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Online Bible |
1 Thessalonians 3:9
For what thanks can we render to God again for you, for all the joy wherewith we joy for your sakes before our God;
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This is Topic: In The News
Following are the News Items published under this Topic.
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Posted by: Shawn on Saturday, March 10, 2007 - 03:39 AM |
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 | The Westin Hotel in Seattle Washington sets an all time low in customer service.
The downtown Seattle Westin Hotel has really set an all time low when it comes to serving guests with disabilities. As many of you are aware Pastor Jerry, a 100% disabled veteran and international minister was invited to spend the weekend at the Westin Hotel with Pastor Benny Hinn. Pastor Jerry had been looking forward to this meeting for quite some time and decided to spend the weekend at the hotel instead of driving the 80 miles home each evening.
Upon arriving at the hotel he was told that there was no one available to take his bags up to the lobby or his room for him and to leave them in the car. He was told that they would be retrieved for him at a later time during the evening. As you all are aware, Pastor Jerry is disabled and is completely unable to carry his bags up as he walks with either a cane or crutches.
Arriving at the counter he was then told, that even though he was a platinum member of many hotels, and rooms were available, that he would not be upgraded, which is part of the 'supposed' benefits of being a member. Pastor Jerry was not asking for anything for free, and even offered to pay for the upgrade. This is not a free service and is only something you receive after staying with a hotel chain for quite some time. Pastor Jerry was averaging over half the year in hotels in the past with them. Undaunted, and still determined to enjoy his evening Pastor Jerry decided to leave it be and attend the meeting, figuring everything would be taken care of after the fact.
Well it only gets worse. Once the meetings were finished he asked to have his bags brought up from the car, and was told that attendants would not remove bags from a customers car for them and he would have to retrieve them himself. He explained to them once again that he is unable to accomplish this task. It made no difference even to management.
Now the meeting ended quite late in the evening with literaly thousands of people attending and to his shock, it turns out all the restaurants in the hotel were closed. For a person who is diabetic, this is not a good thing. So Pastor Jerry rang room service asking for food and was told it would be over an hour at the minimum.
I'm not sure about you, but I thought the Westin hotel was considered a step above the local motel in town and definately expected a much higher level of service. This is not a hotel with only a few employees on duty, where it would have been a strain to take care of a disabled pastor. It is the first Westin hotel in the chain, and nationally recognized. We're talking rooms that start at $200 a night plus the $35 for parking. I would suggest that if corporate headquarters ever gets a chance to read this article that they speak with their management, and give a bit of instruction on hot to properly deal with their guests. Especially those with disabilities. After spending literaly thousands of evenings in hotel rooms around the world, the Westin Hotel in Seattle definately rates the worst customer service we've come across.
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Posted by: Shawn on Friday, January 19, 2007 - 01:16 PM |
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 | Home Depot Customer Service hurts Family of Six
What has happened to customer service? When did corporate leaders decide to throw out the training and educating of employees “How to treat and retain a customer?”
We have been Home Depot customers since we purchased our first home in 1999. My wife and I have purchased the majority of our home items their.
Purchases exceeding $15,000.00 probably closer to $20,000.00 over the years, what kind of service can you expect for being a loyal customer?
We are a middle class family with four kids. We have a Home Depot credit card and we love to take advantage of their offers “Zero interest and Zero payments” for 1 year terms that they offer every once in awhile.
Our most recent purchase was a new LG Refrigerator. We purchased it 1-15-2007 paying $1432.55. We put $900.00 on our Home Depot credit card and paid the remaining balance by debit card. We also paid $55.00 for delivery and haul away of our old unit. We have a printed delivery receipt stating our delivery would be 1-18-2007 and we will receive a phone call the evening prior to our delivery appointment to confirm a time frame the following day.
We received our phone call the evening of the 17th as promised stating they would arrive with our new appliance between 2:30pm and 6:30pm the following day; also we would receive a phone call 30 minutes prior to arrival.
To this point Home Depot followed through with their promise of our purchase. After working a half day, I came home and cleared out the refrigerator of the non essentials, pops etc. At to 3:30pm we cleared out everything in the unit, unplugged it and moved it out of the kitchen close to the door for them to haul away.
