The Vent and Rant Thread

[wodin]

If I answer
and
If a human picks up
and
If he/she has an American accent
and
If it's not a scam/sales pitch
then

I will do one of two things depending on how I feel
1. Just hang up
2. Politely explain that I don't do telephone surveys, and hang up

else
I hang up

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

That would have been my guess. The MR outfit I worked for placed a lot of calls through a third-party call center in the Philippines when time zone differences were significant. The Field Director for the call center I worked in got sent there at one point to set things up to feed work to them. He described things like being asked whether he'd like to buy a girl (or boy) for some recreation while he was there. He wasn't interested in that, but
did wish he could join in a soccer game he saw going on in a field across from his hotel.
______
Dennis

I suspect the calls are driven by an IVR, so I doubt I'd even get an option to speak to an operator.

I also have some knowledge of political polling, those commissioned by political parties and those published by the media. Using IVR's is generally regarded as a waste of time, people are much more likely to lie to a machine than a human.

I must admit to wondering if its not part of the election misinformation racket.

---

I used to do a lot of work in SE Asia. Dalliances such as your work colleague was offered were commonplace, to decline would sometimes be regarded as disrespectful.

BR

[binaryhermit]

But what would they gain from calling someone in .au?

[cromag]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

What makes you think I thought they were.

Au contraire the fact that I received the calls around 18:00 Sydney time suggests to me they didn't originate in the US mainland or even Hawaii. Guam's a possibility, as is Vladivostok - they're both in same timezone as Sydney.

But my suspicion is Manila. Most of our boiler-room calls come from there, they speak with weird Yankee twang accents, and they're only two hours behind us.

BR

[issybird]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

But my suspicion is Manila. Most of our boiler-room calls come from there, they speak with weird Yankee twang accents, and they're only two hours behind us.

From the American perspective, those who twang aren't Yankees.

But I know we're all Yankees to the rest of the world.

[Hitch]

Yes, as I said, this is not about my clients. It's about Skype/MS.

For the last decade-plus, I've had Skype as a business phone. Not the free version; I have had a paid Skype-in number, and Skype calls. It's worked fantastically well--until the end of last year.

When I went to go on Xmas leave, last year, I found, to my horror, that for utterly inexplicable reasons, Skype has discontinued the ability to have a customized voice greeting, for message leavers. So, when people call me now, they don't hear my cheery, recorded greeting that I've had for years; no, now they get something that no doubt makes them think that we're scammers, or whatever--"the party you are calling is not available right now, please leave your message." I mean, talk about a load of old s**te.

I immediately started in on a journey of discovery and research, trying to figure out "WTF?" and how I could address it. What a freaking mess! I won't bore the crap out of you guys with the endless calls, chats, etc., trying to get to an answer, but here's the un-freaking-believable bottom line:

1. Skype "regular" no longer has customized voice greetings. Too bad, so sad.
2. To get customized voice-greetings, you have to use Skype for Business. Hooray, that's what I'll do...
3. Oh, but WAIT. Skype for Business is being phased out, in favor of MS Teams. (sigh), okay, THAT's what I'll do.
4. BUT--if you get Skype for Teams, then guess what? Only other TEAM members can call you! Other people, with regular phones, can't. Wow, MS, you sure know how to make this attractive...it's not phone, it's inhouse conferencing.
5. But wait! MS Teams for Businesses with fewer than 50 employees...wait for it--is being discontinued/phased out.
6. So, I can't get either Skype for Business, or MS Teams.
7. But wait! I can get a VOIP contract by having MS365! Hooray, I have that!
8. Oh, but wait...I can only get that with E1 or E3--the ENTERPRISE versions, of MS365, and, after I pay for the enterprise version, then, it's $240/year, PLUS YOU GET TO PAY FOR CALLS. Uh, what? didn't we say, VOIP?
9. Oh, but wait...I can't sign up for E1 or E3, because it will be THOUSANDS of buckeroos per month.
10. So, in order to get a customized voice greeting, for my phone, I have to sign up for an expensive plan that I can't afford, don't need, for imaginary employees that I don't have, just so that I may have the privilege of paying $240/year AND paying rates for all our calls. Whu? Did I die, while I wasn't looking and end up in HELL?

Suffice to say, the last time I interacted with a MS person, I was...shall we say, lacking politeness. Apparently, I'm either going to have to "convert" my 2nd landline (currently an unused fax line from the dawn of time) to our biz line--but that will mean all new equipment, handsets, etc. or I have to find a Skype alternative--but most VOIPS are a lot more expensive than you'd think, or, like Wire, are only like MS Teams--inhouse, for chat and vid-conferencing only, not actual PHONE.

I've been an MS user for 30+ years, and this is the first time that I've really felt like they not only let me down but positively went out of their way to make everyone who owns a very small business absolutely miserable. It really is this whole new agonizing version of "Who's on First."



Hitch

[4691mls]

Hitch, that just seems nuts that they would remove what I would consider a basic feature for either business or personal communication! I hope you can find some kind of alternative.
I guess you could go back to an old-fashioned landline and answering machine....

