Oh good. A fifth Tuesday means I get to write a “random” blog. That usually means, unfortunately for my readers, a rant from me.
Today’s topic: The Joys of Technology…or not.
Don’t get me wrong. I love the advantages I receive from internet and email access. I love the almost instant connections, the ability to submit articles online, to schedule and post my own blogs, to research for a new book.
But, it’s the tech-failures that drive me to semi-controlled rage. Picture my hands shaking, my stomach in knots, me biting my lip, occasional racing of my heart.
We recently changed internet providers. It was not our choice. One company bought out the other, and we decided to tag along. All went fairly well until last week when we stopped receiving emails through our “local” provider. I called them, and a young man spent some time on the phone with me trying to fix the problem. At one point, he had me change a setting for another of my emails, and my original problem seemed to be solved. However, the result included failure with my other email address. He informed me that since that email address was not through their email provider, he couldn’t fix it. (Couldn’t or wouldn’t, I wondered.)
I didn’t want to spend another afternoon on the phone, but today when I saw my second email had 15 messages waiting, but none of them showed up in my inbox, and I couldn’t send emails from any account, I called again. This time, a nice woman looked into it with me and suggested I go to Apple Care. (I’ve always used Apple products and love them, except the price.) She even helped me find the phone number.
When I connected with the young woman at Apple Care, she said, “Don’t worry. I will help you fix this.” Desperate as I was, I believed her, and she came through. After forty minutes on the phone and screen sharing, she had me up and running on all accounts. I kept telling myself as the minutes ticked by while we waited for my old MacBook to restart, that she was getting paid well for her time.
When the missing emails popped up and unsent messages started sending, I exclaimed, “Bless your heart!” She liked that. I hadn’t planned to say that; it doesn’t sound very cool, but that’s what came out.
So, if you have occasional technical problems, don’t lose your faith in people. You may come up with a dud now and then, but most times, they are lovely folks who are happy to help.
NOTE: All three of the photos in this blog come from pixabay.com, a great place to find free photos.
I love your gentle rant and the fact that you had a good resolution of said problem, which you topped off with a “Bless your heart!” to the one who kindly helped you What a lovely way to handle a rant situation, Janice. Bless your heart, too, for keeping your cool in the midst of technical challenges.
You’re a real encouragement, Sharon.