Weird…But In A Good Way

Being a parent is sometimes quite hard, balancing your own wants and needs as an individual with that of a this small thing who wants independence but relies of you for so much. I’m lucky – I absolutely love being a Mom and TBK makes it easy. We have bumps in the road which we have to deal with, sometimes emotional sometimes physical but I always know we can get through it because long term there are no issues and these are only bumps, but what happens when that bump turns into a mountain?

I’ve been thinking a lot this last week about how hard some other parents have it,  hard because life jumped up and smacked them in the mouth at the same time as hitting their child over the head with a sledge hammer. I am a fairly prolific twitter user and stay in touch with friends (both real and virtual) via that medium and I’ve been quite humbled this week by the journeys some of the parents I follow are having to take.

I’ve only met one of these parents I’m going to outline below  in real life but if hasn’t stopped me from empathising with any of them, because as a parent I just don’t know how I’d be able to cope if I was faced with the same.

The one follower keeps her twitter stream private so I wont out her here but after having a daughter who was  born with Downs Syndrome, a subsequent diagnoses of Cerebral Palsy and in the last week a further diagnosis of severe arthritis all over her body she’s a lot going on but with 2 more children at home and a charity to run which she set up to support other parents in understanding Downs and going it alone as a single parent I just don’t know sometimes how she carries on.

There is @beast76uk (Phillip) whose son Harry recently lost an eye to Retinoblastoma, whose tweets “”Ok #cancer, this war is WON! Fuck you. Yes, you took his eye, small price to pay in the long run. but we’ve stopped you. You’re fuckin GONE!” and “Got Harry’s #histology results back 2day. No spread of the cancer. absolutely #chuffedtobits ! Left eye is in remission. #couldntbehappier” made me ridiculously happy for a man I’d never met and left me in awe of his resilience as a parent, I don’t know, and I hope I never have to find out how I would react  if faced with the same.

Now there is @junction10 (Jason) someone I have never met but started following a while back because his sense of humour and sarcastic updates made me laugh (and he’s  a bloody fine photographer to boot), Another twitter user who is currently going through hell as a parent. Just as I was reading that @beast76uk son was winning their battle with the dreaded C word,  Jason’s son Joel was just starting his own, a diagnosis of a brain tumour, subsequent surgery and the prospect of 12 months of radio and chemotherapy is a terrible way to start the year.

I don’t know why but Jason and Joel’s story seems to have affected me more than the others (and maybe more than it should for someone I don’t know), maybe it’s because the sarcastic, humorous tone of his stream as been overtaken with heart wrenching updates of his son’s progress where the others didn’t change in such a dramatic way, and that it has laid bare the fundamental fear as parent that when something is going on with your child that is completely out of your control and with the stakes so high just how hard it can be but whatever the reason it has upset me.

Last night I read Jason’s blog “A Sense of Tumour” documenting the journey of diagnosis and tests and surgery (and hospital parking) and then went to bed. At 1:30 I was woken by TBK and his 2 friends who were here for a sleepover. They were banging around and making such a racket I’m surprised the neighbours hadn’t been to knock the door,  I was just about to get out of bed to read them the riot act when an image from the blog came to mind and I remembered how lucky I was to be at home with my son safe, healthy and happy waking me up. A quiet word with the boys and peace resumed and returned to bed with the lasting impression of how lucky I really am!

Everyone has been speculating for week over when the snow would come, Finally it did I woke up this morning and it was white over and it’s snowed on and off all day!

It is most amusing following peoples reactions on Facebook and Twitter – anyone would think the end was nigh! Personally I think it’s silly worrying too much about it  if it comes it comes, if it doesn’t it doesn’t there’s not much you can do to change it, but if/when it does PHOTO OPPORTUNITY!

UPDATE 09:30 12th October:

15 hours after sending this email and I’ve just received a call from Virgin Media’s Chief Executive Office apologising for their appalling service! – Sometimes firing an email off to the right person does yield results!

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An email sent to the complaints address I was provided and cc’d to the CEO of Virgin Media

I have been provided with this email address from the people who run your twitter profile as a way of directing my complaint to you.

In the last week I have NEVER received such diabolical service from a company as I have yourselves!

I have been a customer with Virgin for 5 years and have consistently upgraded my account to include more and better services and would have considered myself a loyal customer. However if something is not done to rectify the experience I have had in the last 7 days I will not only be taking my business elsewhere but I will be shouting from the roof tops to anyone who will listen as why they should never use Virgin Media either!

Last Monday (4th October) I called your service centre from my fairly newly installed land line to enquire about upgrading my TV service to a HD service. I wanted some clarification on prices as on your website there are two options, one for a standard HD box and one for V+ HD – which I understood – I was however intrigued as to why on the Standard HD price the installation fee is listed as optional.

I spoke to a lady called Sarah who I explained this to and she said the option was for a “HD or V+HD” – I again explained I knew the difference in options for the services but wanted to know why the installation price on the option for the standard HD was listed as optional and V+ HD it wasn’t – Her response….

