What’s Up Wednesday… Customer Service!

What is up with the horrid lack of customer service – in general – every where I go and everywhere I call?  I mean seriously, is there anything worse than having a cashier give you that blank stare – like they wish you would just get the heck out of their line already – oh yes, there is worse… how about the idiots answering our phone calls that even though they refuse to help you with the problem you actually called in for, ALWAYS ask – “Is there anything else I can help you with today” cuz they are reading it off the computer screen and have to say it, regardless….  UGH!!

Case in Point – FRIGGEN’ Direct TV – We need upgraded service, I don’t even know what I am talking about, but we FINALLY got a flat screen and need an HD box or something…  mind you I have been a Direct TV customer for 10 years and have NEVER EVER had an upgrade or change or anything… I have one TV and one box connected…  CRAZY, I KNOW!!  Anyhow, I call Direct TV – well first Kerry called, agreed to all their terms, set up an appointment, added all the HBO’s and put over $100 charge on our Account….OH NO HE DIDNT (but really he did – ugh)!!!!!!!!  So I call and explain how they offer FREE to everyone, a complete upgrade, five receivers with HD and a DVR, yadda, yadda, yadda… yet one simple upgrade – after 10 years of service – costs us $100… What is the deal??  No amount of talking too, speaking to a manager, nothing would  get them to agree so at this point you can imagine how angry I am as I know the minute I cancel this service they will offer me the moon… But it is the point – I NEED to be re-assured of my value as a customer – I NEED to be right!!  I know….  my issues…. again – yada, yada, yada!!  So needless to say, after a very “not nice” final conversation, the “suppossed” manager (who I know was just the operator next to my first yahoo) finished with… you guessed it… “Is there anything else I can help you with today?””  I friggen’ lost it!!!!!!!!  UNREAL!!!!!!

Is it me?  I feel like a fuddy duddy when I say, What is up THESE days??  At my first job – McDonalds – the first thing I learned and the Golden Rule and the “OMG, they pounded it into our heads and it is all I remember” was:  THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!  The customer wanted to mix their chocolate and shamrock shake, sure no problem…  They wanted a fish sandwich between two burgers… absolutely… the customer wanted to pay for their meal with Burger King coupons – Hey, it’s a stretch but, of course!!  We learned to think on our feet, we learned to do what the customer needed or wanted and to still work within our guidelines.  I swear to goodness, everything I have ever needed to know in business – I learned working at McDonalds!!  Mind you I did attend Hamburger University – YES IT’S REAL!! – but that is a whole  ‘nother post!!

So my point is I truly celebrate good service – seriously, I write “love” notes on my charge card slips at restaurants, I call and speak to managers about awesome employees, I send emails regarding online service…  I praise whenever it is truly due!  BUT, make me the bad guy and I take it personal… I have a notebook and I am keeping tabs people… BECAUSE hey, YOU JUST NEVER KNOW – someday I could be CEO at Direct TV!!!!!

AND you say…?????  Talk to me – what do you think??

Tasty Tuesday – a quickie for you!!

Our FAVORITE pizza is made using the ever popular Boboli shells.  Have you used these things?  They are so unbelievably awesome and now that I found them at the local bread store and have been stocking up on them when they offer the B1G1 FREE coupons, we use them all of the time.  Just what I need – another bread product to LOVE!!  We make regular pizza (cheese, pepperoni and veggies) or Breakfast Pizza but our all time favorite is just a basic Cheeseburger Pizza.

We love the Boboli sauce packets as well, and once I slather the sauce on the Boboli crust I sprinkle Parmesan Cheese all over it.  Then I cover the sauce with cooked, drained hamburger.  I squirt mustard – in a happy design – on one half of the burger cuz ma familia loves the mustard but “the cooker of it all” hates the goop so we compromise.  Finally I lay slices of swiss cheese – and you must use swiss, trust me – all over the top.

Bake the whole shebang then slice and enjoy – Yummo!!!

Sunday Funday and our Weekly Meal Plan

My day and meal plan got completely thrown to the wind when my Awesome Mama came over bearing an awesome Pork Roast dinner!!  Yummy – and always tastes better when someone else makes it!! 

