This is one of my favorite sayings, because it’s completely true, and it’s a bit sad at the same time. Why is it that us as humans have some sort of hidden motivation to “start spreadin’ the news” when bad things happen? What is it that we’re really expecting to transpire by pontificating our maladies to the masses?
In the end, nobody actually cares about how bad things may be going for you right now. What’s more important, however, is being able to ask yourself: What is being done to correct it or fix it yourself? I try to think about why people complain, and I think I just might have an answer: They like to complain about external things because they may have some pent up frustration about something in their life, someone in their life, or themselves. Then, most likely, they want to take it out on something, or someone else entirely. If we, as human beings, would just take the time to really think about what was “wrong”, it’s most likely very simple to fix, or “make right”, often times with minimal effort.
Those who are complaining are the ones most obviously uninterested in learning about making it better, they just want someone else to fix it for them. I believe that would be called lazy by today’s standards. Remember, the grass is always greener, unless you spend your life walking around with dark sunglasses on, which would just make everything look dark and depressing.
Okay, so I need to vent about something that, frankly, I feel shouldn’t even be the problem that it is. It’s one of those situations that, if the people involved could step back and watch others in the same scenario, would agree that it’s nothing short of pathetic.
What am I talking about? Common courtesy and ethics. Where are they nowadays when it comes to interpersonal electronic contact? GONE.
I will not say that I am an exception to this, I freely admit that sometimes I fall short and don’t deliver, but I own up to it. I’ll never leave someone for days without some kind of response when they contact me. I always try to acknowledge the fact that someone took the time to reach out to me, and that I recognized that fact, even if I can’t respond right away, because it’s courteous.
I love text-messaging for some times, and I completely loathe it or the others. It’s great for quick on-the-go messages but it’s completely hideous for conversation. Even moreso it is terrible for communication, and makes it much to easy for messages to fall through the cracks. Tons of opportunities could go missing with texts being ignored, whether they are personal or professional. How hard is it to acknowledge a message, I mean seriously?
Even someone as busy as Donald Trump responds to a message when he gets one. Anything less would be lazy! Nobody can say they are too busy to answer a text!! Especially with practically everyone having some type of “smart phone” in their pocket with their e-mail and messages just a few taps away. There really is no excuse.
In one way, this heightened presence of on-the-go communication helps us see all of our true colors. Where do all of our priorities lie? Do we really care about those who go ignored? I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
If this situation comes up with me, and I fail to respond or acknowledge you, I apologize wholeheartedly and invite you to call me out on it. I’ll gladly own up to it and do what I can to make it right. Maybe someone else might follow my example.
Here’s a look back at one of my myspace blogs from Thursday, August 10th, 2006. I wrote it on my myspace page (which I haven’t even logged in to in a long time!)
Enjoy!
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Thursday, August 10, 2006
I could tell it’s been too long since I’ve somewhat-whimsically ranted about something, so here you all go. Today the topic is “Automated Phone Systems”…specifically the kind who answer phones and claim to be humans, but fail miserably because they still sound/behave like the computers they are.
These things seriously get on my nerves. I hate how they try to sound like they are human. They aren’t, and they never work the way they are intended to. Case in point, I called Sirius (Satellite Radio) today because my radio mysteriously told me that my service had been deactivated. I’ll rant about Sirius in another blog, they don’t have their act together at all. Everytime I call them they tell me something different about my account – I either owe them gobs of money, or my account isn’t due for renewal until x months from now… anyways, not the topic of today’s blog!
So I call up and hit option 3 (after the obligitory “if your spanish do this for español!”) and then this voice comes on, and immediately I recognized it as one of these whiz-bang wünderprograms and I was like “oh great.” It/She said to me, “I’d love to help you get some information on your account. You can start by giving me your phone number.” If only us guys could have some computer program use a line like that on someone at a bar, the problem of never getting laid would no longer be an issue for a lot of us. So I say my phone number in a somewhat natural tone, and it/she says “I’m sorry, I didnt’ quite understand that. Let me see if I have it right” (all the while using pronouns like “me” and “I”….again, human words! Computers aren’t human!!!) and it/she reads it back correctly. I confirmed it was right, and then I heard something even funnier. “Hmmm.. I can’t seem to find your record. Let’s look another way.” Yes, let’s! You and I will look together! Because that’s what the word “let’s” implies! One problem… you’re a computer and you’re going to search your data banks on your end for my errant information, while I sit here and play with myself waiting for you to come back and tell me you have no idea who I am or why I’m calling….which is exactly what happened. Then it/she said “Let me get a representative on the phone who can help us.” Us? What, are you going to be part of this conversation when the rep gets on the phone? How are “we” going to be helped by a human? I’m the one who’s going to be assisted, not you, Miss Failed-attempt-at-an-artifically-unintelligent-waste-of-hard-drive-space. Good LORD… Whatever happened to just having a human answer a phone and help you out with what you need?
Oh yeah, I know what happened…more and more of those things are being outsourced to random countries where you get Shlabba-labba-nabba-hibbi-jibbi who picks up the phone and says “Hello, this is Bob how can I help you” in some funny accent.
Bottom line, I hate those stupid things. Call centers need to live on! Down with the fake humanoid automated attendants on the phone. Us Americans need jobs, stick us in cubicles and put headsets on our head so we can avoid these fuckin’ things from ruining our lives!!!!!!!!
Be well.
~JB
