First off, apparently everyone who works there speaks very little, if any, English. I’ll have to get my info at Houston Lawn and Garden from now on I guess. I have to tell ya, I was very leery of paying these people with a credit card. The entire time I was there and asking questions, I don’t think 10 words of English were spoken to me. I might as well have been banging my head against the wall.

The girl checking me out could only mutter what my total was. If it hadn’t been for her pointing at the total on the digital readout of the cash register, I would have had to ask over and over again.

At first, I thought this problem may have only been at this Houston Garden Centers location. So on my next trip into town to get more landscaping supplies, I went to the Houston Garden Centers location in Spring off of I-45. They did have a lot better selection than the Conroe location, which I appreciated. However, the staff could have been a cloned copy of the Conroe location. Very unfriendly and none could hardly speak any English. When I checked out, the girl never even made an attempt to smile or talk. She just turned the digital readout around and pointed to my total. A real gem of a salesperson!

I made several more trips back to both Houston Garden Centers locations to get some specialty plants that I wanted. But when it came down to supplies I knew I could get elsewhere, I didn’t hesitate to go someplace else.

I thought about posting a blog post at that time, but figured I was the only one who had that problem. I don’t buy a huge amount of gardening supplies, so I figured perhaps it was just me.

Others Have Complaints About Houston Garden Centers

Tonight, as I was searching for a news topic in Conroe, I ran across this message board that has over 120 comments on Houston Garden Centers and most of the comments are aimed at the Conroe location. Of course, this is a Conroe forum so that only makes sense. In good faith, I searched other Houston area forums and found many people with the same complaints I had with Houston Garden Center. Poor service, non-existent customer service and non-English speaking staff.

One of the things that really tick me off is their print ads and TV ads featuring Kim. We all know Kim as a pretty blonde haired English speaking spokesperson for Houston Garden Centers. You’d think Kim worked at every locations the way she talks. After my experience, I’m wondering if Kim works for Houston Garden Center at all! I figured she was a Actress, but I’d like to think someone that speaks English actually does work there. Since my experience this Spring, I’ve visited a few other locations and haven’t found anyone resembling Kim working there. They’re more like Shipley Do-Nut employees!

I don’t mind paying more for quality products or services. But if I have to pay more and keep enduring bad customer service, I’ll go elsewhere.

I prefer to shop local business’s when I can. Normally the small family run business’s have better customer service and product knowledge than franchises or box stores. However, for some things you just can’t find a local family run business. If someone knows a good nursery in the Conroe – Woodlands – Spring area, drop me a comment and let me know.

Until then, I refuse to keep giving my money to Houston Garden Centers as long as they insist on keeping non-English speaking, rude associates who apparently have no knowledge of what they’re selling. Am I over reacting? Drop a comment and let me know ’cause it sure doesn’t feel that way!

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Finally, some good news from our Justice system. A Judge sentenced a Wrecker driver to 18 years in prison for illegal tows.

The sentence came after Michael Raitano was found guilty of towing 52 vehicles from a Bank parking lot on St. Patricks Day with the help of his Son (who goes on trial in December).

After they towed the vehicles, the Dynamic Duo then went and posted “Cars Will Be Towed” signs.

If the sentence seems a little stiff, you need to know that this isn’t the first time that Michael has had his name in the Press or been in trouble with the law. He has a pretty lengthy rap sheet.

Back in 2005 a news crew from Channel 2 here in Houston had this bozo on camera driving erratically, driving on the shoulder to get around rush hour traffic, forcing other vehicles off the road, running red lights and displaying other common driving habits of your average Wrecker driver in Houston.

By the way, in the video from Channel 2, shows Michael running a red light right in front of a Houston Police Officer. You know what happened. Nothing. The Cop didn’t blink an eye.

I for one am glad to see a clown like this off the streets. Now if the justice and legal system can just get their collective heads together and get the rest of the bad Wrecker drivers off the street, we’ll all be lot safer.

Of course that wil mean there’ll be only about a dozen wrecker drivers in the area if that happened!

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Once again we have a State Commission that fails to put Texas citizens first instead of Corporate profit.

