Wednesday 23 May 2007

You talkin' to me?

Communication is one of the things that helps the world go round. But I’m certain it’s also one of the things that can get in the way of the inhabitants of the world getting it together.

Example 1: I can’t get internet access. Help what do I do? How do I find information without the internet? I remember the telephone directory – get a number and call …. If your call is about X press 1 ….. if your call is about Y press 2 ….. if you call is about Z press 3. Thank you. If your call is about A press 1 …. on and on …. if you are absolutely clueless press 99 and we’ll know we have a hopeless case. I press 99. Eventually I get a human. I soon realise that said human is sitting in a call centre in an entirely different continent. Based on previous experience I think – here we go! I offer apologies now. The English spoken by the person I dealt with then and the other 8 or so people I spoke with in the call centre over the following 5 days was actually very good. It was the technical bit that got me! A series of questions followed around master sockets, routers, DSL cables, microfilters and who knows what else. I responded with “there’s a white cable that’s plugged into the thingy that goes into a wee white box that goes into the other thing in the wall”. But is it the master socket they asked? “It’s the thing in the wall” I said. By day 5 I was saying, I’ve tried a different DLS cable, another router, a different microfilter but it’s still not working. I should say that every conversation with the call centre, which lasted a minimum of 30 minutes and often much more because I had to go over everything again, was punctuated every few minutes with them apologising for the loss of service. When eventually, I got it back I was falling over myself to thank them for the service they had provided and the help they had given me. Anyway, the thingy is plugged into the what’sit and the doodly thing is flashing – so I’m cooking with gas!

Example 2: The Disappointment as mentioned at the top of my blog page is at the forefront of everything at the moment. My big boss (the one above my immediate boss) is concerned I’m going to leave the organisation. She invited me for a discussion. “I know you are ……..” she says. “Disappointed?” I fill in. “There will be other ……….”. “Opportunities?” I ask? “Yes. But there are no …………”. “Guarantees? Well I understand that.” I decide not to complete her sentences after this point. It seems they think highly of …. They would be sorry to lose …. They would like me to …. And will do what they can to find something to keep …. There are ….. coming up and I would be …… for them ….. if only I can wait for …….. I came away wondering what nudge, nudge, wink, wink actually means.

Example 3: My boss (who doesn’t deserve the title!) wants me to stay in the job I’m doing. He says to me, “I promise to give you more freedom. These are exciting times. This next big job is yours to stamp your initials on.” I think “why my initials and not my name?”

You talkin’ to me?

12 comments:

Eryl Shields said...

Nice to see you back and congratulations for eventually getting your internet problem sorted. I'd have to get my son to deal with it as I really haven't a clue about such things. Either that or I'd end up spending a fortune.

Sounds like your job thing could be a bit more difficult to sort. For what it's worth I have found that employer's promises rarely come to anything. They want to keep you yes, but doing what you do now. That's capitalism for you. Good luck!

eg(scotland) said...

Eryl - good to hear from you. It's taken a long time but I've finally realised that the bosses say enough to try and keep you interested but not enough so that it's a promise. I actually came out of the meeting laughing - in a sense I felt liberated because I had seen through the empty offers. Once I stopped myself from completing her sentences, I almost stepped out from the conversation and just observed - I could see through everything!

EG

Mary Witzl said...

I am so clueless when it comes to computer-related affairs that I have just given up and allowed others to do everything for me. I know that's shameful, but considering the fact that none of them can be bothered to put fresh toilet paper in the dispenser, line the bins, clean up after the cat, cook dinner, etc., I think it's a pretty fair exchange -- my endless servitude for their technical know-how.

Still, I respect you for wrestling with this all by yourself -- and managing to sort it out, too! And it's nice to have you back in the Land of Blogging.

eg(scotland) said...

Mary - thanks for popping by. Don't get me started on toilet paper! Doesn't matter where I go there is only one square at most left!

The thing about having no internet access was that I felt so lost and cut-off from things. That was the point where I realised that some of the friendships I've built-up through blogging are very important to me.

EG

Kim Ayres said...

Sounds like you're writing your own story rather than being a bit-part player in someone else's.

Go for it :)

Anonymous said...

You have ALL my sympathies dear lovely girl...although I'd be inclined to say that if you are cooking on gas, then it might be an idea if you get someone in with you while you are on the computer.

...and Mary, what do you do when the hoover breaks down? Can they help you then, or is that your 'area' too? I nearly lost a hand once when the boy grabbed the snooker cue, with which I was attempting to repair the dyson, from my grasp...

Good to have you home honey bunny!
love
hazel
x

eg(scotland) said...

Kim - you're spot on. I want to write my own story now and I want to be the central character. I don't mean that to sound egotistical or self-centred - I've just danced to someone else's tune for too long.

Hazel - dare I ask how a snooker cue could possible help you repair a dyson? That said I used a knife rather than a screwdriver the other week and nearly took my finger off. I was taking something out of the back of the sky machine.

EG

Anonymous said...

I appreciate your visits to my blog. I am glad you got to see my series on the robins.

I plan to do a bird bath tomorrow if I can choose which picture to use.

Abraham Lincoln
Brookville Daily Photo

eg(scotland) said...

Abraham - good to hear from you, thanks for stopping by.

EG

Craftymoose Crafts said...

Hi there! Just wanted to thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment on my blog. Lol, we have the same template...we also share favorite movies--Dr. Z & Casablanca. I sure we will continue to find things in common.

I enjoyed reading all your blog posts & will visit again.

eg(scotland) said...

Craftymoose - thanks for dropping in. I look forward to hearing from you again.

EG

Ming the Merciless said...

I know enough technical information to kill a computer and don't know how to resurrect it.

So if you want me to do a house call, I only charge $25/hour. :-)

Your friendly tech support personnel from NYC.

Se habla espanol.