Dave Klonke

Google At Age 10

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 11:13:54 -0400

Google vs. Microsoft

It kind of makes me sick how quickly 10 years passes.

My iPod's pissed at my wireless card

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 08:01:17 -0400

The other night I was working on my laptop with an AT&T wireless card and listening to my iPod. For some reason there’s an invisible funkiness that floats in the air from the card making the iPod wheel jump and skip. I turned off the connection on the laptop and the iPod worked fine.

Not sure why this is happening now as I’ve used both before at the same time.

I’m thinking someday we’re all going to glow and die from all the radiation that these devices let off. I wonder what the world would smell like if, like natural gas, they added the smell of rotten eggs to whatever emissions come from our phones, iPods and computers. I don’t want to know.

Sarah Palin

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 11:37:00 -0400

I was really impressed with her speech and delivery last night at the RNC.

Behind the scenes of a magazine feature story.

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 11:30:40 -0400

Behind the scenes of a magazine feature story.: Publishing a magazine is somewhere on my list of things to do before I die, so I’m looking forward to following this blog…

PLEASE READ: Orbitz sucks a little less

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 11:24:38 -0400

Well, I called Orbitz this morning and got everything sorted out. They handled re-booking the room with the hotel. It took 30 minutes and who knows if everything is actually taken care of. They supposedly couldn’t send me an confirmation that this was resolved. I’ll find out next week.

I can’t help but wonder why the online chat rep couldn’t have handled it the same way last night?

So…Orbitz still sucks, just a little less.

Question of the Day

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 11:22:05 -0400

What team is going to sign Tatum Bell? He brings too much baggage to an organization.

PLEASE READ: Orbitz sucks!!

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 17:33:00 -0400

Apparently, you can't book multiple rooms and then cancel only one of them on Orbitz. Check out this conversation...It's absolutely absurd. Help me spread this blog post around the world so everyone can be forewarned about this. I'd really like to see a guy like Seth Godin see this. (Sorry about the spelling errors in the dialogue.)

As you can see at the end, I was essentially hung up on.

------------------------

Chat InformationThank you for choosing Orbitz! My name is Charlena. How may I assist you?

Charlena: Hello!

Dave: i booked two hotel rooms and I need to cancel one of them.

Charlena: Was it prepaid Dave?

Dave: Not sure. my conf number is LNZXVG

Dave: paid on credit card. I went to the cancelation page and i just want to make sure i don't cancel both rooms, just one.

Charlena: I show that it is, so changes cannot be made. They require a rebook and cancellation, so both rooms would be cancelled.

Dave: what if rooms aren't available or the rate goes up?

Charlena: You can check that and rebook before canceling.

Dave: That's absolutely horrible customer service.

Dave: Especially if I already have to pay a $50 cancellatio fee.

Charlena: I can waive it if you rebook with us.

Dave: it shows rooms aren't available at that hotel.

Charlena: Is there another option for you?

Dave: No. I want to cancel one room and keep the other.

Charlena: I'm sorry, but that is not possible with a prepaid reservation.

Dave: Then why can't I cancel them both and be assured I get the room I want back.

Charlena: We always recommend that you rebook before canceling for this reason.

Dave: There's nothing available! But really if I cancel both rooms, there's one room available.

Charlena: If the hotel puts it back on our site, yes.

Dave: Do you realize how ridiculous this is?

Charlena: I did not make the rules.

Dave: Can I speak/chat with the person who did?

Charlena: You can call us at 888-656-4546 and speak with a supervisor.

Dave: You can't call the hotel and have them save me the room?

Charlena: I could not make them do anything, no.

Dave: What kind of technology is this? In the past, I've been very pleased with Orbitz. If this can't be solved quickly and easily, why would I ever use this site again?

Charlena: Can someone else go?

Charlena: Can someone else go?

Dave: Are you kidding me?

Charlena: Orbitz has certain policies. I'm sorry that it upsets you.

Dave: I'm actually just very surprised that Orbitz can't simply cancel one of my rooms. If this was 1946, this would be easier. I thought technology made things easier.

Dave: I can't wait to share this conversation with everyone I know. I can't get over how some companies still think they can get away with treating their customers this way.

Chat InformationChat session has been terminated by the Orbitz Customer Service agent.

The Sunrise SidePosted with LifeCast

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 13:01:24 -0400

The Sunrise Side

Posted with LifeCast

Movie trailers will never be the same again. Don LaFontaine died...

