Well...first of all, I'd like to express my appreciatation to the three fans (can I call you fans? I like the sound of that....) who wrote me and wondered where I was and why I wasn't blogging anymore.
As always, I blame Bolivia.
Okay, not really. I do, however, blame Entel, my internet service provider. You'd think that when they spend thousands of dollars trying to convince me to walk through their doors...and then when I actually do walk through their doors waving money around and desperately trying to throw it at them...well, you'd think they'd be willing to take said money and provide me with the service they're spending all that money advertising.
You'd think so. But you'd be wrong.
All I wanted was a plan for my cell phone and unlimited internet service. That's all. It wasn't complicated...
To me.
To Entel, however, it somehow seemed like I was asking for the moon, the stars, their top secret business plan and...wait, let me change that. They couldn't possibly have thought I was after their business plan because there's no way they actually have one.
At any rate, they sure didn't want to give me what I was asking TO PAY for.
Here's the thing. I went to their offices...twelve times. TWELVE TIMES. And every time (EVERY SINGLE TIME) the person I talked to told me something different. It was crazy. One time they needed some kind of document...the next something else. Sometimes they wanted everything...sometimes they only wanted one thing. Everytime, however, there was something wrong.
"Sorry, this water bill is from June. We need it to be from July."
"Sorry, I know we said we need to see a bank statement with $500 in your account but really it needs to be $640."
"The amount in your bank account is sufficient, but the bank teller didn't sign the paper so we can't accept this."
"Sorry, you're an idiot foreigner (okay maybe she didn't say "idiot" but she was thinking it) so you can't partake of our services."
These are only four of the dozen (DOZEN people!) reasons why they didn't want to give me internet service and/or a plan for my cell phone. I, however, am not only persistent and stubborn (and stupid), I'm...well, I'm persistent and stubborn (and stupid). I used up all the relavent words the first time.
At any rate, I jumped through their hoops like the trained monkey I am and after six weeks of repeated trips downtown I finally got a lady who seemed a bit out of it (honestly...it seemed like she'd had a rough night). She stared blankly at my form and all the paperwork I provided...couldn't think of a good excuse in the moment why to say no...and handed me my internet modem.
And low and behold...their internet service sucks. Seriously. It's slower than the last slow service I had.
But it does means I'm back online. And I'm learning patience as I wait for pages to load. So I guess it's all good. I have many things to share over the next few days...it's a bit tough to decide where to start. But rest assured it'll be more meaningful than what I just wrote. I just really needed to get that off my chest. It's been driving me crazy for weeks...
Thanks everyone...if there's anyone still out there...
As always, I blame Bolivia.
Okay, not really. I do, however, blame Entel, my internet service provider. You'd think that when they spend thousands of dollars trying to convince me to walk through their doors...and then when I actually do walk through their doors waving money around and desperately trying to throw it at them...well, you'd think they'd be willing to take said money and provide me with the service they're spending all that money advertising.
You'd think so. But you'd be wrong.
All I wanted was a plan for my cell phone and unlimited internet service. That's all. It wasn't complicated...
To me.
To Entel, however, it somehow seemed like I was asking for the moon, the stars, their top secret business plan and...wait, let me change that. They couldn't possibly have thought I was after their business plan because there's no way they actually have one.
At any rate, they sure didn't want to give me what I was asking TO PAY for.
Here's the thing. I went to their offices...twelve times. TWELVE TIMES. And every time (EVERY SINGLE TIME) the person I talked to told me something different. It was crazy. One time they needed some kind of document...the next something else. Sometimes they wanted everything...sometimes they only wanted one thing. Everytime, however, there was something wrong.
"Sorry, this water bill is from June. We need it to be from July."
"Sorry, I know we said we need to see a bank statement with $500 in your account but really it needs to be $640."
"The amount in your bank account is sufficient, but the bank teller didn't sign the paper so we can't accept this."
"Sorry, you're an idiot foreigner (okay maybe she didn't say "idiot" but she was thinking it) so you can't partake of our services."
These are only four of the dozen (DOZEN people!) reasons why they didn't want to give me internet service and/or a plan for my cell phone. I, however, am not only persistent and stubborn (and stupid), I'm...well, I'm persistent and stubborn (and stupid). I used up all the relavent words the first time.
At any rate, I jumped through their hoops like the trained monkey I am and after six weeks of repeated trips downtown I finally got a lady who seemed a bit out of it (honestly...it seemed like she'd had a rough night). She stared blankly at my form and all the paperwork I provided...couldn't think of a good excuse in the moment why to say no...and handed me my internet modem.
And low and behold...their internet service sucks. Seriously. It's slower than the last slow service I had.
But it does means I'm back online. And I'm learning patience as I wait for pages to load. So I guess it's all good. I have many things to share over the next few days...it's a bit tough to decide where to start. But rest assured it'll be more meaningful than what I just wrote. I just really needed to get that off my chest. It's been driving me crazy for weeks...
Thanks everyone...if there's anyone still out there...
5 comments:
I'm out here because I refuse to get on the Facebook. I like my privacy.
Thanks Ron. It's good to know you care. =)
I knew you had a team there, so I assumed you were busy...glad your back!
I assumed the lazy thing. Sorry man. LOL But that is perhaps the pot calling the kettle black because I didn't blog once all summer. Maybe they think you are going to call Canada on your cell and then run away before you pay your bill! Ha ha! And I prefer the terms Quirky and Tempermental myself. But always, ALWAYS persistent. Way to go.
Ya, you can call me a fan. ;)
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