Last week I wrote about a bad experience I had with a corporation. The experience was frustrating, to say the least.
The essence of the experience is that said corporation was supposed to complete a task on my behalf, but did not. In the process of trying to sort it out and get the task completed, things got heated - primarily due to a specific representative of the corporation denying that he (or the corporation) was in any way accountable.
Eventually, the task did get completed. Well, almost. I now have to deal with extra charges because the task was not done on time and I don't know how much those charges will be, because another corporation is involved and they don't seem to be able to tell me anything.
Sigh...
The task was performed in a less direct way than originally anticipated. Let's just say we took the scenic route and dealt with the basic part of the task by manipulating the data a bit and arranging its disbursement in a manner that was more involved on my part than it needed to have been.
And while that was happening, somewhere in the deep mechanisms of the corporate structure, someone got the original memo and completed the task as well.
Now had the specific representative bothered to call the deep mechanisms to see what happened to the original memo, he might have been told - and thus been able to reassure me! - that the memo was circulating through the system and was, indeed, heading in the general direction of its intended and desired destination, which was to complete the task on my behalf. But he didn't. He chose to finagle a different solution in the pursuit of pleasing me, a disgruntled and dissatisfied customer.
Wow!
When I discovered that the task had been completed twice, I felt something in my brain snap! I actually felt it. Snap! This was un-bloody-believable.
So I called the call centre... Mostly because I am still quite unable to talk to the specific representative who screwed everything up in the first place... and suffered through the painful process of getting connected to a real person. (I won't elaborate on that any further. See A Rant About a Bad Experience for more details... If you dare.) Once connected, I tried to explain what happened AND remain calm about it while I did.
The man that answered the call was very helpful, very patient and a bit thick. It took several attempts to map out the events leading up to the duplication of the task. But he eventually understood what happened and told me that he would have it rectified as soon as possible. This time I was not given a specific timeline for the pending taskectomy. And I didn't ask. I couldn't.
Remember that little snap I mentioned earlier?
Well, right about the moment that he told me that he would rectify the situation, a second, bigger snap... more like a BOOM... occurred. It was like a small bomb went off in my head and I burst into maniacal laughter.
I couldn't control myself. I tried! Believe me, I tried. But, after weeks of getting the run around and having heard that before, nothing could stop the waves of hysterical laughter and while I gasped my thanks between guffaws and tears poured down my cheeks and I rolled around on my bed, this poor guy, I'm sure, was contemplating a new career! Perhaps something that did not involve answering telephones. Training dolphins, maybe. Just anything that doesn't require having to deal with wackadoos like me.
When they play the recording of this call for training purposes, I envision a mass submission of resignations and an influx of frightened souls at the unemployment line. Call centre Customer Service Rep is not a position for the feint of heart!
I have since decided to leave this whole mess with the Universe to sort out. The bizarre things that have developed and unfolded since my arrival here have left me thoroughly vexed.
My mind is slowly pulling itself back together. The hysteria is subsiding and as long as I don't think about it, I am not experiencing any relapses. A full recovery is likely.
Life can be so strange! Little problems and difficulties pop up out of nowhere and knock you down or pull you off course. And then something wonderful happens. In time both the good and the bad fade away and get forgotten, making space for new challenges and new wonders to come to roost. I dare say that the craziness of the past few weeks has certainly taken a toll. Yet I feel hopeful and curious about what the future holds for me here.
A bad experience is just that. A bad experience. But all experiences have value. In time I hope to discover the value in this one!
Thursday, July 28, 2016
Friday, July 22, 2016
A Rant About a Bad Experience With a Big Business
CAUTION: contains strong language. (But only a little bit)
Prepare yourself for a bit of a rant. I will do my best to be concise and objective and I apologize in advance if I happen to lose my shit in the course of this missive.
Now, I do try - very hard! - not to be a whiner and a complainer. I work at being understanding and giving the benefit of the doubt where and when I am at a disadvantage as to the mechanisms that go awry and cause me inconvenience. I admit quite freely that I am wont to freak out first and ask questions later. It's a terrible habit, I know... which is why I am working on it. I have a quick temper. But after a good rant and a reasonable cooling off period, I can deal with things reasonably.
Sometimes, though, this approach is not conducive to a speedy resolution and I fall back on freaking out. If nothing else, it does get peoples' attention. (Give the crazy lady what she wants. Quickly!) And I do get some measure of satisfaction when a particularly unhelpful person is forced to backpedal!
I get it that people make mistakes. I make mistakes. It happens. I don't have problems with people making mistakes. What I do have a problem with is people who make mistakes and then try to deny their culpability or pass the buck onto someone else. That, makes me mad.
