Praa...praa..praa....praaahh

Man, I just got off the phone to some mega-idiot! Trust me there is such a thing. I really wonder why I go on the phone at all to utility companies.

Every bloody time I call one of these call-queuing things, my blood pressure goes up!

Yesterday I wasted bloody 52 minutes of my time. Today 22 mins.

Invariably this is what happens:

1. I'm in England but I get put through via crackly telephone line to somebody sounding like they're in India. How do I know that? Because I bloody well know what an Indian accent is, and it leads me to imagine I'm speaking to someone in India. Look I don't care if they're really in Tristan da Cunha - okay.
2. Next they speak in this bloody polite tone that is stilted and frankly annoying.
3. They usually don't understand anything I say - although they speak well articulated English. So then I have to repeat myself.
4. Then they speed up in rate of speech, because now they sense they don't know what the hell is going on.
5. And now comes the pain, this Indian or whatever accent, becomes more accentuated with the rapid speech and begins to cut me across in mid-sentence. Like wait to bloody hell until I finished what I'm trying to explain!! Christ man!
6. So then I tell them in stern words to STFU (well not like that) - basically I cut back across them and say, "Hang-on a second - I'm in mid-sentence here when you cut me up - that's very rude. You couldn't possibly know what I was going to say next."
7. Then they shut up for a bit. Listen up but continue to get nuance of meaning wrong.
8. Oh I forgot to say that all the above might happen up to three times while I'm passed from department to department, one not knowing what the heck the other is doing.

So - at the end of these calls I'm shattered. Why do I endure it? Well I'm seeking a better deal for myself. On one occasion I thought I might save myself £36 per year.

If you know what I'm going to say like why should I speak at all. Look this thing seems to happen mainly with people sounding like they're from India. I ain't got nothing against people from India, but heck man - just learn the language, learn to listen and have some manners, for God sakes. Oh I know what, I'm supposed to feel sorry for these people and blame their employers. Well I do blame their employers, but I'm sorry the 'messenger' or frontline staff will get shot when you cross me.

But now I'm thinking, "Heck  - the real financial cost to my health is probably gonna exceed what I save in money on bills! Is it worth it?" And hold on a second, what about how I value my time on the phone. What's the cost of that? So between yesterday and today I've spent over an hour on the phone getting nowhere and probably damaging my health. So I'm no better of financially for the call, and my health is probably affected if I do this too often. Is that a good deal? I don't think so.

Conclusion - let them take the money! It's always about money - isn't it. Your money or your life! Who the heck cares.