I am expecting a parcel on subscription for repeated delivery every two months. yesterday and again today, I received an e-mail warning that it may not be delivered by the estimated time -- Monday next. This occurred with the last delivery, too, which was a couple of days later than expected. I checked all tracking and it seemed to be stuck two provinces away -- about a 14 hour drive from here. Yet, this updated as I was speaking to customer support to note the parcel had been picked up yesterday from a town 3.5 hours from here. It likely goes to Halifax for resorting and then will be out on an overnight truck for delivery here during the day tomorrow. YAY.
While checking the credit card bill that came in today, I discovered that my online payment (through the company 'my account' site) earlier this month for the communications bundle was processed twice! No wonder the credit card bill looked larger than expected. I called customer support (guess they've all stopped using the terms 'service' or 'care' <sigh> I'm not sure 'support' works, either) and was told my options were to leave the credit on my account to be applied to the account balance at the next billing date. Or, they could process a cheque for me that would take two weeks or more to arrive at my door. <sigh> I let it ride and headed to the social media page to make a post about the ongoing issues with internal software over the past 3-4 years. I got an immediate response from whoever keeps an eye on social media, who then forwarded a request for a refund to the credit card to be processed immediately. This was done via phone by the other department. I asked the social media watcher why I hadn't been provided this option the first time and she sent a note to the manager of the person who had been on the first phone call for 'coaching' purposes. I appreciate that and asked that they could do this for the IT dept, too. The social media person sent a message to someone in the company to contact the external IT contractor. So, at least things were sent along. Whether this will change anything remains to be seen. I'm not sure I'll notice it. I've decided not to use the software on company page and will not do automatic payments for a number of reasons, not the least of which is a lack of trust in software used by the contracted payment company. So, I guess that means I have to go into the world and make a direct payment through the bank. Or get the online banking stuff set up fully. I will deal with the latter when I'm at my banking appointment next week.
It is time to move into the 21st Century, though speaking to a real person while paying bills is very comforting. My dad would walk around the downtown core to pay utility bills, property taxes, car and house insurance and such. He knew all the front office people by name and had a good chat with them on these regular visits. I often went with him whenever I was home visiting on such days. All along the street, he'd greet people with a nod, a 'how are you doing?' or a slightly longer chat. He was born in that city and lived there his whole life, so he knew a lot of people. I've found that being in a smaller town has allowed me to get to know people in a similar way. Home was about 35,000 people and here is about 5000 (before students arrive for the academic year). It is comforting to know that if you need help along the way, there will likely be someone you know walking or driving by.
All this had me feeling nostalgic or perhaps homesick. There is an online concert tonight from a folk singer who grew up just southeast of my hometown. Maybe that has me feeling this way, too. It might be that friends spent time recently in a favorite area several hours north of home. Or most likely, it is a bit of all of along with the need for a bit of comfort of home. I've chosen two songs to share today -- one about the area closer to home and one about the region in the northern half of the province. Both are by the singer in the virtual concert this evening. Stay safe. Enjoy!
Wood River -- Connie Kaldor
Canoe Song -- Connie Kaldor
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