The Amazon Return

I just spent half an hour dealing with Amazon on trying to start the return process for a defective gift I received.  I've had great experiences with the retailer in the past but this time it was awful.  All of the problems I had stemmed from not having the order number for the item.  This seems like an unnecessary burden to place on me, the gift receiver.  I know what the item is, I know who gave it to me and I know it was ordered from Amazon.  It seems like this should be enough to uniquely identify the transaction and process the return.

It isn't, though.  I can't process the return online without an order number and despite the statement on the return webpage that I can contact customer service to get the order number, I still don't have it.  I did an online chat with a customer service representative (hi, Alvin!) who said that without a tracking number or an order number he could not start the return process.  My second attempt (once it became clear to me that Alvin was not a top-notch support specialist) was a phone call that was quickly answered but where the representative stated a similar story. This time I countered that the return webpage stated I could get the order number from him if I provided certain details on the sender (name, email address, ...).  I provided the particulars, he put me on hold and then hung up.

Clearly there has been a holiday hiring binge and I don't expect these representative to be the best Amazon has to offer.  I do expect them to be competent, though, and I do expect there to be agreement between what their website says and what the representatives say.

For now, I'm trying to get an order number and see if I can actually get the return processed.  I think the downsides of the gigantic online retailer are becoming more clear.

Conference at Berkeley

A week ago I was fortunate enough to head out to another power conference, this time it was off to Berkeley where the 60'F temperatures were much more welcome than the 16'F temperatures I left behind.

First up, look what I found in my purse after arriving in California:

This is a saw blade (about the size of a pocketknife) that I accidentally smuggled onto the plane and I didn't find it until my second day in California.  I have no idea why the x-ray machine did not catch it; maybe it looked like a comb?  This is one more anecdotal indication that taking off our shows and belts doesn't seem to be keeping weapons from making it onto planes.

We stayed at a hotel within walking distance of campus that is by far the fanciest hotel I have been a guest at: the Claremont.  As was proudly displayed behind the check-in desk, this was a four diamond hotel.  In the lobby was a large, two-story Christmas display. The hotel looked like a palace from the outside and it was clear after spending some time inside that this was an old building constructed in a time long before Berkeley was the place it is today. 

What's more, for reasons I don't quite understand, the room I was staying in was upgraded and I was put in a suite for the two nights I was there.  One bedroom, one bathroom, and one common living room and dining room.  The desk clerk said the room was $1500/night and in the high-priced housing market of the Bay area, I would believe that.  Its a shame we were in meetings all day and didn't get a chance to enjoy the room.

We did have a little bit of free time to spend walking the neighborhood and it was interesting to see how living was managed in such a space-constrained area.  This was definitely an urban neighborhood;  I saw very few apartment buildings but only the most wealthy seemed to be able to afford a front yard.  Some neighborhoods were row-houses packed right next to each other and some were only slightly more spread out.  Lots of people of bikes, not much parking and a fair amount of pedestrian traffic.

I also saw a church in our walk with a very interesting architectural style.  Mostly concrete with a very cubic design (that doesn't show up well in the photograph).  It looked more like a bunker than a place of spiritual communion; I have no idea if the building was designed as a church or not.

One of the residents used their small plot of garden/front yard for an orange tree: I think this is the first time I had ever seen one.

And what would a trip to Berkeley be like without out some politically liberal culture.  I have here for your examination disposable silverware made from potatoes and a protest recruitment poster.

The conference itself was great as usual.  I always enjoy the opportunity to hear what others are working on and the ideas that are being kicked around.  Within hours of the completion of the even, one of the presenters made a great point about how the power grid is changing right now.  Up until recently, it has been the responsibility of the utilities/generator owners to ensure that they could provide enough power for all customers on demand; the generation followed the load.  With the growth of renewables whose output is beyond our control we are starting to see small reversals in this trend where some load is starting to follow the availability of the generation.  

For the longest time the electrical industry was a one-way street where there was no negotiation and the electrical customer was always right. If the customer wanted electricity, the customer got it.  Now the relationship is starting to gain elements of negotiation and the utilities are trying to find ways where they are providing incentives to allow them to control customer's loads (like charging an electric car or running the clothes drier) based on when cheap electricity is available.

Something to think about and keep in mind when you hear stories about the smart grid or changes in the power industry.