Business

Guest WiFi – exercise in frustration

Posted on by backuphill

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This is a love-hate type relationship.

Have you ever been in a store and unable to get a cell signal? Yeah, it happens more than you think. Have you been in such a store only to find there is no “Guest Wifi” available to you? Irritating. I find this most irritating while shopping at Costco. I mean, come on, it’s a warehouse for crying out-loud. It wouldn’t be that hard to put wifi in the place.

On the other hand, there are those places that have “Guest WiFi” available but it doesn’t work or is slower than molasses (here’s one for you…electronics store Best Buy has spotty guest wifi). I was traveling recently and learned that there was a place nearby (a government agency, actually) that had guest wifi. So, I went to check it out. FULL signal, this is promising! However, no data transferred at all. It was basically the same as when you’re at home and you know the wifi is on and you get a signal but it has to be rebooted so it will allow the transfer of data. So, what was promising became just an exercise in frustration.

So, we are left with the love-hate relationship again. I love stores that make it available, but I hate places that have it and it doesn’t work.

 

Receipt check

Posted on by backuphill

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Shoppers beware!

I was shopping at Safeway yesterday and upon checkout, the receipt didn’t appear to be right. Upon closer inspection, it was totally wrong!!

Safeway has a three tiered price structure – regular, Member, and Just for U. They send out weekly paper fliers and they have an app that supposedly can help you keep track of all the things you need, as well as the special offers for members and Just for U that may apply to the things you need.

Well that app, specifically the Just for U pricing, doesn’t appear to be working or maybe is just a scam. Check your receipt! After I left the store something didn’t feel right, so I compared the app prices to the receipt prices and there was something definitely wrong.

9 items were purchased and 7 of them we rung up with the incorrect price – totaling almost a $10 difference in being overcharged!! That’s kind of a big deal and not something you can just let slide. Not that $10 is that big a deal in the financial department to me, but it is for lots of people.

The question is, does this happen on a regular basis? Do you check your receipts? How many times does Safeway, et al, (FYI – Albertsons, Safeway, and Haggens are all the same company) let this happen? My guess is more than it should!

Bad computer programming? Easy mistake? On purpose fraud? Hard to say, but someone knows. The store had no explanation for it.

They refunded the appropriate amount, but I am not sure I am satisfied with that.

Do you regularly check your receipts? Have you ever notices a recurring problem at any stores?

Do your job

Posted on by backuphill

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The job I have is to help people with the software they use every day. I help them extract data from the software and help then fix issues when it doesn’t work correctly.

What I don’t like doing is their jobs for them.

We often get requests that are a are a regular function of their job, something they should know how to do after years of working at the job. Yes, there are those who are new to the position so I can understand asking for help at that point.

However, there are lots of people who call us on a regular basis to help them get data from the system they should have learned how to do by now. They just refuse to figure it out.

“Oh, it’s just easier if you do it.” 

“I know it is accurate when you do it.” Um, no, not necessarily. It’s your data. We don’t know if it is accurate. We just tell you what we see.

“It takes too much time to learn this stuff.”

Good grief…just freaking do your job.

Anyone else out there tired of doing someone else’s job? What is it and why do you do it?

Priorities matter

Posted on by backuphill

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If you’re homeless in California, you gotta be wondering what the hell is going on in the state.

If you’re political grandstanding, like California politicians, then you know exactly what is going on.

Fund healthcare for young illegal aliens, but continue to allow your streets to fill up with homeless camps and drug addicts, most of whom are legal citizens.

Yeah, that makes logical sense.

This from a state that was in a budget crisis emergency not too many years back, and one that continues to tax people and businesses right out of the state. Oh, and throw in a possible economic downturn in the near future and you have yourself a situation rife for another budget crisis.

But hey, people in the country illegally make a louder splash in the news politically than doing something about the homeless crisis.

As usual, California has things backwards and priorities in the wrong place.

 

 

Not representative

Posted on by backuphill

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Recently I was tasked with finding a used car to purchase for my daughter. A process I am not fond of, let alone knowing my daughter is now old enough to be out on the road on her own. Scary times I tell ya!

Anyway, looking for a used car these days is tough. People are shady.

People are shady.

Hundreds of car ads on multiple platforms and driving by, stopping and looking, at cars on the side of the road with signs in them. It is hard to find a quality used car for a decent price. Or, I should say a decent car for an inexpensive price.

