I’ve worked in customer service all of my adult (and partial teen) life. I know customers can be frustrating, so when I’m in the position of being a customer, I try to be very polite and understanding. Especially when I call at the end of the workday, because I know the customer service rep is probably tired and counting the minutes until they have to go home. I’ve been there. But my politeness and understanding wears out quickly when the person I’m speaking with doesn’t have two braincells that function at the same time.

I called my dental insurance company today, just to confirm that the bill they sent me covered the months of September, October and November*, since the bill had no dates on it, just amounts.  The conversation went a bit like this:

Me: Hi! I received a bill from you and I’ve just written out the check for it. However, there were no dates on the bill, so I was calling to confirm that this payment covers everything I owe through November.

Him: Please wait.

<3 minutes of dead silence later>

Him: You owe $XXX.

Me: Yes, I’m aware of that. I have the bill here, and have already written the check. But the bill doesn’t have a date on it. Is the $XXX for the months of September, October, and November?

<silence>

Me: Hello?

Him: Ma’am, you owe $XXX.

Me: Yes, we’ve covered that. Does the $XXX cover me for September, October, and November? That’s all I need to know.

Him: Your account will be current when you pay $XXX.

Me: Ok, current through October? Current through November? I just need to know what months I’m paying for.

Him: Ma’am, I just told you that you owe $XXX.

<lather, rinse, repeat no less than 4 more times.>

Finally…

Me: I’d like to speak with your supervisor please.

It took his supervisor less than 10 seconds to confirm that yes, the amount covers me for those three months. Halle-freaking-lujah! Though why he couldn’t answer that question remains a mystery to me.

*Switching to COBRA from my previous company’s insurance gives me 60 days to start making payments, so I wasn’t past due on my account. However, it took the insurance company 50 days to send me a bill. Think I can wait 50 days to send them a payment?

Since I started buying homemade cards to snail mail to people, I’ve found a couple shops that have quickly become my favorites. Carrie’s Cards is one of those shops, and Carrie herself is as nice as could be. She makes great cards, as well as magnets and coasters in all different patterns and colors.  She’s fantastic to work with too!

I started buying from Carrie in March when I went through my obsessive card buying phase, and I was always really happy with the cards I got from her. I’ve steadily purchased from her ever since then, and I’ve never ever been disappointed. I recently purchased some more Thank You cards, as I’d almost exhausted my supply and I was planning on sending them out for anyone who’d donated to Step Out.  I contacted her to ask if she would be willing to make a couple more cards in a couple different colors than she already offered. I could not have been more surprised and thankful when she generously offered to donate some cards to me, since I’m sending them out to anyone who donates to Step Out.  I received the cards today, and WOW are they fabulous! I cannot wait to send them out!

I want to thank Carrie again for her generous donation, as well as thank all of you who’ve donated so far. If you haven’t donated yet, you still have a little more than a week to do so. The cards are first come first served, so don’t delay! Not only will you be helping to find a cure for Diabetes, but you’ll be getting a beautiful handmade card and my sincere thanks for your help!

Also, if you’re in the market for great greeting cards of all types (and really, the world could use more happiness spread through snail mail), check out Carrie’s shop. She’s great!