Here's my early morning view from the patio door
Air you can breathe, a working phone, lovely cooling rain forecast.
Weaving with a minimum of pain, yay
Yesterday was a different story, mainly phone related. Handsome Son and I usually exchange early morning texts, just to know all's well.
Yesterday we couldn't, no matter what we tried. Ended up Skyping dms just to establish the people, if not the phones, were operating.
I found I'd lost not only texting, this happens at busy times, but all service. No phone no voicemail. For an old person living alone, this is more than an inconvenience, it's dangerous, to have no way to communicate.
I checked the service for outages, none reported. Went into the website for help, and couldn't get in till I changed my password. Up to now it's been fine.
Then the site explained how to phone or text for help. How, I wonder? Then I found the chatbot which had me enter all sorts of secret handshakes then my zipcode, and told me there was no outage, must be my settings.
I went through all the hoops, I mean workarounds, they suggested, no joy. They said good day and thank you. I'd dmd the carrier via Twitter, no response.
Back to the website, found a help person, spent two hours trying to fix the issues, whatever they were. Finally, none of them working, they said they had to refer me to a higher help level. Which was only accessible by phone. They couldn't dm nor email. Since I don't have a second line, neighbors all out, handsome Son at work, I couldn't continue.
I asked them if my phone had become obsolete -- July 1, maybe new protocols, they don't always tell you.
Then my nice helping person said they'd tried checking the higher level people who told them there was in fact an outage in service.
Now they admit it! Shortly afterwards I got a text from handsome Son at work who said a whole string of texts arrived suddenly. His phone and mine are working again.
I checked back on Twitter which had been down on and off, got in and found the carrier had responded then cut off when I hadn't picked up in two minutes. They gave me numbers to call and text..
I dmd them a cranky message, that since I don't monitor constantly it was unreasonable to cut off after two minutes, that when I was telling them I couldn't call nor text, that was the problem, and that the carrier had acknowledged it was their outage, my service was now restored
Their answer came that they were sorry about the bad service, what was the trouble.... botspeak . Evidently the same program as the live chatbot which cuts out if no rapid response. Or even a slow response. Which mine were.
The other "challenge" " was that the stress had triggered an ocular migraine with visual disturbance. I couldn't see all the screen, full of gaps and flashing jagged lights, a word here and there. Just guessing their instructions but I did pretty well considering.
Anyway by mid evening the service was back up and running and my vision gradually returned. I was ready for a better day.
And today, as God is my witness, I'm having one!
Happy day everyone, enjoy the good bits, snarl at the rest!
There are few things as frustrating as a tech problem. And even though I've had some lovely conversations with tech help, it's always a huge chunk of time and energy that seems wasted. It's an outrage that the outage was not reported. And then your headache! I swear, if you could only sue them for emotional and physical damages. Okay. I know that's not necessary but you suffered both! It is indeed dangerous for us olders not to have our phones in case of emergencies.
ReplyDeleteApparently when there's an outage it's a closely guarded secret. I'm betting some form of dns attack and they're afraid to encourage copycats. I'd like to spifflicate the lot of them!
DeleteOh good grief! What a nightmare! I wonder why they couldn't immediately tell that they had an outage?! Anyway, glad service is back on and the air is getting better where you are.
ReplyDeleteYes, much better. Not a great week so here's to a much better one.
DeleteWhat a palava. And they don’t even know if they’re having an outage.
ReplyDeleteThis is why no one trusts technology.
I got those kinds of headaches and they’re not nice at all
I’m so glad your having a better day.
I don't get them much, and they're not prolonged, but they're not nice!
DeleteHours spent on fixing the issue and it wasn't even your issue. I hope you gave them a really good snarl.
ReplyDeleteIt could have saved them and me a lot of time and trouble to say there was an outage and they're working on it. Like my very good power company which is run by grownups. I'm glad the cell people don't run the power company!
DeleteCell phone companies, without exception, are bastards.
ReplyDeleteYes, I'd say so. Not nice people!
DeleteAfter reading this Boud, I suspect, we may be experiencing a similar issue today. That said, I will not be taking any action, not because it is Sunday, which is good enough reason, but perhaps within 24 hours this will be a non-issue and I won't have to become aggravated in trying to speak to a "life" person. Glad you issue, which really was not yours, was sorted out just with the passage of time. it seems like things did get better with the air quality, working phone, some rain, and less pain. The ocular migraine sounded dreadful.
ReplyDeleteA couple of times before I've had to replace my phone because it was overtaken by buy outs of the carrier, or changes in protocol, and often the first symptom was loss of functions, so I had to pursue it in case I needed to shop. I even picked out a possible replacement as I waited for responses. But it looks okay for now.
DeleteSorry you had such a time of it.
ReplyDeleteOutages are rarely posted from the business, from my experiences. When that happens, I step away for a while because it is usually fixed. I remember the days when I had to strongly warn myself to never throw the phone or hurt the computer. I use to have 2 cell phones in case of emergencies.
I called a popular phone company years ago asking why my good written down password is rejected so often. I asked if my account was being hacked. They had no answer. It became obvious that when there are major problems, companies in general are not going to be all that helpful until the issue is resolved.
I think that's true of tech companies, because of fear of looking vulnerable to more attacks.
DeleteSo glad that yesterday is behind you and you at least started out the day with lush patio views (and perhaps patio time, with the improved air quality?). And (carefully) back to weaving. Hope the day continued in an upward arc. Belated white rabbits!
ReplyDeleteChris from Boise
Yes, better totally than yesterday.
DeleteCyberspace can be very frustrating.
ReplyDeleteOur air quality has improved, except we are now very foggy. Daughter and kids have a major trip today, so I am a little apprehensive.
I was very proud of myself that as an old fogey I was keeping up with the technology pretty well. however the last several years or so I given up. Just lost my interest or focus. glad you are having a better day.
ReplyDeleteReading your tale of angst over the phone issue just served to remind me that I'm very glad I don't rely on a cell phone and that we still have the now old-fashioned landline. Yes, we pay extra for it, but it's reliable. My cell phone is for emergencies when we're away from home (and for calling the store to let them know we've arrived for our curb-side pickup).
ReplyDeleteGlad your neck is allowing more creative endeavours - just take it easy and don't overdo!
The landline is no use to me, since all my important functions, doctors, labs, communication with friends, is texting and dms. I rarely speak on a phone. And the cost of the landline even twelve years ago, was out of reach anyway! Twice my grocery costs. So it's cell.. But the advantage to an old person living alone is its portability. If I fall and get injured there's no way I can reach a landline or even an extension.
Delete