It’s Not About the Money for State’s Tax Agency
We all know the state of California is in desperate need of money. But just why the state Franchise Tax Board would be threatening one local company, considering the amount involved, is a mystery (see accompanying).
Speaking of a pain in the you-know-what: Betty Yost of Oceanside found a notice for what sounds like an unusual medical procedure (see accompanying).
Maybe it’s the plot of a reality show: Another advertiser is either referring to an “armoire” or is giving up the boob tube to save a marriage, points out Jane Bush of Palm Desert.
Gift for the ages: “I was cleaning out the ol’ file cabinet and I almost threw this receipt away,” wrote Phil Wickey. “Then I noticed I had a little time to go until the expiration date” (see accompanying).
Now, I seem to remember reading that companies have to honor gift cards no matter what the expiration date, but this one could present a problem.
Bad connection: A friend who has Cingular service received a text message on his cellphone to call the phone company’s “Customer Care.” The message ended with the question, “Proceed?” He punched yes, it rang and a recorded voice told him, “Your call cannot be completed as dialed. Please check the number and dial again.”
That’s what he gets for trying to phone the phone company’s phone number.
Bad connection, Ext. 1: My friend’s an inquisitive kind of guy, though, so he called Cingular at another number and, wonder of wonders, got through.
The first rep he spoke to affected disbelief at his story. That rep’s supervisor, however, recalled after a bit of prodding that the company was performing some software upgrades and that it had accidentally sent out a message with a bad number to numerous subscribers.
How bad was the number? Well, the text identified the company as PBMS, or Pacific Bell Mobile Service, which was the predecessor of Pacific Bell Wireless Service, which was the predecessor of Cingular.
“The best news,” my friend said, “was they are such sports at Cingular that they are going to take the 10-cent charge off my phone bill for sending me the erroneous text message. Now that’s what I call customer care!”
Name game: Dane Peres noticed that a press release from the local ballclub said, “The Dodgers will also hold auditions for individuals desiring to sing the National Anthem during a Spring Training game. For further information please contact Jeff Singer.... “
miscelLAny: Six-shooters used to be associated with Apple Valley when it was the home of the Roy Rogers Museum. Now the town’s identified with swords. Esquire magazine reports that the community is the home of a gladiator school run by Spartacus fan Luca Zanna. Cost: $299 for the one-day course.
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Steve Harvey can be reached at (800) LATimes, Ext. 77083, by fax at (213) 237-4712, by mail at Metro, L.A. Times, 202 W. 1st St., L.A. 90012, and by e-mail at steve.harvey@latimes.com.
