Friday 15th Feb

I’ve got to wait in this morning as an engineer is due to call between 8am-1pm, to look at my Digital TV box. The company couldn’t be more precise on the time; I suspect they might see it as giving some commitment the customer if they were. As you will know I’ve been having something of a catalogue of issues/problems/complaints with my service and have spent many happy minutes talking to India about it. Now two weeks since it was booked the day has dawned, the engineer ids due, and I have a five hour window I need to stay in for. Honestly how do working people manage? I got a reminder text yesterday telling me that the appointment was due, and containing an implicit threat that if it the service problem was my fault I might be charged. I couldn’t help thinking that this sort of message might scare and worry the frail and needy in our society, making them cancel appointments for fear of being charged, and having them living with a sub-standard service. Unfortunately this is just indicative of how large corporate companies seem to treat their customers today. Desperate to get your business, then happy to provide a poor service when they’ve got you. If it works it’s great, if it doesn’t - the very best of luck to you. In my case the engineer arrived mid-morning, listened to what I had to say and changed the box, while asking why they hadn’t just sent me a replacement out? My question exactly. I can only guess that option wasn’t open to our call centre friends in the sub-continent.

I took the eldest out to practice her driving in the evening. We found an empty-ish supermarket car park to practice driving figures-of-eight in. She has a habit of spinning the wheel and not feeding it. As the shops around us closed I was amazed by the number of young people who walked straight in front of us whilst texting, or calling on their mobiles, oblivious to the danger. My nerves were also being slightly strained by how close we always appeared to be getting, to one particular lamp post in the middle of the car park. Though I was assured, by the eldest, that she had plenty of room, cold comfort though that was. We then nipped just down the road, where there is a quiet stretch where she drove up and down. After about five minutes a fox appeared at the side of the road, a site that is not unusual in this area, any time when you’re out after 10:30pm. Amazingly the eldest hadn’t seen one before which I found quite surprising. Either we’re getting her to bed early, or she goes around with her eyes closed, and thinking about the youngsters walking in front of the car earlier I suspect it may be the latter.

Yours paying attention

Jay