopper. I'm also on a super tight budget so this year I started my shopping way back in October. I stockpiled Christmas gifts by hunting down sales and other deals. I managed to stay within budget, plus I already have everything wrapped and ready for Christmas morning. And I've already got the bills paid down. (Okay, there is one exception to the ready gifts, but that's all on Ulta and their slow processing!)

Ever since the conversation with my aunt, I've been questioning my motivation in gift-giving. Why do I wait until Christmas (or birthdays) to do something special for people I care about? Why wait? Am I trying to fit in with consumer tradition?

I've decided that for the future, I'm giving up this kind of silly consumerism. From now on, I'm going to go with my heart. I think my friend has the right idea about giving to and blessing others. Christmas, birthdays, Valentine's Day, etc. are not the only days that people need to feel thought of. There are many times when I have gotten a nice card from my best friend, or some little gift, just because she knew I was in need of the extra attention. I want to be more like her. I want to be more alert to the moods and feelings of the people in my life.

So, I thought about all of this and then I thought of how it ties in with my motivations as a Christian.

I'm that Christian that doesn't attend church every time the doors are opened. I'm the Christian who sometimes isn't always very nice or patient or forgiving or... perfect. I'm a Christian who is truly saved by mercy and not by my works. And it's not that I don't want to be a better Christian. It's just that I am trying to be a more authentic person.

                              

I know Christians who appear more Christ-like than I do. They are always in church, or they carry their Bibles everywhere. I know a couple of Christians who talked their faith all over their day jobs, but when it came time for them to be decent people in real-life situations, they were no better than the worst person on the street.

I guess I am making an early resolution. From now on, I am going to carry the spirit of Christmas and Christ with me in my daily life. I won't wait for a special occasion to give gifts or to be Christlike in my actions.

If I hadn't talked with my aunt, I might never have gone down this path of self-examination. Thank goodness that I have friends and loved ones who set such great examples for the rest of us.

Peace
--Free

**REVIEW** Qi Receiver and Wireless Charger

Okay, today's post is a dual-product review. I wanted to try a wireless charger but because my phone (a  Samsung Galaxy Note 4) doesn't have built-in capabilities for wireless charging, I had to handle that. So...

This is the Note 4 Qi Receiver Built-in Qi Wireless Charging Receiver by LANIAKEA

That's what it looks like on the product page at Amazon. Here is what it looks like 'in person':

Such a tiny thing to do something that's kind of amazing.

What the receiver does is allow me to charge my phone wirelessly - no plugging anything into the phone itself. 

When I want to charge my phone (which is pretty much all the freaking time), I just sit it down on this RAVPower Qi Wireless Charger Charging Pad. Like so:

That is, theoretically. I will get to that in a moment. In the meantime, this is what the charging pad looks like and comes with as you can see from my actual received product:

Understand the idea is wireless charging - not cordless. There is, of course, a cord to plug the charging pad into. But before I could even deal with the charging pad, I had to prep my phone.

I do love my Note 4 and I really don't ever want another phone. I think of the Note series as a phone for writers. Literally. The stylus with its note-taking, handwriting capabilities is so perfect for someone who hates typing on a tiny keyboard. The downside is, it's one of the few (if not the only) recently produced phones without Qi abilities pre-installed. Which is why I was so glad to find the receiver for not more than a tenner. The price is actually $11.86.

Installing the item is easy. Good thing because the included instructions were printed so small I joked that I'd need Superman vision to read them. I found a YouTube video instead and all is right with the world. This is basically what the deal is: you place the receiver onto your battery, fitting the metal doo-dads of the receiver over the metal doo-dads inside your phone. Like how technical I got there?

Trust me, it was easy. Don't even strain the soul of your eyes trying to read the enclosed instructions...

and that's with the camera magnifying the page 😏

Before I move on, let me point out a couple of positives about the receiver:

1. The price is very reasonable.
2. Never bought from the Seller before, but Laniakea was quick with the delivery and the product lives up to the hype so far.
3. The receiver even worked when I had my mirror back case attached.

There's really not much more the say about the receiver. Once it's inserted, I don't even think about it. 

