If you read the last post, you know we had phone issues. Being telecommuicatingly challenged, reinforcements needed to be called in. Ron called the cable company again. They sent out a technician with equitable terms for service. If it were the cable company's problem, no charge. If it were our phone and not within the lines, then it would cost 4,500 Huf. Before leaving CA, I had a private contractor telephone repair man that charged $25/hour to step through the door. That was a bargain compared to the $45/hour the phone company wanted. Hence, 4,500 Huf is Monopoly money in comparison. Oh, right, my salary here is Monopoly money in comparison too. I forget that at times.
It was our phone. Add that to the shopping list. Shop for a phone. According to the box, the phone menu is available in 16 languages. Great! Get it home, open the box. The only instructions are in Hungarian. Apparently, the phone will communicate with you in English, if you know just how to push its buttons (therapist humor).
After an hour of searching online, the only manual I could find was through a company that sold manual. This manual would be $32.95 plus tax. The phone was only $45. Keep searching.
I checked Panasonic's website. This model is not a US model, so forget that. Trying the UK list of models, there was nothing there either. Hunt, hunt, hunt and bingo, I found the model number and the manual. Cripes, it is only available in Hungarian. What is this conspiracy?
After rooting through the Panasonic Global site, peeling off layer after layer of sub-topics like an Internet onion, I found an e-mail address. I shot off an e-mail with a pathetic note to warm the coldest corporate hearts.
"I have trusted in your products for years, so I invested in one of your phones. However, I was disappointed to find that though the box shows English and the phone can be programmed in sixteen languages, I have no instruction manual to learn how to operate it. Until I get one, all I can appreciate about the phone is the dial tone. Please help me with this matter."
Within minutes, my inbox has a response.
Thank you for contacting us concerning your recent phone purchase. You can receive a manual in English for $32.95 plus tax. If you would like to proceed, click here.
Some real Panasonic person heard my pleas, because I did receive an English manual later in the day. The time wasters in life are just incredible and that ain't no April Fools Day joke either.
Friday, April 01, 2011
The Days of Our Lives
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