My headache is still persisting. Little bugger. It's not terrible, I can function, but I would still like it to, you know, STOP eventually. So today I went to see my "doctor" (PA) Amber. She seemed kind of concerned with it, particularly the fact that it (or one of the meds) seems to be fiddling with my hearing a little. I noticed it when my phone's text alert goes off. It seems...out of tune. It's weird. I can also hear the difference in music and sometimes even when I'm talking. She did a bunch of little neurological tests and I did fine, so she said that it may be a combination of the migraine and the stupid cold-that-won't-die. So hopefully the antibiotics I've been taking will start working soon.
She gave me a prescription for a migraine medicine I've taken in the past as well, so I dropped it off at a nearby pharmacy. I should mention this was my "lunch break". They said it would be 15 minutes, so I drove across the street for a quick lunch and then went back. When I got back they told me that my prescription plan only approves this medication in a quantity of 12. Mine was written for 9. Seriously?! Yes this is the same RX plan that I fought with on Tyler's medications (see HERE). They said they'd have to see if the doctor would re-write it for 12, which I knew they would, and then they'd call me. I was annoyed, because I was hoping to take the new medicine rather than what I already had because it makes me so tired, but I needed to get back to work for a meeting, and really, what could I do? So I left, got two miles down the road, and got stopped for a really long funeral procession. While I was stopped, I took my original medicine. I had barely swallowed when the pharmacy called to say that they'd gotten the original RX for 9 approved after all, and could I please come back to get it. *FACEPALM*
I waited for the procession to pass, did a U-Turn, and fought the now-congested traffic back to the pharmacy. I finally got my medicine (after playing the I CAN'T HEAR YOU game with the woman at the drive thru--seriously, SPEAK UP sister!) and got back to work just in time for my meeting. Sigh.
My doctor said that if my headache isn't gone by Monday she wants me to have a CAT scan. So please go away, Headache!!!
Showing posts with label rant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rant. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
I am Mama, hear me ROAR!
I seriously feel like David, with the giant Goliath at his feet, triumphant yet somehow disbelieving that I've actually won the fight. Surely he's going to bounce back to his colossal feet and say say "PSYCH!".
I'm sure you're wondering (assuming anyone is actually reading this, I always feel silly making that assumption) what the heck I'm talking about. So let me back up.
Last October (That's 5+ months ago), I got a letter from my prescription plan company. I have health insurance through my job and there is a separate company that deals with medications and prescriptions. The letter was address to the Parent of Tyler L. It stated that as of January 1, 2014 the medication he takes for acid reflux would no longer be covered under our plan. Tyler has taken medication for acid reflux since he was about 6 weeks old because he spit up often and was a fussy colicy baby. Reflux is very common, especially in male infants, and his pediatrician thought it was a likely culprit and it seemed to help a little. At 9 months, the spitting up had basically stopped, so we were advised to stop the meds. At 12 months, we discovered that Tyler had LOST weight. He had lost several pounds. We put him back on reflux meds and started giving him pediassure instead of whole milk.
Since that time, we've had a bunch of testing done (upper GI, x-rays, an endoscopy, a 2 day probe study, bloodwork, etc) but have never really gotten a lot of definitive answers. I had one horrible GI specialist and one that was so-so, but they never seemed to make a lot of progress. He's tried several medication, finally ending up on Prevacid, which seemed most effective for him. It comes in a little tablet that melts in liquid. We put one in his juice in the morning and it keeps his symptoms at bay for the most part. He still has a very sensitive stomach, especially if he gets overheated from running around. He's still a super picky, difficult eater. But we've tried to wean off the medication several times, and every time is the same--complaints of a stomachache, particularly at dinner time and often accompanied by pressing on his stomach, loss of appetite, trouble sleeping, general fussiness, and if tried for more than a week or so, weight loss. So this was the right medication for him. Up until about 2 years ago, there was a generic that was available by prescription, but then it suddenly vanished from the market and we were left with the more expensive name brand, which eventually crept all the way up to my maximum co-pay of $95.
So, back to the letter. I was not happy to hear this. I knew I was in for a battle. The next day, I called the company (I'm being nice and not bashing them by name) and told them I'd received the letter and that was just not going to work. I'd checked, and without insurance, the medicine would cost me around $500 per month. Now, I would do anything for my child, but that wasn't going to be possible without some serious miracles. So the first guy I talked to said I needed a Prior Authorization, submitted from our PCP. Okay, great, done. Our awesome PA (Physician's Assistant) Amber and her amazing nurse Jenny drafted one up and sent it in. Rejected--medication does not require a PA. Oy. Yeah, a PA isn't required in the plan in 2013, but under the new 2014 plan. I was told the plan "wasn't loaded" and we should try again in a few weeks. Okay fine. We did this, with the same result. Against my better judgement, I patiently waited until the new year to try a third time. Now I was told that we never needed a PA--we needed an appeal. UGH. So we filed an appeal and sent with it a letter of medical necessity, stating that this medication is the only one that really works for Tyler, here's the tests that have been run, here are the other meds he's taken, yada yada. Denied. They told us we needed to try him on Nexium. I filled an RX and we tried it for about a week before it was clear it wasn't effective for him.