Once I got the receiver inserted, it was time to try out the charging pad. I was so excited. Just to imagine not having to unplug my phone every time I left my desk to take a break. Oh, the joy. The happiness, The- What the heck? 😨

(BTW, Blogger should never have added symbols. I will be so much more annoying now!😁)

On to the charging pad then.🠊 (See. Annoying.) Anyway...

Remember, how easy this photo made things look? 

Now, remember what I said about theory and all?

I was looking at the picture all wrong. I saw "easy". In practice, well... It's more like this:

                                                

👎Boo. Hiss.

No kidding. If you don't get the phone placed onto the charging pad just so,good luck. 

The good thing is, once I get some practice, it should be easier to just plop the phone onto the charging pad in the correct position. I hope. For now, I can tell when I've got it correctly placed because the pad's indicator light will flash green and red as long as the phone is charging. Also, the phone does make that annoying connection sound that it does just like when plugging into a wired charger.

The rest of the Pros and Con's about the charger? I will start, of course with the negatives:

• Charging is not as speedy as with an OEM* cable charger.
• This is not cordless, so... There will be the cord from the pad to the wall to avoid tripping over. (I already tripped over it, yes, I did.)
• The pad takes up desk space. Not a lot, but enough if your desk is small. It's about the size of a flattened 100's cigarette pack. 

On the Plus side:

• My phone doesn't get as warm as it can with a cable charger. 
• Though it charges slower, it will be great for overnight charging.
• Wireless is great for people like me who always forget and just about yank their whole desk over when trying to walk away with a plugged in phone. True story. At least twice a day. One time I tipped over my whole portable desk.
• I paid $10 for this one last week. I see the price is up to $15.99 today. Just wait for a sale or check out other sellers. I'd say that, at most, this is worth about $20, but I'd still look for a bargain price.
• If your household has users of different types of phones, it would be nice to have a couple of these pads around. No more worrying with cable fits which phone.

Bottom Line:

If you catch this at the right price (and I waited a few months to do just that), then this would make a great gift for a gadget lover. While not essential, it is a cool idea and it does have benefits.

Personally, I would not have gotten this if I'd had to pay even 5 bucks more. It's nice but it's a must-have item - especially if you have to get the receiver separately. 

There are some people for whom a wireless charger is more useful. I think that people with multiple phones (maybe like my nephew who has a work phone and his personal phone) or a busy house might find it useful. Again, not having to worry about finding/sharing cables with everyone is a big benefit.

There you have it. Hope this review was helpful to some of you.

Peace

--Free

*OEM = Original Equipement Manufacturer

**REVIEW** Samsung Galaxy Note4 Spare Battery Charger

For anyone who uses a cellphone, I don't think there is such a thing as having too many spare batteries or chargers. Or too many charging cables.

Recently, I got the chance to grab a spare battery and charger for that battery for a review. I love having a spare battery. Having the included charger was nice but I found a better charger.

Front of case
case door closed
Charging indicator light at very top

First off, I love the way the charger is made. Inserting a dead battery will trigger a red/orange light; a charged battery triggers a green light. Once I charge up my spare battery, I can just drop the case into my bag and go. The one other charger I have is of an open design. The battery moves around and sometimes will fall out of the charging position and there's absolutely no way to pack it around with a battery inserted.

This case by Samsung is a nice and neat design. Looks very clean and it's super lightweight. Another benefit it has over my other (open-face) face charger is that there is no hassle in having to line up the charging nodes. All I need to do is drop the battery into the case, shut the door and then plug in a cable and cord:

Case door open, battery insterted

The one and only negative to this case is, for the price, I was surprised that there was no cable included. Using the right charging cable makes a HUGE difference.

The product page for the charger indicates an approximate 2-hour charging time. The first time I used the charger, I attached it to one of the spare universal cords I keep around the house. Bad move. I had the charger plugged in for over four hours and the battery was still not charged. I left it overnight so I'm not sure exactly when it finally charged up the battery to full. That was kind of a test. The next time, I made sure to use my fast-charging Samsung cable. Took about and hour and 15 minutes to charge up a mostly depleted battery.

