A 7 hour window

Said the doc’s office: “We will see you on the 20th sometime between 1 and 5 pm, but can’t guarantee when.”

A meeting invite on Outlook at work: “Let’s meet in Conf Room 1A at 10 am, will be there before noon.”

Alright, you get the point – the above sounds ridiculous and rightfully so. If we were in the 19th or early 20th century, this might make sense – for instance, the doctor’s horse might have needed to stop for a break on the way to your farmhouse. But in the 21st century?

When I needed the electric company to check the meter at our other house, the appointment window was between 8 am and 3 pm! Not only could they not provide a shorter window, the tech could not call me before he left from his previous appointment. Apparently the concept of cell phones are still alien.

So, I got up bright and early, went to the gym (yes, still…), and was ready on time. Drove over, and being a nice day, parked on the driveway, rolled down the windows and waited.

9 am – Finish my breakfast sandwich while listening to a couple of sports shows. In a relatively good mood (sun was just starting to come out.)

10 am – Complete the first couple of chapters of an interesting book called “Zero day threat” – Usha brought this from a Gartner conference. Was starting to get warm, so opened the window a little more.

ZERO DAY THREAT book link here

11 am – Feet beginning to cramp up and sun up in the sky. Moved to the back seat to stretch out.

Noon – Pangs of hunger creeping in (and just realize that I may be a little hooked on to caffeine as well.) Went back to the book for a little distraction – while quite interesting, I’ve now read 150 or so pages of different things that have gone horribly wrong due to cybercrimes, but not much insight into what to do about it.

1 pm – First signs of frustration and anger.

2 pm – Call Usha to vent.

2.30 pm – Aha, spot a utility company truck coming down the street. Truck passes the house without stopping. It was the phone company, probably for a FIOS appointment with another poor sap like me.

2.45 pm – A Jeep pulls up outside the house, and finally, the tech is here. I wonder if he has been sitting around the corner all day, laughing hysterically.

Finally, the appointment was over – and my anger at losing the entire day under control (mainly because the tech helped identify things that I could do to cut the electric usage by more than 50%)

As I slowly made my way back home, I was filled with wonder that someone could still get away with this in the current day and age. I guess these companies know you don’t have much of a choice but to put up with them.

Until next time … Sam