Why is Everything so Sh!t These Days?

meanredspider

I could have put this in "Rants" but it's a more general question - maybe rhetorical

It might be because I have a lot on at the moment or it might be that I'm just a bit sensitive to sh!t service because of what's happening but so few of the companies I deal with even come close to delivering what they claim:

Virgin Media have done nothing they said they'd do, NPower are total idiots, even the local place up on the Black Isle who took my mower away to repair it can't even get back to me to tell me what's wrong with it two weeks after they said they would. Apple, Highland Council, the Post Office, PayPal, Lloyds Bank, packing box supplier, eBay Merc parts seller, Amazon tape gun seller - the list goes on and on.

All I want to do is get what I paid for and for people to do what they said they would do. I'm really not expecting miracles.

The only shining light in the gloom of cr@p and mediocrity is EE. They aren't perfect but EVERYBODY I have dealt with there at least is trying to do the right thing.

Sorry - I needed to vent that. From now on I think I'm just going to save my money (under my mattress so I don't need a bank) so I don't need to have these (First World) problems.

Wheelspinner

No consolation, but it's the same this side of the world. I go to lunch and order a toasted ham sandwich and a latte. I get a chicken thing and a cappuccino. It took 2 weeks for a steel fabricator to give me a price to supply 6 bits of steel and weld them to six other bits. Electronics stuff just dies, despite it being monumentally expensive and is basically unfixable. My power company appears incapable of sending a bill to an email address. We're about to get forcibly reassigned to the new fibre network, except it may be slower than we have now, and since we're selling the house soon, we don't actually need a 2 year contract thanks. Do I have an option? Er, no.

You are not alone.

surrey_commuter

I take ownership of these sorts of problem and cut the businesses out of my life.

I have a builder who has half a dozen small snagging jobs still to do. This is very annoying but I do owe him £15k on completion so am torn on what to do. I have now found a handyman, spark and plumber to do the work. I will now be intrigued as to how long it is before the builder re-appears.

rick_chasey

Surrey Commuter wrote:

I take ownership of these sorts of problem and cut the businesses out of my life.

I have a builder who has half a dozen small snagging jobs still to do. This is very annoying but I do owe him £15k on completion so am torn on what to do..

Could get £15k in cash, take a few pictures of it and send it to him every so often, with IT COULD BE YOURS.

mtb-idle

Even your rant is sh!t. Where are the random capitals? (Okay so you have some capitals but they appear reasonable), you haven't typed it out in a stream of consciousness format on the page, you even have paragraphs and full stops.

You haven't even included any comedy spelling errors.

Must try harder...

weezyswiss

MTB-Idle wrote:

Even your rant is sh!t. Where are the random capitals? (Okay so you have some capitals but they appear reasonable), you haven't typed it out in a stream of consciousness format on the page, you even have paragraphs and full stops.

You haven't even included any comedy spelling errors.

Must try harder...

Indeed I totally agree. Grammar is acceptable, no bad usage of there, their or they're. I mean this is the internet and properly written tombs of text are just not acceptable in this day and age !

vinnymarsden

We are inundated with the age of the MILLENNIALS..the people who have been educated way beyond their job descriptions!
A 1.1 in pure/applied maths you say...there you go..customer service for a power supplier, mind you..you are a "manager" on 30K a year...and they basically don't give a flying f...kity about the job..they studied to do better, they don't give a sh it about your problems, hence your problems never really get solvedI
It's a global epidemic..the expectation of the 30 somethings has never ever been met by the reality of the world we live in, and they can't handle it, hence they DON'T handle it, and everyone, including themselves suffers.We have mediocre at best services.We have television ads where they sing their own praises for being a UK company with a UK call centre! Like that's a bonus..FFs you are a UK company, shouldn't a UK call centre be the default, not a LUXURY! We soak it up and keep feeding the tit of corporate greed..I hear EXACTLY what you are saying MRS...i sent something back to Wiggle that is a totally sealed unit...i know exactly what will happen when it is "examined" by the supplier..in the bin and a new one supplied..but Wiggle won't give me a new one...it's 7 weeks old for heavens sake, you can't take it apart to repair, but the "procedure" has to be followed..we are drowning in a sea of nonsense, I am surprised any business ever gets done if I'm honest...by the way MRS...did you sort out the logistics of the Fiat 500 journey!!!!

fenix

Its ok - speaking to a colleague in India today and he's worried about Planet X hitting us. Apparently its this year....

(the invented planet - not the bike firm - they're fine.)

keef66

I must admit that my default expectation when ordering anything or employing tradesmen is for them to fcuk it up in some way.

