Weekend Off
This weekend, I mostly did ... nothing!
Actually, I did have plans for the weekend, but they went somewhat askew when I found out last Friday that the diving kit I had ordered on express delivery last Tuesday had not been despatched: I was supposed to be going to Chepstow quarry with Pygmie on Sunday.
Okay, it was just the BCD and some weights, all of which I could have hired, but nobody told me my order was being held up and I was really looking forward to going diving with the first bit of my own major kit.
Needless to say, I was hopping around like a very unhappy bunny.
Image from invisibleman.com
Somehow, I managed to keep a reasonably clear head whilst talking to the nice girl in customer services and requested that the express delivery be refunded in full, as I am not getting a service that I paid for.
As seems to be the case with a lot of customer services, all the girl could do was escalate the issue to her manager, so we ended the phone call and I waited. Quite surprisingly, not as long as I expected.
Within an hour, I had received an email offering a refund of the difference between express and economy delivery; the princely sum of £3.45. To add insult to injury, they were unable to refund the money as I had paid via PayPal, so I would have to have a voucher code that would take the sum off my next order.
Ha! Like there was going to be a next order!
Perhaps it was due to being over-tired and wound up, but this was now a matter of principle, so I returned a firm but fair ultimatum: refund the full amount of delivery and get the goods to me by the beginning of the week or cancel the whole order.
They seemed to see sense as the response was that they would refund the whole of the delivery cost to my credit card when I called today, which I have duly done. I have also received a despatch confirmation for the order so it should be with me tomorrow.
I am now a happy bunny :-D
Picture from The T-Chest.
As far as customer service goes, I cannot fault their speed or the professionalism of the girl I spoke to, but their processes could do with a bit of updating. As could their website, as its flakier than an extreme eczema sufferer.
Anyhoo, with all the stress on the Friday, by the time I got home I needed a release, so settled down in front of the comp for a session of blasting things to kingdom come in Half Life. It wasn't until I reached a point that I couldn't get past due to tiredness, that I realised exactly how lengthy that session was. That, and the fact I could hear the dawn chorus tuning up for the day!
Even though I slept in until nearly 1pm on Saturday, I felt shattered and, admittedly, a little on the low side. Not having my diving kit had put me into a bit of a downer so I was not in a mental state to go diving or even for driving the 200 miles to my cousin's. So I backed out.
Part of me wishes I hadn't, but I know what I would have been like: the more tired I get, the crotchetier I get and that really would not have been good for everything that is going on this week.
A weekend off was a good idea as I ended up repeating Friday night on Saturday night (though no dawn chorus this time) and slept in until 1pm again on the Sunday, after which I got back into the old routine of heading to Presence for a bite to eat and a drink before starting the day. In reality, I guess the day had already started without me, but I wasn't ready for it and I wasn't going to be rushed!
As the past few weekends have all been rather full, I hadn't really had much time to get things sorted around the flat, so I took the opportunity to do some tidying up.
Apart from the usual washing/vacumming/cleaning jobs that needed doing, I also managed to clear some of the boxes away from the living-room, filled three carrier bags with old clothes for the Scope bin and another black sack full of clothes that I popped down to the Save the Children charity shop just round the corner from the office.
I can now see my sofa as it is no longer hidden by stacks of clothes and I can actually close my wardrobe doors. About time!
Now I just need to start selling off all my stuff ... perhaps a car boot sale is in order...
Actually, I did have plans for the weekend, but they went somewhat askew when I found out last Friday that the diving kit I had ordered on express delivery last Tuesday had not been despatched: I was supposed to be going to Chepstow quarry with Pygmie on Sunday.
Okay, it was just the BCD and some weights, all of which I could have hired, but nobody told me my order was being held up and I was really looking forward to going diving with the first bit of my own major kit.
Needless to say, I was hopping around like a very unhappy bunny.
Image from invisibleman.comSomehow, I managed to keep a reasonably clear head whilst talking to the nice girl in customer services and requested that the express delivery be refunded in full, as I am not getting a service that I paid for.
As seems to be the case with a lot of customer services, all the girl could do was escalate the issue to her manager, so we ended the phone call and I waited. Quite surprisingly, not as long as I expected.
Within an hour, I had received an email offering a refund of the difference between express and economy delivery; the princely sum of £3.45. To add insult to injury, they were unable to refund the money as I had paid via PayPal, so I would have to have a voucher code that would take the sum off my next order.
Ha! Like there was going to be a next order!
Perhaps it was due to being over-tired and wound up, but this was now a matter of principle, so I returned a firm but fair ultimatum: refund the full amount of delivery and get the goods to me by the beginning of the week or cancel the whole order.
They seemed to see sense as the response was that they would refund the whole of the delivery cost to my credit card when I called today, which I have duly done. I have also received a despatch confirmation for the order so it should be with me tomorrow.
I am now a happy bunny :-D
Picture from The T-Chest.As far as customer service goes, I cannot fault their speed or the professionalism of the girl I spoke to, but their processes could do with a bit of updating. As could their website, as its flakier than an extreme eczema sufferer.
Anyhoo, with all the stress on the Friday, by the time I got home I needed a release, so settled down in front of the comp for a session of blasting things to kingdom come in Half Life. It wasn't until I reached a point that I couldn't get past due to tiredness, that I realised exactly how lengthy that session was. That, and the fact I could hear the dawn chorus tuning up for the day!
Even though I slept in until nearly 1pm on Saturday, I felt shattered and, admittedly, a little on the low side. Not having my diving kit had put me into a bit of a downer so I was not in a mental state to go diving or even for driving the 200 miles to my cousin's. So I backed out.
Part of me wishes I hadn't, but I know what I would have been like: the more tired I get, the crotchetier I get and that really would not have been good for everything that is going on this week.
A weekend off was a good idea as I ended up repeating Friday night on Saturday night (though no dawn chorus this time) and slept in until 1pm again on the Sunday, after which I got back into the old routine of heading to Presence for a bite to eat and a drink before starting the day. In reality, I guess the day had already started without me, but I wasn't ready for it and I wasn't going to be rushed!
As the past few weekends have all been rather full, I hadn't really had much time to get things sorted around the flat, so I took the opportunity to do some tidying up.
Apart from the usual washing/vacumming/cleaning jobs that needed doing, I also managed to clear some of the boxes away from the living-room, filled three carrier bags with old clothes for the Scope bin and another black sack full of clothes that I popped down to the Save the Children charity shop just round the corner from the office.
I can now see my sofa as it is no longer hidden by stacks of clothes and I can actually close my wardrobe doors. About time!
Now I just need to start selling off all my stuff ... perhaps a car boot sale is in order...
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