Unfortunately, we happen to be one of them. It seems Kmart did a piss-poor job of reconciling the online layaway order contracts with the actual warehouse inventory and now paid in full online initiated layaway customers and being left high and dry when the time comes to ship the goods.

KMART ONLINE LAYAWAY CONTRACTS CANCELLED- ITEMS OUT OF STOCK

Kmart sends out confusing emails about layaway contracts being cancelled… Here is the one we got:

Then they automatically issue a refund without any further contact or efforts to assist the customer. Folks expecting that their online Kmart purchases were locked in and that their holiday shopping was complete are terribly wrong. Kmart feels they don’t owe you anything. cant get their shit together (see update below)!

From the get-go I’ve had issues shopping on their website. Initially I placed an order for a Barbie type doll from the Tangled movie, Flynn to be specific. When it arrived it was the wrong character and it was all smashed up from being crushed in transit.

I reached out to customer service to simply have it replaced. There was nothing simple about the interaction. I was refunded my purchase amount, then invoiced a higher price for my replacement item and charged for shipping. After about 45min of back and fourth the customer service rep finally agreed to not charge me for shipping and to honor the original purchase price on my replacement item. Unfortunately, when it came it was still the WRONG character. I simply sold it on Ebay and bought the correct character from Amazon.com

When I paid off my layaway contract in full just before thanksgiving I figured I’d be all set with my items before the rush of last minute shopping began for Kmart. I was wrong about that too.

My order somehow got lost in the fulfillment department for two weeks and nothing was shipped to me. I reached out to customer service three times before I got the first dreaded “Your layaway contract has been cancelled” emails.

When I reached out to them the response was ” apologies, the items are no longer in stock”.

So, if you think your online layaway contract has secured you a certain price and that the item is now reserved for you, think again. Kmart has other ideas about layaway order fulfillment it seems.

12/7/14 Update:

KMART ISSUES GIFT CARDS & EXPEDITED SHIPPING FOR CANCELLED CONTRACTS

Kmart sent out the following email:

“We deeply apologize for cancelation of your online layaway. Here are the steps we are taking immediately:

First, we have processed your refund for canceled items and you will receive this refund soon, if you haven’t already.

Second, we are working to find the items that were identified as out of stock – and if we can find them we will provide those items to you for free and ship to you for free. If we don’t have those items, we will provide you with an e-gift card that you can use towards the purchase of another item or items.

Please call us at 877-810-5891 as soon as possible (before 6 pm CST, Sunday, December 21st so we can get the items to you in a timely manner). Our customer service representatives are available from 6 am CST to 10 pm CST to help you.

We regret this happened at all. We know this is a special time of year for you and your family and we want to assure you we are working hard to make this right.

Best regards,
Imran Jooma
EVP & President, Marketing and Online”

I called in like instructed, waiting and then spoke to a pleasantly efficient and knowledgeable rep whom located one of my cancelled items and issued courtesy gift cards for the other items that I said were cancelled and not received by me – I make the “not received by me” distinction because my entire online layaway orders showed as cancelled but some items were sent and fulfilled before the cancellation emails sent out. 

Like promised, I did get two courtesy gift cards for future purchases, in addition to being refunded for my cancelled items (I paid them via paypal so my refund wasn’t so delayed). I tried ordering different replacement items on kmart.com the afternoon of 12/19/14. These were replacement items bought with the issued gift cards. I was feeling good about how I was still well within the shipping time frame for holiday arrival, I found some items, checked out & got an order confirmation success page with an order number.

ONLINE ORDERS AREN’T PROCESSING

I went about my day having that handled. Later that night, when I checked my email I realized my order confirmation WASN’T ever emailed to me. The next day I logged in to kmart.com and also didn’t see my order reflected in my account which made me think it didn’t process and that it is NOT shipping for arrival before 12/25.

After talking two different service reps (web chat and by telephone) who both said my order didn’t really exist, I decided to try resubmitting my order online last night. This new order rendered a new confirmation number and success page (that I remembered to print this time) it was said to arrive by 12/24. Yet again I’ve not received an email confirmation and the order isn’t in my kmart.com order history. I’m betting it never comes.