This is when our experience gets bad. We received a phone call at 5:20 pm stating that the delivery truck is backed up by over three hours and they would not be delivering our unit today. When asked about when they would deliver it, they stated we would have to reschedule with Home Depot”
Trying to keep a good attitude and knowing that you can’t accomplish much by getting angry, we called Home Depot. We spoke to “My” at the service desk and were told very rudely that we had only two options. Cancel our order or transfer to another person who could reschedule for another day.
How could this be possible? This is not a dryer or washer we were waiting for this is the unit that stores food for a family of six and keeps it cold. Our old unit was already turned off for hours and was warm and our food needed to get out of the colder garage and into the refrigerator.
Not satisfied with our options, we asked to speak with a manager. We got the not so delightful “Mike Newman” a manager of the Everett store # 4713 on the phone. This man has studied customer service and retention and has mastered the art of “who cares”.
Mike gave us the same options, with not a lick of empathy in his voice for our desperate situation; Mike told me, we could cancel our order or reschedule it. Frustrated with this mans lack of concern, I asked Mike who we could write a letter to about this experience. He stated well “Me, or I guess the store manager Melanie Macisaac”.
Not giving an ounce of concern to look into our situation; Mike quickly transferred us to a sales person in appliances to get rid of us. This is where we got our original sales person on the phone.
Passed on to somebody that could do nothing to help us except tell us we would have to reschedule and unfortunately the news gets even worse. We would not receive the new unit the next day since the schedule was full, “Amazing”.
This sales person stated he would call us at 9:00 am when he gets into work and let us know what day could be rescheduled.
Well “Mike Newman” from Home Depot Store # 4713 in Everett, Washington. You succeeded in getting rid of us from bothering you with our desperate situation. Home Depot has seen the last purchase from us and will never see our business again.
The drive to Home Depot is about 12 miles round trip for us, when a Lowe’s was built closer to our home 3 miles away we remained loyal customers to Home Depot. Lowe’s you have just gained another customer. Since most people live in their home for 5-7 years then move on to a bigger or better home. Look for that next $15,000-$20,000.00 to go to Lowe’s.
I have been told that a good experience with a company can impact a few people when told but we shall see how many people will hear about our bad experience with Home Depot.
Our theory is this, they realize that we take them up on their offer for “Zero Interest and Zero Payments” for 1 year and we always pay the bill off prior to the 1 year ending for several years now avoiding the large interest payment that would apply, basically free money for 1 year, would they not provide the product for awhile because of this? Just a theory, I guess we shall see how long it takes them to follow through with their end of our purchase.
David- Everett, Washington
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Posted by: Shawn on Wednesday, September 06, 2006 - 06:31 PM |
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| | Christian arrested for handing out leaflets at homosexual rally. Please pray
A police force was caught up in a freedom of speech row after its officers arrested an anti-gay campaigner for handing out leaflets at a homosexual rally.
South Wales police admitted evangelical Christian Stephen Green was then charged purely because his pamphlets contained anti-gay quotations from the Bible.
Mr Green faces a court appearance today charged with using 'threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour' after his attempt to distribute the leaflets at the weekend 'Mardi Gras' event in Cardiff.
A spokesman for the police said the campaigner had not behaved in a violent or aggressive manner, but that officers arrested him because 'the leaflet contained Biblical quotes about homosexuality'.
The arrest of Mr Green by the South Wales Minorities Support Unit provoked a furious row.
Church of England evangelicals said it represented 'an onslaught on freedom of speech and freedom of religious expression' and Tory MPs called it 'disturbing'.
The decision to prosecute Mr Green is the latest in a series of police initiatives aimed against those who have expressed public disapproval of homosexual behaviour.
In recent months incidents have included a Metropolitan Police warning to author Lynette Burrows that she was responsible for a 'homophobic incident' after she suggesting on a BBC Radio Five Live programme that gays did not make ideal adoptive parents.
Another warning about future behaviour was delivered by Lancashire police who visited the home of a Christian couple after they complained about their local council's gay rights policies.
