Willow Glen, California Since 1992
Opinion
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Reach out and slap irresponsible someones By Deborah Taylor-Hollis The older I get, the more the term "curmudgeon" comes to mind. I am not sure if I was always "curmudgeonly," or if I have become more so as time has gone by and I have run across more and more ridiculous behavior from my fellow humans in the world. My husband and I went out to update my cell phone and get him one as well. So off we went, virgins into the wilderness, eager little family all smiles, expecting to simply get our new phones. Only, like everything else in my life, nothing is that simple. Once again, I managed to run into the Twilight Zone. We walked into the phone store, and the one young female clerk was eagerly helping a guy on the far computer terminal do something about worldwide access, while a lovely couple was sitting in a corner sorting through the 8,000 options available for digital cellular service. There were also two 20-something clerks working on the second computer terminal, deep in some troubling issue. The two boys saw my little family unit enter (the fact that our son arrived using his "outdoor" voice and making truck noises while he whirled around the circular store made that obvious), and probably noted that I carried my dead cell phone in my hand. My husband went right to the new digital displays about the network upgrades on the wall, reading avidly, while I went from one cell phone to another, matching each display and its capabilities with the small deceased unit in my hand. I had wanted to switch companies or get a cheaper plan altogether, but I needed to keep my cell number, since it's linked to schools, doctors, and my elderly parent's issues. I learned that you cannot keep the phone number you have when you change companies — the "numbers" — are given out by the California Public Utilities Commission to them and they will not allow them to travel from one company to another. While that is yet another stupid issue I feel the need to take up and correct, this was not the time to handle it. I really needed the phone to work! So I wandered around the store, trying to figure out how much money I would save by getting two new phones at once but just one "new" plan, and changing the plan I was on to the official plan. My phone coverage and plan was with a company that was bought out by the bigger one whose complex office I stood in. I was, understandably, intimidated and confused. I really needed to sit down with a clerk and every 30 seconds or so I would cast my eyes back to the two young men working so diligently. I would sort of wave my dead little communication device in the air, and continue trying to comprehend the difference in cost between 3.5 hours of talk time and text available messages and 2.8 hours of talk time at $50 cheaper. After about 10 minutes, things were getting ugly. My son had had his fill of running in circles and wanted a phone of his "own." My husband was beginning to get hungry and I was starting to forget just why I needed to have nationwide coverage, even if "was" analog and would cost me if I wasn't within one of 25 major city hubs in the greater U.S. Meanwhile, the little female clerk had answered six phone calls and was still trying to get her customer 8,000 free long distance hours on nights and weekends except for Labor Day. The two other clerks seemed to be "enjoying" whatever problem they had encountered, for they were high fiving each other and punching buttons wildly. So I thought I would circle behind them and maybe get close enough to ask how much longer the wait would be before they acknowledged my existence. Imagine my surprise to see a video bowling game in action, with the scores for each of them tied at 280 a piece! Nauseated, I asked for their cards — which they gave me without even asking why, grabbed my family, and walked out. I reported the entire disgusting incident to a different store, advising them I wanted to hear from the district manager. I told the guy that Beavis and Butthead had damned near lost them my business and who knows how many others' as well. I told him I know three mature adults who would love to have those jobs and actually do the work, rather than stealing from the company by their actions. I also advised them that the manager should be fired as well, if management was there at the time of the incident. I also told them that the ignorance on their part was mammoth and that I thought it was astounding that they had failed to notice that they had hired, not one but, two world-class goof offs. Meanwhile, if you are looking for an hourly job, I think this curmudgeon can give you a brand new opening or two. Deborah Taylor Hollis can be contacted at DTHollis@svcn.com. |
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