My Earthlink account took 6 months to cancel...
on
Disconnecting
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· Score: 1
The entire experience was a comedy of errors. First I called to cancel and it took an hour of waiting on hold. They said they cancelled it. The next month, the credit card in question was billed again. Here's where I should mention that the credit card in question was actually my by-now-estanged husband's, and the continued charges were not helping the already-strained relations. I called back, and this time they said I couldn't cancel it without proving my identity (didn't mention that last time). Of course, I didn't have the credit card bill, nor the credit card. So I ended up having to fax them a copy of my driver's license in order to prove that I was really me. After THAT whole rigamorole, I thought I was done with those turkeys, but no. A few months later, I find out the card is still getting charged. I call up completely irate, and get it cancelled AGAIN, and they say they will credit the card for the past 2 months' charges. No, instead they charge the card ONE MORE TIME, at which point my estranged-husband calls them up and successfully cancels the account. Interesting when they say they won't cancel the account without proving your identity, and the only way mine got cancelled was by someone else.
The whole experience soured me on *anything* that automatically bills a credit card. With all the technology we have in place, surely there has GOT to be a better way...
-LauraCleo
I like my job despite management...
on
Do You Like Your Job?
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· Score: 2, Insightful
I work for a small technology consulting firm, and the peons in my company recently got together for a b*tch-session about management. It certainly helped clear the air, but I was amazed by some of the things my colleagues were saying.
The biggest issue people seemed to have was about management breathing down their necks and questioning their every move. Interestingly enough, the biggest complaints came from the people who have screwed up the most recently. They didn't seem to grasp the concept that if you and your work are consistently reliable, management leaves you alone more.
At least our managers are techies and understand what it is that we're doing out in the field. Of course, that means that they know enough to be dangerous.:) Sure, I'd love some more independence, and to get out from underneath management's thumb, but I also think that independence, and the responsibility that goes with it, is earned over time. They call this work, people, not recess.
I may be echoing lots of other comments, but let me put my $0.02 by saying that being lucky enough to a) have a job, and b) be working with technology, you should have all the ingredients you need to *make* your job fun. It's all what you make it, after all.
I feel exceedingly lucky to be a technology consultant. I get to play with lots of different kinds of technology at my various clients, I learn something new virtually every day, and I work for a company that is growing and very stable. Now, true, I don't get to wear jeans (and climbing over server racks in skirts and hose is kind of a challenge), and there isn't a pool table in our office. Instead, we have great job security, a stable company who we know isn't wasting money on things that don't directly benefit the company (and therefore, us), a fridge that's always stocked with beer (for meetings and when we're working late), and a working atmosphere that's fun because of the work we're doing, not despite it. For those of us who work in tech because we love it (and not because the dot com boom filled our starry eyes with dollar signs), being able to work with technology and have a community of peers to learn from and bounce ideas off of... well, that's my idea of fun at work.
Slashdot Mirror
The entire experience was a comedy of errors. First I called to cancel and it took an hour of waiting on hold. They said they cancelled it. The next month, the credit card in question was billed again. Here's where I should mention that the credit card in question was actually my by-now-estanged husband's, and the continued charges were not helping the already-strained relations. I called back, and this time they said I couldn't cancel it without proving my identity (didn't mention that last time). Of course, I didn't have the credit card bill, nor the credit card. So I ended up having to fax them a copy of my driver's license in order to prove that I was really me. After THAT whole rigamorole, I thought I was done with those turkeys, but no. A few months later, I find out the card is still getting charged. I call up completely irate, and get it cancelled AGAIN, and they say they will credit the card for the past 2 months' charges. No, instead they charge the card ONE MORE TIME, at which point my estranged-husband calls them up and successfully cancels the account. Interesting when they say they won't cancel the account without proving your identity, and the only way mine got cancelled was by someone else. The whole experience soured me on *anything* that automatically bills a credit card. With all the technology we have in place, surely there has GOT to be a better way... -LauraCleo
I work for a small technology consulting firm, and the peons in my company recently got together for a b*tch-session about management. It certainly helped clear the air, but I was amazed by some of the things my colleagues were saying.
:) Sure, I'd love some more independence, and to get out from underneath management's thumb, but I also think that independence, and the responsibility that goes with it, is earned over time. They call this work, people, not recess.
The biggest issue people seemed to have was about management breathing down their necks and questioning their every move. Interestingly enough, the biggest complaints came from the people who have screwed up the most recently. They didn't seem to grasp the concept that if you and your work are consistently reliable, management leaves you alone more.
At least our managers are techies and understand what it is that we're doing out in the field. Of course, that means that they know enough to be dangerous.
I may be echoing lots of other comments, but let me put my $0.02 by saying that being lucky enough to a) have a job, and b) be working with technology, you should have all the ingredients you need to *make* your job fun. It's all what you make it, after all.
I feel exceedingly lucky to be a technology consultant. I get to play with lots of different kinds of technology at my various clients, I learn something new virtually every day, and I work for a company that is growing and very stable. Now, true, I don't get to wear jeans (and climbing over server racks in skirts and hose is kind of a challenge), and there isn't a pool table in our office. Instead, we have great job security, a stable company who we know isn't wasting money on things that don't directly benefit the company (and therefore, us), a fridge that's always stocked with beer (for meetings and when we're working late), and a working atmosphere that's fun because of the work we're doing, not despite it. For those of us who work in tech because we love it (and not because the dot com boom filled our starry eyes with dollar signs), being able to work with technology and have a community of peers to learn from and bounce ideas off of... well, that's my idea of fun at work.
LauraCleo