So! A mistake got made a while back. When I discovered the mistake, I steeled my courage and picked up the phone to call the company that made the mistake to report it. A very personable young man - eventually! (and I will get to that bit shortly) - won me in the customer service call taker's lottery and answered my call. He listened patiently to my problem. He even repeated it all back to me to clarify his understanding. And then he proceeded to explain to me what was going to happen to ensure that the problem got fixed. Yay! I thanked him and hung up, feeling quite good about the entire exchange.
The mistake, I was promised, would be resolved in three business days. I was good with that. Immediately would have been better, but I accept that the wheels of corporate bureaucracy, policy and actual service turn slowly in reverse! I didn't even get upset about the two weekend days that fell amid the three business days, thus delaying the desired result.
On the third business day, I checked - after waiting patiently (not my strong suit) - to see if all was indeed well in my world again.
It was not.
Hmmm.... I felt the creep of annoyance slithering around in the shadows of my psyche.
Another phone call ensued.
This time my call was handled by an efficient-sounding woman who called up my file and informed me that my problem had been resolved. (Deep breath!) I explained again that it had not and she grudgingly acknowledged it after leaving me on hold for several minutes. She informed me that the issue had been referred to the person in charge of my file and that he was working on it. She gave me his direct number and suggested that if I wasn't satisfied that I should call him. Great!
I called him. I got his voice mail. I left a detailed message, stressing the growing urgency surrounding my situation and requested a call back as soon as possible...
It is now that I need to interject a bit more information about myself. I swear. A lot. Nothing relieves the tension better than a few well articulated epithets. I am a profound advocate for the f-bomb! I use it freely and without apology. (Though I do try to keep my blog relatively profanity free.)
...At this point I had not resorted to swearing. I had managed to maintain a relative calm about the situation and a faith in the business I was dealing with. My optimism wasn't exactly soaring; neither was it entirely in the toilet. But it was getting there.
The guy did call me back. Unfortunately, I was indisposed when my phone rang and I missed the call. So I called back. I got his voice mail. I left another message.
I was beginning to get worried. Nearly a week had passed since my initial call and I had no idea if or how my problem was being dealt with. I elected to call the call centre again and see if I could get some nugget of information about what was going on.
This time I got a cheerful young lady who apologized profusely for my troubles and assured me that they (meaning the business) would do everything in their power to sort things out and make things right. My optimism retreated from the rim of the toilet bowl and alighted on the top of the tank, still well within sight should a sudden dive become necessary.
The cheerful young lady ever so sweetly suggested that I get in contact with the guy in charge of my file, stating that the whole thing could sorted out much faster with him because he was familiar with my file and it wasn't something she could do anyway.
Really? The first call centre guy I talked to seemed to think it was something he could do.
But okay. I will wait for the guy with my file to call me.
The next day he did just that. And then he proceeded to deny that he had any knowledge of what he said I was "claiming" he told me he was going to do before the mistake happened in the first place and that there was nothing he could do about it now. I would just have to come in to the office, get the stuff I needed from them to go and fix it myself.
And that, my friends, is when I lost my shit and I started swearing. (Possibly thankfully, it is also when my phone battery died, increasing the colourful language about six-fold, though saving the guy from having to hear it all.)
During the course of all these phone calls I was told a few different things. I was told that any charges I incurred as a result of the mistake would be reimbursed. (They will not be.) I was told that the problem was being resolved when it was not. I was told that nothing I had been told before the problem was ever said. I was told that it was all my fault in the first place. (I sat across the desk from the guy in charge of my file and his boss and listened to him bare-faced lie to me about what had transpired on the day he first became in charge of my file.)
As of 11 a.m. most of the problem has been solved. There is one outstanding issue, but a completely different bureaucracy is in charge of that piece and is - rather oddly - "unable to help" me at the moment. I have to wait until August to get an answer from them, though the woman who told me this couldn't tell me why.
"Can't you just look up my account?" I asked.
"Not until August." Deadpan. Probably sick to death of repeating herself.
I elected not to push it. In my volatile emotional state and her very likely shitty job at this particular time of year, it just wasn't worth it.
And so I wait!
Fuck! (I don't like waiting.)
And while I wait, I shall ponder the pros and cons of switching my business to a different company.
Now earlier I alluded to the time it took for my call to be answered. This is, without exception, my biggest pet peeve in the whole world.
Who ever thought that it was a good idea to have business calls answered by an electronic system? Who!? And why have they not been drawn and quartered for it?
