The Grumble Thread - No energy for a full on rant.

[arabella]

I am still sitting in the train which was supposed to have arrived 2 and 3/4 hours ago. It was only meant to be a 1 and 3/4 hour journey.
I need my beauty sleep, I prefer my non-sleeping at this time of the night to be audax related....

[Jaded]

The thing that pisses me off is the, "Use the website, it's quicker" message on the company IT support line.  Yes, well. I wouldn't be bloody well calling the help line if I could access the sodding web site, now would I?

Yes.

Although using the website to find the number so that you can be put on hold can be damn near impossible.

[Kim]

Throw in a bit of VOIP for good measure...

[TheLurker]

Although using the website to find the number so that you can be put on hold can be damn near impossible.

I have it writted down on this piece of paper wot I have here in my hand. </bluebottle>

[delthebike]

NHS Southend have invited me for a targeted lung health check which is fine by me, however the contact number they give to arrange things is an 0300 number and is charged by BT at 27p/min. Why are they using a high price number as it must put people off calling?

Fortunately for me I have 700 free minutes and 0300 numbers are included in that for up to one hour on a single call.

[Kim]

NHS Southend have invited me for a targeted lung health check which is fine by me, however the contact number they give to arrange things is an 0300 number and is charged by BT at 27p/min. Why are they using a high price number as it must put people off calling?

Fortunately for me I have 700 free minutes and 0300 numbers are included in that for up to one hour on a single call.

This is a telco problem, not an NHS problem.  030 is the allocated non-geographical range for not-for-profit organisations, and calls should cost the same as to an 01 or 02 number.  (The weasel point is whether they allow you to use inclusive minutes.)

[PhilO]

The simple fact is that businesses want you to use their websites and not call them at all. It is far far cheaper to do customer handling via websites than over the phone , so anything that can be done to drive you to the website is fair game.

Conversely, my grumble is all the organisations (usually the small businesses, admittedly) who list online contact methods (Email, SMS, FaceAche, etc), but completely ignore anything other than a phone call.  I'm capable of phoning, merely hate the bloody things - it must be so much worse for people who can't actually use the phone. Why publish Email details on your website if you're not going to respond? 

[Kim]

The simple fact is that businesses want you to use their websites and not call them at all. It is far far cheaper to do customer handling via websites than over the phone , so anything that can be done to drive you to the website is fair game.

Conversely, my grumble is all the organisations (usually the small businesses, admittedly) who list online contact methods (Email, SMS, FaceAche, etc), but completely ignore anything other than a phone call.  I'm capable of phoning, merely hate the bloody things - it must be so much worse for people who can't actually use the phone. Why publish Email details on your website if you're not going to respond? 

Particularly irksome are the ones who respond to email by phoning you, which is simply rude.  I'm glaring at you, Spa Cycles.

[hellymedic]

I registered with Morrison's to place an emergency groceries order with them, which I have thankfully³ been able to cancel.¹

I notice they have a 'cash back' / discount scheme that entices you to sign up to one of those scammy £15/month subscription thieves; beware!

1) I had mistakenly arranged my Sainsbury's delivery to go my parents' address today, which would have been disastrous!² There weren't any available delivery slots for my address at the time, though I managed to snap one up later.

I have extensively destocked my fridge, kitchen & fruit bowl.

2) Dad's in hospital, extremely sick; Mum's with him and they really don't need/want my bacon!

3) Morrison's deterred me because they were pricy, seemed to offer no option on unavailability/substitution and didn't seem to permit ordering small quantities of greengroceries.

[ian]

The simple fact is that businesses want you to use their websites and not call them at all. It is far far cheaper to do customer handling via websites than over the phone , so anything that can be done to drive you to the website is fair game.

Conversely, my grumble is all the organisations (usually the small businesses, admittedly) who list online contact methods (Email, SMS, FaceAche, etc), but completely ignore anything other than a phone call.  I'm capable of phoning, merely hate the bloody things - it must be so much worse for people who can't actually use the phone. Why publish Email details on your website if you're not going to respond? 

It's the ones that respond to your email (usually after 48+ hours) with a 'call our support numer.' Had I wanted to do that, I would have done that. Believe me, the enticements of your on-hold system aren't something I'm seeking out.

[barakta]

I'm deaf and I routinely say "I can't call cos I am deaf, please use email as a reasonable adjustment".

There are still a number of numpties who will reply with "call us on".

I then remind them I told them I was deaf and sometimes numpty will keep it up.

I made the Director of PALS and Clinical Care literally Face Palm during a meeting about another accessfail (which they handled really well) and at the end I added printouts of correspondence with Some Numpty In Physio Services.

We had already been discussing the NHS Accessible Information Standard which I know inside out (I know the guy who sued the Secretary of State for Health into it) and had been constructive about "gaps that need fixing".

I got an apology later that week from the head of physio and to be fair, they haven't been stupid at me by email since...

But it's not always that simple. I'm '-' to giving NatWest a blast with the Data Protection Act where I'll explicitly state they can SMS but not voicecall me and a breach WILL be pursued vigorously via the ICO or more likely litigation cos incoming calls are POO.