So – I was “Makin’ Sauce” – which in this busy workin’ frugal house means doctoring up some jarred sauce by mixing up three jars of whatever I got on sale, and adding it to saute’d (how do you spell that?  So much for sounding like I know what I am talking about – right??!!) garlic, diced up peppers and onions, a bit of butter and a few tablespoons of sugar.  I then add some meat depending on what I plan to do with the “Sauce”… this is where I de-railed today… I was planning on doing sausage right in the sauce but when the pork appeared, I opted to just throw in some cooked burger so I could use the sauce later this week.

Monday:  BBQ Chicken Speedies *Remember, I made up so much awesome chicken last week, and this is the last of it, it’s all shredded and ready to go.  We just throw it in a pan with BBQ sauce and serve it on buttered, grilled rolls.  We’ll just have some carrot and celery sticks to go with it and of course some chips to make the sammies crunch!  Does anyone else have to put something crunchy on their sandwiches?  Plain chips on BBQ sammies, BBQ chips on turkey sams and pretzels on anything with bologna…  WHAT??  That’s not normal???

Tuesday:  Lasagna Roll-ups, already in our freezer…   I cooked lasagna noodles then rolled them up with cheesy burger filling then popped a bunch in the freezer.  I pull them out as needed, 12 of them in a 9×13 covered with my SAUCE then baked, makes for an awesome “homecooked” lasagna dinner.

Wednesday:  Hot Dogs baked in Baked Beans – a family favorite that is best eaten when I am working on Weds. Nights!!  Although, I will take a dish of left overs to work the next day…  LOL

Thursday:  Boboli and our Favorite Cheeseburger Pizza – Easy Peasy recipe posted on Tasty Tuesday this week!

Friday:  Baked Sausage – Love this with peppers, onions and potatoes in the crock pot.

Saturday:  Another busy day of running, we are going to a benefit for a friend who’s 9 year old had Brain Surgery… I have mentioned it often on facebook and will again here as I am a true believer that no matter what you think or believe, prayers, positive thinking – whatever – PLEASE think of my friend and her sweet son!!!

Sunday:  Planning an awesome Beef Roast dinner with – of course – lots of extra for other dishes next week…

AND – What are you having??

Tops ~ week of 2/26/12

Oh Tops – Hmmm, can we turn this into an awesome shopping week?  First and always foremost, let’s look at the BONUS GAS POINT DEAL and be sure to check out the INSTANT SAVINGS deals too!  There really are lots of great deals this week, plus my few favorites listed at the bottom.  Thinking I will earn lots of gas points this week just from coupon usage alone.  How about you??

•  EARN 200 Gas Points for every 6 participating products purchased:

 Gorton’s Frozen Fish @ 50% Off ($4.59-$7.99)
Use $1.00/1 Grilled Item printable coupon or
Use $1.00/2 (1/1 SS)

=   ??  * Have to check this out…. 

Mrs T’s Pierogies – $2.50
$1/1 Mrs. T’s Pierogies (RP 01/29/12 R)
= as low as $1.50

 Cole’s Original Garlic Bread – $2.50

Newman’s Own Pizza – $5.99
$1/1 Newman’s Own Thin & Crispy Pizza (RP 01/22/12)
= $4.99

Banquet Chicken Nuggets, Tenders, Strips or Patties (24-26.5 oz.) – $3.99

On-Cor Classic Entrees – $3.50

Edy’s Ice Cream (48 oz.) – $3.33

 Deal Ideas:
Depending on the price of the fish, I will probably buy 6 of those…  If I have the Pierogies q, I will stock up on those at only $1.50/bag also.  Both options are probably equating to about $9 out of pocket but earning $6 worth of gas so really $3 for 6 items is a killer deal!  Garlic Bread, Nuggets, Patties and Ice Cream;  will definitely do a few combo’s of these deals… Just remember for every 6 you buy, you earn $6 in FREE gas… WIN-WIN!  This is for sure the week to stock up!!

 

• 50%  off Deals – These continue to be a good deal!

 

Fresh All Natural Eye Round Roast – $3.00/LB (Tops Coupon available…)
Extra Large Uncooked Easy Peel Shrimp –  $5.50/LB
Iceburg Lettuce – $1.00

Heluva Good Chunk Cheese – $1.75
$0.50/1 Heluva Good Product printable
= $0.75 each after doubled coupon!

