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Andrew "Spicoli" S.'s Profile

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609 Reviews

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City Center Dental Spa At The Rotunda - CLOSED

Categories: Cosmetic Dentists, General Dentistry
Neighborhood: Downtown Oakland

Update - 10/20/2009

Well, I didn't think I'd have to deal with these guys again, but... My wife was also a patient here until 2005 or so, and one of the last things they did for her was to fix a cavity. They sold her on getting a very expensive porcelain filling, with the main sales gimmick being that it came with a lifetime warrantee (I got the same sales pitch once before myself, but opted for the standard white filling instead). Both of us remember that it was sold as a lifetime warrantee (with a very strong sales pitch). Well, last week my wife's porcelain filling fell out, and when she called she was told that the lifetime warrantee was only good if she kept regularly coming here. We of course both stopped coming several years ago for all of the same reasons that everybody has listed in their one-star reviews. My wife asked me to call and give it a shot, so I did, and I was told pretty much the same story. Also, when I asked, I was told that that they did not have a written policy on their warrantee. When I asked to speak to someone else, they put me in touch with the CFO, who told me the same thing.

As I said to the CFO, I feel that their business practices (particularly their sales practices) are verging on unethical, and for that I'm dropping my rating down to one-star, just like almost everybody else. It's really too bad, because when this place first opened, and for my first year of coming here, I had a 5-star experience (hence my original score from many years ago).

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5/25/2005 First to Review
I'm changing my review. I had originally given this place 5-stars, and for a least a year and a half I think that they lived up to the rating. Unfortunately, however, I guess the bills came due for all of their fancy equipment, because now coming here is like shopping for a used car. Simply stated, you shouldn't have to put up with a high-pressure sales pitch when you go to the dentist. I've also caught them trying to split a cleaning or a simple treatment into a multi-visit task, thereby upping their take on my insurance. I also suspect that they are somewhat aggressive in calling out cavities that need to be drilled, but on the other hand during my last visit (probably my last ever) they found nothing and actually complimented me on how well I was taking care of my teeth.

It's all really a shame because this really used to be a very nice dental office.
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7020 Commerce Dr
Pleasanton, CA 94588
(925) 444-4444

Service Champions Heating & Air Conditioning

Categories: Contractors, Heating & Air Conditioning/HVAC

Update - 5/4/2009

I received an e-mail from the owner, Kevin Comerford, who said he had read my review and apologized for my bad experience. He also said that he would honor his on-time guarantee, even though it had been almost five years since my furnace installation. Just like reviewer Joe C. said, I have to appreciate the fact that Kevin is trying to make things right, and I do think that says something good about the company.

Listed in: Permanently Banned

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10/23/2005 First to Review
These guys are terrible. I made the mistake of having them install a new gas furnace in my house last year, and I had a very bad experience with them. The first guy who installed my furnace was several hours late and obviously didn't have any idea what he was doing. He rushed through the installation, left a huge open gap between my furnace closet and my crawl space, didn't seal all of the ductwork and reused some of the old 25+ year old ductwork from the last furnace (the old faulty ductwork was part of the reason I decided to replace the unit in the first place), left my hallway a mess, and didn't bother to leave me the owners manual. Now given that I am not an HVAC contractor myself, I wasn't 100% sure, but I had a feeling that my furnace has been installed incorrectly. After several phone calls with their main office, they sent out one of their "senior technicians" who was also very late but at least seemed to know what he was doing. He wound up completely reinstalling my furnace and when I asked him if I was right that the last guy did a poor job, he started to answer, stopped to think so as not to get into trouble, and then said very carefully "well, he didn't install it like we usually do". In other words, yes, the last guy was a screw-up. To top it all off, they were expensive too. Permanently banned.
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3339 Mt Diablo Blvd
Lafayette, CA 94549
(925) 283-2345

El Charro Mexican Dining

Category: Mexican

5/7/2008

I like it; a legitimate, authentic, traditional Mexican restaurant with very reasonable prices in, of all places, Lafayette. And hell, they've even been here since 1947. I mean, my god, there were all of perhaps a few thousand people even living in Lamorinda / Central CoCo back in '47, and this place is still standing. While admittedly a place can stay around forever if the locals like it enough out of habit, it still just has to say something about the quality of the restaurant. Their food is good, their service friendly, their bar comfortable (old and low-ceilinged), and their prices are downright cheap for the area. Yum.

