More Inanity...

When it comes to Modern Communication.

Recently I wrote a Blog on the senselessness of telephone answering messages that do not identify the phone's owner - especially in the case of Commercial Establishments - i.e. you have reached number xyz 111-2222 please leave a message and we will get back to you as quickly as possible ... tone ....

Now I have encountered a similar situation, this involving my aged Aunt and my attempts to contact one of her health insurance providers to find out why her reimbursements have suddenly ceased.

Here goes:

First the usual mechanical voice overs and various prompts telling me how important my call is to them and that they consistently bend over backwards to provide first class service. Ultimately I am connected with a real person - let's call her Mary J; infact, that is what she calls herself.

I give Mary the background leading to my call at which point she advises me that she cannot speak to me - she must, for privacy reasons, only communicate with my Aunt.

I tell her I can understand her position but it would save everyone time and inconvenience if I could be told what the issue is regarding her ceased payments. I tell her that I suspect it is due to them not being advised of my Aunt's recent move - but again - the stock answer - they can only deal directly with my Aunt. This same Aunt who has no idea that her payments have stopped or for that matter, what her new address is.

But seeing that I am getting nowhere - I disclose that I have Power of Attourney and we agree that I will send Mary J a copy at which point they will be able to deal with me directly too.

What's your e-mail address I ask? Mary J "we are not allowed to give that information out".

Okay - what's your fax number? Mary J provides me with a 1-800 fax number.

And what is your full name so I can direct my fax to your attention? Mary J "we are not allowed to give that out either - only our first name and the first initial of our family name".

Okay - I will send a fax to you 'Mary J'.

May I have your direct telephone extension so I can call you afterward to make sure it gets to you?

You can guess - "not allowed to give that information out"

I send the Fax.

A few days go by and nothing.

I call Insurance Provider at its main 1-800 number and get the following recording:

"If you know the extention of the person you are calling - dial it now. If you do not, press #5 for a list of our staff directory".

Of course I have neither.

Eventually, I reach the company operator and explain the difficulty I am having tracking 'Mary J' down.

The Operator asks me for Mary's full name. I explain, feeling quite silly, that all I have is the first initial of her last name as in 'J'.

Operator tells me that she is unable to find 'Mary J' in her list of employees.

I ask the Operator to connect me with Mary J's area of work and in due course end up speaking with 'Bonny B'.

Bonny does not know a Mary J either and in response to my disbelief - she explains that there are many employees in their section; "she cannot possibly know them all".

I ask Bonny B if their section has received my fax of several days ago?

Bonny then proceeds to scold me for sending a fax to them - "we have several fax numbers how could you possibly know which one to send it too" she snarled.

Finally, I start to lose it. In a gruff voice I punt back - 'your Mary J gave me the number and asked me to use it, so I did;.

Bonny pulls in her horns.

She puts me on hold and then gets back to advise that there is no record on my Aunt's file that my fax has been received. Would I mind sending it again?

"To Bonny B" - I reply. 'Yes', says Bonny - as we are not allowed to give our last name.

And the fax number you are reluctant to give out would be? Bonny B provides me with a different one than was provided in the first instance by Mary J.

And I take it there is no telephone number available for direct follow up with you? "Correct".

Then how will I ever know that one or both of my faxes have been received? "Keep calling our main line until someone here confirms receipt" she responds.

Later that day I receive a voice mail message from Mary J - you remember her - my first contact. Mary just wanted to let me know that she was in receipt of my fax. I wondered to myself if it was fax 1 or fax 2 - but was thankful that at least one of them had gotten through and that she had taken the time to let me know. I know I am unlikely to get a similar call from Bonny B.

So after all that, I still have no idea why the reimbursements stopped but a least I think I am making some progress?

So there you have it - Communications in our Modern World. I am beginning to think though, that a return to Carrier Pigeons may be in order.

As I see it...

'K.D. Galagher'

Be On The Look Out For ....

A Little Olde Lady With A Sign.

She is most dangerous - she has to be, since she has spent 10 years behind bars !!!

This criminal goes by the alias - 'Linda Gibbons' and don't let her grandmotherly looks fool you, she will stand too close to a doorway at the drop of a hat; a Morgentaler abortion doorway that is.

Just this Friday she was at it again - standing too close to Morgentaler's - with her sign no less and it took 5 - count them - five well armed gendarmes armed to the teeth, to subdue her. Hands shackled behind her back.

Despite the fact that she made no move whatsoever to resist. She must have a black belt in something or other.

And this particular arrest is simply bizzare. Just this past week, Linda Gibbons appeared before the Highest Court of the Realm - the Supreme Court of Canada and argued that our Criminal Justice System was treating her unfairly. A decision is now pending.

This alone should have brought the judicial vendetta against her to a halt until the Court renders its decision. I have seen traffic violation cases brought to such a halt in similar circumstances but sadly, not so for poor Ms. Gibbons.

What a State we live in. Real Criminals get a slap on the wrist and dear olde Ms. Gibbons gets the book thrown at her again and again.

Indeed, we can all relate to stories where perpetrators of violence receive light sentences and I have the following one for you.

A few years back, a brother of a chap I worked with was unceremoniously shot for refusing to by a thug a beer. The brother had been out celebrating the receipt of Canada Revenue refund cheque and had been liberally buying others drinks. When he wanted to leave to go home - the thug insisted he buy him another beer. And when refused, he shot him.

The Thug got 4 years and was out in two for good behaviour - despite the cold bloodedness of his killing. I have often wondered how many others have been struck down in his path since.

Even while awaiting trial this Thug placed numerous calls to the victim's family bragging how he had gunned down their son and brother. Where is the death penalty when you need it?

Anyway, Thug gets 4 years and is out in two - little olde lady carrying sign - 10 years - all of it served.

It is like living in a dream world.

And then you have riots, sit-ins and violent protests where numerous fringe nut bars deliberately break the law and receive no censure at all. Probably the worst example is in Caledonia where natives have beaten and assaulted law abiding, tax paying citizens while the police and our government officials - including most notably, our Esteemed Premier McGuinty - watch on in mute silence.

So now back to Linda Gibbons. We live in a society that prides itself on peaceful freedom of assembly and speech and here we have a lady who is troubled by assembly line abortion and all she wants to do is hold her little sign up near the entrance to the assembly line.

One of Morgentaler's minions whines "why should we put up with that (Linda and her sign) most people can't imagine what's that like...it's not a nice feeling". Poor woman, but is this not what freedom of speech is all about to make others uncomfortable by challenging their strongly held beliefs? Democracy is not comfortable.

And what about the discomfort the little baby feels when his or her young life is so violently taken.

Count me with Linda Gibbons - she is a true Martyr of our Sorry Times.

As I see it....

'K.D. Galagher'