The Vent and Rant Thread

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Kats is right; I've seen this innumerable times, over the years. I saw it when I was building hotels, during the pre-opening, with new agents being trained, and I saw it when I was installing networked computer systems, ditto. Agents or servicepeople are given a script, and they dare not deviate from it. It's a way for an entity to proceduralize customer service, in an attempt to provide good customer service, but as Kats mentions, it stifles and eventually eliminates the brightest amongst them, because they can't take it.

I've gone around this it tech support calls. I make a point of explaining I am a tech, and have already gone through the troubleshooting procedures they will want me to do. I did have one agent who was apologetic, but he was required by the rules in his company to have me go through them and report what happened while he was on the line with me. I told him I understood and didn't blame him for the stupid.

I did have one tech back when I still used DSL who recognized a fellow tech, and gave me a "You didn't get this from me, but..." URL to a site of a guy who got DSL working on his Linux system. I was tickled.
______
Dennis

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

To make this bearable, I've quit giving support employees more information than they asked for, because:

1. They don't even listen to it...
2. Even if they listen to it and understand it, they'll _still_ ask the follow-up questions

So I just call the help desk and tell them:

"My internet doesn't work. I have tried two different computers."

Then I let them run through their questions, and in the end, the conclusion is (most of the time) that there's a problem on their end.

Yes, I have already done x, y and z but I will redo them if it makes your job easier.

Now the funniest tech support call was when one of the two satellite feeds on my TV went down. We went through all the steps in the house, then they had me check all the lines outside. Lines were fine. Looked at the dish itself, whatever technician that had installed the dish, forgot to screw one of the eyes in. Easy fix and yes I got some money knocked off my bill. I was trying not to laugh, the phone tech was finding a supervisor in a hurry.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

I've gone around this it tech support calls. I make a point of explaining I am a tech, and have already gone through the troubleshooting procedures they will want me to do. <snippage>

I did have one tech back when I still used DSL who recognized a fellow tech, and gave me a "You didn't get this from me, but..." URL to a site of a guy who got DSL working on his Linux system. I was tickled.
______
Dennis

We tell them this, too. Does it matter? Not one iota.

Hitch

[Rumpelteazer]

It seems to have become a tradition that I burn my hand on one of the last days of my vacation when renting a cottage or apartment. This time it wasn't on the oven when taking out something, but on the fireplace when messing about with the fire.

It's my left thumb, again. I've held it under running, cold water for about 20 minutes. Put Nestosyl cream on it and bandaged it. Hopefully it isn't as bad as the previous times (I've got two nice scars on both hands).

I'm annoyed with myself now.

[Hemmi]

Oh yes, I have tons of vacation time and little opportunity to use it. Can only roll over so many hours too. Won't just pay it out. We got into a bit of a scuffle with it last fall because we really can only have one person gone at a time. 3 months before my rollover date, we had someone just not show up anymore. Took 2 months to replace them and then someone else come in and say, I know you said I couldn't have this time off but now I have plane tickets so I'm going to have to have it off. That put it down to the wire and I flat out told my boss I'm not losing 15 hours of vacation because it's not my fault I can't take it. We had a go 'round with corporate to get some of it paid out.

I can see we're heading in that direction again because I still have no backup for what I do. I need to start that conversation now with my boss. I want to be able to take more time off and then I am gone the first week of July no matter what. And I told her that last July and we've still not addressed it.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by Hemmi

Oh yes, I have tons of vacation time and little opportunity to use it. Can only roll over so many hours too. Won't just pay it out. We got into a bit of a scuffle with it last fall because we really can only have one person gone at a time. 3 months before my rollover date, we had someone just not show up anymore. Took 2 months to replace them and then someone else come in and say, I know you said I couldn't have this time off but now I have plane tickets so I'm going to have to have it off. That put it down to the wire and I flat out told my boss I'm not losing 15 hours of vacation because it's not my fault I can't take it. We had a go 'round with corporate to get some of it paid out.

I can see we're heading in that direction again because I still have no backup for what I do. I need to start that conversation now with my boss. I want to be able to take more time off and then I am gone the first week of July no matter what. And I told her that last July and we've still not addressed it.

This is the first year, hubby won't lose his personal days. That is because he is really sick.

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

Rude is slamming the water glasses on the table and throwing the menus at the customers.

One of my all-time favourite movie scenes.

[Katsunami]

Who's that guy placing that ridiculous order? I know him, but I can't come up with the name...

edit: Jack Nicholson, apparently, when he was still in his thirties. I only know him from The Shining and newer movies. That guy is older than I thought.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

Who's that guy placing that ridiculous order? I know him, but I can't come up with the name...

edit: Jack Nicholson, apparently, when he was still in his thirties. I only know him from The Shining and newer movies. That guy is older than I thought.

Crap, you're kidding. You don't know Five Easy Pieces? Propelled Nicholson into fame.

Hitch

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Crap, you're kidding. You don't know Five Easy Pieces? Propelled Nicholson into fame.

Hitch

It took a significant amount of time for me to be born, after this movie was released. I'm not THAT old.

I know a lot of older movies (some right down the 30's (Basil Rathbone's Sherlock Holmes movies, for example), but I didn't know this one.

