5pm in an airport Sunday. Started work at 1.30 and in 3 hours work I have achieved very little.
a) Not started on real work tasks
b) Eventually downloaded all email attachments to prep a board meeting next week after some resends and an hour of waiting. Not had chance to read any.
c) Not booked car parking for next week – no log on ability on main screen and I know if I try to book it will reject me as my email address is already in use. So I have to book, fail, then log in and book again. (Gatwick)
d) Not printed air tickets for tomorrow (Easyjet) as access failed after trying my passwords. So tried for new password and but email hasn’t come so I suspect it was a site error rather than password error. Trying later shows this to be so. Tried tweeting them as no route through help to resolve.
e) Not entered supplementary details for another air ticket ( Easyjet) for next week so I can print them – why does France want my passport details, its not Spain or Portugal – looks like a lazy process for flying abroad.
f) Tried at airport and failed to make macbook connect with phone as bluetooth connection is failing.
g) So couldn’t connect to personal bank and pay bills and make Jan 31 tax payment.
h) Cant connect to business bank and make authorisations that have been waiting since Friday as it kicks me off half way through
i) Cant update to blog – saved text til later.
j) Cant update weekly work and comms tasks in work wiki
h) Cant download and read the research papers I need for tomorrow.
i) Cant get into Twitter, Linked In and Facebook to check and update
I did manage to renew my travel insurance – well done Multitrip – an actual low touch service. Fished out email from a month ago. Clicked on link which had my sign on & password below it. Copied password and entered site. Chose renew. Checked all cover features ( and could have selected/deselected each feature. Entered card details. Renewed. Choose to print papers or just leave online. Very little customer effort and really well thought through.
Contrast this process from first direct to pay my tax bill this evening when I got home ( and yes I’m a fan and dont like slagging them off but heh its been a long day…) I make the payment online, it insists I phone them to confirm after making payment on line. Fair enough but when I have to done so to confirm, they insist they ring me back tomorrow to do it again. I tell them thats dumb but if they insist if they do that then its after 1.30, on my mobile and with a good reason why. Two minutes later the same guy tries to get thro by mobile which has zilch signal at home. I call them again, pass security again and they say they still need to call me back again. They haven’t got my home number so I give it them. They phone me on it – so how secure is that. I go through security again and get no more info than on the first call. Talk about dumb. I gave the poor lady feedback. Directly.
I sometimes feel my internet time is at a premium between meetings, at airports, interrupting just being at home. At home in Kent, or in County Down, in the office, or through my mobile – I rarely get a fast service anymore ( and yes, all checked, it isn’t the laptop or software). Last week I travelled all the way from London to Bristol without getting any service fast enough to download the last minute papers for the meeting I was going to – its no better by mobile.
So here I am another 75 mins later. And still not started work.
