I think it was star blogger David Lebovitz who pointed out to all of us that "WTF" can stand either for ...well, you know what, or "welcome to France." And even though we're six weeks and counting from saying good-bye, France is still willing to dish it out. On Thursday, I had a minor heart attack when our Internet went out for the afternoon. No amount of rebooting and unplugging seemed to do any good. And finding the Orange customer service line in case I really did need a professional to come out? Well, it's certainly not written down anywhere because (theoretically) you can always find it online.
Then when everything was back in working order, I braved a call to Orange to cancel my cell phone. I told the lady that I needed service until the end of June. She cheerily told me that my service would end May 23. I gulped, told her that I had not expressed myself properly (knowing full well that I needed to accept the blame for any misunderstanding). No problem. Hold the line. She returned and told me that she had taken care of it and my phone would be working until the end of July. Rather than try to get a third ending date, I said thank you, hung up, and now I'm hoping that I can call back later and try again. Because you see, I have to close my bank account before we go and I can only imagine the kind of hell that will rain down on me if Orange tries to tap my closed bank account.
I'm told I will need to brace myself for the shenanigans from Verizon at the other end. But until then, thank you Orange for reminding me why living in France, while not always easy, is certainly a growth experience.
6 comments:
The counter showing how many more days/hours/minutes/seconds that you have left in Paris is making me nervous...and I'm not even going anywhere. Good luck with staying sane while dealing with all of the frustrating details associated with moving.
It probably didn't help that blogger was down for most of the day yesterday!
Welcome to France, hahaha.
I just realized you are leaving France the same day I leave for Norway (for one week - hiking tour with people who will carry my stuff for me, yay). Your countdown is my own countdown.
The way you have learned to deal with "service" people is amazing. I'm sure, as an American, I would be fighting with the person on the other end of the phone, forgetting that I needed to reach the ultimate goal, whatever that takes. Good lessons.
*headdesk*
It is a bit like living in an Orwellian universe sometimes, huh. :) Just think about how nice the States is going to feel after this! Unless, of course, you have to deal with Comcast, lol. I heard a lot of horror stories from customers of theirs back in the day! :D
Here's to these final weeks going only uphill (in a good way, not in a Sisyphean way, lol) from here!
Well see, you could have avoided some of that aggravation if you had gotten a prepaid phone card, that only need to refill as you use it the minutes. My friend, Kyliemac, says her card lasts about three to four months depending on the number of calls, of course.
Your count down is making me nervous AND sad :( Good luck with your move, Anne. I will certainly miss this blog!
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