2005-07-16 - 3:59 p.m.

It's been a bit of a crazy working week. I'm always saying that working Monday to Friday means coming home and not getting anything done- it's worse when you have to try to fit in those things that conveniently are only open when people are working.

On Monday I discovered one of my front tyres was completely flat on the way to work. I tried pumping it up, driving for a while and then doing the same at another service station but the air came rushing out as fast as it was going in. I didn't even know my tyres *could* go flat in that way, seeing they are tubeless. So it was the first time I had to change a tyre on the side of the road- well, almost- I was in a parking space at a service station. I've changed tyres before outside my house mind you.

So I get to work flustered, and then have to leave early so I can go to Goodyear and see if they can fix it. Definitely not, I drove on it flat to long and it was getting bald anyway. They ordered me 2 new tyres and said they'd be ready Tuesday. Then rang me back and said not til Wednesday. Which was convenent seeing as I was going to have to leave early Tuesday anyway to be home for the bastards to finally deliver me a replacement monitor for the computer. I rang them on Monday, over a week after they said it was at their warehouse and they were just chasing the courier. They continued to blame the courier but said it would be there Tuesday. I told them after 4pm is best, the later the better, and make sure they ring to arrange a time so I know when to leave work.

By late Tuesday still no call, so I had to chase it up again. This time I got put through to the person who books the couriers and he rang the courier while I was on the other line. He comes back with "he'll be another hour yet". So the courier was told after 4pm, but nothing about arranging it with me. When they're already weeks late I'm hardly going to be sitting at home waiting from 4pm if I haven't had a call saying they're actually coming. So I told the guy to give the courier my number and make sure he calls me so I know when to leave work- and once again the later the better. I was in the middle of stuff at work by this time and didn't manage to leave until 4.30pm.

5.15pm on the way home I finally get a call from the courier asking how long until I get home- he's been there since 4.30pm. Exasperated I tell him I made it very clear to the people I was talking to that he should call me. He says the gave him my number but didn't say he had to call me. He was still working with anytime after 4pm.

But when I got home he was fine about it. I finally had my monitor, and I said "so you have to take the old one?" and he knew nothing about picking anything up, only delivering.

Sweet justice. The incompetent computer place will now have to organise another courier to come out to pick up my old monitor (the policy for defective monitors under warranty is they just give you a refurbished one, take yours back and hopefully fix it before giving it to someone else with a defective monitor). And it will have to be at a time that suits me. Which is virtually never. Not a chance in hell I'm leaving work early for them. It will have to be after 6pm or on a weekend. Mwahahahahaha.

So you'd think I'd have learned my lesson and not assume anything ever again right? No- I leave work early again on Wednesday to have my tyres fitted because they said they'd be here by Wednesday- and they haven't fucking arrived. The supplier hasn't even received them from their supplier. Leaving work early too often is stressful- my boss doesn't care but subconsciously you feel like it's one of those things that is noticed. Actually the dodgy method of evaluating performance is another story altogether for another time, and I can't complain to much because I've been judged one of the top performers the last two years, so it would be a bit hypocritical to whine when a new technique doesn't favour me as much.

So I'm not leaving early again unless I know the goddamn tyres are at the store. But they ring me Wednesday on the way home to say they'll be there midday Thursday. Not taking anything for granted I rang on Thursday before I left to ensure they were looking at the tyres while they were speaking to me. And then I was stressing out because I meant to get there at 4pm to have them fitted and I didn't leave work til after 4pm. Fuck 'em, I left work for no reason the day before- they can work back half an hour if they need to.

And then I discover that my locking wheel nuts and their "key" are worn to the point where they need repairing, and I thank my lucky stars that they were okay enough for me to get the wheel off on Monday when I had the flat (essentially if the "key" no longer fits around the nut then the wheel is locked on) or I would've, well, gone nuts myself.

So that was my frustrating week. Now it's time for another Finn's review...

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