Random Thoughts: The Joys (and Maddening Annoyances) of Modern Conveniences...

*Update: You're not going to believe this...my new "Provider" has failed me as well! After having my internet up for two whole days, it went down again overnight Friday. SO I had to call and trouble-shoot over the phone with another service rep with another company...Can you believe it? I called Saturday morning and they scheduled me for a service call Tuesday morning. Don't they realize I have things to do???!!! This morning (Monday) I noticed that my modem looked slightly different--as in, different lights were lit up--so I called again. They were able to fix it over the phone. Wala! I'm back in business! I don't need these added frustrations--don't they know that?? And those hour-long calls trying to fix things! I'll post on another subject very soon. Even I am tired of looking at this one...sigh...

What did we ever do before we had the Internet?

We survived just fine, that's what!

Yes, indeed, these modern-day works of wonder save us so much time. And make communication so much easier. And allow us so much more freedom to do our thing and keep in touch while we do that thing.

So what happens when we suddenly lose that wonderful modern convenience? We scream (not that I do that). We rant (ok, I do that). We sit on hold listening to static-filled elevator music while waiting to talk to "Bob" in Mumbai, India. We have to scratch and claw our way thru the maze of departments within our lovely "Provider" and tell our story again and again.

And then we listen to the same maddening reply from yet another customer service rep: "We are still working on your problem. The ticket is still active."

me: "Yes, but you asked me to stay home from 8am to 7pm on Saturday. The day my kids have little league football all day. You never showed up or called to say you weren't coming."

rep: "Yes, I am very sorry for that. I cannot schedule for same day, so we will be out tomorrow. Be assured we are working on your line and have a resolution date of the 15th, which is tomorrow, and will have this taken care of by then."


(next day)


me: "Hello, I have stayed home all day waiting on someone to come or call and let me know if you have repaired my DSL line."

rep: "Yes, I am very sorry for that. I see that the ticket is still active." (aaaggghhh!)

me: "Yes, it is still active as the problem still exists and no tech has showed up to fix it."

rep: "Yes, I am very sorry for that. Can I please put you on hold for two to three minutes to look into this problem?

me: "Yes, of course."

(static-filled elevator music)

rep: "Ma'am? They are still planning to be at your home by 6pm. We appreciate your patience and they will be there as soon as possible, but for sure by 6pm tonite."

me: "Ok, thank you for checking."

(NEXT MORNING)


me: "Hello, I have been waiting for my DSL line to be repaired and have stayed home waiting on a tech since Saturday. Can you please check my ticket and see if they plan to come today?"

rep: "Yes, I am very sorry for that. I see that the ticket is still active. This means that someone will be out as soon as possible to fix the problem. Can I please put you on hold for two to three minutes as I look into this problem for you?"

me: "Yes, of course."

rep: "Ma'am? I will transfer you to advanced tech support who will further assist you..."


rep#2: "Hello, ma'am. I see that your ticket is still active. It looks as though we are working on your line as we speak. Please be available at home in case we need to look into your modem."

me: "Will someone be coming for sure? I do not want to stay home today if they may not come again."

rep: "Yes, I am very sorry for that. But I see that the ticket is still active and we are working on the problem. I see that we have a resolution date of the 18th."

me: "What happened to the resolution date of the 15th?"

rep: "Yes, I am very sorry that we did not reach resolution by the 15th. The new resolution date is the 18th. So we will either be out today or tomorrow, or at the latest, the 18th."

me: "So you want me to stay home for the rest of today, maybe all day tomorrow, and possibly even the next day."

rep: "Oh, no ma'am. You do not have to stay home."

me: "Oh, good. So you will just do the repairs on your line on the outside?"

rep: "Oh, no ma'am. You will need to have the modem accessible and have someone over the age of 18 at home to allow us entry."

AAAGGGHHHH!

Sorry to have to make you listen to me whine about this. But what a pain in the patooty! And staying at home waiting was not the most aggravating part of it...it was the inane phone conversations I had regarding my staying at home waiting.

Now, I want to be clear about something. It was not the fact that the reps were all in a call center in India. One of my sweet friends lives in India (Hi, Suni!) and the reps I speak with from India are all very nice. (I usually end up asking them those ridiculous questions that we've all been asked. "Oh! You're in India? Where in India? Then you must know my friend, Suni!") It is not their fault that they work in a call center that does work for the "Provider" (have you noticed I am not using the name to protect their innocence? I really should blurt out their name. Or at least give you their initials...V-E-R...Oh, never mind, I'll just leave you guessing).

So, ANYHOW, to make a long story longer (after all, I'm making up for lost time), I turned to the Competitor--my cable company. And I switched over. Sam and I installed it ourselves. In less than two hours! Running the cable and everything! And configuring the modem and router! No waiting for a tech to show. For days. And days.

I'm back in business. Back to taking full advantage of this modern-day convenience. Back to surfin' the web and posting my random thoughts...Aren't you glad?