Sorry you're getting so much flack from all directions. I think we've all made purchasing errors of one type or another. My dad always said, "No one sets out to make a bad sculpture". We make the best decision we can with the information we have at the time. And we learn.
Our dyson is just over two years old... sure it runs, but it gets randomly loud that it makes me anxious to use, as I'm just waiting for the sound to come and it also smells like it's burning after more than one room. Sigh... I hoped that it'd last longer than two years, too...
This was a very big reality check for me when I began studying performance.
I realized that my performances were radically different from my practice sessions, in quality and content. It shocked and confused me for quite a long time until I realized that I wasn't practicing properly.
In order to enhance your performance quality, you MUST practice with the performance in mind.
Not right before the performance. Not in the dress rehearsal. From the very beginning, at every single practice session.
You must try very hard to attain the same state of mind in your practice sessions as in your performance. This is the key to success.
I couldnt find anything around my house aside from the toothpaste that u guys have reccomended. So being the freak i am, Astroglide popped into my head. Has anyone tried this by chance ?
What's there to understand? there are a little more than four weeks in a month, four times 6.70 is a little less than 27, then subtract 14, and you have roughly $13.
Thank you Philip for a much-needed mental kick in the rear!
While I've known what you're saying since I was 8 (and had a very strict but very effective piano teacher), I've been letting myself slack off in a number of activities by conveniently forgetting the true meaning of "practice".
Becasue it's easier to measure, so many people emphasize *time* instead of *what happened in that time* — the hours we work, and as you point out, Philip, the WASTE of time (I call it "slop") that comes with crappy practice.
I like to figure out how to do the same or better in less time. Now that's being effective.
A lot of "practice" is really discovering yourself and experimenting, and ruling out what DOESN'T work. Yes, that's a lot of trial-and-error, and then as you go up the skill ladder, you have a more capable (and culpable) intuition to preempt faults.
I'm sorry but I don't have the ability to remove comments from my blog. That is something the admins do at their own discretion, without informing myself or the other bloggers. You will see that I made mention of fixing the title in the comments section and that is still up. Perhaps your comment was considered inappropriate in some other way. But anyway, I made the change to the title asap and even announced that is was my bad. Anyone who knows me knows I am too honest for my own good most of the time.
As my lacrosse coach used to say, "Perfect practice makes perfect!" Everytime we would be going through the motions and not focusing on practicing properly, he would whip out this saying.
As a landlord I can tell you I would MUCH rather lower somebody's rent than have to go through the hassle of finding another tenant and putting money into the unit for new paint, carpet, and whatever else is needed. But I am my own "boss" and if you're dealing with a big rental company the local managers might not have the authority to negotiate that kind of thing.
I am trying to rent a unit right now, and a lady who was supposed to come by to see it called to cancel. She had wanted to move to save money because she didn't need an extra bedroom anymore, but she said she "worked something out" with her current landlord to pay less for the next three months rather than move.
My Dyson runs really well - the whole family has them and we've never had a problem, but it really sucks when one bad piece of equipment (and lack of concern on behalf of the company) ruins an entire brand for you, you know? In my case, spending that much on a vacuum is worth it - keeps the dog hair and dander to a minimum, thus keeping my asthma in check. Of course, I suppose I could probably just freeze dry my dogs and be done with it. :)
I'm not kidding you -- we bought a Dyson just last week after we couldn't stand using our miserable excuse for a vacuum anymore (a Hoover bagless). I am crossing our fingers that we don't have the same problems. I wonder, should I take it back? Hmmmm....
I actually did that before I wrote this article. I was hoping for a good resolution so that my faith in Dyson would be restored and I would have a different spin on the story. Alas, I received the small note mentioned in this article instead.
We get full size and minis of these things! I'm careful to keep them current and recycle the old issues.
I've never thought about using them for clean up rags! That is brilliant
I don't think you should give up on Dyson making things better. Find the email address of someone high up in the company, and send off an executive email carpet bomb (name coined by The Consumerist, whom another commenter already mentioned). When you send them your polite note, mention that you've already blogged about your problems with their vaccuum on a high-profile personal finance site, and give 'em the link.
I bet they'll bend over backwards to help you make it better.
