Things have been busy recently.  Work has been frustrating.  Today I spent 8.5 hours doing data entry.  It’s a good thing Texas is flat, otherwise I would have walked off a cliff by now.  I’m rebuilding a company’s website and there is NO WAY to transfer their shopping cart from the current database into the new one.  Which is ASININE.  But perhaps that’s why their current host is going out of business.

So I’m getting to manually enter over 500 products.  So far I’m about 3/5 of the way there.  Sigh.

In addition, everything else I’m dealing with at work is frustrating.  I’m rebuilding another company’s website and their IT guy WILL NOT give me the information I need.  After numerous phone calls and emails, I’m currently 2 weeks behind because I’m waiting on DUMBASS to cooperate and give me the stupid DNS information - a totally simple request that apparently he’s too busy to handle.  After ignoring my phone messages and emails for a week he tells me he’ll get me the information in a few hours because he’s busy.  It should take him all of five minutes to get the information I’m asking for.

He never comes through.  I email him again.

Then he says he’s decided he would “be more comfortable” meeting me before sharing the information.

Um, sorry.  This is not a good week for me to drive 2 hours for a meeting at the office (see aforementioned data entry project).  And I can’t sit around for another week waiting to meet with him so I can get started on my project.  Had he mentioned his paranoia WHEN I INITIALLY ASKED FOR THE INFORMATION, I could have arranged it last week.  But he’s not the only one with a busy schedule.

He was supposed to call me today.  Didn’t.  After waiting for 45 minutes, I called his office.  Was told he got held up in a meeting and would be free to call me in 10-15 minutes.  He never called.  Big surprise.

In addition to dealing with Dumbass, I’m also in charge of a couple of tasks that are seemingly simple - but have taken a ridiculous amount of time to make headway on.  For instance, switching the bank account information for one of these companies I’m doing work for.  Sounds relatively straightforward, no?

It’s not.

There’s Company A, who is the processor for the manual terminal.  Then there’s Company B, the processor for the website transactions.   Company B doesn’t pass information on to Discover or American Express, so I have to update information individually with them as well.  This would have been nice to know at the beginning - when I asked the Discover rep that very question, I was told that I had to do the updating through Company B, and not through Discover directly.  Apparently not the case.

Company A, who is sometimes called Company C,  has some sort of affiliate - Company D - who apparently I have to update with the information separately, but nobody tells me this until I find out by accident 2 weeks later.

Company B, who is sometimes called Company G, does not receive the information we faxed them.  We send it again, via mail.

Then I get a  phone message from “Melody at the Credit Card Processing Company,” regarding some of the information I’m trying to change.   How helpful.  When I return the call, Melody doesn’t quite remember why she called me.  I ask Melody which Credit Card Processing Company she’s calling from.  She says she’s calling from Company E.  I haven’t had any dealings with Company E and have no idea who they are.  She says she also works for Company F.  Again, not ringing a bell.  After a lot of questioning, I am able to determine that Melody at Company E and Company F has some relationship to Company A, but I have no idea what that relationship is.

Company D has not received the information we faxed them.

Company B/G, has STILL not received the information we sent them, twice.  Though they point out that apparently it takes them 7-10 business days to check their mail.  Go figure.

I get a phone message from Erica at the Credit Card Processing Company.  Why do they do this to me?  After much trouble, I am able to determine that Erica is from Company D.  She is calling to tell me that Company D has received the information after all … but has not processed it.  Nobody knows why, or when it will be taken care of.

And this, ladies and gentlemen, is why I am ditching all of these companies in the near future in exchange for dealing solely with PayPal.

On Saturday, we made a special trip to Red Robin, one of our favorite restaurants and one that we seldom get to visit because the closest one is over half an hour away. They have great food and Button always gets a balloon - which, to a 2-year-old, is pretty much as close to Heaven as it gets.

We told the host that there were three people in our party and one (Button) needed a highchair. We were led to a table for two. At Red Robin, a table for two is just that - there is no room for a third plate, and certainly not for the kids’ menu place mat they always give you.

“I don’t think we’ll be able to fit at this table. There are three of us.”
“We can extend the table.”

There were approximately 12 inches between that table and the ones on each side of it (which were occupied). If they extended the table, the people sitting next to us would not be able to get out of their booths. And there would still be no room for a highchair.

We explained this to the host and asked if we could just have a bigger table. Seeing several large tables empty around us, we didn’t think this would be a problem. He said ok, and went back to the front for a new table assignment. He then returned and led us to … anther table for two.

“This table isn’t any bigger than the last one,” I explained to him. “We have three people and this is a table for two.”

He muttered some excuse about how he doesn’t know how many people the tables seat. I stood there blinking at him, trying to comprehend the fact that evidently COUNTING THE CHAIRS at the table was a concept too advanced for him.

