A couple of weeks back I ordered an upgrade or migration from a basic-ish broadband service to one where I can send emails and access newsgroups. I was told that it would take 17 days to migrate. Yesterday I woke up to find that I could not connect to the old service, so asumed that, despite not getting a confirmatory email, I had now migrated.
However, my CD drive is broken, and I specifically checked when I ordered that it would be possible to download the necessaries from the internet. I was reassured it would be fine. I went to the website to download details of what I needed to connect. This was not helpful, because it focused on Parental Controls (as I told the provider, I don't need Parental Controls because I don't live with my parents), so I made a huge number of phonecalls, the details of which I will not bore you. TCALSS, I was told that I was not yet due for migration, and my access problems were due to a general problem affecting most users.
I tried again this morning, and still couldn't access Broadband, yet the status message was saying that there were no problems, so I started going round the houses, only to be told that my migration happened yesterday. Read it and weep.
I was directed to a website that would assist with my no-CD problem, but all I got was drivers for modems I don't possess, whilst I have a perfectly good modem, which I purchased 17 months ago, and has perfectly good drivers, and, I was assured, is compatible with the new service. So I was talked through a manual configuration - which, of course, I could have done myself with the help of a piece of paper that said the name of the server, and the dial code 0,38, like previously.
My arrows in the corner kept flashing yellow, so the chap said that I have been barred by "Billing". Oh, I said startled; he explained it's an error that they are barring everybody, but he would sort it oout within the hour. And, actually, he sorted it out within five minutes.
But let me get this straight - I spent about five hours on phone calls, and useless downloads (on Pay as You Go), and did all my internet yesterday until about 3pm today on Dial Up (And yes, Blue Witch, of course I shall be asking for a refund of the calls).
All of this could have been prevented if they had a) given me an email to confirm activation date, and b) told me what should be filled in in the Connection Wizard.
And if the various systems actually interfaced with each other...
Can you imagine, if these corporations actually functioned correctly, what a high level of unemployment there would be!
Just to add icing to the cake I sent three emails ths morning. One short one to two sibs; one to a cousin including a photo of about 350kb; and a long but entirely text based one to about 45 recipients.
I got a bit confused that I wasn't receiving read receipts, especially for the 45 recipient one. Even more confused when two of the recipients sent me (and about 30 others) emails on a related topic, without reference to mine.
So I rang up my sister. She hadn't received either of hers, and was also fretting about the wording of one she needs to send out. We were just discussing it when my neighbour called round.
Half an hour later I resend the sib one with an added message apologising for the interruption, but I am now cat sitting at the weekend (in addition to my car-light-checking duties - discharged). I am trying to resend the 45-recipient one, not aided by having changed my email configuration during the day, when my sister rings me up to confirm receipt of the sibling one, and did I know anything about Islam so that Joseph can get a house point tomorrow (This is ten past ten at this stage)?. Fortunately, I remember the five pillars of Islam, including hajj, and the Koran, so sister does a quick google. It's only when I put the phone down that I realise that my sister completed one year of a BA in Education and...Religious Studies. And she's asking me ...
And I've also volunteered to draft Pauline's round robin email!