At that point, our PCP's office recommended that I call his most recent GI Specialist and have them give it a try. They thought the specialist might have more experience and their recommendations might be taken more seriously. The specialist appealed the decision and they were denied (Appeal 2 out of 3 possible). They said that he needed to try one more medication, Prilosec and if he failed it, they would approve the Prevacid. We tried it for 2 weeks and it didn't work either. The GI specialist sent the request through for a third time. They were then told that we needed to try another medication. When she told me that, I reminded her that's what they said last time. She contacted them again and they told her they needed a letter of medical necessity. I told her our PCP had already sent one, but they insisted. Unfortunately, Tyler hadn't been to the GI since 2012, so we were told we'd have to come in for an appointment before they could legally write the letter. I grudgingly made the appointment, but I'd had enough.
I sat down one evening last week and wrote a letter. I put in all the details of the medications we've tried, the information (and more often, MISinformation) I'd been given from their customer service reps, and all of my areas of frustration. I told them how I couldn't get solid answers when I called, how I was even told that the department that I really needed to speak with "didn't have phones". I was calm and mature, but still let them know that I felt it was unfair and cruel to put a five year old child through pain over something like this, to draw the situation out when a child's well-being is at stake. I ended the letter by saying I hoped they would use my comments to improve their policies and appeals process and to train their staff to make the process smoother. Then I said that if there was any assistance they could offer us, to please contact me.
Now, if you've ever tried to contact someone in upper management at a large corporation, you know it's nearly impossible. They don't usually publish their email addresses or phone numbers, just basic information about the corporate headquarters. And even I have been trained when answer phones at work, to withhold that kind of information, to solicitors from contacting management and that kind of thing. But with some creative thinking and deductive reasoning, Adam and I were able to come up with the names of some high-ups and what we assumed were the email address that went with those names. Friday night I sent my letter off as an email to about half a dozen individuals at the company.
Within a few hours, I got a response. They would work on this over the weekend and I would be contacted on Monday.
Over the course of the day on Monday I got several emails and by Tuesday evening the medication was put on a one year approval and I was assured that should Tyler need the medication after the year passes, I should email this doctor personally and he would see that it was extended. I got a phone call this afternoon saying my prescription is ready to be picked up. I will happily hand over that $95 for once.
I am so relieved. I've been fighting this battle for over 5 months, and even though I told myself I wouldn't give up, part of me didn't think I'd be able to get it done. I've been in tears many times over this, so frustrated that some faceless corporation dared to play God with my son's health. I wanted nothing more than to make him feel better. And now I can.
The only thing worse than a woman scorned? A Mama Bear! Don't mess with my babies!
I'm sure you're wondering (assuming anyone is actually reading this, I always feel silly making that assumption) what the heck I'm talking about. So let me back up.
Last October (That's 5+ months ago), I got a letter from my prescription plan company. I have health insurance through my job and there is a separate company that deals with medications and prescriptions. The letter was address to the Parent of Tyler L. It stated that as of January 1, 2014 the medication he takes for acid reflux would no longer be covered under our plan. Tyler has taken medication for acid reflux since he was about 6 weeks old because he spit up often and was a fussy colicy baby. Reflux is very common, especially in male infants, and his pediatrician thought it was a likely culprit and it seemed to help a little. At 9 months, the spitting up had basically stopped, so we were advised to stop the meds. At 12 months, we discovered that Tyler had LOST weight. He had lost several pounds. We put him back on reflux meds and started giving him pediassure instead of whole milk.
Since that time, we've had a bunch of testing done (upper GI, x-rays, an endoscopy, a 2 day probe study, bloodwork, etc) but have never really gotten a lot of definitive answers. I had one horrible GI specialist and one that was so-so, but they never seemed to make a lot of progress. He's tried several medication, finally ending up on Prevacid, which seemed most effective for him. It comes in a little tablet that melts in liquid. We put one in his juice in the morning and it keeps his symptoms at bay for the most part. He still has a very sensitive stomach, especially if he gets overheated from running around. He's still a super picky, difficult eater. But we've tried to wean off the medication several times, and every time is the same--complaints of a stomachache, particularly at dinner time and often accompanied by pressing on his stomach, loss of appetite, trouble sleeping, general fussiness, and if tried for more than a week or so, weight loss. So this was the right medication for him. Up until about 2 years ago, there was a generic that was available by prescription, but then it suddenly vanished from the market and we were left with the more expensive name brand, which eventually crept all the way up to my maximum co-pay of $95.
So, back to the letter. I was not happy to hear this. I knew I was in for a battle. The next day, I called the company (I'm being nice and not bashing them by name) and told them I'd received the letter and that was just not going to work. I'd checked, and without insurance, the medicine would cost me around $500 per month. Now, I would do anything for my child, but that wasn't going to be possible without some serious miracles. So the first guy I talked to said I needed a Prior Authorization, submitted from our PCP. Okay, great, done. Our awesome PA (Physician's Assistant) Amber and her amazing nurse Jenny drafted one up and sent it in. Rejected--medication does not require a PA. Oy. Yeah, a PA isn't required in the plan in 2013, but under the new 2014 plan. I was told the plan "wasn't loaded" and we should try again in a few weeks. Okay fine. We did this, with the same result. Against my better judgement, I patiently waited until the new year to try a third time. Now I was told that we never needed a PA--we needed an appeal. UGH. So we filed an appeal and sent with it a letter of medical necessity, stating that this medication is the only one that really works for Tyler, here's the tests that have been run, here are the other meds he's taken, yada yada. Denied. They told us we needed to try him on Nexium. I filled an RX and we tried it for about a week before it was clear it wasn't effective for him.
