It has just been epically windy here this week. There have been lots of scattered outages all over the county. The south end of the city, which is normally spared, has been hit hard this year.
Sucky Weather Part One
On my paper route, I've had to stop about once a block to move some piece of debris out of my way. As I turned do deliver to a long, dead-end street, I saw a large tree. Okay, that's not so bad, but oops, there are the power lines in the road! I backed up and called dispatch to let them know there was no way in hell I was going to make it to those customers. Then I called the cops to report the down line.
I also had to deal with the fact that the puny Monday newspapers blew right off customer's porches before I even got a chance to move onto the next customer. I think I'll buy some rocks to weigh the papers down the next windy morning.
Surprisingly, no customers complained. Then again, my newspaper customers tend to be pretty awesome.
CW can't plan
After the paper route I went to my job at the motel. The entire south end of town had lost power, and the motel was no exception. Of course, the computers were down and the night auditor had failed to run the queue reports that we really do NEED for manual operation. Boss Man wasn't pleased, to say the least.
Why do you think?
Meanwhile, we're getting a lot of these:
"Why is the power out?"
"When will the power be back on?"
The wind is howling quite loudly outside, what do you think is the probable cause for the outage? As for how long it will be out, hmm....let me just commune with the power gods and get back to you. F**k, if the power company isn't even sure, how am I supposed to know?
It's an Act of God, and He hates SCs
A couple days after the outage, we get a call from an SC. CW took the call, and the conversation went something like this:
SC: "Yeah, I was at your motel on Monday, and the power went out, and I wasn't able to take a shower, and I was wondering what sort of compensation you're going to give me on my next stay?"
CW: "Well, I'm sorry the power was out, but we're kind of like your insurance company: we don't pay off for an Act of God. I'm not sure I can get you anything, but let me call my manager and I'll get back to you, okay?"
SC: "I'd better get something, because I DIDN'T GET TO TAKE MY SHOWER AND I'M VERY UPSET ABOUT IT!"
CW asks Boss Man. Boss Man isn't sure, so has CW call Guest Relations. She explains the situation, and they say no way in hell that he's getting comped.
CW: "So when I tell him there's nothing you can do and he complains, that won't count against us, right?"
GR: "Right, we have the notes on the account right here."
CW calls SC and leaves the message: "Well, there's nothing we can do, but since our corporate office is always trying to make people happy you can try contacting them at 1-800-XXX-XXXX!"
Way to pass the buck to corporate, CW!
More Sucky Weather
It was another epically windy night last night. One of the roads I drive up on my paper route is this very narrow lane that runs along the top of the cliff. The customer's homes are actually built into the cliff in ways that only engineering magic can accomplishe. They don't have driveways, just little turn-outs.
After getting all the way up this windy, narrow little road, I come across a tree that has blown over. Backing up isn't feasible at this point, so I must turn around. I have a very small car with a VERY tight turn radius, and it still took a 35-point (I counted) turn-around. All while staring down a cliff into a black abyss below. I really hope not to do that ever again. I think Mother Nature hates me.
Sucky Weather Part One
On my paper route, I've had to stop about once a block to move some piece of debris out of my way. As I turned do deliver to a long, dead-end street, I saw a large tree. Okay, that's not so bad, but oops, there are the power lines in the road! I backed up and called dispatch to let them know there was no way in hell I was going to make it to those customers. Then I called the cops to report the down line.
I also had to deal with the fact that the puny Monday newspapers blew right off customer's porches before I even got a chance to move onto the next customer. I think I'll buy some rocks to weigh the papers down the next windy morning.
Surprisingly, no customers complained. Then again, my newspaper customers tend to be pretty awesome.

CW can't plan
After the paper route I went to my job at the motel. The entire south end of town had lost power, and the motel was no exception. Of course, the computers were down and the night auditor had failed to run the queue reports that we really do NEED for manual operation. Boss Man wasn't pleased, to say the least.
Why do you think?
Meanwhile, we're getting a lot of these:
"Why is the power out?"
"When will the power be back on?"
The wind is howling quite loudly outside, what do you think is the probable cause for the outage? As for how long it will be out, hmm....let me just commune with the power gods and get back to you. F**k, if the power company isn't even sure, how am I supposed to know?
It's an Act of God, and He hates SCs
A couple days after the outage, we get a call from an SC. CW took the call, and the conversation went something like this:
SC: "Yeah, I was at your motel on Monday, and the power went out, and I wasn't able to take a shower, and I was wondering what sort of compensation you're going to give me on my next stay?"
CW: "Well, I'm sorry the power was out, but we're kind of like your insurance company: we don't pay off for an Act of God. I'm not sure I can get you anything, but let me call my manager and I'll get back to you, okay?"
SC: "I'd better get something, because I DIDN'T GET TO TAKE MY SHOWER AND I'M VERY UPSET ABOUT IT!"
CW asks Boss Man. Boss Man isn't sure, so has CW call Guest Relations. She explains the situation, and they say no way in hell that he's getting comped.
CW: "So when I tell him there's nothing you can do and he complains, that won't count against us, right?"
GR: "Right, we have the notes on the account right here."
CW calls SC and leaves the message: "Well, there's nothing we can do, but since our corporate office is always trying to make people happy you can try contacting them at 1-800-XXX-XXXX!"

More Sucky Weather
It was another epically windy night last night. One of the roads I drive up on my paper route is this very narrow lane that runs along the top of the cliff. The customer's homes are actually built into the cliff in ways that only engineering magic can accomplishe. They don't have driveways, just little turn-outs.
After getting all the way up this windy, narrow little road, I come across a tree that has blown over. Backing up isn't feasible at this point, so I must turn around. I have a very small car with a VERY tight turn radius, and it still took a 35-point (I counted) turn-around. All while staring down a cliff into a black abyss below. I really hope not to do that ever again. I think Mother Nature hates me.
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