I'm fine if a little frustrated, but before I get into grousing, a reminder that today is our Free For All day, to post off-topic if you'd like, just keeping whatever it is within our community guidelines.
And also a very warm welcome to anyone who joined the Care Community this week. We aim to be a peaceful and happy place in which to post, but that doesn't mean that all of your posts have to be happy! If something's upsetting you in the world of Care (which as you'll already know is one of the hardest jobs on earth), then let us know about it and we'll try to help. Most of us here have had some experience in being carers, and some of us are especially experienced and between us all we've got a broad knowledge base of many care topics.
Now to my week, which has been an exercise in frustration, telephoning various companies, or trying to at least, and waiting seemingly for hours in phone queues to get attention. Does anyone else feel that the system of customer care that's arisen over the past few years has got worse and worse, and trying to speak to a human being with some relevant knowledge, all but impossible? How can this be considered progress? Cost cutting for the company concerned, certainly, but when does customer service cease to exist when as the customer, you end up with your hair standing on end and steam coming out of your ears! And often no further forward with your enquiry.
Even my GP has failed to respond to an e-consult within the prescribed time this week, and I wonder how carers are managing to get help from their practices for those they care for? I know my sister has struggled and recently had to have her adult son intervene on her behalf to try to improve matters. (Happily that at least is now seemingly resolved).
Positives for the week? Well yesterday I spent a very pleasant time watching shipping coming into and leaving Southampton port. I'm probably a bit odd in that I really enjoy seeing all those huge container vehicles gliding in and out and loading and unloading. It's a solid reassuring feeling to see those goods coming from all around the world to service our needs and it never ceases to amaze me at the size of those ships!
Whatever you've done this week, I hope it's ending on a good note and that you'll enjoy at least some of the coming weekend.
Hello everybodyFor the third time my husband is in hospital.
He had a letter for a pre op for next Monday. Yesterday passing blood etc. It's like watching a film repeat itself.
Going to ring the ward in a bit.
Waiting till the doctors finish their rounds.
I don't know what it is but even though my GP phoned for an ambulance on one of the admissions the other two we have had to wait till some senior paramedic triages him.
This drives me insane.
The one the GP arranged took eleven hours.
So frustrated and fed up with having to battle with them.
My poor husband really suffers while waiting and me having to cope with blood everywhere from a bypassed catheter.
They always end up admitting him bla bla bla just so fed up.
Changing the subject I ordered a set of small tables from John Lewis. A few days later they were reduced by eighty pounds.
I rang the customer service saying could I have the reduction please and they did put eighty pounds back into my account.
Commiserations Lynd. The life of a carer is so busy in every respect without other frustrations being added in, especially when you can see no reason why this should be. Sorry to hear that Jim's back in hospital in the same situation! Hope there will be a better outcome this time.
Well done with those tables. Luckily John Lewis do have reliably good customer service so you had a really good result there. When that happens you get a real sinking feeling. My husband had one of those this week when he ordered what he thought were 5 plastic egg containers for the fridge. He thought it was overkill, but said we could give a couple away, only to find that only one arrived, at an enormous price and he realised with that sinking feeling that the company was called 5X and he'd taken that to mean he was getting 5 trays. (I had to have a quiet laugh to myself. That'll teach him to read descriptions more thoroughly!) 😀
Good morning Callendersgal, customer service can seem pretty non existent at times and I hope your problem has been resolved. Glad your nephew was able to help your sister anyway. She has enough to deal with. Another quiet week but it’s flown by anyway. Hoping you have dinner with family on Sunday all being well. It’s so hard to make plans the way things are these days.
I would love to watch those huge container ships coming and going and think it’s great you can do that.
Hoping everyone has as good a weekend as possible. Take care all. Xxx😘💜🌺🌸🌷
Good morning sassy59. Wishing you all the best for the coming weekend and hope all plans come to fruition! xxx 💖❤️🌟🌈🔆😊👍
Enjoying a few quiet days off from job hunting as Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were hectic this week with studying and interviews and Tuesday was an afternoon interview up in Canton in West Central Cardiff where I hadn't been to since 2019 before my dad died and I left that toxic job in the December of that year when we went to Victoria Park and the Victoria park pub.
Tuesday myself and my friend had lunch in Pillars in the city centre which we enjoyed and a walk round the shops there and I bought myself a new coat and walked down to Canton and we still miss a pub called the Westgate that we used to go to which sadly shut down back in 2015.
After my interview we went to a pub called the Kings Castle which is a traditional working class pub that does drinks only but they were friendly there and I would return to them should I be that way in the future as I had never tried them before.
Wednesday was an interview at the university hospital for a recovery assistant job which I found was great experience to go through and picked up my prescription from the chemist after the interview and had a walk round the Albany Road shops.
That prescription was due on Sunday just gone and Sunday came and went and no sign of a text saying to go and get it that day and then nothing on Monday until the last minute saying it was ready and I said how they would have to wait as I was going to be busy Tuesday and wasn't rearranging my life for them and that's what happened I picked it up on Wednesday after my interview so that was fine as with them I expect there will be delays so I always order 2 weeks in advance so if there's problems I'm covered!