At that point, our PCP's office recommended that I call his most recent GI Specialist and have them give it a try. They thought the specialist might have more experience and their recommendations might be taken more seriously. The specialist appealed the decision and they were denied (Appeal 2 out of 3 possible). They said that he needed to try one more medication, Prilosec and if he failed it, they would approve the Prevacid. We tried it for 2 weeks and it didn't work either. The GI specialist sent the request through for a third time. They were then told that we needed to try another medication. When she told me that, I reminded her that's what they said last time. She contacted them again and they told her they needed a letter of medical necessity. I told her our PCP had already sent one, but they insisted. Unfortunately, Tyler hadn't been to the GI since 2012, so we were told we'd have to come in for an appointment before they could legally write the letter. I grudgingly made the appointment, but I'd had enough.
I sat down one evening last week and wrote a letter. I put in all the details of the medications we've tried, the information (and more often, MISinformation) I'd been given from their customer service reps, and all of my areas of frustration. I told them how I couldn't get solid answers when I called, how I was even told that the department that I really needed to speak with "didn't have phones". I was calm and mature, but still let them know that I felt it was unfair and cruel to put a five year old child through pain over something like this, to draw the situation out when a child's well-being is at stake. I ended the letter by saying I hoped they would use my comments to improve their policies and appeals process and to train their staff to make the process smoother. Then I said that if there was any assistance they could offer us, to please contact me.
Now, if you've ever tried to contact someone in upper management at a large corporation, you know it's nearly impossible. They don't usually publish their email addresses or phone numbers, just basic information about the corporate headquarters. And even I have been trained when answer phones at work, to withhold that kind of information, to solicitors from contacting management and that kind of thing. But with some creative thinking and deductive reasoning, Adam and I were able to come up with the names of some high-ups and what we assumed were the email address that went with those names. Friday night I sent my letter off as an email to about half a dozen individuals at the company.
Within a few hours, I got a response. They would work on this over the weekend and I would be contacted on Monday.
Over the course of the day on Monday I got several emails and by Tuesday evening the medication was put on a one year approval and I was assured that should Tyler need the medication after the year passes, I should email this doctor personally and he would see that it was extended. I got a phone call this afternoon saying my prescription is ready to be picked up. I will happily hand over that $95 for once.
I am so relieved. I've been fighting this battle for over 5 months, and even though I told myself I wouldn't give up, part of me didn't think I'd be able to get it done. I've been in tears many times over this, so frustrated that some faceless corporation dared to play God with my son's health. I wanted nothing more than to make him feel better. And now I can.
The only thing worse than a woman scorned? A Mama Bear! Don't mess with my babies!
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Thank you Gilbert, AZ
Dear Random Resident of Gilbert, AZ who stole or bought my debit card number,
I hope you enjoyed your $355.07 shopping spree to Ross, TJ Maxx, and Marshall's. I really appreciated getting a call from my bank's fraud department at 4:00 pm on a Friday about possible fraudulent charges on my account. And I appreciated having to leave work early--missing out on some of my hard earned overtime and making me late going home and thus getting stuck in traffic, so I could go to my bank and fill out fraud paperwork. Great way to spend a Friday afternoon. On the plus side, my bank won't pay for those charges. On the negative side, it could take up to 10 days for the charges to be completely reversed, which totally screwed my weekend plans (because, you know, they entailed spending money that my bank account now shows as unavailable). I even tried to nail your ass by calling one of the stores, where I suspect you bought a $100 gift card. My banker said he's done this before and the store cancelled the gift card, rendering it useless. But apparently, the Ross store doesn't mind being out $100, so I guess you win on that too. Luckily, according to the fraud department, you'd tried to spend another $200+ somewhere and it looks like you finally got denied, thank Jeebus! I hope it caused you at least a tiny bit of shame. Probably not, but I can hope. Now I find out that regardless of everything I did, the charges have actually CLEARED my bank anyway. Fantastic.
So thanks for ruining my weekend just a little bit. Oh, and I hope you get hit by a bus.
Bite me,
Melissa
Yeah so that happened. Fun times.
23 weeks pregnant! My fun food/baby size ticker is still saying baby is the size of a papaya, which is what it said last week. Lame. So I googled it and found a site that tells me baby is the size of a grapefruit this week. Night time is starting to get more uncomfortable, with my neck and back starting to complain more and of course the never ending trips to the bathroom! Baby boy likes to kick me in such a way that makes me feel like I need to "go" even when I don't. No flutters and gentle pokes for this girl! Nope, it's the old 80's version of Batman! BAM! POW! My belly is poking out and I'm carrying very high AGAIN. But I can safely say, I look pregnant and not just chubby :) I've also been condemned to grocery shopping from one of those old lady motorized carts, because for some reason Sunday mornings and the grocery store equals almost passing out. I think it's the heat, combined with everything I can possibly eat for breakfast not having enough protein or something in it. I feel stupid, looking (I think) younger than my 30 years, certainly not hugely pregnant yet, riding in a cart with no signs of injury, but I suppose it's better than actually passing out and the embarrassment that would bring! Plus then I can usually avoid feeling like a puddle of ick the rest of the day. Not that it stopped me from being a complete couch potato yesterday.
