Today I tried to contact someone at British Gas, my energy billing company. I failed, utterly failed * Started live chat 48th in queue, 25 minutes later 12th in queue and logged out from website * restarted live chat 58th in queue, looked and gave up * Phoned, went through menu system and spoke to someone, after the FBI interrogation where I had given every detail I had, I mean every detail, as the last piece of information was given, line went dead. I still had not even explained what it was about. * Waited as they had asked for my phone numbers in case they would ring back to recover the line they dropped. I should have known better. * 10m later I rang again, went through the menu system only to be told it was now a 16m wait, so gave up * went through complaint procedure and web form, took 6 minutes All in all about an hour of my time, all I wanted was my 11+ year old smart meters to either be automatically read, or even replaced so that my energy monitor would work and to ask them how long this would take as I have been waiting 14 months. Complaints have a handling time of between 7 and 21 working days….so I am not holding my breath. You would think when they only have one job to do, they would excel at it…but they clearly couldn't care less about the customer.

I am sure this wasn’t the first time and won’t be the last for all of us. It’s rare you get to hear sorry after a long wait. The bigger the company, the greater the probability they will lack the basic courtesy. I won’t blame the folks on the other-side of the phone though. They are also like us. It’s the company culture and policy, tbh. 😊 Edit: They can learn a lesson or two from the likes of Amazon and Apple

> @"dfk41"#p17922 Just move supplier! Who to, who is better and I fixed my rate with them s it's £200 to move (£100 per fuel). Besides, I'd just like them to do their job properly.

@"DavecUK"#p17926 Ah, I must have missed the part where you mentioned the fix you had done! In that case, sympathies matey

Yeah any type of phone based customer service interaction is usually about as fun as plucking eyelashes. The thing that makes me go ‘grrr’ is drivers using their mobile phone. I’ll walk through town past a queue of cars at lights and at least 50% are on their phones. Mum’s in their Volvo XC90, car full of family, can’t even get off their Instagram… If I’m on the motorbike and I see it in a car next to me I’ll usually have a word. They usually put it away. Just no excuse. Zero. As a designer I’m always trying to think of a tech implementation to just stop it from happening but with navigation, passengers, the fact you might be on a train/bus etc it’s hard to lock features using the motion sensor as you need to determine who the driver is. I noticed Google are able to determine if you’re on a motorbike (presumably by lean-angles and speed in the gyroscope) so we must be close to a method. It just needs to recognise that you’re a driver and then restrict functionality to navigation and hands-free phone calls.

@"Ernie1"#p17931 Have to agree, using mobiles while driving is personally scary, not to mention 100% illegal in Qld. Very grrr. Only did it once, decades ago and the loss of vehicle control scared the chicken soup out of me. Seriously glad I'm not on a motorcycle or pushbike these days, it's an unacceptable extra risk.

@"DavecUK"#p17918 unbelievably frustrating and making a complaint within a systemically broken culture li,e that is pointless.

@"tompoland"#p17949 Lol, a bit like having to communicate by phone with a government department. Make sure your mobile battery is fully charged 😴

@"CafeNoir"#p17969 I also hate phone automated call handling that take what seems like a lifetime to navigate a massive set of menus, all with very specific seeming options. Eventually when you have disappeared down a blind alley, with no question seemingly covering your issue, it's press star and wait. Or when such a system just automatically hangs up on you!!!

Things that make me go grrr! Graffiti (and we are not talking Banksie's here). Went on a trip to brussels a few years back and virtually every building in the centre had awful graffiti including really nice old buildings but even worse…even white vans parked for any length of time had graffiti scrawled all over them. Any TV programme that spends five minutes telling you what's 'coming up' then re-capping after the break as if we only have the memories of a fish and excessive packaging just to name three.

things that make you go grrr!

CoyoteOldMan

DavecUK Not to mention allergy issues… dog only knows what’s gone into the “copies”.

DavecUK

CoyoteOldMan Agreed, decided to buy Nitrile ones

Cuprajake

There a con to with covid. We used to pay £3.50 per box of 100 for the good ones, they went up to £18 a box and the ones we used are still £12.99+vat

Platypus

Only ten seats in the GP surgery???? Our surgery used to be heaving but you could get an appointment in a reasonable time. Now the place is literally dead and you have to wait at least 6 weeks for an appointment whilst A & E is like a battle field.
The irony I found is that when you have a planned operation or visit A & E, no masks are required and no Covid testing is carried out and yet the other half of the country is still in first gear and “??working” from home because of ?? Covid.
Someone seems to have pressed the snooze button.

DavecUK

Platypus What they really are not talking about excess deaths, almost certainly as a result of this, waits for treatment and ambulances.

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/bulletins/monthlymortalityanalysisenglandandwales/july2022

JahLaza

When you make 3 espressos for work later and leave in fridge for couple hours before work and then realise half way to work that, the coffee is, indeed still in the fridge😫

DavecUK

JahLaza I hope they are in a covered jar.

JahLaza

DavecUK JahLaza I hope they are in a covered jar.

Sealed, in the fridge, she will have it for breakfast, thou shalt not waste, I will be just finished night shift!

coffeealex

What makes me particularly angry is when I see a dictator full of warped ideologies and misplaced nostalgic, thoughtless Putinism ideals, that is lost in an opaque vision of totalitarianism that is about as opposite and contrasting as can be ,to the bravery of Ukrainian people whose spirit and determination can only but inspire. Got that one off my chest.

DavecUK

coffeealex

Doram

DPD sends a 1-hour delivery window. Sitting at home waiting, I suddenly get a “Sorry I missed you” email (no nock on the door or note - just the email saying come and collect your parcel tomorrow from a shop 20 minute drive from you).

Phone call to DPD, they check and confirm: the driver never bothered to even come near me.

DavecUK

Doram Cost cutting….

Cuprajake

Doram

Cuprajake

The smaller bottle seems fuller, so it’s probably a much better deal. ;-)

CoyoteOldMan

Cuprajake Inflation? No, deflation.

DavecUK

Doram Your both wrong, buy the inconveniently sized massive bottle, and refill the small one with it.

Giphy - The Simpsons GIF by FOX TV

Doram

DavecUK Doram Your both wrong, buy the inconveniently sized massive bottle, and refill the small one with it.

Great idea! And if we wait long enough, the inconveniently sized massive bottle will also shrink to a convenient size.

Cuprajake

shrink flation,

i had a mars bar the other day, thought it was a miniature

CoyoteOldMan

Cuprajake My waistline is still inflating, Mars bars or no Mars bars…

DavecUK

CoyoteOldMan Thats a great thing, it means it’s not the mars bars, so you can keep eating them.

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