Have you ever had to deal with people that made you wonder just how, exactly, did they get their jobs?

Man, did I have an exasperating last few weeks. I was trying to order my diabetic-supplies (like I had done many times in the past) from my Medical Group who’s durable-goods person is in charge of re-ordering my supplies.

Her phone-message (they never answer in person of course) says “for diabetic-supplies your order will be filled in one to three days…”. No problem, except here it was 3-weeks later and no response from her (despite my 3 phone messages to her following up and asking for a call back (which she also indictes in her phone message that if “I leave my number, I’ll get a call right back!” ..and pigs can fly…).

No problem, Type-1 diabetics can go forever without their medication, right?

So you’re talking to these people in, what you think is plain-english, and you can tell they haven’t a clue what you’re saying….

So, like, I’m given a number for their Quality Management Group and I foolishly call thinking that they might be able to help me with this dilemma and, as I should have predicted, I get THEIR phone-messaging system, leave a message on Judy’s phone-mail, and of course, get no call back. ever.

I’m told, after I send a lengthy e-mail politely explaining my dilemma to thier satifaction-rating department, that they’d immediately turn this over to the same QM department to get resolved.

Did I get a phone call? Is Pluto a planet?

So, like say, at your local Camera Store, you get this salesman who acts like he’s the next Helmut Newton or something (even though he’s making his living selling cameras not taking Newton-like photos), and he condescendingly asks you if he can take a minute of his precious time and help you since you’ve been waiting at the counter for the last 15-minutes…

So, it’s time to pull off the suede-gloves and tackle this lack of response head-on. I go on-line to try and locate the Principles of this Medical group I’m with, but without paying Standard & Poor’s to find out, I have no luck. So I call the manufacturer of the product I’m trying to aquire, but alas, they were polite but couldn’t help (you’d think it’d be in thier favor to help their customers, but what do I know…).

I call my health insurance company and the girl that answers the phone makes the original trouble-makers look good.

…It’s like you ask this Helmut Newtonesque salesguy to show you the latest Nikon 50mm 1.2 HSM VR SMC lens that you’d just heard about. He sniffs and responds that, yes, Nikon makes lenses. If you really want a good lens though, you should buy a Lieca SuperMacromar 200 1.1 with the red-dot not the blue dot. At $10,000 (box not included) this is the best lens ever. Period.

I ask her if there are any alternatives to ordering my life-extending supplies from this Medical Group. She responds that I need to contact the Durable-goods supplier to find out if they’ll provide my supplies. I politely point out to her that my durable-goods supplier is the group I am having trouble with and can’t even contact a real person. She says that she’s unable to help me and I need to contact a Durable-goods supplier to get an answer. So I ask her again if there are alternative suppliers to the one I’m having trouble with. She then asks me what number I’m calling to reach the current durable-goods supplier and I tell her that I call their 1-800-number. She tells me that she doesn’t show an 1-800-number for this particular supplier and rattles off the local number. I tell her, yes, this is the local number for the SAME, troublesome supplier and can she help me locate a supplier who supplies. She tells me she doesn’t show an 800-number for that supplier.

sigh…

So you tell helmut that you had come here to look at the new Nikon lens, since it fits your camera and doesn’t cost more than $350. He goes on to explain that the Lieca lens comes in a fitted corinthian-leather case and even includes a certificate suitable for framing. He then sniffs his nose at you and runs off to find a Lieca lens to show you….

So I ask the insurance-girl, one last time and with a slightly different approach, if I were to leave this Medical Group with which I’m having trouble, would I still be able to get my diabetic-supplies from the new group. She says “Is that your question? Do we have alternate suppliers? Oh yeah, sure…”

Sigh…..

So, Newton returns with the lens and brings it out of it’s leather-case (practically drooling in the process). You politely, but firmly tell him you wanted to see the new NIKON lens and weren’t interested in the Lieca lens. The light (all 20-watts) comes on. He tells you, in a manner that says “You idiot, why did you make me go through all this trouble to get the Lieca Lens and drool and bring it out of it’s sacred-pouch when you knew all along that you wanted the Nikon!!!”…oh…we don’t have that lens in stock, maybe try back next week….”

So, I finally call my Doctor and his receptionist was actually able to get hold of Dianna, the original Durable-Goods order person with whom I was unable to speak, and I ask her what’s the problem in getting my supplies and why didn’t I get any responses to my 3-phone messages asking to get a call back?

She, with a straight phone-face tells me that she didn’t get any of my messages, but by some miracle, she’d finally placed my order on the 21st of August. All this and all without receiving ANY of my phone-messages…amazing.

I know I’ve worked in “companies” and most people are overworked and the companies understaffed. I know this and I think of this when I talk to people on the phone. I try not to say bad-words, or accuse them of inbreeding or anything because I’ve worked on both sides of the counter. But some people you deal with really make you wonder if the person who hired them had a clue as to who they were hiring or if they hired these types, just to make themselves look better.

I think GOD (take your pick as to which GOD, there’s plenty to go around, and if you think your GOD is better than my GOD sent me a one-word e-mail telling me why that is) has put people like this on the earth to make you really appreciate the people who give you good service. You know, like, if it weren’t for noise, you wouldn’t appreciate quiet…like that.

Whether it’s the dumbing-down of America, a lack of appreciation for their jobs, or Management making conditions go from bad-to-worse for their employees, it’s a sad state of affairs that, when you do get good service, you’re so surprised you want to hug your service provider. I know it’s true for me, people like these REALLY make me appreciate the good ones.