What have you been doing today?

This morning I've been trying to get some sense out of NSandI on the phone, about one of the products I have with them. It is, by a very large margin, the worst customer service I have ever had from a financial organisation. I received four totally different answers from four different agents. The first three answers were clearly ridiculous, even after I'd asked them to check they came back with another absurd answer. When I expressed (mild) exasperation that I kept being given different answers, I was told that I was expecting too much from staff who didn't have much knowledge or training.
 
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This morning I've been trying to get some sense out of NSandI on the phone, about one of the products I have with them. It is, by a very large margin, the worst customer service I have ever had from a financial organisation. I received four totally different answers from four different agents. The first three answers were clearly ridiculous, even after I'd asked them to check they came back with another absurd answer. When I expressed (mild) exasperation that I kept being given different answers, I was told that I was expecting too much from staff who didn't have much knowledge or training.

I agree; p!ss poor in service, and are teflon too.

Me, after being on hold for a number of hours across a few days, finally got through to some (incredibly unhelpful) oik with an attitude (why do a customer "service" role, if you clearly are not interested in helping?)

When I sighed in exasperation, I muttered "FFS" (the long version) to myself. Oiky boy threatened to cut me off, if I swore again.

I'm not for abusing anyone, but it is the case that these "rules" were put in place for people who punch perspex screens (who ignore the "rules" anyway), yet are used to insulate organisations from any critique of their (lack of) service, from reasonable people with genuine grievances.
 
Been watching progress on the drain replacement I'm having done. It's a big job! Today, a load of those interlocking steel sheet piles have been delivered and they will have to be driven into the ground to stop the sides of the trench they are digging (getting deeper as it gets near to the main sewer) from collapsing. Had a bit of fun just now when an irate motorist in a hurry kept blowing his horn for the grab loader to stop loading, put its legs down and move out of the way to let him through. The grab load operator told him in no uncertain terms what he could do to himself and when confronted by half a dozen construction workers with hammers, pick axes and spades, he was 'persuaded' to turn round and go down the next street. :ROFLMAO:
 
Due to hospital appointments, which clashed with my GP's invite for a spring covid booster, and being told by my GP they had run out - just wait for another invite, I was told. No invite came, so I emailed them last night to request an update, to be told - they had no real expectations of getting any more.

I then went on the NHS site, and a bit of digging, suggested that local pharmacies are doing the jab, so I booked one at small local chemists, just opposite the Lidl I frequently shop in - two birds, one stone.
 
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The grab load operator told him in no uncertain terms what he could do to himself and when confronted by half a dozen construction workers with hammers, pick axes and spades, he was 'persuaded' to turn round and go down the next street. :ROFLMAO:

He must have been a very important person - or maybe thought he was :ROFLMAO:
 
He must have been a very important person - or maybe thought he was :ROFLMAO:
I was working on a big refurb on a house on a narrow lane, a grab truck was off loading tons of topsoil over the wall when a woman beeped her horn for him to move, then she jumped out and asked him to move, he pointed to the site manager "ask im", she marched through the muddy heaps of soil in her sparkly flip flops to be rebuffed again, then back in the car turned round and roared off, probably going home to wash her feet, great mirth amongst the workers
 
I've just finished fixing an old long handle yard brush. Absolutely no shortage of long handled brushes here, but I like to repair where it is possible and my repairs are usually stronger than when new...

It was one of those plastic moulded brush heads, with a moulded in socket for the handle, except the socket had burst with my heavy-handed use. I dug out a bit of flat steel bar/strip, found something to make a decent socket - all I could find were heavy duty short springs. Welded the spring to the bar, and screwed the bar to the top of the brush head. A bit like Trigger's broom.. :)
 
Went swimming with my Ma. Then got call from Mrs S. to say she'd had a puncture. So went out to her and discovered one of the wheel nuts was cross-threaded. It started really easily, then got tighter and tighter. With each turn, it got more difficult.

Didn't have any power tools to get it off, so she called GEM. We rang our tyre guy who ordered us a new Bridgestone WeatherControl A005 EVO, and he enquired about getting a new stud and nut. He said old Hondas do that a lot. TBF though, it's the first we've had.

Apparently, they are dealer only, so GEM will recover the car to our nearest dealer, then once the stud and nut are sorted, Honda can fit the space saver and we can nip to ProTyre hopefully all tomorrow.

The woman on the phone at the dealer told Mrs S that they charged £130 an hour for labour (a bit steep in the NW, I think, but then maybe I'm behind the times....) and it could take "a fair while" to sort the nut and stud.

Let's play the "What will the dealer find when they take the wheel off?" game!

"Oh, your sprozzle wanger's are knackered, and you have to replace them in pairs. The problem is, you then have to change the zang finkles at the same time. What with parts, labour and VAT, the final bill will be the best part of 800 quid....."
 
Went swimming with my Ma. Then got call from Mrs S. to say she'd had a puncture. So went out to her and discovered one of the wheel nuts was cross-threaded. It started really easily, then got tighter and tighter. With each turn, it got more difficult.

Didn't have any power tools to get it off, so she called GEM. We rang our tyre guy who ordered us a new Bridgestone WeatherControl A005 EVO, and he enquired about getting a new stud and nut. He said old Hondas do that a lot. TBF though, it's the first we've had.

Apparently, they are dealer only, so GEM will recover the car to our nearest dealer, then once the stud and nut are sorted, Honda can fit the space saver and we can nip to ProTyre hopefully all tomorrow.

The woman on the phone at the dealer told Mrs S that they charged £130 an hour for labour (a bit steep in the NW, I think, but then maybe I'm behind the times....) and it could take "a fair while" to sort the nut and stud.

Let's play the "What will the dealer find when they take the wheel off?" game!

"Oh, your sprozzle wanger's are knackered, and you have to replace them in pairs. The problem is, you then have to change the zang finkles at the same time. What with parts, labour and VAT, the final bill will be the best part of 800 quid....."
Got called to a circular saw this morning, stop button on DOL starter smashed, how much? I said about £100 plus fitting, took the cover off, oh dear its a star delta better make that £400
 
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Yikes!

I think I'm just getting old!

I remember prices of stuff when I was starting out self employed, forgetting it was the best part of 30 years ago....
 
The woman on the phone at the dealer told Mrs S that they charged £130 an hour for labour (a bit steep in the NW, I think, but then maybe I'm behind the times....) and it could take "a fair while" to sort the nut and stud.
Wheel studs are just a couple of quid and on most cars they don’t take long to fit - not much longer than fitting a brake disc. Bang them out, pull the new one in with the new wheel nut. Sorted!

 
Been watching progress on the drain replacement I'm having done. It's a big job! Today, a load of those interlocking steel sheet piles have been delivered and they will have to be driven into the ground to stop the sides of the trench they are digging (getting deeper as it gets near to the main sewer) from collapsing.
Every night after they have gone home, I go up to have a nosey on what’s been done that day. I've just been up for tonight’s 'inspection' and they are probably a couple of metres from the pavement now but feck me, the pipe going from the manhole to the sewer is now about 2 metres deep. How deep is the sewer in the road FFS? This is a massive job - I thought it would be a quick week or ten days and that the sewer would be perhaps a metre deep at most!
 
I guess the sewer pipe has to be deep enough to give the correct fall to the main sewer and I suppose that depends on any gradients on the estate or the depth of the sewer in the main road.
 
Wheel studs are just a couple of quid and on most cars they don’t take long to fit - not much longer than fitting a brake disc. Bang them out, pull the new one in with the new wheel nut. Sorted!

Thanks.

So would you say half a hour?

With the parts, around a ton?
 
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