Observations From Hadleyville: CUSTOMER SERVICE

Friday, August 24, 2007

CUSTOMER SERVICE

I mentioned a few weeks ago that I’ve been working on my son’s new-to-you house. I closed off one doorway and opened another. And that’s not all. We’ve painted, plumbed a gas line for the stove, run new electrical and laid laminate floors. August has been so busy I haven’t had time to complain about summer heat.

Today was one of those “last straw” days. The young marrieds went and bought themselves new appliances to replace the decrepit John Denver-Harvest Gold ones. They purchased FIVE MAJOR APPLAINCES from a huge national chain. I don’t want to mention any names but their computer nerds dress like Mormon missionaries.

The upshot? Every last appliance has been an adventure in waiting.

1. The washing machine couldn’t be hooked up because the faucets leaked.

2. The ice-maker couldn’t be hooked up because they had no water-line kit.

3. The dishwasher wouldn’t drain properly because the pipe was clogged.

4. The old stove had been hard-wired to the outlet and goodness-gracious-me the installers can’t be expected to rewire it themselves.

Are major appliance outlets and installers aware that in the real world fixes of these types are the norm? Why are they not equipped with simple and inexpensive parts? Do they make money by coming back over and over? Apparently they don’t have any more expertise than I do. I can take them out of the box, plug them in and shove them into place. What are we paying them for anyway, manual labor?

Today, as I said, was the last straw. The installers removed the brand-new microwave from its over-engineered factory cocoon. The microwave was dented top and side. My son immediately got on the phone to the major outlet. They said: “Certainly sir, our customer service manager himself will be right over with a replacement. After all, you’ve bought FIVE MAJOR APPLAINCES from us and we wouldn’t want to lose your business.” …No, wait. That’s what they said in the alternate reality. In this universe they told my son to bring it in for an exchange.

Quality's not just a word, it's a slogan!

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WORDS OF WISDOM FOR WRITERS

The secret of becoming a writer is that you have to write. You have to write a lot. You also have to finish what you write, even though no one wants it yet. If you don't learn to finish your work, no one will ever want to see it. The biggest mistake new writers make is carrying around copies of unfinished work to inflict on their friends.

I am sure it has been done with less, but you should be prepared to write and throw away a million words of finished material. By finished, I mean completed, done, ready to submit, and written as well as you know how at the time you wrote it.
-Jerry Pournelle

WHAT'S THIS HADLEYVILLE THING?

Those of you familiar with Mark Twain’s works might recognize my blog title. As Samuel Clemons grew older, he became increasingly disillusioned with humanity. Towards the end he began referring to the Damned Human Race; employing the secular and religious epithet at one stroke.

I find I’ve not reached that level of despair myself. I still believe in redemption and I still see signs of nobility even among we fallen, damned creatures. So, I could not bring myself to call this blog “On the Damned Human Race.” I do however, resonate with another of Clemmons stories; “The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg.” And viola, there you have it. “Observations From Hadleyville.”