Not genuinely interested in actually providing services anymore

bout 30 hours ago I published 2 parts. The latter spoke about false “options” or invalid “options” given to my wife and I. Those had already failed, that’s why we came to speak in person. I told them that the privatised Post Office wasn’t Town Hall and accessibility in the Web site was awful. Nobody there could digest those messages. It was like talking to a wall.

2 weeks earlier I attempted to phone the line (call centre) they kept promoting, but it was unavailable every time, even when I came in person and dialled 102 at the main office.

There are several issues here, the least of which is that they’re not collecting money from the public to actually staff their services properly. They are clearly understaffed in some areas but also overstaffed in others (people doing nothing, knowing nothing, barely trying to help anybody).

There are demands for particular services, but that’s above the level they’re able to facilitate/fulfil. They’re collecting money from people and not delivering.

I told them that on two occasions already they were clearly understaffed after 1PM on a Thursday (nobody able to pick up the call), not a holiday or anything like that.

Face-to-face? Not a chance. Only over a phone, even when you’re already right there. Odd. I’ll later explain that it didn’t use to be like that. I’ll also explain that they told us to walk away and try phoning at 9AM as if it’ll magically work that way and that after 10 minutes on the line one can request a callback.

There is no assurance, however, that this would happen.

They were at least sincere about the low expectations. Maybe deep inside they too realised how unreliable the serviced had become.

Gosh, what an awful experience. All for the simple task of updating one’s details!

I’ve got three bouquets of flowers for the Techrights anniversary

DAY AGO the site where I spend the most time served 584,269 Web requests. The one Rianne leads served 1,638,626 requests. It’s not an all-time record, but in recent years we have more such days in those sites.

While we block slop bots, it’s hard to block them all definitively, so some of that traffic if not most of it might be bots. That’s how today’s Web is. It should not be, but it is.

Arsenal happy

fter many wins in a row, and a record number of straight wins for a new coach in the PL’s history, City cannot stop losing. After two losses it is another loss and not against a potent rival. City wasn’t “unlucky”, it just didn’t play well enough.

This is getting a bit frustrating. Arsenal “away” is coming later this month.

You live once, make it count

oday my mother spoke to me about Techrights and wished me well. My dad had done the same this morning and also yesterday. He remembered. He said good things. My wife did many things, including cards, food, and flowers.

I am glad that on the 20-year anniversary loved ones recognise the hard work and, in their words, the “sacrifices”.

Back to winning streak? (In PL, not CL)

bout an hour from now what should be a straightforward match kicks off.

Enzo has chosen to start with: Donnarumma, Khusanov, Dias (C), Guéhi, Gvardiol, Anderson, Fernández, Ndiaye, Cherki, Doku, and Haaland.

That’s a strong squad. He’s not taking risks.

For profit, against citizens?

couple of days ago my wife and I walked to Manchester City Council and spent just over an hour there. We researched the state of things for this series, not out of choice as much as out of real need.

The first 3 parts were a sort of alta vista and part 4 said this was apparently a global trend (allegedly, because so I am told by people I know).

Today I’d like to focus on one aspect. I try to split those aspects apart to make discussion easier, maybe a formal complaint at a later stage.

When my wife and I went to the Customer Services desk on Thursday she took the lead, but she was then given “false” options that were clearly anything but a real service. That was useless, as we were already at Customer Services, which we had traveled to physically.

They told my wife she had “other” options, such as going to the “Post Office” (another privatised thing, owned by a very rich foreigner) and we explained that this was unsuitable an option as the aim was to change/update details, not make payments. Both my wife and I, separately, said this to them.

It feels like the staff there resorted to a fallback… on some ‘template’ reply.

When a browser option was mentioned both my wife and I told them that several browsers on our (several) computers were not compatible with their Web site, or with that particular portal managed by a third party. What’s worse about it is that I had already told them that two weeks earlier and posted feedback. I spent almost an hour arguing, then writing about it. Clearly nothing was done about it.

They don’t read feedback. They don’t seem to care. Just one single ‘pesky’ customer… probably one in a million! Nobody else uses Firefox in Manchester!

I brought up aspects of accessibility and how much of a problem they would cause not just to old people or ‘technophobes’.

It was like talking to the wall. They don’t want to listen and pretend not to understand (or care).

Customer Services should do better than this.

In the next part I’ll discuss details about the “phone” option they spoke of.

I am utterly ashamed that in Greater Manchester or even Manchester “proper” (with millions of people) everyone must rely on such poor performance at the official Customer Services desk.

I am increasingly convinced we need to publicise this.

In my experience, they mostly squash complaints. They try to keep those private to save face.

Like G4S in Manchester

moment – or even an entire part – is needed to discuss the worldwide or global nature of this trend. I am told by friends in several countries that not only Manchester is impacted. Let’s devote today to this.

The pandemic referred to as COVID-19 appears to have been a major contributor or accelerator of this agenda, namely a rapid deterioration of services, then expecting the public to do (for free) all the work that public servants used to do. This is outsourcing, not automation. In general, in public services (that we all pay for collectively), everything gets worse. Yes, everything, even postal services. And even here, everywhere, any place there used to be something like a “Royal Mail”. We pay more, we get less. Privatisation is a common denominator.

“It looks like a package on the way here will likely not be delivered today,” a friend told me, “and instead spend the weekend in town.”

They don’t even deliver items like they used to. Drive to pick it up… what a waste of fuel! Bad for the climate!

“The goal is to shut down all government services,” the friend told me. “I disagree with the groups and the goals but those are what are aimed at by ignorant society.”

He said “some of that agenda is pushed by tech bros on behalf of the broligarchs who all aim to destroy democracies and, if they can, establish “network states” in their places…”

He noted that “the US won a temporary reprieve, but many (most?) of the elected politicians are beholden economically to either AIPAC or Kremlin or both.”

I am saddened to see how privatisation hurts everybody and everything. It impacts us as well.