At least then I'm pleasantly surprised when on the odd occasion something goes to plan or the correct item arrives on time.

surrey_commuter

Rick Chasey wrote:

Surrey Commuter wrote:

I take ownership of these sorts of problem and cut the businesses out of my life.

I have a builder who has half a dozen small snagging jobs still to do. This is very annoying but I do owe him £15k on completion so am torn on what to do..

Could get £15k in cash, take a few pictures of it and send it to him every so often, with IT COULD BE YOURS.

But I reckon i can get it all done by others for £500 then get to keep the money.

cooldad

I blame Wiggle.

meanredspider

Well, thanks folks - at least I now know the world isn't picking on me (and, at times, I feel I could be forgiven for thinking that...).

Vinny- Mrs MRS is going to fly up and drive with MRS Jnr1 and dogs down in the 500. When she's back, I'll drive up in a van and collect assorted stuff we'd rather not entrust to movers (for the very reason of this thread) and MRS Jnr2 and head down to new house.

pblakeney

Surrey Commuter wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

Surrey Commuter wrote:

I take ownership of these sorts of problem and cut the businesses out of my life.

I have a builder who has half a dozen small snagging jobs still to do. This is very annoying but I do owe him £15k on completion so am torn on what to do..

Could get £15k in cash, take a few pictures of it and send it to him every so often, with IT COULD BE YOURS.

But I reckon i can get it all done by others for £500 then get to keep the money.

Photo of the money and an expected reasonable completion date, or...

thistle_

keef66 wrote:

I must admit that my default expectation when ordering anything or employing tradesmen is for them to fcuk it up in some way.

When you find someone decent you stick with them. The guy at the end of our road is a builder so I always give him first reserve on anything. He's not going to nick my bikes (or tell other people to come and nick them) and does a good job at an OK price.

Just to add to the original rant... why are you expected to give 5 star feedback to all sellers on eBay for "average" service? 3/5 is average, 5/5 is amazing. If you take a week to post something when you advertise same day dispatch, then send it by a slower means that advertised I'd say that's poor service. If you send me an email saying you expect nothing less than 5 star feedback you're not getting it :twisted:

vinnymarsden

SH IT service is the new defacto 5 star I am starting to think!!!

rick_chasey

Blame the EU or something.

elbowloh

I have volume 1 of this

https://www.waterstones.com/book/is-it-just-me-or-is-everything-shit-vol-2/steve-lowe/alan-mcarthur/9780316029964

veronese68

I think Vinny has made the best rant so far in this thread. FWIW I agree with a lot of this but can't be arsed to write about it, thus maintaining a disappointing level of service.

smokey_bacon

VinnyMarsden wrote:

We are inundated with the age of the MILLENNIALS..the people who have been educated way beyond their job descriptions!
A 1.1 in pure/applied maths you say...there you go..customer service for a power supplier, mind you..you are a "manager" on 30K a year...and they basically don't give a flying f...kity about the job..they studied to do better, they don't give a sh it about your problems, hence your problems never really get solvedI
It's a global epidemic..the expectation of the 30 somethings has never ever been met by the reality of the world we live in, and they can't handle it, hence they DON'T handle it, and everyone, including themselves suffers.We have mediocre at best services.We have television ads where they sing their own praises for being a UK company with a UK call centre! Like that's a bonus..FFs you are a UK company, shouldn't a UK call centre be the default, not a LUXURY! We soak it up and keep feeding the tit of corporate greed..I hear EXACTLY what you are saying MRS...i sent something back to Wiggle that is a totally sealed unit...i know exactly what will happen when it is "examined" by the supplier..in the bin and a new one supplied..but Wiggle won't give me a new one...it's 7 weeks old for heavens sake, you can't take it apart to repair, but the "procedure" has to be followed..we are drowning in a sea of nonsense, I am surprised any business ever gets done if I'm honest...by the way MRS...did you sort out the logistics of the Fiat 500 journey!!!!

tl:dr

keef66

thistle (MBNW) wrote:

When you find someone decent you stick with them.

So true. Wish we'd got the details of the plasterer our builder used when we had the extension built and the entire house rendered. The builder was rubbish but the plasterer was brilliant. Anyone know a plasterer called Chris?

We have a good, local spark. Known the family since kids went to same school. And he's just come up with a plasterer he'd recommend, so fingers crossed!

