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Faro, Portugal; Great Expectations, Oustanding View, But A Disappointing Breakfast Buffet

Harune Restaurant - AP EVA SENSES HOTEL Av. da República, 1  8000-078 Faro, Algarve, Portugal  Phone: +351 289 540 100 Email: book.eva@ap-ho...

Thursday, March 24, 2016

South Korean Company + Chinese Product + Filipino Tech Support = Huge Waste Of My Time And Money

Electronics Review: Samsung SL-M2885FW/XAA Wireless Monochrome Printer with Scanner, Copier and Fax

Samsung Electronics America 
Corporate Office
Address: 3351 Michelson Dr, Irvine, CA 92612
Phone: (800) 726-7864
I usually do not post non-travel related reviews on this blog, - although if the printer worked, I could theoretically print at home from anywhere in the World - but I had to let you know about this lousy product right away.

I will not waste much time on this review as Samsung has already wasted far too much of my time with their poor printer software and incompetent off-shore, outsources technical support (which takes jobs from Americans of course, but that is another story),

I purchased a Samsung SL-M2885FW/XAA Wireless Monochrome Printer with Scanner, Copier and Fax on Amazon.com on Thursday, March 17, 2016 and even though it was supposed to arrive in 10 days, USPS delivered it on Sunday, March 20th. Great start, right? Well, it was all downhill from there!

I spent over 6 hours trying to install the printer software, wasting an entire evening and another afternoon, but after over an hour on the phone with Samsung Tech Support and after trying every possible solution myself, their representative in the Philippines told me they could not help me, making an excuse that it was my router:
"Our printer does not operate on 2.5 GHz, only 2.4 GHz. You have to contact your Internet provider. There is nothing more I can do."
I explained that my Internet provider only provides the modem, that the router is mine, and that it is in-fact operating at 2.4 GHz, but she insisted that I must contact my Internet provider. She obviously did not have a clue, so I told her I would return the printer to Amazon.com, to which she replied, "that is certainly an option". Wrong answer!

Samsung and The Samsung SL-M2885FW/XAA Wireless Monochrome Printer with Scanner, Copier and Fax Get 1 Bomb Out Of 10 And A Spot On CombatCritic's Wall Of Shame ... More Bombs Are Better!




One Bomb Equates To:

Read Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp - Elite '14/'15/'16

TripAdvisor - Top Contributor

Tabelog - Official Judge (Bronze)

Zomato - #1 Ranked Foodie

View my food journey on Zomato!



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Tabelog Reviewer CombatCriticView my food journey on Zomato!




Title: Japanese Company + Chinese Product + Filipino Tech Support = A Huge Waste Of My Time And Money

Key Words: Samsung, printer, all-in-one, scanner, fax, laser, CombatCritic, TravelValue, value, product, review, Yelp, Amazon.com, Samsung.com, wall of shame, shame, technical, support, China, Korea

Translation for Civilians: FUBAR = "Fucked Up Beyond All Repair"

Sunday, March 6, 2016

TravelTech: The Misfit Flash Is A "Flash" In The Pan, Don't Waste Your Money

Misfit Flash 
Fitness Monitor
Sold by Amazon.com
$25.97 Plus Tax


Being a gym rat, avid golfer and frequent traveler, fitness is important even while on the road. With aerobic machines rarely available while on vacation, a fitness monitor provides a quick and easy way to ensure I get enough exercise, at a glance, so I bought the Misfit Flash through Amazon.com.

When the Flash synced with the Misfit app, it seemed to work well enough. The "points" (steps) were sometimes off (low) and sleep stopped tracking if I awoke after 5am, even if you go back to sleep, but for $30 it was acceptable until it stopped syncing altogether. The instructions that came with the Flash were totally inadequate and their website provides little, if any, technical information or support (for example, they do not bother telling you how to change the battery).

Even though I had the Flash for a little over 30 days, 32 to be exact, Amazon at first refused to allow me to return it. The device worked OK in the beginning, but recently only synced intermittently with the Misfit app. I had bought one for my wife a few days after getting mine (because it seemed to work OK at first), but her's did not sync for weeks and then would not even pair with the Misfit app via Bluetooth. 

I contacted Misfit on numerous occasions (February 4th, 6th, 27th, 28th and March 2nd to be exact) about a fix, but they either refused to respond or sent me the same lame cut and paste instructions that are available on their website. They dragged their feet long enough that I was 2 days out of warranty by the time I got around to contacting Amazon about a return. Fortunately, my wife's Flash, also bought through Amazon, was within the 30-day return policy, but I thought that I was apparently out of luck.

I ended up returning my Flash in the same box I was returning my wife's in, even if I would not receive a refund, contacting Amazon (not an easy thing to do by the way) and letting them know of my dismay. Low and behold, I received an email the very next day telling me that they were processing a refund for my former Flash in addition to my wife's. Maybe their motto, "We're Building Earth's Most Customer-Centric Company", is true after all! 

The Misfit Flash is junk and Misfit obviously doesn't care about their customers, so do not waste your money.

CombatCritic Gives the Misfit Flash (and Amazon.com's published return policy) 1 Bomb Out Of 10 and a spot on my Wall of Shame ... More Bombs Are Better!

One Bomb Equates To:
Read Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp - Elite '14/'15/'16

TripAdvisor - Top Contributor

Tabelog - Official Judge (Bronze)

Zomato - #1 Ranked Foodie

View my food journey on Zomato!



... And Don't Forget To Subscribe To TravelValue TV on YouTube


Tabelog Reviewer CombatCriticView my food journey on Zomato!




Title: TravelTech: The Misfit Flash Is A "Flash" In The Pan, Don't Waste Your Money

Key Words: Misfit Flash, Misfit, flash, wearable, activity, tracker, monitor, fitness, sleep, Amazon, Amazon.com, technology, tech, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, product, review, Yelp

Translation for Civilians: FUBAR = "Fucked Up Beyond All Repair"

Saturday, March 5, 2016

Lawrence, Kansas: Burger Princess ... Home of the "Whimper"

Burger King
1107 W. 6th Street
Lawrence, KS 66044
Phone: (785) 371-3184
Website: bk.com

What is the world coming to? This review will be short and not so sweet.

Question: What's small, flat, cold and cost $16?

Answer: #1 and #2 Burger King Value Meals
I remember when Whoppers were "whoppers", reasonably priced and cooked to order. Now they "nuke" the meat and a Whopper is more like a "Whimper", half the size of what you used to get. The value meal fries should be the baby's menu and a slice of American cheese is an extra 80 cents.
Maybe they should change the name to Burger Princess to reflect their portion sizes ... never again!

CombatCritic Gives Burger King 2 Bombs Out of 10 ... More Bombs Are Better!


Two Bombs Equates To
Read Reviews By CombatCritic:

Yelp - Elite '14/'15/'16

TripAdvisor - Top Contributor

Tabelog - Official Judge (Bronze)

Zomato - #1 Ranked Foodie

View my food journey on Zomato!



... And Don't Forget To Subscribe To TravelValue TV on YouTube


Tabelog Reviewer CombatCriticView my food journey on Zomato!



Title: Burger Princess ... Home of the Whimper!

Key Words: Burger King, burger, king, whopper, home of the whopper, bk.com, fries, Coke, Lawrence, Kansas, CombatCritic, TravelValue, travel, value, product, restaurant, menu review, Yelp, TripAdvisor, Zomato

Translation for Civilians: Tango-Uniform = "Tits Up" 

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