OJT

i wonder how many hours i have to clock on the phone to tech support  before i can get college credit for being bi-lingual

is the search over ?

going into DAY 2 with the new internet provider here at the new house.

the previous trial with the 3G system went through several days of piss-poor customer service/tech support and while I saw a couple brief flashes of really good DL/UL speed, for the most part the turtle dial up modem would have won the race.

apparently the internet works better if you have a Laptop since it’s designed to be mobile.

that’s nearly word for word from one of the idiots who couldn’t close my account or connect me to a supervisor.

today I’m taking a break from yard maintenance to pack up the hardware in it’s handy lil box so I can ship it back.

Day 2 with the new satellite ISP is going ok so far. We’ve managed to get computer #2 up and running and the in-house wireless net is back on track. The office and staff didn’t make a very good first impression but the end product seems to live up to expectations. It’s not super DSL, but I can do multiple page loads and download files without things disconnecting or timing out. This is good. As a bonus, it turns out to be about 25 bucks a month cheaper too.

Why, you ask, did I go with the more expensive provider as a primary option? Uh, well, mostly because the previous occupants here had the satellite service and ‘hated it’. Dunno why. Their issues might stem from the electrical short in the wall behind the computer nook where everything plugs in.

The teenager comes home from gramma’s house today and with her computer in the loop we can test the bandwidth with 3 browsers. If the sat-isp can take that load we’ve got a winner I think.

brain freeze

I’m still trying to wrap my brain around the concept of a fridge that isn’t cold enough because a heating element failed.

or if you prefer .. its too hot because the heater quit

apparently the defroster (heater) in the freezer (yeah I know: heater in the freezer) quit some time ago and the resulting ‘frosting over’ caused the cooling system to get its undies in a bunch so it up and quit too.

now, I watched the part get replaced, which was kind of painful, (I’ve seen more active brain cells at a drunk hillbilly convention and better people skills on an episode of COPS) but I’m not entirely convinced this is the solution to the whole problem.

Given that the freezer temp is about 65 degrees F it will likely be a while before we know definitively whether the fridge will come out of its coma or not.

We’ll see. … in the meantime I’m going out in the back yard and drop some apples to see if I can change our orbit

App test

<Testing the wordpress app for iphone>

These are not the droids thoughts you’re looking for

Move along

update: phenomenal cosmic power – itty bitty keyboard

tyvm

Hey Thanks to SailorCurt@ Captain of a Crew of One for his help with the map this week and thanks to Robb @ Sharp as a Marble for fixing my broken anchor.

couple more buckets of paint and this place will be lookin’ goooood

it figures …..

if you page down you can see a really super happy sugar coated yummy review of the Apple Tech support service

I called them today about a couple small issues with the latest software update and a guy named Mohamed picked up the phone ……

sigh

apple a day…

I recently took the plunge and bought a cell phone. Not just any cell phone, I went full out and got the I-Phone. I-Phone is the Leatherman of phones imho.

**Note: at the time of my purchase the I-Phone came bundled with AT&T phone plan. No optional providers.

I got:
-watch
-alarm clock with multiple alarms
-portable internet/maps/weather
-camera
-remote email/addressbook
-ipod/music
-movies
-text
-notepad
-rollover minutes

ok, ok. Other brands will do some of that stuff too. Plus, the ‘jack of all trades master of none’ rule applies to things like the camera which doesn’t really dazzle a true photographer; but it meets MY needs pretty well.

Blissful harmony for about 10 days. ATTN: I-Phone is not gravity or impact resistant.
Much sadness.

I-Phone #2 was not from this reality. It was from our ANTI-REALITY. Everything #1 did #2 didn’t do.
Sadness x2

#3 fell someplace in the middle. I got it after a trip acrooooooosssss the metro area to the only Apple store around. It didn’t cost me anything; they tested #2 and handed me #3 after about an hour.

About 3 weeks ago #3’s battery went T-U (military term) and decided not to hold a charge.
sigh, additional sadness, and I picked up the land-line to call support once again.

**Note: I spout off about what I think or believe a lot. I try to keep my mouth shut when the topic is something I don’t know well. I have worked tech support, in person, over the counter, over the phone, via chat, for the military, for civilians. I know a bit about good tech support and bad tech support.

So far, I can complain about the consistency of the product (I-phone).
I can complain (and did, loudly and often) about the local AT&T store that sold me the original product and accessories.
I can complain about AT&T customer service, phone support, billing, website etc.
I can complain about the line at the local Apple store and the traffic to and from said store.

However, Apple tech/phone/customer service support is FREAKIN’ AWESOME!
I’m never on hold more than a few minutes. By ‘few’ I mean a SINGLE DIGIT number.
I always get a REAL PERSON.
I always get someone who speaks ENGLISH and if they have any accent at all its an accent FROM THE USA.
I don’t get treated like I’m an idiot.
They are POLITE and RESPECTFUL.
They LISTEN.
They are KNOWLEDGEABLE.
They talk WITH you instead of AT you.
I have changed phones 3 times and have had ZERO data loss.
I could go on, but I don’t want to gush at a level that destroys credibility.

btw, #4 is on site and working well.
total down time:
7/31 1150pm (2350 if you prefer) — 15 min phone call
8/1 am — Fed Ex shipping box delivery attempt (I was at the doc so I missed it)
8/4 am — Fed Ex shipping box arrived
8/6 — packed up #3 / applied label / dropped at Fed Ex shipping center
8/7 7:15 am — email notification of #3’s arrival at service center
8/7 5pm (yeah, same day) — email notification #4 packed and issued a shipping # by Fed Ex.
8/8 #4 in hand. (no charge)
**hats off to Fed Ex, I think the package spent more time on my desk than it did in their trucks.

8 days. Including:1 Saturday, 1 Sunday and the 3 days I farted around packing up #3. that’s unreal.

oh yeah, and Apple called AT&T .. got my monthy phone bill pro-rated for the outage time….

Suffice to say THIS IS THE WAY CUSTOMER SERVICE TECH SUPPORT IS MEANT TO BE DONE.