This past month of my life has been interesting. Lots of changes and lots of opportunities. Hopefully things I can write about sometime soon.
I got an electricity bill last week. It was about $200 higher than the last one. I mean, prices keep going up so that doesn’t even shock me anymore, the entire thing seems like a rip off. But what I noticed on the bill was that it was an estimate. Um, we literally saw the meter reader AT the box doing the reading.
I know, it’s only one little thing to fix.
But last year, when I was struggling financially, I had to call the electricity company to tell them I wasn’t going to pay on time. I had paid about a third or half of it and could tell them exactly which day I would be able to make further payments. Basically, I had to spread it out over a few pays from work.
However, when I called them, I got the rudest person ever. They were complaining that I should make a payment right then and there of another hundred dollars. I didn’t have another hundred dollars. They told me to go find a credit card and put it on that. It went on like this; they got pretty rude and I am a stubborn pain in the ass so I was getting blunter and blunter about them questioning my finances. I wasn’t spending money on other stuff, I was just literally not earning enough money.
It all got sorted out in the end, but it left a really bad taste in my mouth about ever calling them again. So when I got this bill with an error on it I just DID NOT want to call them because it make me think of the last call. I kind of foisted it off onto my husband and told him to fix it because I was too busy. Unfortunately, I apparently hadn’t set him up as an authority on the account. Bugger.
I ignored it for a week. I did not want to have to talk to anyone from that company!
Yesterday I finally called them to get Ben put as an authority on the account. It was only a few minutes on hold. I got a lovely person who suggested a discount we might be eligible for.
What?
Biggest contrast from the last phone call! I was happy to hear a nice person. I’m guessing I might not have been the only person to make a complaint about their staff last year.
The stupidest part is that Ben had tried to call to fix the bill and gotten a lovely person. So I knew there was a chance that they had changed staff and gotten nice people. But I still didn’t want to call.
Change has happened for me this year on a lot of levels. And I’m mostly OK with change – so long as I can take action I can deal with change. But little things, like calling to fix a bill, just get a little beyond me. I have enough big things going on that when I get spare time I just don’t want to deal with the little things. i don’t want change during change. When I’m home, I don’t want change seeping in, I want peace. I want home to be a place of relative lack of change when change is going on. What’s crazy is that this was a good change! Maybe I just need to recognise I’m an expert procrastinator…
How are you with change? Do you ever get over it and put off the easy tasks?
You have no idea how much I relate to this! I hate doing the little things sometimes, even though they are little, mainly because I want to keep that sense of quiet and calm when at home. I’m so not a fan of making any phone calls these days – I think I’m getting worse as I get older!!!
I generally don’t like using the phone either – but I have to at work! Maybe that’s why I avoid it at home, I’ve already had my share 🙂
I hate change Vanessa. Hate it. Imagine how hard it will be for me to move at the end of the year. I’ll be in a bad mood for the next twenty years if I live that long. That person you first spoke to on the phone about your electricity bill should be sacked immediately. How rude. Customer service? Hello?
I think customer service is imaginary these days for a lot of people! Good luck with the move…
I try and be cool about change but it isn’t easy! Not at all. But I do think changes happen for a reason and try and just go with it. As an aside I can’t believe that guy on the phone – how rude! I’m surprised you didn’t just take your business elsewhere.. It doesn’t take much to be nice!
I probably should look at changing companies but the effort involved is just too much!
I’m learning to embrace change. I can’t stop change from happening but I can change the way I deal with it, and that has been a game changer! Sometimes, attitude is everything!
It really can help – sometimes the silver lining is hard to find but worth it.