[ian]

In other news, booking train tickets. Look, I don't know when I'm travelling, so I'll just book a return ticket. What kind of ticket-site gymnastics do you have to contort yourself through to find the non-advanced ticket options? Eventual success, I find the good old-fashioned super-off-peak, off-peak, anytime. Yet wait, when are these fares available, for which trains, why are there two of each which seem to cover overlapping times? There's a super-off-peak that's even superer super-off-peak, yet they seem to be the same trains, but cost me £35 less than the less super super-off-peak. Is there any intimation as to the difference? Maybe there's an invisible pixel I can click to learn the secret? Undoubtedly if I choose the wrong one, I'll be cast from the train somewhere in Northamptonshire. I don't want that. No one wants that.

Next step, how do I make the return ticket first class? Surely they want to make the already ambitious heist of my bank account easy. On no, they do not. You are in a maze of convoluted search options, none of which say 'first class.' Eventually, I need a cup of tea to recuperate, even Indiana Jones didn't find treasure so difficult to find (even as tawdry sequels go, I don't think Indiana Jones and the Southern Railway Website is going to be in cinemas anytime soon).

One cup of tea later, 'your session has timed out.'

The last time I did this I managed to book a ticket that looked like a return, but wasn't, the little checkbox had gone for plausible deniability. You might have clicked me, who can say, do you have any witnesses? So I had to book again and claim a refund minus £10 because that how much the jam costs to fill one of Nation Rail's diabolical Babbage-engines.

Then, of course, when I turned up at the station for me return trip, the train on my booking didn't actually exist. Oh, I should add that I can't book my train from my actual station, or I can, but it's automatically about £80 more because such fares only exist from St Pancras. How it costs £80 extra when it costs £10-15 in real money from here to the centre of the capital is another mystery.

Trains in Switzerland, on the other hand: first or second class, please. That's really about it.

[Polar Bear]

Well, nobody in Northamptonshire wants that.  Probably ...  🤔 🤣

[Mr Larrington]

The battery on the Perfectly Good Gentleman’s Mountain Bicycle's computer appears to be dying.  Now I'll have to find the fucking manual to program it again after replacing it

[Kim]

The battery on the Perfectly Good Gentleman’s Mountain Bicycle's computer appears to be dying.  Now I'll have to find the fucking manual to program it again after replacing it

It might keep the settings if you're really quick at swapping it?

[Mr Larrington]

Might try it tomorrow if it ent chucking down when I need to venture into the blasted wilderness south of the Lea Bridge Road.  Otherwise it can wait and I'll get the bus.

[hellymedic]

The battery on the Perfectly Good Gentleman’s Mountain Bicycle's computer appears to be dying.  Now I'll have to find the fucking manual to program it again after replacing it

It might keep the settings if you're really quick at swapping it?

I think the late great Sheldon Brown had generic instructions on his website.

Calibration constants are usually the tyre cicumference in millimetrs and many devices default to some sort of 'standard ATB wheel size after resetting.

[Pingu]

The battery on the Perfectly Good Gentleman’s Mountain Bicycle's computer appears to be dying.  Now I'll have to find the fucking manual to program it again after replacing it

It'll probably be online somewhere. I have a link in my browser to mine.

[Kim]

The battery on the Perfectly Good Gentleman’s Mountain Bicycle's computer appears to be dying.  Now I'll have to find the fucking manual to program it again after replacing it

It might keep the settings if you're really quick at swapping it?

I think the late great Sheldon Brown had generic instructions on his website.

Calibration constants are usually the tyre cicumference in millimetrs and many devices default to some sort of 'standard ATB wheel size after resetting.

The wheel circumference is the easy bit.  It's the incantation required to set it that's elusive.  See also: Setting the clock on the oven.

[Kim]

The battery on the Perfectly Good Gentleman’s Mountain Bicycle's computer appears to be dying.  Now I'll have to find the fucking manual to program it again after replacing it

It'll probably be online somewhere. I have a link in my browser to mine.

This Unit hereby endorses this product, service or sentiment.

(I'm from the 1990s and my partner swears at university websites for a living, so I actually go one further and maintain a local archive of destruction manual PDFs.)

[Mr Larrington]

(Checks Dropbox)

Oh, look!  Trek_computer.pdf!  Hurrah!

[Kim]

(Checks Dropbox)

Oh, look!  Trek_computer.pdf!  Hurrah!

Recognise, Picard Jean-Luc. Recognise Riker, William T
Twenty seconds to auto-destruct...
Ten seconds to auto-destruct...

[Mr Larrington]

+++ ¡Vaya! ¡Aquí viene el queso! +++

[hellymedic]

My bank's online banking 'theme' has updated from perfectly serviceable black, grey and shades of blue to pink, magenta and purpe, which I find harder to read and Do Not Like.

[Beardy]

For some obscure reason which what I have not fathomed yet, the contactless payment facility of my newer bank account does not work at John Lewis, whereas it does work in the adjacent Waitrose. The same bank account Visa card will also not work via Apple Pay on Big River Co. Whereas it works at lots of other online retailers. It’s very irritating.