Monday, October 11, 2021

Saturday and Sunday Problems

 Plans were made for Saturday morning. And, things got off to a good start. We emptied the dishwasher and loaded it. Tommy was washing a huge pot he did not wash last time. I sat while he was working because I wanted to wash my hair in the sink. He obviously washed everything and then washed the sink, thankfully. I washed my hair, bathed, and started the dishwasher. 

Tommy took the jump box to the car and I went out, too. Well, the jump box would not jump off the car. I told him to go get the guy who three weeks ago said he would jump the car with his car. The guy came with tools to remove the battery since Tommy asked him to remove it. He could not get it out. There is a brace from the front of the car to the side. Weird. At some point this guy got a suitcase full of socket wrenches, borrowed from another neighbor. 

Tommy had to walk three doors down on thick, wet grass. Then, he could not get to the door because it had no railings. So, he lifted his walker to the porch and went up on his hands to the door, managed to get upright and not fall off and rang the doorbell. The guy took the battery out, finally, and brought the battery to the car. I told Tommy I would drive. 

Adjusting his seats is hard for me, and I never got it quite right. But, we went to Auto Zone as I have explained a few paragraphs later in this jumble of writing. 

The guy had arrived with the suitcase full of tools and Tommy was not yet home. In a few minutes, I heard Tommy talking and realized he wanted me. I looked back at his car and he was sitting. I asked him what he was saying. He was yelling but nothing made sense. I went back to the car and he had the seat leaning back and nothing he said made sense. I was really frightened. I could understand "drink" and got to the house as fast as I could. That hurt. I brought back orange juice and a real Coke and a package of peanut butter crackers. Every fiber of my being was stressed, hurting, and wanting to cry. 

I have to tell you that I always rise to the occasion when there is an emergency.  Another day, I will tell you the story of my mother paralyzed by an emergency.  In an emergency when most people throw up afterwards, my tension is relieved in the other direction. I got this from my father. Mama said he ran for the bathroom after trauma, which was worse than mine on Saturday. 

I was in my car and tried to call Tommy for something. Well, AT&T "redirected" my call to them and had a long message about them giving me a new phone and setting me up with 5G. My head almost exploded. They have "redirected" my call about 7 times on Friday and Saturday. I yelled and screamed at them to give me back the service for which I was paying. This woman that I could not understand and barely hear just kept talking about how they were trying to help me.  I got my service back and almost had a heart attack, I am quite sure.

We took the battery to Auto Zone, and they did not have a tester as theirs was broken and parts had not come in. They sent us to Advanced Auto to have them check it and we could bring the battery back to AZ. Advanced Auto could not be bothered to even talk to me as I sat in the car. 

After we left Auto Zone, I was light-headed and Tommy was not doing well. We got Burger King.  Finally, we went back to Auto Zone. The guys said that they should have not sent us to the other store. So, we left with a new battery, their idea. But, I have a long history of buying from AZ. 

We ate, and went to AT&T store where we are going to get my new flip phone activated. AT&T actually "redirected" my phone again and also twice on Sunday when I was trying to call Tommy to tell him I was leaving a store. 

The guy who took the battery out of the car came back over to install the new one when I called him. I was screaming into the phone and he had a funny look on his face. I stopped and told him I was yelling at AT&T. He gave a look of "oh, I see." I used "AT&T" several times in each sentence.  I go ballistic when I talk to ATT and it has gotten worse over the years. I usually just get angry at them and now go ballistic. 

He brought another guy with him. It took two of them to get the battery back into the car and the brace reattached to the frame of the car. The car started, a healthy start, nothing whining. THEN, I backed it into Tommy's ramp, scraping paint off the car and doing nothing to the ramp. 

We left to get the car washed. That car wash terrifies me. In what world am I supposed to be comfortable with turning loose the wheel putting, the car in neutral or something, and not using the brake? And, then the car is pulled along? So, the car is clean. We made it home and sort of recovered. I forgot what was for dinner. Oh, the burger was dinner and something later at home. 

To add insult to injury, I had left my lights on. So, I went back to the car and turned them off. I really did not care at that point. But, I dragged myself out of the house, climbed the incline to the carport, turned off the lights, and got out of the car. Just as I twisted out and got up, the carport light went out. Now, I had to navigate and orient myself at the same time, blinded, trying to figure out how not to step off the carport but go beside the car, figure out where the incline dropped and see the ramp. HE HAD TURNED OFF THE CARPORT LIGHT KNOWING I HAD GONE OUT TO TURN OFF MY LIGHTS!

Oh, he heard about it and he did not seem to care. I yelled at him a bit and he was not sorry for what he did at all. You know the electricity to burn that light another 30 seconds might throw him into bankruptcy. 

Sunday, I went to big box to get something. I wanted the date on camera corrected and had another question. So, I took my camera and put it in my pocket as I was able to snag an electric cart in the parking lot. When I got to electronics, about 30 minutes later, I had no camera. And, then I wanted to tell Tommy because I was so upset at the loss. AT&T had redirected me again! I started yelling right in the store. One woman gave me a "go girl" look and gesture. A guy was smiling. I was yelling "ATT cannot keep doing this to me." Once again, I used ATT in each sentence, saying I paid my bill. Yelling in a store is not my way. But, AT&T  causes me to lose all reason and raising! 

The camera fell from my pocket as I sat on the electric cart in the parking lot, I suppose. So, gone and not turned in. I hate this new pair of pants. The pocket opening is so low and huge. I need to sew it up so things stay inside. Everything comes out of these pockets.

