Frustration

20.01 Tonight, I was unable to access the internet. Many retries and restarts later, I give up and phone BT. Eventually the Indian call centre (no problem with this, they know their stuff), where we go through all the diagnostics (“Please hold sir, while I speak to my manager” time enough to pop downstairs for a beer, to roll a fag, chat to the cats). It seems I am between BT options and some jerk has disconnected my broadband in the meantime, and the tekkies in India can do no more (I need to speak to “Sales”). And what lovely soothing music in between.
20.43 The new number gets Northern Ireland, where they see the problem but have to pass me on to another office ( the soothing music is now making me want to kill)
The next office appears incapable of answering its phones, with no queue updates (“thank you for holding…….” * cocks AK47)
21.05 Redialling (and I was reluctant to, but there were no updates) gets another charming NI person, who refrains from the soothing musak for a while, and has a high sarcasm threshhold (*lowers gun) but also has to refer to supervisor. (Damn. This time some sort of French horn opus. *raises gun, gets angry).
He offers to ring me back. “OK.“”But what if you don’t?””I go home at half nine, so I’ll do it before then””Or I’ll ring you at home” says me. Of course. I have only one phone line, so as half nine approaches, I am caught in the horns of a dilemma: to call or to wait?
*waits
He rings back: “BT have fucked up(I misquote). I‘ve never seen this before”
“What can you do about it? I have ebay and stuff to do. Who told them to turn it off?”
“it’ll be 20 hours before it’s up and running’”
“Can I complain?”
*vague
“I’ll get back t yer”
*waits
It is now well beyond his going home time
90 minutes of phone call
21.34
*checks clock: has it only been 4 minutes waiting?
Bong!
Call back “I’ll have to put you through to my colleague”
21.56
India again
“It will be 20 hours Mr Young”
“Cant you press a switch?”
“No”
I am a gentle person, but sometimes……………….
I was only trying to give them Munny!
I am going to Taunton, Wednesday. If you see a mad bloke, on a fold up bike, shooting at BT vans, it’ll be me.
Wibble

Update: the day after. Still no broadband
“It is because you want to change your email address sir. We need authentification”
“Well how am I meant to authenticate an email when you turned my *rude word broadband off?”
“I will explain it to you sir…….”
I waited 2 hours, made the call, and all is peace and light. My upgrade bits (eg wifi router) are in the post.