Two Birthday Day Complaints

This has nothing to do with my birthday other than I don't think I should be irritated unduly on my birthday.

Two complaints.

First is with the History Book Club. I had belonged for years and then decided to give it a rest. I had long fulfilled the requirements (only two books to buy during the first12-month period), but I canceled the membership. Recently I've been offered a chance to come back and the offers are getting better. Yesterday I got an offer to rejoin and get four books for a dollar each.

Ok, I thought. I'll do that. I pick out my four books, and I have to say at a dollar each, it is a good buy since one of them was this big coffee table book of photographs. I am filling in the form to re-join, get it all filled in and press submit and it comes back and tells me that my email address (also my "user name") is already taken. I need to use a different email address.

I write them:

I am trying to re-join. I only use one email address and the system is telling me this is already taken. Yes, it's taken by me. I am not going to do a unique email address just for this. If you can override the system, I'll rejoin.

This doesn't seem that tough a problem. I have now gotten three, count 'em THREE, auto-responses... one to say they got it, one to say they're working on it, and one to say they haven't yet solved it. Really? Why is this so difficult?

Second is with this company where I buy reading glasses. I have to say I have always liked this company. I am terribly hard on reading glasses -- I throw them in my purse, put them through the washer, sit on them, step on them, swing them around, etc. There was an "October special" -- which meant if you order $39.95 or more,  you get this free glasses case which I liked. I am down to two pair (and I like having them all over and having back ups) so I placed an order which totaled just over $50. Got the order today and they were sold out of one pair which put my total BELOW the required amount for the bonus gift so I didn't get. I have just now emailed them saying this is not right; I fulfilled my end of the deal and I should have been contacted to do a substitute. We'll see.