Tidbits – We’ve Been Bamboozled ~ 9/3/21

My nameless cellphone provider is at it again! Ugh!!! This problem is by definition of the champagne variety but we’re not discounting by degrees of severity today. If we did others would have me beat. I’m grateful for all my favors first. Nevertheless, a minor irritation is still an irritation.

I’ve complained about this before but here’s the backstory. Around Christmastime 2020 were splurged on three new phones. We did this specifically due to a special the provider was running. Plus it was a nice present for the people who have everything. Yep, see above, we be blessed.

We traded-in phones to get the 1/2 off. Yep! Half off. To good to be true. With all kinds of hooks and hoops to jump through. The discount is given back monthly for 30 months. No early payoff allowed.

This worked in two out of three cases. For the Samsung, we’re not getting our trade in credit. Which means every month since January, I get the bill, it’s wrong, I call, I’m told my issue is resolved, we’re very sorry, it won’t happen again. Groundhog day!

Yesterday was round eight trying to reach a resolution. I spoke to six different people. The insane loop was this – business dept. (1), connects me to personal consumer (2), personal consumer escalates to the trade-in vendor not even within their company (3) who transfers me back to business (4), who transfers me to the QA manager for U-Verse (5) mind you we are talking about cell phones not Internet/TV or whatever the hell U-Verse is!! then he got me back to a manager in personal consumer (6). Does your head hurt? Mine sure does!!!

By the time I got to #6, I was defeated. I had been getting more upset having to repeat my story (which should be documented and in the notes). Plus their automated system sucks. Press ‘1’ for whatever reason was not taking. I pressed ‘1’ multiple times but the message kept repeating. Then they try to sham you into accepting a call back. Promising I wouldn’t lose my place in line. I’m not fucking falling for that again. I tried that time before last and each call back was some robo bullshit placing me back in queue or worse hanging up on me. You effing called me back and you have the nerve to disconnect me!!!

Anyway, deep breathing helps y’all it sure does. And laughter. Because B and Lulu would give me these looks as I waited on hold or started talking to whichever yahoo was going to transfer me around. They inspired me to be snarkier since there is nothing more amusing than me in a tizzy. I tell ya what!

I finally got someone who helped me. I think. I was defeated by the time I got to her so I talked real nice with my southern twang to match the cadence of her own speech patterns. She found the error right off and reopened my closed case. The prior bastards had closed me out as resolved!!! By her calculations we are owed 8 months of installments toward the $700 total. This matched my own calculations. Enough to pay the bill next month probably.

She gave me her name, employee number, and direct extension for next month because she was still relying on another area to process the case she reopened. I should also get a text back in about 3 business days. Here’s hoping.

As always, more to come.

J-Dubs Review of Later by Stephen King ~ 9/3/21

My no spoilers Goodreads Review: Storytelling at its most entertaining. Took me away as fiction does yet written in a relatable homey style. Don’t we always say “later” thinking I’ll get to it eventually. I know I do. Only in hindsight.

A few of SK’s verse quotes and my notes follow:

“Grits ain’t groceries and revenge don’t pay the bills” I’m not sure why I wrote this one down. I just liked the words I guess. Kiss my grits Flo. Lol.

“He kept moving west, like some fucked up brain dead pioneer” This paint a vivid image. Like the old Oregon Trail video game. Graphic scene actually.

“E and E – English and European literature. I once made the mistake of calling it lit and he corrected me, saying that was either for lights or being drunk” The character who said this is who I originally wanted to be growing up … a professor.

“I tell you what, the worst part of growing up is how it shuts you up” Damn if those aren’t the truest words you’ve ever read. As I got older, I became even more introverted, quiet, not always in a good way either. Experiencing growing pains shut me right the hell up.

“We change, and we don’t. I can’t explain it. It’s a mystery.” I’m reminded of the adage the more things change, the more they stay the same. Yeah Buddy.

And I gave it a recommended read. The number of stars is irrelevant. Read it if you have time.

As always more to come.