Rant of the Day v2.

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Re: Rant of the Day v2.

#4681 Post by OFSO » Sat Feb 27, 2021 9:55 am

The political 'solutions' to Covid are destroying one's sense of time. Our ancient clock ran out of go yesterday. I could have sworn I wound both springs the day before.

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Re: Rant of the Day v2.

#4682 Post by PHXPhlyer » Sat Feb 27, 2021 4:46 pm

While dealing with cable/internet company over billing, I was asked by live person to verify ID after having done so with their bot.
She asked for a PIN however the bot asks for a PIN or last four digits of SSN to verify. I gave her the PIN that I use for everything else, wrong. Gave her last four of SNN.
No good. She says she now has to resort to security questions. Fine. ~X(
"Do you know what city your parents met in?" Me:"Yes".
"Well, what city". Me: "That's not what you asked me". :-B
I guess my answers did not promote the receipt of quality "Customer Service". :ymdevil:

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Re: Rant of the Day v2.

#4683 Post by CharlieOneSix » Tue Mar 02, 2021 1:22 pm

My favourite rant - Hermes Parcel Delivery. A parcel from Lakeland has sat in the local distribution centre 15 miles away since yesterday at 0906. Just now I have had a message that they are sorry but my parcel has been delayed and they'll have it on the move in the next 24 hours.

Well, the delay can't be due to the snow, that has all gone - maybe they will say it's due to a plague of locusts, that's just as likely as their usual excuses. Hermes never, ever, deliver here on time. Why on earth do reputable businesses continue to use this amateur delivery company - it is beyond me.
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Re: Rant of the Day v2.

#4684 Post by G-CPTN » Tue Mar 02, 2021 1:29 pm

The truth is, probably, that there is no courier available (ie not working today) or, alternatively, that the courier's vehicle isn't large enough to accommodate all the parcels, or that the courier hadn't planned to visit your area today.

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Re: Rant of the Day v2.

#4685 Post by Mrs Ex-Ascot » Tue Mar 02, 2021 1:45 pm

CharlieOneSix wrote:
Tue Mar 02, 2021 1:22 pm
My favourite rant - Hermes Parcel Delivery. A parcel from Lakeland has sat in the local distribution centre 15 miles away since yesterday at 0906. Just now I have had a message that they are sorry but my parcel has been delayed and they'll have it on the move in the next 24 hours.

Well, the delay can't be due to the snow, that has all gone - maybe they will say it's due to a plague of locusts, that's just as likely as their usual excuses. Hermes never, ever, deliver here on time. Why on earth do reputable businesses continue to use this amateur delivery company - it is beyond me.
C16 did you ever get an alive tropical plant delivered by Hermes? :D

Awaiting incoming! :YMDAYDREAM: :-!
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Re: Rant of the Day v2.

#4686 Post by OFSO » Tue Mar 02, 2021 1:53 pm

Coincidentally a bottle of gin plus glasses plus chasers, a silver spoon and a lime plant, all in a splendid strong cardboard crate, just arrived here by special delivery.

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Re: Rant of the Day v2.

#4687 Post by Wodrick » Tue Mar 02, 2021 2:22 pm

They are probably cheap, that's all.
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Re: Rant of the Day v2.

#4688 Post by CharlieOneSix » Tue Mar 02, 2021 2:46 pm

Mrs Ex-Ascot wrote:
Tue Mar 02, 2021 1:45 pm
........C16 did you ever get an alive tropical plant delivered by Hermes? :D

Awaiting incoming! :YMDAYDREAM: :-!
No, they failed both times. Both deliveries were supposed to be next day ones. The first came 4 days after dispatch and the replacement came after 8 days. Both plants dead on arrival, probably because they sat overnight in their vans in minus temperatures. Such a shame as they were a birthday gift from Mrs C16's nephew and were not inexpensive plants. He got his money back from the plant supplier but has given up trying a third time!
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Re: Rant of the Day v2.

