Check the end of this post for an update
There are days in LA when you feel like you’re cursed. You head out to drive to attend an event that’s a few miles away and end up suffering for 30 minutes in traffic–and that’s when you take the shortcut.
I am right now in “phone hell,” trying to reach a human being at the Los Angeles County Recorder/County Clerk to find out if I can vote early. When I called the first number on my sample ballot, I only got a long recorded message (in several languages), telling me how to use the automated system, but not answering my question.
When I called the number in the phone book, I got another interminable message. And I mean interminable. I was listening for about 3 minutes as a recorded message droned on and on. I wasn’t even given the option to discontinue the message and speak to a human being. So, I tried the non-toll free number on the ballot and remain in phone hell (some calls within LA County are toll calls).
This multiple language thing is particularly offensive. If people want to become citizens of America, they should at least learn enough English so they can vote.
And then there’s the awful music they keep playing.
And it isn’t just the County office. I had previously called Blue Cross to ask why they were increasing the cost of my premium by 20%. Again, I was in phone hell for over thirty minutes, with the awful music interrupted by sales pitches. They’re raising my rates and making me endure that.
Finally, I got a human being who responded to my questions like Ms. Hillary in a debate, repeating his talking points. He informed me that it was an across-the-board increase, but couldn’t explain how the company came up with that figure. I noted I worked out regularly and tried to eat well. He replied, “It doesn’t make a difference if you have good health or bad health.”
I guess I’ll stop eating those five fruits and vegetables every day and starting eating cheeseburgers again.
The left may say this is yet another reason why the government should intervene in health care, but the issue is that the government is already too involved. What’s needed is more competition. Perhaps, if Blue Cross had more competition, they would likely not be able to get away with an increase this steep and find ways of cutting costs by eliminating bureaucracy.
And I would daresay they have much of that bureaucracy to make sure they’re in compliance with state and federal mandates.
There, I’ve vented. Perhaps my first post written while in phone hell. (I wrote this entire piece while waiting to talk to a public servant at the County Clerk’s office.)
UPDATE: Soon after finishing this piece, I reached a real live human voice at the County Registrar’s Office, a very nice woman named Aqualin. I learned I could vote early. I also realized that I could have found my answer more easily on the web. In about 20 seconds, I found this letter about early voting, answering all my questions.
Dan, it could be worse. My Texas driver’s license expires next month and I am going to have to deal with our state DPS to get it renewed, since last time I used the online service and per state guidelines, I can “only” use the web renewal every other time.
Who made that stupid rule, anyway? But I digress.
At least you had to deal with it on the phone. I have to get in line with the blue haired ladies and their clueless spouses with hearing aids, the country folk whose fashion sense went out with the Urban Cowboy phase, the snot-nosed high school punks with loud cell phones, and the obligatory illegal aliens (solamente espanol, por favor) who hold up the line while they’re looking for someone to translate for them.
Lucky me.
Regards,
Peter H.
1: Would you contribute to lack of security in our nation by doing something over the internet rather than presenting yourself (every other year I’m guessing) with the appropriate and required documentation to prove who you really are? In the state where I live, they have an interesting system – essentially, when you have the documentation that proves you were born in the US / are a US citizen, you pretty much breeze through the line. The further the down the ladder you are, the greater the combination of documentation you must provide to prove you are legally and have the right to get a driver’s license. What I found interesting was the amount of people in the lines who I overheard who couldn’t provide the required documentation and were giving excuse after excuse why they didn’t have what was required. The staff simply told them they couldn’t do anything unless they came back with the proper documentation and the lines seemed to move pretty swiftly.
Basically, its’ the lack of human contact (because of technology) that contributes to a lot of the problems we have now.
#2 – Gee, Kev, I don’t know what I find more shocking about your post – the fact that you actually are somewhat concerned about “a lack of security in our nation” (despite what the DNC is saying) or that you think a lack of human contact contributes to our problems as a nation (despite what Clinton or Obama is saying).
Be careful – someone in Howie Dean’s office is ready to lead you back to the plantation if you keep sounding so independent.
Regards,
Peter H.