Leslie and I have been very reluctant to refer people to dentists after her nightmare experience with a dentist in Los Algondones, Mexico.  You may think your getting a bargain pay $125 for a crown in Mexico when the same crown often costs 10 times the price in North America.  Well $700 worth of crowns ended up costing us $10,000 in repairs and restoration and years of pain, suffering and anxiety.  Some day when I have more time, I will share this horrendous experience with you and hopefully save another unsuspecting patient in search of CHEAP DENTAL TREATMENT!  Believe me, it's not worth the risk!!  Leslie still has re-occurring nightmares of her experience and what the long term consequences of her monumental mistake might bring.

All that being said, we have been patients of Legacy Smiles in Peoria for the past 3 years.  Leslie & I have been very impressed with their great service, quality of work and very competitive pricing.  An example of their outstanding service was once again demonstrated today.  Yesterday we had our semi annual cleaning and exams.  At dinner, Leslie bit into her fork and chipped her tooth.  She was quite upset and figured here goes an expensive visit to the dentist.  She called Legacy Smiles this morning and they were able to squeeze her in at noon.  Bryan took a quick look and said that this is not an uncommon experience.  He polished the chip out of the tooth and sent her on her way within minutes....NO CHARGE!  How often does that happen at your dentist.  These guys are great!


http://www.legacysmilesdental.com

Flight Centre service is definitely "Beatable"!

We recently returned from a 4 month tour of New Zealand and Australia.  We booked our airfare with Flight Centre in Victoria on Air New Zealand.  ANZ is an  Aeroplan Partner so we gave the agent our membership numbers and she included them in our booking.  Not long after our return, I contacted our agent at Flight Centre and informed her that the recent flights and not been credited to our Aeroplan Accounts.  She informed us that it sometimes takes a little time for the points to appear on our accounts.  After 6 months, the points were still not credited.  I contact our Flight Centre agent again and asked her to contact Aeroplan to see what the problem was.  I was informed that Aeroplan would not let her inquire on our behalf and we would have to call them on our own.  I called Aeroplan and informed them of our problem.  The Aeroplan Agent asked why our travel agent was not contacting them as they have all the information and most often, this is how this is handled.  I told her we were told that the travel agent could not contact Aeroplan on our behalf.  She said that was not true, agents do it all the time.

The Aeroplan Agent then proceeded to tell me that we had 6 months to claim points that were not credited.  It so happened that my call was 6 months and 4 days.  I informed her that I had made inquiries with Flight Centre concerning these points and was assured that they would be credited and to just be patient.  After a bit of a battle, she agreed to speak with her supervisor to see what could be done.  They would contact me via email if there were any problems and explain the situation.  Needless to say I was quite annoyed at both our Flight Centre Agent and the Aeroplan Agent.  Within a few days, points were credited for our trip from Los Angeles to Melbourne but not our return trip from Sydney to Los Angeles (approximately 16,000 pts for both Leslie & I).  Once again I contacted Flight Centre to see if she could intervene and act on our behalf to clear up this matter.  I heard nothing.  Finally I contacted Aeroplan and was informed that the reason we were not credited points on the return flight is because they were discounted tickets that were ineligible.  I told her our fares were around $5000, which appeared to be the regular fares on most airlines and we were never informed of any discounts, or the fact that all points relating to these flights would not be credited.  Again, I emailed our Flight Centre Agent and she informed me that she did contact Aeroplan and got the same answer.

So here we are, 1/2 the points credited and I guess that's that!  I feel that Flight Centre basically left us hanging to deal with this situation on our own.  Regardless of the out come, I would have felt much better if they would have intervened and aggressively fought on our behalf but that did not happen!  Good customer service does not end at the booking.

As far as Aeroplan, this type of customer service does not surprise.   We have flown Air Canada for business and pleasure over the past 38 years and have never been overly impressed.  As far as Air New Zealand, they are fantastic!!  I was going to attach all the corresponding emails concerning this matter but I think this story is long enough as it is and I think you all get the drift! 

Well, we have been in Phoenix just over a week and it seems like we have picked up right where we left off, hiking, biking, gym, partying, etc.  It is great to be back with all our U.S, Buddies.  The weather had been hot the first few days but then a cooling trend arrived this weekend dipping temperatures into the 60's and 70's...STILL BEATS BELOW FREEZING & SNOW!!

Arrived in Moab last night around 5 pm.  Place looks a little shabby with a lot of run down overpriced accommodation but we did not come here for resort living.  We came for what is supposed to be some of the most spectacular hiking in the U.S.  We were not disappointed!

Got and travelled the short distance to The Arches National Park.  What a cool place as Mother Nature never ceases to amaze us.  The hikes are easy to moderate for experience hikers and is very manageable for beginners who enjoy a long walk.  We hiked quite a few different trails and after 7 hours we were ready to call it a day.  After a romantic dinner at Denny's, we were ready to hit the hay and get ready for another big day of hiking at The Canyonlands National Park.  We want to get an early start as we have a 6-7 hour drive to Phoenix after the hike.

You may be interested in reading this article from January 2011 about a young park ranger that was shot nine times and miraculously survived.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705364398/Moab-ranger-shot-nine-times-says-many-miracles-helped-save-his-life.html?pg=all

http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=13357618

http://articles.cnn.com/2010-11-21/justice/utah.ranger.shot_1_grand-county-search-area-leg-and-stomach?_s=PM:CRIME

Got an early start this morning, up at 5:30 am and on the road by 7 am.  A skiff of snow last night which should make things interesting!  Major fog from Calgary to Lethbridge.  The skies opened up at Milk River and we breezed through the border crossing at Coots after a 20 second interview with the US Customs Agent.  Why can't they all be like that?

Trip from the border to Pocatello was rather uneventful.  Roads were great with little traffic.  This was our 3rd stay at the Clarion Pocatello and this time we were pleasantly surprised.  Room was updated and very nice.  A little noisy, probably because our location was an outside room adjacent to the front lobby.  Heard people hauling luggage most of the evening and hopefully things will quiet down.

Making our way to Moab, Utah tomorrow morning.  The accommodation looks a little sketchy and quite expensive.  This appears to be typical for the National Park Regions in the U.S.  I think we will take our chances and arrive without reservations.  This will give us an opportunity to personally check the rooms before booking.