Bison Cottage Cheese – $1.50
Quaker Life Cereal – $2.20
Special Occasion Bouquet – $4.00
Nature Made Vitamins – 50% off
7-Up 2 Liter (Rootbeer incl. ?)  – $0.95

  

• Save an Extra $4 Instantly, wyb 6 participating products:

Folgers Ground Coffee – $8.99
$1.00/2 (2/5 RP)
= $8.49 each after coupon

Dunkin Donuts Coffee – $7.99
$1.00/2 coupon (12/4 RP)
= $7.49 each after coupon

Jif Peanut Butter – $4.49

Smucker’s Grape Jelly – $2.00

Hungry Jack Pancake Mix – $2.00

Hungy Jack Microwaveable Syrup – $3.00
“Buy Syrup, get Pack Free” (2/19 RP )
= $3.00 for Syrup and Pancake Mix…. 

Deal Idea:

Buy 3 Pancake Mix and 3 Syrup, using three of the coupons, pay $9 then get the $4 SAVE INSTANTLY = $5 for all 6 items…. Anyone try this??

 

•  Save an Extra $3 Instantly, wyb 6 participating products:

Pepsi 20 Pack Cans (12 oz.) – $6.50
$2/2 Pepsi, Diet, Max, Dew, or Mist (Pepsi Moments 02/26/12)

Pepsi 8 Pack Slim Cans (7.5 oz.) – $3.50
$2/2 Pepsi Mini Can (Pepsi Moments 02/26/12)

Ruffles Potato Chips (8.5-9.5 oz.) – $3.50
$1/2 Ruffles Product (Pepsi Moments 02/26/12)

Cheetos or Fritos (9-10.5 oz.) – $3
$1.50/3 Cheetos or Fritos (Pepsi Moments 02/26/12)

Tostitos Tortilla Chips or Queso Dip (10-15 oz.) – $3.33
$1 off Tostitos Dip wyb Tortilla Chips (Pepsi Moments 02/26/12)

Cap’n Crunch Cereal or Quaker Cereal or Chewy Bars – $2.50
$1/3 Quaker Cereal or Instant Oatmeal (Pepsi Moments 02/26/12)
$1/2 Quaker Chewy Granola, Dipps or Smashbar Bars (RP 02/05/12)

Tropicana Pure Premium Orange Juice or Trop50 (59 oz.) – $3
$1/2 Tropicana Product  (Pepsi Moments 02/26/12)

Quaker Instant Oatmeal (11.5-15.1 oz.) – $2.99
$1/3 Quaker Cereal or Instant Oatmeal (Pepsi Moments 02/26/12)

 

Deal Idea:
Buy (6) Quaker Chewy Bars ($15)
Use (3) 1/2 Quaker Chewy Granola (RP 02/05/12 R)
= $1.50 each wyb 6 after doubled coupons and instant savings!

 

HOT DEAL:

Buy 6 Quaker Oat Hearts or Squares Cereal – 4/$10
– (2) $1/3 Quaker Cereal or Instant Oatmeal (Pepsi Moments Insert 2/26/12)
– $3 Instant Savings (when you buy 6 participating products)
– $5 SavingStar Credit (when you buy $15 worth of participating products in February)
= It’s like paying 83 cents per box!  (after coupons, instant savings, and SavingStar credit*).

*You must be signed up for SavingStar and activate the offer in your account BEFORE you make the purchase in order to be eligible for the $5 credit.

 

• My favorite Deals:

 

Butterball Turkey Bacon – $1.50
$0.55/1 coupon doubled from 1/15 SS (- $1.10) SUNDAY ONLY
Final Cost = $0.40!!!

Dannon Crunchers – $2.50
$0.75/1 printable coupon (Coupons.com)
= $1.00 each after coupon

Chex Mix, 50% off – $1.00
$1.00/2 coupon ( 2/26 SS )
= .50 each after coupon

See – Not bad!  Anyone get a FREE tank full yet??

Rite-aid ~ week of 2/26/2012

Rite-aid continues to have a lot to offer again this coming week.  Two good size SCR’s that you actually can make into moneymakers by using the printable coupons found.  I like Rite-aids SCR program because I try to cover all the costs of my products each week with UPS and when I submit and receive my SCR check, it feels like a bonus!  Last time my check from Rite-aid was $42!!  I put it on a Rite-aid gift card and just continually use it for the final few cent payment each week.