Doctor's appointment Wednesday! Shouldn't be too exciting, probably just a bp and heart rate check, plus scheduling the glucose tolerance test. Yum I can taste the orangey sweetness now! :-P
I hope you enjoyed your $355.07 shopping spree to Ross, TJ Maxx, and Marshall's. I really appreciated getting a call from my bank's fraud department at 4:00 pm on a Friday about possible fraudulent charges on my account. And I appreciated having to leave work early--missing out on some of my hard earned overtime and making me late going home and thus getting stuck in traffic, so I could go to my bank and fill out fraud paperwork. Great way to spend a Friday afternoon. On the plus side, my bank won't pay for those charges. On the negative side, it could take up to 10 days for the charges to be completely reversed, which totally screwed my weekend plans (because, you know, they entailed spending money that my bank account now shows as unavailable). I even tried to nail your ass by calling one of the stores, where I suspect you bought a $100 gift card. My banker said he's done this before and the store cancelled the gift card, rendering it useless. But apparently, the Ross store doesn't mind being out $100, so I guess you win on that too. Luckily, according to the fraud department, you'd tried to spend another $200+ somewhere and it looks like you finally got denied, thank Jeebus! I hope it caused you at least a tiny bit of shame. Probably not, but I can hope. Now I find out that regardless of everything I did, the charges have actually CLEARED my bank anyway. Fantastic.
So thanks for ruining my weekend just a little bit. Oh, and I hope you get hit by a bus.
Bite me,
Melissa
Yeah so that happened. Fun times.
23 weeks pregnant! My fun food/baby size ticker is still saying baby is the size of a papaya, which is what it said last week. Lame. So I googled it and found a site that tells me baby is the size of a grapefruit this week. Night time is starting to get more uncomfortable, with my neck and back starting to complain more and of course the never ending trips to the bathroom! Baby boy likes to kick me in such a way that makes me feel like I need to "go" even when I don't. No flutters and gentle pokes for this girl! Nope, it's the old 80's version of Batman! BAM! POW! My belly is poking out and I'm carrying very high AGAIN. But I can safely say, I look pregnant and not just chubby :) I've also been condemned to grocery shopping from one of those old lady motorized carts, because for some reason Sunday mornings and the grocery store equals almost passing out. I think it's the heat, combined with everything I can possibly eat for breakfast not having enough protein or something in it. I feel stupid, looking (I think) younger than my 30 years, certainly not hugely pregnant yet, riding in a cart with no signs of injury, but I suppose it's better than actually passing out and the embarrassment that would bring! Plus then I can usually avoid feeling like a puddle of ick the rest of the day. Not that it stopped me from being a complete couch potato yesterday.
Doctor's appointment Wednesday! Shouldn't be too exciting, probably just a bp and heart rate check, plus scheduling the glucose tolerance test. Yum I can taste the orangey sweetness now! :-P
Monday, August 8, 2011
Blame it on the hormones
Today was not a good day. I think I'm in a bit of a funk. Work isn't great, home isn't great, I'm worried about a hundred and one things. Tyler's been super fussy, not sleeping well, and not eating well.
And now I'm messing with my hormones. Yeah, that was smart.
I was ranting a little (okay, a lot) at work today. This was not the day to try to deal with the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles. I have a theory that they hold auditions to work at the BMV instead of interviews, because it seems like the most unpleasant people work there. Anyway, long story short, I was trying to set up an account on their dealer website so that I can order temporary license plates for our customers. We just found out it has to be done online now. So the website said to enter my dealer number and they would email me the new password. But they don't have my email. There was a note that said that if that was the case, to call this phone number to have an email added. So I did that. And the lady said I had to have a letter signed by one of three people listed in their system. The first two have retired. The third is the OWNER of my company. Yeah, I need to bother the owner of my company and ask him to please have the Indiana BMV add my email address to their system.
Seems pretty trivial to me and I'm sure it will seem trivial to him as well, but that's what I've got to do. So anyway, I was telling my boss this and describing the snarkiness of the BMV employee and he (not so delicately, I might add) asked if I had started taking my fertility medication.
I sort of just stared at him for a minute, at first sort of taken aback that he would ask me that.
And then I thought, "Huh. Yeah, I guess that could be it."
And the cherry on the craptastic day? I broke my glasses. I was pulling a shirt off over my head and crack! The leg snapped clean off. So I will be walking around with scotch tape around my glasses until the weekend when I can go get them fixed. I could really use the "Reparo" charm right now.
*sigh*
On the plus side (gotta try to find one), my hormone levels at my appointment were fine. My ultrasound must have been too, since they gave me the prescription for Clomid. I haven't heard back about my Glucose and Insulin levels, but I felt pretty much fine after drinking the lovely orange soda, so I think it'll come back okay too. AND I'm taking vacation next week. Even if homelife isn't great right now, it's got to be better than work and homelife put together, right?
right?
Anyone? Bueller?
And now I'm messing with my hormones. Yeah, that was smart.
