Day: May 15, 2006

Interview with Vero

I did an interview with Vero for the Youth.gc.ca website if you would like to a look.

On Friday, May 12, 2005 there was a message on my home phone from HMV indicating that my pre-ordered copy of the new Red Hot Chili Peppers album; Stadium Arcadium, was put aside for me at the Merivale Road location (located at Merivale Place 1651 Merivale Road (613) 226 9190 in Ottawa, Ontario) where I had placed the pre-order.

Excited that the weekend had arrived and I finally had time to pick it up, I left my house in xxxxxx, xxx (hey, you don’t know what kind freaks are out here in the world reading my blog!) to drive out to the location.

After driving the 30 kilometers to the store, with my pre-order confirmation voucher in hand, I went to the front cash to show them my voucher and ask for the album. After a few minutes of the cashier looking in cupboards and out on the floor and speaking on the phone with an unidentified person (whom I can only assume would be a supervisor on duty?), he informed me that they did not have a copy for me and was very sorry.

Working in the retail industry myself at one point in my life, I chose not to express my frustration with the cashier who had no control over the situation. I politely asked if they could arrange for me to pick up the album in the xxxx,xxxx location since I did not wish to drive for 30 kilometres again in fear that the store would once again not have the album. I was impressed with the fact that they arranged it so I could pick it up at the other store even though the pre-order voucher indicated that this would not be possible.

I would like to question how a store could go ahead and call people indicating that a copy of an album is now at the store and ready for pickup, and then not have it. I understand that the pre-order voucher does not indicate that a copy would be placed aside for the purchaser, however, considering the phone call I received which indicated so, one would think there actually would be, especially considering I had driven out to the location within 24 hours of the phone call.

You may be asking why I had chosen to make the pre-order at the Merivale Road location in the first place considering it was 30 kilometres away from my house. I was picking up a DVD which was on sale and the only store in the area that had it left in stock was the Merivale Road location and at the time I noticed the pre-order deal for the new RHCP album and signed up. Unfortunately, I didn’t notice until later that the voucher indicated that I had to buy it at that location and not at any HMV location.

I would ask two things:

Have someone explain to me (in writing) why this error occurred
Reconsider the policy on needing to pick up a pre-order in the same location that you placed it. It was easily done in my case as an exception, so why not do it for all who take part in the pre-orders?

I must say that I am not impressed with HMV at the moment and that I will be spreading my distaste amongst my other friends who are known to frequent HMV stores. Hopefully my comments to my friends can be positive after hearing from you.

Please note that I am sending this same letter to both the head office in Etobicoke, Ontario and to the Merivale Road location in Ottawa.

Thank you,

The Palmer

***and there you have it. I wonder what kind of response I will get. To all those who have ever been snubbed by stores – write to them! I am kicking myself for never writing sooner to Home Depot about my paint issues last fall…it’s probably too late to do anything. On the other hand, it doesn’t hurt to try, right?***

Concert Reviews

Review: The Trews at Tulip Festival

Post author By admin
Post date May 15, 2006
5 Comments on Review: The Trews at Tulip Festival

I found out yesterday that I spent 4 hours on Friday night in torrential downpours. If you don’t know how that feels, think of how you would feel when your skin becomes a prune after 4 hours. Why the heck did we brave the elements?The Trews! Check out review here. Or you can just keep reading about our escapades.

What may I say about the Trews? Out of Antigonish, NS, based in Niagara Falls, ON, these guys know how to rock. Like ‘whoa, did they just do that?!’ rock. The setlist was a haze from my concentration swaying from keeping rain out of my body, but it was a killer show with the guitar solos, the numerous encores and the smoke show which just looked like an amplifier blew up.

Mike, Vero, Joe and I showed up at the Tulip Festival after it had rained all day thinking that we would get a reprieve. As soon as the Novaks went on it started to pour. But it was more of a ‘hey I’m going to rain on you but come at you from all directions so you don’t know what’s going on’. After the Novaks, Vero realized that she needed new clothes as she didn’t think it would rain so her and I went back to get some new clothes on her as well as some garbage bags for everyone.

When we returned, 1,500 more people had filtered in so it was a pain to find Joe and Mike (let’s be honest, the only pain was the fact that I had two beers in my hand and there were umbrellas in the crowd). Once we found them where we left them (right up front) we settled in for the long haul.

Highlights:

Someone proclaiming that as soon as they would take a sip of their beer, it would magically fill itself up again
Joe screaming at the very annoying girl from Antigonish who was dancing and screaming in our ears. I loved how she proclaimed to me “You’re not rocking enough! You Ottawa guys suck!” in which, in the Palmer sarcasm you all love, said to Vero “Vero, do you hear this? I didn’t realize that standing here in a torrential downpour to see a band we love counts as sucking as an audience. I suppose we should just leave.” And I did. To get some beer. But the look on her face was priceless. I think she realized she was speaking out of her ass at that moment. Note to all rockers out there: Everyone rocks in their own way. Especially in a freaking rainstorm.
Someone’s ten foot wide umbrella in which Mike said he saw some dude just shake all the time because it was in the way. Classic. Note to all umbrella toting rockers out there: Get out of the crowd. You don’t deserve to rock up front with us, regardless of how I just said four lines above that everyone rocks in their own way. You’re just making the night awful for the guys in behind you. #1 rule in rocking: Don’t interfere with another’s concert going experience. Except for you seven foot tall boys, there’s no way around that. Do your best to put the Oompa-Loompas in front of you, but don’t feel too bad. The Lord of Rock gave you a gift.

So, once the night ended and we got our second wind, we went over to the faithful Heart and Crown to meet up with Philipp, Carrie, Brian and Sebastien. It was an amazing night and at that moment, drenched to the bone, we didn’t really care what we looked like (as apparent by the pictures taken that night) and we all felt like crap. Let’s just say I felt like I had dived into a lake for an hour with my clothes. My sneakers are still wet three days later.

The band Pogey was pretty good in all their acoustic glory. Highligtts of that adventure were:

Asking Sebastien how he enjoyed his first trip to Montreal in which he replied “I will tell you all about it, but first I must rock to this song.” I love this guy already.
My shirt drying out and then having a beer spilled on me. Great.

That did it for us for the rest of the weekend. Water-logged and miserable, we drove home and slept until noon. Then I meandered around on Saturday when I was supposed to get some hardcore essay work done. I ended up making a plan and whipped 1250 words up on Sunday which I am now happy with as it was bugging the hell out of me.

However, I have a story to tell about a trip to HMV, but first, I must write a letter.

iplaying: Parachutes – Pearl Jam (‘Avocado’ Album)