Lesson learned: the charging cable makes all the difference!

The charging case is perfect for someone like me who is always forgetting to check their current battery level. I never realize how low my battery is until I am walking out the door on the way to an appointment or to run errands. My family hates when I leave the house and there is no way to get in touch with me. They worry I will get sick and not have a way to call for help or let them know. Hell, I worry about that, but my memory is bad so... I forget to check my battery.

This case is just what I needed. Now all I have to do is get a few more rapid charging cables to go with it.

view of charging port

Like I said, the design is perfect for a take-along. The case is slim and thin and lightweight. I can slide it into the back pocket of my jeans and forget that it's there. It takes up almost no room in my purse.

Slim enough for pocket, purse, bag

For some reason, when I ordered, the case was priced at $15.98. I see that it is now showing a price of $9.99. For the higher price, it should have come with a spare cable...

Now that I do have a charger I love and that works really well, I am on the lookout for an extra battery, cable, and wall plug. If anyone knows of something good, reasonably priced, and (this is the important part) actually a verified OEM (original equipment manufacturer),please shoot me a message. I am finding a TON of parts that say they are OEM, but customer reviews are outing some fakes and substitutes. Come to think of it, I might need to bypass Amazon and go straight to the Samsung source.

Peace
--Free

**REVIEW** Xtra-Funky Shiny Mirror Case (for Galaxy Note4)

While I love, love, love my Samsung Galaxy Note 4 (most of the time) and I do try to keep it safe by using protective cases, I don't usually buy decorative cases. I'm mostly about keeping my phone safe and working. Pretty is not a priority.

But...

I saw this case when I was ordering Christmas gifts for DJ. I can't remember how I came across it, but it certainly caught my eye.

How could it not?

That's the photo from the product page for the (get ready for the name) Xtra-Funky Range Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Slim TPU Silicone Shiny Mirror Case with Sparkly Crystal Diamante Rhinestones - Silver

I will just call it the mirror case. The photos mostly speak for the product, but I will give you my opinion of course.

Hard to get photos because of the shine. Almost looks like the case is floating, doesn't it?

I like that the case really is as shiny as it looks on the product page. My own photos don't capture it so well, but it is truly a mirror-like finish. Seriously.

It's nice to have a mirror attached to something that I always have on hand. I have to admit that when I was in the store today, I was using it to spy on a cute guy that I'd passed in one aisle! Not sure if that's what the intended use is. Since the mirror is my main attraction to this case, I have to mention that it smudges easily. That doesn't take away from the use of the mirror though.

The one thing I don't like about the case is that the "rhinestones" are so cheap looking when you see them up close. They aren't even actual rhinestoned - just really cheap and cloudy-looking plastic chips in the shape of the stones. I know that rhinestones are cheap imitations anyway, but these are so dulll-looking that I wish I had gotten a case without them added on.

I want to point out that even though the mirror is really nice, the case itself (inlcuding the mirror part) is not a hard substance. The plastic is a soft, molded unit that bends with very little pressure. I guess that's a good thing since a harder plastic would break. The winter weather here is really cold so I like the more pliable plastic.

Another thing about the case is that, while it does provide covering (and some cushioning) to the back, it's not something I'd count on offering a lot of protection should I drop the phone.

Overall, I really do like this a lot. That mirror is something else. I guess the only real negative I can point out (other than those rhinestones) is that I have to press harder on my side buttons to get them to work. For the purpose of the buttons, it would be nice is the case were more rubberized than plastic.

Though I don't like the cheap look of the rhinestones, they only look bad at a close view. From a distance, the stones really don't take away from the look of the case. And, once again, that mirror makes it worth it.

Bottom line, the case cost less than 5 bucks. That's a great price and very much worth it.

I've been over on Amazon looking at the other items in the Xtra-Funky storefront. I see a few things that I like for gift items, including cases and accessories for all kinds of phones. My family is a mix of Android and iPhone users, so...

I can tell you that I do like the case I got and that the service was great from the Seller. I will be purchasing from them again.

Peace
--Free