I was ranting a little (okay, a lot) at work today. This was not the day to try to deal with the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles. I have a theory that they hold auditions to work at the BMV instead of interviews, because it seems like the most unpleasant people work there. Anyway, long story short, I was trying to set up an account on their dealer website so that I can order temporary license plates for our customers. We just found out it has to be done online now. So the website said to enter my dealer number and they would email me the new password. But they don't have my email. There was a note that said that if that was the case, to call this phone number to have an email added. So I did that. And the lady said I had to have a letter signed by one of three people listed in their system. The first two have retired. The third is the OWNER of my company. Yeah, I need to bother the owner of my company and ask him to please have the Indiana BMV add my email address to their system.
Seems pretty trivial to me and I'm sure it will seem trivial to him as well, but that's what I've got to do. So anyway, I was telling my boss this and describing the snarkiness of the BMV employee and he (not so delicately, I might add) asked if I had started taking my fertility medication.
I sort of just stared at him for a minute, at first sort of taken aback that he would ask me that.
And then I thought, "Huh. Yeah, I guess that could be it."
And the cherry on the craptastic day? I broke my glasses. I was pulling a shirt off over my head and crack! The leg snapped clean off. So I will be walking around with scotch tape around my glasses until the weekend when I can go get them fixed. I could really use the "Reparo" charm right now.
*sigh*
On the plus side (gotta try to find one), my hormone levels at my appointment were fine. My ultrasound must have been too, since they gave me the prescription for Clomid. I haven't heard back about my Glucose and Insulin levels, but I felt pretty much fine after drinking the lovely orange soda, so I think it'll come back okay too. AND I'm taking vacation next week. Even if homelife isn't great right now, it's got to be better than work and homelife put together, right?
right?
Anyone? Bueller?
Thursday, April 7, 2011
SPRINT=FAIL
I have spent the better part of a week fighting (yet again) with my cell phone provider, Sprint. If I was ever going to go completely postal on a company it would be them!
It all started in October when I called to try to see if I could lower my bill. We were struggling money-wise and I thought I'd check. They discovered that I wasn't getting a discount that I was supposed to be getting and my darling husband had never noticed! They assured me they would put in for a credit for the entire 10 months I had not been getting my discount, but that it might not be in time for the next billing cycle.
Nearly 2 months later, I still hadn't seen it, so I called to check and see what the status was. I was told it can take up to 3 billing cycles. I informed them that I was not told that. She apologized and told me that I was eligible to resign my contract and get a different credit that would show up immediately, thus allowing me to skip a payment in December. I needed that, so I agreed. She told me to just go to any Sprint store and I could also upgrade my phones. A few weeks later, I did that, but left the store without buy because I wasn't sure. I found one online for a good deal (free) and called to order. Then I was told that I was only eligible for a PARTIAL credit, which meant I would have to pay about 50 bucks a phone to upgrade.
By now I was mad. No one told me that. Not even close! I argued and this one guy said he was going to transfer me, but he'd explain everything first and he thought they could probably push that through. Then he dumped me to the completely wrong department with no explanation. I was livid. The poor girl who answered could do nothing for me. She was nice, but she couldn't even transfer me anywhere. I finally had to call back in and start all over. At the end, I did not get the full upgrade then. Before hanging up, I wanted to check the status of my refund.
Then they told me that I could only get a three month refund. No. Not. At. All. I unloaded on them, eventually getting the refund I was owed. And being assured that on April 1st, I would be eligible for a full upgrade.
I waited a little impatiently and a few days before the first, I called to check what plans Sprint has for Smartphones. I had my heart set on having one if we could afford it. I talked to a girl and she explained the cheapest plan is $129.99. She saw that I have 3 phones on my plan and a discount. She calculated my discount and estimated my bill to be $112 a month for 3 smartphones. I needed to consider this, so I thanked her and told her I'd call back with a decision after the 1st.
We talked about it and decide to indulge ourselves. So I called on Friday to order them and all of the sudden there was an extra $19.99 charge for the third phone plus $10.00 per phone for smartphone data. The estimated price would be over $175. In this exchange my phone "dropped" the call twice, forcing me to call again and start over. I got a lot of excuses about how the plan is the plan yadayada. Eventually I talked to a guy who seemed nice and said they were going to file a complaint about the girl who misquoted me and listen to the call. If the call was as I said it was there was a "very good chance" they could work something out and get me a better price. he would call me on Tuesday. I went ahead and ordered the phones, so not to miss out on the deal, but when they arrived on Monday, we did not activate them. If we had to return them we'd be charged a restocking fee if we had activated them.
Tuesday at 5pm I still hadn't heard back. I called and fought with a few people before one guy was really nasty, saying he was going to make sure if I called again I would always have to talk to him because I just didn't like the answer he was giving me. Finally though he let me talk to his boss. She said that the guy I'd spoken to Friday had just left me a message and did I want her to hold so I could check it. I said yes and while I used my home phone to call, she HUNG UP on me. No dropped call. She hung up. And there was no voicemail message. They say that's because I was on with Sprint already so it wouldn't go through.
I was PISSED. I called again and talked to a nice guy who said he was going to try to contact the guy from Friday for me. He actually gave me an email address so I could contact him. No one else would do that.
Yesterday, William (the guy from Friday) called and he said he was passing my information on to one of the higher ups at his location and she would call as soon as she'd had a chance to look it over. Josh, the nice guy who tried to contact William also checked in.
