Outsourced Help Desk really helpful?

I am sure all of us have experienced this before in one way or another. Calling the help desk for any kind of product malfunction you can think of and getting a customer service person from INDIA on the other line. Well, recently while having trouble with our HP printer at work after a minor power outage, we gave HP a call. Connected with their outsourced help desk in INDIA we preceded to go through the steps to get this thing fixed and printing again.

First we get to tell the lady that we have been through all of the normal steps; unplug, plug in, shutdown, reboot. You know, all of the things that every one of us knows already since owning any piece of tech equipment. She says "ok" and we are off to find the problem.

First problem we encounter is with the fact that the lady is talking to us like we are some kind of sales rep. For the company and we know every little thing about this printer. Maybe we do, BUT isn't she supposed to be able to help a complete idiot step by step? Either way, their first plan of attack is to make you go through a list of steps which seem to be quite similar to what you may have done BEFORE you even called the help desk in the first place. Once being told that step has been done already, she moves to the next steps of a "new" process, one at a time. In the meantime, by the 3rd step we realize that it's the same thing just in a different order. What the F*ck?? Finally we have given up since she isn't helping us at all. Nothing she has said has done any good.

Now she feels defeated and has to issue a ticket number, ask for our name and number (as if they will ever call) and make it sound like they are going to check into the problem and call us back. Guess how long the phone call took? 1 HOUR. Yup, one full hour of absolute nothing. How much can a large company like HP really be saving by sending all of their calls to a call center in INDIA?? Nothing gets fixed, customers get pissed and ultimately tell other people and never buy from them again. To me it just seems like a waste of money instead of a savings in any way.

Has just about everyone dealt with a situation like this? According to conference-board.org: "Eighty Percent of Companies That Outsource HR Functions Would Do So Again". How pathetic is this?

Enjoy.

Hey Give that man a Steak Sandwich...oh wait....

.....He is the Steak Sandwich king. Geno's Steaks became my hero for the week. In his restaurant he posted a sign at the register that states:

"This is America, when ordering please speak English"

Harmless, yet to the EXACT point, right? Well, Geno says for the most part it hasn't been a big deal. There is a Latino Group that is planning to make a group order only in Spanish to protest. Ok, fine you don't like his sign, but what are you going to do when you don't get what you ordered? Piss and moan I am sure.
That's the thing with people who protest in this way. They see a quick opportunity to strike, but when something doesn't go there way, they have no problems crying about it. That isn't right. Where on Earth would you think that a bunch of white-bred-cracker-restaurant-folk are going to know what you are talking about if it isn't in English?

Whatever, but Kudos to Geno.

Enjoy!

Legal and Illegal

Are there still some immigrants out there that don't quite understand the difference between LEGAL and ILLEGAL?

If so, please check the actual meanings


Legal immigrants are lawful permanent residents of the United States.

Illegal immigration describes the long term shift of populations across national borders without complying with the legal requirements.

I am guessing that if you are NOT LAWFUL as an immigrant, then you are ILLEGAL. So, if I were to go across the border and NOT abide by the laws of the country I am in, I would be an illegal immigrant.
With that said, we have laws in place that name people crossing our borders illegally as criminals. Once a criminal you have little rights. Correct? Ok, so now we have people in the counrty illegally, hiding from the border patrol and INS and all of a sudden THEY want full right? Hmmmm......

If you are illegal try this or GO HOME. Or you can read this site for more information.

And why is that when immigrants come to the US, all they talk about is how good the country is they just came from, BUT they would never live there? I think we all have that feeling about where we live. "It's a great place to raise a family", but we want to be as far away as possible. Anyways, that is all.

Enjoy!

The Rev is In: I don't know what's worse....the smoking or the wannabe gangstas

The Rev is In: I don't know what's worse....the smoking or the wannabe gangstas

The "War on Drugs"

I ask myself this one simple question every time I read about a drug deal gone bad or a murder over drugs or anything of the like; "Is there really any 'war on drugs' in the US?"

