Time Please, Gentlemen

I had a long day at work. It never fails. I planned for today, got in really early, stayed ahead of things and still got hosed. You would think a billion-dollar chain would have computers and technicians up to the task, but such is not the case.

Every time we get a computer update from the central office, our system is wonky for two days. We know it will happen, but the Help Desk guys always act innocent. It happened again today, even after I warned the guy it would. Now we go through the dance of useless steps. We know within five minutes if the guy from the HD is clueless or not, based on what he asks us to do. Last time, it took seven hours of deleting and recreating connections to finally discover that the problem was not in our software, but in a bad phone line at the local office.

Every time, they deny what we already can tell them: something they did in the update has changed or deleted something in our setting. Or, someone else has done something stupid and won't admit to it until caught. It's never our fault, but we have to endure their useless monkey-motion until they realise it.

And because of this, we have lost tens of thousands of dollars of sales, and pissed off an unknown number of customers. We've wasted payroll and made a lot of folks unnecessarily angry. Me included. But no one in corporate seems to care as the problem has gone on for eighteen months now. The HD goober today actually told us things would get better in a couple of weeks when we get yet another new system. He swears it'll be great and flawless. When I scoffed, he couldn't understand why I was so skeptical.

Idiots.

So, anyway, blogging is light and short today. I'm going to the Movie Night on Madison Avenue tonight. It's a benefit screening of "The Thousand Eyes of Doctor Mabuse," Fritz Lang's last movie. Only five dollars, and that includes Fat Albert cartoons for the opener! It begins at seven, at Midtown Books at 2027 Madison Avenue, at Overton Square. Lots of parking in the back. Maybe I'll see ya there?

Gotta go. I hope to get caught back up tomorrow night. See ya then.