the-richmonds.net

I had an interview yesterday at DirectBuy.  I feel like I may be called in for a second interview and possibly even offered a marketing position.  But I'm not sure that I would say yes...

Before last weekend, I only knew about DirectBuy what I saw on their commercials.  I visited their website to try to learn more about what they do, and had a hard time figuring it out.  As near as I could tell, it was a buying club that got it's merchandise directly from factories and distribution centers, passing the savings incurred from "traditional retail markup" along to it's members.  Sounds fine and dandy - why wouldn't anyone want to be a part of that?

I Googled around a bit more and came across web forums that mentioned some things that sounded kind of shady.... For example, there is a website called infomercialscams.com, and there was a page (I found it in a web archive) listing 411 consumer reviews, all negative.  They mentioned things like outrageous membership fees ($3000 - $7000, depending on the franchise), high-pressure sales presentations (not a "free visitor's pass", but a pitch that you have to decide on before you leave that night or else you can't re-apply for membership for seven years), no way to compare prices before joining, no way to compare prices after joining except for personally visiting a showroom, additional fees for shipping, additional fees for handling, sales tax (which is often avoided when ordering online from "direct from manufacturer" sources), long waits for their merchandise (some were waiting 4 to 5 months), inability to return merchandise (even if it's damaged), and cheaper prices on identical merchandise (almost across the board) at "traditional" retailers.

Consumer Reports didn't have much good to say about DirectBuy, mentioning that a membership MIGHT be justifiable for someone who is planning to spend tens of thousands of dollars on high-end merchandise.

There was also a lawsuit that DirectBuy filed against that website that I mentioned earlier, and that website's owner was made to remove all of the dafametory posts.  The same website that I found 411 compaints on in the archives is currently displaying 27 positive reviews (even the reviews that said "it wasn't for me" still said it would be a good value for the right person - even though they were "expecting" a $50 or so membership, they made no mention of what they were actually going to be charged.  Seems to me the average consumer would divulge that information...

In response to Consumer Reports less-than-spectacular review, a new website popped up at consumerreviews.org/direct-buy with raving 5-star average consumer rating.  This is obviously a bogus website (just visit the "Consumer Reviews" main page, or look up the whois information for the domain, and you'll settle that issue for sure!).

The guy that I met with was proud of the market presence that the company had.  He mentioned that "if you plug 'Direct Buy' into a search, we come up in the top 20 spots, and we've paid a lot of money for that".... Yeah, I suppose that money includes the lawsuits to have any negative remarks about your company removed.

Ripoffreport.com still has plenty to say about them.  A search of http://web.archive.org for "http://www.infomercialscams.com/scams/direct_buy_scam" brings up the REAL consumer reviews.  I guess that companies like DirectBuy don't realize that once something has been put out on the internet, it's there forever....

So to make a long story short ... I think that I'm going to have to turn down my first job offer since we've moved to Ohio.  I opted not to resign with the "new" Books Are Fun because of past experiences with the new company's representatives ethicality.  I won't sign on with another company that sends all of these ethical red flags for me.  It's one thing to sell a product that I don't personally care anything about (we sold many books and gifts that didn't do anything for me personally), but it is something entirely different to sell something that I know is as close to immoral and illegal as it can get.  If I go back into sales at all, it would have to be for a product or service that I can believe in.

So if any employers are out there, please cbe sure to consider me for my high moral standards, honesty and integrity!

I've added some pictures to the December Album (starting on page 7).

A new album went up for January 2009.

Size comparison photos for Hannah and Mason have been added.  There'll be another Mason picture soon...

Yesterday I made what was supposed to be a quick stop at Walmart to pick up some sippy cups for Mason (he's outgrown the bottles) and some new bibs (he drools through about 4 a day).  I picked out 2 each of 2 different styles of Nuby sippy cups: a soft-topped one that was $1.75 and a hard-topped one that was 97¢.  The cashier was distracted by a boyfriend or someone behind her and she didn't even acknowledge me except to tell me my total and make my change. When I was reviewing my receipt, I noticed that I was charged for three of the 97¢ cup and one of the $1.75 one.  So I headed back to the customer service desk to make things right.  I waited for a couple of minutes before I got any attention.  The first girl listened to my explanation that I was charged incorrectly, and then quickly turned her attention to another associate that collecting money from her for something (I don't know if it was personal or business).  She wandered away from the register, leaving my receipt and bags on the counter.  After a couple more minutes, she called over to someone else behind the desk and asked her to take care of me.  The second girl listened to my story and after the second explaination to her she understood what I was trying to do.  I was grumplily charged an additional 82¢.  I'm not sure why I was made to feel like I was being such a pain for doing the right thing.