Just to get to speak to a real, live person, I had to listen to three different "menus", two of which had eight choices that I was expected to remember until the end, key in my account number and answer several "security" questions, all of which I had to repeat when, at long (f-bomb alert!) fucking last, and after being on hold for 6 minutes, a real, live person answered. WTF!? How is that a good thing? It took eleven minutes total from the time I dialed until I got to talk to someone. Eleven minutes! I timed it. It was a complete wonder that I was able to be so polite to the fellow. And let me tell you, it took a crap load of will power to slap a smile on my face and be polite by the time he did come on the line.
This is not good business. It is not good customer service. It just isn't. It's appalling! My blood pressure rises even just writing about it.
I have come to the sad conclusion in my old(er) age that complacency is a huge contributor to the downfall of society. People, myself included, are so disinclined to speak up against anything. Sure we get mad and frustrated and we rant to our friends and family (and blogs) about stuff. But who does anything?
All this mamby-pamby, touchy-feely, go-with-the-flow crap is just getting stupid. I'm sorry! I really am. I hate that I just wrote that, but it is! It's stupid.
I believe in being loving and kind and compassionate. I do! I think the world can benefit greatly from a little more loving kindness and compassion. At the same time, where is the accountability? Where is the good customer service? We're actually supposed to be loving and kind and compassionate, but corporations are allowed to treat their paying customers like crap!? I don't freaking think so! It's as if this whole movement toward "spiritual enlightenment" is nothing more than a ploy to get people to just bend over and take crap like this up the wazoo. Where is the balance? Where has the humanity gone?
I am neck deep in a pool of righteous indignation right now (and wondering how long before I go all the way under). As someone who goes out of their way to comply to business' policy and procedure, I don't like being treated the way I was treated. I try to be a good customer. I may not always be perfect, but I try. And when I don't understand something, I ask. If I make a mistake, I take my lumps. That's all I ask from businesses. (And that they answer their damn phones!) Seems fair to me.
Between the call answer system and the denial and misinformation this business dealt out to me and the broken promises, how can I be expected to continue giving them my business? The real kicker here is that, for the time being, I have no choice. They have me by the proverbial short and curlies and I must go along with their policy and procedure. I wouldn't mind so much if their policy and procedure was known to everyone who works for them and wasn't changed from phone call to phone call or appointment to appointment to suit the whims and cover the asses of said employees when they get called out on it.
I can only work with the information that I am given. If it isn't the correct information, apparently, I am still responsible for the result if I follow the advice. What galls me most about this whole thing is this conversation (held today at the business in question and slightly paraphrased to protect the guilty):
Guy in charge of my file: Your lawyer told you you had to ______________.
Me: Yes. And that is why, when you brought it up, I asked you what the best way to proceed was.
Guy in charge of my file: We don't _____________ that close to the [deadline].
Me: Why would I ________________ if you didn't tell me to do it that way and that you could take care of it?
Guy in charge of my file: We aren't going to have this conversation.
Guy's boss: We can't ___________________ that close to the [deadline]. (This is the same woman who just moments before told me the [deadline] was June 31st.)
I am done ranting for now. I'm going to go read my book and relax a bit; try to muster up some sanguinity. Maybe next week will be better.
Prepare yourself for a bit of a rant. I will do my best to be concise and objective and I apologize in advance if I happen to lose my shit in the course of this missive.
Now, I do try - very hard! - not to be a whiner and a complainer. I work at being understanding and giving the benefit of the doubt where and when I am at a disadvantage as to the mechanisms that go awry and cause me inconvenience. I admit quite freely that I am wont to freak out first and ask questions later. It's a terrible habit, I know... which is why I am working on it. I have a quick temper. But after a good rant and a reasonable cooling off period, I can deal with things reasonably.
Sometimes, though, this approach is not conducive to a speedy resolution and I fall back on freaking out. If nothing else, it does get peoples' attention. (Give the crazy lady what she wants. Quickly!) And I do get some measure of satisfaction when a particularly unhelpful person is forced to backpedal!
I get it that people make mistakes. I make mistakes. It happens. I don't have problems with people making mistakes. What I do have a problem with is people who make mistakes and then try to deny their culpability or pass the buck onto someone else. That, makes me mad.
So! A mistake got made a while back. When I discovered the mistake, I steeled my courage and picked up the phone to call the company that made the mistake to report it. A very personable young man - eventually! (and I will get to that bit shortly) - won me in the customer service call taker's lottery and answered my call. He listened patiently to my problem. He even repeated it all back to me to clarify his understanding. And then he proceeded to explain to me what was going to happen to ensure that the problem got fixed. Yay! I thanked him and hung up, feeling quite good about the entire exchange.
