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LOL, actually I have a friend who used to work for Adelphia Cable, before that went under. I heard a lot of horror stories.
I can't speak for Adelphia, but I can confirm that at least SOME of those horror stories are true.
I love my company, and I think we do a pretty awesome job of doing what we do. We're rebuilding a lot of how we handle customers, and it's taking time and a lot of effort. But I truly believe that this company cares, which is not something I can say about previous employers.
I've done call center work for 1/3rd of my life now, ranging from front line tech support through junior systems administration to travel agent with most of the points in between. And I can say that hell hath no fury like that of a person who can't BLOODY WELL WATCH THEIR GORRAM RUTTIN FOOTBALL IN FLUFFIN HIGH DEF!!!!ELEVENTYONE1
I know high def is all wonderfluffy, but you have to draw the line somewhere. Is the game any less a game because you're not able to see individual beads of SWEAT on a player's face?! Seriously!
(can you tell I just took an escalation on a high def issue?)
Other things that suck?
Database changes that affect MILLIONS of customers that forget to carry a two. When you have that kind of power, just double check your ruttin math!
*steps away from the ranty now, wipes foam from chin*
EDIT: WOOT!! First on a new page!
Why do you have to be a dick and scream to get something handled?
Why can't they f**!ing handle it one of the first three or four times you call?
What's funny about this is that when *MY* service at home, which was through *MY* company got interrupted during my World of Warcrack raid pattern... I called in to customer service and completely went OFF on the representative. Mostly because she didn't understand a few things:
1) I called, provided my id, and said "My modem is offline, I have powercycled it, and the online light is flashing. I have no blocksync" which is basically me TELLING her what was wrong and asking WHY.
2) She then asks me to reset my ROUTER!! I didn't even say I HAD a router.
3) She then tells me it's an outage. When I get back in the next morning to check the system a) There's no outage report b) There's no record that she even CHECKED TO SEE IF THERE HAD BEEN AN OUTAGE! c) She didn't even note that I'd called.
So yeah, bad customers suck. But so do bad CS reps.
I called in two days later for my DVR, had the most wonderful experience and made sure to tell the rep's supervisor how awesome they were.
People are people.
Yeah; I get the people from India for that.
Have to call back three or four times to get somebody who knows how to do it.
*twitch* Do NOT get me started on offshoring. My last job offshored the entire CS infrastructure to Chenai, India. Then brought them back 6 months later when they lost 36% revenue to poor service.
*foams at mouth*
Oh, that's fake healer.We're all perma banned off teh interwebz at my work, so I feel your pain. Damn facebook junkies.....You're not doing the stay-home pappa-san thing anymore?
I knew Fakey was, I just thought that you were taking some time for it, as well. At least after the birth of your youngest.
Here is a possible workaround for you to try out.....
In the current climate of paranoia, I'm a bit reluctant to make any end runs around digital security like that. Also, I don't want to be the schmuck who introduces something unsavory to our network. I really do appreciate the suggestion though, Fakey... Thanks!
Hell if the dollar gets weak enough, people can outsource to us!
I recently saw the average salary in the US and, as an Australian, thoughts like this actually entered my mind (US average salary is USD32K; average Aussie salary is about AUD63K.. or about USD59K as the USD approaches its true value).
On October 29th I was suspended from work, without pay, for a joke that could have been percieved as a threat. My wedding was planned for November 8th, and I had planned two weeks of vacation time around that (one week before, one after). So, I didn't hear from my work for two weeks, with that communication being "We'll call you."
I got married; it rocked. I left for Vegas; again, it rocked. The last days of my vacation I contacted my work looking for instruction. Last Friday as I flew home, an HR rep from my work called and left a voice message directing me to report to work at the start of shift Monday.
I got to work at 6:30 this morning and waited in an empty conference room until 7:45. The whole time I thought that things would be cleared up because inviting somebody to work at 6:45 after two weeks just to fire them seemed kind of ridiculous. Then I was fired. Management says they couldn't risk me actually "cuttng somebody in the face", even if the subject of the comment knew it was a joke, even if the management knew it was a joke.
I had to dropout of college in order to support myself, and I have no specialized training. I worked at a simple warehouse shipping job for just over 11 years. The pay was good for the job, way more than I'd make starting at a similiar job. The benefits were solid, but I think I'll do ok on my wife's plan. And bonus: I was just starting to informally train for a supervisor's assistant sort of position. On the bright side, I also had a union that is saying they'll push to get my job back, even to the point of taking it to court.