 You can also grab a lot of GREAT products really cheap this week… Edge or Skintimate Shave Gel for .25, Right Guard for .49, Pantene for $1, Hershey Kisses for $1.50/bag, a 4 pack of kleenex for less than $2 and the best ever razor for $1.99.  The Right Guard and Razors count towards your BUY and SAVE bonus, so if you are more than ½ way to you $100 spent, it would make sense to grab the 4 of each to complete the deal!!  It’s all tracked at the bottom of your receipt for you, check it out… where do you stand?

 

Here are the deals:

 

 Stopain Analgesic Spray or Roll On – $6.00
$2/1 Stopain Products (valid only at Walgreens or Rite Aid) *exp 2/27! (Facebook Coupon)
OR $2 manufacturer coupon (from the 11/20/11 Parade Magazine or 2/19/12 USA Weekend)

Get $6 SCR (limit 1)
Final Price = FREE!! (+ $2 overage!!)

 

Blink Gel Tears – $7.99
$1/1 Blink Tears Lubricating Eye Drops or Gel Eye Drops (Coupons.com)
Get $7.99 SCR (limit 1)
Final Price = FREE!! (+ $1 overage!!)

 

Edge or Skintimate Shave Gel – 2/$4 (must buy 2)
$1/1 or $0.55/1 Edge Shave Gel, 7oz+ (01/15/2012 SS)
Or: $1/1 or $0.55/1 Skintimate Shave Gel (01/15/2012 SS)
STACK WITH: $1.50/2 Edge, Skintimate, or Schick Hydro Shave Gel or Cream, (Rite-aid Feb Video Value Coupon)
Final Price = as low as $.25 each wyb 2

 

Right Guard Deodorant or Body Wash – $2.99
$3/2 Right Guard Total Defense 5 Anti-Perspirant, Deodorant, Body Wash (Coupons.com)
Or: $1/2 Right Guard Total Defense 5 Deodorant, Anitperspirant, Gel or Bodywash (Pillsbury.com)
Get Back: $1 UP reward (limit 4)
Final Price = as low as $.49 each wyb 2

**Qualifies for $20 +UP Reward wyb $100 Buy & Save products (Limit 1)

 

Pantene Shampoo, Conditioner, and Stylers – 2/$7
$3/2 Pantene products, excl trial sizes, (2/26 SS)
Get $2 UP reward wyb 2 (limit 2)
Final Price: $1 each wyb 2

 

Hershey Kisses Holiday Bags – 2/$5 (must buy 2)
$1/2 Hershey’s Kisses, (Feb VV)
Get $1 UP reward wyb 2 (limit 4)
Final Price = $1.50 each wyb 2

 

Kleenex 4pk. – $3.99
$1/4 or $0.50/3 Kleenex Boxes, 50 ct+ OR $1/1 Bundle (02/12/2012 SS)
Get $1 UP reward (limit 2)
Final Price = as low as $1.99

 

Schick Hydro 5 or Hydro Silk Razor or Refills – $9.99
$3/1 Schick Hydro Silk Razor or Refill (facebook coupon)
Or: $4 off Schick Hydro Silk razor or refill (2/26 SS)
Or: $2/1 Schick Hydro Refill (02/12/2012 SS)
Or: $2/1 Schick Hydro Razor (02/12/2012 SS)
Get Back: $4 UP reward (limit 4)
Final Price = as low as $1.99

**Qualifies for $20 +UP Reward wyb $100 Buy & Save products (Limit 1)

 

So – are you going to Rite-aid?  What’s on your list??

 

 

CVS ~ week of 2/26/2012

Have I mentioned my love for CVS lately? How about my love for the CVS staff in Batavia??  AWESOME!!  My favorite ~

I love that I can quickly pop in to CVS, grab a few freebies and be back to work before my lunch break is over…  This week it is a FREE Thermacare Heat Wrap,  2 More FREE toothpastes, and as much FREE gum as I can find coupons for.  I use packs of gum for rewards when my kids get 100% on tests… Hey, they are still little and think their own pack of gum is a big deal – LOL, I am going with it as long as I can!!