The mistake, I was promised, would be resolved in three business days. I was good with that. Immediately would have been better, but I accept that the wheels of corporate bureaucracy, policy and actual service turn slowly in reverse! I didn't even get upset about the two weekend days that fell amid the three business days, thus delaying the desired result.
On the third business day, I checked - after waiting patiently (not my strong suit) - to see if all was indeed well in my world again.
It was not.
Hmmm.... I felt the creep of annoyance slithering around in the shadows of my psyche.
Another phone call ensued.
This time my call was handled by an efficient-sounding woman who called up my file and informed me that my problem had been resolved. (Deep breath!) I explained again that it had not and she grudgingly acknowledged it after leaving me on hold for several minutes. She informed me that the issue had been referred to the person in charge of my file and that he was working on it. She gave me his direct number and suggested that if I wasn't satisfied that I should call him. Great!
I called him. I got his voice mail. I left a detailed message, stressing the growing urgency surrounding my situation and requested a call back as soon as possible...
It is now that I need to interject a bit more information about myself. I swear. A lot. Nothing relieves the tension better than a few well articulated epithets. I am a profound advocate for the f-bomb! I use it freely and without apology. (Though I do try to keep my blog relatively profanity free.)
...At this point I had not resorted to swearing. I had managed to maintain a relative calm about the situation and a faith in the business I was dealing with. My optimism wasn't exactly soaring; neither was it entirely in the toilet. But it was getting there.
The guy did call me back. Unfortunately, I was indisposed when my phone rang and I missed the call. So I called back. I got his voice mail. I left another message.
I was beginning to get worried. Nearly a week had passed since my initial call and I had no idea if or how my problem was being dealt with. I elected to call the call centre again and see if I could get some nugget of information about what was going on.
This time I got a cheerful young lady who apologized profusely for my troubles and assured me that they (meaning the business) would do everything in their power to sort things out and make things right. My optimism retreated from the rim of the toilet bowl and alighted on the top of the tank, still well within sight should a sudden dive become necessary.
The cheerful young lady ever so sweetly suggested that I get in contact with the guy in charge of my file, stating that the whole thing could sorted out much faster with him because he was familiar with my file and it wasn't something she could do anyway.
Really? The first call centre guy I talked to seemed to think it was something he could do.
But okay. I will wait for the guy with my file to call me.
The next day he did just that. And then he proceeded to deny that he had any knowledge of what he said I was "claiming" he told me he was going to do before the mistake happened in the first place and that there was nothing he could do about it now. I would just have to come in to the office, get the stuff I needed from them to go and fix it myself.
And that, my friends, is when I lost my shit and I started swearing. (Possibly thankfully, it is also when my phone battery died, increasing the colourful language about six-fold, though saving the guy from having to hear it all.)
During the course of all these phone calls I was told a few different things. I was told that any charges I incurred as a result of the mistake would be reimbursed. (They will not be.) I was told that the problem was being resolved when it was not. I was told that nothing I had been told before the problem was ever said. I was told that it was all my fault in the first place. (I sat across the desk from the guy in charge of my file and his boss and listened to him bare-faced lie to me about what had transpired on the day he first became in charge of my file.)
As of 11 a.m. most of the problem has been solved. There is one outstanding issue, but a completely different bureaucracy is in charge of that piece and is - rather oddly - "unable to help" me at the moment. I have to wait until August to get an answer from them, though the woman who told me this couldn't tell me why.
"Can't you just look up my account?" I asked.
"Not until August." Deadpan. Probably sick to death of repeating herself.
I elected not to push it. In my volatile emotional state and her very likely shitty job at this particular time of year, it just wasn't worth it.
And so I wait!
Fuck! (I don't like waiting.)
And while I wait, I shall ponder the pros and cons of switching my business to a different company.
Now earlier I alluded to the time it took for my call to be answered. This is, without exception, my biggest pet peeve in the whole world.
Who ever thought that it was a good idea to have business calls answered by an electronic system? Who!? And why have they not been drawn and quartered for it?
Just to get to speak to a real, live person, I had to listen to three different "menus", two of which had eight choices that I was expected to remember until the end, key in my account number and answer several "security" questions, all of which I had to repeat when, at long (f-bomb alert!) fucking last, and after being on hold for 6 minutes, a real, live person answered. WTF!? How is that a good thing? It took eleven minutes total from the time I dialed until I got to talk to someone. Eleven minutes! I timed it. It was a complete wonder that I was able to be so polite to the fellow. And let me tell you, it took a crap load of will power to slap a smile on my face and be polite by the time he did come on the line.
