I was up early this morning to vacuum up all the flea powder before the guy from DirecTV got to the house. Yes. I had finally gotten the appointment set up. After evaluating the options and realizing that no I did not in fact have the moral fortitude to read uplifting literature and crochet flags in my off-hours, I sucked it up and called. Helpfully, the woman I got on the third try was very nice. It also helped that the fee for a service call had dropped from $100 down to $50, and she agreed to waive half of even that. So although I don't think I should have to pay them anything to fix the service I pay them for when it quits working, I was willing to pay $25 to get things going again. I had thought about having Charter back in my home, and been repulsed (vile, evil reptiles that they are). I had checked into U-verse and found that it wasn't available in my neighborhood.
My 'appointment' was for any time between 8am and noon today. That pissed me off too, but while heart surgeons regularly make appointments to see patients, it seems to be the industry norm that the cable man requires a four-hour window to fix the freakin' television reception. I straightened up and settled in to wait. And wait.
At 11:30, I got a call from the robot at DirecTV telling me that the man would arrive within the hour great I thought, he's running late. 12:30 came and went. At 12:45 I was on the phone with a customer service rep, asking where the guy was. She of course had no idea. I said "This service call is now free, right?" and she began hemming and hawing. "Oh hell no." I said. I asked for a supervisor. I was put on hold. And hold. And hold. She came back on to tell me that no supervisor was available. I asked for a call back, but was told that they 'do not call out' as a matter of policy. By this point, I was pretty pissed. I continued to hold. After over twenty minutes, I was told that there was a supervisor to take my call. At that point either I got cut off or she hung up on me. I was livid. I sat down to send an email to DirecTV. Actually two. They have a character limit on their emails.
Shortly after 1pm, the cable guy came nonchalantly strolling in. I explained the problem, which he unbelievably did not know. I had explained it repeatedly to the employees over the phone because, I was told, that he had to know that before he came. I couldn't resist. I was SO angry. I said "I don't guess it would do me any good to ask where you have been?" He deflected and went outside to look at the dish. I followed him out.
After hooking up some gizmo to the dish, he told me that a tree in the yard was blocking my signal. That tree has been in the yard for ten years, but apparently it has magically shot up within the last three weeks to interfere with my reception of two-thirds of the channels I am supposed to receive. He said we either had to move the dish, or cut the tree. I told him he was full of it. He then told me "You can calm down, or I can go. I can leave, and not come back. You never have to talk to me again." At this, I just about exploded. But after thinking for a moment, I apologized and asked him to move the dish. It had taken me three weeks to get someone out to fix it, and having committed to this much, I was going to have the damn TV back on.
I then went back into the house to send another email to DirecTV. He fixed it stuff and left.
While he was finishing up Lisa called, and I talked to her for a while. She's still upset, but not as upset as she was. She asked for my advice on how to handle the talk with Mom about the latest crap from Carl. I was pretty non-plussed I have no idea how to make this blow any easier. Its going to be a tough talk to have, and I'm really glad I don't have to be the one to do it, frankly. But I offered the support I could over the phone.
After I got off the phone with her, the cable guy left, and I settled in to pout. Getting into it with him, and several DirecTV employees just made me feel lousy, and I was in a rotten mood. There were things I needed to do before Jason arrived, but I just plain didn't feel like doing them.
Over the course of the afternoon, I got several calls from DriecTV about the situation - apparently the way to reach them is via email. They agreed to waive the service fee, and that made me feel a little better, but the money wasn't really the issue at this point. I hate the way I have been treated during the course of this treatment. Most of the people I talked to could have cared less about the issue, and would do nothing to help me. I HATE to have to get ugly to get results. I got the results in the end, but I would far rather have just a) had the service work as it was supposed to; or b) had someone take care of it on the front end as they were supposed to. I would have been happier to pay the money and not have to go through such a rigmarole. So the TV is back on, but the next time it goes out, I'm not going through all this again. If U-verse isn't available, I'll try Dish Network. This is my third go-round with DirecTV. I'm just sick of it.
I was actually debating when I would get ready for Jason when I had a surprise text from Logan, inviting me out to Lieu's with them for supper. I didn't really feel like going, but I wanted to see them, and I needed to do something to improve my mood before Jason got here. I ran through the shower and out the door to meet them.
Logan also invited his friend Todd to dinner tonight. Todd is cute. Apparently I had met him before, but I don't remember it. He's a gamer like Logan, but he has reached the age of reason, is super nice, and laughs in all the right places. (Plus, I couldn't help but notice later, he has a sexy furry tummy, but I digress.) He worked with Disney for years as an entertainer. So the company at dinner was lively and fun, and the meal was very nice. I felt much better, and was really glad I went.
After supper we went back to the house for Logan and Todd to get to gaming. (They like to Dance Central together, apparently.) Russ and I went to the store to pick up a few things.
Jason wasn't supposed to be in until about 10pm, but I had a text from him while we were at the grocery store that he was almost at the house, so as soon as Russ and I got back I headed for my place.
It was SO great to see Jason!! I had really missed him more than I thought. He showered up and we settled in to catch up. Eventually, I put a Family Guy DVD in the player and we decadently ate homemade cheesecake (supplied by one of Russ's customers and packed off home with me) in bed.
We said goodnight and drifted off to sleep, looking forward to spending some time together, and with that extra delicious day off ahead.
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