With Apologies to Unker (FH2o)...

...which means he can keep posting more cloud pictures, and it'll be just fine!

(If you don't know what the Sam Hill I'm talking about, check out his ever-famous blog site.)

Well, here it has been a full week, and still no new modem, therefore no phone (other than our cell phones). Yes, I am irritated.

I finally got in touch with the local branch provider yesterday to ask what was going on, and they had no idea that I was being sent a new modem. They quickly double-checked with the main office in Tokyo and then informed me that the modem would probably be arriving on Saturday.

Then they said they would call me at home to make sure I'd gotten it okay.

Duh! If the modem hasn't come yet, my phone won't be working, will it????

Customer service can be such a sad thing.

It's like Sony.

Products - GOOD!!!! Service - AAAAARRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

When the C drive on my Vaio desktop box got wiped not so long ago, and I reinstalled everything, I lost the device driver for the built-in Sony Memory Stick reader. I used that a lot for transferring images from my camera, so it is a bit of a disaster.

I tried going to their support website to get a new driver, and it basically said, "Those of you who have registered with our Wonderful Service Support Network (warm fanfare) may click here and enter your cult member name and passwords for quick, efficient service. As for the rest of you cretins, you can click here to start your doomed venture through a never-ending maze of websites designed to confuse and irritate you and make damned sure you'll never find what you're looking for! Your other option is to CALL Sony Tech Support, but the number to call is only visible if you first download this special software (only compatible with Microsoft Internet Explorer - Mozilla, Netscape, and Opera users can piss off) after first clicking here to apply for membership in the Wonderful Service Support Network (warm fanfare) and give us your e-mail address so we can bombard you with tons of assorted spam. (Of course, if you do that, you won't need to phone us anymore. That's why the phone numbers AREN'T POSTED!!!!!)

Okay, I exaggerated a little bit...but ONLY a little bit! It was almost that bad! (And the tech support phone numbers really did require downloading special software that was only compatible with MS-IE in order to read them.)

I really hate dealing with large companies...