With health services I always allow loads and loads of time for those things as I expect that they are going to be slow and frustrating and when they aren't its a nice surprise!
Yesterday I stayed in my pyjamas until 12noon as I decided on a relaxing day in due to the others having been hectic and switched off the phone thinking if things really are important they can call me back later on if anyone wanted to ring me and caught up on old Coronation st episodes from 1992 which I enjoyed!
Back in November last year I had become extremely frustrated myself due to the attitude of the staff at the call centre at nat west bank as they had made a simple 5 minute job into a palaver and I had got so frustrated that I had sworn down the phone at them and hung up and had ended up visiting the branch in Roath who couldn't have done enough for me!
I find it extremely infuriating myself when basic 5 minute jobs turn into palavers when there's no need for it!
Tomorrow its that postponed park visit in Newport that I decided to rearrange for tomorrow after it couldn't have happened a couple of Wednesdays ago when I had an interview up there at 11 and had hoped to have got the 9am bus but it didn't turn up so got the 9.30 instead and had gone straight to the interview and I had felt miffed but had a think about was there any reason why the running of the 9am bus wasn't possible say staff off sick, staff on holiday, a member of staff taken ill, a passenger taken ill, the bus itself had broken down and thinking like that had helped to replace the anger and resentment over the park visit not happening as no it wasn't something planned to be malicious to ruin peoples plans on purpose as sadly things do crop up that make booked appointments impossible to do so best thing to do was to rearrange the park visit for another day without any booked appointments and then I would enjoy it more having all the time in the world without the stress of a booked appointment on my mind!
Next Friday hubby and myself are going away for valentines weekend to Swansea which we are looking forward to and coming back on the Tuesday afternoon and I have had to have said no to requests for appointments for those days as in no way am I changing my life for them!
They won't change for me so why should I change for them?
Another question is why exactly are others more important than me and the things I need for myself?
The sky didn't fall in when I told those places no that's not possible in regard to those appointment requests!
I don't mind an honest no that's not possible myself as its honest and I can move on then.
What aggravates me is when I receive a load of stupid excuses over why something can't happen as its cowardly to hide behind excuses rather than no that's not possible which I can accept as you can't have everything you want every time can you?
Baby is well and looking forward to her 18th birthday party in April!
in reply to
Yes, honesty's always appreciated by me too, but I do understand why some customer service representatives are fearful of being too truthful as the public can be so aggressive, especially over the phone. It seldom achieves anything, either. Hope you enjoy your time in Swansea!
I'm really looking forward to going up to Newport with my mate tomorrow and having lunch at a French Bistrot after we have been to the park that had to be shelved the other week when the 9am bus didn't turn up.
Back last summer when they were doing the rail works around temple meads I had said to my friends about why didn't we meet in Newport as as far as I knew they did a Bristol to Newport bus via cribs causeway and one of them had laughed saying how you have to be sick to go to Newport!
It was then when I got told they had stopped the Bristol to Newport bus as it wasnt making enough profit and those buses now only go to Chepstow over the old Severn bridge which nowadays is like driving on a rural road!
I hear your frustration! Very understandable. I share your frustration with lack of customer service. 😤 Myself and my husband have tremendous problems trying to get to speak to an actual hunan being who seems to have some knowledge of the services they are offering. We have also had to try to sort out issues with Social Services and they have not done what they promised weeks ago. It just makes you feel like you are banging your head against a brick wall. Ultimately, it can make you feel like you don't matter and that isn't a very good place to be.
I like your new pastime! I think we all need something to focus on that has nothing to do with problems. My de stressor is swimming and gardening. I lose myself in both and it gives my brain a break from the cares of the world.
Wishing all of you wonderful people a problem free weekend. xxx
Hi Helen, Oh I feel your pain where social services are concerned. My sister's last attempt to speak to hers resulted in a post-it note being attached to her file with 'no further action in this case, all her husband's needs are being met by his wife'! Yes, indeed they are, at the expense of her mental and physical health and it was a last ditch attempt to prevent her totally being broken by it all!
In the event it led to her husband having a fall, ending up in hospital and can't be discharged until they are both assessed! So that was not quite the time-saving solution they'd thought it would be. (The post-it note was of course, supposed to have been removed, before my sister ever saw it, so that was negligent too, and shows how little respect there is for their clients!) So I do deeply empathise!
What I love about watching the shipping is that it takes no effort whatsoever, can be done while sitting at the water's edge and best of all, not a phone or screen in sight unless you are daft enough to take one with you.... 😀😀😀.
Hope you are enjoying a happy weekend and are able to switch off yourselves for a little while! xxx
I'm now back at work, last weekend I did shorter hours but Wednesday I did a full shift as I've done today, incredibly tired, but was welcomed back with open arms, today I had a phone conversation with a customer who later came to the centre, and she praised the customer service I'd given her during our phone conversation, it's like I've never been away
Great news Jennymary! I'm not surprised that you are finding it tiring though. You've been through such a lot. I expect it'll take a little time to build up your stamina again, but this is really marvellous. You've done so incredibly well! It sounds as if your clients are glad to have you back again too! 👍
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Free For All on Friday