The house in Milford is off of the MLS as of yesterday morning.  It is listed on the website for $266,900, but I saw it listed on Homes & Land for $250,900.  I don't know if that was a typographical error or not, but I'd imagine it's probably closer to what was offered.

Meanwhile, Countrywide has washed their hands of my second mortgage and passed it back to AIG (the loan originator).  We'll see where it goes from there...

Additional December photos (including Christmas Day) have been posted, starting on page 4 of the December 2008 album.

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE !!! 

It's been a long time coming, but I've finally had a chance to sort through the last two months of pictures and pick some out to post up on the website.  This opportunity is due mostly to the fact that I don't have to be in Mason's room to work on the computer anymore, which also means that regular updates should be a little more frequent in the future!

We've got the monthly size comparison pictures for both Hannah and Mason posted in their respective albums.

Since the last update, a few more pictures were taken in October, so I added a couple dozen photos starting on page seven of October album.

The albums for November and December were added.  More will be added to the December album (including Christmas pictures) soon.

For those of you following our YouTube channel, that was updated as well.

I'm done with Books Are Fun.  My contract is officially finished as of December 19th.

Readers Digest has sold off Books Are Fun to it's original founder (see this Publisher's Weekly article for details).  I had been on the fence as to whether I wanted to keep my contract with BAF/Reader's Digest active after this year, but this announcement made the decision for me.  There were various reasons that I have decided not to continue with the new company.

I've been helping Tom with his bookfairs this season, and I may still be available to help him out with his events in the future, but for now I'm going to be continuing to search for new career oportunities.

Can you believe there is less than one week until Christmas? The past few months have gone by so quickly. Wow! We have been busy lately, I have a little bit of time to update everyone on all the fun things we have been doing! November started off with our 6^th Anniversary, that morning The Children of the World International Children’s Choir came to perform a concert at our church! Hannah absolutely loved watching the kids dance around the stage and sing! It was great for Matt and I to get to hear the kids again, they came to Cedarville while we were there and we really enjoyed them then! That was quickly followed by Hannah’s 3^rd birthday! Mom and Dad threw Hannah a great party complete with a Thomas the Train cake!! My cousins, Monica and Victoria, were able to join us for the day, which was a surprise because we haven’t seen them in a few years, and Aunt Laura flew in to celebrate too! It was a great weekend! The night before her party, Matt and I went with my Grandma Reel and Aunt Laura to CBT to see Julie Hufstetler in concert! (She is an up and coming Christian artist and she just released her 2^nd album… she is actually married to my Dad’s cousin!) That was a great night… after the concert, Matt and I were finally able to use one of our gift cards from our Birthdays and went out for a late dinner and dessert (Thanks Britt and Manny!!)!! It was great to be able to go out with Matt again, it has been a long time since we have been able to go on a date! Saturday, we had an all day bash for Hannah; we filled the family room with balloons! She had a great time and she still talks of all the fun she had that day!!

Thursday after Hannah’s birthday party, Matt surprised me by coming home early from a bookfair, and told me to pack an overnight bag… we were going away!! I was in complete shock, and instantly started to wonder what we were going to do with kids, and what I had to do to be able to pack and get everything ready for me and the kids in just two hours! Apparently, Matt had involved everyone in the process and they all knew about it! Mom planned to take a personal day from school on Friday to be with the kids, Jimmy and Dad worked out the bookfair duties, and Brittannie put us up for the night in Columbus! We headed out around 3 o’clock, I did not know where we were going, just realized we were heading south! We ended up in Britt’s neighborhood and went to her apartment to change into our dress clothes! We then headed into Columbus and I didn’t know what we would be doing until we turned the corner and I saw a marquis for Harry Connick Jr.!! It was a great surprise! In the month that Matt was planning it, somehow, he managed to keep it a secret, and I had absolutely no idea! It was awesome! We enjoyed the Christmas/N’Orleans style concert and then we went out for dinner at The Cheesecake Factory! We had revisited a date night we had in college! What a great time! Thank You, Honey!!! The next morning, we were able to sleep in! Had Panera for breakfast, visited Britt at work, and leisurely headed home! It was so fun! I enjoyed spending time with Matt!!