Right now, I'm doing my best not to panic. I've got a few leads on possible jobs, and I have some savings to hold me over for a few weeks. The wife is supportive, and she's been pushing me to quit this job for a while, something about working to my potential. She says this is a forced opportunity. Still, it's hard to keep the thoughts of how things could wind up from creeping in. My stomach is a mess.
It's not right that I should go from so incredibly happy to nightmarishly fearful for my livlihood.
Wow, sorry to hear that ghettowedge. Unfortunately, it's become a "fact of life" that you have to watch what you say and how you say things. I had a similar experience that didn't have as extreme an end as yours, but the person that was really "wrong" in my situation got away with it because I acted unprofessionally.
I wish you the best and I hope you find employment soon.
I appreciate the support, and lesson learned. I spent my honeymoon practicing threatening to buy people salads, well, not really. Today is full of self-loathing, and tomorrow I begin the quest for professional reconstruction.
If anybody is the area of Worcester, MA is looking for an intelligent, exceptionally hard-worker, I'm here.
I appreciate the support, and lesson learned. I spent my honeymoon practicing threatening to buy people salads, well, not really. Today is full of self-loathing, and tomorrow I begin the quest for professional reconstruction.
If anybody is the area of Worcester, MA is looking for an intelligent, exceptionally hard-worker, I'm here.
I'm in California, but I can definitely provide hugs and well-wishing.
*hugs*
Patrick Curtin
(Pathfinder Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Roleplaying Game, Campaign Setting, Companion, Battles Case Subscriber)
I appreciate the support, and lesson learned. I spent my honeymoon practicing threatening to buy people salads, well, not really. Today is full of self-loathing, and tomorrow I begin the quest for professional reconstruction.
If anybody is the area of Worcester, MA is looking for an intelligent, exceptionally hard-worker, I'm here.
I am on Cape Cod, but unfortunately looking for gainful employmnet as well ...
You have my best wishes and solidarity GW. Gratz on the wedding as well :)
If anybody is the area of Worcester, MA is looking for an intelligent, exceptionally hard-worker, I'm here.
Ummm....not really.....unless you have some experience in cutting faces....
;Pjust joking. Laughter is the good at times like you are having. Good luck brother and if you need anyone to vent/talk/laugh to, let us know.
My grandfather went into hospital for quite urgent heart surgery a few weeks ago. The operation was a success for the most part, but there were complications and he’s had to stay confined to the intensive care unit (and undergo several follow up surgeries and procedures) to deal with improperly reset ribs and internal infections. He’s a pretty active and social guy for someone his age, and being bed-ridden (and without many visitors, given the restrictions on visitors to the ICU) is taking its toll on him. He’s started to get really frustrated at the situation and has been ripping off / out drips and breathing masks and stuff and trying to get out (which is probably only increasing the time he needs to stay there). He’s also been getting confused about where he is and why he is there, and having hallucinations. The various follow up procedures keep getting delayed and postponed, sometimes for several days (a sign of our woefully under-funded, under-staffed and mis-managed hospital system) which just adds to his and my family’s frustration. It’s really hard for everyone.
On top of that, I found out recently that a friend of mine has cancer. He’s a young guy, only about 27. They operated, but couldn’t remove all of the cancerous tissue, so he’s about to start chemotherapy. Life does suck sometimes.
Patrick Curtin
(Pathfinder Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Roleplaying Game, Campaign Setting, Companion, Battles Case Subscriber)
My grandfather went into hospital for quite urgent heart surgery a few weeks ago. The operation was a success for the most part, but there were complications and he’s had to stay confined to the intensive care unit (and undergo several follow up surgeries and procedures) to deal with improperly reset ribs and internal infections. He’s a pretty active and social guy for someone his age, and being bed-ridden (and without many visitors, given the restrictions on visitors to the ICU) is taking its toll on him. He’s started to get really frustrated at the situation and has been ripping off / out drips and breathing masks and stuff and trying to get out (which is probably only increasing the time he needs to stay there). He’s also been getting confused about where he is and why he is there, and having hallucinations. The various follow up procedures keep getting delayed and postponed, sometimes for several days (a sign of our woefully under-funded, under-staffed and mis-managed hospital system) which just adds to his and my family’s frustration. It’s really hard for everyone.
On top of that, I found out recently that a friend of mine has cancer. He’s a young guy, only about 27. They operated, but couldn’t remove all of the cancerous tissue, so he’s about to start chemotherapy. Life does suck sometimes.
Sorry to hear all that, man; hope it gets better.