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 23:22:00 -0400

Movie trailers will never be the same again. Don LaFontaine died at the age of 68. Here’s a great video about LaFontaine and his famous voice. I bet there isn’t another person on this earth who has single-handedly sold more movie tickets than LaFontaine through his movie preview voice-overs.

Meet Leland Chee, the Star Wars Franchise Continuity Cop

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 22:32:55 -0400

Meet Leland Chee, the Star Wars Franchise Continuity Cop:

Great article in Wired about the guy who makes sure everything in the Star Wars world remains consistent across all mediums. It’s not just movies, but books, video games and comic books.

I’d like to ask him about the subtle differences I’ve always wondered about between Darth Vader’s helmet in A New Hope and the shinier, more menacing looking one in the next two movies. It’s definitely a different helmet, but besides the clear-coat finish I can’t put my finger on what changed.

Cosmic Universal Fashion

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 14:56:44 -0400

Cosmic Universal Fashion

I’m finally old enough to be president…so here...

Wed, 27 Aug 2008 12:36:15 -0400

I’m finally old enough to be president…so here goes.

I like how he’s totally engaged in the business interests...

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 08:41:00 -0400

http://www.forbes.com/video/?video=fvn/celebrities08/km_hagar061008

I like how he’s totally engaged in the business interests as opposed to just endorsing a product or letting suits take control of his products and ideas.

"AAA says people traveling 50 miles or more will drop nearly 1 percent"

Mon, 25 Aug 2008 06:26:59 -0400

“AAA says people traveling 50 miles or more will drop nearly 1 percent”

- This is news????? ONE WHOLE PERCENT?? This is the type of ridiculous media coverage that, unfortunately, turns things into reality. Too many Americans take what they read from “reliable” sources and use it to guide their lifestyle choices.

What about the fact that gas is approximately 25 cents cheaper than it was during the 4th of July holiday? To me that’s news. You can bet it would be blasted all over the papers and local news if the price jumped another quarter.

If this is where my insurance rates are going, ‘m glad I’m no longer a AAA customer. By the way, I’ve seen traffic and business increase a bit this year up at the golf course in Greenbush—three hours and roughly 200 miles north of metro Detroit. Report on that MSNBC.

Gotta Love This iPhone App. Makes Sounds When You Move The Phone...

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 21:41:19 -0400

Gotta Love This iPhone App. Makes Sounds When You Move The Phone Around Too.

Posted with LifeCast

onemoretimewithfeeling: jasonalford: That’s why I don’t lift...

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 11:35:43 -0400

onemoretimewithfeeling:

jasonalford:

That’s why I don’t lift weights: because I don’t want to wear shoes like that.

Your caption made me laugh out loud.

That little microphone looks funny. It looks like it’s waiting for the guy to respond to the fact that his arm is twisted around like a Star Wars action figure at the bottom of my kid’s toy box.

What does the mainstream media do now?

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 11:32:32 -0400

“This is the beginning of the end,” as wrestling commentator Gorilla Monsoon used to say. The Internet has forever changed the way we consume news and with the announcement of Barack Obama’s running mate, we’re witnessing the beginning of the end for the mainstream media.

Everyone who signed up for Obama’s text messaging campaign was the first to hear his decision to make Joe Biden is VP candidate. I’m sure reporters at the New York Times and CNN signed up for the text messages, but there’s no way they weren’t scooped by blogs around the world. Their stories had to be run through an editor before they hit the paper or the website. It’s pretty unbelievable that when the announcement came out I could have learned about it first at Joe Blo’s blog as opposed to the AP.

Just another sign that we’ll rely less and less on the media to provide us our news.

Blogging and branding

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 10:27:34 -0400

Blogging and branding: A couple of months ago I heard Seth Goldman, founder of Honest Tea, speak at the FUSE Design Conference in New York. At the time, I wrote a post questioning how his company could carry on its…

Brand survey

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 12:26:34 -0400

Brand survey: I saw this over at Brand New and took this survey developed by the Department of Psychology at Harvard University. Here are my results:

I wonder why they felt it was necessary to…

Is August the new December?

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 10:44:46 -0400

For some reason this year it seems like more and more people are taking extended vacations that last the entire month of August. Sort of a European approach to work.

Has anyone else noticed this? I see more blogging about it and I hear about it from clients and their businesses.

I like what Seth Godin has to say about this slower time of year in this blog post. As a result, I’ve pushed up the re-design of SOZO | Pivotal’s new website to be completed and launched before Labor Day weekend.