It sure is hard to believe that this isn't something that could be stomped out as easy as offering the druggies arrested a free night at the local holiday in for giving up the guy who he buys the drugs from. Of course some might give in and other "smarter" druggies will not, but why does it seem that the USA has such a hard time dealing with drugs and drug dealers? Am I the only one that thinks the US is too easily forgiving about drugs because the drug trade employs A LOT of people in the USA that don't even USE drugs? How many jobs would be lost if there wasn't a single drug in the country? Yep, many.

On this website you can see all kinds of different information on the "War on Drugs". On this site it claims that the US spends about $600 per second in 2003 fighting the "war on drugs". How come it doesn't help anything? Are they spending the money to figure out how to get more drugs INTO the country or what? That is almost $19B right? Where is it all going? I think that if I had that kind of money for ONE YEAR I could make a bigger difference in the drug problems we have in this country today.

Anyone else have a comment or theory on why we ARE losing the "War on Drugs"?
Buy "Smoke and Mirrors" at Amazon.com

Enjoy!

Legal Abortion vs Crime Rate

I know it doesn't look pretty, but would legalizing abortion help the crime rate drop?

The following statistic is from http://www.a1b2c3.com/drugs/gen008.htm
"1.7 million Americans are incarcerated in prisons or jails, more per capita than any other nation."

In the book, "Freakonomics" by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, has an interesting way of making it all sound like it would. In a round-a-bout way, they explain how, if abortion was legal, there may be less children born into unhappy homes, thus less criminals. I know it may be a little far fetched, but it certainly makes you think about it. When all you hear, in the media of course, is that criminals usually come from a broken home or the like, what else would you think? That's being pounded into everyones heads all the time. But what about Enron? They were criminals, did they all come from a broken home and did that impact their actions? Doubt it. It must just be violent criminals then, right?

More abortions, less crime. It sounds like it works, but we will never know it's direct impact.

Enjoy!

*this is not related to my opinion on abortion rights or the rights of a mother to be, just my opinion on that particular chapter in the book, "Freakonomics"

Oil Company Profits UP!

This is just a simple question:

If profits are UP, doesn't that mean that COST stays the SAME and SELLING PRICE increases?

If the cost to the oil company, why does the selling price keep going UP?? If I am wrong about this, please comment to straighten me out. It's just mind blowing that we have to read about those profits monthly or weekly and that it creates a confusion throughout the country about how prices go so high and the profits follow.

Does this make sense?

Enjoy!

NO kids Allowed!

A hotel owner in Austria has banned children from his hotel. But, dogs are ok. Does this mean dogs are more well behaved? Of course it does. "The owner of the Hotel Cortisen is tired of munchkins ruining his white leather couches with felt-tipped pens, it seems."

I guess I agree with the owner when he says his customers"… have a right to quiet and relaxation without the noise of children." And the story adds that "He places the blame on parents who ignore bad behavior". Well that is just part of a much larger growing epidemic that I may post about at another time.

Enjoy!

Kids miss school 'cause of gas prices?

Yeah, I just heard a news story where 3800 school children were of Friday and Yesterday because of "transportation cutbacks" within the school district.

I guess the fuel price problem is a lot bigger than some think. Although, the school system had a couple of snow days to cover the days off, what now when they are out of snow days? The price isn't going DOWN!

Enjoy!

One more thing....

.....they want equal rights for illegal immigrants?

I am not sure if this is an oxy moron or just plain "dumbing down america"!

Enjoy.

Excuse me? A day off to support the felons?

How can anyone make any sense out of staying home today (immigrants that is) to support the illegal immigrants in this country? ILLEGAL. They should be labeled felons, they are breaking the law. If you can't become a citizen in this country and fight for this country and under stand our language, you shouldn't be here. Ok, fine, we'll give you a time limit to learn all the things you need to know to pass the little test, but if you are too lazy to do it, then go back where you came from.

I don't understand, now listening to the news, how people can elect to stay home from work and production plants all over the country are closing in support of illegal immigrants working in those places ILLEGALLY. Yeah it's cheap labor, of course that makes your pretty little bottom line look even better. Just because your 100,000 dollar per year salary isn't affected doesn't mean it isn't affecting this economy. Unreal. I am not sure if people even realize what they are protesting anymore, or if it's more about maybe getting some TV time on the local news.

Welcome to America, legal citizens of course, all others need not apply.

