Lack of Service Sunday

Thanks once again to Lee - this time, for the Blogger Reflection Award.

I nominate in my turn:
Anne Johnson
Athana
Hecate
Mahud
Billy
Kay
Deborah Oak
Sara Sutterfield Winn
Paul
and, yes, Lee.

I know that's not five. It's more like ten, but since I'm now feigning lack of numeracy,I'm not sure.

Today we went to take back Warren's new cell phone, which had been sold to him without any PC interface and with 7 inactive airtime vouchers.

It took half an hour of going from teller to teller, trying to find one who had enough money in their till to give us the refund. We were sent from one end of a three-block-long superstore to the other. Each teller looked at us with such a lack of comprehension that I was on the verge of mooing at them.

But we got the refund, and went off to the Rosebank Mall to get candles for Imbolc (we're celebrating on Wednesday, the astronomical midpoint), incense and charcoal blocks.

We looked in on a cellphone shop while there, but all their decent phones were on contract only-no way! Warren spends about R60 tops a month in airtime , but on a contract that jumps to anywhere between R500 and over R1000.
So back we went to the superstore, where by now enough business had been generated for the tellers to have cash in their tills.No one in the cellphone department knew anything about the phones on sale, so we didn't take a chance buying from them a second time.

Off to the Fourways Mall, now- no good phones in one store and no phones at all in another (which prompted me to ask the saleslady if the phones on display were illusory, which got a laugh from her-the first of the morning).
So-onwards brave shoppers, to the Northgate Mall this time, about 10km in the opposite direction.
All the branded cellphone shops sold on contract only, so we tried the department stores.

So help me, not a single sales assistant had even a basic knowledge of their product!
I'm not a widget fundie-in fact I detest the things and have refused to own one for the last four years-but I knew a lot more about what we were supposed to be getting than they did. Three repeats of this ignorant nonsense and I was about ready to take people out with an axe, or moo at them.Probably the latter.

You know, when I was growing up, I imagined that somewhere there were people who knew how things worked. They weren't omnipotent, just had a basic working knowledge of the world and what goes on here. Then I started growing up-oh, the last five years or so - and realised that no one knows what's going on.

It's true, as far as I can see. Not one of us knows more than hir basic sphere of competence, and some of us know way less than that. No one has the picture-it's a wonder we're still operating.
Or maybe we aren't.
Perhaps that's why we're so fond of making up conspiracy theories. It gives us the illusion that someone, somewhere knows the score, even if they are evil.

And perhaps that's why we cling to book religions.

On a last note, I've been cheering myself up reading Terry Pratchett.
I've actually been cheering myself up reading Pratchett for the last 17 years.

Here's a Quote for the Dei from the man himself:

"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who, when presented with a glass that is exactly half full, say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!"