Later that evening, we went to Camp Chof to celebrate our dear friend, Dave’s 50^th Birthday! It was so nice to visit with some of our friends we haven’t seen in a long time!

Thanksgiving was a nice quiet weekend at home, Grandma and Grandpa Hall came over with Caleb and Zachary… we missed Aunt Lori who became sick that morning. Saturday we met up with some of Matt’s friends who live/lived in New Hampshire! It was a lovely lunch, and a good time for them to remember things of the past and learn about the new things in each other’s lives! We all really enjoyed the time together!

Saturday, December 6^th was a very busy day too!! The girls headed out in the morning to Grandma Reel’s Sorority Luncheon, which has been a tradition for so many years! I have missed it for the last 6 years, so it was great to be involved again! It was a lovely morning, Thank You, Grandpa!! We quickly headed home afterward to pick up the rest of the crew and head up to The Chapel in Akron for their Christmas concert, The Advent! It was amazing! Jimmy treated for the tickets, and it is becoming a tradition for him to share this special event with our family! I have never seen such an amazing concert, it was lovely! There were so many different styles of music combined in one program! Amazing!! The kids loved it, they were so intrigued with the use of light on massive aluminum decorations…weird concept, awesome results!! We ended the evening with dinner at Macaroni Grill! We had a great weekend, Britt and Manny were home for all the festivities, and we had such a great time! I am glad they are able to come up and visit so often!!

This past Saturday, Dad performed in the Christmas concert at CBT! So, Mom, Matt, the kids and I went over there to see him dressed as a Magi!! It was a nice concert and the kids enjoyed the music again!

Tuesday night was wing night at Winking Lizard! We met the guys there after their bookfairs. They had a surprise there that night! Santa and Mrs. Claus were there and they were taking pictures and printing them out! So, even though I wasn’t planning to take the kids to have their picture on Santa’s lap, we got one anyway! That was fun, Hannah warmed up to them about half way through our wait for a table! We were driving in the car the next day, and Santa Claus is Coming to Town came on the radio… after it was over, Hannah said, “But Santa is at Winking Lizard!” I got a good kick out of that!

Matt has been so busy doing bookfairs. One more on Monday, then the season is over! Hopefully, he will be able to find permanent work for after the first of the year! The kids are doing well!! Mason has 7 teeth now, and is pulling up on everything and taking steps while he holds on!! We took him to get his first haircut last week! It is amazing how much it changed the way he looks! I didn’t realize how much his hair was covering his eyes! He looks like a little man now! He is growing up so fast! It is unbelievable! Hannah is learning so much every day! We have been teaching her that Jesus birth is the true meaning of Christmas and that it is so much better to give than to receive! We hope that she will take all these lessons to heart and make them a very special part of her life! I have been busy decorating the house! I put 3 trees up, one in Hannah’s room! We made all kinds of paper ornaments for her tree, she colored all of them and then she hung them all up by herself! It has been a fun project for her! She is enjoying all the Christmas music, and loves to point out all of the decorations and lights that people have in their yards! She gets so excited! Sunday is the Christmas concert at our church, so we look forward to that, and then Christmas is here already! It is amazing how quickly it has come! I am especially looking forward to spending time with Steven and Ashley! Safe travel, you guys! It has been 2 years since we have seen them, and they have a nephew to meet for the first time! We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year! We will be moving the computer out of Mason’s room over the break, so that should allow us to update a bit more often! Until next time, which will probably be next year!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Just a quick note to let you know that some photos have been added:

Mason's 9 month size comparison

Hannah's 35 month size comparison

Additional September pictures, starting here

October pictures

Enjoy!