Enjoy!

An Excellent Read I Must Say

I recommend this book for anyone who only thinks INSIDE that box. It is an amazing read and has a look into things that may effect the country economics that you may have never thought of. It is not far fetched at all. Go ahead and look into it or ask your fellow book-readers if they have read this one yet. Available at Amazon.com for almost 50% off any book store I saw it at.


Enjoy!

Cops Acquitted by Jury in Beating Trial

Read this article.
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=416572

Don't you think this is about someone who got beat? If the cops are not guilty, WHO beat this guy? He didn't beat himself into a pulp of a human, did he? How can there be many witnesses, INCLUDING on-duty police officers that TESTIFIED they saw the beating, but the ones on trial weren't the ones that did it?

Does anyone else have the answers to these questions? It just blows my mind that people can site through an entire trial with evidence and EYE-witness testimony and still say to yourself, "well, I just don't think the off duty cops did it". There was even a 911 call from a friend of the man that was beat, that gives a play-by-play about the whole situation.

A cover-up case? -- this is also an interesting read about the case. So, we pay over paid lawyers a lot of money to defend us and they fuck up like this?? What the hell is any decent American to do these days to get the justice that is deserved?

The code of silence? -- hopefully anyone involved in this case, in any way, will still come forward, and for the Police Deparments sake, BEFORE the Federal Trial is brought on the whole department.

Enjoy and post comments of course.

Studies Show.......

....blah blah blah. Did you ever wonder why nobody asks your opinion when the new study shows overweight men are more likely to be hurt in a head on collision then men that are not overweight?

Well I always wonder why I am not asked to take a survey. Maybe not this one, but any of them. You see new studies out EVERYDAY that make no sense or are just common sense. Who is and why are they spending money on some of these things?
Like this one:
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Most video games rated "M" for mature audiences fail to disclose violent content on their labels and can easily fall into the hands of children, according to a study released on Monday.

What the hell? Easily fall into the hands of children because of IRRESPONSIBLE PARENTS. Give credit where credit is due, sheesh.

What a waste. If the spirit of this topic I am going to ask to post a comment about your feelings on ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS. Not a stupid study by any means. Just let me know what you think.


Enjoy!

Daily Show Immigrant Style

I just watched an episode of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart on Comedy Central. Most of the show was about all the immigration rallies and marches going on all over the country. Ok, fine, march all you want, but it's the ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS that Americans DON'T WANT AROUND! If you came to this country and are willing to fight for the country, know how to speak English, one way or another, and can at least pick the president from a police line-up, welcome to America. If you can't do even one of those things, which most illegals from the south cannot, you DON'T belong here.

Anyways, at the end of the show, Jon Stewart shows a small clip of the US/Mexico border. An area with a toll booth or check point of some sort. The gate flies open to let some more Americans into Mexico, and what happens? About 30 ILLEGAL's run through the checkpoint and just entered America illegally. And NOBODY does a thing about it. What can be done? Well, where is the border patrol? Hiding in the hills waiting for some agile Mexican to scale a fence so he can start a foot chase that he will likely lose, considering he just downed 3 mountain dews and 2 long johns while waiting for the shifty Mexican to make it over the fence?

Whatever. The economy is bad and nobody knows why. Well, paying illegals 5 bucks a day with no piss breaks is a good start at making your bottom line look better, in the mean time, my job is going over seas 'cause now there are too many working illegally and we can't afford to make our product and sell it for a profit, compared to our competitor that hires illegals and can now chop his sale price in half 'cause he is saving a ton on payroll.

Enjoy! Post a comment if you saw the clip I speak of and let me know what you think about it.

Customer Service - is the customer always right?

Businesses, on AND offline, both have policies to cover their asses one way or another. To be more specific the return policy. Take a look at the statistic below, which by now is much higher:
"2000 holiday season exceeded $1 billion, and return rates for many online retailers are much higher than in prior years -- reaching as high as 20 to 30 percent for many retailers"

Given that information, wouldn't it seem that most customers "know" basic return policies? Something along the lines of this:

"You must inspect all items upon arrival and if you have any problems or questions, you have 30 days to get a return authorization."

