“Janet Kay, always be nice, and don’t ever be hateful to anyone trying to help you.” I heard my mother say that many times. I still hear her voice.
Mom didn’t have to deal with technology. She had me. Bless my heart. If she hit the wrong button on her TV remote, I would get a call asking me to come and fix it. I would ask her why she wouldn’t ask one of the nurses or CNAs at her healthcare campus. She said they were busy. She didn’t want to bother them. I would laugh and leave work when I had the chance to get away and help her. Through trial and error, I would finally get it figured out.
I learned a bit back then, but it did not prepare me for what I have learned as well as endured the last two months of the Technology Purgatory in which I found myself.
It was early March when our TV and cable box got into a nasty divorce. That is the only way I can describe it. I know it’s not a technical concept but stay with me and you will understand what I mean.
My cable box suddenly refused to be detected by my three-year-old TV. I called my cable company. They recommended a new cable box. Do you know how many people stand in line, mid-week, to see a technical clerk at the cable store? Thus began my lesson in patience, perseverance and being nice when I am frustrated.
Through the course of the next eight weeks, I talked to my cable company or my go-to TV tech people at least twice a week. Our discussions are on record, a very long record.
I rebooted my cable box more often than I can count. I unplugged my TV over and over. I moved the HDMI cable from 1 to 2 to 3 and back.
My cable company sent out two technicians. They did find a way to turn on the TV with the cable remote and then push the HOME button on the TV remote and then push any button on the cable remote and then push the OK button on the TV remote. I kid you not, a four-step process to turn on the TV. It worked … for a day.
Photo provided by Janet Hart Leonard
My go-to tech people suggested a new TV. Just 24 hours after installation, that TV would not connect. I went back to the store for a SECOND new TV (more $ of course) to replace the one I had just bought. Each TV had a waiting period of three to five days to install. The clerk who helped me was named Tenacious. So, there was Tenacious helping a woman of great perseverance who was struggling through such a time of challenging endurance. His manager, Ashley, assured me they would get me released from Technology Purgatory … soon.
At one point I was near tears. I told Chuck that if Jimmy Carter could lust in his heart, I could cuss in mine. (Please don’t judge me.)
I spent countless hours on the phone, juggling the remotes and waiting for a technician or representative. Don’t get me started on the frustration of reaching a live person. Grrr.
Each one of them remarked they could see I had an ongoing issue. They thanked me for being a loyal customer since 1989. Several remarked … longer than they had been born. One representative told me that their records show I had called eight times in the past 30 days. (Eight of those days I was in Florida.)
Fearing it would not come back on, we began to leave the TV on 24 hours a day. At times, however, it would turn itself off in the middle of the night. I was beginning to think it was possessed.
After the delivery of the much more expensive TV this past week, it failed to adjust to the 1080p resolution we had paid for … I had a come apart. Granted, it was a quiet one, but I was just DONE.
What had started on March 7 was now in its eighth week.
I had dealt with two bad cable boxes, three TVs (two of them brand new), two cable technicians, and three TV technicians.
Chuck kept telling me he could not believe how patient I had been. (Except for the one come apart where I could no longer fight the tears.) Each representative thanked me for being so patient. I assured them that I knew they were trying to help me and appreciated their efforts. In my heart, I was venting my frustration.
The last issue was the new cable box would not allow my new TV to have a 1080p resolution, only 1080i. There is a difference.
I made another trip to the cable store. The manager assured me a new 4K box would solve my issues. They did not carry them in the store. Most of their boxes were REFURBISHED! He spent almost an hour with me, looking at all the notes that were made whenever I spoke to a cable representative. He looked at me and said, “You have to be one of the most patient customers with whom I’ve ever dealt. You have every reason to be frustrated. We will get this figured out. Thank you for your patience.”
I kid you not, he even offered me a job! My frustrations led me to gain a lot of technical knowledge.
The new TV has a new 4K cable box. It arrived on Friday. They have been joined together in wedded bliss.
I can hear my mother saying, “See Janet Kay, your being nice pays off. People will remember your kindness and will want to help you.”
As of the writing of this column … I’m out of Technology Purgatory. It’s been a long two months. I so appreciate the resolution of this problem as well as the 1080p resolution on our TV.
“And yes, Mom, I wasn’t hateful but maybe, I was a little … in my frustrated heart.”
Janet Hart Leonard can be contacted at janethartleonard@gmail.com or followed on Facebook or Instagram (@janethartleonard). Visit janethartleonard.com.