I finally got into the car and was ready to cry. Fibromyalgia still had me in pain after Saturday. I think that being old and upset wears on a person, too! Saturday was spilling over into Sunday as Sunday went down the drain! 

Saturday was so draining. And, then I worried about Tommy. I need to watch out for him better.  He still says he was just thirsty and his mouth was dry on Saturday. No, he was not making sense. And, I lost my camera!!! Sunday just topped off the pain, mental and physical! 

Is AT&T redirecting your calls and depriving you of the service for which you pay? As you get older does stress destroy your nerves? I need a vacation from adulting! I am becoming  a crazy lady from AT&T's unabated abuse of their power. 

30 comments:

  1. I can feel your frustration. I hope things improve soon. Can you change your cell service provider? I've never heard of phone calls being redirected. What happened to Tommy sounts scary. It sounds a bit like a stroke.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Joyful,
      Oh, yes, I can change. Those were there words when I tried to make a call, "We have redirected your call." It was scary. A friend said the same thing about a stroke.

      Delete
  2. Mercy, just reading this made me anxious for you. I too hate when big companies take advantage. I’m sorry about your camera. I truly hope your luck turns around this week. I have stage four breast cancer, I can so relate to your feeling bad and hurting badly. I’m still working, but not without pain and exhaustion.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Carol,
      So sorry about the breast cancer diagnosis. I hope you get better soon and can quit working! Pain and exhaustion are so awful for me. Thanks for your concern. You, too, are going through a lot.

      Delete
  3. I would strongly suggest you quit AT&T and go to Verizon. Or better yet, consumer cellular, I use them and all their customer service is in the US.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TO,
      I know Consumer Cellular was not a good choice a few years ago. Maybe it has changed. Thanks.

      Delete
  4. I'm sorry things went from annoying to downright panicky. Nothing in it's own seemed like a crisis but I suppose layered it would get to anyone. You've written about AT&T enough to cancel. I'd never let my mom or mil be treated as such. Can't one if your kids help you get the phone service straight?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. SAM,
      I was also standing most of the time. And, going from one catastrophe to another. The stress was building with no relief. I am the one who has fixed my daughter's problems with ATT. I don't think that after "redirecting" my calls seven times on the weekend that there is any straightening them out!

      Delete
  5. What a frustrating exhausting time you’ve had.

    ReplyDelete
  6. That all sounds so stressful. I would be dumping AT&T and trying another service.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. One,
      Today, in just a few minutes, I will do something.

      Delete
    2. Just for FYI my mom's flip phone is with Verizon (has been for many years) and she has never had a problem making or taking calls with their service.

      Delete
    3. One,
      I am still undecided. Thanks for the recommendation.

      Delete
  7. Yes indeed, it is criminal when phones don't function as we paid for. I can very much empathize with your rage!
    In my case, it's the Maps feature that screws up. I type in the address for my destination, it asks if it should use my current location as the starting point. I answer "yes" and then get redirected to random stupid pages! It doesn't happen all the time, either. But by thunder, after the 7th darn time of entering my destination and getting redirected, I am about ready commit mayhem!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sue,
      "Rage" and "mayhem" are apt words for my feelings. They went way beyond being "helpful" as they say. There are other things that go wrong. But, lacking use of my phone is awful.

      Delete
  8. Wow, I can feel the stress just reading this. Sorry you had a hard time.

    ReplyDelete
  9. https://forums.att.com/conversations/account-usage/everytime-i-call-it-only-brings-me-to-the-att-help-center/60db98d8a52e30294c2a76a3

    It's because the phone isn't compatible with their system. You should change carriers...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. mwwtsy,
      It is compatible with their system. When they fully go to 5G, it won't work. But, I have until february. It works most of the time until they redirect me.

      Delete
  10. It sounds like it is time for you to change carriers.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Oh my goodness, that was hard to even just read. What a dreadful time you've been having (and yes, AT&T would drive me nuts. Thankfully they're not over here)!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Treaders,
      It was very hard to write, which is why I had to wait until it was past. Thanks.

      Delete
  12. I have another friend who shared your experience with AT&T. Of course he was waiting for an important call when they redirected him. In AT&T's defense ....I think they are trying to be proactive in encouraging their customers to make the switch before February. If everyone waits February will be chaos. Please know that I think they are going about it in an underhanded manner. No one wants to be held hostage by their cell phone provider. I would be angry too but I am the type of person who tries to take care of problems as soon as I learn of them.

    I had to take my car back to the dealership yesterday. In Friday the rear gate opened up just fine but immediately and forcefully SLAMMED right back down. To use the back gate I had to balance it on the top of my head! There is no way I could have loaded or unloaded the wheelchair! I had an appointment for service on Monday but when I arrived my regular service rep was off so I came back EARLY Tues morning. I had done a little weekend research and had learned that Subaru knew of this problem and had in fact had extended their warrantee to 8 years or 100,000 miles. I only have 60,000 miles but my Forester is a 2014 model and I was rapidly closing in on the 8 year mark! They fixed it in just a couple of hours at no charge to me. They even washed the exterior!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Janet,
      It is too soon for me to be even one little bit understanding or forgiving. I told them I would take care of it, but they are trying to strongarm me!

      That is terrible about the rear gate problem. I am glad you were not trying to get the wheelchair inside the vehicle. That was nice getting the interior washed. Good for you.

      Delete

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