arbitrary user

Dear ABC & Co

I am disappointed that you chose to take the “grey area” approach to marketing this event.By “inviting” all your customers to an event that is unrelated to their relationship with your company you have abused the trust relationship that customers have with “good companies”. I consider ABC a “good company”.

While we all know that emails of this sort are harmless, you must, and we must, stick to the high road in matters such as this. The fact that you are charging money for this event should have drawn the line even clearer… add to this the fact that the industry in which you operate is repeatedly plagued by claims of “spammer”, your sensitivity should have been to err on the side of caution.

I’m not angry, just disappointed.

J.

———————

Names changed to protect the identity of the company in question.

I borrowed the last line from the best teacher I ever had, Jeremy Gibbon — We were the top higher grade science class and he never checked whether we’d done our homework… One day he did check and almost the entire class hadn’t done it. He calmly used that line and then left the room. I had never felt more shit in a school environment as I did that day. Whether he intended it or not he taught us a very important lesson — Don’t abuse people’s trust… there is no room for grey.

Momentum finally paid up… R3219.

Yayness. Going to the river.

ath.

j.

Catch up: In case you missed it, 10 days ago my car was broken into and a bag containing pretty much all my clothing was stolen… 10 days ago I reported the theft to momentum insurance. 10 days later I have nothing but a bunch of empty promises and a few lies. Read all about it here.

—————-

Yesterday (Tuesday) Tselane (the team leader) told me that she definitely would call by the end of the day (yesterday) with an answer with regards to my claim.

She never called.

It’s now the end of Wednesday and another 24 hours has passed and once again Tselane has gone home without calling me like she said she would.

I called to speak to either Tselane or Carina and neither of them were available so I left a message… but this time I was smart.

After leaving my message and just before Thabiso, the message center person, was due to put down his phone I asked him why he didn’t give me a message number. Remember, Carina said that the message centre staff *ALWAYS* give the person who leaves a message a message reference number… This was her way of squirming out of not calling me back when I left repeated messages for her to call me. Well guess what, the message center people don’t give out numbers unless you specifically know that such a number exists and ask for it.

Thabiso’s exact words were “I didn’t think you wanted one“… well, Thabiso, how would I have known one even existed? Shouldn’t you have asked me?

I asked to speak to Thabiso’s supervisor who, surprise surprise, is not available. Funny that… So once again I’ve left a message for someone else at Momentum to call me and we’ll see what happens… I won’t be holding my breath. The supervisors name is Andy.

Momentum, if you want proof of all this, go listen to the call. The message number is 6264743. I asked.

A list of people at momentum who don’t return their calls.

1. Carina - The Consultant

2. Tselane - The Team Leader

3. Andy - The Call Centre Supervisor (We’ll see in a few hours)

IDIOTS!

I started this whole thing upbeat… remarking how I was lucky to be in a position to be insured and have money to buy new clothes in an emergency. I’m now more angry at Momentum Insurance than I ever was at the idiot who stole my stuff. I don’t pay the guy who stole my stuff a few thousand rand every month only to be ignored and lied to. Thieves and Liars the lot of them.

—–

Update: Thursday:

More and more ridiculous by the day. In the past week I’ve left about 10 messages with the message center people at Momentum. Not once have they given me a number without me asking for it… This morning was the best one. I spoke to Nonte (ref: 6268767) who went completely silent for about 20 seconds every time I asked her why she didn’t give me the number. I’m not exaggerating.

Me: Why didn’t you give me the message number

<silence for 20 seconds>

Me: Hello? Hello? Why didn’t you give me the number?

Nonte: Would you like me to give you the number now sir?

Me: No, I’m asking you why did you give me the message center number?

<silence for 20 seconds>

Me: Hello? I can hear you in the background… Why aren’t you speaking?

<silence>

Nonte: Would you like me to give you the number now sir?

Me: No. I want to know why you didn’t give me the number?

