Why you have to pay attention to your bills

The promotional pricing on my home phone and internet expired last month, so I called and made some changes. I did a one year service agreement and downgraded my internet speed in return for a reduced bill. Imagine my surprise when I opened my bill the next time, and the amount was higher than I was quoted. I saw that I was still being billed for the faster internet speed that I no longer received. When I called customer service, they came to same the conclusion. They have no idea how this happened, and I was on hold for some time while they unsuccessfully tried to deduce how that was possible. I received a free month of internet without even having to ask. 

This is yet another illustration of why you must pay attention to your bills, not blindly pay them. If I hadn't, I would have overpaid every month. Take the time each month to really look at your bills. You may be surprised by what you find.

Only in government- update

They finally got our inbound calls working again Tuesday. Took just a tad under 3 weeks. 

But wait, it gets better. My computer at work had to be reimaged last week due to a virus. It then took a week for someone to restore my e-mail access (long story). When they go it up and running today, I found out that when it was originally configured, it was set up so that all the messages were stored on my computer, not backed up on the server. I have lost every single message I've ever sent or received. I miss the technology from my private sector job. 

Only in government

Further proof that I no longer have a real job

Two weeks ago today I looked down and noticed that our phones weren't working. We lease space from an area nonprofit, so I gave the appropriate building contact a call. He said "I bet you're calling because you're phones I down. I unplugged them. We are going to sell that system. I'll plug them back in".

Some back story: a year ago the building installed a new phone system without any contact with us. We've been able to make outbound calls with it since then, but our inbound calls have continued to be received via the old system. We've talked to building management and the appropriate person in our organization (who works in another city) about this issue on multiple occasions, but it's never been resolved.

Well, apparently the old system is now down for the count. For the last two weeks, we have been unable to receive calls made to our office phone number. The only way to contact us is to call the building and then either be transferred or to punch in our extension. We do not have direct dials to our desk. Of course, essentially no one knows how to do this as all we ever give out is the office number (being me, I had provided the other method to my friends and family right after I started a year ago). The crazy thing is, our management, working out of another office, doesn't seem to be too concerned. Can you imagine if this happened at a real business? People would be fired, there would be talks of leases being broken, etc. Not when you're government. We, the employees, have naturally greatly enjoyed not receiving calls from the general public.

But wait, it gets better. One day last week we couldn't make any outbound calls either. We also found out that when you called the building it said "You have reached a number that has been disconnected or is no longer in service." We immediately reported the issue, and it was fixed in an hour or two. The problem? The building hadn't paid its phone bill in 3 months! The maintenance person was on medical leave, their finance person quit/got fired, etc. It's a very interesting place.

This person was teaching your children

Along the lines of "every day is a new day", but more scary:

Monday a customer came into the office and asked our receptionist "Is my card here?" After several minutes, we determined that she was looking for the debit card our state uses for unemployment payments. We explained to her that this card will be mailed to her home after her first unemployment payment is posted. This is almost verbatim the conversation we had with her last Monday. When we were talking about this at work the next morning, my coworker said she had a very similar conversation with the customer when she filed for unemployment several weeks ago. 

What makes this story even more frightening is the person's occupation. She was a teacher. <shudder>. I told my coworkers "Hopefully she's an absent-minded professor type who's really good at what she does, but stinks at real life." I doubt that's the case though.

Some people just aren't very bright

One of the first things I noticed when my new upstairs neighbor (UN) moved in not too long ago was that he smoked. This was an immediate concern to me since I am highly allergic to smoke, and if you've ever lived in an apartment you know that it will come through the walls, ventilation, etc. I mentioned this to the landlord's son (LLS) who lives in the building and is a part owner. He assured me it would be fine since the lease states no smoking is allowed in the apartment. I was relieved.

Fast forward a week or two after that. I was talking to LLS again who said "We may have to get rid of old boy upstairs." When I asked why he said "I knocked on his door, and when he answered, he was smoking in the apartment." Oopsie. Not long after that I came home one day, and my apartment smelled like smoke. Being me, I marched myself up the stairs and knocked on UN's door. I acted ignorant and said "My apartment smells like smoke. I'm trying to figure out where it's coming from. Has someone been smoking in your apartment?" He said "I smoke in my apartment." I was so dumbfounded that he admitted to it that I all I could say was "So that's where it's coming from". 

I immediately went back to my apartment and called my landlord (LL). He said he would talk to UN. He called me back shortly and said their conversation went like this:

UN "It's my apartment. I'll do whatever I want".

LL "You are violating your lease"

UN "Evict me"

LL "I will"

The next morning LL filed eviction paperwork. He called UN and left him a message advising this had been done. UN called back a couple of hours later and said "I'll be smoking outside from now on." LL then withdrew the eviction paperwork. As my mom had suggested, it seems UN was trying to call LL's bluff. I told my LL this, and he said "I've done this for too long to be bluffing".  

I was not happy that the LL didn't go through with the eviction, and neither was LLS. When I spoke to him, he said he wanted UN out because of the smoking, being late with his rent (he'd only been there a month or two!), and moving in his girlfriend without putting her on the lease. Wow, great tenant here.

Fast forward to this month. I talked to my LL, and he said UN is being evicted. This was on the 10th. I asked why and he said UN had not paid his September rent. My check had cleared my bank on 8/28! Apparently UN told LL that he was trying to get custody of his son, and his rent money was going to his lawyer. I told LL "That's going to be great for the custody hearing when he has nowhere to live." The eviction paperwork was filed on 9/17, and as far as I know UN has been served with the appropriate paperwork. He is supposed to be out a couple weeks after that. LL is going to garnish his wages for $1500-$2000 to cover cleaning (getting the smoke smell out of the brand new carpet!), lost rent, etc. 

The moral of the story: Some people just aren't very bright. If you know you want to smoke in your residence, don't sign anything saying you won't. Pay your rent when it's due, or expect to be homeless. It's not rocket science.

Living in the land of low expectations

At a recent job interview I was asked about my computer proficiency. One of the programs I mentioned was Excel. A member of the interview team then asked me "So you could create a new spreadsheet?". I probably gaped at her before replaying "Oh yes, I can do graphs, etc. I use Excel to do my budget at home."  

Creating a new spreadsheet is not proficiency at Excel. It is one of the most basic things you can do. I immediately gathered that if I got the job, I would be living in the land of low expectations. That's not necessarily a bad thing.

 

Weirdest Thing You've Ever Seen at Work

Askamanger.com recently asked people to submit their weirdest stories from work. The list is impressive. It may even make your job look calm by comparison.