This is not good business. It is not good customer service. It just isn't. It's appalling! My blood pressure rises even just writing about it.
I have come to the sad conclusion in my old(er) age that complacency is a huge contributor to the downfall of society. People, myself included, are so disinclined to speak up against anything. Sure we get mad and frustrated and we rant to our friends and family (and blogs) about stuff. But who does anything?
All this mamby-pamby, touchy-feely, go-with-the-flow crap is just getting stupid. I'm sorry! I really am. I hate that I just wrote that, but it is! It's stupid.
I believe in being loving and kind and compassionate. I do! I think the world can benefit greatly from a little more loving kindness and compassion. At the same time, where is the accountability? Where is the good customer service? We're actually supposed to be loving and kind and compassionate, but corporations are allowed to treat their paying customers like crap!? I don't freaking think so! It's as if this whole movement toward "spiritual enlightenment" is nothing more than a ploy to get people to just bend over and take crap like this up the wazoo. Where is the balance? Where has the humanity gone?
I am neck deep in a pool of righteous indignation right now (and wondering how long before I go all the way under). As someone who goes out of their way to comply to business' policy and procedure, I don't like being treated the way I was treated. I try to be a good customer. I may not always be perfect, but I try. And when I don't understand something, I ask. If I make a mistake, I take my lumps. That's all I ask from businesses. (And that they answer their damn phones!) Seems fair to me.
Between the call answer system and the denial and misinformation this business dealt out to me and the broken promises, how can I be expected to continue giving them my business? The real kicker here is that, for the time being, I have no choice. They have me by the proverbial short and curlies and I must go along with their policy and procedure. I wouldn't mind so much if their policy and procedure was known to everyone who works for them and wasn't changed from phone call to phone call or appointment to appointment to suit the whims and cover the asses of said employees when they get called out on it.
I can only work with the information that I am given. If it isn't the correct information, apparently, I am still responsible for the result if I follow the advice. What galls me most about this whole thing is this conversation (held today at the business in question and slightly paraphrased to protect the guilty):
Guy in charge of my file: Your lawyer told you you had to ______________.
Me: Yes. And that is why, when you brought it up, I asked you what the best way to proceed was.
Guy in charge of my file: We don't _____________ that close to the [deadline].
Me: Why would I ________________ if you didn't tell me to do it that way and that you could take care of it?
Guy in charge of my file: We aren't going to have this conversation.
Guy's boss: We can't ___________________ that close to the [deadline]. (This is the same woman who just moments before told me the [deadline] was June 31st.)
I am done ranting for now. I'm going to go read my book and relax a bit; try to muster up some sanguinity. Maybe next week will be better.
Wednesday, July 20, 2016
The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round
I have a vague recollection of getting on a city bus with my mother as a very young child - maybe 3 or 4 years old. I don't know why we would have had to take a bus anywhere; my mother always had a car. But whether or not this recollection is valid, is, essentially, moot. Even if I did take a bus with my mother as a pre-schooler once very long ago, my knowledge of and experience with public transit remains practically nil.
But living in a city and not driving kind of demands that one become familiar with this complex system of transportation. And my orientation began yesterday!
We are conveniently located close to a convenience store that sells bus tickets. Who knew? My intrepid and oh, so patient, busing mentor, Bizz, of course. For $24 I was able to purchase a ten-pack of bus tickets there and at 9:30 a.m. that is what I did. At 9:39 a.m., I boarded a city bus for what may have been the first time in my life.
And we were off!
Our first destination was a little new age store where I hoped to arrange to do Tarot readings a couple of days a week. (But that is another story and one I won't get into here.) Upon boarding, I deposited my ticket into the ticket thingie and received a transfer from the driver. We had the bus to ourselves, so we sat in the senior seats up front - with the understanding that we would vacate them should a senior (handicapped person or stroller pusher) board. So far, so good.
The first leg of our journey ended at a transfer station where we alighted and then waited for our next bus. Buses were coming and going and people were boarding and alighting like pros. I just followed Bizz and observed.
Two things are important when riding a bus. First, one must pay attention to the stops along the way. Second, one must know where one needs to get off the bus. And, yes, there is an app for that!
The Edmonton Public Transit system has its own app. It's complicated and caters, I believe, to the seasoned bus commuter more than, say... Well, a newbie like me. A far easier way to enjoy the ride is to use Google Maps. Just plug in your destination and tap the icon for public transit and everything is neatly laid out for you. It even gives you walking times between bus stops if you have to move to a different one. (Now if I could only get directionally oriented, I'd be able to follow the maps!)
