Quote

We made cookies and gave most of them away.

We made bread to bake on another day.

We laughed and carried on as the day progressed.
And recognized that we are so very blessed.

~Suzanne Wagner~

 

 

Blog

Yesterday, I spent 4 hours dealing with my mom’s internet and cable provider. I have learned that the bills keep quietly going up and these companies hope that you are going to ignore the increases and not fight back. But I also know that if you call as ask if their are any specials or promotions that often there is a way to make the bill less.

In that journey with the company over the phone, I discovered that there is a government program to help those that are seniors or are on a limited budget.

I discovered that if I managed to jump through all the hoops that I could take almost $50 off my mother’s bill.
I talked to the federal program people and they seemed to think that my mom would qualify so I signed up and then went to the website to fill everything out. Only to discover that the number that was the maximum income my mom could have … was not the number on the website. That meant that all that work, getting copies of the taxes, taking pictures of the taxes, uploading them to the site, was a futile effort.

That meant that I had to call the cable company back and tell them that the great program we signed up for was not going to be available to us. So now what?

They of course had other options if one did not qualify for that one federal program.

Bottom line … I spent 4 hours of work, they spent money with those at their end to change things around, only to have to change them back and to something else. And the federal authorities had workers also doing things and it was all for a small discount of $30 a month.

So, I get that all done only to discover that the television cable … now … was not working at all.

And I am back on the phone to make it work.

I also got cut off from the phone multiple times and they had to call me back.

Now-a-days they want everything on the apps and the websites and the phone. I was shifting all the billing over to me and trying to change the billing and email so that I have the control and I can directly deal with the issues for my 86-year-old mom.
Such things she cannot navigate, and it was a lot even for me.

In the end we got $30 off the bill but the question is how much all that cost the companies and me, in time, energy, and effort?

Most people don’t have 4 hours of not working … to fiddle with all the red tape and required protocols to jump through the necessary hoops to get a small discount.

I don’t know why companies can’t play more fair-minded and just give a solid price for all of it and make that the same price for everyone.

By the time I got to my sister’s house for dinner, I was exhausted by the effort and grateful for someone making dinner.

May all who go through such things know that they are not alone. And I wanted to let others know that for some time and effort … they could probably get money off … if they have the willingness and the fortitude to get through all the necessary steps.

~Suzanne Wagner~

YouTube:
https://youtu.be/T0Y7HO1OK1w