Avoiding Life One Post at a Time

Moving...

I initially signed up for Typepad for a bit of market research.  If I'm going to help people learn to blog I'd like to be familiar with all the systems.  So with over a year on Typepad, I feel happy enough with what I've seen and ready to move to Wordpress, which I much prefer and it's free.  Free is good.  So please redirect (feed changed too, sorry) to:

http://avoidinglifeblog.com

Unshared Talent Meme

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So there was some craic on Twitter the other day with people discussing strange or unspoken talents.  Sinead shared her incredibly impressive eyebrow dance. She suggested starting a meme where we all expose something silly or unknown like that.  So since no one else has, I'm instigating it.

As for me, very few people in Ireland know that I used to be a classically trained singer.  I never enjoyed opera very much but I loved show tunes, and still do!  So here is me singing a few, much to the disgust of my voice teachers:

I Still Believe - From Miss Saigon, a duet with myself, great person to work with that other me! ;-)

Evergreen - My favourite love song

Someone Like You - From Jekyll & Hyde

They are from a CD I recorded when I was about 17, back when I was fabulous as Tommy Tiernan would say! :)  Accompanied by not himself, but another wonderful pianist, Joseph Bowlby. Anyone up for blogger karaoke anytime soon??? ;-)

Now, who else wants to share some crazy talent that we might not know about?

I am proposing the following people might have something to share:

Grannymar
K8 the GR8
Lottie
Sabrina
Burkie
Rick O'Shea
LeCraic
Darragh

Whadaya say guys?? :D  It can be something like singing or art or something completely off the wall.  I want to see what you come up with! Share and tag some other people, let's see what us Irish bloggers can do! :)

Hypocrite, me? Yes, you!

 

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I want to tell you a story.  A sad story.  I'm going to follow that story up with something you don't want to hear.  Something you know to be fundamentally true, but you rationalise your way out of it.  Leave now, if you don't want to hear it.

A few weeks ago, I was driving home when a puppy ran out on the road.  I saw a little boy jump up and run after him.  Thankfully the little boy stopped at the edge of the road.  Unfortunately for him, he witnessed his faithful puppy being mowed down by a Landrover. The SUV kept on going, seemingly oblivious to the destruction it had just caused. 

I pulled over.  The little boy ran out and grabbed the already dead puppy with his little hands and started sobbing.  I opened my door and was about to get out when he ran back across the street with his precious puppy in his arms.  It was absolutely heart breaking.  He must have been about seven or eight and to see his dog effectively murdered was probably extremely traumatic.  My heart went out to him and it has been killing me ever since.

I have told numerous people this story in the last week and all of them were understanding and sympathetic.

As a social experiment I then rewind.  I tell them the puppy and the boy dashed out of a halting site, which they did.  All of a sudden a previously tragic incident becomes funny.  "Well, why didn't you say it was a knacker puppy?"  That sickens me.

The Ireland I left in the eighties was a very conservative society.  It has done an about face today and has become incredibly liberal.  The younger society is extremely progressive, passionately speaking against homophobia, atrocities abroad, racism and fighting for what's right.  However other than fat people and smokers, there is one group of people that are discriminated against constantly.  The travellers.

I brought the Yankee husband to visit Ireland shortly after we were married.  We went to lunch with my Nana and her sister and brother-in-law.  Himself just about fell off his chair when one of them muttered something about black people being the dirtiest of people.  I had to restrain him.  They didn't mean any harm, they seriously just knew no better.  They're in their late eighties and arguing with them at this point was not going to help. 

Himself was shocked by this for many years.  When we moved over he was also shocked at how people treat the Travellers.  How could any group of people be singled out in such a way?  He's American.  They don't operate like that, see.

Being just nine when I left, my only contact with travellers had not been good.  Growing up in Clonsilla, we were always told to bring our toys in at night in case "the knackers would take them."

Having spent most of my life elsewhere I too took a liberal stance when we moved back and was appalled at how they were treated.  The funny thing is, I still feel that way - himself, however - does not.  He works in retail and has seen the worst of them.  They steal, they cause fights and generally make his day harder.  He generalises and stereotypes them like the best Irishman.  I can't fathom this change of heart.

But he most certainly isn't alone.  I bring our old clothes to St. Vincent De Paul and have been told by numerous people that I shouldn't because "it just goes to the knackers."