Our second destination was to Johnson's Sewing Centre, where Bizz works. We went there to show off the mystery quilt that she had completed at seven that morning. After staying up all night to get this quilt done, a tired, albeit caffeine infused, quilter on a mission was my teacher and guide. Once show and tell ended, we packed up the quilt and headed south to Millwoods Town Centre, our local shopping mall, to mail off said quilt and complete the final leg of our journey.
Which we did on foot. It takes about the same amount of time to walk from Millwoods Town Centre as it does to bus, so we saved a ticket and hoofed her home, where is was my time to be the guide. I showed Bizz an alternate route through Sister Mary (something) Casey Park next to the Grey Nuns Hospital, a more scenic course. Along the way we stopped at a little lake - or a large pond - to watch the geese.
My first (or possibly second) experience using public transit was altogether positive. Even if the reason for it didn't quite pan out the way I had hoped. Public transit etiquette is, as it should be, fairly straight forward. Know where you're going. Give up your seat to the elderly, pregnant, handicapped or otherwise encumbered people. Do not press the stop request button unless you mean to actually get off the bus. If you are at a stop where several buses stop and a bus other than the one you are waiting for comes by, signal the driver that you don't need him/her to stop. This applies to situations where you are the only person there. Say thank you to the driver! (Just 'cause.)
I think I will enjoy the new-found freedom public transit has to offer. Even if it is freedom on a schedule!
Which, by the way, is highly dependable! I have to admit I was impressed at the efficiency of it all.
Ooh! And the bendy buses are really cool, too!
But living in a city and not driving kind of demands that one become familiar with this complex system of transportation. And my orientation began yesterday!
We are conveniently located close to a convenience store that sells bus tickets. Who knew? My intrepid and oh, so patient, busing mentor, Bizz, of course. For $24 I was able to purchase a ten-pack of bus tickets there and at 9:30 a.m. that is what I did. At 9:39 a.m., I boarded a city bus for what may have been the first time in my life.
And we were off!
Our first destination was a little new age store where I hoped to arrange to do Tarot readings a couple of days a week. (But that is another story and one I won't get into here.) Upon boarding, I deposited my ticket into the ticket thingie and received a transfer from the driver. We had the bus to ourselves, so we sat in the senior seats up front - with the understanding that we would vacate them should a senior (handicapped person or stroller pusher) board. So far, so good.
The first leg of our journey ended at a transfer station where we alighted and then waited for our next bus. Buses were coming and going and people were boarding and alighting like pros. I just followed Bizz and observed.
Two things are important when riding a bus. First, one must pay attention to the stops along the way. Second, one must know where one needs to get off the bus. And, yes, there is an app for that!
The Edmonton Public Transit system has its own app. It's complicated and caters, I believe, to the seasoned bus commuter more than, say... Well, a newbie like me. A far easier way to enjoy the ride is to use Google Maps. Just plug in your destination and tap the icon for public transit and everything is neatly laid out for you. It even gives you walking times between bus stops if you have to move to a different one. (Now if I could only get directionally oriented, I'd be able to follow the maps!)
Our second destination was to Johnson's Sewing Centre, where Bizz works. We went there to show off the mystery quilt that she had completed at seven that morning. After staying up all night to get this quilt done, a tired, albeit caffeine infused, quilter on a mission was my teacher and guide. Once show and tell ended, we packed up the quilt and headed south to Millwoods Town Centre, our local shopping mall, to mail off said quilt and complete the final leg of our journey.
Which we did on foot. It takes about the same amount of time to walk from Millwoods Town Centre as it does to bus, so we saved a ticket and hoofed her home, where is was my time to be the guide. I showed Bizz an alternate route through Sister Mary (something) Casey Park next to the Grey Nuns Hospital, a more scenic course. Along the way we stopped at a little lake - or a large pond - to watch the geese.
My first (or possibly second) experience using public transit was altogether positive. Even if the reason for it didn't quite pan out the way I had hoped. Public transit etiquette is, as it should be, fairly straight forward. Know where you're going. Give up your seat to the elderly, pregnant, handicapped or otherwise encumbered people. Do not press the stop request button unless you mean to actually get off the bus. If you are at a stop where several buses stop and a bus other than the one you are waiting for comes by, signal the driver that you don't need him/her to stop. This applies to situations where you are the only person there. Say thank you to the driver! (Just 'cause.)
I think I will enjoy the new-found freedom public transit has to offer. Even if it is freedom on a schedule!