I will need some extra time at/with CVS to figure out the Spend $30 – Get $10 Cash Card deal…  I think there are lots of coupon matchups to be had there and I LOVE Infusium shampoo and L’Oreal face cream.  I think this may be the way to get the best deal on these items and needing TP has me interested to see what I can make work there too!!  I will keep you posted on the additional coupon matchups and deals to be had…  Check back soon!

 

ThermaCare Heatwraps 1 ct – $3.79
Get $3.79 ECB (limit 1)
Final Price = FREE

 

Up2U Pack – $1.00
– $1/1 Up2U Pack (SS 01/01/12)
OR: $1/1 Mentos Up2U Pack (SS 2/05/12)
Final Price = FREE

 

Colgate Sensitive Pro Relief Toothpaste – $4.99
-$1/1 Colgate Optic White, Total Advanced or Sensitive Pro-Relief (SS 2/12/12)
Get $4 ECB (limit 2)
Final Price = FREE

 

Deals to check out:

• Receive $10 in ECB WYB one (1) Physician’s Formula Skin Care and
• Receive $7 in ECB WYB $10 worth of Physician’s Formula Make-up

 

 Get a $10 CVS Cash Card wyb $30 Limit 5:

 

Combos 7 oz – $1.50

 Cottonelle 4 pk –  $2.99

Infusium23 shampoo or conditioner 16 oz or Pert plus 13.5/25.4 oz shampoo or conditioner BOGO

Jack link’s beef jerky jumbo bag 6.2 oz – $6.99

L’oreal skin care BOGO 50% off

Palmer’s skin care BOGO 50% off

Scott bath tissue 12-18 pk – $7.49

Scott choose-a-size megarolls 6 pk – $5.49

Scrubbing bubbles 16 oz , Shout , Fantastic , or Windex 22-32 oz – $3

 

What’s up Wednesday ~

Wow – I am finding that I really like this opportunity to spout off about some things that just drive me crazy….  I am keeping a running list and believe me, I have lots of controversial topics that I have a strong opinion on and since I am the “moderator” here, I can say what ever I want – LOL

Seriously though…  “FREE” SCHOOL LUNCH PROGRAM….  I have a friend that shared something with me  awhile ago that has been driving me crazy ever since.  Her child get’s FREE school lunch – this is not my ‘problem’ although any type of government assistance is totally up for debate here. ..   My problem – however –  lies deeper in this scenario.  My friend sometimes allows her son to pack his lunch and he then just grabs a milk and goes about his business.  After a while, she got a call from the school, they told her that her son had an outstanding bill owed to the lunch program for the milk he was getting each day.  She was dumbfounded and explained that they get the FREE lunch and sometimes he would pack but just take the milk, so something must be wrong. 

 NOPE they said….  “He has to get the WHOLE lunch in order for it to be FREE…..”   WHAT???????  You got it, after much debate and continued follow-up with more people… it was sadly confirmed, her son must take the full lunch – whether he wanted it or not and whether he ate it or not – in order to get the milk FREE.  One cafeteria worker even confirmed that they see kids throw away more food than they eat overall….  THIS SICKENS ME!!!  … as I run around getting all the bargains I can so my kids can pack a nice lunch each day or I pay the $2 each for my three kids to BUY on pizza or chicken nugget day….

How about letting the kids that want just the milk have just the milk and giving the lunch to my kid… that way everyone wins….  Just saying – I see a HUGE problem here and it drives me NUTS!!

Any ideas???? 

Next week, I will spout off about welfare and my belief that drug testing should be mandatory…or I wont’t  – we’ll see – LOL!!

Tasty Tuesday ~

This week I am posting some simple instructions for cooking and prepping chicken for lots of meals….  I like to make up a whole batch of shredded/cubed chicken at once and prep. various meals to use that week and extra to freeze for another time. 

This week I used my crock pot to cook 6 large (double) bone- in breasts:  I throw the breasts in my large crockpot, sprinkle with seasoning (I use Season-all and Garlic Salt and a bunch of pepper) and about 1/2 stick of butter cut into small pats and spread out over the chicken, then I throw in about 1/2 can of beer.  DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES WASTE THE OTHER 1/2 CAN – Just saying….  and YES you can substitute clear pop, and I don’t care what you do with the other half of THAT can.  I cook the chicken all day on low about 8 hours and then I pull the breast out and shred the chicken to create about 10 full cups of chicken. 