Today, William's boss called my cell phone but he was really just seeing if he could get me to give up. While I was on with him, William called. I told him I was on with his supervisor and he said, "Bear with me a minute" and put me on hold. I got off the phone with his boss Fredrick and waited. A few minutes later I realize that he too had disconnected me.
What.
The.
Fetch.
So here I am, over a week into this, with an awesome phone I can't activate and a MAJOR headache. Everytime I see their number on my phone, my heart races and I get sooooo anxious! It's really making me sick! I just want them to stand behind what their employees say. I work in sales too, and that's what we have to do! If we get the price wrong, we have to eat it! And over and over I'm being told that something someone told me isn't true. I'm basically being lied to.
I've considered canceling, and I still may. I'm trying to see this through. If anyone had an "in" at Sprint, I could really use one!
It all started in October when I called to try to see if I could lower my bill. We were struggling money-wise and I thought I'd check. They discovered that I wasn't getting a discount that I was supposed to be getting and my darling husband had never noticed! They assured me they would put in for a credit for the entire 10 months I had not been getting my discount, but that it might not be in time for the next billing cycle.
Nearly 2 months later, I still hadn't seen it, so I called to check and see what the status was. I was told it can take up to 3 billing cycles. I informed them that I was not told that. She apologized and told me that I was eligible to resign my contract and get a different credit that would show up immediately, thus allowing me to skip a payment in December. I needed that, so I agreed. She told me to just go to any Sprint store and I could also upgrade my phones. A few weeks later, I did that, but left the store without buy because I wasn't sure. I found one online for a good deal (free) and called to order. Then I was told that I was only eligible for a PARTIAL credit, which meant I would have to pay about 50 bucks a phone to upgrade.
By now I was mad. No one told me that. Not even close! I argued and this one guy said he was going to transfer me, but he'd explain everything first and he thought they could probably push that through. Then he dumped me to the completely wrong department with no explanation. I was livid. The poor girl who answered could do nothing for me. She was nice, but she couldn't even transfer me anywhere. I finally had to call back in and start all over. At the end, I did not get the full upgrade then. Before hanging up, I wanted to check the status of my refund.
Then they told me that I could only get a three month refund. No. Not. At. All. I unloaded on them, eventually getting the refund I was owed. And being assured that on April 1st, I would be eligible for a full upgrade.
I waited a little impatiently and a few days before the first, I called to check what plans Sprint has for Smartphones. I had my heart set on having one if we could afford it. I talked to a girl and she explained the cheapest plan is $129.99. She saw that I have 3 phones on my plan and a discount. She calculated my discount and estimated my bill to be $112 a month for 3 smartphones. I needed to consider this, so I thanked her and told her I'd call back with a decision after the 1st.
We talked about it and decide to indulge ourselves. So I called on Friday to order them and all of the sudden there was an extra $19.99 charge for the third phone plus $10.00 per phone for smartphone data. The estimated price would be over $175. In this exchange my phone "dropped" the call twice, forcing me to call again and start over. I got a lot of excuses about how the plan is the plan yadayada. Eventually I talked to a guy who seemed nice and said they were going to file a complaint about the girl who misquoted me and listen to the call. If the call was as I said it was there was a "very good chance" they could work something out and get me a better price. he would call me on Tuesday. I went ahead and ordered the phones, so not to miss out on the deal, but when they arrived on Monday, we did not activate them. If we had to return them we'd be charged a restocking fee if we had activated them.
Tuesday at 5pm I still hadn't heard back. I called and fought with a few people before one guy was really nasty, saying he was going to make sure if I called again I would always have to talk to him because I just didn't like the answer he was giving me. Finally though he let me talk to his boss. She said that the guy I'd spoken to Friday had just left me a message and did I want her to hold so I could check it. I said yes and while I used my home phone to call, she HUNG UP on me. No dropped call. She hung up. And there was no voicemail message. They say that's because I was on with Sprint already so it wouldn't go through.
I was PISSED. I called again and talked to a nice guy who said he was going to try to contact the guy from Friday for me. He actually gave me an email address so I could contact him. No one else would do that.
Yesterday, William (the guy from Friday) called and he said he was passing my information on to one of the higher ups at his location and she would call as soon as she'd had a chance to look it over. Josh, the nice guy who tried to contact William also checked in.
Today, William's boss called my cell phone but he was really just seeing if he could get me to give up. While I was on with him, William called. I told him I was on with his supervisor and he said, "Bear with me a minute" and put me on hold. I got off the phone with his boss Fredrick and waited. A few minutes later I realize that he too had disconnected me.
What.
The.
Fetch.
So here I am, over a week into this, with an awesome phone I can't activate and a MAJOR headache. Everytime I see their number on my phone, my heart races and I get sooooo anxious! It's really making me sick! I just want them to stand behind what their employees say. I work in sales too, and that's what we have to do! If we get the price wrong, we have to eat it! And over and over I'm being told that something someone told me isn't true. I'm basically being lied to.
I've considered canceling, and I still may. I'm trying to see this through. If anyone had an "in" at Sprint, I could really use one!
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Blue GRRRR(ay)
My mom had a toothache today so I had to stay home with Tyler. We had fun, lunch with Aunt G (twin) and then shopping at Walmart. Picked up a few things for G'ma and, per Adam's request, got the new Star Trek movie on DVD.