I know it's true that statistics aren't on their side, but the same can be said of many minority groups.  In the United States statistics show that more violent crime is committed by black people than any other race, yet that doesn't allow people to blatantly discriminate against them, nor should it.

The same should apply here in Ireland.  I also can't help but think it's a vicious cycle.  It goes back to basic psychology.  If you tell someone they are bad and unwanted, they start to believe it and act out accordingly.

What really kills me though, are the children.  That little boy with the puppy was a LITTLE BOY!  He has his whole life in front of him.  Think of the things he could do with it.  But society is preventing that.  These children are not being given the same opportunities that our children are and that is wrong.  I understand that a lot of responsibility lies with the parents, but we have to step in at some point.

The main halting site here is across from the school.  As far as I'm concerned, some government official should be at that halting site everyday dragging those kids across the road to school.  We owe it to these kids to break the cycle.

I know this post is likely to bring about a lot of "But they fill-in-the-blank" type comments, but I don't care.  We are being hypocrites.  We scream and shout about the injustices that other minorities suffer, we yell about atrocities abroad, yet we constantly abuse and bash travellers here at home.  What is human about that?  Where is our pride and dignity?  It's time we put our money where our mouths are.  Do we really believe in liberty and democracy? Well, then surely it applies to everyone.

That is all.

Because I can't mind my own business...

So I've been quietly observing the shit storm that started with an interesting post by the previously unknown to me, Rosie of The Spanish Exposition. 

I've been thinking about commenting all weekend but didn't quite know how to capture my thoughts.  I kept wondering if I was taking things personally, because I happen to be a fan of both Flirty and Damien, two of the blogs Rosie slammed.  I almost wrote criticised there, but criticism implies something different. 

Rosie is well written and makes an excellent point that there should be more criticism in the blogosphere.  I agree.  On my main site I have often had people come to me to say a recipe bombed or point out that I'd forgotten to add a min ingredient.  That is great, that is the feedback I need to improve my site.  If there is an issue with a recipe I love to be able to work with a reader to figure out what went wrong and find a solution.  Constructive criticism ultimately makes us better bloggers and better people.

I agree with Rosie that there can be an air of artificial bonhomie.  Personally I have not come across it on my blogs, but I've seen it on others.  Lots of backslapping and ass-kissing in the comments with the content rarely discussed.  It's never really bothered me, but I can see how it would bother others.  It is evident that Rosie welcomes discerning and scathing comments alike and I think most bloggers would, it's just that it doesn't always happen.  There's something about typing that just comes across cold, especially to people who don't know you in real life.  I've always been a proponent of having little icons like bold or italics, but for irony and sarcasm.  Alas, Microsoft were not so amused.  In all seriousness though, it is hard to get things across on a screen and hard to make emotion come through in your words.  Things get twisted and skewed as they crawl the web.  Perhaps this is why people are reluctant to constructively criticise their peers?  Maybe it's our own fault as bloggers - perhaps we should have a comment policy - encouraging our readers to have at us, I just don't know.

So far, I am with Rosie.  I get it.  I think it's a valid point.  Yet when I finish reading the post I couldn't help but feel something was amiss.  At first I thought it came across quite petty, almost high school like.  Nobody likes me, everybody hates me, yada yada yada.  But that wasn't it.

Was I upset because she dissed some of my blogging friends?  Nope, not really.  They can fend for themselves, and do, quite well!

Was it the awards bashing?  I admit I was a little surprised, much as I was when I read Gimme's scathing review of the night.  I had a ball.  Sure I drank too much and probably made an ass of myself, but I met some wonderful people.  There were a few people I didn't care for as much, but I moved on and met others.  I guess I was slightly appalled in reading posts like this - that people I had met and who had previously spoken about the good time they had there - had about-faced and jumped on the bandwagon.  It seems the hypocritical nature of commenters that Rosie is pointing out goes both ways. 

I would be a liar if I said I agreed with all the awards, but as far as I'm concerned, it was as democratic a process as it could be and continues to improve each year.  The decision was made, move on.  Same with the Lisbon Treaty.  The public has spoken, now let's move on.  Indeed I was disturbed by some bloggers on the actual night who were sulking and making my four year old look quite intelligent, because they hadn't won.  But that still isn't what was bothering me.

