Red tape makes for a long day, even if you're a superhero

The events of yesterday inspire this post. It's actually given me the idea to write many posts: a "what happened yesterday" post, thoughts about time, thoughts about my job, and thoughts about good customer service. I think there's enough that happened that these could all be different posts, but we'll see what comes to fruition as I write this one, the "what happened yesterday" post.

First, with things like this, I need to preface everything with EVERYONE IS OKAY.  NO ONE WAS HURT. So, yesterday early morning TheGuy was in his car on the way to work and he and full school bus ran into each other. He was going straight and the bus turned left in front of him, he swerved but not enough and the rear end of the bus ended up ON TOP of the hood of his car.

I repeat, everyone was okay! Shaken up but okay. He called me and I immediately started heading toward the accident site from my office. By the time I arrived a second school bus had arrived and taken all the kids on the school. There were police everywhere. There was a rep from the school on site to answer questions and "facilitate". There were people directing traffic. I let TheGuy know I was there, I took pictures from a distance with my camera, and then I sat in my car until he was ready to go.

Tow truck moving the bus off the car was interesting and it ripped the hood off the car like popping a tab on a soda can. The bus was drivable and off it went. TheGuy's car was not. Off it went attached to a tow truck.

TheGuy got in the car and after some deep breaths and such, he told me what happened. Then we decided to just go to the insurance office IMMEDIATELY- it was across the street from where the accident happened- yes ironic.

TheGuy's car was 17 years old so he only carried PLPD on it. Do you have any idea what sort of issues this causes? Ohhhhhh... so many! If he's found at fault or there's a "no fault" then any of his expenses come out of his own pocket, like towing, impound lot fees, repairs, replacements, rental cars, etc. If the school bus driver is found at fault, then all those things are covered by their insurance. However, because this happened in a BIG city, the official police report won't be available for 3-5 days so no one has any idea whose fault this is- he says the bus turned left in front of him, on a yellow light. So, if we left his car in the impound lot where it was towed and he was found to be financially responsible, ALL the lot fees would fall on him- to the tune of $100/ day.

He told the insurance agent what happened and all the paperwork got started. YAY- he had a towing rider on his policy he had forgotten about so the tow from the accident site to the impound yard was covered! The agent is doing her thing to contact the school's insurance company and sort out all the details. What TheGuy (we) had to do was figure out the other stuff.

Because the car is so old and had such extensive damage, the police and TheGuy were guessing it's going to be totaled which is why it was taken to the impound lot. We didn't have a garage to do repairs, and really, TheGuy was so frazzled about it all, he didn't process where his car was being taken when he said he didn't want it to go to a garage. (If I had been able to walk up to him, under the police line tape, I would've handled it, but oh well.... lesson learned)

We had 6 hours to get the car out of the impound lot before the fees started. TheGuy has a HUGE IMPORTANT thing happening at work and short of death, he really needed to be there. He now is car-less. We only have a few issues. We had a brief talk with the agent and we decided to get the car out of impound and tow it to our apartment parking lot to our space until it's all sorted out- the agent approved that.

And this is when my powers of organization kicked in. I would singlehandedly take care of the red tape. I would be RED TAPE GIRL! I took him to run an errand he had to do for work. While he was in that office, I called three towing companies to get quotes. I called the impound lot to find out what we had to do to get the car. I called my boss to update him as to what was happening (I told him TheGuy was in a wreck and that was it.)

Then I took TheGuy to his office. Now remember, I live in a big city now, so nothing is nearby (except for the wreck and the insurance office). My office is 30 minutes from where the accident happened and we were still in the same city. It was 30 minutes in a different direction to his office- downtown. I get lost downtown- thank you car gods for giving me OnStar right now!

I told TheGuy what he would have to do for me to get the car from the impound- he had to call them to release it to me. I told him he would also have to pick one of the quotes on towing I found and call them and tell them to release the car to me. We're aren't married so legally I can't do anything AND none of this is jointly named. I suggested he do those 2 calls while I went to the bank (the tow company needed cash) and went to the impound yard.