The skin and bones all go back in the crockpot with the remaining broth and I bring that alone to a boil  – Then I will turn the crock down to low and let the broth simmer while I work with the rest of the chicken.  

I made – Chicken Enchiladas (One pan for our dinner, one pan for a friend and one for the freezer).  I also made some oriental chicken (marinated in freezer bag) to use on lettuce wraps later in the week.  I used 2 cups for a chicken casserole to be served later in the week, I made my favorite Chicken Salad and I threw the rest back into my super awesome broth – once I double drained it in my super tight mesh colander, and I made the best ever Chicken Soup – ready to have noodles added or to be thickened for Chicken and Biscuits.   The basic soup went into the freezer and I will pull it back out next week to supplement my meal plan – since I totally rocked so many other amazing dishes this week. 

So – Out of 2 large packages of chicken that I got on sale for .99/#, I got:  3 batches of Enchiladas, 1 batch of Oriental Chicken, 1 Chicken Casserole, Chicken Salad, and a double pot of soup base to make Chicken Noodle Soup and Chicken and Biscuits.  That is 8 Meals and I cooked and prepped it all in a few hours.

The highlighted meals (Chicken Enchiladas and Chicken Salad) have a linked recipe so check those out!  I will work on getting recipes done up for the others – you know when I get back from my couponing at the Drug Stores – LOL!!

So – What is your favorite Chicken Meal?  Give us some details – SHARE NOW!!!!

It’s still on…. $10 UP at RA!!

 

Having been reading up on all of the blogs today I am coming across many updates in regard to the continued SPECIAL: $10 UP when you buy $25 Colgate/Thermacare/Advil – apparently it is a month long special…

It works really well this week with the Colgate deals already mentioned:

4 Colgate toothpaste (various) @ $3.50 each = $14.00,-$4 ($1 Q’s) = $10 / Get (4 x $3.50) $14 UP rewards!! 

*you are ahead $4 because of the coupons and you can use that $4 towards the toothbrushes. Even if you do not have the coupons, it’s okay…keep going!!  Seriously, buy the toothpaste one at a time – use the UP reward from the first tube to buy the second and so on….

4 Colgate 360 toothbrushes @ $2.49 each = $9.96 / Get (4 x $1.50) $6 UP rewards!!

See – you are getting 4 toothpastes and 4 toothbrushes for FREE overall and you have $23.96 of the $25 needed to get the $10 BONUS…

So it has been suggested you purchase – 1 Colgate Plus toothbrush @ $1.99  and now your COLGATE total is: $25.95….

You pay for the $2 toothbrush and get a $10 BONUS  UP reward – you just made $8!!  AND you have over $25 worth of Colgate goods FREE!!  

*Even if you do not have the 4 coupons for the toothpaste, you can still do the full deal, get everything FREE and make $4!!!!!!!!!

 Added Bonus – your total will also apply to the BUY and SAVE Winter Reward. You don’t have to buy them all in one transaction, they track. You can split them up so that you don’t have to put alot of money out of pocket or wind up with a big pile of ups …  totally up to you!! 

SHOP – SHOP – SHOP!!!!!!!!!

SUNDAY FUNDAY ~ weekly meal plan

Weekly Meal Plan: 

Sunday – Spending the day Cooking  and Cutting  and Shredding Beef and Chicken Breast – watch for Tasty Tuesday to see how I make a full week’s worth of meals (++) out of $30 worth of meat…  I’ll start the Beef Stew and prep. the beef for Monday’s Beef and Noodles, I’ll Prep Chicken Enchilada’s – one batch for Dinner, one for neighbor and one for freezer, I’ll make Oriental Chicken – for later in week, and a Chicken Casserole – for later in week as well and Chicken Salad to eat all week.

Monday – DAY OFF for all, Basketball Practice. – Roast Beef Dinner

Tuesday – Work out of town / Boy Scouts – swimming.  – Chicken Casserole

Wednesday – Work out of town / Steak Dinner Night at BH – Stew and Biscuits

Thursday – Girl Scouts – Chicken Oriental

Friday – Beef and Noodles

Saturday – Basketball and Pinewood Derby – Need a Great Dish to pass…

Sunday – Sauce with leftover meat… Stuffed Shells