août 01, 2005
all i'm saying is i'm glad we're working on this in august instead of november.
shiv: hi, my boiler's broken; the local plumber did some work on it, but he hasn't been able to solve the problem. he recommended that we call you.
boiler people: okay. what we're going to do is dispatch an engineer out to you; there's a fee, but it covers parts and labor.
shiv: great! sounds great! when can you send this person out?
boiler people: hm. not sure, let me check. can you hold a moment?
shiv: sure, no problem.
*time passes*
boiler people: hello?
shiv: hello?
boiler people: right. well, i'm afraid we can't dispatch an engineer to you after all.
shiv:...huh?
boiler people: you see, the region where you're located, we're having real problems with our engineer fleet. there just aren't enough, and people whose boilers are still under warranty are the priority. so we can't send you anyone.
shiv:...ever?
boiler people: well, what i can do is see if there are any subcontractors available who we could send. hold one moment please
*time passes*
boiler people: alright, well, it looks like we don't have any subcontractors in your area either.
shiv: so, you can't help me at all. there is no one in the county of kent who can fix my boiler?
boiler people: i'm sorry
shiv: no. you see, we have a boiler. we need it working. at some point, it will be winter. and we will have a problem on our hands if it has not been fixed. as we have established that there is no one locally who has any idea what to do with it, what do you recommend we do? because WE MUST HAVE THIS FIXED.
boiler people: um...okay okay. what we CAN do is schedule you to have an engineer come out, but it won't be till the end of the month.
shiv: i don't care. it's still summer, we only need them to get here before winter arrives. just send them to us.
boiler people: okay. how is the 25th of august?
shiv: fine. perfect. send them.
boiler people: great, i've got you scheduled for the 25th of august.
shiv: great. can you tell me more or less what time i should expect them?
boiler people: well, you see, it's an open call. they'll just telephone you a half hour before they get there. could be morning, could be evening. i'm afraid i don't know.
shiv: *spontaneously combusts*
perhaps it is in the pisces sky right now, this lack of help. I called microsoft because something was broke. They take $250 for each call because when you have a monopoly and really bad tech docs online, you can do that. So they have answering places in Canada, the South and India. All 1 number, luck of the draw. I was 5 min into my call to India when they inform me I will have to call back in 20min because they are updating their systems. Tech support was having technical difficulties. I called back three times, each time the 20min got longer. I finally went to lunch and my boss got through to some old lady who sent him back to india for regular support, the support after you get support for placing support calls.
The roman empire was not felled by debauch or lead water, it was felled by beaurocracy. The speed of reality in a beaurocratic based society must have crushed the will of the people and reverted their glorious society back to barbarism. You don't get hold music from barbarism, you get a blunt stick to the head. And you like it.
Posted by: roos at août 1, 2005 08:07 PMYour typing is pretty good for a pile of ash...unless there was a lone hand, curiously unsinged?
Sorry about the sorry state of the repairs and servicing infrastructure over there. I should have sorted it out before I left but you know how it is; there's never enough time.
Posted by: Stuart at août 1, 2005 09:08 PMare you sure you weren't on the phone with the cable company?
"hmm, it looks like the tech will be there between 8am and the Apocalypse, will you be home during that timespan?"
Posted by: Josh at août 2, 2005 12:36 AM