What in the holy fuck is it with people that fail to return messages? It’s one thing when it’s friends or family, it’s quite another when it’s business. Do people really think it’s conducive to building good will with customers by completely ignoring them? Or that by ignoring a problem, it will simply go away?
Example one: I signed up for an event. I believe it was supposed to be on November 6th, and I signed up the same day. My credit card was charged $45. The event was to be at, say, 6:30. (I don’t remember exactly.) Then it was postponed until 8:30. Then it was postponed until December 4th. That day, it was postponed “indefinitely.” A couple of days later, I was informed that the event was cancelled, but they were eager for me to sign up for future events. My money would be returned, minus a ten dollar processing fee.
What the fuck? Processing fee?
I e-mailed the event coordinator asking (politely) why I was being charged the fee, when it was they who had screwed up. She replied that she had nothing to do with the cancellation, nor the event (Hello? She was the event coordinator, and it was she who both called me and e-mailed me to tell me about the postponements and cancellation), but it was probably because I cancelled within 14 days of the event. I explained to her that I wasn’t the one that cancelled, they were. She then told me that she couldn’t help me, and that I had to contact customer support.
Fine. I did so.
A few days later, I got an untitled e-mail from someone named Barb, who asked me if I could please look into refunding Michael’s money. Who? I have no idea who Michael is. That’s certainly not my name. A few minutes later, I got the same message forwarded back to me, apologizing for the mix up, and that someone would certainly look into it. I never heard back. I finally e-mailed the event coordinator again, telling her that I was losing confidence in the organization, and could she please look into it for me. She just e-mailed me back telling me to contact customer support. I did. I have not heard back.
Hey, I know it’s only ten bucks, and that’s a small price to pay to know everything there is to know about these rectal fuck bombs. But now it’s a quest. It’s a quest to find out if there is even one competent person there. I suspect that the answer is fuck all.
Example two: I’m flying out of town in a few days, and I need to take something on board which the NSA might consider a terrorist weapon. I was told by the airline that if I explained I needed it for medical purposes, that it should not be a problem as long as I had a doctor’s note. I e-mailed my doctor, and he said it would be no problem, his assistant would take care of it. He cc’d her, and told me to call her. I did. No response. I e-mailed. No response. I called again. No response. Now keep in mind that this took place over the course of several weeks. It’s not like I was impatiently calling and e-mailing over the course of ten minutes.
I finally e-mailed the doctor back, cc’ing the assistant, and explained the situation. The next day, she e-mailed me back explaining that the letter had been sent.
She got my name wrong.
Example three: Every Monday I have a task to do at work. If I don’t do it Monday, then I have to do it Tuesday. It absolutely must be done by Wednesday morning. Doctors depend on it. Patients depend on it. Lives depend on it. I sent an e-mail a few days ago to the people that I send this work to, explaining that I would be out all next week. How would the work get done? Could someone else do it for me just this one time? What’s the game plan?
Silence.
What the fuck, people? Is it too much to ask that you do your damned jobs, or at least click on the reply button?
