From time to time the policies or actions of corporations make our lives on the road a lot easier -- or totally maddening. Please note that some of these entries are from experiences years ago.

Crystal Cruises
The finest cruise ship experience in the world.

Caribbean 1500 (Complaint)
We completed our 2004 sailing voyage from Hampton to Tortola (BVI) safely thanks to our previous sailing experience and months of preparation, but we were seriously disappointed with Caribbean 1500 Rally management. We were particularly disillusioned when President Steve Black stopped radioing weather reports while we were still many days at sea, and ceased updating the C-1500 website with boats’ daily position reports as promised (causing our parents great concern), and effectively canceling the “gala awards dinner” for those in the back of the fleet. He neglected other important details as well. When we complained on this site, some of his friends sent hostile and even threatening emails. Our response: bring it on, officious jerks.

We met many other participants whose friendship we cherish, but if we were to make the Chesapeake to Caribbean voyage again we feel we would be happier, have a better value, and be a lot less frustrated by hiring a commercial weather service for our time at sea and making the long trip independently. We were very surprised  and disappointed to have been let down by Steve Black, but he was much too busy kissing up to the rich people to concern himself with our questions and problems.

McMurdo Pains Wessex: (Kudos)
This company makes the GPIRB used on Pioneer. This expensive GPS device is valuable because in case of disaster at sea, it can send a Mayday signal along with the precise location of the emergency to rescue services -- from anywhere on earth, pinpointing our position within a few hundred feet!

The problem was that in testing early this year, one unit (not ours) failed to send the precise latitude/longitude. The company thought this an isolated case, but because lives were at stake, they agreed to service existing units at their expense, including shipping.

They responded to Becky’s inquiry by not only providing free overnight shipping both ways, but by replacing the entire unit with the most current version at no cost to us. Our sincere thanks to the people at McMurdo Pains Wessex.....something we’ll say a thousand times over if we end up in our life raft hundreds of miles from shore, and are quickly rescued.

Dell Computer: (Super Kudos, other than repeated hardware failures)
We began experiencing mini electrocutions when we placed our Dell laptop computer on our laps-- one of the first places one doesn’t want non-self generated electrical shocks. Dell repaired it so quickly that we've forgiven them for returning it to the wrong state. More recently one of the hinges broke. Dell fixed it in two days and paid the overnight freight both directions.

Update: when that laptop died, we purchased a high end replacement. It was wonderful, except that it kept locking up. It took dozens of hours, but we finally traced the problem to bad memory (the computer’s!). There were some ups and downs working on the phone with tech support, most of whom were in India and were sometimes hard to understand, but after a month the problem was fixed. Still later, the internal wireless card failed to work because of a broken wire. But after initially showing up with the wrong parts, a Dell technician came to the boat and changed the entire motherboard at no cost. Too bad that was necessary for a single broken wire. Our one year old laptop has now had the memory and motherboard replaced twice (!), as well as the hard drive, modem, wireless card, hinges and most exterior trim.

SUPER SERVICE: Our missionary friends were living in remote NE Thailand when the hard drive on their laptop failed. Dell shipped a new drive from Singapore to Bangkok and had their technician take a 12 hour bus ride to our friends' village. He quickly fixed the broken computer and hopped right back on a bus for the 12 hour return trip -- at no cost to our friends! How about THAT for fabulous product support? It ought to be in a commercial.

Kodak: (Kudo/Complaint)
Kodak generously sent a replacement cord for our DC 280 digital camera -- free of charge. But shortly after arriving in Thailand, the camera died for no apparent reason. We had to buy the same model (now outdated in the U.S. and at a higher than U.S. cost) and in Bangkok we couldn't find the more sturdy version. We wish they had made this camera more durable. We're treating the replacement like a fragile egg. (Update: the replacement also died and we finally bought a much more capable Minolta -- and then another Minolta -- and then a 10MP Sony A-100).

America Online: (Major Complaint)
AOL's computers thought we were sending "spam" while we were in Portugal posting messages to a large group of family and friends. AOL froze our accounts without warning. Worse, they gave us no means of contacting them overseas (other than an international phone call to be put on perma-hold), and we couldn't even cancel our account. They certainly managed to continue charging us even though we couldn’t use AOL.  We frequently had to travel back and forth on a train to a Lisbon Internet cafe to check for messages about Don's ailing father. Plus, it was impossible to upload new photos to our website using any AOL connection. What's the use of AOL? Seriously! Even when we canceled our account we had to badger them repeatedly for our unused service refund. “AOL, it's so easy”. AOL is a mess. 2012 update: We’re astonished AOL is still in business.

