Monday, February 28, 2005
Window Fitters And February's GDR
I struggled to get into work what with last night being another candle-burning session at the laptop. When I got in made a strong (very strong) coffee and logged on to my PC. The problems from last week were fixed and it was perhaps foolish of me to think this would be an easy day.
First my boss handed me a slip of paper with people to call on it; I pushed it to the side to do later. Then Gail called – we have had an offer for the house for the full asking price. Great news - but not quite. The window company - CR Smith - are starting to take the piss.
To cut a long story short, we were promised a detailed quote for our vendor’s solicitor two weeks ago. We are still waiting and it is now holding up the sale of our house because we cannot get the issue resolved with our sellers’ solicitor. Gail called them five times last week, each time being told, “There are no managers in just now”, or “So-and-so is not available.” They never called back and faxed us a crap quote instead, which not surprisingly, was rejected by the vendors. Now with an offer in, the situation has become a matter of utmost importance.
Gail sent me the info and I got on the case. I called them up and was given the same line, “non of our managers are in until 12.30pm Mr.Galbraith.”
“Put me through to head office then.”
“This is head office, Mr.Galbraith.”
“Put me onto a manager please.”
“There’s no sales managers here.”
“A finance manager then, I don’t care who it is, just someone who holds some responsibility in your company.”
"There's no managers here."
"Are you trying to tell me a company of your size has no mamagers in before 12.30 on a Monday?"
“I'm sorry, can I take a message and get someone to call you back?”
“No. Because it is evident your admin staff are incapable, so I want to speak to someone who will get something done, now.”
“Please hold.”
(this conversatrion was repeated several times, each time my anger rose just a little bit more).
I finally got the Marketing Director who took my details and said she would personally look up our information.
Ten minutes later the Regional Sales Manager (I thought they weren't in the office?) rang me and I explained the situation. He left me with a guarantee he was personally seeing I got my quote by end of today.
By 4pm there was nothing and Gail was doing her nut. I called him back and he promised it had been sent but would send it again. It arrived at 16:55; the SAME quote but with an added blurb on the front!
I called the twat, sorry - Regional Sales Manager back and let loose with what I thought about him and his firm. I advised a strongly worded letter of complaint would be forthcoming and a copy of which would go to the top person in the company. He grovelled and took on full responsibility. Too late, said I and asked if he could recommend someone better to buy new windows from.
All this from a company who boast the best reputation for putting in windows and for customer service! If this is what their pre-sales is like, what is their after-sales-service going to be? This saga is to be continued...
I’m kind of famous for my complaint letter writing after having led a two-year campaign against Next - a famous British clothing and household company - for crappy service. I won.
Other significant scalps collected include Thameslink (a ticket man who verbally abused me got the sack and I got a non-payment fine returned) and Weatherseal (yes – another window company, who pulled out of a legal battle after I got Watchdog involved).
When a company deems it within their right to treat a customer shabbily, there is nothing more I like than to make their life hell. 6-page letters of complaint come easily to me, and I enjoy taking these things to the top.
BRING IT ON!!!!!!!!!!
I had to leave work at lunchtime to get back home for the surveyor coming to value our home. I was told he would be there sometime between two and five so I got home about 13:55 to discover he had already started in the front garden. By 14:10 he was finished and I had the afternoon to myself to write.
By 14:45 the solicitor had called to give us a renewed offer based in the value of the house. We were counting on more but have to go with it. It'll need some re-jigging of the finances but I'm sure we'll manage. We have to! At least the house is sold and we can work towards the big move.
My nephew paid us a visit to give Laura her birthday present and card for tomorrow. He is 1½ and full of beans. He seems fascinated by my lack of hair. I’m sure if he could talk he would be wondering why I look like a big baby!
Once the house quietened down I got down to writing and completed the passage of Hunting Jack that has been giving me so much grief. When I split it into logical issue sections, it had grown from 6 issues to 9 giving me a whole month to submit. Once they were sent in I pulled three poems that have been on submission for months on end with nothing heard back. 8:41, Who Am I?, Robots and Lost Tears were all sent in to This Is It Magazine which is currently calling for submissions for issue 7.
As today is the last day of February, it is time to examine my To Do List for the month. I know before I look at this it is teamed with failure, but I must look at it positively and use it to my advantage. I believe if nothing else, it has helped me realise the amount of work I can reasonably expect to do, balanced with my work and family lives. In saying that, I am in the middle of a house move so perhaps in a couple of months, I will be able to push the barrier a little bit further again.
