Sometimes I like giving people good or bad info about individual companies. I have been meaning to give some heads up about a few good and bad companies for some time and now, as I just had a good experience with a plumber right here in NYC (after many years of bad experiences) I think it is time to pass on some advice.

EARTHLINK:

Awhile back I wrote about Earthlink soliciting business from my underage daughter, repeatedly and despite repeated requests from my wife and myself to get us off their mailing list and call list. I reported the Earthlink's harrassment of my daughter to several state and cith agencies. It was unclear which of them passed the info on, which didn't feel they had responsibility and which investigated. I do know the NYC Public Advocate's office (which I have been critical of in the past) contacted me and connected me with someone who might be able to help if we ever hear from them ever again. Thank you Public Advocate office! Whatever I stirred up on the issue seems to have at least temporarily stopped the incessant calls and letters from Earthlink. If they call or send a letter again, you will be hearing more about them.

I should also note that I received a few private emails about that article from other people who have been harassed by Earthlink or had poor experiences with them. Of course anyone who has either a good or bad story can post it here.

DESPATCH MOVING:

Not long ago my lab moved from downtown NYU to the medical center. Now moving companies are known for being unreliable, careless and, basically, terrible. I have heard no end of horror stories about movers.

Well, I am happy to say that the company that moved us from downtown NYU to the Medical Center were polite, fast and careful. This company was Despatch Moving. The movers were late due to a massive storm that morning, but still got the job done more or less on time. We were amazed at how fast they were but the supervisor complained that this was his slow crew. If that's his slow crew, we REALLY would have been amazed by their fast crew. They were extremely nice. Even had some great philosophical discussions with them on topics from surfing to the Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire. They were also very careful. You can imagine how much delicate stuff gets moved with a lab. We had exactly one beaker broken in the move. That's all. Quite a good performance. Since it was through NYU that the move went, I have no idea on the cost. But I can certainly vouch for the quality of this moving service. Give them a call if you are looking for a mover. At least consider them.

ALLSTATE INSURANCE:

Turning back to negative experiences, let me just say that Allstate is really pretty much useless when it comes to homeowners insurance. I admit it. I shopped around for the cheapest. Used to have state farm, then they suddenly and unexpectedly jacked up our rates. So I shopped around again and chose Allstate because they were cheap.

My wife had a friend who got screwed by Allstate and tells all her friends not to use them. I hadn't gotten word of that when I switched. Pity because when we finally had a couple of problems to discuss with them, they gave us the massive run around finding every excuse to not cover us. I guess that's the job of the claims department of most insurance companies: denying claims. But come on! Why should we buy insurance that doesn't do anything for us. You know that they claim not to cover physical damage per se, only personal property loss due to the original damage? They quoted a clause I couldn't find when they denied that claim. They also don't seem to cover any kind of damage from water. Now we all know you are shit out of luck with flood damage. And so-called "Acts of God" (what if you're an atheist? Shouldn't they cover everything since you don't believe in an Act of God...or are they discriminating against atheists?). But we didn't have anything like that. You have to contact them immediately with the exact sequence of events that led to the damage (though they won't fix the original problem, only the damage it causes). In a building with 60+ units when you are on the ground floor and much of the plumbing is ancient, it takes time for a problem to manifest and then is hard to trace. They won't even listen to you unless you can trace every step of the way. Anyone who knows plumbing in NY buildings knows that takes a hell of a lot of time...sometimes months to years. By then it is too late to be covered. Before then you can't give them enough info.

So, sadly I never got the warning from my wife's friend in time...I bought crappy insurance from Allstate and now get jack from them. Well, time to look into other insurance. I think I am eligable for USAA thanks to my step-father. Need to look into them since I hear they rock.

ALADDIN PLUMBING:

We have had problems in our building for years with plumbing. You name it, we have had it. Mostly we left it to the building to deal with. They hired crap company after crap company. When it came to having people in to do some plumbing work for our apartment this time around, I didn't take the building's recommendation. My wife went to Angie's List. I looked around at plumbers there and found Aladdin Plumbing, a company with high ratings. So I called them. Polite. Prompt. ON TIME. And efficient. They fixed the problem easily. Consulted them on another issue that I still think my building needs to deal with and he confirmed what I had suspected: the building hired crap people who did a crap job on our shower. I knew that already because every time they fixed the tile work in the shower (which got screwed up after a leak from above) it started coming right off again. Aladdin showed me exactly what my building's contractor did wrong and why it was leading to our new problem.

Cost? For a fairly easy, half hour job it was about $150. I have little experience with this, so don't know if that is good or bad. Doesn't strike me as particularly cheap or expensive, but about what I expected. But the job was well done...finally!

Any good or bad experiences readers have had with companies you want to share?

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