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What am I thinking? RSS

Some ranting and collection of thoughts that occur to me as I wander through life.

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Jan
27th
Fri
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In serious need of an upgrade….major user experience fail!

Mobile phone operator voice mail services!  Absolutely a hangover from a previous telephonic era and just doesn’t fit with modern mobile device usage.

So you and your phone are reunited after a brief separation and you see a missed call notice:

Pressing call history – you see it’s from Joe Bloggs at 10:13am;

Just as you are about to call Joe back, an SMS arrives telling you that you missed a call from Joe Bloggs at 10:13 am and there is a voicemail recording for you to pickup. 

Pressing highlighted service number, you dutifully dial your voicemail service to hear an automated message tell you that you have a new message from 123456789 (Joe’s number) at 10:13am – press one to listen to it!

Pressing #1>

“Hi, it’s Joe – call me back?”

Throw phone in disgust or press #5 to delete message!

Then delete the call log, then delete the SMS.

Familiar story eh?  Epic failure in user experience.  Today’s phones always recognize the number, or it is withheld – so why do we need a txt to tell us same information if the phone received the call?  I can understand if the phone was off, or out of signal then sending an SMS would be good service – so why cant the operator software know that?  

Similarly, why is the default voicemail software setup to tell you the same information you already know about the left message?  And why is it so slooooow at reading out 1…2…3…4…5…6…7…8…9… etc Apart from a ploy to keep you on the phone longer to generate more revenue, it’s just irritating.  Why we cant disable the settings I do not know!

Finally, and this is probably the worst part – why do people bother to leave messages that say, “hi it’s me, call me back”?   FFS I already have three separate smart phone services telling me it was you and I’ve just burned 10 mins so now I don’t have time to call you!!  Next time just send me an SMS instead!!

Come-on telco’s!!  Please sort this archaic solution out.. It’s really poor and we’re all paying you for it…. 

Jan
8th
Sat
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From an early age the difference between right and wrong is drummed into us by our guardians and similar authorities. It is taken for granted that such rules are correct and our elders know best, and youngsters who question these rules are seen as difficult, immature or senseless. Those youngsters then appear to reform and mature into conforming adults and become carbon copies of their predecessors. Their previously youthful thought is buried under post-adolescence responsibility and before long they no longer question anything but seem to flow with the rest of society. In turn they then try to sculpture and fashion their own children to accept their surroundings. Each time, each generation conforms, a little more is lost, as ideals of the past become diluted and confused by modern advances in lifestyles and understanding…social decline is inevitable.
— Me, aged 14…
Mar
7th
Sat
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Buy local?

Ok, so living on an island means that shopping isnt exactly full of
choice and lacks the options that our brethren on the mainland enjoy but
considering our lack of choice for a moment you would think that our
shops would be bustling, busy little goldmines.  However they arent,
there are many closed, closing or just plain empty of stock.  Sure there
is a recession and we’re in dark economic times but I still can not
fathom why our local shops arent doing more to keep themselves afloat.
The internet brings us cheap, easy, accessible shopping and I, just like
a lot of people, do almost all my shopping online.  But I still wander
down our main street on a Saturday to browse and perhaps buy something
that the internet doesnt lend itself to providing - yet I find the whole
experience wholly unfulfilling.

Times are hard, and our MHK responsible for the Department of Trade and
Industry frequently urges us via the local press and media “to buy
local!”.  Seriously? I would love to, I would like nothing more to buy
locally and support the local economy and protect our bricks n mortar
stores - but they arent even willing to meet us halfway.  Sure they cant
compete on price, the web wins every time, but that’s not why we shop in
stores, we do that for tactile shopping and we will pay that extra for
immediacy and customer service benefits.  Do the shop managers not
realise that??  Instead of bemoaning the consumer trending towards
Internet shopping, they should be capitalising on the differentiators -
the human contact - do they not realise that employing sullen, sulky and
down right unhelpful staff that they are pushing people away from the
stores?

Our main street is no different to many High Streets up and down the UK,
we have all the brand stores - albeit smaller outlets - and we have
local shops that are owned, run by local people.  Those are the worse
ones!! We all have our horror stories of poor customer service in those
shops, but what I’m seeing now is downright arrogance.   Well, I for one
say good luck to you all, and if you survive the downturn I’ll be most
surprised but rest assured you seen my last £ until you change.

I would urge our DTI minister and the local commerce groups to stop
moaning and trying to lure people in by message only, take some action,
learn from what’s going on, treat the customer better, and get the
basics right - smile & be polite for goodness sake!

So my challenge to the “buy local” ideal is: improve the service and I
will.


Feb
16th
Mon
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Feb
14th
Sat
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Judges Plead Guilty in Scheme to Jail Youths for Profit
Feb
10th
Tue
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Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.
— John Lennon
Feb
8th
Sun
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One of my favourites of recent images I’ve made, I love seeing the world in B+W and water is really special to me.

One of my favourites of recent images I’ve made, I love seeing the world in B+W and water is really special to me.

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Why are we so obsessed with the registered sex offender side of the puzzle when the troubled kids are right in front of us? Why are we so obsessed with the Internet side of the puzzle when so many more kids are abused in their own homes? I feel like this whole conversation has turned into a distraction. Money and time is being spent focusing on the things that people fear rather than the very real and known risks that kids face. This breaks my heart.