Which, by the way, is highly dependable! I have to admit I was impressed at the efficiency of it all.
Ooh! And the bendy buses are really cool, too!
Friday, July 15, 2016
There and Here!
It's hard not to compare where you are with where you've been; the unfamiliar with the familiar. Having lived in a small BC town for 37 years, living in an Albertan city is, not to put too fine a point on it, strange. I am used to seeing, hearing and doing certain things. Here, in this metropolis, those things are no longer part of my everyday existence.
I'm used to seeing things like this:
Now I see things like this:
Another thing I don't see is dogs wandering about off-leash and unattended. It just never happens. Here dogs are leashed and with their owners when not contained in fenced yards. (I have yet to see a dog tied up, but that's not to say it doesn't happen.)
I'm used to being able to walk anywhere. Any place I wanted to go, I could go on foot in under 20 minutes. Now, I have to think about and plan for any excursion. Do I walk? Do I bus? Do I get my kid to chauffeur me? Appointments are not made willy-nilly. They are given very careful consideration. (Oddly, I can walk faster than I can bus to the "local" shopping centre. Might not be so funny in the winter, but for now, it's great motivation to get some exercise.)
Shopping!? Well, shopping is entirely different here. Shopping exists!
Events happen here. And people show up for them! I'm relatively sure that boredom is obsolete. At least it should be.
The city is strewn with gorgeous parks. There are parks everywhere! Walking trails make exploring the neighbourhoods more interesting. I just wish there was an off-leash dog park closer by.
I was surprised to see people putting garbage for collection in bags. Everyone had toters in Houston. Here, they just put their bags out. Not even in cans - though some people do use cans. It's weird. The first time I saw that, I was horrified. I'm used to having to protect the garbage from dogs, crows and bears. Here it doesn't seem to be much of an issue. And recycling is easy! Just leave your BLUE bag out with your garbage bags and it's all taken care of. Love it!
Yes, city life is different. Not better. Not worse. Just different. I'm adjusting slowly to it. I was worried that it would be all hustle and bustle, but it's really not. It just takes a little longer to get places and that has to be factored in when making plans. You DO NOT leave for an even ten minutes ahead of time. You leave at least a half an hour before it starts. More if you want good parking!
Right now, I'm preparing to master the art of public transit. That should be interesting! Haven't done it yet, but I need to make friends with the buses. I'll tell you all about it. Soon.
I'm used to seeing things like this:
 |
| More common in late summer and throughout the fall, black bears were part of life in Houston. |
 |
| Deer were everywhere. It was normal to see them wandering the streets and hanging out in back yards. |
 |
| Life in a valley meant being surrounded by mountains |
Now I see things like this:
 |
| These guys are everywhere, making dog walking a bit of a challenge. |
 |
| Magpies dominate the skies. Crows, on the other hand are relatively rare. |
 |
| The skyline is broken by buildings instead of mountains. |
Another thing I don't see is dogs wandering about off-leash and unattended. It just never happens. Here dogs are leashed and with their owners when not contained in fenced yards. (I have yet to see a dog tied up, but that's not to say it doesn't happen.)
I'm used to being able to walk anywhere. Any place I wanted to go, I could go on foot in under 20 minutes. Now, I have to think about and plan for any excursion. Do I walk? Do I bus? Do I get my kid to chauffeur me? Appointments are not made willy-nilly. They are given very careful consideration. (Oddly, I can walk faster than I can bus to the "local" shopping centre. Might not be so funny in the winter, but for now, it's great motivation to get some exercise.)
Shopping!? Well, shopping is entirely different here. Shopping exists!
Events happen here. And people show up for them! I'm relatively sure that boredom is obsolete. At least it should be.
The city is strewn with gorgeous parks. There are parks everywhere! Walking trails make exploring the neighbourhoods more interesting. I just wish there was an off-leash dog park closer by.
I was surprised to see people putting garbage for collection in bags. Everyone had toters in Houston. Here, they just put their bags out. Not even in cans - though some people do use cans. It's weird. The first time I saw that, I was horrified. I'm used to having to protect the garbage from dogs, crows and bears. Here it doesn't seem to be much of an issue. And recycling is easy! Just leave your BLUE bag out with your garbage bags and it's all taken care of. Love it!
Yes, city life is different. Not better. Not worse. Just different. I'm adjusting slowly to it. I was worried that it would be all hustle and bustle, but it's really not. It just takes a little longer to get places and that has to be factored in when making plans. You DO NOT leave for an even ten minutes ahead of time. You leave at least a half an hour before it starts. More if you want good parking!
