I Got Excellent Customer Service

It’s not often that I get to tell of an experience with a company’s customer service that has a happy ending or even a happy middle. However, yesterday the rules changed and when I hung up the phone I was very satisfied with the phone call eventhough my problem was nowhere near resolved. Are y’all wondering how that can even be so? Let me explain. Back in June of this year y’all might recall that we bought my wife a 2014 Ford Mustang which has performed beautifully since the day we bought it. But, a few days ago my wife, who drives the car daily, informed me that the car stereo was not notifying when a text message comes in on her phone. Something she has become very accustomed to, probably to the point of being spoiled, she has really gotten used to the hands free voice activated controls. Needless to say, her world seemed to crash a bit when it stopped functioning. Boo hoo right?

Being the good husband I am, I took a look at it since I was the one who figured it out in the first place. Having zero success I resorted to doing some research on the internet, tried some different things, but was still very unsuccessful in my efforts. After two evenings of playing with it I finally broke down and called Sync customer service. I was preparing for the worst since calling customer service for anything usually results in me trying to reach through the phone so I can choke a motherfucker. With this phone call, in this instance of contacting customer service, I stand corrected. He was polite, courteous, apologetic, and sounded genuinely concerned about the issue. As much as I would like to tell y’all that the problem was resolved I can’t, because as hard as he tried, it’s still not working.

However, he did teach this old dog many new tricks concerning the stereo and other electronic components in the car. I knew it had features but shit not all the things he went through. A car stereo isn’t just a car stereo any longer boys and girls. Little did I know, the last new car I bought was in 2005 and I was impressed with the single disc CD player. Anyway, seems we were only using about 3% of the features to our advantage, but now that has changed. Yes, I mentioned he could not resolve our particular dilemma over the phone but he located our area Ford dealership, verified the services they provide, and set us up with an appointment this Saturday morning. He reminded us that everything is under warranty and after they perform a system update that our problems should become a memory. In the event it is a hardware issue and not a software issue, the Ford dealership will replace the stereo. I will let y’all know how it works out Saturday.

I would first like to thank Scott for providing us with top notch customer service support. I appreciate being treated like a human being instead of a customer with a problem. His attitude made a huge impact on my attitude and I actually enjoyed our entire conversation from start to finish. Whatever they are doing really works and it shows people like myself who have been tainted over the years that calling customer service doesn’t have to be a labored and fucked up experience. So, my hat is off to Scott, thanks for not making me feel I needed to choke the fucking life out of you. But seriously, thanks Scott, you couldn’t fix it but you tried and you took steps to get it fixed, which will make my wife happy, which in turn will increase my happiness.

Countdown To The New Year

It becomes evident fast on the day after Christmas that this year, like every year before her, is indeed going to be ending very soon. Many if y’all will spend the next week trying to figure out what wasn’t done this year, what gets carried over to next year, and what will changes y’all want to make. I don’t fucking do it. What is or isn’t done is done, its too late now, its time to focus on the present. Unfortunately, I watch those around me who make excuses to why they didn’t accomplish a goal the set for themself. Want to know why the goal wasn’t reached? There was never intent, words sound good in the mirror and in front of company but often its just vibrations moving through the air, its just words. Promises are the biggest invented problems that man has created, we cheat ourselves for no purpose, and we hurt those we love because we are selfish.

As we, my wife and I, were playing our fifth game of spades, I listened to a compelling story told by my sister in law, who explained that she will be getting back into church because her youngest daughter (3) has been very fascinated with baby Jesus lately. Therefore, in order to broaden her horizons, she will depend on teaching from a stranger instead of taking responsibility. In the end, we walked away with 5 clean wins at spades. As well, I kept my mouth shut to keep the family peace. There are three things I don’t talk about with friends and family, religion, politics, and football. Because of this I live a peaceful life, because of this I still like my in-laws. I avoid conflicts on purpose because they are battle engagements that I do not deem having a purpose personally.

Before cards began, before we ate, and before opening presents over there I was approached by my niece (13 1/2 y/o) about helping her create a blog. Her mother chimed in and told me if I was going to help her get started please don’t make it suck like mine does. Can y’all tell, her mother is not a fan yet she tells her daughter to ask me because she doesn’t have a clue. Hell, I don’t have a clue yet and I’ve been up to no good blogging for some time now. In reality, my blog is not a good example, so we explored some of my friend’s blogs which are very impressive. She had a favorite, the blog of a poet, one I share allot of her content here, because that is what my niece is interested in, art and poetry. Fantastic, two things I know very little about. So, we spent time exploring, reading, and having ideas, but no blog was spawned. I was asked, by her mother, not to have a link to her daughters blog on mine as she will not host a link to mine either. Fair enough.

In the end, yesterday reminded me why I don’t dwell in the past or make resolutions for the future, it let’s me live today without being bothered by things I cannot change. What is done is done, it is what it is, the milk has already been spilled so to say. I lead a quiet boring life on purpose, I don’t like other people’s drama, and I refuse to get sucked into someone else’s little slice of hell. Oh, that reminds me, I need to put out an email I got this week from a friend I used to work with, because it shows how one person who is determined to change her life made it happen.

I will leave y’all with a final thought today. If you let people drag you down you can only blame yourself. It is your own responsibility to live your life. Only you have control over your happiness. Only you can be in charge of your life. And only you can be responsible for you.

CNN.com List Of Impacted Agengies

CNN’s list of what is closed and what is open

With the federal government now partially shut down, many government services and agencies are closed, suspended or otherwise impacted. CNN.com  has a list of offices and agencies that are affected until congressional leaders and the president reach an agreement on a continuing resolution to reopen the government, along with the potential number of employees affected. This list represents the latest guidance provided to CNN by federal agencies. Some of the numbers could change as agencies identify ways to divert funding from other projects to keep their workers employed. You can also sort each column or search for specific information, such as “FCC” or “defense.”  See the long list for yourself @ CNN.com and see what you think.