Tuesday,May 19th, 2020
I am hopping mad! The weather has picked-up on my mood - howling winds outside, but generally warm.
How I hate those automated voice response systems and I had to endure three of them with zero results today. So much for service.
Frist, I bought a GE wall oven in November after my old oven packed up. Three weeks after it was installed (three weeks!!!) it imploded. I spend hours on-hold and in various phone lines to get a human who told me they would come to fix it within a week. Only after I threatened to hold them liable for all appliances damaged and my house burning down because of their faulty device did they manage to send someone within 24 hours. Sadly they “repaired” rather than replaced the device. Now three months later it is making horrible noises, so of I go again to call and email customer service. I even get a response to my email saying someone would be in touch. That was three weeks ago and I am still waiting. Never again GE.
Second, I order plants for my garden on March 16th, 2020. I have since called them twice and send three emails just to be told it is scheduled for shipping in spring. Well that is almost over and of course these people are unreachable. Never again Garden Direct.
Third, I disputed a credit card transaction. Initially online. I had the sense to call after not hearing back for a week to be told the dispute had not registered. The dispute was filed, it had only taken me 45 minutes to get there. So far so good. I then received a snail mail asking for more information. The letter arrived April 24th, 2020, the deadline for sending additional information. Of course I called again. 30 minutes on hold: your call is important to us….. blablabla; to then provide all my details to a person who could not help and transferred me. More hold time, when finally someone did take the call I had to of course provide the the same information again, just to be given an email to send the details to, seeing none of us have a fax at home. I emailed the requested information. I send two emails within a week following up, asking if anything else was needed; just to receive a letter today May 19th (dated May 11th, 2020) informing me the dispute would be closed seeing I had not responded to the request for further details. So, I called again. More hold time, more transfers to then reach a voicemail asking for a call back number. No chance to speak to a human. I send another email, but at this stage I am utterly frustrated. It is almost as if all of this is by design. Yes, I understand there are fewer people in call centers. And yes, I understand there is a higher than usual call volume, but seriously, to be unable to respond to emails or follow up appropriately? I am truly at a loss. Maybe I need to send an email to each one every single day. Thoughts?
So reason enough to go bash that Taren-Uchi for a bit.
Other than this today was a good day, certainly workwise, though because of call schedules we have been remiss of our daily walk. Thankfully there is an online bokken class tonight. Much needed movement! Especially since I made a sweet potato gratin with lamb sausages for lunch, bless the farmers market. Preparing nice food is one of the few – and very dangerous – pleasures left to us, next to our walks and gardening that is.
News today does nothing to entertain me either. The funniest item I found was on an Italian (of course) designers who have come out with a bikini range with matching face masks!
And the news on vaccine research is a little comforting also. There are 79 different vaccines currently being worked on with Oxford and Moderna the most advanced. Notice the pattern? Yes, I am anxious to be able to swim again, go to the dojo again, entertain again and travel again. The four things I miss the most in this current form of life.
Beyond that Corona news is sad. Worldwide 4.87 million cases have been confirmed, 1.55 million of which are in the USA, and the death toll has reached 91+K in the USA today. Numbers in Maryland continue to rise also, especially in the counties bordering the District, which also happen to be the most densely populated parts of Maryland. Both Prince Georges and Montgomery have seen an increase of 1.000 over the past 24 hours.
I am trying to not read too much about US politics as it is just too frustrating for words to see the amount of corruption and incompetence. So focusing on Corona related idiocy only and that is depresing enough. One being about the moron in chief setting an example for the nation to follow: self medicating, just short of injecting disinfectant, he is taking a drug to not only be proven to not help, but to actually be harmful - hydroxychloroquine - in the treatment of Corona. It is actually toxic. Maybe in combination with that UV light treatment it will prove deadly? Who knows? At least Pelosi is worried about him even if no one else.
At the same time the blame game continues.
I am not sure that relenting power and influence to China is a great idea. As the US withdraws from WHO (and other global agreements) China is stepping up only to happy to fill the gap as it has in many other instances.
I am hoping tomorrow will be a more cheerful day. Maybe someone from GEs service team will call me, the plants will miraculously be delivered and best of all, the useless dispute department of the credit card company might actually respond to one of my many emails. Would that not be nice?