The Met Police in London also investigated former Muslim Council of Britain leader Sir Iqbal Sacranie after he gave an interview saying homosexuality was harmful. However, no prosecution followed in that case.
The action against Mr Green came after he and a fellow member of his evangelical group, Christian Voice, tried to distribute leaflets at the gay Mardi Gras event in Cardiff.
Several thousand people attended the event, which included a gay rugby tournament and a 'top gayer motor show', and which was addressed on the importance of tolerance by Liberal Democrat council chief Rodney Berman.
The anti-gay campaigners were first asked by police to leave the site of the show following 'complaints from the public', and complied with the request. However, they were approached again by police when they began handing out leaflets at the entrance to the park where the Mardi Gras was staged.
Mr Green refused to stop distributing leaflets and was arrested, and then questioned for four hours at a police station. He was charged after refusing a caution.
The leaflets were headed Same-Sex Love - Same-Sex Sex: What does the Bible Say?, and included a series of quotations from the 1611 King James Bible, a text usually regarded as one of the foundation stones of the English language.
Aimed at demonstrating Biblical disapproval of homosexual sex, they included from the Old Testament Leviticus 18.22, 'Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind: it is abomination'.
The leaflets also quoted Romans 1:25-27 from the New Testament, to the effect that homosexuals are given to 'vile affections'.
The handbills urged homosexuals to 'turn from your sins and you will be saved'.
The charge against Mr Green is that he used 'threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour within the hearing or sight of a person likely to be caused harassment, alarm or distress thereby', contrary to the Public Order Act 1986.
Mr Green's Christian Voice group is regarded by other evangelicals as particularly militant and it has been heavily involved in demonstrations against theatre performances of Jerry Springer the Opera. However, Mr Green has no record of violence or intimidation.
He said yesterday: 'I am astonished that South Wales Police have a special unit dedicated to silencing those who disagree with homosexuality.'
He said that the force boasts of working closely with gay groups and added: 'Maybe they work a bit too closely when an evangelist can be victimised simply because he is giving out leaflets quoting verses from the same Bible police officers swear on in court.'
There was strong support for Mr Green from other Christian groups yesterday.
The Reverend Rod Thomas, a Plymouth vicar and spokesman for the influential Reform organisation that represents 500 Church of England clergy, said: 'The methods of Christian Voice do not always commend themselves to other Christians.
'But if there was nothing involved here other than the content of the leaflets, the arrest represents an onslaught on freedom of speech and on freedom of religious expression.
'Why gay rights are regarded as more important that freedom of expression I do not know. There is a real danger that those who have tried to support gay rights for liberal reasons may find themselves responsible for suppressing vital liberties.'
Tory MP Douglas Carswell, a member of the Parliamentary Human Rights Committee, said: 'I disagree with Mr Green's views but I feel very strongly that he should be allowed to express them.'
The Harwich and Clacton MP added: 'I take a liberal view on sexuality but I am disturbed that the police should show so much vigour in arresting this man and bringing him before the courts. I am deeply worried about the implications for freedom of expression.'
Colin Hart of the Christian Institute think tank said: 'This was a very gentle leaflet. There was no use of words like "perversion". I have to wonder if churches, bishops and archbishops are now vulnerable to arrest for their views on homosexuality.
'It is noticeable that police never arrest Muslims who make remarks about homosexuality. They pick on Christians because it is easy, just as they pick on middle class drivers for speeding because it is easier than catching burglars.'
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Posted by: Shawn on Tuesday, September 05, 2006 - 09:25 PM |
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 | Jewish man removed from airplane, his offence? praying...
This article says it all when it comes to rules and laws regulating prayer. You won't believe what they are doing now to try and stop religion in public places, that is enless you've been watching events unfold recently. Some fellow passengers are questioning why an Orthodox Jewish man was removed from an Air Canada Jazz flight in Montreal last week for praying.
The man was a passenger on a Sept. 1 flight from Montreal to New York City when the incident happened.
The airplane was heading towards the runway at the Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport when eyewitnesses said the Orthodox man began to pray.
"He was clearly a Hasidic Jew," said Yves Faguy, a passenger seated nearby. "He had some sort of cover over his head. He was reading from a book.