<silence for 20 seconds>

Nonte: Would you like me to give you the number now sir?

Me: okay, yes.

Nonte: 6268767

Me: Okay, so why didn’t you give that to me earlier?

Nonte: Because I thought you were in a hurry.

I.shit.you.not.

It’s like I was dealing with a robot who went into a cpu intensive loop every time I asked her a question that wasn’t in her pre-programmed database of question/answer pairs.

Tselane is apparently busy. Carina called me at 7:30 this morning. (I wake up at 7:30)

I finally got to speak to Carina and she said that Tselane asked her to call me and tell me that they haven’t forgotten about me but that my claim is being escalated to some other person who isn’t available… So it’s now 8 days since I was told that I would definitely have an answer by the end of that day.

I give up.

A million dollar reward for me
Each and every state
The Sheriff says, is you Guitar Watson?
In a very deep voice
I say, yes Sir, brother Sheriff, and that’s your wife on the back of my horse

- Gangster of Love (Johnny Guitar Watson)

Check out the totally cool video.

(If you came here via Google you should probably check out this page… The story gets worse)

Carina didn’t call yesterday like she said she would… she didn’t call today like she said she would… and every time I call Momentum she’s “on the phone”.

Is this really the kind of service I give you THOUSANDS of rands a month for?

j.

Update: OMG, I AM PISSED OFF.

Just got a call (it’s Tuesday morning) from Carina at Momentum… She is now spinning herself into a web of ineptitude. She claims she never got my message and then when I pushed her for a reasonable answer for why she didn’t call on Wednesday (or Thursday) like *she* said she would, she said she was waiting for me to call her.

My exact words to her were: (And I’m quite proud I didn’t swear)

“Oh ABSOLUTE RUBBISH!! Besides the fact that I did call multiple times on Wednesday and Thursday, what possible reason could you have for waiting for me to call you? You have all the answers here Carina… you are the only one who can move this forward.”

Add to that the following:

ONE: My car was broken into on monday. I phoned on monday afternoon/evening (about 6pm) and they fixed my window that night. On Tuesday I gave Momentum all my details including where and when I bought my undies and whether I paid cash. Apparently my claim was only submitted on Thursday… When I flipped my guava about this Carina said that I only called her on Thursday… but I never even spoke to her on Thursday. (Remember, I tried to but she wasn’t available.)

TWO: Then I questioned her about this and (after ruffling through some computer files) she said that she only got my info on Tuesday… only on Tuesday, like, I dunno, THE DAY AFTER IT HAPPENED, which was also 2 days before Thursday…

THREE: Then she floored me by saying “I only called you after your broker asked me to call you”. I don’t have a broker. She couldn’t back this statement up.

FOUR: As to why she didn’t call on Thursday after I left repeated messages she said “What was your message number?“. HUh? My whowhatnow? “The message center people will take your message and give you a message number“… Um. No they don’t. I have a txt file open on my computer within which I record ALL the info with regards to this escapade and not once have I typed a message number. Oh, and by the way. SINCE WHEN IS IT UP TO THE CUSTOMER TO PROVIDE YOU WITH A FRIGGEN NUMBER TO PROVE THAT YOU’RE NOT DOING YOUR DAMN JOB!

FIVE: I was plainly honest with them from the very first moment. I told them I had a large bag stolen off the back seat of my car in the middle of the day parked on a busy road. They are now treating me like a criminal by phoning up 5 other insurance companies to verify that I don’t have insurance with them as well.

DON’T YOU THINK THAT IF I WAS A DODGY BASTARD TRYING TO STEAL MONEY FROM INSURANCE COMPANIES THAT I WOULD HAVE JUST LIED AND SAID THE BAG WAS IN MY BOOT?

Idiots.

Update 2 - End of Business, Tuesday.