It finally clicked with me today when reading Alexia's thought-provoking post and resulting comments.  Nothing about what Rosie said really bothered me, except for her so called criticism.  I don't think calling out those two blogs was constructive criticism at all.  I think it was mean spirited and slightly callous.   Posting about your distaste for a blog just because you don't "find it particularly topical or interesting" is not criticism at all.  That's about YOU, not the blogger in question.  YOU don't see why so many people subscribe, YOU don't understand what they're on about.  A blatant statement like that is not only insulting to the blogger in question but to many of their 1200+ readers.

Criticism is going directly to the blogger whether via comments or personally and saying - "hey, I don't agree with that" or "you're probably not aware, but you switched tenses about thirty times in that post. It's a tough concept to grasp, but if you're interested this XYZ site has some great resources on that."

If it's more than that, don't read the blog.  Move on.  You don't go to the bookstore and buy books that don't interest you, you move on and pick up something that does interest you.

In conclusion, I still feel Rosie has brought up an interesting point and definitely sparked some debate.  Yes, there should be more criticism in the blogosphere, but it should be constructive.  I certainly wouldn't list all the blogs I find boring or distasteful on this or any other blog.  Chances are if I dislike it, so do my readers, so why would I waste their time with that?   

So how do we foster an attitude of constructive criticism?  I daresay it's not something for everyone.  For a lot of people, myself included, blogging is not all about writing.  If someone came along and criticised my writing I wouldn't really be bothered, but I probably wouldn't pay much heed either.  However, if someone came along and criticised the content I was writing about, I would stop and listen and engage. 

I propose that those of us who want to foster an attitude of mutual constructive criticism do so by amending our comment policies, if we have them, or by creating one if we do not.  Welcome constructive criticism and encourage your readers to give it to you.  If blogging for you is about improving your writing, say that.  Your readers might be able to point things out or give tips.  If blogging is about expanding your knowledge, say that too.  I love it when readers point me to other places on the web.  I have even been known to change my mind accordingly.  So since I've butted in where I have no business to, I better put up or shut up.  Here is my new comment policy so:

I welcome all comments, negative or positive.  I am always open to constructive criticism of either my writing style, thoughts or subject-matter.  I am open to alternative points of view and encourage you to share them openly.  I will not delete any comments unless they are blatantly racist, or otherwise inflammatory or libelous.   I would ask that we all be adults here.  I would also ask that if you have the tenacity to say something unpopular that you do so as you, not under the camouflage of "anonymous."  If you are not comfortable leaving a comment publicly, you are always welcome to email me.

What about you? :)

Why blog?

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When you find yourself conversing with someone and blogging comes up, inevitably the question will be asked - why do you do it?  Alexia recently answered this question and asked her readers to do the same. 

To fully answer this, I have to examine the point I was at in life when I began blogging almost a year and a half ago and unfortunately for you, this involves me going back even further.

I had a really tough time in high school.  I went to an international school in Belgium where sports was king.  If you weren't into sports, you might as well kiss your social life goodbye.  Being a slightly pudgy, musically inclined nerd, I was not exactly popular.  Kids can be cruel, but teenagers can be worse.  Before I turned 19 I had tried to kill myself three times.  This is not something I'm proud of, but it's something I need to put out there.  I never felt I had an issue with depression, but rather that my issues were circumstantial.  I was pushed by circumstance to do something so drastic.  It never occurred to me that there might be a chemical imbalance in my brain making me incapable of dealing with tough situations. 

I remember the last time I tried it and ended up in hospital.  I just wanted out of there, but they wouldn't let me go without a psych consult.  This arrogant woman came in and asked all kinds of insulting questions - did I have voices in my head - and the like.  I wasn't crazy, I was just having a rough time with life, didn't they get that?

A year later I was finally able to move on with my life.  I went to music school resigned to being an old maid.  Imagine my surprise when I inadvertantly ran into my soulmate.  Life really changed for the better. We moved to Michigan, I got a wonderfully fulfilling and challenging job, lost loads of weight and got married.  Life couldn't have been better. 

It was then against all odds that in 2003 I found myself pregnant.  Call me old fashioned, but I was just happy we were married!  I was petrified though.  I thought he would kill me and even told him in a public place just in case.  Of course, he was absolutely delighted and we dove headfirst into the idea of becoming parents.  I bought every book on the subject and began to really embrace the idea. 

I read everything I could on pregnancy, labour and childbirth.  Of course post-natal depression came up in many of the books, but it never even occurred to me that this could be an issue I would face, as I'd hadn't considered the past episodes depressive.  I'd never been happier and the times in the past were, as I said, circumstantial. 

