technical support

I don't particularly like the way that the "About Me" section and the links to my previous posts show up all the way at the bottom of the screen. Normally it should show up on the top right, but I think there is a bug or something. Since I have no previous experience with HTML, I decided to e-mail the support staff at Blogger, the host of this absolutely free, no payments till 2008 blog.

I just got their response this morning:

On occasion, the side-bar will shift when the content contained within the side-menu or a post extends the column beyond its designated width. We recommend reviewing the content in both columns to identify items that may be causing column expansion. In most cases, long links and wide images are the cause of the problem.

Hmm. I would have much preferred the trimmed down and honest answer: "We think your problem is dumb and don't want to waste our time on it. Go learn HTML and stop bothering us with your moronic questions."

I had a similar customer service issue recently. I didn't get my August issue of Self magazine. I had gone on the website a while ago and changed my address once I moved out of my apartment. But no magazine. I e-mailed the customer support and said I didn't want to be charged for an issue I didn't receive. Their response was as follows:

Our records indicate your change of address was processed on June 28, 2004. Due to the prelabeling of your issues, the change will be effective with the August 2004 issue. Please be sure to leave your forwarding address with your local post office as they will only forward for 60 days. We request that you please allow additional delivery time for issues forwarded by the post office.

What? Did I misunderstand or did they just tell me that I was supposed to get my August issue? How will I know what lettuce is recommended for my salad this month, and how many M&Ms I can get away with before busting the budgeted "indulgence" calorie limit (answer: about five. Five. You show me a person who can eat five M&Ms and be satisfied and I'll give them a free subscription to the cursed aforementioned magazine).

So yes, I'm not a huge fan of customer service. Although I must admit I do get such a kick out of it when I call the airlines and end up talking to someone from India. It's quite fascinating actually; there is a whole subculture in call centers where the employees "adopt" American personalities - with fake life stories and everything. Here is an article about it. I know the whole debate on US jobs vs. outsourcing, but I firmly believe that outsourcing is good and creates value in the long run. Banning outsourcing is the equivalent of a tarriff, resulting in deadweight loss and all that other theoretical economic mumbo jumbo we learned at some point in college. And is it wrong to say that I do like the fact that wait times have been cut down and that I can call Delta at 4:00 am and someone actually answers the phone? And can get the spelling of my name right the very first time I tell it to them?

It's interesting what I have and have not retained from my college education. I took a Computer Science programming class, but I never really applied it after that, so I may as well have never taken the class. It's now the case that the extent of my computer savviness is pretty much really, really hoping that the anti-virus stuff on my computer works.

Some of you might not even know this, but I even took organic chemistry as a freshman. People kept telling me (and to be honest, I assumed) that coming back to orgo 7 years later wouldn't be tough. I thought this stuff would come back to me.

Lo and behold, it didn't. Most of the stuff I learned, it was as if I were seeing it for the first time. Really. And then I think about how much money was spent on that education - and for what? I bet I only remember 10% of the actual academic material from college. I guess if you don't really use the knowledge, it's easy to forget it. I do remember quite a bit of economics / finance since I was doing it for so long. But still, it's kinda sad to think that everything I've learned isn't tucked away in a secret part of my brain. It actually fell out somewhere along they way. Most likely my first year in NYC, when partying on Monday nights until 5:00 AM and loving me some Alka-Seltzer were the norm. Ahh, the days of yore.