American Express: (Complaint/Major Compliment)
AMEX promoted "2 for 1" international business class airfare to Asia. But we found our tickets would cost $1,200 MORE than a true and honest 2 for 1 deal. Six years have passed and they have yet to respond to our letter about this.
However, when the Kodak camera we purchased in October, 1999 died in Thailand, we recalled that we had charged it on our Platinum American Express card nearly two years before. AMEX added a year to the original one-year Kodak warranty. They accepted our lengthy collect international phone calls from a tiny town in remote Thailand, and a warranty supervisor named Marcia Slaughter cut through all kinds of paperwork to assure us a refund even without paperwork. We had delayed our departure to Indonesia because of this problem, but American Express saved us additional inconvenience and expense. On the other hand, while in Thailand a subsequent time we were given horribly incorrect advice by their Platinum Travel Service, causing us to make two unnecessary trips via bus to Bangkok. Many months later, they FINALLY responded to repeated submissions of our letter about this -- which was about time, given that Don has held an American Express card since 1972. After many frustrating resubmission of our documents and letter of complaint, and numerous phone calls, they finally admitted their error and credited our account $800 to compensate for the trouble their incorrect advice caused. We’re still frustrated that when Don specifically said to the agent that it seemed he was giving faulty advice, the agent got all huffy about it.

AT&T: (MAJOR Complaint in 2001)
We conditionally rescinded our earlier rant about AT&T because they resolved a disagreement in our favor -- although we're not thrilled that they got us all worked up in the first place. But we are still peeved about their billing policy of "rounding up" to the next minute on their "One Rate" -- which added 90 minutes to a recent monthly phone bill in the U.S. They have other nasty little tricks that will cost you money too. This company is devious. Watch out! UPDATE 10-2-03: They’ve found a new way to screw their customers who cancel service. They won’t let you cancel on the date of your choice, as they used to. You have to pay for the rest of your billing month even if you call to cancel on the second day of your billing month. What a bunch of total jerks. We think AT&T wireless, as it existed in 2001, was a very user-unfriendly company and we would rather use tin cans and string than their services ever again.

Avis: (Rescinded Complaint/New Complaint)
We rescind our earlier rant about Avis. One of their employees at LAX is still a totally ignorant twerp, but at least they gave our money back. But in Florida they refused to supply a car for the rate quoted in our confirmed reservation. Because it was late at night, we paid the higher rate -- and then on top of that they never credited our airline account for mileage credit, which left us 48 miles short of a free ticket on United. Avis bites it. (UPDATE: United Airlines, bless their hearts, gave us the 48 miles).

OnStar: (After liking them initially, we now really hate this outfit).
We rescind our earlier rave about OnStar. This GM program designed to assist motorists is suffering from its own success. Their once great service has free-fallen into an abyss of inefficiency, confusion, broken promises, system breakdowns and pip squeak employees’ ignorance and befuddlement. We'll use the $415 annual fee for something better than annoyance. UPDATE 3/02: These idiots still haven't refunded what we're due, after many months and many calls. UPDATE four months later: They finally sent the refund, admitting that we'd never have received it if we hadn't bugged them repeatedly. How can people who work for an outfit like that sleep at night? UPDATE two YEARS later: they still think we are customers and keep sending us “thanks for your business” crap in the mail, no matter how many times we ask them to take us off their lists.

West Marine: (compliment/complaint)
This marine supply company is well stocked, or can get what boaters need), but MAN are they expensive. Example: They advertised Canon image stabilized binoculars for nearly $1,400. When Becky found the same thing at a Photo Shop in New York at just over half price, she mentioned this to a West Marine Manager -- who looked at her computer and said, "Oh sure, we can match that price." It's our view that any outfit that can cheerfully cut prices in half when challenged is charging too much in the first place. Another example: For the sailboat, we bought Shell Rotella T engine oil at Walmart for $6.27 per gallon. West Marine gets $18 for the same thing -- and was indignant when we questioned the price.

Taylor Guitars: (compliment)
In northern Florida, Santa brought Becky a guitar for Christmas. A few weeks later, in Key West, we realized it had a manufacturing defect. Finding no Taylor dealer in town, we went to a music store. After receiving a repair quote, Becky called Taylor Guitars in California. We were delighted that instead of making us package up the guitar and send it off for repairs, they simply paid the local shop. In two hours, Becky was again working her way to becoming a music legend. Our sincere thanks to the good people at Taylor Guitars who apparently understand how difficult it is for cruising sailors who are afoot when ashore.

Hotel Courtyard in Kathmandu, Nepal.
An amazing experience. An inspirational home away from home.