yduras

Customer, yesterday: Situation X is broken, and I hate Y!
(Note, I have no control over X, only Y, and this is the first time any of this has come to me.)

Me: I've contacted someone to fix X in general, have fixed X in the context of Y. I can fix Y - which of these options would you like me to implement?

Customer: Situation X is still not fixed completely. I've been complaining for days to a totally unrelated person who is on vacation and not able to get their mail so this should be done already! You totally suck. Also, I hate Y!

Me: I can see that the group that can fix X is working in it. I'll give them another call. I can fix Y - which of these options would you like me to implement?

Customer, this morning: You're just passing the buck talking about some other department. You totally suck. Also, I hate Y! You suck becase of Y too!!!
(I check X, it's been fixed overnight.)

Me: It looks like X was fixed overnight. I can fix Y - which of these options would you like me to implement?

...

I feel like a freaking broken record! I'll bet real money that the next response will be a bitchfest about how long it took to fix X and how much she hates Y, and she still won't tell me what she wants fixed about it!

We use IM at work. Since the department is not all within shout-over-cubicle-wall range, this is useful. I've been leaving my IM status while on the clock as "I am a happy worker bee. Work is a fantastic place to be!", because it's sarcastic while being acceptable at face value. I just had this conversation with the boss:

boss: Are you sure?
yduras: Sure about what?
boss: work is a fantastic place to be?
yduras: Why shouldn't work be a fantastic place to be?
boss: i dont know, work is suppost to suck
yduras: (You think I should have something *really* sarcastic as my work IM status?)
boss: hahahahaa

Really, people should not goad me into greater heights of sarcasm!

...and here's a picture of it!

This was in honor of baseball opening day.

Also, for no good reason:

So, a couple of weeks ago, I went in to Curves and found out that it was closing that Friday. Well, oops.

This place is across the street from my office and has a discount for folks who work for my company. They waived the registration fee, and... poof, I have a gym membership.

(I'm leaving the tweets uncut so the Red Cross stuff stays exposed).

Did I tweet yesterday? I did!

• 08:33 RT @TriCoRedCross Would you like to host a blood drive? Call 908-756-6414 to schedule one today! (central #newjersey) #
• 18:12 Well. I have joined a health club. #

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

So anyway, I'm planning on seeing Monsters vs. Aliens tonight, down at the Regal Commerce Center (the one on route 1 in North Brunswick), for the 9:40pm showing. I may or may not head down to the area earlier for dinner.

( original tweets )

The same customer who pulled the "It's after 5pm, please do this by tomorrow", sent an update later, complaining that their work was "full of typo's". Well, #1, everything we had came from them originally, and #2, there was exactly one item on their list that was an actual typo (an apostrophe has turned into a question mark, probably a smartquotes issue). So, no, writing "Fax" instead of "Facsimile" is not a typo. Similarly, typing "and" rather than "&" is also not a typo.

I don't mind being told there are edits, even finicky cosmetic edits. I mind being implicitly accused of sloppiness when what's really happening is that the customer changed their minds.

The tweet really does say it all:

• 17:58 Email arrives at 5:24pm March 24. They want it done "by tomorrow, March 25, 2009". Yeah, and I want a pony. #

Automatically shipped by LoudTwitter

I mean, seriously? The customer's on the east coast, so they can't even use the time zone excuse. Someone really sent an email after 5pm, asking for something to be done by the next day. Not even "by the end of tomorrow", just "by tomorrow".

Our usual turnaround, by the way, is 24-48 hours.

Tuesday was heavy with the stupid. I really do get how someone can get anxious about a request. But, seriously? If I say "It'll be done by the end of the day", all incessant calls for status will accomplish is to make me keep stopping work on the request to chat about it. This... is not productive.

I quit answering calls from a particular extension after the first two calls. The calls to continue in. Finally, after I see the phone light up again, I mutter, "Call me one more time to ask when it'll be done and it's going to the bottom of the effing pile!" Five minutes later, as I finished the final touches, a co-worker walks around to my cubicle. "[caller] says she's been trying to get in touch with you all day. There's an account number..."