Imagine my surprise to find myself at home alone two weeks after giving birth, sobbing my eyes out.  I was absolutely miserable and couldn't understand why.  Unlike times before, I had every reason to be happy.  We had everything we could possibly want and then some, but I was an absolute mess.  I didn't want to get out of bed, but would drag myself downstairs and lie on the couch watching daytime tv, moving just to feed the baby and get more tissues.  I couldn't comprehend what was wrong with me.   

I started having panic attacks when I went back to work and finally decided I needed some help.  I'm not a fan of medication, but was able to get some counselling through work and talking to someone really helped.  When I got back into work mode I found I was able to direct my energy elsewhere and began to come out from under the cloud.

9 months later we moved to Ireland and I can honestly say I was back to normal and feeling fine.   I found moving to Ireland very hard - not least because we had sold everything we owned to get here and then the purchase of the restaurant we were to run fell through three weeks after we got here  but more because when we lived abroad, I had always found it necessary to cling to my Irishness, making sure everyone knew I was from ireland, despite my American accent.  I refused to apply for US citizenship when I had the chance, out of sheer pride.  Imagine my surprise coming back to live and feeling nothing but unwelcome, an outcast in the country I had held so dear.  It was hard, but I never fell back into the cloud that darkened my post-natal days.

Six months after arriving in the Emerald Isle, I once again found myself pregnant.  It was at this point I declared myself officially immune to birth control.  Once again I threw myself into preparations and even prepared for a home birth.  Again, it never occurred to me I would suffer from postpartum depression, as I had never admit to myself that that is what happened the last time.

After my second was born, I was fine.  She was a much harder baby to deal with, but I never had any of the dark miserable feelings I had after the first.  It was only after I finished breastfeeding about 8 months later that the cloud came back, with a vengeance.  I had no idea what was wrong.  I had no energy, no emotion, no zest for life.  I did the bare minimum to get through the day and even that would leave me haggard and empty. 

I had a lovely GP at the time and went to speak with her about it.  She wanted to put me on an anti-depressant and I was in such a state that I agreed.  She also wanted me to talk to someone.  I called up the Health board and was asked if I was sexually abused as a child.  I didn't understand how that was relelvant, but it quickly became apparent that the HSE wasn't interested in helping anyone else.   Unfortunately I had been abused as a child, but it was something I felt had long since been dealt with.  I never saw myself as a victim and tried to move on.   However I admitted it had occurred so that I could get  the help I so desperately needed.

Six weeks later, the anti-depressants were kicking in and I began to feel better.  I finally got an appointment with a HSE counsellor and was actually sort of looking forward to it.  I went to two appointments and was devastated.  She was not at all interested in helping me now, but instead wanted to talk about the abuse, something I really felt at peace with.  I couldn't continue, as it was a waste of both our time and God knows how many others were on the list who did need to talk about their abuse.  Not having the money for a private therapist I decided to take matters into my own hands.

I felt that isolation was one of my biggest issues and tried to get out to meet people.  It proved to be more difficult than I anticipated.  I felt that I needed to come to terms with the fact that I had given up the job I had loved and that I was but a housewife. So I bought a dreadful book that I thought would help.  The book was atrocious  - poorly written with tragically hypocritcal logic - but it led me to a forum where I ultimately discovered blogging.  I thought "Hey, I could do that" and the equally tragically named The Humble Housewife was born. 

Within a few months I had met some great people.  I had weaned myself off the drugs and never felt better.  Although I was isolated in the country with no car when himself was working, I felt like a part of a community, albeit it an online one.

Since starting blogging I have met bloggers in real life too and most of them are just wonderful people.  I finally feel like I am myself again.  Not only have I met new friends in Ireland, but all over the world.  I have received presents in the post, people have offered to have me stay and if I ever need to talk I know GTalk is just a click away.  It's quite amazing really.

When I started to blog it was to reach out, to somehow connect with the world I felt so isolated from.  But today, I blog to stay connected.  I blog to stay focused and to stay aware of the world around me.  Blogging has allowed me not only to grow and mature in my own right, but to learn so much more about the world at home and abroad.  I have discovered other cultures, learned fun geeky facts and maybe even become a little more liberal than I'd like to admit! :)  I blog to learn about myself and others and I blog to keep my sanity.

Blogging was my light at the end of the tunnel.  It may sound over the top, but I honestly feel it saved me.  I can't imagine where I would be right now without all the wonderful people I have met on this incredible journey.  Thank you for helping me, even though you may not have been aware just how much you did.

