It’s Always Something
Honestly, what the fuck is it with me and computers? Everytime I have to deal with signing up for something, fixing something, customer service, what-have-you, inevitably something stupid happens that makes the whole process take twice as long as it needs to. And frankly, I would say more than 70% percent of the time, it has nothing to do with a mistake on my part.
Take the Philadelphia Blog-Ads network, which I am currently trying to join. I went to their webpage, and clicked on the “register” link, where it asked me to enter the email address I wanted to use, as well as my pasword of choice. After completing this task, I clicked on the button marked “Next”. This brought me to a page that read “Error: You Do Not Have Privileges To View This Page.” I clicked on the Blog-ads icon to return to their homepage to re-attempt registration, only to be told that the email address i provided was already in use. So then I tried to log-in with the email address I’d provided them, only to receive the notification that that username is not registered. Thus, through literally no fault of my own, my Blog-ads membership has been postponed.
When I went back to the inital email they sent me, I noticed they had already set up a log-in for me, inlcuding a password. “Shit,” I muttered, “all that difficulty for nothing.” Then I tried to log-in using the username and password blog-ads had provided, and that didn’t work either.
The same is true with regard to the nitwits who run Cavalier Telephone, and it will do Noz’s heart good to know I cancelled my service with them this morning, who can’t seem to get me DSL service, or even telephone service. For two hours lass week, I was on the phone with these dumbfucks, trying to get my DSL up and running again (it’s ben down for over a month). They couldn’t figure out why the modem wasn’t getting any signal, and eventually sent out a Verizon technician to check my outside line. A few days later Cavalier called me back to tell me that my landline was working again, and the dsl should be up and running.
The DSL was not running. Not owning a landline, I had no idea whether the phone worked or not. This past weekend, my brother, who’s getting his degree in IT, spent over an hour trying to figure out what was going on, but to no avail. Last night, I discovered what was wrong. My friend Wendy gave me a phone. I plugged it into my wall. No dial tone. I tried another jack: again, no dial tone.
Thus, through no fault of my own, I still have no dial tone or dsl, and after Cavalier put me on one of their legendary never-ending hold-lines (AGAIN), I told them to shove their service up their ass and cancelled. It didn’t help that I had just received a $105 bill from the company for a month during which I was without service.
Calling up Verizon to re-sign up, I learned that even though my landline number had carried over from Verizon to cavalier, the oppostie was not true. I have to get a new number: why do I know they’re going to charge me for that? Also, it takes 24 hours for Verizon to get Cavalier’s cancellation, so i have to call back tomorrow.
And then there’s the van, which shit the bed the other day. The Meineke at 49th and Spruce, where I’ve been a loyal customer for the past year, and to who I have sent business, decided to rip me off. Don’t go there: unrecommended.
While I am not an especially mechanically-minded, I do know a thing or two about cars, so when they called me at work on Friday, to tell me that what were clearly ignition problems were not ignition problems, I was a little peeved. I was even more irritated when they told me I needed new idle arms. Those control the front wheels of the van.
“That’s impossible,” I said. “I just got them done this past summer.”
“Yeah? Who did the work?” the man on the other end asked.
“YOU DID.” I said. Oy…
When I went to pick up the van on Saturday, they said hadn’t found anything wrong with the ignition. One mechanic I’ve worked with before, Bob, asked me what was going on. he hadn’t been involved with the repair. I explained the van’s sputtering, herky-jerky performance, and he said he’d go out and take a look. Meanwhile I paid $85.00 for some brake adjustments and drum work.
When I went outside, the car wasn’t starting. “See?” I said. “It’s ignition or fuel problems. It probably needs a tuneup: I haven’t done that since I bought the van.”
“The fuel pump’s working,” said Bob, “But now that it won’t start, it gives me something to look for. Call me in a couple of hours.”
When I called back, he told me my suspicions about the van needing a tune-up were correct. Then he told me he’d replaced my distributor cap and rotor. At the sum of ONE HUNDRED SEVENTY-ONE DOLLARS, INCLUDING LABOR.
if you don’t know a lot about cars, let me assure you this is OUTRAGEOUS. Not only is the distributor cap easy to locate and replace, the part itself retails for $25.00. Meineke charged me $65.00. The rotor was marked up as well.
Bob then quoted me a price of $650.00, including labor, to tune up my Astro. By tune-up, he meant: change the spark plugs and cables; replace the fuel filter; replace the air filter; replace the ignition coil. he told me “You have to do this all at once. Either do it all at once or don’t do it at all.”
Yesterday afternoon, I went to Pep Boys and dropped $20.00 on a Chilton repair manual. I also spoke to the guy behind the counter to get an estimate on parts. When I told him what the folks at Meineke (corner of 49th and Spruce) had quoted me, he shook his head. “Tell me what supplies you need,” he asked. “That is WAY out of line. Even on a pain in the ass vehicle to service, like the Astro, it’s not gonna be that much. I bet I know what he’s pulling on you.”
We went down the list, and he turned the terminal to me. There were two columns: list price and retail. For every part, Meineke was charging me the list price or more, when retail prices were less than half. A glance through the manual showed me that once the inside engine cover is removed, most of the work could be completed in less than two hours. Unfortunately, I don’t make enough money at work to be able to repair my van until next week, although it could also be argued that if Meineke at 49th and Spruce hadn’t decided to rip me off to the tune of almost $171.00 on a job that should have cost no more than $75.00, I probably would have wheels right now.
And this is the way this kind of stuff ALWAYS rolls with me. It’s always one delay after another delay after another. There is a damn good reason I am known as something of a Luddite: the hyperactive pace we live in leaves a lot of us in the dust.
3 Responses to “It’s Always Something”
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October 10th, 2006 at 12:10 am
this is why i have to leave the country for a few months every year. i can’t take modern life - too stress producing.
October 10th, 2006 at 3:45 pm
You’re lucky. I have too many debts to do anything like that for the next 18 years or so.
Well, 15 years, come January 12.
It’s shameful isn’t it: because of Sam’s mom’s decision to stay in Canada, every birthday isn’t so much cause to celebrate (i’ve never had him on his birthday) so much as it is a year struck from an 18 year prison sentence.
God almighty I hate her.
October 11th, 2006 at 2:48 am
Brendan-
Ya know, we could have fixed your van ourselves, for the retail price of the parts and a beer or two.
And the whole ‘I hate modern life, technology and technologists’ makes me think of a conversation I wish I could have had today. Had a customer who was complaining that her new laptop confused her. Her problems were completely self made, like a significant minority of my customers.
Anyways, she asked how she was supposed to run her business when everything technological didn’t do what it was supposed to. I thought about closing her laptop and telling her to run her business without it. If a technology offends and enrages you, don’t use it. When the benefits are outweighed by the costs, don’t proceed.
And this is coming from a technologist. Most tech stuff works for me. I’ve made a fair living from it. But perhaps the Amish have a good idea, by communally deciding what technology will be beneficial, and what may change their lives for the worse. Perhaps we should all consider what a technology will make us into before we personally adopt it…