I used the Chase Bank locator app and found the bank. Then I used OnStar to get to the impound. I waited in line and of course, the information from when he called wasn't in the system. I went outside to call him back and he called impound again. I went back in, took another number and then we were set. I paid the impound lot with the money from the insurance company. Then I went back to the parking lot and called the new towing company. The woman there said the tow truck would be at the impound lot in 30 minutes and I had to be present to sign a release form.

One hour and 15 minutes the tow truck arrived. I waited in my car that whole time (talking to daddy-O and my boss) because the impound lot didn't have a waiting room and it was in the boonies/ the hood so I had nowhere to go.  Tow truck driver finally arrived and loaded the car- after he unloaded what he had when he arrived. That took another 30 minutes.

I OnStar directions to my apartment. I got there before the tow truck and then proceeded to search the apt to find TheGuy's spare key- the tow truck driver said if would unlock wheels and make it easier to put it in a parking space.

Car unloaded, tow truck driver paid, paperwork filled out. Okay- almost done, right? Oh Hell no. I had to let the leasing agent of our building know about the car so it wasn't re-towed. But she wasn't in her office. Okay. I went to my apartment and peed. I walked my dog. Then I started going from building to building to find out maintenance guy who is the assistant leasing agent as well. Find him. Explain. He said it was fine to leave the car sit.

It's 3pm. Mac calls and said he just got off work 2 hours early and needs a ride. Did I mention I haven't had lunch? Oh, and he got dropped off at my office because that was our plan before the whole day exploded? i finally called my boss and left him a voice mail and told him the day was a wash and no I wouldn't be in after all.)

Back into the car I go, drive north- took me 20 minutes with less traffic this time- pick him up. Grab a coffee at Starbucks for Mac and me. 10 days ago I promised Mac I would take him to the video game store after work... Oh and just because I haven't had enough, I called Mac's bank for him to check his bank balance because I am stupid awesome.

We stop back at the insurance agent's office to drop off all the paperwork I collected. We stopped at WallyWorld so Mac could pee, and then we went to Game Stop where Mac made his purchases. I took Mac back to our apartment.

Oh yeah... TheGuy doesn't have a car so I drove downtown to pick him up and then came back home.

Good news- TheGuy is BEYOND appreciative of everything I did to help him out.
Good news- all people involved in the car situation were super, super nice, kind, helpful and understanding.
Good news- the school's insurance company's adjuster already called TheGuy and is coming to assess the damage on Tuesday
Good news- My boss (who is friends with TheGuy) is going out of town next week for a conference and offered to loan him his truck for the week so he'll have a vehicle to drive free of charge for one week

It was a tremendously LONG and arduous day. I'm glad it's over. I'm glad I could help. Of course I'm glad TheGuy is fine (and all the kids, the bus driver, etc.). There's a lot left to do with the whole situation.

I was a total superhero. Without a cape. Because... well... you know... capes are just an accident waiting to happen.

Maggie

Insurance company at fault

Daddy-O and I have the same insurance company; it's the place where I used to work as a telemarketer. I've always had great customer service from there. It's a nationwide company but we have a local agent- it's the guy who owns it, one other agent, and a receptionist. This same nationally recognized company also has another agent in town so these 2 guys are competitors.

Last month I called to speak to the head agent, the owner, the boss, but he was busy. I left a detailed message. I just wanted to know why Daddy-O's insurance went up. Again. For the third time in three years. He's not happy, and I wouldn't be either. And no, he didn't do any property improvements for the house to increase, no claims, no speeding tickets on the car, no wrecks, and no claims there, either. So, why does it keep going up?

I called to find out and left a detailed message. Daddy-O, unbeknown to me, also called the same week I did and had to leave a message, too. Last week he got another bill which reminded he didn't hear back and he said something to me; which reminded me that I didn't get a call back either. I was pretty pissed off. We both called and we both got the blow off? That's not good.