Sinead points out that I may not be alone either, blogging really can be a form of therapy!  I would strongly urge anyone suffering from feelings of depression or gloom to start blogging.  You can blog directly about your feelings, or blog about something that interests you, like I did.  It took a lot to get me to be this open on a blog, and indeed there's lots more I could say, but if I can get the message across to just one person, I'd feel good.   

Weighing in on Lisbon

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I've been a bad blogger here of late.  The problem is not that I don't have anything to say, as much as it is that I have too much to say, but feel I have neither the expertise or eloquence to get across what I need to.  But after reading so many posts on the Lisbon Treaty, I just felt I had to weigh in.

I was always a big supporter of the EU back in my more political days.  I grew up on the continent and got involved in Brussels during the summer.  I was fascinated with the EU and UN and got involved any way I could, whether through volunteering, summer jobs or Model UN.  I was even the Irish Ambassador in The Hague one year! ;-)

I felt both these organisations were built on noble policy and could really work to the benefit of mankind.  Although, I still feel that way, I find myself having less and less confidence in both. 

Economically, there is no doubt the EU has been of great help to Ireland, ultimately helping us pull out of a recession, aiding farmers and allowing mutually beneficial movement of goods and services.  It has also been good for us socially.  EU intervention and memberships helped us move forward in womens liberation, disability and made some progress on the homosexual front.  Ultimately it has helped us give up our reliance on the church and become a government in our own right. 

I wrote a financial thesis on the introduction of the Euro back in 1998 when everyone thought it would bomb.  I just couldn't understand the logic.  How could anything that incorporated the German Mark, one of the world's strongest and stable currencies and the French Franc possibly flop?  I  predicted in my thesis it would out value the dollar and British pounds.  Although, this doesn't necessarily help us economically, it still puts us as part of a financially stable world group, something we never could have dreamed of thirty years ago. 

We really have a lot to be thankful to the EU for.  This is something the pro-Lisbon lobbyists are keen to remind us of.  As if we owe them something.  The signs all say "Vote Yes to Europe."  That is false advertising.  We are not voting for Europe, we are voting for a treaty.  Voting no will not kill our membership to the EU. 

When I was in Belgium a month ago it was interesting how many of my former classmates begged me to vote no.  One Dutch fellow told me we were their only hope.  He said they tried to vote no back in 2005, but they re-wrote it to preclude another referendum, despite them and France blatantly saying no.  It is commonly agreed that the Lisbon Treaty is a loosely disguised re-write of the EU constitution so rejected by France and The Netherlands. 

Initially I decided I was voting no for economic reasons.  I didn't like the idea of mandates from Brussels directing our tax affairs.  Then I read about our loss of voting power.  In this day and age, that is a biggie.  Imagine if they tried to implement that in the UN?  Sure there's the debatably useless Security Council, but in the General Assembly, everyone gets an equal vote.  How can anything otherwise be even remotely democratic?  How can we sign away our right to an equal vote?  I understand introducing new countries adds to the bureaucratic burden, but taking away voting power from a country, regardless of population or size, is certainly not the answer.

I kept finding lots and lots of reasons to vote no, but very few to vote yes.  In fact the only reason I can think of to vote yes is sheer spite.  Spite for the church bigots and Sinn Fein who are urging us to vote no.  In any other situation the fact that these two groups are on the same side would be laughable, but in this case it's a bit ironic.  I am actually in agreement with two groups that stand for everything I am against, albeit for different reasons. 

Having said all that, the most compelling reason I see to vote no is the incomprehensible nature of the document.  I was listening to a debate on Pat Kenny's show the other morning and was just amazed.  Two men, both reading the exact same section of the treaty were able to read two completely different things into it.  Upon hearing what it said, I read a third meaning.  How can we vote for something that both sides understand differently?

How could the EU even use such a document to govern if everyone who reads it understands it differently? It just doesn't make sense.

Having lived out of Ireland for most of my voting career, I was never allowed to vote, until this past election.  I take my responsibility as a voter very seriously as a result.  And I cannot, under any circumstance, understand how any responsible voter could vote for a document that is ambiguous and ultimately incomprehensible. 

Voting no does not say no to Europe.  It says "Oi, Brussels, this is a load of shite, now get back there and come up with something that makes sense." 