"Yeah," I tell him. "It's no co-incidence. I've been ignoring her on purpose. Also, you don't need to tell me the account. Because it's done. She's just lucky you didn't walk over here a minute sooner."

I empathize. She was probably getting leaned on. But.... aaaaugh!

I got sent flowers at work!,
originally uploaded by Kit Kendrick.

I got a call from the receptionist telling me I had something pretty waiting for me at the main desk. She told me he'd called the day before to get our address, and that he could only remember my first name. (I'm the only one here, though, so that was fine.)

Naturally, I took photographic evidence.

The attached note reads:

"Dear yduras, Thank you very much for your work on [project]. It was a long road, but I am so glad that you & I stuck to it. You did a GREAT job!! - Thank You - Customer"

This morning, on I-78, there was a horrible accident. It was so bad, that four hours later, the westbound lanes near work were pretty much impassable, and the congestion had backed up onto the Parkway. Guess what route many of my co-workers take to come into work in the morning?

I received an IM from a co-worker, K, who was stuck in the traffic. (Given the nature of the traffic, I am giving her the benefit of the doubt and assuming she was not texting while in motion.) She mentioned that she'd seen at least one other person from our office stuck in the same jam. After a while of negligible process, I asked her where she was. Having lived in the area, I was able to work out a back way to get to work from the next exit. I texted her the directions. A few minutes later I got a note that "about eight people" had followed her.

When K arrived, one of the other drivers handed her a box of Munchkins, to thank her for getting them out of the traffic jam and into work. She gave them to me, on the grounds that I was the one who sent the directions.

So, hey... donut holes.

By a quirk of the calendar, all of the holidays this season are Thursday-Friday. So I get Nov 27-28 for Thanksgiving, Dec 25-26 for Christmas and Jan 01-02 for New Year's. Otherwise I have three vacation days (and, iirc, one half of a floating day) left to use up. It's best to schedule them in early.

The other factor involved is that my dad will be in town Nov 24-Dec 02.

What vacation days should I ask for?

(Oh, that third, it should read Dec 29, 30, 31, of course. Also Dex=Dec on the last one, and it's Fridays, not Mondays. I really am a lousy typist.)

What I actually get, of course, may depend on what other folks have already requested.

Other suggestions are welcome.

The big soulless corporate cafeterias at other workplaces didn't have things like Wednesday's soup - "Cream of Cauliflower w/ Curried Apple Sticks". It wasn't bad. Given the season, I suspect local produce was involved.

Yesterday's Customer Service Week Quote:

“Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends” – Walt Disney

We also got another vaguely worded complimentary email. And on friday, we get a pizza lunch. I miss when we used to get mugs for Customer Service Week. I got a lot of good mugs that way.

We got another puzzle to turn in for a drawing. I didn't win either drawing.

Today's Customer Service Week Quote: "Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.-- Bill Gates" Also we got another vague congratulatory email from management.

I picked up this quote from an article about CSW at NJTransit, heh - "Rahway is known for two things, refineries and that other thing that isn't even in Rahway (it's in Avenel, lucky Avenel.)" -nj.com

I spent a lot of yesterday afternoon in paroxysms of frustration and wound up staying late just so I could get something actually finished. If it worked, I wouldn't mind so much that it takes so long. If it didn't take so long, I wouldn't mind so much that it doesn't work. It's sitting for an eternity for the opportunity to find out it's STILL screwed up that's driving me up the wall.

The winning swag so far for Customer Service Week is the $25 Amazon gift certificate. The two emails (one nonspecific positive message from management, one inspirational quote) impressed me slightly less.

The quote:

"Biggest question: Isn't it really 'customer helping' rather than customer service? And wouldn't you deliver better service if you thought of it that way?"
Jeffrey Gitomer

I did not win the drawing from Monday's crossword puzzle.

On an unrelated note, who wants Day of the Dead Chocolate Skulls? Mmmm... tasty!

Yes, it's Customer Service Week again. Monday morning we got a free hot breakfast (the emailed us Friday so we'd know. We were also asked to suggest a co-worker for WACTEO ("We Are Customers To Each Other") Award. Seriously, "Wacteo." Can't make this stuff up.

Later in the afternoon, we got a crossword puzzle. Correctly filled out puzzles to be entered into a drawing. Of course, finding the answer key sure cut down on the effort required...

