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"We see our commitment to our customers as one that supports the community..." I have a low threshold for the preposterous crap spewed by "the man". On Sunday I was listening to the Eagles game on the radio and although the action was pitiful and the sportscasters filled every millisecond with babble the main thing that got my goat was PNC's ad "Leading the Way".
An example of how PNC is "Leading the Way is their overdraft policy. It is a blatant bottom feeder tactic that leads the way in sucking resources and good spirit out of a community. It's the type of approach that disrespects and drains the community. Readers who have a PNC account may have all ready went at it with them for the involuntary program where they charge you $36 if you overdraw by a $1. You cannot decline the service.
Last year I had a little adventure with PNC. A few Kombuchas cost me a few hundred dollars. I am not kidding. After battling with the "community manager" and sparring with the phone supervisor I contacted a senior exec in Pittsburgh and we worked it out.
OOPS I did it again. This time I sniped a camera battery for a few dollars on Ebay and the account it was drawn from was short $1.04. PNC paid it and charged me $36. I am COMPLETELY SERIOUS.
Besides the obvious loss of $$ the sting of being legally swindled by your community bank is distressing and creates nasty feelings. Google "PNC sucks" and the web is thick with bitterness towards PNC. You can find stories of PNC reps who spend a hunk of their work day explaining overdraft fees to incredulous and irate customers. There are stories of customers who explain how the bank manipulates accounts so that unavailable funds lead to overdraft fees. Seriously what could be more loathsome?
"At a time when many can afford it least, American consumers are being hit with hundreds of dollars in penalties for overdrawing on their account by just a few dollars," he said in a statement. "Banks should not be trying to bolster their profits at the expense of their customers."
Another "leading the way" strategy is to accept and divert bailout money intended to help business and individuals and use it for acquisitions. With our own tax dollars PNC buys another bank where they deploy the same tactics to suck the life out of more communities.
I blogged about Kim's a while back. Nothing much has changed which is a good thing. Kim's serves up exceedingly tasty Korean style BBQ along with warm hospitality. Worth the trip to 5955 N. 5th St. No sushi here!
WHYY aired an entertaining chat with Chef Fritz Blank. The MP3 is here. Chef talks about enormous South Jersey snapper turtles, musk rats, quenelles and champagne on New Years Eve with Chef Perrier.
Photo: Curt Hudson
Man, I was steaming from a recent experience with FedEx.
I order my Market Day Canele stickers from US Box. They outsource it to WS Packaging in NH. The first time I ordered the process was seamless. The quality exceeded my expectations and service was prompt. I took a lil time to use up those first thousand. I reordered and it was taking longer than I expected so I checked in with US Box. They replied with a confirmation # from FedEx. Checking that number I learned that it had been delivered the day before. Since a signature wasn't required they left it "on porch."
OK. I don't have a porch. I went back to US Box and gave them grief. They sent me a new order right away. In the mean time I called FedEx and spoke to a bunch of folks. I explained about not having a porch and they explained "porch" is just a box that's check-able on their form and it might not mean "porch." They told me that they would get in touch with the driver and get back to me. 4 days later they called and told me that the driver said he left it above my door and if it's not there or if I can't locate it then it's the shippers problem, and I should get with them. This info was left on my voice mail! Thanks Steven Dunham.
Of course I was irate. The next day I called Steven and asked him if it isn't FedEx's business to "deliver" packages. He said it was. I asked Steven why I don't have my package if they have taken my money to "deliver" my package. He really couldn't explain, so I spoke with his boss, Patricia Dubinski. Patricia was amazingly calm and seemed very practiced with this type of customer interaction. She said it was common practice to leave a package if a customer isn't available to accept it. I don't really have a problem with that as long as the package actually got "delivered" to the specified location. In my case FedEx causes the shipper to redo their work, reship and incur all those expenses. Why does all this suck you wonder? Because a week later a person who lives on another street pops over and says they found this box above their door.
I am absolutely fine with occasional errors, but manage them properly and handle them with integrity. The astonishingly absurd part is FedEx has institutionalized covering their ass so that their errors are paid for by others. I find that infuriating and dishonest.
At the Lobster House fish market in Cape May dressed blowfish were selling for $7.50/#. We grabbed a pound. I remember my Mom making these so long ago in Beach Haven, NJ. I can't recall exactly how she prepared them. I searched for ideas and found this recipe from Craig Laban from exactly 29 years ago. It does sound tasty.
I decided to give them a spicy rub and then convection broil. I plated them with Weaver's Way peas shoots and a shot of dill hollandaise. The fish was very fresh and tasty. The pea shoots gave a distinctive green flavor and crispness. The dish overall was more fun than fantastic. If I had more I'd try tempura-ing them or maybe cornmeal or give Craig Laban's idea a shot.
Damn fantastic colors on trees, the woods are enchanted right now.
Autumn color explained.
I decided not to share the very bizarre story of how my relationship with Eli Massar and Philly Kitchen Share came to a disturbing conclusion. It wouldn't make a worthy blog post. If you're interested send me a private message.
Anyone have a suggestion or referral for a center city area kitchen that has baking ovens to rent? For now I'm stuck with traveling to Frankford or deep South Philly
Last week I noticed these great looking pumpkin confections at John & Kira's table at Sunday Market. This week I grabbed them and brought them home as a gift for the lil lady. You can see the crafty beauty in a glance. Same with the flavor and texture which elicits a blissful pause for reflection. By coincidence I ate a few Teuschers champagne truffles this week. These lil pumpkins are in the same league as Teuscher. The 6 pumpkin box $15.00.
Those tender greens are crispy pea shoots from Weaver's Way.