February GDR
Fiction
* 1 new short story - not done
* 1 short story for Writing Magazine (Feb Compo) - not done
* Re-write Bill McCarthy short story (need to give different ending) - not done
* 13 issues of Hunting Jack (upped from 9 last month - only 6 completed)
* Submit Loaded (F) for publication - not done
* Submit Bill McCarthy (F) for publication - not done
* Submit The Oasis (F) for publication (still needs another read & edit)
* Follow up on long-standing poetry and story submissions. Pull and resend if necessary. - (3 poems pulled and resubbed for issue 7 call at This Is It Magazine)
* Read A Friend To Die For manuscript. Plan or write next chapter - not done
Poetry
* 4 new poems (upped from 2 last month) - not done
* Submit Lost Tears for publication (This Is It Magazine – Issue 7 call)
Non-Fiction
* Chapters 1 and 2 of Web Development manuals - not done
* Issue 2 of KIC website development column - (almost complete – deadline extended by Ed)
* Issue 2 of Theatre review column -not done
* Issue 1 of Travel column (for issue 2) -not done
* Issue 1 of UK music column (for issue 2) - almost complete (deadline extended by Ed)
* Write 3 travel articles about Edinburgh with different angles - not done
Marketing and Promotion
* Leaflet re-distribution for Hunting Jack (to be done during school hols) - not done
* Design business cards - Complete. (Need to select a printer)
* Do more to promote web design services - not done
Reading and Research
* Finish reading The Prison House by John King - not done
* Read more fiction! - read several plays and short stories plus The Red Notebook by Paul Auster
* Research Buddhism - Researched and material gathered. Not read yet.
Technical
* Update website for client in Scotland - complete
* Design new site for new client - in progress
Things that have come up this month
* Another rewrite for Heart of a Child. Moved to March issue because of UK/US English differences.
* Judge playwright contest - read 5 one-act plays and scored accordingly
Successes
Not as many as last month. I feel quite deflated with my lack of progress given how good January was. I think the targets were too high and I never took into account the balance needed to be kept what with a week and a half of school holidays that I covered as well as the house sale. In hindsight I could have picked a better month to up the targets, which were probably only down to the excitement of last month’s achievements.
A new character in Hunting Jack has developed and is an interesting contrast allowing for a new angle. The last month’s worth of issues have been the most challenging to write. It took a lot of self-absorption to get it right and though I am not 100% happy with it, I don’t think I ever could be.
Disappointments
No new fiction other than Hunting Jack. HJ itself didn’t work out as planned which is a mixture of time required for this particular stage in the story as well as not digging out extra writing time.
No poems at all, but then I wasn’t really inspired.
Had to ask my editor for an extension on my deadlines for the magazine. Travel and Theatre columns are causing me the biggest headaches in particular because of time and money.
Statistics
Fiction: 9000 (16000 last month)
Non-Fiction: 2000 (1600 last month)
Blog: 16400 (19000 last month)
Summary
Next month: must do better!
First my boss handed me a slip of paper with people to call on it; I pushed it to the side to do later. Then Gail called – we have had an offer for the house for the full asking price. Great news - but not quite. The window company - CR Smith - are starting to take the piss.
To cut a long story short, we were promised a detailed quote for our vendor’s solicitor two weeks ago. We are still waiting and it is now holding up the sale of our house because we cannot get the issue resolved with our sellers’ solicitor. Gail called them five times last week, each time being told, “There are no managers in just now”, or “So-and-so is not available.” They never called back and faxed us a crap quote instead, which not surprisingly, was rejected by the vendors. Now with an offer in, the situation has become a matter of utmost importance.
Gail sent me the info and I got on the case. I called them up and was given the same line, “non of our managers are in until 12.30pm Mr.Galbraith.”
“Put me through to head office then.”
“This is head office, Mr.Galbraith.”
“Put me onto a manager please.”
“There’s no sales managers here.”
“A finance manager then, I don’t care who it is, just someone who holds some responsibility in your company.”
"There's no managers here."
"Are you trying to tell me a company of your size has no mamagers in before 12.30 on a Monday?"
“I'm sorry, can I take a message and get someone to call you back?”
“No. Because it is evident your admin staff are incapable, so I want to speak to someone who will get something done, now.”
“Please hold.”
(this conversatrion was repeated several times, each time my anger rose just a little bit more).
I finally got the Marketing Director who took my details and said she would personally look up our information.
Ten minutes later the Regional Sales Manager (I thought they weren't in the office?) rang me and I explained the situation. He left me with a guarantee he was personally seeing I got my quote by end of today.
By 4pm there was nothing and Gail was doing her nut. I called him back and he promised it had been sent but would send it again. It arrived at 16:55; the SAME quote but with an added blurb on the front!
I called the twat, sorry - Regional Sales Manager back and let loose with what I thought about him and his firm. I advised a strongly worded letter of complaint would be forthcoming and a copy of which would go to the top person in the company. He grovelled and took on full responsibility. Too late, said I and asked if he could recommend someone better to buy new windows from.
All this from a company who boast the best reputation for putting in windows and for customer service! If this is what their pre-sales is like, what is their after-sales-service going to be? This saga is to be continued...
I’m kind of famous for my complaint letter writing after having led a two-year campaign against Next - a famous British clothing and household company - for crappy service. I won.
