A Follow-up to ' I Am Going to Say 'Goodbye' to Symantec'

I did finally receive a response to the inquiry I sent to Symantec about the rebate amount sent in and the amount received. The date on the email I received today, Jan 18, was Dec 27. I guess this email was lost in 'cyberspace' or maybe the same black hole where my rebates went!

Unbelieveable response! Not a single answer to anything I asked!

Thank you for your rebate inquiry. Our records show that check number 8369221 was issued on 10/23/2004 in the amount of $20.00. This check cleared our bank on 11/05/2004. ( I knew that!)

We appreciate your participation in this promotion. If there is anything else we can do to assist you, please contact us at symantecrebatesupport@symantecrebates.com. We are always happy to help. (I don't believe that!)

This was what I asked:

I have a question: My rebate check I received was for $20.00. Why? I sent two rebate offers, one for $30 and one for $40.
Please note, the product that I selected above is NOT the one I sent the rebate for, as Drive Image is not listed.
Comments: I purchased Drive Image because it works. I could never get Ghost to work, it would not install. I tried three times and it always failed. Everything else worked ok. If this is not resolved in a satisfactory manner, I will no longer use Symantec products.
Tracking Number: xxxxxxxx

Obviously this is a 'canned' response, I wonder if anyone actually read this inquiry? Or maybe I should ask 'Did anyone in office that processes rebates read this inquiry?' I am quite sure that Symantec outsources rebate processing, maybe they don't know what it is to followup for 'good customer service!'

I have totally removed anything from Symantec from my computer and guess what? It runs better! Just like everyone said, Norton is a resource hog! I am using eTrust™ EZ Armor™ LE from Computer Associates and so far I like it just fine!

Note: I am not the only one with rebate gripes! Rebate Gripes

My Magazine

I subscribe to several magazines and sometimes I actually have time to sit down and read one of them. I stopped my computer magazine subscriptions a while back, though. It just seemed like they keep repeating the same things I have already read in an email newsletter or on one of my favorite websites. The titles kept promising me how to clean up my hard drive, fix my email or
or some other wondrous thing, and when I read the article I would think, 'I already know that', or I would think, 'These guys are nuts'.

But I still want to read something once in a while that isn't on my computer monitor, so I subscribed to a couple of really famous magazines written mainly for women and home makers. I won't name them here, but if you really want to know, just email me and I will let you know the titles.

As I perused the latest issue of one, I started noticing how many full-page ads there are for everything from soup to nuts and lots of stuff in between. So I counted them! Yeah, I was bored. There were ninety-three full-page ads, including 20 for prescription drugs (ask your doctor). In addition to the blatant ads were a number of articles for makeup and hair care specifyng brands. There were a lot more half page ads. I didn't count those. Then there were the cards to pull out and mail, ten of those.
There were several interesting articles, but they were all mixed in with all those ads. Oh and I don't want to forget the special advertising section! Eight pages there, with a few coupons to entice me to try the products.

So, out of the two hundred pages in the magazine, less than half were devoted to anything I really cared to read. In that less than half was an article on redoing one of my rooms (a make over) with picture of both before and after. If my room looked as good as the before, I sure wouldn't worry about a make over! True, the after really looked great!

So when this subscription comes up for renewal, I think I will pass. But I will keep Discover magazine!