If ever there were a day in which I just wanted to go out and spit three times, I’d say this was the day. Now you all must know that in far away countries, and generations ago, the act of spitting three times was supposed to ward off the so-called “power” being directed at us by the evil ones. Once in a great while I use those words when exceptionally frustrated, and if someone would happen to hear me, they’d likely think, “He must really like to spit.”
The boiling of my blood took place after being on the phone with Alliant Energy three different times, and each time, my experience was beyond ludicrous. The repetition of canned responses, the silly confirmations of identity, and most of all, their inability to follow simple instructions without all their so-called rules and procedures needing to be followed. The last phone call which was the worst, was my calling for a written accountability for an error on their part which could have created a huge problem if I hadn’t caught it.
The customer service representative kept insisting that her supervisor would be calling me to explain how that error had happened. I wouldn’t let it go, because I’ve heard weak excuses in the past from corporate entities which were filled with nothing but flimsy passing of bucks. She finally agree that her supervisor would be sending me a personal email as to why they allowed such an error to take place. We will see if they send one, and if they don’t, I’ll be on the phone with them again.
With all the free time many of our newly retired residents have, I wish there would be a consumer advocacy group created by them for the residents of North Iowa. It’s time we all start making companies in our area who have non-competitive strangle-holds on us, far more accountable for their prices and public services than they’re providing in these times. Alliant Energy and Mediacom are just two of a handful of major players I speak about.
It seems whenever there are only one or two players in any given municipality, there’s an incentive for them to over-charge and grow weak in services. I’ve spoken about this before regarding some of the trades in our City who sometimes charge the most outrageous prices for materials and labor. Well, when they can get away with charging such prices, why should they concern themselves about their practices?
While at my real estate continuing education class earlier this week, one of the students mentioned something about co-ops. We ended up in quite the discussion because I believe if we had an energy co-op similar to the one in Lake Mills, it would become a win-win situation for everyone. Of course you’d see our present “strangling” corporations doing everything they could to sway councils and voters away from doing such a “mean-spirited” thing like saying, “You’re fired!”
On a lighter note, tonight’s photo is of the rear yard of 1137 Manor Drive here in Mason City, and posted just to show how pleasing to the senses it must be whenever out there enjoying Mother Nature’s finest. Every time I see a gazebo, it reminds me of the times I’d be paging thru historic photo albums of North Iowa and seeing people enjoying them to their fullest. Keep in mind, back then, air conditioning did not exist, so you can bet that was the reason they built them to last as well as for daily use. Wouldn’t it be fun to step back in time and spend a day in one of them? If we did, we’d all come back screaming, “We just gotta have a gazebo!”
Tonight’s one-liner is: The world operates according to discoverable laws.
1 Comment
Your relatives that like x-mas lights on the corner across the street from me are moving out. I can only imagine how nasty that place must be inside. They even took part of the privacy fence! They don’t have a gazebo, rather a pergola in the backyard. Keep fighting the power, Joe-jo.