Now I know that ONLINE differs from OFFLINE in many, many ways, but how can some of the people that return things in retail stores not have any clue how the system works, or that if something goes wrong with said return that it is usually the computer system itself not allowing the return and not the customer service rep's mistake?

Example:
Lady brings in a blouse that she claims has never been worn. Taking that into consideration, the customer service rep takes a glance "just to make sure" and sees a yellow spot on the front and it smells of smoke. Something along the lines of a bad night at the bar. Anyways, the lady doesn't have a receipt either. Well this specific store policy (written on the receipt and displayed at the service desk) states that without one, you get in-store credit instead. Kind of a way to stick it to the customer and make them learn to keep the receipt to get cash back, now they have to shop in the store only. Oh well. Now she is upset cause she wants the cash. After getting all huffy she takes the card and leaves.

The problem with this issue is that if a customer does NOT have a receipt how is the store sure it came from there? There are people out there stealing from one store and returning that item at another. It's something that will always be around.

My point is that if all these people are returning items, why is it such a surprise when they can't get cash back, or return the item cause it's 8 months old?

Just blows my mind and I am sure it's a scam type of thing and most of the customers are playing stupid, I've done it myself.

Enjoy!

I just don't get it....

....Why is that when I read a story about child porn, it makes my stomach ache, but as I read the story, it turns out the child itself, creates the environment that he or she is in? I know it's not ALL the situations, but in this one from ABC News, it seems the child was ok with it, not only at first by in over 1,000 situations.

I don't get it. I am not sure if he is now coming out against it because he is more mature, or if he really wants people to know how bad it is out there. The problem with the latter is that HE allowed it to happen and seemed to be ok with it. If it is so bad, which I think it is, why was he doing it? Does the attention mean THAT much to a person they will stoop that low for themselves? Isn't BIG BROTHER/BIG SISTERS about giving attention to children that don't get it otherwise?

I don't know what to say, but I am torn between whether or not to feel bad for the kind or say to him "Well, you make your own bed....." Anyways.

Enjoy!

Child Support, yeah it's needed, but......

.....I just recently spoke with a friend with which whom I work with about child support. He was telling me about his sister and the "DEAD BEAT" she married however many years ago, and how he barely pays a penny. Well, what does this person expect? DEAD BEATS are DEAD BEATS. Why do people think they will father a child and be like, "Ok, I will pay that a month for my son or daughter", when they really don't give a damn about the child to begin with. If they are DEAD BEATS, they are always going to be dead beats. With that said, the real reason I am writing about the child support today. He goes on to say that his ex-brother-in-law has his wages garnished by a certain company, probably a middleman really, and then they send his sister the money they garnished and etc.

After 3 months of waiting for another child support check, she opens the mailbox and FINALLY, another check. Quick to open the check and see what the greaseball has to offer after 3 months of working, or she assumes, and the check is for ONE CENT! ONE CENT! I am not sure if I am more frustrated about the guy not owning up to his responsibility or the fact that this "middleman" actaully sent out a check for ONE CENT! Wasted paper and envelope AND stamp to do this. What a pain in the ass it is to hear things like this. But I guess if that's all the guy had to offer after 3 months, maybe it was better that the mom and child moved on.

Enjoy....

Eccentric Ed's Eclecticisms: WHAT THIS BLOG IS ALL ABOUT - NOW LISTEN UP!

Eccentric Ed's Eclecticisms: WHAT THIS BLOG IS ALL ABOUT - NOW LISTEN UP!

Read this post by the "Ed". We should all keep an eye on this guy for sure. He is quite interesting to say the least.

Did you know you will get cold, if you are outside in the cold?

Just thinking about some of the things that Amercia thinks they need to tell us and one comes to my mind. Why do forcasters always tell us that we shouldn't be outside when it's dangerously cold? Isn't this more common sense than anything else? This may not make sense to the person reading this blog that hasn't ever made a desicion on their own, but what about those of us who have?

I am not saying the forcaster is only telling us this for that reason, I am saying that don't they think we KNOW we shouldn't be outside in the 30 degree-below-zero windchill unless it's life or death?

Anyways, thing like this make me think. And that's all it is, my mind wandering and the possibility it may not make any sense to anyone, but me.

Enjoy...