“You’re not listening to me” – to which I responded “How rude are you being?” to which she responded ” WELL YOU ARE NOT LISTENING TO ME” – I asked to be put through to cancellations immediately to which she responded “Fine” and I was put on hold. I was furious and ready to leave you company there and then and it was only through speaking to a lovely lady in your cancellations department, who’s name I unfortunately can’t remember, who apologised profusely and agreed that her colleagues behaviour was unacceptable that I decided to stay.

She opened up the website I was looking at http://shop.virginmedia.com/digital-tv/set-top-boxes.html (screen print attached) and agreed that there is confusion as she couldn’t understand why the installation fee was listed as optional either.

She apologised again and again and offered to waive the fees on, and supply a V+HD box free of charge. I explained this was unnecessary as I unlikely to have any real use of the V+ package at this time and instead accepted to take delivery of a standard HD box as way of an apology as well as requesting that a formal complaint be made.

Delivery was due Thursday 7th. My partner took the day off work and waited in all day….at 17:30 when I returned from work and there had still been no delivery I again called your customer service team where I was informed that delivery could be anywhere up until 18:00 and to call back then if there had still been no delivery

18:00 came and went and still no delivery, so I called back a second time, this time a different member of staff informs me that delivery could be any time up until 20:00 but as they have no tracking number on my account they can’t say for sure and supply me with a number to the home delivery service to call myself to track the order YOU had placed with them.

I called the 0871 number supplied to be greeted with a recorded message telling me delivery could be any time up until 19:00 (the third different time I had been given) and if I wanted specific details on a parcel to enter the 8 digit tracking number – which of course I don’t have!

Luckily having had some experience with automated services I repeatedly keyed in 8 zeros until it overrode the computer and put me through to one of their advisers.

I explained who I was and why I was calling and they took my address details and looked into it for me…..They had NO record of a delivery being made to my address on their system. The Gentleman was very apologetic and explained that some of their drivers were still out and maybe I should call back after 21:15 in case there was a fault with there system and my parcel was still with one of them…

21:15 Still no delivery so I call HDN on the 0871 number again, once again working my way through thier automated system to speak to the same man as earlier who confirmed they have no delivery due to my address!

I subsequently call your customer services again where the individual I spoke to was less than helpful! “there’s and order on your account” – yes I know there is an order on my account but why haven’t I received it? “hmmmm”

I don’t know where your advisers were trained but I’m sure “HMM” is never an acceptable answer to a customers question. I had to push and push and push to get her to make another order for a box – none of my questions as to why as YOUR customer I was having to call home delivery network to chase YOUR order with them – I am your customer, you are theirs – I should have never have had to call them myself in the first place and finally when I convinced to do her job and actually help me I wanted to know if I placed another order what guarantees I would have it would turn up as it meant either my partner or I staying home from work again to wait for it.

I was told the earliest delivery date that was available was today (Monday 11th) but I would be able to choose my delivery slot – I wasn’t impressed that after an administration error with yourselves or with the courier YOU had tasked with delivering my box I hadn’t received it on the due date and was going to have to wait longer still but I accepted this as being my only option and chose the 09:30 to 14:30 delivery slot…..

My partner again opted to stay home and wait….

9:30 the post man arrives with a letter from yourselves with our new “contract” in it that started on 7th October ( the original delivery date) and includes a £49 charge for set up – which I had been told would waived as an apology for the behaviour and attitude of your staff in my initial dealing with yourself back on the 4th October- A subsequant phone call to “Kimberly” has at least confirmed to me for the time being that I will not be charged this.

14:30 comes and goes and still nothing!, 15:30 nothing. 16:30 nothing FINALLY at 17:00 a delivery driver knocks our door and we take delivery of our now LONG overdue HD box! – My partner questioned the driver as to why it was late only to be informed he’d only been given the package at 14:00 and there was nothing in his notes pertaining to the bar code about a timed delivery despite there being a clearly visable sticker which reads “Avoid school runs deliver between 09:30 and 14:29″ on the box – the driver has supplied us with a number to call Home Delivery Network to complain about this but quite frankly I don’t see why I should after all I am YOUR customer and YOU are THEIRS.

After being a customer for years and having defended you business to others citing my own experiences with yourself as a case to allay their complaints I find it absolutely outrageous that I was completely unfounded in my belief that virgin media knew how to deliver customer satisfaction.

My partner has had to take 2 days off work, I have had to make countless telephone calls not only to yourselves but to YOUR service providers to try and rectify what should have been a pretty simple upgrade and I would like to know what exactly can now be done to compensate me and make up for all of this as this was supposed to be an apology for the original poor service and attitude I received.
A copy of this email has also been posted on my blog which which can be viewed here:

http://www.weirdbutinagoodway.co.uk/blog/2010/10/11/a-complaint-to-virgin/

I trust I will be hearing from you soon.

Miss Stephenie.Jennings
Account number: *********