Zero Turn

I had quite a ride yesterday! 

My brother-in-law, Wally, gave me a five-minute lesson on how to drive his zero-turn lawn mower (the one with no steering wheel, but two bars instead).  Then, as he walked away, I took off to mow the little acre around our trailer. 

I hope there's no hidden-camera videos of the next hour!

Everybody says that I'll get the hang of it and will eventually fly across the lawn like a pro.  It didn't happen yesterday! 

The darn levers are so touchy!  One slight move and I was heading off to the right or left!  Going straight was a joke!  It never happened.  There were a few times when I was simply out-of-control! 

Once when I stopped to move some lawn furniture, the thing shut off.  I guess it automatically does that when you leave the seat.  I had a hard time figuring out how to start it again. 

I bumped the trailer several times, knocked my hat off going under a tree, and almost went off into the woods while cutting the perimeter!  It was a zoo!  Anyone watching would've have been bent over in hysterics!

When Deb came home, she commented on how great the place looked!  I didn't bother to tell her about my hair-raising experiences.  I'm just glad I got the job done!

PHONE TREES

To live in the 21st century is to face the reality of dealing with phone trees.  Who would have thought thirty or forty years ago that we'd talk to computers and have them respond to our requests? 

"Press 7 to continue..."

"OK, please wait while I see if I can locate your information..."

Wouldn't it be interesting if we could hear all the comments that are being made between these instructions?  Maybe not!  C'mon, we've all made the comments.  I've noticed that my volume tends to increase the longer I am held on the line.

"Please provide your account number to continue..."

"Thank-you!  I'll look up that account now."

People use all kinds of tricks to short-cut to a real, live person!  Some start angry and stay angry!  Some just constantly choose the option that is most likely to get them to a real person.  I believe these systems are set up to encourage you to give up.  Only the truly persistent get what they want! 

Last fall I tried to make changes to my AT&T account.  After repeated efforts to negotiate these changes, I tried the email route.  I connected with a customer service representative who quickly and courteously made the changes.  I was thrilled and told her so.  I asked if I could keep her address handy for any future needs I might have - she said, "Yes!"  I also asked her if she was single and told her that I had two single sons!

"Please hold the line while I connect you to one of our customer service representatives."

ALL WE WANT IS TO SPEAK TO A REAL, LIVE PERSON!!!  PLEASE!!!

By-the-way, I typed this article while holding the line with Travelocity!  Furthermore, I was totally satisfied with their service - once I got through to a REAL PERSON!!!!!   :-)