Crisis of Competence

[wuluf]

It's been a week.  It took AT&T 6 days (and over 2 hours of my phone time) to send me a replacement cable receiver.  I had an appointment at the Toyota dealership to replace under warranty a leaking water pump, and they ordered the wrong pump. They are very sorry.

Supply chain issues, worker shortages, all of the excuses for incompetence and bad service.  It feels like we are being conditioned to expect and accept "less" than we are used to as Americans.   Am I paranoid (ok, I know i am) or is this part of a larger conspiracy to reduce American influence and affluence?

[Hawkmoon]

Remember, "Just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean they're not watching me."

You are not mistaken. I don't know the reason -- other than a general societal trend to avoid any sense of personal responsibility -- but it has been clear to me for decades that we are in a race to the bottom in terms of competence and service.

Late last year I had to have my water heater replaced. It's an external, boiler-fired unit, which means it functions like a second heating zone off the boiler.

The plumber (who was recommended by a friend) didn't want to use the same brand I had before; he convinced me to go with a different brand, which cost slightly more than the one I wanted. So he came, he installed it, and he left. I didn't have any hot water. He came back, changed the direction of from for the circulator (he had installed it the opposite of what the instructions said, and told me it didn't matter) -- and I still didn't have hot water. THEN he informed me that the water heater he installed didn't include a controller (the old one had an integral controller, and that brand still includes the controller), and that I would have to call an electrician.

$250 and three days later, I had hot water. It "only" cost me an extra $250 because I got a break from a retired electrician I know.

I have to do my own repairs on my vehicles, because I can't trust the dealership to do anything right.

It's just getting worse.

[lee n. field]

WElcome to Soviet Americ
a, comrade.

crisis of competance

[Ron]

You will own nothing and be happy.

[Devonai]

Your subscription to Hot Water^TM has expired. Please confirm your credit card number to renew. Due to global demand, the annual fee has increased by 40%. We apologize for any inconvenience.

[Boomhauer]

Nobody can do a simple *expletive deleted*ing job right anymore, much less anything more complex.

[Hawkmoon]

Even the vaunted Amazon is not immune. I have self-published several books through Amazon's print-on-demand service. About ten days ago I ordered a few author copies of each title. It normally takes a couple of weeks for them to arrive.

A couple of days ago I received notification that the order with the books has shipped -- expected delivery date April 12. They're printed in Maryland -- if they've already been shipped, how can it possibly take six weeks to get here from Maryland? I could probably walk that far in less time.

[HankB]

In the past 6 months I've run into problems with everyone from restaurant staff to bankers (bankers!) not knowing how to do their damn jobs.

Maybe I should start taking notes so - when I have enough material - I can write a book.

[230RN]

You will own nothing and be happy.

☭
Da. Pravda.
☭

Remember. The hammer is for hammering and the sickle is for cutting.☭

People.

[K Frame]

Am I paranoid (ok, I know i am) or is this part of a larger conspiracy to reduce American influence and affluence?"

Actively? No. We're not the only country having these issues.

[lee n. field]

A couple of days ago I received notification that the order with the books has shipped -- expected delivery date April 12. They're printed in Maryland -- if they've already been shipped, how can it possibly take six weeks to get here from Maryland? I could probably walk that far in less time.

I don't believe any claims that an item has shipped, until I start seeing tracking information. 

[Boomhauer]

I don't believe any claims that an item has shipped, until I start seeing tracking information. 

Shipped used to mean shipped but these days it means a tracking label has been generated. It’s a crappy way of doing stuff to me but everybody seems to be doing it.

[HankB]

I don't believe any claims that an item has shipped, until I start seeing tracking information.

I've found that the tracking information isn't 100% reliable either.

[Hawkmoon]

A couple of days ago I received notification that the order with the books has shipped -- expected delivery date April 12. They're printed in Maryland -- if they've already been shipped, how can it possibly take six weeks to get here from Maryland? I could probably walk that far in less time.

I don't believe any claims that an item has shipped, until I start seeing tracking information.

They provided a tracking number -- U.S. Postal Service. The USPS web site recognizes the number, but it says they are awaiting receipt of the item. So it would appear that Amazon's print-on-demand service uses an outside printer, and Amazon must generate a USPS tracking number when they forward the order to the printer rather than when the items are actually shipped.

Which makes a complete mockery of the "Your order has been shipped" notification.

[HankB]

I don't believe any claims that an item has shipped, until I start seeing tracking information.


They provided a tracking number -- U.S. Postal Service. The USPS web site recognizes the number, but it says they are awaiting receipt of the item. So it would appear that Amazon's print-on-demand service uses an outside printer, and Amazon must generate a USPS tracking number when they forward the order to the printer rather than when the items are actually shipped.

Which makes a complete mockery of the "Your order has been shipped" notification.

About a year or two back I ordered something and was provided a USPS tracking number. I entered it (via cut and paste) in the USPS tracking site which informed me that the package associated with that number had already been delivered more than a year previously. Repeated trials (to be sure I didn't truncate the number or something) gave the same result. I got the package in a few days, but the tracking never picked it up. And yep - the number on the address label matched what I had been sent.