"He wasn't exactly praying out loud but he was lurching back and forth," Faguy added.
The action didn't seem to bother anyone, Faguy said, but a flight attendant approached the man and told him his praying was making other passengers nervous.
"The attendant actually recognized out loud that he wasn't a Muslim and that she was sorry for the situation but they had to ask him to leave," Faguy said.
The man, who spoke neither English nor French, was escorted off the airplane.
Air Canada Jazz termed the situation "delicate," but says it received more than one complaint about the man's behaviour.
The crew had to act in the interest of the majority of passengers, said Jazz spokeswoman Manon Stewart.
"The passenger did not speak English or French, so we really had no choice but to return to the gate to secure a translator," she said.
The airline is not saying if the man was told he was not allowed to pray, but a spokesperson said the man was back on board the next flight to New York.
Jewish leaders in Montreal criticized the move as insensitive, saying the flight attendants should have explained to the other passengers that the man was simply praying and doing no harm.
Hasidic Rabbi Ronny Fine said he often prays on airplanes, but typically only gets curious stares.
"If it's something that you're praying in your own seat and not taking over the whole plane, I don't think it should be a problem," said Fine.
The Jewish group B'nai Brith Canada has offered to help give Air Canada crews sensitivity training.
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Posted by: Shawn on Friday, August 25, 2006 - 06:27 PM |
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| | Children Fight to Save Comatose Mom From Life Support Removal, please pray
DALLAS, Texas, August 21, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The children of a comatose woman are challenging in court the “compassionate reasons” for a Texas hospital’s decision to remove their mother’s life-saving treatment, asserting that their mother, a devout Baptist woman, never would consent to anyone but God ending her life.
On August 8, just days after 61-year-old Ruthie Webster's insurance stopped full coverage of her long-term care, the Regency Hospital’s bioethics committee in North Dallas, Texas, unanimously told the Webster family that they would discontinue life-preserving dialysis treatment for their mother within 10 days. The hospital claimed that Ruthie Webster's physician "has seen no appreciable change in your mother's medical condition" and that continued treatment was an exercise in futility.
The decision shocked family members, since their mother is not brain-dead, but comatose, and has been making slow progress, breathing now on her own without a ventilator, ever since she suffered a bad reaction after undergoing kidney dialysis in June rendering her mostly unresponsive. The family, however, has said their mother told them to take care of her in such a situation, saying that she believes only God has the right to take life away.
"My mom spent her life in the church. She always felt like, 'Who are we to decide? God decides,'” said Lacresia Webster on Thursday. "If this is the way she's going to be, she's still my mom. I'm not giving up on her."
However, the Regency Hospital board defends its decision citing a 1999 statute in Texas' Health and Safety Code that gives a hospital’s ethics committee the last word about continuing a patient's care. Under the law, if the ethics committee decides to end a patient’s medical care, including life-saving treatment, a family has only 10 days to transfer to another medical facility that will care for the patient.
Although Regency has offered to help find another medical facility for Ruthie Webster in Atlanta or Indiana, the family does not want to move their mother, unless they can help it.
"I find it hard to believe this is a law, because you're basically saying if this person is a burden to someone, let's just kill them, and that's unacceptable," Lacresia Webster told Dallas’s NBC 5.
"When God is ready for her, God will take her, not anyone else," Lacresia Webster vowed.
Intent on keeping this vow, Lacresia and her family have enlisted the aid of pro-bono attorneys who have filed a lawsuit against Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott challenging the constitutionality of the state's “end-of-life” law. The family then won a temporary restraining order imposed on Regency Hospital to keep Ruthie Webster alive there until a hearing set for August 28.
Robert Bennet, a lawyer for the Websters said the law “allows a doctor to completely ignore what I’ve told them I wanted to do.” He added, “Mrs. Webster was a Baptist. She told her daughters very clearly that God would take her when it's her time to go. This statute violates her freedom of religion."
"My mother, she's breathing on her own, just like you and I are today," said Helena Webster Hill, who lives in Atlanta. "As long as she's fighting to live, we believe we ought to stand with her and fight with her."
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