Dear So and So

[ny biker]

Enjoy your retirement soon, Trek.

Time passes along....starting last 2 wks., I became a.....great-aunt. Oldest nephew @31 and wife had their first baby (son).

Congrats!!

[ny biker]

Dear Microsoft, I really don't have time to deal with your software updates breaking my laptop. You should not be pushing out updates that are not compatible with it. And I will be really mad if I have to pay to get it fixed.

Dear psycho pickup truck driver on I-270 who repeatedly changed lanes in order to cut in front of me and slam on your brakes, it was awfully easy to get you out of my life; all I had to do was pretend to take the next exit. I am worried about your family who can't get away from you so easily.

[Trek420]

130 days? Need to check the app,

Dear Florida and Texas mobile users,

You're wondering why your service is not working. A quick check outside the window should answer your question. You've just had an epic, historic storm.

Did I just hear you say that your neighbors house was destroyed and yours is fine? Quit worrying about your phone and go help them. You can post about it on Instagram later. and get likes. No, I can't actually say that to you.

We, as well as other companies I'm sure had technicians lining up to caravan down to restore you from before the storm hit. Those techs know they won't see their families till the workis done. That's what we do.

But in some areas they can't get in until it's safe to do so. So hang tight, turn wifi calling on

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203032

and invite your neighbor over for coffee.

Signed

Trek short timer 420

[smilingcat]

So frustrating dealing with a culture so ingrained with "I want it NOW!". They just don't understand or don't care that someone has to work in torrential rain, extreme heat, or extreme cold, blizzard condition. They want it now. And the customer rep has to be polite with I want it now crowd.

Too bad someone doesn't have a telephone app like the Jolly Roger telephone company's phone app. If you don't know what that is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXVJ4JQ3SUw and there are other youtube video by jolly Roger tel. company.

You have my sympathy Trek. yeah count out the days...

[ny biker]

I think some people understand the situation on one level, but are frustrated after days with no utilities and limited or no ability to communicate with others. I know after Sandy I had family members who just got tired of being cold and trying to make the best of not being able to cook anything or see without a flashlight after dark. I also remember people reporting power outages to the utility company's facebook page for lack of any other way to contact them.

[rebeccaC]

and invite your neighbor over for coffee.

this

and i agree NY...There are a lot of emotional and cognitive traumatic stress reactions after disasters like Harvey and Irma that can just be expected. Not saying it’s easy for others to deal with those reactions, but there is an understanding that can help.

People can also show a number of positive responses in the aftermath though…..resilience and coping, helping save or comfort others, relief and elation at just surviving the disaster and feelings of learning about one's strength and growing from the experience.

That the continuing survivor problems that come from these disasters will be forgotten by many in just a few weeks is what bothers me.

[emily_in_nc]

Just to add a positive story: DH and I started back from our hurricane hole in Mississippi, where we spent 6 nights before heading back to Winter Garden, FL. This is a two-day drive, so we spent the night at a small campground outside of Tallahassee. When we pulled in, we were told that there were no utilities as a tree had fallen on their power lines, and without power, no water could be pumped either. We decided to stay and make do for one night since we have a generator in our motorhome; our only real issue was limited drinking water, but we had enough for the one night, just wouldn't get to take showers.

About an hour after we arrived, four Duke Energy trucks pulled in, and an hour later, the campground had power. Several others there had been four days without power, so they started dancing around, yelling, and clapping. They were soooo happy and thankful for the utility workers! We were too, of course, but we had not been without power for days in advance, which can really wear on you.

I hope they Duke guys went home happy that night, knowing that their efforts were making people's lives so much better after such a horrible storm!

[RobertBycle]

Dear Curmudgeon,

Why dont old people like for kids and dogs to play on their grass?

Sincerely,

The Grass is Always Greener on Old Vets Lawn

[Trek420]

Dear Customers,

A quick poll on a customer service forum I'm on says that our major pet peeve is the use of "you people", We find that any conversation starting with that is bound to go south. Corporations are NOT people, I'm people most specifically a people who can and will help you if you let me. But that's not my pet peeve. Mine is spelling.

News flash: I can spell. So if your name is Quigless Wbbbly, say it! I see your name on the account or will when I pull it up. But when you say "My name is Q as in quintessential, U as in undulate, I as in ....." I can see the letters. And if you, like me, have an unusual ethnic name you are used to people mispronouncing it. So give me a break, say it. Otherwise I have to go through the dance of "Do I have this right? Can I call you Quig? Do you prefer Ms Wbbbly?" Believe it or not I can be put on a PIP (personal development plan or the precursor to being fired) for opting out and just using Sir or M'Am. And I'm just trying to keep my nose clean and stay employed for 41 more days till I can start just using up all my vacation before I scram.

