We are a newer company that has had a meteoric rise in sales and going through all the pains that success brings. I won't go into that but suffice to say we've been overwhelmingly busy. Then, out of the blue one of our key people was discovered to have Leukemia. Life took an ugly turn for them and I found myself having to do around 60% of their work. It's not their fault and I'm not upset or angry but frankly I have a lot more to do. I've struggled to keep my head above water.
Along comes a software renewal. We needed to make some changes to the billing after it running on auto renew for years. We tried to logon and make the change. We couldn't find anywhere to affect the billing. Well, I was told to call them and figure it out. Side note, this was a third party purchase of another companies software. I called them and spent several hours on hold because of "higher than normal volume of calls". Frustrating but needed to be done though. I talked to them and was told they no longer support the other companies product and I need to deal with them. Frustrated. I call the software producer and go through it all with them and they insist that I need to go through the other company. Now three days behind on non-critical work. It's piling up. Screw it, I'm done with this crap. I tell my boss where I'm at with it and go home late after finishing up the more critical items.
Monday. I get there and put my head down for one heck of a busy day and work on the 3 day backlog. I leave a little late but I am on track for the first time in weeks. Was exhausted but felt good about what was done.
Tuesday. Shortly after arriving my boss gets all over me about a solution to the situation. I try to keep up with my work while spending several hours going back and forth between companies getting passed from person to person and the buck being passed over and over and neither of them getting me even one step closer to figuring this out. I'm a half day behind when I get out for the day. Very frustrated after all I had gone through the day before. I tell my boss and go home.
Wednesday. My boss has seemingly forgotten all he was told about my efforts and tells me I need to get on this right now. I do my best to balance everything while getting passed between companies but manage to find a few helpful people. I'm making progress and I'm now convinced that it is company A that will be the ultimate endgame but company B has told me to call them back for a renewal with them when this is all done. I leave a little late but not horribly.
Thursday. That fateful day. I get some stuff out of the way and make a call to company A. Did I mention that the day before I had found someone who was particularly competent. I emailed them again with better details on Wednesday so I now had chat, email and phone calls simultaneously to get through this disaster. Anyway, I spend 4 hours on hold. Let that sink in. 4 hours. Three hours in someone walked through my office and I made them stand in there while I went to refill my water bottles and then use the bathroom. I came back and was still on hold for another hour. I got a hold of someone and they were shocked at my wait time. I may have made an issue of it. They said they had never heard of someone having to wait so long. I think they just hadn't heard of it because most people get sick of it and hang up. That's my opinion. I explained the problem and they said that wasn't their division, I needed to call a different number. That ain't happening. I told them that in the email THEIR company sent this was the number to call. THEIR domain name was in the email. THEIR logo was built into it. THEIR reply to address was at the top and bottom of the email. He wasn't convinced and told me it was the other company. I said bull, give my your email address and I'll send it to you. I did. He agreed it came from their company. But said the number at the bottom belonged to someone else and I should try that. I said no it doesn't, this is the number I called that led me to you and it is correct. I didn't wait on hold for this long to be pushed off for the dozenth time. He asked me to hold while he called the number.
He comes back and says he needs to get with his supervisor. He spends some time away and comes back telling me that apparently that division of their company was closed down. I have info. We talk back and forth about why we are being billed and come not closer to a real answer but they promise a call back and we part ways. A somewhat frustrating phone call but progress is made.
About an hour later. I get an email from the woman from earlier. She has tracked it all down and given me all the answers I have needed all along, in writing no less! I thank her profusely. I can't believe the difference finding the right people can make. Oh, and she was just a part time worker.
Time to start pricing new software.
I am only a day behind now....
