Do you find things frustrating? Oh boy. I sure do. But I have a pretty calm demeanor, so I don’t usually get worked up about too much, especially things that I have very little control over. That being said, let’s get into a few things that ruffle my feathers.
- Amazon reviews: I’ve focused some ire in the past toward “The Behemoth”, and I find this equally annoying. Amazon has different platforms for every major country in the world. If a reader in the UK leaves a review for one of my books, someone in another country won’t necessarily see it. But wait. What about global reviews? I have sent many emails to customer service, KDP, and Author Central, and have never received a clear explanation on why some author’s books show reviews from other countries and others do not.
- Irresponsible dog owners: It’s springtime. The snow melts. What is revealed? You guessed it: Dog poop. Shame on you. And not just dog poop, dog poop in bags. Really? You scoop it up and just leave the bag? Not acceptable. You got the dog, you clean up after it. That’s your job.
- Dog owners (Part 2): There are off-leash parks for a reason. Oh, I know you are proud of how well trained it is, walking beside you, but any animal is unpredictable. Unofficial trails within the city, are still within the city. Case in point: In the winter, one of the small rivers that run through the city, freezes over and is used as a walking/biking/skiing/snowshoeing trail. Now I know that you want your dog to get exercise and have a change to blow the stink off, but when a dog runs toward me, I’m not impressed. I like dogs. I walk a dog on a regular basis (a Pomeranian) and I have had to pick her up several times when off-leash dogs have come running over. Maybe they just want to play, but as I mentioned, all animals are unpredictable and it’s not fair if one dog is on a leash and the other is not, regardless of size. One winter, three dogs ran toward me, their owner calling them back (they didn’t listen), and I used my snowshoe poles to stop them from jumping on me. I didn’t hit them or anything, but pointed them in their direction. If your dogs don’t come back to you instantly, they shouldn’t be off-leash.
- Walkers (when I’m cycling): Did you forget how to walk over the winter? The multi-use path has a line right down the center. Don’t walk on the wrong side. If there are two or more walking abreast (no one likes to be behind the conversation, I get it), be prepared for me to ask you to more over – don’t give me the stink-eye when I do. Please acknowledge the you hear me so I don’t repeat myself louder. And don’t get mad if I startle you. It is a multi-use path. Yes, I do cycle on the sidewalk occasionally, but then, I always give walkers the right of way.
I think that’s enough for today. i just sent another query to Amazon so I’ll keep you updated.
-Leon
Lines by Leon 
Oh, I’m with you on all of these. I don’t like dogs at all, after having been chased and bitten by one when I was 10. They’re fine if they’re on leads, but I’ll be the first to shout at the owner if one runs towards me. There’s a shared walking/cycle path we use on holiday. The walkers take it over and walk slowly 5 or 6 abreast in the middle of the path. It infuriates me when I’m on my bike.
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Couldn’t help but see your reply Stevie – I too was chased by a German Shepperd when I was 7. I don’t even know how I escaped it and the fear of god in me every time a strange dog is lose and running. Sistah!
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Goodness me! We are sistahs, aren’t we? LOL! x
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LOL x
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I’m with you on all dogs and walking thing. I have 2 dogs they are never off leash and I always pick up after them. I’ve returned their dogs presents to their owners left at the front door in an old Amazon box, no label off course. I’ve been bitten by a pit bull so I’m always fearful of larger dogs, their owners comment, oh their friendly. My response that’s what the owner of the dog that bit me said.
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“I’ve returned their dogs presents to their owners left at the front door…” – Perfect!
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A worthy tirade Leon.. cannot abide dog mess or owners who don’t dispose of it properly.. as to cycles and pedestrians.. always a point of contention… but with you on multi-use paths.. As to Amazon.. the only place to leave a review is Goodreads which whilst owned by Amazon stilll allows you to leave a review for books bought, borrowed or gifted wherever you are in the world. And you would almost be better sending a message in a bottle than an email to Amazon…
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I’m with you on all counts. And good luck with Amazon. I just gave up on contacting them about their stupid review system. I’m Canadian and review books and it used to let me review on .com for years until 2 years ago, I can only review on .ca and .UK. My book reviews tell me I have more readers in US and UK than my own country. It’s just stupid. Good rant! 🙂
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If a reader sees one or two reviews of a book, they might not be inclined to purchase it, despite the fact that it may have many more on the other countries pages. One would think that Amazon would realize that, and since they are driven to make sales they would link all reviews. But that would make sense, wouldn’t it?
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One would think!
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