Why, yes! It's another post about FaceBook angst.
Recently, I was friended by someone I didn't know and who sent her request with an explanatory note that she hoped it was OK she friended me. She was looking for some "queer support" online that she doesn't have IRL.
Which is fine. I'm happy to be known as a queer-supporting democratic commie pinko composting recycling feminist friend of Dorothy.
I can understand if you're not getting much support from people close to you branching out to find that support from someone. (How I came to be that someone to a stranger is a bit of a mystery).
Now I'm now on the receiving end of some oversharing--the kinds of things that you might not blurt out in the first few minutes of meeting someone new. And FB chats that go on longer than I would prefer when they happen during the workday.
It's one of those classic I don't want to be rude/this is a bit much for me situations. Maybe I'll spend less time with FB open when I have to get things done.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Luther's Wake
No, not an actual wake for the dog (even though I did want to kill him last night). Rather, a description the destructive tear he's been on the past couple of weeks.
Last week, a frying pan that had been on the stove had been relocated outside to Luther's dog bed. Our house guest also saw one of Mike's 2 liters of Diet Coke in the driveway and brought it inside. Luther also absconded with one of my old tennis shoes and the super soaker squirt gun we occasionally use on the neighbor's dog. And last Thursday, I came home to find the gas stove clicking because one of the knobs had been knocked into the light position.
That last one unnerved me. I asked Mike about our fire insurance coverage. Does it cover canine malfeasance?
But it gets better--if better means that Luther has become more destructive this week than last.
Last night, I stopped by the health food store and tried to go to Costco (but forgot my membership card). Had to go to Macey's instead and wasn't able to get all the grocery items I needed. Pbbbft.
Already in irritated mode, I come home to find Luther has trashed the kitchen.
A container of cooking utensils was overturned and scattered all over the floor. One bag of tomatoes was torn open; contents strewn. Second bag of tomatoes smashed on the kitchen floor next to a splatted banana. The smoke detector cover from the guest room was gone from the kitchen counter top, as was the spoon rest. A bag of two jawbreakers was not where Mike left it, though I did find one jawbreaker on the stove top. It had skid marks by it, as if it had been used like chalk.
And one of the stove burners was clicking merrily away, again the dial knocked to the light position.
I mentioned this on FB this morning and one friend asked if Luther was getting walked regularly. No--my bad. I usually walk him in the mornings before work, but I haven't been since I got back from LA. Mike has stopped walking Luther at night; instead lets L chase the laser pointer dot all over the driveway.
We've not had good luck with dog toys. Luther is disinterested in the ones we buy. He did tear apart an old stuffed bunny that used to be a cat toy. He has 3 Kongs but they don't keep him entertained for too long.
Guess I'll need to get back on the morning walk schedule if I don't want to come home to additional dog-created mayhem.
Last week, a frying pan that had been on the stove had been relocated outside to Luther's dog bed. Our house guest also saw one of Mike's 2 liters of Diet Coke in the driveway and brought it inside. Luther also absconded with one of my old tennis shoes and the super soaker squirt gun we occasionally use on the neighbor's dog. And last Thursday, I came home to find the gas stove clicking because one of the knobs had been knocked into the light position.
That last one unnerved me. I asked Mike about our fire insurance coverage. Does it cover canine malfeasance?
But it gets better--if better means that Luther has become more destructive this week than last.
Last night, I stopped by the health food store and tried to go to Costco (but forgot my membership card). Had to go to Macey's instead and wasn't able to get all the grocery items I needed. Pbbbft.
Already in irritated mode, I come home to find Luther has trashed the kitchen.
A container of cooking utensils was overturned and scattered all over the floor. One bag of tomatoes was torn open; contents strewn. Second bag of tomatoes smashed on the kitchen floor next to a splatted banana. The smoke detector cover from the guest room was gone from the kitchen counter top, as was the spoon rest. A bag of two jawbreakers was not where Mike left it, though I did find one jawbreaker on the stove top. It had skid marks by it, as if it had been used like chalk.
And one of the stove burners was clicking merrily away, again the dial knocked to the light position.
I mentioned this on FB this morning and one friend asked if Luther was getting walked regularly. No--my bad. I usually walk him in the mornings before work, but I haven't been since I got back from LA. Mike has stopped walking Luther at night; instead lets L chase the laser pointer dot all over the driveway.
We've not had good luck with dog toys. Luther is disinterested in the ones we buy. He did tear apart an old stuffed bunny that used to be a cat toy. He has 3 Kongs but they don't keep him entertained for too long.
Guess I'll need to get back on the morning walk schedule if I don't want to come home to additional dog-created mayhem.
Monday, October 26, 2009
In which I insist on--and eventually get--customer service
I've called my co-worker at home a couple of times this week; she and her husband both asked, "Why does someone else's name come up on our caller ID when you call?"
That name would be Stephanie H., former owner of my phone number. Stephanie who failed to alert her friends, family, hair stylist, dentist, car leasing company and other random people that she moved and got a new number. As a result, I get calls from all the aforementioned 14 months after the number was assigned to me.
I also get dumbass text messages about garage sales, a screening of Twilight and bargains on canned goods at a certain Ogden market. Since I don't have a texting plan, I pay to receive them and if I respond so they stop. sending. them.