I think proper care for any product can go a long way. That said. if documented properly and the fault was with Dyson, I think Dyson should help. Things should be made to last, but nothing lasts forever.
You're right about the return policies of Costco and Sam's, although Sam's tries to get you to buy an extended warranty. What's up with that?
I've returned lots of merchandise at both stores with only one very isolated problem: a watering set that I bought at Costco five or six years prior wasn't working. I brought the set back to a Costco and the manager said I had gotten my expected use out of the product and stood firm. A letter resulted in a full refund and $25 for gas expense!
At Costco they will laugh at you if you ask for an extended warranty.
Sears on the other hand limits returns to 90 days? and ALSO charges a restocking fee. In the 2 years since I learned this and wrote a letter with no response, Sears lost over $6,000 of our business.
Synths are perfectly acceptable if you need something portable, have limited space, need to plug in headphones so you don't annoy the neighbors, or are just plain on a budget. But I wouldn't go so far as to say they're as good as the real deal (especially if you have a quality piano). No matter how good the synth or how well the manufacturer programs in deliberate "imperfections" to mimic the real deal, it just isn't the same.
If coughing up $200 every year (or more) to maintain your piano is getting you down, there's an excellent book "Piano Servicing, Tuning, and Rebuilding" which will guide you through the steps to do routine tunings and make simple repairs on your piano (or even completely rebuild it ... if you have the patience). You can get the book plus a cheap tuning kit for around $230 to keep professional maintenance to a minimum (especially as most so-called "piano restoration experts" will just laugh at you when you want a real repair).
If you want a keyboard that you can program to layer bagpipes and violins in the background, a synth is great. But if you want to feel the music as Mozart intended, borrow the book from your library and tinker with grandmas old piano before you spend any money.
and I want a copy of that book!
Sounds like a really cool book. It's always interesting to read about how thriving companies do things differently from the rest of us.
sounds like a good read
Sorry you're getting so much flack from all directions. I think we've all made purchasing errors of one type or another. My dad always said, "No one sets out to make a bad sculpture". We make the best decision we can with the information we have at the time. And we learn.
Our dyson is just over two years old... sure it runs, but it gets randomly loud that it makes me anxious to use, as I'm just waiting for the sound to come and it also smells like it's burning after more than one room. Sigh... I hoped that it'd last longer than two years, too...
This was a very big reality check for me when I began studying performance.
I realized that my performances were radically different from my practice sessions, in quality and content. It shocked and confused me for quite a long time until I realized that I wasn't practicing properly.
In order to enhance your performance quality, you MUST practice with the performance in mind.
Not right before the performance. Not in the dress rehearsal. From the very beginning, at every single practice session.
You must try very hard to attain the same state of mind in your practice sessions as in your performance. This is the key to success.
I couldnt find anything around my house aside from the toothpaste that u guys have reccomended. So being the freak i am, Astroglide popped into my head. Has anyone tried this by chance ?
Yep, car repair is really hard to take care of. I like finding a car repair shop in Alaska because they are cheaper than where I live
What's there to understand? there are a little more than four weeks in a month, four times 6.70 is a little less than 27, then subtract 14, and you have roughly $13.
Thank you Philip for a much-needed mental kick in the rear!
While I've known what you're saying since I was 8 (and had a very strict but very effective piano teacher), I've been letting myself slack off in a number of activities by conveniently forgetting the true meaning of "practice".
I'm now out of excuses: bring on the hard work!
I have a saying a use when I'm running rehearsals. "Practice doesn't make perfect. Practice makes permanent."
Becasue it's easier to measure, so many people emphasize *time* instead of *what happened in that time* — the hours we work, and as you point out, Philip, the WASTE of time (I call it "slop") that comes with crappy practice.
I like to figure out how to do the same or better in less time. Now that's being effective.
A lot of "practice" is really discovering yourself and experimenting, and ruling out what DOESN'T work. Yes, that's a lot of trial-and-error, and then as you go up the skill ladder, you have a more capable (and culpable) intuition to preempt faults.
