Computer Issues and The Story of Three Technicians

Why haven't I posted on my blog in a week? It's a long story!

My husband and I pay for a yearly computer service with a major chain store that gives us free yearly computer tune ups. They go through the computer and look for viruses, unneeded programs, and lots of other stuff to help it run faster. They work remotely, so I don't have to take my computer anywhere. 

The other day, I decided to sign up for the tune up. It was rather painless and quick. My computer was worked on remotely for about an hour and half. 

However, when the remote technician was done ( it's a big company and the tech person may have been working from overseas) my Facebook, instagram, and lots of features were no longer working and the technician was gone (without a goodbye or any communication) too!! 

WHAT!!!!! My computer worked fine before the tune up, and now it was obvious that something was amiss.

Since my computer was no longer capable of accessing the program for remote access, after a few phone calls, it was decided that I needed to drive the computer to the actual store in my local area. They made an appointment for me, and I waited to take my computer in. 

It was Labor Day, so I was surprised they made an appointment for me for that evening at 7:40 PM.  When I arrived, the major chain store was EMPTY and the employees were laughing, goofing off and just plain having fun together. 

The young man who was scheduled to assist me looked disappointed that he had to leave his friends. His disinterest in my computer problem was evident. After explaining the situation to him, he opened my computer and verified everything I had already observed. I tried to explain to him that the remote tech person may have deleted a program by mistake or forgot to re-instate it and I wanted him to check for such an error. 

Nah! He was too disinterested and just decided that I would need to leave my computer for 2 days so a REAL tech person could work on it. 

A day later I was notified that the REAL tech person went through and found 4 threats that the remote tech person missed. Satisfied, they deemed that my computer was now fixed and ready for pick up. 

I return to the store and was greeted by the disinterested tech guy from the night before who didn't recognize me despite spending 20 minutes with me before closing (duh??). Anyway, he proceeds to retrieve my computer from the "fixed" pile and proceeds to check me out. 

"Wait ! Stop"!!  I said to him.

"Could please turn on the computer to make sure all is working before I drive back home". 

Well what do you know?? It still wasn't working!!!!!

Now I am FRUSTRATED AND FURIOUS as I explain to whoever would listen that there was NOTHING wrong with my computer when "they" did the tune up, and NOW I can't use Instagram, Facebook, my mail, Blogger, etc. 

The REAL tech person just shook her head as if she had no part in this and wasn't getting involved, but the disinterested tech person all of a sudden became interested and actually listened to me when I said, "Let's figure out which program is needed to use FB, Instagram, Yahoo mail, and Blogger." 

I asked if my Javascript was working (which I had also asked the day before and was ignored).. and a light bulb went off in his head and he said "that must be it". 

He (disinterested tech) re- enabled Javascript ( something I did not know how to do) and problem solved!!  all's well that ends well. My computer is working!! YAY! 

My computer was out of commission for 4 days due to the 'tune up" . This is my first post for the month of September!!

If you have ever read Lori's blog  at  Culinary Adventures with Lori , you may be familiar with her weekly post that includes "Who Needs a Good Slap"? 

This week I am giving a good slap to: 

Remote tech person, disinterested tech person and REAL overnight tech person- JEEZZ!!

My Cell Phone For Dinner

                    

Why did I need my cell phone for dinner? 

This is the story of why a cell phone is certainly not a luxury and essential to function in today's world.

The other night I went out for a simple Mexican dinner with a friend. We selected a restaurant in an artsy historic tourist district of Lambertville, New Jersey (link). After driving though the beautiful scenic bucolic area of Bucks County for 1/2 hour, we reached our final destination. 

I parked the car on the street near the restaurant and immediately noticed that it required that I download an "app" to pay for parking (I know that in the cities this is protocol, but I live in the suburbs/country and have never been required to use an app to park my car). 

My problem: 

I need a new phone and despite trying to charge it in the car, my phone was dead and I could not down load the parking app. Feeling totally frustrated, I finally realized that the meter would also accept coins. Yay!

 

But then a quick Boo!! The meter required $1.25/hr in coin, and I only had bills.

 

I ran to the restaurant (a block away) where I had a reservation and since they had no parking lot, I begged them to change a $5 bill to coins. Well it turns out they had no change either. Luckily a patron was able to give me $3 worth of dimes, nickel, and quarters. 

As I noisily jingled back to the meter to spend 5 additional minutes feeding the meter the dimes, nickels and quarters, I wondered if anyone else has ever had this happen? 

Once the hungry meter was happy, I did an about face and hurried back to the restaurant for our 6 PM reservation. 

As we settled in the seats,  I noticed a scan card on the table in lieu of a menu. Apologetically, I explained to the wait person that my phone battery had died and that I would need a regular menu. 

Sorry- no such item available- only scan menus!!!!

WHAT?? Have I been living in the dark ages? 

My battery is dead (I almost sobbed) because at this point I was really frustrated and hungry. What can I do? 

The young girl looked at me in disbelief and gave me her cell phone- (do you think I knew how to use her phone???) Sheepishly, I asked for her help so she took her phone and walked away saying she would get the manager to see what he could do. Surprisingly, the manager never showed up, but another wait person did. 

You may be wondering about my friend. Well yes her cell phone worked but was very small and we did scan for the menu but had to enlarge the print so much that only a small section took up the entire phone. 

Finally, I just explained to the new wait person (who was also young and very surprised about our lack of tech skills) that I wanted a gluten free vegan meal. 

She suggested a vegan enchilada platter (forgot to take a picture) that came with, rice and black beans. I took it!! 

And it was outstanding. 

I really enjoyed the meal, the outside dining, and the beautiful atmosphere once we settled the order, but I was not prepared to need to depend on my phone to park the car and see the menu. My iPhone is old and outdated and small. I only use it for texts and calls.  

I realize now that when I update my phone (very soon), it's going to have to be a larger size, so I can attempt to deal with all the new required technology just to eat out, shop in the markets such as Whole Foods to get their "app" to be entitled to discounts. I've been kicking my feet, but I can do it!

Here is a link to one of my favorite Mexican recipes- 

Skinny Mango Salsa

Is anyone else feeling overwhelmed, outdated, or reluctant to join this new high tech age?