Also, the items that were found from my cancelled layaway order and supposedly 2nd day shipped out to me aren’t here and I’ve gotten NO email correspondences regarding them either. What is going on with the Kmart online system?

I’m just beyond frustrated at this point. I’ve spent far too much time trying to get this all to work out and I’ve got zero hope for actually seeing any of my items because I just can’t spend anymore time trying to get Kmart/ Sears customer service reps to understand or care about what is really happening. The Kmart/ Sears online ordering system and inventory management system is REALLY messed up!

I told them in an email: “In a perfect situation you guys would pull my items from stock at my local Kmart, wrap them up and let me come pick them up-thus bypassing your malfunctioning online ordering system and ensuring my items are here for Christmas… but nobody that I’ve spoken to since Friday has seemed particularly interested in going above and beyond for the customer in remedying this situation.

Please let me know how you will attempt to remedy this.” but I’m not really holding my breath for them to go above and beyond. What has your experience been?

The post Kmart’s Online Layaway Program Ruins The Holiday For Many… appeared first on Updates from Ryder Family Farm.

Here, we try to find ways to reuse virtually everything instead of just throwing it away. I keep things like milk jugs, grocery bags, cardboard boxes, plastic kitty litter bins, beer/ wine bottles, corks/ bottle caps, baby food jars, egg cartons, toilet paper rolls and  much more. These items can be reused or can be manipulated to serve other purposes depending on your needs.

• Use plastic detergent or kitty litter bins for planting or composting or just for storing things. We have various types of animal feed in these bins right now, we also have put gardening tools and even kids toys in them for storage.
• Use old wine corks to make your very own cork board. These can be cuite cute too.  You an repurpose bottle caps by making a fun retro belt or use any number of these creative bottle cap ideas.
• Use milk jugs for plant watering and liquid storage, use the top portion of a milk jug as a funnel and the bottom portion to plant in or just buy milk that isn’t coming in plastic containers and recycle/ compost the cardboard.
• Grocery bags and cardboard boxes can be reused for several times. Every package we send is sent in a reused box, even with reused packing materials. 
• We pay our bills electronically and still get paper bills. We don’t toss out those return envelopes inclosed in the bill, we have a whole container full of them and we reuse them when we need an envelope.
• Cardboard egg cartons, cereal boxes and toilet paper rolls can be used to start seeds in. Then you just plant the cardboard in the dirt where it will break down and compost while the plant grows.
• Glass baby food jars can be used to store small items like thumbtacks, paperclips, nails/ screws, dried herbs, seeds and much more!
• Ditch the paper product and reuse your old clothes. Here I’ve turned old cotton clothes/ receiving blankets to clean up spills (aka paper towel replacements) and even as *gasp* “snot rags” for the kiddos. I’ve even made swiffer clothes from old shirts. We just wash them and reuse them till they fall apart. Then they go to the compost.
• All the paper we use in our office printer has already been printed on the backside. 
• Most kitchen waste is great for composting and replenishing garden soil. Things like coffee grounds, tea bags, vegetables, fruits, egg shells, paper towels and egg cartons can be composted and later added to garden soil. I set aside one of my old plastic kitty litter bins (with a lid of course) for all my chosen compost items.
• Old window frames are perfect to repurpose! With glass intact you can build a “coldframe” for your garden with them. Frames with the glass removed can be lined with chicken wire and used to make a chicken or rabbit run. You could even make trellises for the garden with theses.

Other ways to get rid of or score great things for repurposing:

If you have old clothes, appliances, or any other reusable items you can always donate them to charity, goodwill or just give them away! As a last resort you can even set the items out next to or near the trash can with a note that says “free”. Anything is better than throwing them away…

-Visit http://www.freecycle.org/ if you are looking for stuff or if you have stuff to give away. Here in my town all you have to do is post what you have to get rid of and all the members of freecycle in your area will get emailed. If someone is interested they will contact you, you can set up a meeting or you can simply have them come to pick up the stuff you are giving away. It is super easy, convenient and best of all FREE!!

-Also http://craigslist.org/ is a great resource for getting or giving away stuff.