#4689 Post by CharlieOneSix » Tue Mar 02, 2021 2:55 pm

G-CPTN wrote:
Tue Mar 02, 2021 1:29 pm
The truth is, probably, that there is no courier available (ie not working today) or, alternatively, that the courier's vehicle isn't large enough to accommodate all the parcels, or that the courier hadn't planned to visit your area today.
....or there was a plague of locusts. If they can't manage a contractual next day delivery then why take them on. Funny how DPD, UK Mail, UPS, Parcelforce, FedEx and others consistently arrive here on time. The problem with Hermes is that for the final miles they give their parcels to local people without a job - they are inexperienced and inefficient and don't seem to last long. Sometimes it's a white Polo loaded to the gunnels that appears, sometimes a small red roofed van - we never know what will come.
The helicopter pilots' mantra: If it hasn't gone wrong then it's just about to...
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Re: Rant of the Day v2.

#4690 Post by G-CPTN » Tue Mar 02, 2021 3:00 pm

C16 - how 'populous' is your area?
If the region is sparsely populated there may be few couriers willing to undertake deliveries.
I recently had a courier delivery with tracking, and I was able to see the location of every delivery ahead of mine.
I was surprised to see where the driver visited (we are semi-rural and most of the deliveries were scattered across minor rural roads).
There was a significant degree of to-ing and fro-ing in order to achieve all locations.

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Re: Rant of the Day v2.

#4691 Post by Mrs Ex-Ascot » Tue Mar 02, 2021 3:22 pm

Here they only courier anything within about 5km from their office. So for us Out of Townies, we get a phone call to say they have whatever and we go and collect. Simples. :D

I must say that we always use DHL who are friendly and mostly efficient......apart from the time that they lost an envelope behind a filing cabinet..oops! :ymblushing: They were very quick to say sorry! ^#(^ and got said envelope onto the the next flight to Gabs. #:-S :D
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Re: Rant of the Day v2.

#4692 Post by PHXPhlyer » Tue Mar 02, 2021 3:40 pm

Europeans get 'right to repair' for some electrical goods
I wish we could get this type of legislation here!
~X(

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/ ... ds-rcna326

Europeans get 'right to repair' for some electrical goods :YMAPPLAUSE:
The new rules are meant to help reduce the vast mountain of electrical waste that piles up each year on the continent
Feb. 26, 2021.Markus Schreiber / AP
March 2, 2021, 7:12 AM MST
By Associated Press
Companies that sell refrigerators, washers, hairdryers or TVs in the European Union will need to ensure those appliances can be repaired for up to 10 years, to help reduce the vast mountain of electrical waste that piles up each year on the continent.

The “right to repair,” as it is sometimes called, comes into force across the 27-nation bloc Monday. It is part of a broader effort to cut the environmental footprint of manufactured goods by making them more durable and energy efficient.

“This is a really big step in the right direction” said Daniel Affelt of the environmental group BUND-Berlin, which runs several “repair cafes” where people can bring in their broken appliances and get help fixing them up again.

Modern appliances are often glued or riveted together, he said. “If you need specialist tools or have to break open the device, then you can’t repair it.”

Lack of spare parts is another problem, campaigners say. Sometimes a single broken tooth on a tiny plastic sprocket can throw a proverbial wrench in the works.

“People want to repair their appliances,” Affelt said. “When you tell them that there are no spare parts for a device that’s only a couple of years old then they are obviously really frustrated by that.”

Under the new E.U. rules, manufacturers will have to ensure parts are available for up to a decade, though some will only be provided to professional repair companies to ensure they are installed correctly.

New devices will also have to come with repair manuals and be made in such a way that they can be dismantled using conventional tools when they really can’t be fixed anymore, to improve recycling.

Each year, Europeans produce more than 16 kilograms (35 pounds) of electrical waste per person. About half of that junk is due to broken household appliances, and the E.U. recycles only about 40 percent of it, leaving behind huge amounts of potentially hazardous material.

German Environment Minister Svenja Schulze said that in a next step, manufacturers should have to state how long a product is expected to work for and repair it if it breaks down earlier. This would encourage companies to build more durable products, she said.