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by 4691mls

Hitch, that just seems nuts that they would remove what I would consider a basic feature for either business or personal communication! I hope you can find some kind of alternative.
I guess you could go back to an old-fashioned landline and answering machine....

I have a 2nd landline and the world's wonkiest answering machine/phone. But I also have this fantastic Sennheiser headset that I use for my calls, and I love it (and it was NOT cheap) and don't want to give it up. While it can be made to work with a landline, it means I have to get another phone, one that has the handset lifter functionality, so that I can answer calls from the headset. I can't just slap it on the desk (not that I have room, anyway, for another piece of equipment) and lift it by hand, because for whatever damned reason that won't work.

Soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo frustrated. JUST. A. CUSTOM. GREETING. That's all I want, dammit!

Hitch

[badgoodDeb]

From the afore-recommended SlushPileHell blog, from a list of "Worst Self-Help Books", this one has me in stitches:

Hacking your Pacemaker: A Guide to Overclocking for Better Stamina (from one @ZubZub)

[CRussel]

That is SO wrong!

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by Hitch

I have a 2nd landline and the world's wonkiest answering machine/phone. But I also have this fantastic Sennheiser headset that I use for my calls, and I love it (and it was NOT cheap) and don't want to give it up. While it can be made to work with a landline, it means I have to get another phone, one that has the handset lifter functionality, so that I can answer calls from the headset. I can't just slap it on the desk (not that I have room, anyway, for another piece of equipment) and lift it by hand, because for whatever damned reason that won't work.

Soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo frustrated. JUST. A. CUSTOM. GREETING. That's all I want, dammit!

Hitch

I HATE the new Skype. And this is just one part of that hate, though it's the least because I rarely use it for incoming calls. (For one thing, they've never had Canadian phone numbers. Best I can manage is Seattle area.)

By all means, complain. My sense is that they're slowly adding features back. Of course, that begs the question of why they even did what they did, but that's a loosing battle. (Like you, I have a superb Sennheiser headset I use all the time for Skype. )

[Rumpelteazer]

Customers who aren't specific in their need.

"I need a lightbulb of 40 or 60 watt."

"I need X lightbulb, give 3 or 4."

"I need 5 or 6 meters of electrical cord."

and my favourite:

"I need a couple of plugs." (a couple is 2, but they always need more than 2 when referring to a couple)

Often when you ask people to be more specific they refuse to name a number. With most items I'll get the lowest number they asked for. With electrical cord they will get in between, so if they ask for 3 or 4 meters they'll get 3,5 meter. Before cutting the cable I ask if they want that length, because once it's cut they'll have to buy it.

People being not specific has always been a thing, but it's getting worse lately.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by CRussel

I HATE the new Skype. And this is just one part of that hate, though it's the least because I rarely use it for incoming calls. (For one thing, they've never had Canadian phone numbers. Best I can manage is Seattle area.)

By all means, complain. My sense is that they're slowly adding features back. Of course, that begs the question of why they even did what they did, but that's a loosing battle. (Like you, I have a superb Sennheiser headset I use all the time for Skype. )

Charlie, I've been complaining for 6 months and I've gotten NOWHERE. I mean, it's insane. Talk about the left hand and right not knowing what they're doing...

Hitch

[Rumpelteazer]

Up until a year ago the Aboriginal Art Museum was next door to us. They closed and a little while later a furniture/home decorating store moved in. The museum's insurance company required the museum to have lots of safety features, one of them is to have a lot of lights outside at the back. One of those is directly across from my bedroom. Every once in a while the fluorescent tubes would reach the end of their life and started flickering. Which is very annoying since I don't have black out curtains. The next day my father would go over and they would let him replace the tubes (which we sell). Originally the tubes were a hard white colour, but my father replaced them with a warmer white.

Last night the tubes decided it was time and started flickering like crazy. I first tried to ignore it, but couldn't get to sleep, just a restless doze. I put a low light lamp on the windowsill, which masked 95% of the flickering in my room but it still seemed like I could see the flickering with my eyes closed. I don't have a sleepmask, so I improvised with a bandana. The flickering I did see didn't go away for a while, it was my mind/eyes that were doing it.

I'm fairly sure the people from the store would let my father replace/remove the tubes, and they're open this afternoon. Unfortunately, we have to leave just before they open and there's a fair chance we'll be back just after they close. So tonight I'll probably have to use the bandana again. At least Luna seemed to enjoy the show; she spend all night on my windowsill.

Now that Maru doesn't do her Tarzan act anymore, swinging from the curtains, I had already decided to look for black out shades. Ikea has a multiple track system for curtains, so I can get the black out ones, but also some net curtains, which will be useful on warm nights, so the breeze can get in but I still have a bit of privacy.

[DiapDealer]

I'm fairly tolerant of formatting variations in commercial ebooks. I've never been one who requires all of the ebooks I read to be presented in an exacting, totally homogenous way. I actually like variety. Having said that, however; nothing makes me want to punch people more than hardcoded, way-too-narrow line-heights. It's OK if YOU want to see fifty-bajillion lines of text on one screen, but why on earth would you force that preference on everyone?