The majority of everyday household items can be either be recycled, reused, composed or given away to cut down on wastes. Try it, you will be surprised how much you really can cut down on wastes. A small change can make a big difference! Our trash can is the proof.

Now tell me, in what ways are you repurposing, recycling or reusing to cut wastes?

Need a washing machine upgrade?

You can “pin to win” a new washing machine if you got a clunker that needs an eco upgrade! Enter the P&G #EverydayEffect Pinterest Giveaway by filling out the form here: on.fb.me/ZMyucH

This is a sponsored post for SheSpeaks & P&G

The post Reuse and repurposing: Our goal- Throwing less into dumps appeared first on Updates from Ryder Family Farm.

I remember as a kid, like in the 90’s, we had one of those old school electric toothbrushes. It was nasty and strange. The darn thing vibrated my head so bad that it made me sneeze, get a runny nose and watery eyes. I’ve never really been a fan of putting a motorized device in my mouth, not at home and not at the dentist.

I hated using that darn manual toothbrush with a passion but my mom hounded us each night and forced us to use it. The torture!

So, you can imagine my joy when my husband got his Oral-B Professional Care SmartSeries 5000 Toothbrush in the mail several months back. I was super relieved that it only came with the one toothbrush head and I tormented him about using it.  I believe the words “good luck” and “have fun with that” were used. Eventually, after his rave reviews over it I agreed to give it a try and he bought some extra toothbrush heads for us.

A decade apparently leaves much room for technological advancement because this electric toothbrush isn’t nearly as bad as I remember the torture device of my childhood being. The electric toothbrush jackhammer effect is still noticeable when you press hard while brushing but I feel like it’s not nearly as dramatic and terrible as I remember from my childhood.

The Oral-B Professional Care SmartSeries 5000 Toothbrush, in comparison with a manual brush, DOES seem to remove more junk from my teeth and leaves them feeling dental office polished which makes it feel worth all the “good vibrations”.

For a limited time, blog readers will receive 10% off all items now through August 31st, 2012. Just click here to visit the store and begin browsing for your favorite P&G products. Plus, you’ll get free shipping over $25.

If you are enjoying the Olympic Games right now you’ll be pleased to know their online store also has lots of great Olympic-themed bundles and deals right now. P&G is a big Olympic sponsor.

If you know someone that would enjoy this limited time 10% off + free shipping over $25 deal please share this post with them using the share links below.

Legalities and Disclosures:
I’ll earn a small commission on any sales (both from the product recommended and any others on the P&G eStore) from anyone purchasing products through the above links. It’s one of the ways I keep the site up and running so please click the links and shop if you’re in the market for P&G goods. Thanks!

The post Seriously?! An Electric Toothbrush Turned This Mouth Snob Around! #ad appeared first on Updates from Ryder Family Farm.

Now that baby Everly is here I just don’t have the time or energy to sell my stuff at craft shows anymore and I’ve got so much inventory taking up valuable space in the garage.

The result: I am giving this huge gift set away to one lucky twitter follower! The set includes everything needed for a fabulous summer! A wicker tote contains foot pampering goodies, a yoga mat, straw hat, a freezable cooler cup to keep you hydrated and fun bath items that will have you feeling energized and ready for fun in the sun in no time!

To win just follow me on twitter and retweet the following message:

I entered to win the Gorgeous Girl summer pampering gift set, you can too! Visit: http://tinyurl.com/kuvgsa for details. @Talinan

Be sure to subscribe to the feed here so you’ll know if you are the winner and good luck!

The post Gorgeous Girl summer pampering gift set, twitter giveaway appeared first on Updates from Ryder Family Farm.

While I was pregnant I gained weight easily because my appetite really increased and also my activity level decreased as it was harder and harder for me to move around.

Now that baby Everly is here my appetite has gone back to what it normally was and my activity level has also increased. I am still eating healthy stuff, just burning it faster and eating less of it now.

This has resulted in me loosing all but 5 pounds of my “pregnancy weight” and contrary to what you might think this is NOT a good thing.

Since I am breastfeeding Everly and not supplementing with formula my diet and nutrition is especially important. Unfortunately finding time to eat well is a challenge for me, even more now that I’ve got a daughter to care for 24/7!