Europe is a wonderfully historic and diverse continent.  As much good as the EU does, I honestly feel that this treaty, incomprehensibility's aside, takes away some of our individual culture.  And that goes for ALL of the countries.  Wars were fought to draw the borders between our lands.  Great wars, Holy Wars, even the frighteningly recent wars in the Balkans.  Heroes died on all sides.  Governments were formed and sovereignty was achieved - history was made.  Are we going to throw that all away for some document our own Taoiseach has not even read?

The election last year severely deflated my opinion of the general public, but this is much more important and I don't think people understand that at all.    

I'll shut up now. :)

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Nip and Tuck

The irony that this ad is made by Dove does not escape me, however it is well worth a watch for anyone with young girls.  I was never fat as a child, but my mother was constantly on diets and obsessed with her weight.  One day when I was about ten she decided I was fat too and dragged me to Weight Watchers.  The result? I ended up fat and have struggled with my weight ever since, once topping the scales at 350lbs!  My Mom made food an issue.  I was a slightly chubby tween that would have been just fine had she left me alone.  Instead she deprived me of everything good and turned me into a craving machine.  I do not want that for my girls.  They are perfectly healthy now and I plan on keeping them that way.  :)

H /T Blissfully Domestic
 

Doing Business in Ireland

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Before moving back to Ireland I was working in the financial customer service centre as a six-sigma team leader for a Fortune Fifty company.  It was hard work, but challenging and motivating.

I received extensive customer service training, much of it common sense, but much of it going deeper than that.  Going through the training initially, meant enacting role plays.  I hate role plays.  I don't mind playing leads in the opera, but role plays with peers is annoying, embarrassing and seemingly pointless, but we did it. 

It wasn't until a few months later when I had to use some of the skills from these role plays with an irate customer did I realise how well the techniques actually worked. Not only that, but they worked outside of the workplace as well.  With family, with friends, with the husband.  Empathy is king. 

Moving back to Ireland was quite a shock then in terms of customer service.  When we first realised we were stranded here without the jobs initially promised to us, we were forced to get temporary work until we figured out what we were doing, if we were staying or going back, or where we would go.  I took up some work at a bank.  It was a job a monkey could do, but it was a meagre 35 hours a week and decent money.  Shock number one.  35 hours = full work week. Wow! I can live with that.  However, as a customer I couldn't understand the concept of a bank closing for lunch in this day and age, or one that didn't open for at least a few hours on Saturday.  Accessible they were not. 

Management at the bank was another notable phenomenon.  Apart from being a bit of an old boys club there was no form of staff motivation.  It's something I have come across again and again in Irish business.  My husband deals with it daily.  Employees are not empowered.  They are not given a pat on the back when they do a good job, but if something goes amiss, you can be sure they'll be hearing about it. 

I interviewed for a job in the bank which would have been similar to what I did in the states only on a much smaller dollar, consumer level.  It was the first time I interviewed for something and didn't get the job.  The guy who did get the job had no experience at all, he was right out of college.  I went straight to the hiring manager and asked why I didn't get the job and was told it was because of my management philosophy.  I didn't understand.  Apparently I had put much too much emphasis on team motivation. 

Bottom line they did not consider their people an asset.  How could anyone be so stupid?  People are the greatest asset a company has.  Treat them right and everything else will follow.  Treat them wrong and you're screwed.  Where do you think unions came from?

But I digress... I had wanted to talk about standards of customer care...

Shock number two.  Employees at the bank answered the phone "X Bank."  They laughed at me when I actually told people who they were talking to and which branch they were ringing.  This still irks me today.  If I call a business line, do not answer "Hello."  I should not have to ask you who you are.

Restaurant service.  Don't get me started.  Refund and return policies. Lousy business hours. Lack of internet presence.  Shitty internet presence.  The list goes on.  And on.  And on.  GRRR!  Ultimately the country is a customer service nightmare.  But we all know that and I do think things are s-l-o-w-l-y getting better. 

So what's new then?

Now I'm a business customer.  Some of you may know from my other blog that I am starting a new business.   As such, I am having to acquire suppliers and services, which involves making numerous inquiries.  As a business person, making new sales and retaining customers, should be two of your top priorities.  This does not seem to be the case in Ireland. 

For ingredient suppliers I contacted no fewer than 20 different companies.  One got back to me. That's a five percent return.  This just blows me away.  There is a downturn in the economy - you'd think companies would be embracing new business, especially in a saturated market like food supply.  I'm here waving my Laser card at them and they don't want my money!?