I also worked there and even though I worked evenings and weekends I knew that life insurance was the bread and butter of the business. I also know that any time I've called the agent with a question about my life insurance, I get a call back immediately. The agent has my home, work and mobile numbers, as well as my email. I've even received a text from him in the past. But this time I heard nothing. I thought it was pretty crummy that I get a fast response on the Life insurance money maker but can't get a response about a simple auto or home policy question. (I also know how important life insurance is because the owner agent called me last December to see if I would buy a life policy because he only need 2 to meet his 2011 goal. I did because I like him and had always been impressed with his customer service.)

So I picked up the phone and of course the owner agent was on vacation. I asked the girl who answered to have him call me back. She asked if she could help and I told her no because I spoke with her last month and she didn't help me then, nor did she ask head agent dude to call me. I also told her my father had called, too, and no one called him back either (or helped him).

At that point she wanted to know what was going on and I told her all we wanted to know was why his insurance kept increasing. I told her I expected better customer service than this, and to just have the owner call me. She said there was no reason for me to wait until next week because the owner was VERY busy next week and she didn't know when he would have time to return my call.

Excuse me?!?

I told her I used to work there and I know the drill, and that he should make time to return customer calls. She the proceeded to get shitty with me, saying that I wasn't there during the day to understand how busy they were, and that I just didn't have a clue. *screeching halt* Wha???? Yes, she really said that.

I told her I knew the owner was busy but whenever I called with a life insurance question, which is the big money maker, I had a response immediately and though this was just about an auto/ home owner policy, I still expected the same customer service.

She then yelled at me and said that she took it personally that I thought they treated life customers differently than others, and that they treat all their customers equally. Since she yelled at me, I yelled back and said if that's the case, then they must be treating ALL the customers pretty crappily if this was her example!

I told her she could find out the answer or not and call Daddy-O back, or not. I also told her I didn't like her being yelled at. I also told her I didn't think her boss would like that she yelled at customers, especially if it meant that I took my car policy, my renter policy, and BOTH of my life policies. And oh yeah, if I go, then my boyfriend would also take his car and renter policy, and father would take his home owners and car. And instead of finding a whole new company, I'd be more than happy to transfer to his competition right there in town, where I would get good customer service.

She got quiet and said she would take care of it, and hung up.

About an hour later I had a voice mail from her saying she had an answer to our question. She also called and left father a message.

I'm just pissed off. I keep waiting for the owner to call me and either apologize or chew me out. (a whole defending his employee thing...) He hasn't yet but then again she would have to tell him that she yelled at me first, and she knows I'm pissed and will take the insurance policies and run so maybe she's keeping her mouth shut about the whole thing.

I don't like having to deal with situations like that but I was not going to take her telling me I don't know anything AND then yelling at me.

I'm still pissed off about the whole thing. Maybe I'll pull my policies anyway.

Mags

Voodoo isn't always a bad thing, right?

The above is my voodoo doll. Okay, I bought it for my folks when I was in The Big Easy about 10 years ago and after my post last week, Daddy-O dug it out.

But here's the news that's fit to print. Think I should or should NOT use the Ol' Black Magic?

• Sperm Donor had emergency surgery and came out fine. He was in the hospital for 5 days and was in a lot of pain but is home now.
• Grandma Shrew is in the hospital as well with some sort of flu. She was there for a whole day and never called anyone because she couldn't remember any numbers, even though I live at the same number my mother (her daughter) had for 40 years. I'm just too terrible of a human being to call apparently. (Actually it's a good thing she didn't call. I don't want that sort of responsibility to her.) She would rather sit in the hospital without her family knowing than call me. COOL!
  
• Trooper has not told me to go away, though his gun shy-ness is shining through, but he's sweet about it. he's such a... trooper. *giggle* (Oh come on! That was a great pun!)
  
• ItalianSam sent me an email about a job that he has connections to so I might actually get an interview, at least. It's in Wisconsin somewhere... And it was a nice olive branch from him.
  
