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What part of 'your neighborhood is getting a free trip to Oz' don't you get?!

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  • #1

    What part of 'your neighborhood is getting a free trip to Oz' don't you get?!

    Yep. I'm getting another lesson in how average people prioritize emergencies. Normally this'd be a series of stories, but the one just sticks out from the rest of the week and summarizes it nicely enough. There's a bonus thread that I'm putting into Cursing Out Coworkers after this, so stick around after this thread.


    Me: Thank you for calling <provider>! This is Zed speaking for Technical Support. May I have t--
    SC: Yeah, I got telephone poles down all over the place and I wanna know why my TV isn't working! It just shows a blank screen!
    Me: ...ma'am, I'll need to run some tests to see for s--

    Like hell she'd let me finish that sentence.

    SC: (to someone in the background) He gotta run some tests with telephone poles down!
    Me: (through gritted teeth) --sure, but it sounds like massive storm damage. I can send a technician out to do repairs, but we'll need to wait until the weather cl--
    SC: Why can't he come out now?!

    Sure. What's one techician in the grand scheme of things? It's not like he's got anything to live for after all, as long as you can watch your soap operas, huh.

    Me: The county you're in seems to still be in a severe thunderstorm warning for the time being. With the we--
    SC: Well, tell him to hurry up!

    I'll spare you folks the rest of the call, because my vision went red about that point, but I didn't get fired so I'm guessing that I kept my cool the rest of the way. I'm just glad my supervisor heard the call and let me take my break early so I can get my head straight again.
    My other car is a Mackinaw.
    Tags: None
  • #2



    I think some people want to live in an insulated little shell, away from anything like reality.
    Seshat's self-help guide:
    1. Would you rather be right, or get the result you want?
    2. If you're consistently getting results you don't want, change what you do.
    3. Deal with the situation you have now, however it occurred.
    4. Accept the consequences of your decisions.

    "All I want is a pretty girl, a decent meal, and the right to shoot lightning at fools." - Anders, Dragon Age.

    Comment

    • #3
      With calls like that all you can do is offer generic assurances. "He'll be out as soon as possible." Repeat, repeat, repeat.

      You would think with large amounts of storm damages these fools could think about something besides their damn TV. But I guess some people are afraid to be alone with their own thoughts, or afraid to interact with their family if they have one, instead of staring at the idiot box.
      When you start at zero, everything's progress.

      Comment

      • #4
        They have no other hobbies....

        Comment

        • #5
          Quoth Yarnil View Post
          They have no other hobbies....

          yes they do..... they tend to order hyge quantities of pizza during storms and tornados. ask Tony Doughnuts for his story on that one. and I have a few myself.
          I'm lost without a paddle and headed up SH*T creek.
          -- Life Sucks Then You Die.

          "I'll believe corp. are people when Texas executes one."

          Comment

          • #6
            Indeed. I've delivered my share of pizzas during nasty storms. And had people comment on how wet I was.

            "Yes. It's raining." - Janet Weiss, Rocky Horror.
            Seshat's self-help guide:
            1. Would you rather be right, or get the result you want?
            2. If you're consistently getting results you don't want, change what you do.
            3. Deal with the situation you have now, however it occurred.
            4. Accept the consequences of your decisions.

            "All I want is a pretty girl, a decent meal, and the right to shoot lightning at fools." - Anders, Dragon Age.

            Comment

            • #7
              Quoth Seshat View Post
              Indeed. I've delivered my share of pizzas during nasty storms. And had people comment on how wet I was.
              But I'm sure they made up for it with a generous tip, right?



              Sorry... can't even keep a straight face...
              You gotta polish a memory like a stone. Chip off the parts that remind you it was just a game. Work it until it's indistinguishable from any other memory.

              Comment

              • #8
                Quoth Canarr View Post
                But I'm sure they made up for it with a generous tip, right?



                Sorry... can't even keep a straight face...
                No prob. You won't get to keep it long anyway... after the beating.
                Last edited by dalesys; 04-28-2011, 11:59 AM.
                I am not an a**hole. I am a hemorrhoid. I irritate a**holes!
                Procrastination: Forward planning to insure there is something to do tomorrow.
                Derails threads faster than a pocket nuke.

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                • #9
                  That reminds me of the story that my manager told me when I worked at Lowe's.

                  A customer wanted to buy a backup generator that automatically kicks on when the power goes out. He wanted to hook it up themselves. BUT they did want want to bother with the box that cuts off power to the line because he did not give a damn if the people working on the power line got electrocuted as long as he had power.

                  My manager refused to sell to them (and had loud and obscene words to describe what he thought of that person) and the store manager back him up.

                  Comment

                  • #10
                    Well even if he did get the generator if it is still connected to the grid every house nearby would be trying to draw power from it so it would shut off or catch fire. He was still immoral though.
                    Last edited by dougall; 04-28-2011, 01:37 PM.

                    Comment

                    • #11
                      Quoth Canarr View Post
                      But I'm sure they made up for it with a generous tip, right?



                      Sorry... can't even keep a straight face...
                      Did you have to ask?
                      Seshat's self-help guide:
                      1. Would you rather be right, or get the result you want?
                      2. If you're consistently getting results you don't want, change what you do.
                      3. Deal with the situation you have now, however it occurred.
                      4. Accept the consequences of your decisions.

                      "All I want is a pretty girl, a decent meal, and the right to shoot lightning at fools." - Anders, Dragon Age.

                      Comment

                      • #12
                        Quoth dougall View Post
                        Well even if he did get the generator if it is still connected to the grid every house nearby would be trying to draw power from it so it would shut off or catch fire. He was still immoral though.
                        I suppose I can't speak for all generators but I know mine would just shut down if I overloaded it.

                        This is an interesting point though. If somenone tied a generator directly into their panel without shutting off the incoming power switch would the electricity follow the path of least resistance and simply flow up the line, through the transformer and into the main line without ever powering up anything in their house?
                        You'll find a slight squeeze on the hooter an excellent safety precaution, Miss Scrumptious.

                        Comment

                        • #13
                          Quoth Caractacus_Potts View Post
                          I suppose I can't speak for all generators but I know mine would just shut down if I overloaded it.

                          This is an interesting point though. If somenone tied a generator directly into their panel without shutting off the incoming power switch would the electricity follow the path of least resistance and simply flow up the line, through the transformer and into the main line without ever powering up anything in their house?
                          Well, yes - when you consider that this path-of-least-resistance will include the person trying to repair the main lines. That manager was right to not sell the generator - he could have been convicted of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder!
                          I will not be pushed, stamped, filed, indexed, briefed, debriefed, or numbered. My life is my own. --#6

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                          • #14
                            Quoth Seshat View Post
                            Indeed. I've delivered my share of pizzas during nasty storms. And had people comment on how wet I was.
                            Did someone summon Sheldons?
                            To right the countless wrongs of our days... We shine this light of true redemption, that this place may become as paradise...Oh, what a wonderful world such would be...

                            Comment

                            • #15
                              Quoth MoonCat View Post
                              With calls like that all you can do is offer generic assurances. "He'll be out as soon as possible." Repeat, repeat, repeat.

                              You would think with large amounts of storm damages these fools could think about something besides their damn TV. But I guess some people are afraid to be alone with their own thoughts, or afraid to interact with their family if they have one, instead of staring at the idiot box.
                              They still had power with all that damage? Or were they running a generator?

                              Comment

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