He then asked us if we wanted a booth instead. Looking around, I saw several booths nearby that were clearly meant for 4 people and would allow us the space we needed. “Sure, that would be fine.”

He then led us halfway across the restaurant to … yet another table for two.

At this point, I began to lose my patience. “Is there a reason that we cannot get a table that will seat THREE PEOPLE?” I gestured at one of the many empty table around that would suffice.

He looked at the table I had indicated and told me that he couldn’t seat us there because they couldn’t put a highchair at that booth.

I saw other non-booth tables available that could have accommodated highchairs. I considered pointing that out, but was afraid his brain might derail and explode at the possibility of other options.

I asked him dully if they had any booster seats, and the reply was yes.

“Then please bring us a booster seat and take us to a larger table.”

Somehow, we finally made it to a table that had enough room for the three of us and our meals - and boy, were we hungry at that point. Next time, I may just tell them we have 5 in our party, and hope we end up with a table for 4.

Wow, could it be that WordPress is finally allowing me to post pictures? I dare not speak of it, lest it turn into a dream and disappear.

ANYWAY, a few weeks ago, we sent LB to Seattle to spend a whole 10 days with her grandparents. She had a blast. And we enjoyed the break.

I took up a project that I am rendered completely incapable of doing when there are little fingers poking and patting every object within 3 feet of the floor: painting. I bought some pots and benches, and ended up with these:

The project was fun, and I think I’ve satisfied my crafting impulse for a few months.

While attempting to purchase my supplies however, it was confirmed to me (again) how I seem to attract the most unhelpful service employees.

While in Large Mega Craft Store, I approached an employee to find out where I could obtain a glue gun. I received the response “Crafts,” along with the non-verbal indication that she was finished with her interaction with me and our conversation was over.

Crafts??? It’s a CRAFT STORE.

With the possible exception of “Nyahhhh,” I cannot think of an answer that would be LESS. HELPFUL.

J has the same problem. While in Large Mega Hardware Store a few days earlier, he asked where to find a flashlight. The employee pointed over his shoulder to an area which encompassed … the entire store … and spouted “HARDWARE” before continuing on his way in the opposite direction.

I can see why these people don’t work in an industry where they have to depend on tips.

Low and behold, we now have internet and phone.  It took Time Warner 3 days, 6,531 phone calls and a supervisor visit to figure it out.  And they were only able to get the wireless internet working because J went up there and figured it out for them.

And in other technically frustrating moments, this is an exerpt from the “Help” section of this new web-based email program I’m trying to configure:

• To reply to the sender of the message, click ‘Reply’.
• To reply to the sender of the message and to all other recipients of this message, click ‘Reply All’.
• To forward the message to another email address, click ‘Forward’.
• To add the sender to your address book, click ‘add to contacts’.

The entire help section consists of those kind of statements.  Truthfully, the person who actually finds that HELPFUL should probably not be operating email.

There is, naturally, nothing in the “help” section that moves beyond the level of “Ridiculously Intuitive.”  For instance, WHY does the “Check Mail” button disappear if there are no previously downloaded messages sitting in my Inbox?  Of course, nothing in the “help” section even comes close to dealing with that issue.

But GUESS WHAT??  There’s even an FAQ section, full of SIX questions that can be answered by LOOKING AT THE SCREEN.

Can I send HTML formatted email messages?
YES!  Check the box that says “Use HTML formatting editor!”

Can I add a signature to my email?
YES!  See the BIG BUTTON AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE THAT SAYS “ADD SIGNATURE?”

How do I add someone to my address book?
This one’s a little tricky, you might want to write this down:  You click ADDRESS BOOK.  And then?  You click “ADD SOMEONE.”

I have serious doubts that these questions are asked frequently for 2 reasons:

1. People who ask these questions are not people who can figure out how to submit a Contact Us form.
2. There is no Contact Us form and no way to communicate with anyone for assistance, and therefore no way for ANYONE to ask questions.

Thanks, guys.

J stayed home from work today* to wait for the Time Warner Technician, who was scheduled to arrive between 8am and 11am.

At 11:45 no one had shown up, so he called Time Warner’s Customer Service. He was told that the appointment had been rescheduled to this evening after 5pm.

J: “Rescheduled? Were you planning to tell us about this?”

CS: “We called you last night and left a message .”

J: “I didn’t get a message. My wife didn’t get a message. What number did you call and leave a message on?”

CS: (reads him the number)

J: (Blink. Blink.)

They left a message on the phone line that we’ve spent two days trying to get them to set up. The phone line that doesn’t work and apparently has voicemail that they haven’t given us access to.

I am speechless right now.  And for your sake, I’m trying to finish this blog entry before I find the words.

*Which may sound odd, since he typically works from home, but since we have neither phone nor working internet from home (even the plug-into-the-box internet doesn’t work on his machine), he has to go elsewhere these days to get any work done.