I know things are more laid back here, but come on!  There's laid back and there's bankrupt.

I've contacted several printers.  I got a quote back from one, four weeks later.  I just can't get over it.  Where is the pride? Where is the professional courtesy? 

With the slowing down of the economy these people are in for a big shock.  Right now price might be the deciding factor for people to go with a company, but soon they will all have similar prices in order to compete in a sluggish market.  Then what?  It's their service that is going to sell the product.  When are they going to cop on?

If all of these companies came around today and gave me a quote lower than the one who came back to me initially, I'd go with the first guy.  If they can't give me a timely quote how can I ensure they will deliver product on time?

I've expressed my frustration about this to lots of people.  "Sure that's the way it is" is the standard response.  WHY? Why does it have to be like this?

The Celtic Tiger is dying fast.  If the Lisbon Treaty goes through the EU will be regulating most of the trade we have previously been able to entice with tax incentives.  We need to differentiate ourselves, we need to adopt sound business practices and apply them.  Customer service on a business or consumer level needs to be a higher priority.  Common professional courtesy needs to be implemented.  If someone contacts you, you get back to them ASAP, even if it's to say you will get them full details later.  This is a no brainer people! 

Rant over. 

I've been ranting a lot lately.  Lighter stuff soon. 

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Dell Ireland

In a country notorious for crap customer service, the multi-national companies sometimes surprise you with fairly good service.  Not so with Dell Ireland.  I ordered a laptop on January 31st.  Over six weeks later it has not arrived.  My concerns and appeals keep going to random people in Bombay who, while extremely friendly, don't get it and have no desire to help.  Here's how it's gone down.

January 31st - I order computer and select the financing option.  According to the website I should have a credit decision in 48 hours. 

48 hours later is a Saturday, so I give them the benefit of the doubt and leeway of "business hours" and assume I'll hear Monday.

Monday - nothing.  Well, maybe Tuesday, it is Monday afterall.

Thursday Feb 8th - phone call from Dell.  Excellent.  Late, but relieved to hear from them.  Approval decision?  No, they wanted to verify my address, the same one I had to enter twice during the order process.  Apparently the fact that I'd ordered my previous computer to an old address was confusing.   I asked when I would hear back and I was given the magic 48 hours again.

February 11th - More contact.  This time they wanted a land line number.  I inquired into what was taking so long and got no response.  This was via email.

February 15th - Another email.  Asking for a bank statement and ID.  I send them over. 

February 17th - Phone call saying bank statement not allowed as it's not original.   I had gone to the bank to get a printed one which they stamped with a stamp saying it was an authorized official bank statement.  Not good enough for Dell apparently.   I rang the bank  and was told I couldn't have a n official "blue" statement until month end.  Bugger.  So now the ball is in my court, but still 17 days to get to this point when they initially promised 48 hours!?

March 11th - Bank statement FINALLY arrives and I scan it in and send it over to Dell. 

March 17th - I send an email to the sales rep I've been in contact with expressing my frustration, fully acknowledging that it did take me awhile to get the statement, and wondering what the hell was going on.

March 18th - She sends me paperwork saying lease has been approved and asks me to sign and return the documents.  Finally!  I sign, scan and fax them over.  Get email a few minutes later saying fax was unclear.  I email documents and send original by post.  I also look at Dell website and see that not only is the exact same laptop €20 cheaper, but comes with a free colour upgrade and oh how I wanted the lime green one!  I emailed saying that since I had had to wait so long that I think the least they could do was offer me the colour upgrade.  I'll eat the price differential. 

I then get a phonecall saying the only way to do this is to cancel the order and start the process over.  Hell no.  Just get me my damn computer already.  So I tell her to go ahead as is, because at this point I JUST WANT MY FUCKING COMPUTER!!!!!!  I assume everything is finished and the order has finally been placed. 

March 20th - I get another form letter from Dell with the lease paperwork for me to sign and return, only with different numbers.  WHAT THE FUCK?  I have sent an email wondering, again, what the hell they are up to, and am awaiting the answer.

I just had to vent my frustration somewhere and here it is.  My main issues revolve around the fact that the financial decisions are taken in Dublin, yet someone there has to ring someone in India to tell them to ring me requesting more data.  What a load of bollocks.  If you have any questions about the data needed, the person in India has to go back to the person in Dublin.  Very frustrating.  If I could just talk to the person in Dublin at the get go it would have saved everyone a lot of time and effort. 

