The Companies We Love to Hate

Different Country...Same Answer

I have decided there are some companies that we all hate (or at least have complaints about) regardless of what country we live in. They charge too much! They never show up on time! You know the type.

The cable guy.

Installation Day

It is too long a story to go into here, so I am going to skip over many of the details. Suffice it to say that we decided to have the internet and TV “cable” turned on at the new apartment even though we are not able to move in. That is why you see the cable guy kneeling on cement, rather than a wooden floor above. We scheduled the installation about a week in advance. Over that week, we received several calls from MEO technicians that happened to be in the area and were running ahead of schedule. “Would it be convenient to pop over now?” Of course, given my limited Portuguese, understanding the request and my response wasn’t quite that simple. But a simple, “Não, não tenho a chave” (“No, I don’t have the key”) seemed to do the trick.

On 16 February, the day before installation, I received a text reminding me of the appointment. The morning of the 17th, I received another text. One hour before the technician was scheduled to arrive, another text again reminded me of the appointment. I got the key and entered the apartment at 1345 for my 1400 (2 pm) appointment. Our realtor, who had agreed to act as an interpreter (if such was required), though Peruvian has lived in Portugal for many years. “When you get a text telling you they are on their way, call me. I will come right over.” Elizabeth knew, what I soon learned. The “cable guy” is the same everywhere.

As it turned out, they (2 technicians were sent) were not that late. At 1545 I got the “on my way text”. Elizabeth arrived a few minutes before they did. What I had expected would be a 30-minute service call somehow became 2.5 hours. I didn’t really mind, I love talking with Elizabeth. When the installation was complete, the technician gave me a box. It contained a TV remote control, a few candies, and a small vial of perfume. Odd, but sweet, I thought.

Note the woman in the pom-pom hat.

The Next Day

The next morning Denise and I were walking with Onix along the beach in glorious sunshine. I carry my iPhone during these walks to snap photos for you. As I went to replace my phone in my pocket, I noticed I didn’t have any bars. None! Denise checked her phone and she had bars. OMG…my mind raced. I was certain that somehow yesterday’s installation had screwed up my cell coverage. Fortunately, the MEO store was just a few blocks away.

When I arrived at the downtown mall, where the store is located, there was a line. I thought back to the 90-minute line I had waited in, in Rancho Mirage to return our Time-Warner/Spectrum boxes when we left the states. Somethings are the same everywhere I thought. After about 20 minutes, the woman in the pom-pom hat was called by a female MEO representative. Their conversation seemed to start as one would expect but quickly went downhill. Within a minute, the pom-pom customer was screaming. When that didn’t provide the desired response she pulled down her mask to scream at the woman. Shortly later, she resorted to pounding her fist on the desk. After 5 minutes or so, the MEO representative was standing and she was pounding on the desk. It was then the mall security guard started loitering a bit closer...then he entered the store…a few minutes later the pom-pom customer left the store, seemingly dissatisfied, but having put her mask back in place.

My Bad

As it turned out, my MEO issue was resolved 30 seconds after I entered the store. The helpful MEO rep. turned on and off the Airplane mode setting on my phone. Voilà … 4 bars. “This sometimes happens,” he explained. I sheepishly left his desk. Had I been in the States, rather than another country, I am certain I would have solved the problem myself. Since I sold computers for 30 years, I would have turned off my phone and turned it on again. If that hadn’t worked, I would have shaken it … the phone equivalent of hitting the side of the computer screen. Don’t laugh … you know you do it too.