[smilingcat]

Dear Customers,

News flash: I can spell. So if your name is Quigless Wbbbly, say it! I see your name on the account or will when I pull it up. But when you say "My name is Q as in quintessential, U as in undulate, I as in ....." I can see the letters. And if you, like me, have an unusual ethnic name you are used to people mispronouncing it. So give me a break, say it. Otherwise I have to go through the dance of "Do I have this right? Can I call you Quig? Do you prefer Ms Wbbbly?" Believe it or not I can be put on a PIP (personal development plan or the precursor to being fired) for opting out and just using Sir or M'Am. And I'm just trying to keep my nose clean and stay employed for 41 more days till I can start just using up all my vacation before I scram.

Wow! your employer is strict! get on PIP for using Sir or Ma'am. I thought that was being polite when you don't know their name. I can see the frustration with when you have their account pulled up and they still insist on spelling out their name.

In all honesty, I wouldn't last a day in your job. I'm determined NOT to help my partner with her tech problems except to get her computer running or getting it connected to the WiFi. I've given up on keeping her computer virus free or how to keep out the virus. that concept is just too foreign. Also NOT to help my 87 yo mother with her cell phone. All I get is cauliflower ears and being chewed out. I just don't know how to explain things! or I am indifferent or don't care about their plight with tech problems. count the days and throw away the numbered paper plate every day!

ahh spelling.. Did you really graduate from high school? And you still say things like "Mom, me and Johnny is going to the store. Want something?" 8 words in the sentence "me and Johnny..." It has three mistakes. pretty amazing. High school grad no less. Another one is "Dog belongs to Johnny and I" only one mistake. Tad better. Language is fluid and dynamic. English language is quite alive so one should expect it to change over time in its grammar and spelling.

[smilingcat]

I was hoping to have some fun at jury selection. Got called for jury duty. For two days, I dutifully went and waited to be called to be o a jury. But no luck.

I was hoping to have the following conversation.

DA: "What is your profession?
me: "I'm a farmer"
DA: "Did you graduate from high school?"
me: "I didn't see any value in high school so I dropped out in my junior year." quite true I think I dropped out in late February or early March after I received my acceptance to Columbia University and Cornell.
DA: "Do you have GED?"
me: "I don't see any value in that either so no" For me it would be more of a minus to have GED. Isn't a graduate degree good enough? Maybe I should have completed my PhD program...
me: "Besides, the summer after I dropped out, I packed two suitcases and moved out to NYC" yes that is true.

I was hoping to have a "fun" conversation about women's rights and abortion issue. Really tweak right to life argument. It is so flawed and very very dangerous.

The context in how it was phrased paint a very different picture. though it is very true that high school had no value or nothing to offer for I was studying P. Chem, quantum mechanic (Schrodinger's equation, particle in a box), calculus and differential equation on my own at that time.

Well I did my civic duty without causing any raucous so that was all very good. Maybe next time.

[Trek420]

In all honesty, I wouldn't last a day in your job. I'm determined NOT to help my partner with her tech problems except to get her computer running or getting it connected to the WiFi. I've given up on keeping her computer virus free or how to keep out the virus. that concept is just too foreign. Also NOT to help my 87 yo mother with her cell phone. All I get is cauliflower ears and being chewed out. I just don't know how to explain things! or I am indifferent or don't care about their plight with tech problems. count the days and throw away the numbered paper plate every day!

Few people do. Seniority and tenure used to be a lot higher. In my view you want your CSR's to be happy, relaxed, comfy and not stressed because we are the voice of your company. I might go into this more at length later but for right now it's about 35 days till I start my using up vacation and 56 days till official retirement.

Till then one frustrating thing is especially at this time of year, it's the holidays, we're all a bit stressed and lonely.

We seem to get more calls now from the 87 year old with a smart phone. If grandma is not tech savvy get her a regular flip phone. They make them! One sad call I took recently, elderly woman in assisted living. The family got her an iPhone 4s, and they really will only respond to her texts. And she can't send texts. I figure out that the problem is her iOS is waaaaay out of date and the device has no memory, it's full. She's reluctant to delete anything from it because that phone, those are the only family photos she's got. I can help her back them up but there's no wifi in her rooom, only the community center which she can't get to. So we're stuck essentially because until she can get to the community center, have someone help her back up to the cloud, delete some stuff, update the iOS she's stuck.

If you're getting granny or gramps a smart phone for Xmas make d@mn sure it comes with a gift certificate for your time to help them set it up, manage and learn it. You don't even have to do that! Go to The free classes at Apple, they'll teach gramps, you just spring for lunch.