Vodafone Customer Care

A transcript of my attempt to tell Vodafone that their web site isn’t working properly:

Call 1 -> 191 -> Voice Menu -> choose Billing Dept.:

me: “Hi, you website doesn’t have an option for sending feedback about the website itself – is there a department I could talk to about a problem with the online billing system?”

guy1: “Sure, they are called e-care – do you want me to put you through?”

me: “yes, please.”

< click > -> Back to Voice Menu -> choose Billing Dept. again:

me: “Hi, I’m trying to get hold of e-care – but your voice menu system doesn’t seem to have an option for that or anything like it. Do you have a number for them?”

guy2: “Yes, sure it’s xxx-xxx-xxx ”

me: “thanks.”

Call 2 -> xxx-xxx-xxx -> Same voice menu -> choose billing.

me: “Hi, I am trying to get through to e-care – number I was given dumps me in the same voice menu and there don’t seem to be any suitable options for them: Do you know how to get hold of e-care?”

lady1: “OK, the trick to that is not to choose anything from the menu – just wait for all the talking to end and don’t press anything and you should get them.”

me: “OK, thanks.”

Call 3 -> xxx-xxx-xxx -> Voice Menu again – > don’t press anything -> get a bit of silence then a constant tone.

Call 4 -> xxx-xxx-xxx -> Voice Menu -> (cellular) Network dept. for a change

me: “Hi, I know it’s not your department, because you’re Network…”

lady2: “No, we’re Billing.”

me: “hmmm, I see – do you know how to get hold of e-care? I tried not pressing any of the options on the voice menu, it just hung-up on me.”

lady2: “It’s a hidden option – option 6, try that – but I heard that other people were having problems getting through too. We’ve been having problems with our switchboard – for the last four months. I’d try again a bit later.”

me: “…. right. Thanks very much. Glad to see that one of the world’s largest telecoms companies has it’s phones working properly.”

lady2: [laughs]

Urban Myth – Ballpoints don’t work in Space

There is a famous urban myth (I first saw it in someone’s sig. on Slashdot) that the American Space Programme spent millions on a “SpacePen” that would work in the Zero-G of space — While the Russians used Pencils.

This isn’t true for a variety of reasons-

• NASA did not commission the SpacePen that we all saw advertised in the 80′s – You know – the one that can write underwater. It was developed by some loony just because he wanted to.
• The Russians used ordinary ballpoints – that work fine in Zero-G

Lase Blane

So – David Blane is living in a plastic box above the Thames for 40 days (or something equally stupid.) Unsurprisingly Londoners aren’t reacting to his Showmanship in quite the same way as New Yorkers did to his Pole Standing (they thought it was amazing – we Throw eggs and flash him)

This evening it should get even more fun – I read in NTK that FARK are organising a flash mob who will point lasers at him.

Update: – Well I watched it on Sky – A bit of a damp squib. There were a lot of people there, but only one (or two?) lasers (Green interestingly.)