Or so I thought.
Apparently I got Blue Ray instead of DVD. Which I didn't realize until I had taken off the shrink wrap. I guess the box was slightly shorter than a DVD box, which I didn't notice because in the store it was placed in an anti-theft devise, making it impossible to tell what the actual box size was. Neither Adam nor I noticed it once we took it from the bag at home. THEN I noticed the tiny 1/2 inch border at the top of the box that says Blue Ray.
So another trip to Walmart took care of it, they took it back without too much arguing. But I'm annoyed. I hate that there are two different formats. HATE. But if there has to be, why can't one of them look significantly different? Like VHS vs. DVD or Record vs. cassette tape vs. CD?
So.
Dear Blue Ray Powers that be,
Get some creativity to go along with your technological advances. I DO DVD. Make your shit look different or something.
Stubbornly,
Melissa
Or so I thought.
Apparently I got Blue Ray instead of DVD. Which I didn't realize until I had taken off the shrink wrap. I guess the box was slightly shorter than a DVD box, which I didn't notice because in the store it was placed in an anti-theft devise, making it impossible to tell what the actual box size was. Neither Adam nor I noticed it once we took it from the bag at home. THEN I noticed the tiny 1/2 inch border at the top of the box that says Blue Ray.
So another trip to Walmart took care of it, they took it back without too much arguing. But I'm annoyed. I hate that there are two different formats. HATE. But if there has to be, why can't one of them look significantly different? Like VHS vs. DVD or Record vs. cassette tape vs. CD?
So.
Dear Blue Ray Powers that be,
Get some creativity to go along with your technological advances. I DO DVD. Make your shit look different or something.
Stubbornly,
Melissa
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Quelle heure et-il?
Yeah showing off my mad French skills there. Translation: What time is it?
Answer: I have no fricken clue.
So I'm in Missouri, which is like an hour off Indy. Or something. See, Daylight savings time is a new thing in Indy. I don't know why I'm explaining this, seeing as my sis is the only one that really reads this and she lives there too. But anyways. Indy never changed clocks until last year. Then this year, they decided to wait and change the clocks later in the year than the rest of the country. So they changed last Saturday. So now I don't know what time it is.
It's...well I think it's 5:30 here. See, my alarm clock at the hotel says that. My computer says 6;30. My cell phone says 5:30. And my rental car says 6:30.
I hate time.
Je detest l'heure.
Answer: I have no fricken clue.
So I'm in Missouri, which is like an hour off Indy. Or something. See, Daylight savings time is a new thing in Indy. I don't know why I'm explaining this, seeing as my sis is the only one that really reads this and she lives there too. But anyways. Indy never changed clocks until last year. Then this year, they decided to wait and change the clocks later in the year than the rest of the country. So they changed last Saturday. So now I don't know what time it is.
It's...well I think it's 5:30 here. See, my alarm clock at the hotel says that. My computer says 6;30. My cell phone says 5:30. And my rental car says 6:30.
I hate time.
Je detest l'heure.
Joseph, how can we ever say...
Yeah that song's gonna be in my head now. Random fact about me: I still no every word to the score from "Joseph". I was doing a puzzle the other day where you had to name colors starting or ending with a particular letter and I sang the coat song to come up with them.
So back to my point. I'm in St. Joseph, MO for work. Training that I don't need but whatever. My company likes to waste money sending us places and since they were the reason for my first airplane flight last year, I won't complain too much. But I will complain a little:
Dear Company I work for,
Why are you spending the money to send me here, but not ponying up the extra dough to give us laptops to use. You do realize that this will put us in a big pile of dog doo when we get back? I can't get anything done because you also put our email on server that you can't get from the public internet. I shall be cursing you on friday when I get back and have 500 emails.
Thanks for being cheap and wasteful, all at the same time.
Your disgruntled (but not too much, don't fire me) employee
And who knew that Missouri had this many hills?
So back to my point. I'm in St. Joseph, MO for work. Training that I don't need but whatever. My company likes to waste money sending us places and since they were the reason for my first airplane flight last year, I won't complain too much. But I will complain a little:
Dear Company I work for,
Why are you spending the money to send me here, but not ponying up the extra dough to give us laptops to use. You do realize that this will put us in a big pile of dog doo when we get back? I can't get anything done because you also put our email on server that you can't get from the public internet. I shall be cursing you on friday when I get back and have 500 emails.
Thanks for being cheap and wasteful, all at the same time.
Your disgruntled (but not too much, don't fire me) employee
And who knew that Missouri had this many hills?
Monday, July 16, 2007
What is your time worth?
It's truly one of life's biggest injustices. Waiting for fricken ever at the doctor's office. I had an appointment today at 3:30. Punctual (almost to the point of compulsive) person that I am, I arrived 15 minutes early. I signed in and made my cutsey little marks on one of those stupid pictures of a body, showing where the pain is an what kind of pain it is. Duh. It's the kind that hurts. Then I sat down for what I thought would be a few minutes of reading. 3:30 came and went. 3:45 passed too. I wasn't complaining. But when it was 4:20 and I was still sitting there I wasn't really happy. I mean, these offices won't hesitate to make you reschedule your appointment if you are 15 minutes late, but they'll leave you waiting hours for them! And that's just to get into the bloody exam room! Then you have to wait for a nurse or a PA or something. Then they usually examine you and then you have to wait for someone else. I have to miss work when I go to the doctor. Granted, I'm salary so I am still getting paid, but there are still lots of other places I'd rather be. Plus it's always so damn cold in there. They expect people to sit there in a paper gown? My fricken headlights would rip holes in the damn thing!