“In the repair cafes we see a lot of devices that broke shortly after the warranty expired,” said Affelt — a phenomenon that has prompted some environmentalists to accuse manufacturers of designing their devices with planned obsolescence.

Knowing an appliance will really last for a decade might prompt consumers to choose products that are more durable or can be easily fixed, he said.

“For the vast majority of devices, repair is the right choice,” said Affelt, adding that the exception might be old, inefficient refrigerators that can contain powerful greenhouse gases which fuel climate change.

In a next step, environmentalists and consumer rights groups want the “right to repair” expanded to include smartphones, laptops and other small electrical devices.

Responding to growing demand, Apple last year announced it would start providing training and spare parts to certified independent repair stores fixing Mac computers, not just iPhones.

Right to repair bills have been introduced in several U.S. state legislatures, attracting bipartisan support, though as yet there is no nationwide measure in force.

Sweden has gone further than most of the E.U., making repairs and spare parts subject to lower value-added tax.

The bloc’s ecological design directive — of which the right to repair requirement is a part — will also revise existing energy labels that describe how much electricity washers and other household devices consume. The new seven-step scale from A to G will be complemented by a QR code that provides consumers with further information, such as how loud the devices are.

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Re: Rant of the Day v2.

#4693 Post by G-CPTN » Tue Mar 02, 2021 3:56 pm

There's the situation where small spare parts are only available as part of a much bigger assembly.

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Re: Rant of the Day v2.

#4694 Post by Pontius Navigator » Tue Mar 02, 2021 4:12 pm

We use espares who are pretty good and persistent in getting a manufacturer to cough up. As an individual you would get nowhere.

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Re: Rant of the Day v2.

#4695 Post by CharlieOneSix » Tue Mar 02, 2021 5:13 pm

G-CPTN wrote:
Tue Mar 02, 2021 3:00 pm
C16 - how 'populous' is your area? .....
....I recently had a courier delivery with tracking, and I was able to see the location of every delivery ahead of mine.....
There are 11 properties in our small rural postcode area, a town of 11,200 residents within 8 miles and two villages, one with a poulation of 350 three miles away and one 4 miles away with 540 residents. The only delivery company that seems to have a problem with all that is Hermes!

DPD and Amazon have tracking maps that we can see, can't remember about the others. DPD deliver here a minimum of three times a month.

+1 for espares.
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Re: Rant of the Day v2.

#4696 Post by G-CPTN » Tue Mar 02, 2021 5:15 pm

Thanks, C16.

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Re: Rant of the Day v2.

#4697 Post by Cpt_Pugwash » Tue Mar 02, 2021 7:52 pm

I once had an alternator expire whilst on holiday in Moray, a bit north of C16. Took the car into Moray Motors in Lossie, who said they could replace the unit that day if the local motor factor had one in stock.
When I said that the unit was only nine months old, they suggested I contact the supplier to check if there was a warranty on it. Turns out there was and the original supplier agreed to have the unit replaced, but they would send out a new unit by "guaranteed" overnight delivery, at which point the chap at Moray Motors smiled knowingly and said, " Well, we'll see".
Sure enough, it took two days to get the thing from Bristol to Lossiemouth.

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Re: Rant of the Day v2.

#4698 Post by Pontius Navigator » Tue Mar 02, 2021 8:40 pm

OTOH I ordered some stuff from Perth, or rather my supplier did. It was delivered to Lincolnshire the following morning. They were I able to deliver over the last 5 days as their man could not get on because of the weather. I collected it myself.

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Re: Rant of the Day v2.

#4699 Post by EA01 » Wed Mar 03, 2021 11:01 am

.....People who stop at the top of an escalator....

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Re: Rant of the Day v2.

#4700 Post by ian16th » Wed Mar 03, 2021 12:04 pm

EA01 wrote:
Wed Mar 03, 2021 11:01 am
.....People who stop at the top of an escalator....
......and those that stop at the bottom.

At Rio airport I once had to hit the emergency stop, because the escalator was offloading people into the queue to passport control, faster than passport control was processing passports.
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