I am taking a long hard look at my diet and I am trying to squeeze in as many healthy foods as I can. I need to eat more! Problem is finding the time and free hands to do so.

Now that I am working several days a week it is important for me to have snacks on hand that I can keep in my diaper bag and enjoy duirng my breaks at work while I am also carrying Everly around.

I love me some cheese and peanut butter crackers, I’ve got my ensure drinks on hand and most recently I’ve added Dole fruit bowls to my snacking regiment. I love them because they do not require refrigeration so I can just toss one in the bag with a spoon and enjoy it even while it’s spent hours in my bag out in the hot sun.

What? We don’t get lunch break time and we’re all out in the hot sun perfecting the marching band show so our snacks and drinks need to be easy to enjoy and able to withstand the elements, lol.

Anyway I am really loving Dole fruit bows (so is N) and I am surprised because I was sure I wouldn’t like them, I am not a fan of preserved fruits. Now that N got me to try them I am loving them, especially since they are healthier for me than most other convenience foods that we have on hand (like chocolate or pop tarts).

Have you tried any of the DOLE fruit bowls and what did you think? We are enjoying several of the new flavors right now and N is even writing a witty review for Dole on some of them.

Turns out is Dole is challenging people to live healthier (and win prizes in doing so too). From now until October 2 you can sign up for the Dole Bowl-a-Day Challenge to win the weekly prize!

You know how much I love contests and prizes right? Well, we are now taking the Dole Bowl-a-Day Challenge and thought you might like to consider it also.

All you have to do is register to explore the Dole Kitchen at http://www.DoleChallenge.com, where you have 3 chances to win some great prizes:

* Share a tip on how YOU enjoy Dole Fruit Bowls for a chance to win $300!
* Challenge YOUR friends to play along for another chance to win $1000!
* Then, reward yourself and download a FREE coupon!

N’s Dole Fruit Bowls review*:

As an adult, opening up your lunch box or brown paper bag just doesn’t have the same excitement it once did as a child. I remember gathering at the lunch room table with my elementary school friends to see what surprises Mom had packed for each of us in our lunch box. We were also willing and ready to trade for something exotic and exciting that we never got in our own lunch.

Those days are long gone and so to has been the excitement of taking my lunch to work. The nifty insulated lunch bag my wife bought me sure has gone a long way though. Often it’s what I throw inside that I’m not too excited about, that is until I discovered the new Dole Fruit Bowls.

The plastic bowls are packed with several different varieties of fruit, fruit in gel and fruit parfait. The great thing about the fruit bowls is that they don’t need to be refrigerated. You can simply throw the plastic bowl into your lunch and forget about them. They taste better refrigerated but can also be eaten on the fly at room temperature if you’re in a hurry. They also sport an easy peel plastic lid so there’s not much to worry about when it comes to cleanup.

Nutritionally, Dole Fruit Bowls also make a good snack or lunch addition. They’re naturally free of fat and saturated fat. It’s a low sodium food and they’re naturally high in vitamin C.

While Dole Fruit Bowl are convenient and good for you, they also taste great too. One of my favorite flavors is the Peaches in Strawberry Gel. It’s just like if you were to throw a can of peaches into strawberry gelatin; light and refreshing. Mixed Fruit in Cherry Gel is another great flavor with a nice variety of preserved fruit waiting inside.

When it comes to just a quick fruit kick, I love the Diced Pears in Light Syrup, Mandarin Oranges and Diced Peaches. I wasn’t too excited about the Diced Pineapple but maybe that’s just because I’m a fresh pineapple snob.

If you’re wanting something that’s a little more like desert but without the sinful feeling later, try the Dole Fruit Bowl Parfaits. I really enjoyed the Peaches & Cream Parfait. It’s the perfect blend of fruit and creamy sweetness to make me feel satisfied and to top off my meal with a sweet treat. The Apples & Cream Parfait was also delicious.

Hopefully I can share my excitement over a new lunch box treat with other adults and help bring some fun back to the sack lunch!

* Dole provided us with a few free coupons so we could try out some of the different flavors in exchange for a review. We were not paid to write this.

The post A breastfeeding mom's quest to eat well on the run… appeared first on Updates from Ryder Family Farm.