Amy Davis of Channel 2 in Houston did an investigative report a few weeks ago about these hidden fees and other charges showing up on consumers electric bills. Word apparently got all the way to Austin the board of the Texas Public Utility Commission. here’s a little bit from the transcripts from last nights story.

At an Oct. 2 Public Utilities Commission meeting, commissioner Barry Smitherman told his fellow commissioners and the CEOs of several electric companies, “The press we’re getting right now is terrible.” Smitherman told them there has been a series of stories running in Houston. He’s referring to our investigation that showed you how a new state rule that was designed to protect consumers from unfair over-billing is now costing many of you more money.

But there’s more, lot’s more.

We introduced you to Paul Pinell. For more than a decade, meter readers never told Pinell they had any problems getting in to read his electric meter. But like thousands of others, this summer CenterPoint Energy told him if he didn’t keep his gate unlocked or pay $69 to install a meter that meter readers could read from the street, he’d be in the dark.

“I think it is confusing,” said Smitherman at the meeting.

Not only did PUC commissioners not know the details of the options CenterPoint has laid out for you, commissioners can’t seem to understand why its rule change is causing customers so many headaches.

Smitherman said, “You wouldn’t know it by the e-mails and stories they’re running that we’re trying to do folks a favor.”

I’ve said it all along. These people on the Commissions are so far removed from the lives of everyday Texans and so far into the pockets of the Corporations, there is no way they can, nor apparently want to, help us. Their chief concern is keeping the Corporations that line their pockets happy…and they do a good job of that.

They can no more relate to you and I than we can relate to a Catfish on the bottom of a lake.

Case in point. Ms. Davis points out this item of great confusion among the Commissioners. It’s a surcharge that CenterPoint Energy is charging customers to read their meters manually. It cost you $69 for them to read your meter. You’d think that would be an easy item to resolve. Perhaps for me and you, but not the Commissioners on the PUC Board.

At one point in the meeting, a PUC commissioner did seem concerned about charging consumers the full $69 for a remote-read meter on one bill.

Instead of telling CenterPoint it couldn’t do that, the commissioner asked the company if it would consider spreading the charge out over several months.

See, I told you so. Do anything except upset CenterPoint.

That’s not all. In East Texas where new digital meters are being installed by some of the Electric Companies, customers have received some outrageous bills. It’s obvious these new digital meters are not fool proof. It’s so bad that Customers have filed a lawsuit against the Electric companies because of inflated readings.  You’d think this would be an excellent opportunity for the Texas Public Utility Commission to step up to the plate and help Texans. You’d be thinking wrong.

All they could do was harp on what a great idea the digital meters were. Screw the consumers! These new digital meters may inflate readings, but hey, they’re a great idea for revenue for the Electric Companies!

Some east Texas cities are suing electric companies there for what they claim are inflated readings by the new meters.

This is how your commissioners reacted to those concerns at that Oct. 2 meeting. Commissioner Paul Hudson said, “I, too, am excited about them (the digital meters) and if there’s anything we can do to help talk up the potential benefits, I think we should take that opportunity.”

Smitherman seemed just as enthusiastic when he said, ” We’ve all got to be on the same page about the value of these digital meters.”

That’s right. PUC Commissioners spent much of the meeting advocating, not for you the consumer, but for the rollout of the new advanced digital meters.

The discussion covered several facets of our story except how they can help you with your electric bill.

The head of PUC’s customer service department said, “Some folks are looking for sensationalism.”

What did I tell ya? They don’t get it and probably never will.

You really need to go to Click2Houston.com and watch the video. The looks on the faces of these Commissioners as they tried to weasel their way out of the tough issues says it all. They didn’t have a freakin’ answer for anything.

They looked and acted like you had walked into the barn and caught them with their pants down around their ankles in the sheep stall.

If you’d like to contact Barry Smitherman, the PUC Commissioner, and let him know what a poor job he’s doing protecting Texas consumers, here’s his email address: barry.smitherman@puc.state.tx.us and here’s his phone number: 512-936-7025

If you’d like to contact the other Commissioners and also let them know what a poor job they’re doing, here’s where you can find their contact info, all except Julie Caruthers Parsley, her contact info isn’t on her Bio page as the other Commissioners are. Go figure

http://www.puc.state.tx.us/about/commissioners/index.cfm

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