MAKING (more) FRIENDS AT TVCABLE

I made a bunch friends at TVCable a couple months ago when their installation guys failed to show up or call 3 days running.  I was really happy after staying at home 3 days waiting for techs that were always promised in ’20 minutes’. So I paid a couple calls to their office and shared my joy ....... because I am a generous guy.  Made friends on those visits.  Made more friends when, the Internet service was not what I was paying for.  (The TV has always been ok.)  Made friends yet again when I had to explain that the Internet techs they sent out were ‘no mucho intelligente’ and I would really like to have a quality tech come out.  Amazingly, I made all those friends using my limited Spanish.

Anyway, I went in today to cancel the Internet service.  I am a picky *ssh*l* and narrow-minded.  I get annoyed when I don’t receive the services I pay for after giving them 3 chances to get it right..

You take a number when you go in.  I was #75.  They were on #55.  It didn’t take a genius to tell that there were only 3 customer reps there.  For the first half hour, one was doing data entry, another was flirting with a co-worker or otherwise not helping customers.  The third was handling 1 person about every 12  minutes.  After a half hour they were at #58.  So, I strolled back into the offices to make some more friends.  Found a boss.  New friend.  But not a good friend.  

Found a boss in a bigger office.  The secretary wasn’t in so I just went in and got friendly.  We will call her ‘big boss’.  Anyway, big boss picked up the intercom and by the time I got back to the bullpen, data entry and flirt were actually helping customers.  Plus there was a fourth person.  All friends of mine now.  Remember ‘big boss’ for later.

Anyway, finally it was my turn (data entry gal).  She explained that I could not cancel the Internet until I paid for 6 months.  Or I could pay $110 to cancel.  I told her that I wasn’t going to pay anything.  The service was bad.  I didn’t want it and I wasn’t paying them.  She insisted.  We had a friendly chat for a while.  So I finally said  ‘Fine, let’s cancel the TV too.  But I am still not paying.”  She sent me to big boss.

Back with big boss.  Got the same party line with big boss.  Big boss and I had a long  friendly chat.  (FYI ‘lo peor’ means ‘worst’.)  Finally big boss and I agreed that I could cancel the Internet (no fee involved) and she would refund for the 2 months that I had their lovely Internet service.

There were a couple more steps involved, but only with old friends at TVCable.  They were thrilled to see me again.

Hey, if your service is sh*tty ........... you gotta expect encounters with the customers.  Right?

Truly ........ I do my best to be easy to get along with and I try to avoid conflict.  Unfortunately, sometimes ............

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It is nice to put pics on blogs.

So here is a pic of the Brennie recharging her batteries.

She may be planning the trip that starts this weekend.

Notice how Bugger and Wanker are assisting. 

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BACKGROUND ON ‘MAKING A NEW FRIEND’

(Read this only if you are bored and have nothing else to do ....... oopsie, I guess that could apply above too.)

A little background on ‘making a new friend’.  I was a public school teacher for 25 years.  The last 16 were at a high school.  It was a suburban high school.  About 85% of our kids were fine.  Any guesses on the other 15%.  Did you guess, princesses, thugs and jackasses?  At any rate the P, T & J’s believed they were (and indeed often were) immune from the rules and constraints that only applied to the 85%.  

Anyway, all teachers were required to do hallway duty between classes.  Most of us hated it (myself being one of those) and in reality only a % of us did it (include me again).  I had this strange notion that it was only fair to the 85%  if the 15% also were held to the same behaviors.  I don’t blame many of my colleagues for turning a blind eye to the P, T & J’s.  As often as not it was a real headache.  Did I have a lot of interaction with the 15%?  Enough.  Sometimes it did not go well.  The royal family of the princesses often had direct lines to people that could say to me ........ “come in and close the door”.  The thugs liked to escalate any request into something more serious or often enough even MORE serious. At the very least, this created additional  paperwork. The jackasses ...... well you never knew.  

Anyway, I always called it ‘making a new friend’.  Sometimes it made me late to class.  I would tell my students that I had been making a new friend.  My students thought it was funny.  I guess it was.

Silver lining?  Yes.  The P, T & J’s never signed up for any of my classes.

Life is sweet,

Clarke