But I Smile Anyway…

Welcome to the daily prompt! Today is your nineteenth prompt for Just Jot it, January 2023, brought to you by John. Thank you, John! Please visit John’s blog to read his post and say hello. And follow him while you’re there if you’re not already.

Your prompt for JusJoJan, January 19th 2023, is “complaint” Use the word “complaint” any way you’d like. Have fun writing!

Well, didn’t this prompt word come at an apt time?

I just got off the phone after needing to raise a complaint!

I promise, I am not one to complain, usually, but when something needs to be raised, I will definitely do that.

Now, on Sunday, I phoned my mobile network provider to arrange for upgrades for my handset, as well as Lil Princess.

Every two years, I do this, and it ends up being a part of her birthday present, and for me, well, it’s a treat!

All details were sorted by a friendly young man named Ali, and since I have been a customer with my provider for a long time, I got a couple of discounts, too. I was assured the handsets would be with me the next day.

Perfect.

I arranged for them to be delivered to the in-law’s house in case no one was home to receive them.

I got a text on Monday to say delivery had been accepted. Great! New phones have landed!

When we got there, only one package had come, containing Lil Princess’s new handset, but mine was nowhere to be seen!

I called them up to query its whereabouts.

The first woman I spoke (she didn’t even give her name!) to was extremely defensive, even though I said there was no issue with her, it was a bit misleading of her colleague to tell me a phone was in stock when, after she checked, it wasn’t and could take up to 28 days to be delivered. I asked to be transferred to someone, so I could investigate further. She said okay, then CUT ME OFF!

Oooh, I was peeved.

I called again and went straight to the option ‘If you are thinking of leaving us’. (Top Tip, the best option to choose with these companies, as they don’t want to lose customers, so tend to pick up pretty fast!)

The second lady I spoke to ( I missed her name, but she was very nice) was very helpful. She apologised profusely and gave me a £30 credit for the inconvenience, and I was happy to wait a little longer for the phone. (That covered the upfront cost for Lil Princess’s new phone. Result!)

Well, I didn’t have to wait 28 days at all. It arrived today!

I got home and opened the package to find the phone with the original seal broken, as well as replacement seals attached.

So, I called up again I needed to make sure I wasn’t being sent something refurbished instead of a new handset, which I was paying monthly through the nose for!

As I conversed with a dear lady, Sharon from Grimsby, who wasn’t sure what had happened with the seals, we had a power cut.

This is where the second problem showed. When the power goes, so does my wifi. And that is what we call with, as the network signal is awful in our house. (Though apparently, it shouldn’t be!) So the call cut off.

I ended up using Hubby Dearest’s phone to try and get back to the lady, knowing full well that the lines probably wouldn’t take me to her.

It didn’t.

Instead, another woman (I didn’t catch her name) tried to help but realised she couldn’t, so I was on hold for 20 minutes to try and speak to customer service.

Ultimately, I asked her to transfer me to the cancellations department.

So she did, but the recorded message said the department was closed and cut the call. Again! (Annoyed now. She would have known she put me through to the wrong office!)

I knew they weren’t closed and that the people I need to speak to were there until 8pm.

The power was back on now, so I used my phone.

Third time lucky.

This time I spoke to a delightful gentleman called Daniel from Lancashire, in the cancellations team, who took his time and did all the checks, assuring me after, that it was a new handset and that they do spot checks on some units as it is one of a new delivery batch, so they usually open a couple of handsets to ensure no damage in transit from Taiwan. Mine was one of them.

I did politely suggest that they include a note in with all the other paperwork they send with new phones, with a little mention of this issue. If one of the handsets has been quality checked, as mine had as I am sure it would raise questions with any other customer, too, if packaging seals were broken, and then covered up. He agreed. (Probably to get me off the phone!)

“Fine,” I said, “but what about this network issue?”

He bade me farewell after transferring me to Patrick in Technical, from Ireland.

What a lovely gent!

It turns out that there were some masts in our area that had issues, hence the abysmal network service. But the thing is, it is usually like that, too, without mast difficulties.

And I pay a lot for three lines and the large data allowance that comes with the monthly packages. And if the data can’t be used in my house, then they are misselling a service, as the website tells me when I add my postcode and the phones we use, that the network should be excellent! Full bars, in fact, even inside the house.

It’s not.

So, he credited me £40 for the last few days, especially as we had been left with no network or working phones during two days of power cuts! And said that if need be, I should see if it improves over the next few days, as the masts were being repaired tonight. If it doesn’t, I should call back, and I could get a substantial refund for the service I cannot access.

So, I have my two new phones, £70 in refunds, and a larger amount to come, if the network issues aren’t rectified.

See.

It pays to make a complaint sometimes!

Welcome to the daily prompt! Today is your thirteenth prompt for Just Jot it, January 2023, brought to you by Sally. Thank you, Sally! Please visit Sally’s blog to read her post and say hello. And follow her while you’re there if you’re not already.

Your prompt for JusJoJan, January 17th 2023, is “hyphenated” Use the word “hyphenated” any way you’d like. Have fun writing!

I often think about those with hyphenated surnames. You know, the double-barrelled ones that make a person sound posher than they may actually be.

Double-barrelled surnames aren’t really a thing in our culture, but I wondered whether it would be good to double barrel my maiden and married name…

Padhaal-Bhathal or Bhathal-Padhaal…

It has a funny ring to it. I know I wouldn’t stop laughing if I had to say that with any regularity!

Sp, no, no hyphenated surnames for me!