I cooked little wallaby and bacon kebabs with thyme, pepper and green sauce, and some crayfish for supper tonight.
Oh and Telstra, that wonderful company with the superb customer service and best store in the universe in Hobart's Eastland's mall... in some other very not-parallel Universe, decided to try threatening phone-calls today because, despite having my eventually got co-operation out of them by threatening them with the Telecoms Ombudsman (up to which point that had been the worst, least ethical and least helpful, least co-operative company in my experience of Australia, at which point they suddenly changed tune) and having made them refund me for the piece of non-working junk their bigpond arm had sold me, that I'd returned, been credited for... that they'd like to bill me for it (and I paid cash for it in first place!!!!!) So I quoted the relevant numbers of my current bill - which is up to date (it's the first one that I've not been in credit for - they got $8.10 - that's how badly they screwed up.) They're not exactly employing any rocket-scientists. They generously offered to continue the abusive phone-calls until I fixed their record-keeping problems for them (There are perhaps 20 pages of correspondence on this on their records, on file, linked to their account number available to them - but it's easier to make you look it up and explain it to them.) It took me a long time to get them to work out that they were re-opening a can of worms they'd created in first place. I do understand why everyone says 'telstra!' and rolls their eyes now.
Oh, yes, outsourcing the record-keeping to the customer ...
ReplyDeleteHow does gas work on Flinders? Here, in town, natural gas arrives through a pipeline. Out of town, you have a 250-gallon liquified propane tank behind the house, periodically refilled from a big tank truck from the propane company (almost too big a truck - they upsized a year ago, and the new one barely makes it up my lane).
But your gas has to come over on the ferry? Like the groceries and everything else, I guess. Hope that transport situation is sorted out.
When it comes down to it, Telstra is the entire reason the government actually has a Telecoms Ombudsman. Their famed business practices are not limited to Hobart's Eastland's Mall either.
ReplyDeleteHave you gone diamond hunting yet?
ReplyDeleteAbigailM - :-( bottled gas, which is expensive. But it is a small catering oven (meaning it could rotisserie 4 chickens - as an eg.) and therefore worth it for bulk cooking.
ReplyDeleteAt the moment the new ferry company is still running. They do not, as yet, have a licence for passenger service, meaning that you have to fly in and out - very expensive.
Reverence Pavane - hmmm. I wonder... I assume Australia has a FOI law for information from federally funded bodies so that one could establish this? Who funds the the ombudsman? Is it the telecoms industry or the taxpayer? In either case, if it could be shown that one company was principally responsible, there are good grounds to move this to an offender pays basis, instead of taxing non-offenders. A suggestion for when I am eligible to vote for those costs that government would like to save. And it would be very popular with voters too.
ReplyDeleteQuilly, Flinders Island South Australia has kimberlite - actual diamonds. We've got Killiekrankie diamonds - clear topaz IIRC. I had a vague look on Killiekrankie beach, but not really yet. However ther is gold in them thar hills - has been found once, and lost ever since. Who knows how much or if it is payable?
ReplyDelete...oh Cthulhu. Telstra.
ReplyDeleteSorry, mate. Truly.