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2059 Contra Costa Blvd
Pleasant Hill, CA 94523
(925) 682-1668

Capitola Cafe - CLOSED

Category: American (Traditional)

5/6/2008 First to Review

Ugh, don't bother. Located in the former Lyon's, it looks like they did little more than paint everything blue and white, put some "seaside" stuff on the walls, expand the menu a little bit, and change the name on the sign. Did I mention that they fixed all of the broken stuff and cleaned the place? No, I didn't. The food was mediocre at best, the service extremely slow (albeit friendly), and the place just felt dirty (well, it looked dirty too, but that's too easy). I didn't come here when it was a Lyon's (well, maybe once or twice in 12 years), and I don't see myself coming back now either.

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1250 Bayshore Hwy
Burlingame, CA 94010
(650) 342-6297

Max's Opera Cafe Burlingame

Category: American (Traditional)

5/6/2008

This place used to rate very highly with me, but their food and service have gone substantially downhill. Too bad too, because they used to be so good.

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195 N Access Rd
San Francisco, CA 94080
(650) 871-5423

Park SFO

Categories: Parking, Airport Shuttles, Travel Services

5/6/2008

I've been parking here ever since they first opened, and as you can see by my 3-star rating, while loyal, I'm not exactly their biggest fan. The three main reasons I park here are 1) they're generally the cheapest, 2) they're easy to get to from the freeway, and 3) they're relatively clean and I can usually park inside. That all said, here's the downside: They're cheap because of their coupons which give you one free day of parking if you park three or more days. The thing is, if you're parking for more than three or possibly four days, you're better off going elsewhere in terms of price. Another downer is that if you go for the indoor parking but wind up only being able to find space on the roof, guess what, you get to pay the indoor rate for parking outdoors. They also have a small outdoor lot that has a lower rate, but it's well hidden. I also have found that their shuttles don't always come as frequently as some of the other companies. That all said, however, have you ever really been that pleased with any long-term parking place? No, I didn't think so.

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7135 Gilespie St
Las Vegas, NV 89119
(702) 736-6147

Payless Car Rental

Category: Car Rental
Neighborhood: Southeast

5/6/2008 First to Review

Cheap, cheap, cheap!! Payless consistently has the cheapest car rental rates in Vega$, and their service is apparently no worse than any of the other companies (in fact, their small size may mean shorter lines for you). The last time I rented a car from them I forgot to fill up the gas tank before returning the car, but when the guy checking in the car in offered to "take care of it if you take care of me" for ten bucks, I took him up on the offer and left a happy customer. Gotta love it!

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3667 Las Vegas Blvd S, Ste 760
Las Vegas, NV 89109
(702) 463-0259

Earl of Sandwich

Category: Sandwiches
Neighborhoods: The Strip, Eastside

5/6/2008

They're not actually all that good, but the price is right. The days of cheap food on the strip are now long gone and the only thing free anymore is the parking, so with that in mind this place is a downright bargain. It's a nice place to know about if you're looking for a cheap lunch.

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806 L St
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 442-7092

Frank Fat's

Category: Chinese
Neighborhood: Downtown

4/13/2008

This is the restaurant where all of the deals go down in the back room. And they also have some very good food. It's funny how from the outside it looks like a dive bar (little more than a door with a "Franks" sign), but once you're inside you'll find it to your liking.

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1230 J Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 447-1700

Sheraton Grand Sacramento Hotel

Category: Hotels
Neighborhood: Downtown

4/13/2008

I stayed here a few years ago and then again a few weeks ago - this time for a conference next door. The hotel is very nice and the service is very attentive. It's got a nice location just blocks from the capitol and right next door to the convention center. On the down side, it's a little bit pricey (although sometimes you can get a real steal of a deal online), and the rooms are a tad on the small side for such a nice (and expensive) hotel. Oh, and the parking ain't included either - you've got to pay $13 a day to park in the garage across the street, but I guess it's downtown so I shouldn't gripe too much.

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