Zolani, Carina’s Team Leader, whom I spoke to when I asked to speak to her supervisor, *promised* me she would have an answer for me by close of business today. She has not called. Should I be suprised? Momentum Insurance just seems to go from bad to worse. This is after my claim was, in her own words, “escalated to a team leader”… Escalation my ass… Leader my ass.

Idiots!

I’m waiting for my supper to defrost, so here’s some musings.

• I’ve added a cool feature to my site. Have a look at the footer and refresh.
• I bought a macbook, it is awesome for so many reasons but I will blog about this properly once I’ve had it for a month.
• I will find out tomorrow whether or not my insurance company will give me any money for the clothes that were stolen out of my car. Submitting the claim telephonically was quite a hoot. When did you buy your underpants? Where did you buy them? Did you pay cash?
• Why do people say “Did they break into your car?”? Who is they? Is this a weird throwback to our not-so-cool past?
• I’ve been working with wordpress at work again and I must admit I’m liking it (again). I’ve created a new theme from scratch for the new frogfoot site (coming soon) and written a good plugin to handle contact/support forms.
• I’m going to the 2008 Oyster and Champagne Festival at Bloemendal Wine Farm (Just outside Durbanville) on Friday. All are obviously welcome, so if you’re looking for something to do on Friday… (Facebook event)

ath.

I have just been lucky enough to be chosen to take part in a new involuntary program called the “clothing for the poor” garment redistribution program. It’s a really great program. Basically the way it works is that you leave a bag full of your clothing (although you must make sure it’s almost ALL your clothing) on the back seat of your car and then park it on a busy road in the leafy suburb of Newlands. Right next to the presidents house if possible.

Then, if you’re lucky enough, you get randomly selected and someone smashes the back window of your car and steals the huge bag leaving you almost literally with the shirt on your back.

Ok, now I’m going to get philosophical and anyone who’s looking for reasons to hate this country better stop reading.

I am rich. I have a friggen 2 litre polo that chugs petrol like a bergie downs Late Harvest. On the weekend I bought myself a new macbook even though my HP laptop is in perfect condition. I have an xbox and I shop at woolies. I live in a comfortable flat with high speed internet access and shiny kitchen appliances.

Why am I telling you this? Because when some people go through experiences like having all their clothing stolen they get negative and angry and lash out against the country, the government and the police (and/or whichever racial group they decide is responsible).

I am choosing to deal with this differently.

I am so incredibly privileged to be in a position where I can go to canal walk and punish my credit card buying new clothes, phone up my insurance company and get them to replace the window and carry on as if nothing ever happened.

Compare this to the situation that millions of South Africans face on a daily basis. No running water, buckets for toilets, shack fires that destroy every-last-thing they own and no way to protect (insure) themselves and their possessions from the ravages of crime.

Sure it sucks to have my stuff stolen, but I would be acting like a spoilt brat if I let this dictate my outlook on life for even a second.

I hope like hell that someone who needs them enjoys wearing my clothes.

The saddest thing… My Superfine (now called Civil Twilight) extremely limited edition (ie. We only made a few) shirt was in the bag. Guess that will be making someone else millions on ebay one day.

ath.

(In case you’re wondering about the image, I had some time on my hands waiting for the insurance people to call back)

(oh, and yes, I know I was HUGELY STUPID to leave a bag in my car. Thanks for reminding me)

Where do I start?

Ok, firstly, the Mom Jeans thing is a polite way of saying “you suck”. It comes from the Hillary meme.

I’ve been planning on building a multiple hard drive mount for ages… Yes I’m a nerd, get over yourself.

Basically I want to build something that can hold up to 8 drives and cool them efficiently. This will sit next to my server and be plugged in via 1m sata cables (as soon as I can find someone in SA who has them)

Being the nerd I am I’ve done some sketches and technical drawings of what I want to put together, but since I am such an incredibly raging nerd I figured I would download the autocad trial and model it properly so that I would have a very accurate cutting list. (The chassis is going to be made out of wood)

I go to the autocad website and click download trial. It says that this offer is only available in the united states and canada… and they do IP based filtering to enforce that.