And garages. Been using the same one for years because they are scrupulously fair. Never do work unneccessarily. They've even helped me free stubborn suspension components using their air tools / inspection pit, then drive back home to DIY the job.

rick_chasey

VinnyMarsden wrote:

We are inundated with the age of the MILLENNIALS..the people who have been educated way beyond their job descriptions!
A 1.1 in pure/applied maths you say...there you go..customer service for a power supplier, mind you..you are a "manager" on 30K a year...and they basically don't give a flying f...kity about the job..they studied to do better, they don't give a sh it about your problems, hence your problems never really get solvedI
It's a global epidemic..the expectation of the 30 somethings has never ever been met by the reality of the world we live in, and they can't handle it, hence they DON'T handle it, and everyone, including themselves suffers.We have mediocre at best services.We have television ads where they sing their own praises for being a UK company with a UK call centre! Like that's a bonus..FFs you are a UK company, shouldn't a UK call centre be the default, not a LUXURY! We soak it up and keep feeding the tit of corporate greed..I hear EXACTLY what you are saying MRS...i sent something back to Wiggle that is a totally sealed unit...i know exactly what will happen when it is "examined" by the supplier..in the bin and a new one supplied..but Wiggle won't give me a new one...it's 7 weeks old for heavens sake, you can't take it apart to repair, but the "procedure" has to be followed..we are drowning in a sea of nonsense, I am surprised any business ever gets done if I'm honest...by the way MRS...did you sort out the logistics of the Fiat 500 journey!!!!

Old people acting like virsuses and thinking the young people owe them something.

meanredspider

keef66 wrote:

thistle (MBNW) wrote:

When you find someone decent you stick with them.

So true. Wish we'd got the details of the plasterer our builder used when we had the extension built and the entire house rendered. The builder was rubbish but the plasterer was brilliant. Anyone know a plasterer called Chris?

Yes - I know some great tradesmen in Cambridge that I wish I could persuade to work in the Cotswolds. If you start with one really good guy and get him to recommend, I find that works.

Nellyspania

elbowloh wrote:

I have volume 1 of this

https://www.waterstones.com/book/is-it-just-me-or-is-everything-shit-vol-2/steve-lowe/alan-mcarthur/9780316029964

I had volume 1 too and it was actually quite a funny book that I eventually took to a charity shop.

So I got volume 2, which ironically is actually sh!t!

vinnymarsden

Chasey,
I'm not old, I'm not a virus but I bet you are a milenial... even if you are, it wasn't a dig at everyone in that age range unlike yours that seems to simply target the older person... I just find when young people don't care they don't care in a spectacular way‼️‼️

Ben6899

VinnyMarsden wrote:

*diatribe*

You seem to harbour an incredible bitterness towards 30-somethings. I find that slightly bizarre.

meanredspider

Ben6899 wrote:

You seem to harbour an incredible bitterness towards 30-somethings.

Don't we all (except for the pretty ones of course)

vinnymarsden

Ben I don't think I used the word diatribe or mentioned the word hatred.. I merely say as I find, sorry if you fall into the category and it isn't you... I wasn't throwing a blanket over everyone... it was a personal opinion, because the last I knew I was still allowed one, and would defend both mine and yes, your right to express it...it's only a forum... light hearted banter at best... quirky observational comment on everyday life.... nothing more...

Ben6899

Just saying as I find it, Vinny.

vinnymarsden

Ok cool ... to quote the OP. Mine was a sh it observation anyway!!

bigmat

Surrey Commuter wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

Surrey Commuter wrote:

I take ownership of these sorts of problem and cut the businesses out of my life.

I have a builder who has half a dozen small snagging jobs still to do. This is very annoying but I do owe him £15k on completion so am torn on what to do..

Could get £15k in cash, take a few pictures of it and send it to him every so often, with IT COULD BE YOURS.

But I reckon i can get it all done by others for £500 then get to keep the money.

Obviously I haven't seen your contract, but I would be surprised if you could retain £15,000 as a result of snagging items worth £500...

Saying that, its surprising how much contractors will write off once they have moved on to the next job!

surrey_commuter

BigMat wrote:

Surrey Commuter wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

Surrey Commuter wrote:

I take ownership of these sorts of problem and cut the businesses out of my life.

I have a builder who has half a dozen small snagging jobs still to do. This is very annoying but I do owe him £15k on completion so am torn on what to do..

Could get £15k in cash, take a few pictures of it and send it to him every so often, with IT COULD BE YOURS.

But I reckon i can get it all done by others for £500 then get to keep the money.

Obviously I haven't seen your contract, but I would be surprised if you could retain £15,000 as a result of snagging items worth £500...

Saying that, its surprising how much contractors will write off once they have moved on to the next job!

I could have expressed myself clearer. But my general point is my realisation that I am holding all the cards.