Dodgy Second-Hand Customer Service

Overheard while trying to join Sky broadband:

Sky Operative: ".....and your first name?"

Chairman: "Philip."

Sky Operative: "May I call you Philip?"

Chairman: "No."

Sky Operative: "How would you like me to address you?"

Chairman: "Sir! You're customer services, not my best mate!"

Far too much forced familiarity posing as friendliness, sincerity or compassion these days, if you ask me. Whatever happened to respect for the customer who pays the wages?

Ended up with them not being able to provide me with a service anyway, as the house first has to be on the Post Office database. That didn't seem to phase BT or Vodafone, who have both managed to supply broadband to the caravan in the past.

Couldn't get a proper customer service number for the buggers either - every number I found on the web led me to the same automated voice that wouldn't give me the option of speaking to an adult, or even of joining Sky. Finally got through to the right department after choosing the option of reporting a technical fault - with their customer service. Technical faults MUST end up with you speaking to an adult, even if one with a dodgy accent and in a different time zone - or worse, in Newcastle.

Frank Dobson is on record as saying health minister Andrew Lansley has a "reckless, dodgy, second-hand car salesman approach to the NHS". Second-hand car salesmen are apparently up in arms after being compared to MPs in general, and government ministers in particular.

In a shock reaction to the dropping of the 50p tax band, the people who pay the extra tax said: "Thanks!"

An extra tax band does seem somewhat iniquitous when they pay vastly more tax than the average punter anyway by virtue of the existing higher rate, and the fact of tax being a percentage. There again, many products of our education system don't have a clue as to what a percentage actually is - especially union bosses.

Went for a scan on a small lump on my neck a few weeks ago. The lump turned out to be just a subcutaneous cyst, but in the process they discovered a nodule on my thyroid on the other side of my neck. Nothing to necessarily worry about at this stage, but it's strange how you can go into hospital to have one thing investigated, only to have something else raise its head. Happened to my father - he went in to have a hernia investigated and came out diagnosed with liver cancer and 6 months to live.