Believe me, I get that the devs are scrambling like mad to make the deadline. But once we launch, I'm the one who has to support this thing. Which means it's important that I can make it work before the users call in asking how stuff works.

me: Hey, [function] isn't working for me. I'm getting this error.

it: Try X.

me: I tried X, but I'm still getting the same error. Now what?

[no reply, time passes]

me: Just checking on that [function] issue. Any update?

[no reply, more time passes]

boss: Is there anything you still can't get to work?

me: Yeah, [function] still won't work. (escalates issue again, cc's boss).

it: Oh, we closed that issue because the solution is X.

Aaaarrrgh!

Apparently the new tradition this year for birthdays (in addition to the detective work for email blast announcements) is a half-day off on your birthday. I'd assumed that our sub-group didn't get that, but apparently I do!

I'm not going right home because my backup is out all week (I didn't even ask to be let go today, so it's not that I was denied the leave). But I get to defer a half day for sometime soon. W00t!

Also, this just turned up in my inbox.

From: [BOSS]
Sent: Tuesday, June 17, 2008 3:14 PM
To: [TEAM]
Subject: Summer Flex Time Schedule

Team I am thinking in establishing a Friday “early leaving” procedure rotated each week based on certain criteria.

Can you all provide suggestions based on the fact that we need coverage of course.

Let me know…

- [BOSS]

We have a 8:30-5 shift and a 10:30-7 shift, so that'll have to be balanced out somehow...

One of my callers just sent this to my boss (and cc'd me):

[boss],

I am writing you this email to let you know that yduras is an asset to your team. yduras answered all of my technical questions and was very professional with regard to one of my clients websites.

yduras knows how to put the customer first and that is an invaluable trait that many people do not have.

yduras deserves this recognition and so do you for having such a competent staff member.

Keep up the good work!

Thank You,
[customer]

Always nice to have stuff like this to add to the personnel file.

New Gravity Press for the Office
Originally uploaded by Kit Kendrick

So, replacements were in order, after last week's traumatic theft. I was moping something fierce.

I needed a new way to brew tea at work, now that I actually own a fair amount of loose tea. I figured as long as I had to get a replacement anyway, I'd upgrade. This is a similar model to the InginuiTEA I have at home (that came from Adagio) except with a metal built-in filter instead of a plastic replaceable filter. This renders the teapot not microwave safe, but we have hot water dispensers at work anyway (and I could always nuke water in a mug if I had to.)

I hadn't wanted to wait for mail order, so I headed all the way out to Bridgewater Commons, as I'd heard there was a Teavana there. It was a bit disconcerting, as I haven't been there in ages, even though I used to be a regular. They're doing something scary with the food court and just enough has changed to throw me off.

While I was there, I saw Run, Fatboy, Run, which was rather sweet (done by the same folks who did Shawn of the Dead and Hot Fuzz).

new mug with lid, other side
Originally uploaded by Kit Kendrick

New mug with lid
Originally uploaded by Kit Kendrick

Apparently I was distraught enough that aiskon went out and found a new mug with a lid on it. (Not only did I lose a tea strainer, but the ceramic lid to my nice tea mug). She had to hunt around a bit to find one without any gilt, so it will be microwave-safe. I have absolutely no idea what it says on the side there. It's probably a poem about bamboo or something.

Thought I'd share this little email exchange we had at work...

Step 1, an announcement goes out from K that L has become engaged. The announcement includes a bible verse (in largish purple font, but I've spared you that):

( 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a, 13 )

A few folks return generic congratulations. Step 2, S returns another bible quote:

( Ezekiel 25:17 )

I note, aloud, as S sits within earshot of me, "Ahh, S, I'm not sure that's thematically appropriate." He replies, "Well, as long as we're exchanging bible quotes...". Several more generic congratulations trickle in.

Step 3, one of the team leads adds:

Team – While I’m happy that we congratulate and celebrate our individual successes (personal and work-related), let’s please remember that we are a diverse group of people with many different beliefs (religious, ethic, etc.). Please keep your work e-mails professional and neutral.

Thanks… and Congratulations to L.

S is kind of an ass, really.