They were so late getting me in today, that once they did, I didn't have time to do the treatment I was there for. Yeah. So now I have to wait another 2 weeks for the relief I should have had today. But their time is worth more than mine, right?
They were so late getting me in today, that once they did, I didn't have time to do the treatment I was there for. Yeah. So now I have to wait another 2 weeks for the relief I should have had today. But their time is worth more than mine, right?
Monday, April 16, 2007
GRRRR
Dear old lady in front of my car,
You seem to be following me. Just last week I was caught behind you on a stretch of road clear on the south side of town! And today there you were, puttering just ahead of me, going 25 in a 40. At first I didn't recognize you--you were wearing a hat, which fooled me into thinking you were a very short man. But no, it was you with your clunky car and your tell-tale handicap license plate. I am sure you are a very nice lady. I'm sure your grandchildren and your great-grandchildren adore you. I am sure you bake wonderful cookies. But I have to tell you...
YOU SUCK! YOU CANNOT DRIVE! AND WHEN I CAN FINALLY GET AROUND YOU, YOU CAN'T QUITE DECIDE WHICH LANE IS BEST! AND ONCE YOU DO YOU HAVE TO REACH UP (YES UP) TO REACH THE TURN SIGNAL TO TELL ME THAT IN ABOUT A MILE YOU JUST MIGHT MOVE OVER!!!
Anyone have any connections to the BMV? Who can I talk to? I mean, I wasn't legally allowed to drive by myself until I was 16. Why isn't there a maximum age? I'm not asking too much, just that the person you are giving a license to is less than 80 years old and more than 4 feet tall (excluding little people, who have come up with some great ways to allow them to see over the wheel and reach the pedals at the same time, even though shrinking old people refuse to use them to thier advantange)
If I get stuck behind one more old fart, I just might...I don't know...write another ranting that no one will read.
And another thing. Semis. I happen to work in an industrial area. So I am forever getting stuck behind semis. On one lane roads. For miles and miles. It's a part of working where I work. But when the damn semi sees me coming, less than 1/4 mile away and swings out right in front of me, causing me to slam on my breaks in order to not discover what is underneath a semi truck, I no likey. And I have rights to say this. My father drives a semi. And not particularly well, I must add. He tends to hit things and speed. In a semi that probably weights several tons. He even took a 14 foot trailer under a 12 foot bridge once. Or attempted too, actually. I've riden with him, I know how long it takes for a semi to get up to speed. So you would think they could exercise a little restraint. Especially WHEN THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO ONE BEHIND ME AND HE TOTALLY COULD WAIT UNTIL I PASS BEFORE PULLING HIS ANNOYINGLY LARGE ASS ONTO THE ROAD.
*end rant*
You seem to be following me. Just last week I was caught behind you on a stretch of road clear on the south side of town! And today there you were, puttering just ahead of me, going 25 in a 40. At first I didn't recognize you--you were wearing a hat, which fooled me into thinking you were a very short man. But no, it was you with your clunky car and your tell-tale handicap license plate. I am sure you are a very nice lady. I'm sure your grandchildren and your great-grandchildren adore you. I am sure you bake wonderful cookies. But I have to tell you...
YOU SUCK! YOU CANNOT DRIVE! AND WHEN I CAN FINALLY GET AROUND YOU, YOU CAN'T QUITE DECIDE WHICH LANE IS BEST! AND ONCE YOU DO YOU HAVE TO REACH UP (YES UP) TO REACH THE TURN SIGNAL TO TELL ME THAT IN ABOUT A MILE YOU JUST MIGHT MOVE OVER!!!
Anyone have any connections to the BMV? Who can I talk to? I mean, I wasn't legally allowed to drive by myself until I was 16. Why isn't there a maximum age? I'm not asking too much, just that the person you are giving a license to is less than 80 years old and more than 4 feet tall (excluding little people, who have come up with some great ways to allow them to see over the wheel and reach the pedals at the same time, even though shrinking old people refuse to use them to thier advantange)
If I get stuck behind one more old fart, I just might...I don't know...write another ranting that no one will read.
And another thing. Semis. I happen to work in an industrial area. So I am forever getting stuck behind semis. On one lane roads. For miles and miles. It's a part of working where I work. But when the damn semi sees me coming, less than 1/4 mile away and swings out right in front of me, causing me to slam on my breaks in order to not discover what is underneath a semi truck, I no likey. And I have rights to say this. My father drives a semi. And not particularly well, I must add. He tends to hit things and speed. In a semi that probably weights several tons. He even took a 14 foot trailer under a 12 foot bridge once. Or attempted too, actually. I've riden with him, I know how long it takes for a semi to get up to speed. So you would think they could exercise a little restraint. Especially WHEN THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO ONE BEHIND ME AND HE TOTALLY COULD WAIT UNTIL I PASS BEFORE PULLING HIS ANNOYINGLY LARGE ASS ONTO THE ROAD.
*end rant*
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)