Hearing that infamous Stephanie's name was coming up on caller ID was a major annoyance. So I called AT&T to get this sorted out. Since I use my Utah cell primarily for work, I need to have the right name show up when I call people.
When I finally got through to a live rep, Candace perkily said she'd be happy to help me. She checked my account and determined that this Stephanie problem occurred when I was calling land lines as opposed to other cell customers. The solution she supplied was that I would have to ask every person with land line to clear my number out of their caller ID cache.
Whaaa? How does that FIX the problem? I asked. She didn't know--that's just the answer in the script. I try to clear the cache on the upstairs extension (and can't figure out how) and Candace says I'd need to try before she can escalate it to a tech call.
So I go downstairs to try clearing the cache on the primary extension. After much button-pushing, I delete the test call I made with my cell. I inform Candace and say I can't make another test call to my land line without hanging up on her. She offers to call back in two minutes while I test call.
The test fails: there's Stephanie's name again.
Candace does call back and I ask her to escalate the call to tech support. She puts me on hold and comes back to tell me that I need to call my home phone service provider to ask them to update my phone number.
This makes even less sense than the previous solution. What do I even ask them to DO? How is that going to fix a problem that originates with MY phone? Aren't they going to refer me back to my own cell service provider? Candace says she's not in technical support, so she doesn't know the answers.
So I'm supposed to do all this extra work--and tell people I call to do extra work--to fix a problem that I'm fairly certain originates with AT&T. So I tell Candace, look, the test failed; would you please just escalate this to a tech support call?
She puts me on hold again (we're now at 25 minutes and counting) and comes back to say "Tech support won't even take the call if you haven't tried the solutions I've given you." Well, Candace, you just told me you aren't tech support, so why not lob me over to them so someone WITH technical expertise can answer my questions?
Candace grudgingly puts me on hold again. She finally comes back with a tech guy on the line. She sounds relieved to be rid of me; her "have a good night and thanks for calling AT&T Business Support!" sounds pretty forced.
I explain the problem to the tech guy and he checks his system. Sure enough, the name was never changed on the account when I took over the number.
He asks me how I want my name to read (have to negotiate because my full name is over the character limit). It will take 72 hours for the change to take effect. Can he call me on Saturday to make sure the problem is corrected? Absolutely! We sincerely thank each other and sign off.
I like resolution. I just wish it took less time and consternation.
That name would be Stephanie H., former owner of my phone number. Stephanie who failed to alert her friends, family, hair stylist, dentist, car leasing company and other random people that she moved and got a new number. As a result, I get calls from all the aforementioned 14 months after the number was assigned to me.
I also get dumbass text messages about garage sales, a screening of Twilight and bargains on canned goods at a certain Ogden market. Since I don't have a texting plan, I pay to receive them and if I respond so they stop. sending. them.
Hearing that infamous Stephanie's name was coming up on caller ID was a major annoyance. So I called AT&T to get this sorted out. Since I use my Utah cell primarily for work, I need to have the right name show up when I call people.
When I finally got through to a live rep, Candace perkily said she'd be happy to help me. She checked my account and determined that this Stephanie problem occurred when I was calling land lines as opposed to other cell customers. The solution she supplied was that I would have to ask every person with land line to clear my number out of their caller ID cache.
Whaaa? How does that FIX the problem? I asked. She didn't know--that's just the answer in the script. I try to clear the cache on the upstairs extension (and can't figure out how) and Candace says I'd need to try before she can escalate it to a tech call.
So I go downstairs to try clearing the cache on the primary extension. After much button-pushing, I delete the test call I made with my cell. I inform Candace and say I can't make another test call to my land line without hanging up on her. She offers to call back in two minutes while I test call.
The test fails: there's Stephanie's name again.
Candace does call back and I ask her to escalate the call to tech support. She puts me on hold and comes back to tell me that I need to call my home phone service provider to ask them to update my phone number.
This makes even less sense than the previous solution. What do I even ask them to DO? How is that going to fix a problem that originates with MY phone? Aren't they going to refer me back to my own cell service provider? Candace says she's not in technical support, so she doesn't know the answers.
So I'm supposed to do all this extra work--and tell people I call to do extra work--to fix a problem that I'm fairly certain originates with AT&T. So I tell Candace, look, the test failed; would you please just escalate this to a tech support call?
She puts me on hold again (we're now at 25 minutes and counting) and comes back to say "Tech support won't even take the call if you haven't tried the solutions I've given you." Well, Candace, you just told me you aren't tech support, so why not lob me over to them so someone WITH technical expertise can answer my questions?
Candace grudgingly puts me on hold again. She finally comes back with a tech guy on the line. She sounds relieved to be rid of me; her "have a good night and thanks for calling AT&T Business Support!" sounds pretty forced.
I explain the problem to the tech guy and he checks his system. Sure enough, the name was never changed on the account when I took over the number.
He asks me how I want my name to read (have to negotiate because my full name is over the character limit). It will take 72 hours for the change to take effect. Can he call me on Saturday to make sure the problem is corrected? Absolutely! We sincerely thank each other and sign off.
I like resolution. I just wish it took less time and consternation.
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