I used to try to give people the benefit of the doubt. If someone cut me off, I'd think maybe they're running behind. Or if someone was rude to me, maybe they're just having a bad day. Maybe they were abused. I don't know. But today I had a couple of calls in which just broke me.
The first was from Dell. They called me five times today. The first four times they called I answered. I either got a machine that told me someone would be right with me or just a bunch of random noises. Then I was hung up on. The fifth time someone actually talked to me. They asked for my wife. I told them she wasn't home. They asked for her spouse. I said that's me. Then they wanted the last for of her social security number for varification. I declined because I have no idea who is calling me. The caller ID just says "toll free number". For all I know it's some Nigeria prince. Then they ask me for her birthday. Again I decline. Before I forget, this caller had such a thick accent he had to repeat everything three times because I just could not understand him.
Eventually we get to the point that this is Dell and my wife is late on a payment for a laptop she got. I'm thinking this was odd because we're trying to buy a house and we are really trying to keep up on all our bills. So I ask how late she is.
One day.
One day.
At this point I started questioning who this really was. I can't imagine calling because a payment is one day late. Who was this really? Some radio show? Am I being pranked? The caller assures me that no this is really Dell, but how do I know that? All I know is this is "toll free number". (what's the point of caller ID anyway if every other call pops up "a phone number").
Anyway I said OK I'm double check and make sure a payment get sents in. He jumps on this and starts asking me for checking account numbers, routing numbers, credit card numbers. I go quiet for a minute. With all the identity theft going on going to hand out this over the phone to some guy who really can't prove who he is or where he's calling from. So I refuse. We'll sent in a payment how we usually do. Then he tells me that there's will be a late fee of about 40 bucks. Her payment is about 80. A 50% penalty. That seems really harsh. It's not as if she's been habitually late, or ever late. Still I'm not going to give him the info and eventually he gives up.
Then...
We have new insurance and I need to get a new doctor to get some meds refilled. I call the office and they start taking my insurance information. Ends up the insurance is inactive and I need to call the insurance company. Ok, I've worked in doctor offices I know how it goes.
I get someone on the line to get the problem solved. After giving this woman all the information she informs me that this insurance only covers fertility/infertility related medical issues. Really? I try to convince the woman this isn't right but she doesn't budge. We have kids-so it's not like we're going to a fertility specialist. My wife had uterian cancer and had a hysterectomy, so it's not like she's on the pill or anything. Why in the world would we pay hundreds of dollars a month for insurance that was only for this? Obviously this was a mistake but this woman would not offer any help. None. So I gave up.
I think that on a daily basis I keep experiencing just an erosion of common sense.
The first was from Dell. They called me five times today. The first four times they called I answered. I either got a machine that told me someone would be right with me or just a bunch of random noises. Then I was hung up on. The fifth time someone actually talked to me. They asked for my wife. I told them she wasn't home. They asked for her spouse. I said that's me. Then they wanted the last for of her social security number for varification. I declined because I have no idea who is calling me. The caller ID just says "toll free number". For all I know it's some Nigeria prince. Then they ask me for her birthday. Again I decline. Before I forget, this caller had such a thick accent he had to repeat everything three times because I just could not understand him.
Eventually we get to the point that this is Dell and my wife is late on a payment for a laptop she got. I'm thinking this was odd because we're trying to buy a house and we are really trying to keep up on all our bills. So I ask how late she is.
One day.
One day.
At this point I started questioning who this really was. I can't imagine calling because a payment is one day late. Who was this really? Some radio show? Am I being pranked? The caller assures me that no this is really Dell, but how do I know that? All I know is this is "toll free number". (what's the point of caller ID anyway if every other call pops up "a phone number").
Anyway I said OK I'm double check and make sure a payment get sents in. He jumps on this and starts asking me for checking account numbers, routing numbers, credit card numbers. I go quiet for a minute. With all the identity theft going on going to hand out this over the phone to some guy who really can't prove who he is or where he's calling from. So I refuse. We'll sent in a payment how we usually do. Then he tells me that there's will be a late fee of about 40 bucks. Her payment is about 80. A 50% penalty. That seems really harsh. It's not as if she's been habitually late, or ever late. Still I'm not going to give him the info and eventually he gives up.
Then...
We have new insurance and I need to get a new doctor to get some meds refilled. I call the office and they start taking my insurance information. Ends up the insurance is inactive and I need to call the insurance company. Ok, I've worked in doctor offices I know how it goes.
I get someone on the line to get the problem solved. After giving this woman all the information she informs me that this insurance only covers fertility/infertility related medical issues. Really? I try to convince the woman this isn't right but she doesn't budge. We have kids-so it's not like we're going to a fertility specialist. My wife had uterian cancer and had a hysterectomy, so it's not like she's on the pill or anything. Why in the world would we pay hundreds of dollars a month for insurance that was only for this? Obviously this was a mistake but this woman would not offer any help. None. So I gave up.
I think that on a daily basis I keep experiencing just an erosion of common sense.