Thursday, March 15, 2007

How Best to Endure Idiots

Even tho' I promised myself I'd do the taxes early this year, get the financial aid stuff done for our colleges, and hopefully get a refund instead of paying, here it is mid-March and I hadn't started yet. This morning I didn't have to go to a school, so I could sleep in. My body didn't realize that, and the built-in alarm clock went off at 5:45 a.m., in a panic, thinking I'd overslept. (sigh) I didn't have to be up so early, but I was, so...no time like the present to finally do those pesky taxes. (One must continue to support the reigning beauracracy, even when one does not agree with 95% of what they spend my money on.)

I had bought one of those computer tax programs, and plugged away at it, step by step. Finally I came to the end, and it asked me if I'd like to E-File. Of course, since they're giving me a little money, instead of the other way around. Then, it decided it wasn't going to let me E-File after all, so I had to print the returns and mail them. Only it wouldn't let me print either. So, I figured I'd take it to the library and print it there. Couldn't figure out how to do that, so I called the 800 number for customer support.

Why do they have idiots answering phones, when they're supposed to be manned by experts? It didn't matter how I phrased the question, "But what do I have to do to be able to print this?"...Mr. Bright Light on the other end kept talking in circles about the expertise of the program and all the wonderful things it could do...blah blah blah blah blah. After 2 call-backs, trying to get a different operator, with no better results, my DH started laughing in the background..."HHHOOOWWW do I print this???" You'd think it's a basically easy question. It's not all that unusual for people to print a paper copy of their tax returns and mail them. This is a company who specializes in doing taxes, and it's this guy's job to answer software issue questions...so...this isn't brain surgery...I just want to know How Do I Print This???

2 hours later, after trying various methods myself, I finally got another genius on the phone who said they could email the return to me, and then I could print it. (This sounds ridiculous, but at this point, I didn't care any more.) I had to say...and spell...my email address at least 10 times...very slowly...and he still didn't get it. Finally, he asked if I had another email address, which I do, so we tried that. I'm not even gonna say how many tries that took.

I am convinced that idiots rule the phone-answering customer-service business. They can't help being stupid, and one must be nice to stupid people...but all I want to do is print my taxes already!

Ok. Rant officially over.

3 comments:

Luna said...

It's official-we've all done had it. Where's that Che T-Shirt again? Where's Toni? We could use her too!

j-m said...

How are you spelling that again, ma'am?

j-m said...

Oh...and the latest chapter of the saga...since I can't print it, and it won't let me go back and see the completed return, just the bottom line of You Owe/Your Refund Is_____,
I can't do the financial aid stuff either.
Do I have to call again???