Today was my first chance using Windows Vista. One of our consultants got a new laptop and needed some assistance with it. After guiding him for awhile, I took the drivers seat and went about installing and configuring some more complex matters.
While installing the VPN client, I encountered four instances of User Account Control asking for permission to continue. I asked the owner of the laptop if he had grown annoyed by the UAC messages yet. He responded "I have yet to see one yet."
In the 15-20 minutes I spent watching and helping him before taking the mouse, I saw him click through at least a half dozen of these messages. It seems Microsoft's goals of alerting the user of possibly conerning changes becomes ineffective after just two days with the OS.
About that package that DHL claims they couldn't deliver because my workplace was closed. The next business day came and went without my package. Monday (the second business day after the package should have been delivered) morning rolls around and I look up the status of the package on DHL's site.
The most recent entry is from the original day the package was supposed to arrive; no updates for the past three days. A phone call to DHL reveals that the driver claims to have attempted to deliver the package around 10am and again around 1:13pm. And as they made two delivery attempts, I must arrange for another delivery myself.
What part of this tracking report says they attempted to deliver it at 10am. What part of that report says that I the consignee must arrange another delivery attempt?
A series of firm requests got me the package today.
As we don't get too many visitors, we do not yet have a receptionist in our lobby. We do have a phone with a sign next to it indicating that visitors should either call the extension of who they are hear to meet, or pick up the phone and wait to be connected to the office manager. It seems our delivery dudes are illiterate however.
Incident 1: We moved across the parking lot to a new building (in the same complex). The door to our old suite has a sign indicating our new
address and with a little map of which building we are in now. I was expecting a package one day. It doesn't show up and I call the FedEx up and see what's up. Sure the company that shipped the box screwed up and didn't correct our shipping address as I requested, but couldn't the delivery guy read the damn sign, and walk the extra 50 yards?
Incident 2: A DHL guy wanders into an ongoing meeting in the conference room off of our lobby shouting about having a package to be delivered.
Incident 3: DHL shows up to pick-up a laptop that is being returned for repair. Part of the pick-up is that they will pack the laptop for transport. He did indeed bring a box. One that allowed the laptop to rattle around in transit. This is the same box that is used to return the laptop.
Incident 4: I was expecting a package via DHL yesterday. When I checked on the package this morning, I saw that the most recent message was from yesterday and read "1:13 pm Consignee premises closed. Will attempt again next business day.". My workplace was of course not closed at 1 pm on a Thursday.
To paraphrase a friend of mine; There is only one shipping company.
So in a tale similar to this one, I once again was in possession of both a new laptop and a broken one that needed to be returned to Dell. In the box with the new laptop was a prepaid DHL label to return the broken machine. I needed to put the RMA number and our return address on the label, and call up DHL to arrange a pick-up.
It took me a little while to get around to calling DHL (I wasn't about to give up the broken machine until I had verified the working status of the new one). The day it was finally picked up by DHL was the day the office manager came into my office with a letter from Dell indicating 1) they were grumpy with me for not having returned the broken machine and 2) that if I have already had the machine picked up by DHL that I needed to contact Dell with the tracking number for the package. Once I provide the tracking number (and it's in transit) Dell will stop pestering me.
It would have been nice of Dell to fill out the prepaid shipping label with address and the RMA number, but I can forgive them for that. It is however pretty sad that they can't keep track of the tracking numbers themselves. Apparently Dell doesn't understand the little touches about customer service.
For a demo system I was setting up, I created a user with the name "demouser". Upon showing the system to the salesman who would be using it; he commented that the username looked like "de-mouser". I chuckle everyime I see the username now.
