Back in the dark days of computing, that is before the arrival of hard drives, cheap mass storage and cheap memory, I used to run a tech support department. I used to lecture software operations people on triage, support levels and optimal staffing levels. In short, I pioneered many of the standard business practices in use today. Except that back then, tech support departments were filled with geeky computer nerds who knew something, instead of script readers. Which is why I today, instead of posing on the fine police work that led to the confession of one Steven Bertuglia of Mount Sinai, N.Y., who is alleged to have robbed two Norwalk banks, or posting about the $100 million projected for infrastructure work just for the Wall Street/West ave. redevelopment projects, I instead spent 2 hours tapping through phone trees, getting access to online accounts which were no longer working and otherwise attempting to communicate a very simple tech support message; “you pinheads are blocking a major ISP.’ Of course earlier in the day that simple message was more technical and less confrontational.
But phone rage, which I have been subjected to and can routinely inflict, has become the norm. Just type in the name of whatever corporate brand du jour, and add sux or sucks, and you will encounter a blog, devoted to the trials and tribulations of one person’s horrific encounter with customer service hell, and the hundreds if not thousands who experienced the exact same thing, only worse. The most recent, at least making the rounds if internet hall of fame is the poop-on-a-plan site.
http://pooponaplane.blogspot.com
So no, I am not going to rant in detail about my latest foray in the land of technical nitwits. I have been a cablevision customer for a long time. Too long. And while I can move my business elsewhere and satisfy that inner goal of denying them my piddly revenue stream, which I’ve done in the past, I will likely suffer silently. The reality is that they get away with bad service, incomprehensible pricing plans, and technical incompetence because we accept it. And not just from them, but for every bit of plastic shipped from China that falls apart 3 days after you buy it. We have become a nation of exasperated but acquiescent consumers of stuff that doesn’t work. Including our government. Which at the state level has muddled up the simple task of regulating commodity utilities like electricity in order to create the exact same price escalation manipulations that California experienced in 2000-01.
In other news Jim Shaprio, Democratic state rep from Stamford has announced he will not be seeking the Democratic nomination to run for congress against Chris Shays.
And the Italian Festival is going on in Westport tonight and through the weekend, amidst the shocking news that they have trouble finding volunteers. Perhaps that may be because of the cost of living or something.
The comments are open to whatever you all feel like discussing.