Right now, I'm preparing to master the art of public transit. That should be interesting! Haven't done it yet, but I need to make friends with the buses. I'll tell you all about it. Soon.
Thursday, July 14, 2016
More Moving Challenges
This move is proving to be somewhat more challenging than one would hope for. As you know, the previous owners left a ton of stuff behind and it cost us a small fortune to get it hauled away so we would have room for our stuff and, obviously, be able to move in.
We are still trying to get compensation for that little debacle...
But I digress...
First challenge... Or perhaps I should say second challenge... Yes, let's go with second challenge.
Second challenge: Canada Post.
Now I know a lot of people have a lot of negative things to say about Canada Post. I don't - usually. And, to be honest, this challenge isn't entirely their fault. Sort of. Kind of.
The mail forwarding system that Canada Post has in place - for a ridiculous amount of money, I might add - is flawed.
What is supposed to happen is this:
1. You give the post office your new address and ask them to forward your mail from your old address to it, which, after charging you stupid amounts of money to do, they agree to do. (Notice that I say agree.) In theory, this is pretty straight forward. Mail coming to address A must be delivered to address B.
2. You confidently march down to your community (in our case) mail box with your community mailbox key and open it up.
3. You retrieve your forwarded mail.
All systems go.
The trick to this, I have discovered is timing. Coming from a small town with a single Cheery post office where everybody knew my name and communication between the grand total of five employees was (almost) assured, and moving to a big city with multiple post offices with hundreds of employees, I failed to consider that things might not go as smoothly as I hoped. In the name of efficiency, I dutifully applied for, paid for and received confirmation of mail forwarding from my old address to my new address.
Now it's reasonable to assume that, unless you are moving into a brand new home with a brand new address, that someone lived at the address you are moving into before you and that they had lived there long enough for Canada Post to develop the expected habit of delivering their mail to them there. It's also reasonable to assume that that someone will also request mail forwarding to whatever new address they move to. Makes sense, right? And here is where the timing comes into play.
I requested, paid for and had confirmed my mail forwarding before the previous owners of our house requested theirs. And in the infinite wisdom of the mail forwarding system, my mail (along with everyone else's in the house) got swept up in that mail forwarding request and is being delivered to god knows where.
And... And here's the real kicker! ,,,the previous owners are not returning our mail!
Can you say pissed off?
Patience, little grasshopper, it gets better.
Third Challenge: The Bank
Okay, so in the name, once again, of efficiency, we used a mortgage broker to help us find and secure a mortgage. (And he is so, so cute!) Anyway, he found us an amazing deal with amazing interest with the Scotia Bank. Happily, we went in to sign all the paperwork and while we were there we set up an account for household expenses, including the mortgage payment. But did they take our first mortgage payment out of that account? The one with the money in it to cover the payment? No, of course not. They took it out of my personal RBC account, overdrawing it in the process. Yay. Interest fees! I love those.
Now, we got our house (and the mortgage) on the 10th of June. Property taxes in Edmonton are due on the 30th of June. So we told the guy at the bank that we would deposit the money to cover this year's property taxes into the property tax account so that we didn't end up with a huge deficit next year and the subsequent increase in our mortgage payment that would go with it. No problem.
Except that they didn't submit our property taxes to the city on June 30th.
The epithets that followed that little discovery are not fit for publication in this blog. Rest assured the air was as blue as the deepest, bluest sea when I realized what had happened.
Okay, so shit happens. I get that. And shit can be fixed. All it takes is a phone call...
More blue air. I swear, whoever invented those horrible call answer systems needs to be drawn and quartered. Nothing sets me off like hearing "Thank you for calling (insert corporation name here). If you are calling about your account, press 1. If you are calling about your mother's sister's husband's ex-wife's dog, press 2. If you wish to hear these menu options again, press *. If you want to speak to a real person hang up and come talk to us in person because we're only going to screw you around until you feel the distinct need to rip your eyeballs out. Oh and press 666. Just 'cause we get a kick out seeing how many of you will do that."
As a general rule, I don't throw things in anger. But one day I might not be able to make that claim ever again! Answer the damn phone, corporations! Just answer the damn phone and let me speak to a real person. Please! For the love of god, just answer your phones in person.
Between the previous owners not compensating us for taking care of their garbage, the post office being over efficient with their mail forwarding services, the previous owner's not returning our mail and the bank errors in our automatic payments and submission of our property taxes and the stupid call answering systems I had to fight with to get the problems solved...
I need a drink!
(Just put a straw in my wine bottle.)
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