• The insurance office might have a full time opening and I might be considered- if I want to become an insurance sales person... That would involve commission and more schooling.
• The ice cream owner has to have some medical stuff done and wants me to run the day to day operations while this happens.
• I can't find a bottle of Johnny Walker Blue that I bought for AIISam last March at duty free. I've had it here in my room since the break up and was going to give it to Farrago as a birthday gift and now it's missing. And no I didn't drink it.
• I can't find my tv remote, either.
• When I told the bank about all the hoops I have to jump through for that stupid fucking Verizon Wireless to give me the overdraft fees back, they just credited my checking account and told me to not worry about it.
• I almost have free Indianapolis Colts tickets and am taking Trooper there on a date, if they come through. Now, am I the coolest could be girlfriend in history? (I think he might consider drastic measures if I scored Packers tickets... HAHA!)
  

So, it's a mish- mash of all sorts of blessings and curses.

Witchy woman,
Maggie

I'm not sure telemarketing is a good job for me...

I've been doing telemarketing now for about a month and I'm not sure I'm very good at it. I speak slowly, I try to sound enthusiastic and excited. I speak slowly and enunciate. I'm not pushy or obnoxious- and I'm always polite to fault when I make these calls. I don't read from a script so I try and make a bit of small talk and sound like a human, rather than a drone checking names off a list.

First, I have to say, that I feel most people know if they want insurance or not. If they say no, I'm not super happy about having to go for a second or even a third no. Some people are polite yet emphatic with their "no" and I just don't want to push it and make it ugly, so I guess I'm not aggressive enough.

I do have a hook where I tell people my company has recently adjusted their rates in my area and that in this economy anything to save a few dollars is a good thing. Lots of people do pause for a moment or two and think that over- and a few will say okay and let me take their info so an agent can call back with the quote. But most of the time, people just say no.

What happens after the "no" is interesting. I always try and thank people for their time. Most of the time a typical phone calls goes: people answer the phone, listen to my spiel, say no thanks, I thank them for their time and we both hang up after good-byes. But I am stunned at the amount of people who do several things:

• the people who answer, know it's telemarketing and then say I have the wrong number, even after they've answered to their own name
• the people who say whomever I am seeking isn't home but I know it's them
• the people who hear me say who I am and where I'm calling from and hang up on me without saying anything other than "hello"
• the people who let me get my name and company out and hang up on me
• the people who say "I'm not interested" and hang up on me immediately
• the people who say they are interested and for me to call back and then never answer the phone upon the return calls
• the people who say they want an auto quote and then tell me they have 2 DUI's knowing full well in my state they can't get insurance
  

Then my favorites are the people who swear at me. I was officially called a "bitch" today for the first time. I also appreciate the lady who threatened to have me arrested because I called her and her name is on the "Do not call" list- and the list is supposed to be checked against it but I guess she slipped through the cracks. There was the lady who told me to get a "real" job. Oh and the lady who told me she felt sorry for me and told me my boss was Evil for making me be a telemarketer.

I've had a few goofy things happen- I called one woman who was in a nursing home. My boss told me that has never happened to him before and it would never happen to me again- that was so rare. Until I called another number a week later and got another nursing home patient. It's good to know that never is only a week long. I've called a few "mentally handicapped" adults who live on their own but tell me their care taker does their bills and they don't take care of insurance but they have a nice doggie now. Hmmmmmmm... I called the guy's widow who just died and said she wished I would've called a week ago because he didn't have life insurance- OUCH.

On the up side, I can say that when people say no to me, I don't take is personally. This has nothing to do with me as a human so at least I have that on my side. It's discouraging yes, but I know to not take is personally. And when I call about 75 numbers a day, leave about 30 voice mails, reach about 15 people and all the rest are disconnects, it's really not so horrible, I guess.

I'll keep plugging away at this but I have a feeling my career as a telemarketer is going to be short lived. And I'm not sure that's the end of the world...

Still dialing,
Mags