Now please, for the love of science, WHAT THE EFFF?

What is so special about your trial software that other countries can’t have it? Seriously? Oh, they’ll SELL it to me no matter where I live… but if you want the trial you have to be in North America. What kind of stupid, idiotic, short-sighted, ignorant pea brained idiot thought this up? There I was thinking autocad is so cool and I’m going to use the trial to model my little weekend project… and I end up thinking you’re a bunch of idiots. Well played autodesk, well played.

Obviously I could connect to a shell server in the US and download it from there and then pull it down to South Africa, but, THAT WOULD BE BREAKING THE LAW!!!

Or I could just download the full version that won’t expire via bittorrent.

Doing either would be illegal.

Obviously I did neither.

j.

(As a side note: Yes, I realise that autocad is windows software and I will need to run in it a virtualised windows environment. I could not find any open source alternatives that looked like they would do the job. May the nerdosphere have mercy.)

(As a secondary side note: Autodesk, why do you do this? May I offer a suggestion? Your software is very specifically for a particular set of specialised industries that rely heavily on it. People like me just want to model our little weekend projects. I’m sure there are plenty of people just like me who have probably broken the law (unlike me,obviously), propagating your piracy problems. Why don’t you offer a free lightweight cad program that can be used by hobbyists. I’m sure you know what kind of feature sets would be applicable to hobbyists and what kind of features you could only make available in the full version. This would result in an entire community of people who love your software and your company. Those kinds of people do not pirate. )

Recently I’ve noticed a lot of people saying stuff like “If the rand gets any worse I’m leaving…”.

While I don’t blame you for your sentiment, I would like to point something out. Living in Africa, specifically South Africa comes with its own set of pros and cons… a set which are as unique as our curious culture.

We live in a fascinatingly evolving time. South Africa has its crime, poverty and education issues, but we also have the singularly unique position of hope for the future…

Ten years ago, while the first portable MP3 player was hitting the shelves in America, we were in the midst of one of the most important political revolutions the world has ever seen. Ten years on they have the iPhone and an economy that is teetering on collapse, oil prices that have skyrocketed and more debt than they can possibly ever escape from.

Perhaps you would rather live in the UK? Healthcare issues, increasing crime, increasing debt, pollution, crappy weather and British people (I joke)… While I will always have fond memories of London, on the last occasion I was there (which was for 3 days) I couldn’t get over how it felt like things were slipping… Stuff didn’t look as neat as it did 6 years earlier and the people all seemed a little more depressed and negative than they did before.

South Africa, on the other hand, has potential and I’m already happier living here than I was when I was living in London. I have a good job, I work with good people, I get paid a fair amount (could always be more, joe), I have a wonderful standard of living and a great Afrikaans girlfriend. (Granted there are a lot of Afrikaans girls in London, but you miss the point)

And like I said, we have potential… We have about a gazillion unemployed people out there all with the potential to come up with something great. We have similar numbers going through our school system, which admittedly is a different system to what school was like 10 years ago. School, and ultimately African ingenuity, is preparing these kids (those who have a hunger to succeed) for greatness.

Just the other day I met two black guys from Guguletu who run internet cafes in the location and want to start up a Wireless ISP… These are not Rondebosh high school boys… these are boys who went to school in the township and are hungry to succeed. And the fact that increasingly more South Africans are earning money is what is making it possible… That is inspiring… if these guys succeed you know that their kids will have the opportunities that their parents never had. There are a gajillion other stories just like this.

Sure, there are stories of tragedy every day and at a level that is probably unmatched by any other countrty in the world, but, I like to take the Wikipedia approach… If enough people are working together towards a common positive goal we will exceed the forces working against us and ultimately live in a better country.

I don’t ever expect the roads to be paved with gold, but I’d rather live in a country with hope than a country of hopelessness. And there is Africa in my blood…