Boooo hooooo

I have an update on the continuing Virgin saga, but I can't face it right now, so just assume that things are going from bad to worse! Last night I was so upset by the whole thing I couldn't help but bleep and just wanted to sit in a ball and cry. How pathetic is that? Virgin you have driven me to the brink of insanity and I am about to lose it. I have never known a company like it. I don't even blame the workers, the faults are obviously intrinsic to the system and won't be solved any time soon.

Other than the Virgin saga, I'm not sure I have much news. We spent much of the weekend out in the garden since the weather was soooo beautiful. That left me a little behind with my designs, but I still managed to load a few posts from the comfort of my garden chair :)    I can't design outside because it means taking my not-very-portable laptop outside along with my graphics tablet and pen....it's all too much of a faff. Then there's the super-glossy (supposedly non-reflective) screen which reflects anything and everything.

Any other news? Well the diet is kind of steady at the moment - no gain and no loss, but it's been a rough few weeks and I'm actually grateful to have stayed the same considering what I've eaten. I've tried a new trick this week with the cooking and I'm hoping that helps. Instead of spending ALL Saturday morning and most of the afternoon cooking like I'd been doing recently, I've chopped all the meat, veggies and seasoning for each recipe and put it in the fridge in separate boxes. now all I need to do is put it in the slow cooker on the way out to work, and it's all done when I get home. Now, tell me that's not even EASIER than what I had been doing? This way the lazy cook can still eat a healthy, nutritious meal....woo hooo. The best thing is that the slow cooker doesn't make much heat, unlike cooking on the cooker or in the oven...perfect for the temperatures we've been having here lately.

Anyone else hate cooking? How do you deal with it?

Now I know why...

For a long time now hubby & I have been putting off a move to a new telecoms provider knowing that (as everything seems to be these days) it would just be such a RIDICULOUS hassle to change. Well with the impending death of yet ANOTHER Sky box we finally had enough and looked into changing...after all our previous deal was years old and there MUST be something better out there.

Having made the move to from Sky to Virgin, I now know why we didn't bother. It was indeed a terrible hassle, for no real improvement in...well....ANYTHING. I keep hoping that once the teething problems are sorted then everything will be hunky dory, but after the conversation I had this evening with their customer service department, I can't really say I'm left with a warm, fuzzy feeling.

When we got the new telephone account, Virgin applied their answer-phone service to the line - not something we knew about, but no biggie as it should be easy to remove. So I rung their customer service and spoke to some lovely Scottish lady who pomised me it was taken care of but would take a couple of days. 2 weeks later it still isn't cancelled and, because we don't get alerted by a beep (or something) that anyone has left a message, we keep missing messages, which is a total pain with Andy getting calls every day about job interviews and things.  So tonight, I decide to ring them back since 2 weeks is getting a bit silly.

Here is how the conversation went...
Virgin: Hello you're through to Virgin, my name is Laura, how can I help?
Me: Well 2 weeks ago I rang you and asked you to take the answer service off my phone. I was told it would take a couple of days, but it's still there. Could you switch it off please?
Virgin: What's your account number?
Me: I don't know it off the top of my head, but last time I rang you accessed my account via my phone number?
Virgin: What's your number then?  ***think "abrupt" and "terse" here***
Me: 01234 567890
Virgin: What's your password?
Me: oh heck I don't remember giving you one. Erm......apple? ***I have no passwords like that really, incase you're wondering)
Virgin: No ***abrupt...again***
Me: ermmmm.....orange?
Virgin: No
Me: ***wondering just how long we're going to go on like this*** I can't remember, last time I rang I was given a prompt to remember it. There must be some other security questions you can ask?
Virgin: No
Me: No, really? No promts, but last time ***interrupted***
Virgin: I can't give you a prompt ***obviously getting VERY annoyed now, but seriously what are you supposed to do if you can't remember your password?***
Me: Oh...well last time when I rang the person seemed a lot more helpful ***said in a nice, calm voice, but go the point across I think ***
Virgin: CLUNK!

That was the sound of the phone being put down.

Really? I mean, was there any need for that? I wasn't even mad, crazy or angry...just....normal. So Laura McOldroyd from Virgin customer services (or whatever you said your name was)...you SUCK!

I promptly rang back on a different number, put in an official complaint and tried AGAIN to get the service removed. Hopefully all will be sorted this time because I obviously don't want to ring back! The guy was really helpful this time though and understood that I felt upset and that I shouldn't even have been having to ring back anyway.  During his conversation he told me that our account hadn't even been activated and that we shouldn't even have been able to get TV, internet or phone! Seriously.....you kidding me? You want to give me any more problems because it's NOT like I'm regretting my decision already or anything....

Anyway, incase you missed it the first time, Laura from Virgin customer services....YOU SUCK, YOU SUCK, YOU SUCK!

Breathe.....