I'm sorry but I don't have the ability to remove comments from my blog. That is something the admins do at their own discretion, without informing myself or the other bloggers. You will see that I made mention of fixing the title in the comments section and that is still up. Perhaps your comment was considered inappropriate in some other way. But anyway, I made the change to the title asap and even announced that is was my bad. Anyone who knows me knows I am too honest for my own good most of the time.
Huh. My comment about the headline got deleted, but now the headline is fixed, I see.
I like honest bloggers. Too bad you're not one of them.
I agree 100%!
As my lacrosse coach used to say, "Perfect practice makes perfect!" Everytime we would be going through the motions and not focusing on practicing properly, he would whip out this saying.
As a landlord I can tell you I would MUCH rather lower somebody's rent than have to go through the hassle of finding another tenant and putting money into the unit for new paint, carpet, and whatever else is needed. But I am my own "boss" and if you're dealing with a big rental company the local managers might not have the authority to negotiate that kind of thing.
I am trying to rent a unit right now, and a lady who was supposed to come by to see it called to cancel. She had wanted to move to save money because she didn't need an extra bedroom anymore, but she said she "worked something out" with her current landlord to pay less for the next three months rather than move.
My Dyson runs really well - the whole family has them and we've never had a problem, but it really sucks when one bad piece of equipment (and lack of concern on behalf of the company) ruins an entire brand for you, you know? In my case, spending that much on a vacuum is worth it - keeps the dog hair and dander to a minimum, thus keeping my asthma in check. Of course, I suppose I could probably just freeze dry my dogs and be done with it. :)
I'm not kidding you -- we bought a Dyson just last week after we couldn't stand using our miserable excuse for a vacuum anymore (a Hoover bagless). I am crossing our fingers that we don't have the same problems. I wonder, should I take it back? Hmmmm....
I actually did that before I wrote this article. I was hoping for a good resolution so that my faith in Dyson would be restored and I would have a different spin on the story. Alas, I received the small note mentioned in this article instead.
We get full size and minis of these things! I'm careful to keep them current and recycle the old issues.
I've never thought about using them for clean up rags! That is brilliant
I don't think you should give up on Dyson making things better. Find the email address of someone high up in the company, and send off an executive email carpet bomb (name coined by The Consumerist, whom another commenter already mentioned). When you send them your polite note, mention that you've already blogged about your problems with their vaccuum on a high-profile personal finance site, and give 'em the link.
I bet they'll bend over backwards to help you make it better.
Good luck!
I think proper care for any product can go a long way. That said. if documented properly and the fault was with Dyson, I think Dyson should help. Things should be made to last, but nothing lasts forever.
You're right about the return policies of Costco and Sam's, although Sam's tries to get you to buy an extended warranty. What's up with that?
I've returned lots of merchandise at both stores with only one very isolated problem: a watering set that I bought at Costco five or six years prior wasn't working. I brought the set back to a Costco and the manager said I had gotten my expected use out of the product and stood firm. A letter resulted in a full refund and $25 for gas expense!
At Costco they will laugh at you if you ask for an extended warranty.
Sears on the other hand limits returns to 90 days? and ALSO charges a restocking fee. In the 2 years since I learned this and wrote a letter with no response, Sears lost over $6,000 of our business.
I certainly don't claim to know everything, but by writing this post I'm hoping to steer people clear of possible problems with the Dyson.
Synths are perfectly acceptable if you need something portable, have limited space, need to plug in headphones so you don't annoy the neighbors, or are just plain on a budget. But I wouldn't go so far as to say they're as good as the real deal (especially if you have a quality piano). No matter how good the synth or how well the manufacturer programs in deliberate "imperfections" to mimic the real deal, it just isn't the same.
If coughing up $200 every year (or more) to maintain your piano is getting you down, there's an excellent book "Piano Servicing, Tuning, and Rebuilding" which will guide you through the steps to do routine tunings and make simple repairs on your piano (or even completely rebuild it ... if you have the patience). You can get the book plus a cheap tuning kit for around $230 to keep professional maintenance to a minimum (especially as most so-called "piano restoration experts" will just laugh at you when you want a real repair).
If you want a keyboard that you can program to layer bagpipes and violins in the background, a synth is great. But if you want to feel the music as Mozart intended, borrow the book from your library and tinker with grandmas old piano before you spend any money.