General Musings

Good day my friends...I figured to spice things up a bit, rather than just post on one topic I would simply rant about a bunch of different topics...

• Please Wait

So for those of you who live in Maryland, do you find it completely frustrating that you are required to wait for just about everything!? I mean let's get serious here, is it actually required. It's like if you want to go to dinner, you have to plan an additional hour of waiting time just to sit around and wait for a table. So of course there's the normal waiting...I call Verizon, and I'm told to please wait and remain on the line for the next representative. (that's of course after pressing #2 for English...wait...when did we get to pressing #1 for Spanish and #2 for English???...oh wait wrong rant!) Or waiting for traffic...how long will it take to get from the Shell station to 270 which is only about 300 yards away...5 minutes I sit on the ramp!! Or, better yet, I wait in line for literally 10 minutes at the store to buy tomatoes and cheese...(why doesn't Safeway have self-checkout by now...are they waiting for Giant to go out of business??) Why is it, when I went to the doctor last week, my appointment was for 8am...why is the nurse asking me back and 8:55?? Does all of this sound unreasonable? Am I expecting the same type of service in 2008 that I got in 1990? I understand there is growing population...do doctors overbook and have gone the way of the airlines. (explain to me, do they overbook thinking people won't show up, just in case??) Am I to forever be in a line for one thing or another...I mean at least at Disney I get to have the stew scared out of me on some roller coaster after waiting in line...what do I get here, food?

• "The Slowskys"

By now you all have seen the commerical for the Slowskys...those are those turtles that have Verizon...(http://www.theslowskys.com/) They are the ones that hate fast Internet speeds. The Slowskys are Bill and Karolyn and both my wife and I have made fun of my parents for a while now for being a member of the Slowsky family. (they have DSL and yes we did actually call them Bill and Karolyn, I know ironic names right?) Well I knew that one day my sense of humor would creep on me and bite me right in the butt! Well folks, we have now joined the Slowsky family! (Fios at least!) So I've been with Comcast as long as I can remember. In fact, I was with them when there was no Comcast and there was only "Montgomery Cable". Slowly the bills have gone higher and higher and just as we moved last month and wanted to transfer service they began charging us $35 more than we were at our old address!! "You were under a promotion and even though you're still a customer, you address has changed so now you pay the full price without a special promotional discount we were giving you" I was told. Let me get this right, so for staying with you when I move, you charge me more I asked. Silence on the phone. So I contact Bill Slowsky and find out how much the Internet/phone/tv package is compared to Comcast. About $50-$60 less! Why on earth would I then go with Comcast?? So I call them to cancel and they transfer us to the "retention department". This is a fancy way of staying, the shlub that has to talk to you on the phone and try to convince you to stay with them, after you've already made up your mind to cancel. (does that really work? I mean does someone actually call to cancel, don't forget they also WAIT on hold for while, then request to cancel and actually be convinced not to do it) So I talk to the woman who tells me how they have their "triple play" and how they service is faster, better, more reliable...I say, great, is it...cheaper?? Well umm, sure it is...then I remind her, you mean it's cheaper even after you charge me for the digital upgrade service, rent me my modem for $6.00, rent me a remote for $2.00 and require for me to have a DVR I must also have the HD service for an additional $8.00 plus the DVR for $15.99?? When with the Slowsky family all they charge is the DVR (no remote, router, etc charges...and still less!) After all that what else is there to say?? "Can I have your forwarding address we know where to send your rebate check?" Sure. Have a nice day Comcast.

Thank you for participating in this rant...we will now return you to your already scheduled program already in progress...When in doubt, just say "Manamana"...trust me, it WILL make you feel better!!