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Crap, you're kidding. You don't know Five Easy Pieces? Propelled Nicholson into fame.

I would have said Easy Rider did that, but Five Easy Pieces did him no harm Has anyone been nominated for best actor more times than Jack N?

I guessed Katsunami was an X, Y or M, by the way he's always dumping on older people who get in his way at bus stops and supermarket aisles.

Katsunami the way round that is catch buses in the early morning or after sunset, same with shopping in supermarkets. It takes us oldies an hour to get breakfast and at least another one to attend to our ablutions and get dressed, and we're too scared to go out after dark on account of the X, Y and Ms who can't hold their liquor or are pumped up with ice.

The folks who block the aisles here are mothers with a couple of toddlers in tow. They often shop in pairs - one scanning the labels on the right the other on the left, with their ankle biters running around as if they were at the playground (of which there aren't enough). Consequently us old people don't hang around long, preferring to occupy the tables in the cafes (of which there is an abundance), reading the foreign language paper newspapers, playing sudoko, discussing our ailments, and bemoaning the arrogance of youth.

But take heart, all us oldies will be dead soon and out of your way.

BR

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

I would have said Easy Rider did that, but Five Easy Pieces did him no harm Has anyone been nominated for best actor more times than Jack N?

I guessed Katsunami was an X, Y or M, by the way he's always dumping on older people who get in his way at bus stops and supermarket aisles.

Katsunami the way round that is catch buses in the early morning or after sunset, same with shopping in supermarkets. It takes us oldies an hour to get breakfast and at least another one to attend to our ablutions and get dressed, and we're too scared to go out after dark on account of the X, Y and Ms who can't hold their liquor or are pumped up with ice.

The folks who block the aisles here are mothers with a couple of toddlers in tow. They often shop in pairs - one scanning the labels on the right the other on the left, with their ankle biters running around as if they were at the playground (of which there aren't enough). Consequently us old people don't hang around long, preferring to occupy the tables in the cafes (of which there is an abundance), reading the foreign language paper newspapers, playing sudoko, discussing our ailments, and bemoaning the arrogance of youth.

But take heart, all us oldies will be dead soon and out of your way.

BR

Best Actress/Best Supporting Actress would be Meryl Streep with 19 nominations.
Jack Nicholson and Katharine Hepburn are tied at 12 but Katharine has one more win than Jack.

Have you ever tried Wordoko? Same idea but the diagonal from top left to bottom right forms a word. (It can have duplicate letters as long as they are in different boxes. It is not that "difficult ". Difficult being one of the words I found last night.
Oh and Katsunami seems to think 50 is old.

[Rumpelteazer]

I had planned that tonight, the last night of my vacation, I would have a movie night. The problem is that I'm not sure what I'm in the mood for. Horror? Thriller? Action? Old favourite? It doesn't surprise me, since at the moment I'm the same with books.

I know what I want to watch, but I haven't got that on my HDD. It's on Netflix and since the vacation park works with a login page my Chromecast won't work (I wish Google would find a solution for that). I might end up watching Netflix on my tablet, even if I have to put it down when I need to tend to the fire.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

I would have said Easy Rider did that, but Five Easy Pieces did him no harm Has anyone been nominated for best actor more times than Jack N?

Easy Rider was released in '69, and FEP in '70. Yes, I agree that he came to the forefront of public attention in ER; but he'd already been acting for what, nearly 15 years by that time, in shows/movies? So, IMHO, FEP really stamped him as movie-star material, coming hot on the heels of ER. But, hey, I'm okay with the idea that I'm wrong. ;-)

I guessed Katsunami was an X, Y or M, by the way he's always dumping on older people who get in his way at bus stops and supermarket aisles.

Yeah, I'd surmised that as well.

Katsunami the way round that is catch buses in the early morning or after sunset, same with shopping in supermarkets. It takes us oldies an hour to get breakfast and at least another one to attend to our ablutions and get dressed, and we're too scared to go out after dark on account of the X, Y and Ms who can't hold their liquor or are pumped up with ice.

{snort}

The folks who block the aisles here are mothers with a couple of toddlers in tow. They often shop in pairs - one scanning the labels on the right the other on the left, with their ankle biters running around as if they were at the playground (of which there aren't enough). Consequently us old people don't hang around long, preferring to occupy the tables in the cafes (of which there is an abundance), reading the foreign language paper newspapers, playing sudoko, discussing our ailments, and bemoaning the arrogance of youth.

I'm actually kinda with Kats on this one; why the hell can't full-time moms shop at times when working folks can't? I mean, sure I get it, they are juggling some number of rugrats and all that, but it seems as though I have a type of radar that puts me in the store with a kazillion SAHM and their offspring at the same time. Why, oh, WHY???? (And is there an invisible sign on my back that says, "kid with cart, run into me here?")

But take heart, all us oldies will be dead soon and out of your way.

BR

Indeed we shall. The last generation that knows how to do things WITHOUT there being "an app for that." ;-)


Hitch

[4691mls]

I hate when a person is standing at one side of the aisle looking for something, their cart is parked an arm's length away on the other side of the aisle, and they have their arm stretched out behind them so they can keep a hand on the cart, thus blocking the whole aisle.