Does ANYTHING work any more???

I honestly cannot recall the last time I bought something and the product worked the way it should, arrived on time, and/or met my expectations.  I really am not a chronic malcontent....I just think things don't work any more.   Not the products....and definately not the systems in place to purchase, distribute or repair them.

I have a DELL laptop I purchased this past January that works..............well, kinda.   I spent 17 long, painful hours on the phone with some very nice folks in India to try and get it working properly.  Two of the repair technicians really liked my desktop photographs, by the way.   After hours and hours of these people rummaging inside my laptop like they were looking for a roadmap in a Chevy glove compartment, I ended up with a laptop that works......well, kinda.   I still have to go back to Kaspursky to get the numbers to reinstall the virus protection these people removed.......and it still freezes up and does strange things it's not supposed to.   But it DOES work.....well, kinda.
The people at DELL have made me what I am today.......an APPLE owner in waiting.

Now I am on with my latest adventure......furniture!   My husband and I found the couch, chair and ottoman we liked at a JC Penney store in Elyria on 9/2 of this year.  We bought it and had a seven day delivery promise......woo hoo!!   Today (10/11) I just finished my fourth call to try and get this same furniture delivered.

The internet price on the furniture was better than the in-store price....so the very helpful sales guy did the thing on line and got it for me.   Unfortunately....and there is ALWAYS an unfortunately....the people at the on line end of the business are not as helpful.   Seems they were putting the slipcover on the couch at some top secret "white glove" delivery service and they broke the zipper on, what now seems to be, the only slipcover of that color in the whole free world.   I can only assume I am awaiting the slipcover they smuggle by mule out of the Afghan mountains, because it's been nearly six weeks and they have been unable to come up with one.

My conversation today was with a very nice lady who informed me that my furniture HAD been delivered.....it said so on her computer screen.  Immediately after I cleaned up the coffee I had coughed all over my desk, I begged to differ.   After ten minutes on hold listening to oldies hits, I was informed that the superisor said maybe it hadn't been delivered.....but it was definately going to be another ten days before they could get that mule out of Afganistan.

To add insult to injury a JC Penney automated (there's a suprise) polling system called me back to gague my level of satisfaction with the process I had just gone through.  (There is a God)  "Please estimate your level of satisfaction, with FIVE being completely satisfied.....and ONE being completely unsatisfied.  You may leave comments after the tone.   Thank you for participating in this JC Penney satisfaction poll.  Have a nice day!!"

I did not push a number, so the comment tone came on quickly.  "I think you need to rethink your numbering system.  I would suggest the following:   FIVE for completely satisfied.   ONE for completely dissatisfied.  ZERO for homicidal.  Have a nice day!!"  I hung up knowing it ain't over til it's over. 

 In spite of the fact that nothing works right any more......Life is Good.