I wanted something that I didn’t have to worry about my 16 year old being on the side of the road in the dark somewhere but also knew it wasn’t going to be in perfect condition. The problem is that when you take all that into consideration and then add in a relatively limited budget, well let’s just say an ice cube in hell has a better chance. LOL

People are shady.

I already knew that point, but as I looked at cars online and then would go look at them in person I found a great majority of them were misrepresented in the ad. The body condition was accurately reflected in the photos. The interior was purposely misrepresented for obvious or glaring flaws. The engine leaked oil. The description left out the mile on the vehicle. Windows didn’t work. Mold growing on the interior? Come on.

Anyway, we found a car. I am not sure it was as great a deal as we first thought. New brakes all around after purchase and the key FOB doesn’t work even after the battery replacement. It is even possible the engine was pressure washed to hide a small oil leak.

I didn’t expect perfect, but people are shady.

Have you had similar purchase experiences from buying this online? Got a horror story to share?

Ugh

Posted on by backuphill

 

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It’s meeting time again and I just don’t wanna go.

‘nuf said.

Perhaps I can hide on the toilet like I do at home when I don’t want to do something.

 

Ain’t a whole new world

Posted on by backuphill

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Unfortunately, Disney has found it necessary to continue to grab money by remaking it’s classic animated movies into “live action” movies. It’s rather irritating, really.

I wasn’t a fan of the Beauty and the Beast remake. I saw it on DVD. I am not liking what I am seeing so far for the Aladdin remake. I am optimistically hopeful for the Lion King remake.

Disney continues to make these remakes because they can and people pay money to see them, well, because it’s Disney. Really though, it is just a money grab. I suspect that if Disney made an animated movie, releasing it in February, and then took the exact same movie and made it live action for release in November – well, people would pay to see both. Because, as consumers, we just aren’t that bright.

It ain’t a whole new world. It’s just a rehashed and recycled world.

We meet again

Posted on by backuphill

It’s Friday and it’s meeting time.

Again.

I know I have complained and whined about this before. Just so we’re clear, I am doing it again and will continue to do it in the future too.

That’s how serious I am about not having meetings on Friday mornings.

Like really serious.

Apparently the memo I sent out (and by memo I mean this blog) hasn’t been read by everyone. So, please spread the word.

Did you hear that?

Posted on by backuphill

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Did you hear that? I am surprised if you didn’t.

It was loud.

Or maybe it was just loud because it was in my confined space.

What what is?

It was the sound of my head hitting my desk.

No, I wasn’t under it looking for the Cheez-it I dropped.

It was my head hitting the desk out of boredom.

I say boredom, but really I have a ton of things to do. I have a ton of things to do, but this particular task of software testing and verification is tedious and boring. Staring at the screens all day and very little movement has left me rather sleepy.

I have other tasks that would be much more interesting and stimulating. However, this particular task I have put off longer than I should so I am plowing my way through it. I am only about half way done. Ugh!

I have a feeling my head will have a few extra lumps on it when I am done. How many bounces will my noggin take off the desk? Care to take any bets?

Do you have a task at work that is tedious, boring, and positively mind-numbing?

Just ask Venezuela

Posted on by backuphill

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Here’s something to think about when it comes to politics and who controls the system…

Republicans, generally, are accused of getting political donations from Big Business and rich individual donors. These donations are usually made to benefit themselves in some way in the future, but they are made from choice. For the most part, when it comes to taxes, the Republicans leave people alone and allow the market forces to do the work of choice. In essence, they stay out of the pocket of the little guy so the little guy can become a big guy. As such, prominent Democrats have flourished and benefit from the system they say they dislike because it is unfair to the little guy.

Democrats want to tax everyone and everything in sight, including those Big Businesses and rich donors that donate to the Republicans, as well as Democrats, so they can give all that money to the little guy to help them get ahead. Unlike money given to the Republicans, it isn’t given willingly rather it is taken from everyone by coercion of penalty.

Here’s the weird thing though…said taxes usually end up hurting the little guy the most and actually keep them from being able to get ahead and moving up a level to become “the big guy.” Instead, the little guy becomes dependent on the government handout. And that, my friends, is where control of the population begins…

Just ask Venezuela, she’ll tell you.

Do you know who is in your pocket and why? Who is really after control?