Other significant scalps collected include Thameslink (a ticket man who verbally abused me got the sack and I got a non-payment fine returned) and Weatherseal (yes – another window company, who pulled out of a legal battle after I got Watchdog involved).
When a company deems it within their right to treat a customer shabbily, there is nothing more I like than to make their life hell. 6-page letters of complaint come easily to me, and I enjoy taking these things to the top.
BRING IT ON!!!!!!!!!!
I had to leave work at lunchtime to get back home for the surveyor coming to value our home. I was told he would be there sometime between two and five so I got home about 13:55 to discover he had already started in the front garden. By 14:10 he was finished and I had the afternoon to myself to write.
By 14:45 the solicitor had called to give us a renewed offer based in the value of the house. We were counting on more but have to go with it. It'll need some re-jigging of the finances but I'm sure we'll manage. We have to! At least the house is sold and we can work towards the big move.
My nephew paid us a visit to give Laura her birthday present and card for tomorrow. He is 1½ and full of beans. He seems fascinated by my lack of hair. I’m sure if he could talk he would be wondering why I look like a big baby!
Once the house quietened down I got down to writing and completed the passage of Hunting Jack that has been giving me so much grief. When I split it into logical issue sections, it had grown from 6 issues to 9 giving me a whole month to submit. Once they were sent in I pulled three poems that have been on submission for months on end with nothing heard back. 8:41, Who Am I?, Robots and Lost Tears were all sent in to This Is It Magazine which is currently calling for submissions for issue 7.
As today is the last day of February, it is time to examine my To Do List for the month. I know before I look at this it is teamed with failure, but I must look at it positively and use it to my advantage. I believe if nothing else, it has helped me realise the amount of work I can reasonably expect to do, balanced with my work and family lives. In saying that, I am in the middle of a house move so perhaps in a couple of months, I will be able to push the barrier a little bit further again.
February GDR
Fiction
* 1 new short story - not done
* 1 short story for Writing Magazine (Feb Compo) - not done
* Re-write Bill McCarthy short story (need to give different ending) - not done
* 13 issues of Hunting Jack (upped from 9 last month - only 6 completed)
* Submit Loaded (F) for publication - not done
* Submit Bill McCarthy (F) for publication - not done
* Submit The Oasis (F) for publication (still needs another read & edit)
* Follow up on long-standing poetry and story submissions. Pull and resend if necessary. - (3 poems pulled and resubbed for issue 7 call at This Is It Magazine)
* Read A Friend To Die For manuscript. Plan or write next chapter - not done
Poetry
* 4 new poems (upped from 2 last month) - not done
* Submit Lost Tears for publication (This Is It Magazine – Issue 7 call)
Non-Fiction
* Chapters 1 and 2 of Web Development manuals - not done
* Issue 2 of KIC website development column - (almost complete – deadline extended by Ed)
* Issue 2 of Theatre review column -not done
* Issue 1 of Travel column (for issue 2) -not done
* Issue 1 of UK music column (for issue 2) - almost complete (deadline extended by Ed)
* Write 3 travel articles about Edinburgh with different angles - not done
Marketing and Promotion
* Leaflet re-distribution for Hunting Jack (to be done during school hols) - not done
* Design business cards - Complete. (Need to select a printer)
* Do more to promote web design services - not done
Reading and Research
* Finish reading The Prison House by John King - not done
* Read more fiction! - read several plays and short stories plus The Red Notebook by Paul Auster
* Research Buddhism - Researched and material gathered. Not read yet.
Technical
* Update website for client in Scotland - complete
* Design new site for new client - in progress
Things that have come up this month
* Another rewrite for Heart of a Child. Moved to March issue because of UK/US English differences.
* Judge playwright contest - read 5 one-act plays and scored accordingly
Successes
Not as many as last month. I feel quite deflated with my lack of progress given how good January was. I think the targets were too high and I never took into account the balance needed to be kept what with a week and a half of school holidays that I covered as well as the house sale. In hindsight I could have picked a better month to up the targets, which were probably only down to the excitement of last month’s achievements.
A new character in Hunting Jack has developed and is an interesting contrast allowing for a new angle. The last month’s worth of issues have been the most challenging to write. It took a lot of self-absorption to get it right and though I am not 100% happy with it, I don’t think I ever could be.
Disappointments
No new fiction other than Hunting Jack. HJ itself didn’t work out as planned which is a mixture of time required for this particular stage in the story as well as not digging out extra writing time.
No poems at all, but then I wasn’t really inspired.
Had to ask my editor for an extension on my deadlines for the magazine. Travel and Theatre columns are causing me the biggest headaches in particular because of time and money.
Statistics
Fiction: 9000 (16000 last month)
Non-Fiction: 2000 (1600 last month)
Blog: 16400 (19000 last month)
Summary
Next month: must do better!
Colin 11:28 am
2 Comments:
Good luck with those gits, Colin. I hope everything gets resolved quickly!
Congratulations, Colin!! And I'm impressed with your going after those companies - knock 'em dead!