Also annoying was the fact that my emails were never confirmed.  I would send the info and never got a response.  Even just a "got it- leave it with me" would have been appreciated.   Initial contact was to confirm details they ALREADY had and again a dubious time period was claimed. 

I understand that the credit process in this country is more drawn out than most, but having worked in finance I know that 48 hours is an entirely reasonable time frame.  Credit approval is usually offered subject to receiving a bank statement and copy of ID. 

Now granted my bank were a pain in the ass during this process, but if you take that time out of the equation it's still taking Dell over three weeks to do something they promise to do in 48 hours!  Absolutely ridiculous, and it's still not resolved.

Rant over.  Now where's my bleeding laptop?

Sustainability...

I'll be upfront.  I think the whole global warming thing is a load of bollocks.  Yes, the climate is changing, no one disputes that, but it's also been doing that forever.  A trip to Céide Fields in Mayo - also known as the world's most boring museum - will tell you that 10,000 years ago Ireland had a tropical climate.  It's a cyclical thing.  I don't believe that energy saving light bulbs and hybrid cars and fucking paying someone to neutralise your emissions is going to help anything. 

The latter really pisses me off.  Whoever came up with the idea is an entrepreneurial genius.  People are actually forking over money to these people who supposedly plant trees to counteract your plane trip.  I think people buying into that are pretty stupid, but it's their money, so what do I care?  When I start caring is when the government starts doing it with my tax money!  But I digress...

You can argue away with me on this one, but ultimately I think the global warming movement is tantamount to right-wing fundamentalism.  I'm completely with Michael Crichton on this one and I ain't changing my mind.  So there.  Click here to read his much more researched and eloquent position and save your breath yelling in the comments.

So why am I blathering on about this?  Well, you needed a bit of background.  I don't want to be considered some weird eco-hippy.  Global warming aside, I am a strong proponent of living sustainably.  It is a big dream of mine to someday be able to produce and grow my own produce and even rear my own meat.  I would like to produce my own power, recycle and compost my output and generally live "the good life."  And so it with awe, admiration and a profound respect that I follow Dan and Rebecca's journey to live a sustainable life.  It's absolutely fascinating stuff and I anxiously await updates on their various projects, the most recent being hatching Easter chicks.  Judging by their comments, I don't think I'm alone in that dream either. 

Unfortunately financially, a small holding is not an option now or at any time in the near future.  And himself thinks I'm on crack.  In my hippy days I really wanted to join a commune in Tennessee.  I love the idea of living in a community where everyone has the same goals and ideals, although I couldn't deal with the vegetarianism thing!  It was with great surprise then that I recently discovered The Village, a planned "eco-village" in Tipperary.   It is such a cool idea that to be honest, I am a bit gobsmacked.   From what I gather, it's going to be a contemporary eco-friendly village with living space and community features such as weekly markets, farmland, allotments, playgrounds, a town park and river walk.   It sounds incredible.  And it's not all some idealistic drivel either, it's actually happening and building will start this month.  A site averages €81,000 and then you have to build.  I would so love to do this.  We've been renting since moving back to Ireland and effectively throwing away a third of our income each year.  A village like this would allow me to live out aspects of my dream, but maintain the sense of normality the husband would need. 

Imaging bringing up children in an environment like that?  Not only would they learn respect for their environment, but they would be able to actively participate in a sustainable life.  With allotment space they could grow produce and with the farm space they could help rear animals, all in a community atmosphere.  It's also just an hour away, so himself could commute.  Defeats the point?  Nah, did you skip my global warming disclaimer above? 

So how does one convince one's husband and one's bank that this is a great idea?  There's a €15,000 deposit and obviously payment for the site and of course the build.  Dealing with eco-friendly building is likely to be pricey as builders might not be familiar with the techniques required.  The husband has very bizarre and contemporary ideas about design which makes things even more complicated.  And then there's the bank.  Getting approved for a mortgage in this country is hard, even harder when it involves a build and bridging loan.  I should know, I used to work for the bank.  Doesn't matter that you've faithfully forked over €1200 to a landlord for 3 years and can thus afford the lower mortgage payment, that is something lost on banks.  Then you have the question of market stability.  Himself does not want to buy in Ireland, as he hopes to eventually go back to the States, but I don't see the logic of throwing our money away on rent. 

What would you do?  Buy a normal house, try for the semi-dream environment or keep renting?