NotSheep

Why do things have to be so complicated?

Today I phoned to see why 2/3 of an order I’d placed on-line a month ago hadn’t arrived, and why the replacements for the items that were wrong/broken in the received 1/3 hadn’t arrived. The not-yet-received 2/3 was sent to me on Friday. Last Friday. Friday, March 31st. I placed my order (and paid for it) on March 3rd

As for the items I’d reported as wrong or broken - well, they’d no record of that. Apparently the person I spent 20 minutes on the phone to a couple of weeks ago did absolutely nothing. She didn’t even log the phone-call

The damaged item - which was in stock when I phoned two weeks ago - is no longer available. The item that was wrong is, I’m told, the “nearest available”. Except that it’s not at all close to what I’d ordered. In fact, the only thing it has in common with what I’d ordered is that both things are books.

And then, to top all that off, the main item I’d wanted to order - the one thing they had that made me place the order - is no longer in stock

After all that, do you think I’d had enough frustration for one day? Of course not. I felt I needed a bit more hassle in my life, so I tried to engage with the health service.

We don’t actually see a doctor very often, but there are three people in this family who need aqueous cream for dry skin. Our preferred product is available over-the-counter - but it’s also available on prescription, and since two of the three are entitled to free prescriptions, that’s how we’ve always acquired it. And all I really want is a prescription for that. Shouldn’t be too difficult, right?

Wrong.

I don’t really want to register with the practice nearest us; I’ve heard too many things that put me off. And the one time I tried to phone them for an appointment, they said “ring back tomorrow and we might be able to get you an urgent appointment”. Normally, that would have been fine - but it was a week after I fell and my pain was getting worse, and I was telling them on the phone that I couldn’t take a proper breath. So: can’t breathe? - phone tomorrow. Rrright.

(That was the time it turned out I’d a fractured rib.)

Our old doctor had suggested another fairly local practice - it’s less than ten minutes away from us, but when I phoned them a while ago, they said we were out of their catchment area.

Someone I spoke to a couple of weeks ago suggested (yet) another practice - about 20 minutes away from us, but she said they were pretty good, so I phoned them this morning and asked if we’d be in their catchment area. The receptionist asked the doctor who was standing beside her, and came back and said oh yes, that’s in our catchment. I asked about the practice’s attitude towards alternative medicine and was told that they didn’t offer any, but it would be okay if we used it. I mentioned that my children aren’t vaccinated, and - oh, suddenly the doctor next to her didn’t think they’d have room in their practice. After all, their area is growing and it’s very busy and they’re moving offices soon… so no, they wouldn’t be willing to take us as patients.

So. Back to square one. Since there seemed to be no alternative, I phoned the local practice (the one I don’t really want to join).

After dialling and getting a busy tone seventeen times, I finally got through. I said that I’d like an appointment for my son, and that he’d be new to their practice. Their response? Bring down his medical card, and we’ll register him and then you can book an appointment. Apppointments are booked several weeks ahead. I explained that I’d have to have the car for the day in order to come in, and that I’d have to drag five kids with me, so that it would be much easier if I could just book an appointment and do the forms etc on the same day. But oh no, that can’t be done. Apparently that is just too difficult for their computer to manage.

But it’s not over yet. Oh no, that would just be too easy a day for Deb. Deb needs a bit more stress. A bit more frustration. Something else to swear about.

Remember that local workers’ strike last Tuesday? The one that meant, amongst other things, that there was no garbage pick-up that day? Guess what day our garbage gets collected. No, really, go on, guess. I bet you get it right.

Yep, you got it right.

So today we put out more garbage than usual. The bin wasn’t quite overflowing, but it wasn’t far off.

And - guess the answer to this one too - it’s another easy one - did it get collected?

Right again.