{scraps of jacki's life}

venting about lack of service...

in october last year, i got a new car. it was not new, new, but it was new to me. and i was sooo excited!

then in december, on the way to visit mike's sister for the christmas weekend, almost to the day 2 months after i got the car, someone drove into the back of it. on 24 december i went to the police station to report it, and in the first week of january, when they re-opened for business, i reported it to my insurance brokers.

my broker did not do much to help me. they sent me forms, that they passed on to the insurance company of the guy who drove into me, but they gave me no advice or support or tips on how and what to do. and after this they did almost nothing further, to the point now that they do not even answer my emails anymore. their attitude is that i am claiming from the other party's insurance, and it has nothing to do with them.

bear in mind that i have been their client for years, and other than the odd addition and adjustment, i have asked nothing from them, and they have been getting commission from my premiums every month.

i would love to see some statistics on how many people change their insurance brokers/companies shortly after a claim. i am convinced that lots of people do this, and i certainly will, as soon as i have a chance.

the insurance company of the guy who drove into me have, from the start, treated me as 'the enemy'. their sole purpose has been to shave every possible cent off the settlement amount, to the point that i have to accept a bad panel-beating job, or pay in money myself to get a better job done. they have only communicated with me when i have emailed them first, and then they have been defending themselves by saying 'we are only doing what other insurance companies do'.

without going into details and rants (i would love to go into details and rants, but i will spare you), i had my car 2 months when i was bumped, and i have driven it 3.5 months with the accident damage. it is not yet fixed, as i will not accept their initial offer.

i am not expecting more money than i am entitled to. i have had full comprehensive insurance on all my cars, for years, and i have had no claims. my car was spotless when i bought it. the damage to my car is due to no fault of mine, and all i ask is to be put in the same position i was in before the accident, without it costing me any money. as far as i know, that is the whole idea of having comprehensive insurance?

the point of my post is this: what happened to SERVICE?

i have a small business, and i am feeling the effects of the bad economy, as is everyone. i know that all businesses are feeling the pinch, and i know that the insurance industry must be feeling it too. so, why is my broker not treating me, his existing client, with care? do they not realise that keeping a client is easier and more important than getting a new one? surely giving help, guidance and friendly service is not too much to ask? i am paying for this, i think.

and, the insurance company who is dealing with my claim, why is it necessary to treat me as a nuisance? surely you should treat me as a potential client? because i assure you, that if you were friendly, efficient and fair, i would have transferred all my business to you in a flash! my february, march and april premiums would have already covered the cost of my claim...

i once read somewhere that one should treat everybody who sets his foot in your business and a potential client. even if that person is there to use your toilet, or make change. because when that person walks into your shop or office, he already knows who and where you are, all you need to do is be nice, and he will remember you.

so, dear intersure brokers. thanks for nothing. if i am not deserving of your service, you are not deserving of my money.

and dear ascentsure insurance. i have my feet in your business. if you had treated me with respect and fairness, i would have moved all my business over to you straight away. your relentless attempt to shave off a few hundred rands off my claim, has cost you thousands of rands in years of premiums. i am one of those clients who does not claim for every little setback. i don't bother and fuss constantly. all i ask is efficiency and fairness when i have legitimate reason to expect such.

instead of creating a win-win situation, you have created a lose-lose. and in the long run, you lose the most.

 

about blogging...

 

lately i have been a little conflicted about this little blog.

it started out as a kind of 'newsletter' for my shop, to my clients. then i realised that i needed it to be more personal, a place for me to think 'out loud'. there was something about the writing, and reading, and editing, to make it coherent and readable, that helped me to think through whatever it was i was processing at that time.

it also became a place for me to stop and smell the roses. to photograph something and blog those photos, and tell the story, was a way to celebrate the moments. looking back, i often smile as i remember a thought, a milestone, a memory. by blogging them, i am distilling that essence of my life, marking the special occasions: the big ones, and especially the small ones.

i have missed that. so what is wrong? what happened to my blogging?

 

i have been asking myself this question. i have been feeling a shift in the focus of this blog. i have been getting different readers than i did before. through this blog, and facebook and twitter, i have found other bloggers, who's work i read. and i have found people so talented, so vocal, so powerful, so touching, that i stand in awe. and in reading their blogs, i have felt that voice inside, the one who haunts me constantly, the one who asks: 'who am i to call myself a blogger?'. whenever someone would tell me they had found my blog, i would cringe, and feel like i have been caught in a fraud.

it has become a little intimidating, having a blog amongst so many awesomly talented bloggers. it gives me performance anxiety....

so. lately i have been wondering about this blog. asking myself what it is i want to do.where i want to go.

just to give you an idea: i get more hits daily from google, looking for some of my tutorials, than i get visitors looking for ME. the obvious answer would be then to write more tutorials, but that is not really want i want to blog about. i don't mind writing the odd tutorial, and i love that someone might find something i teach useful. but that is not what i keep coming back to this blog for.

over the weekend i read this post by ramblerclive, where he also muses about his blog. and one paragraph in particular struck a chord:

I started the blog to find my voice. I'm one of those people who comes across as incredibly confident, sometimes a bit larger than life, when deep inside I have no idea if I'm even vaguely on the right track on this thing called life. Blogging has taught me an invaluable lesson - there is no track; there is only reflection on the steps you've made. And that's why I blog. I know I've been heavy in recent posts. I feel like I lost the light-hearted rambler who saw the fun in being vespa-ed around Joburg and the delight at being closer to 40 than 60 and who wanted to capture the journey of a pair of black shoes around the world. I've felt the need to defend who I am. Because I'm a bit different to the norm. Thanks to this blog and the people who have responded here, by mail and in person, I've realised that my journey is my journey. My voice is mine. My heart belongs to who I choose to give it to. And, thanks to a little movie called Julie and Julia, I feel inspired to find the fabulous all over again... 

i urge you to read the rest of his post, and his blog. he is one of those writers i mentioned that makes me wonder what on earth i am doing here...

 
so. i will keep blogging. but only when i have the urge to. i will be posting about scrapbooking, because that is what i do. i will also be posting about my other passions. my kids. my thoughts. in fact, everything i encounter on my journey through life. i will remind myself that i have learned so much through this blogging-journey. my writing has improved, my photography is a lot better, my networking and internet skills are pretty good these days.

and i will worry a little less about what others may think, and pretend it is a private journal that i write in, and lock the little clasp, and hide under my bed.

 
ps. i took those photos yesterday, whilst lying on the grass, playing with the macro setting on my camera. they make me happy!

south africans being positive..

today i have a couple of things to say about south africans being positive, and doing a little bit to make a difference, so i'm doing it in points:

go to the shout website. check out the video and hear the song. it is a collaboration of many top south african artists, who sing the song 'shout', which you can download for R20. all the proceeds go to the fight against crime. it is a darn catchy song. it has been stuck in my head since the first time i have heard it. you can sms 'shout' to 33335, and download it to your phone for R20.

 

on saturday francois and i attended #tweetuponrails. it was a function where people who follow the gautrain on twitter got to see, AND RIDE, the gautrain. we are the first members of the public to do so. it was an awesome event! and i can tell you first hand that the gautrain will be a fantastic service.

  

in terms of a public relations exercise, #tweetuponrails was a south african first. a social media marketing event that was successful far beyond anyone's expectations. it was wonderful to be part of history in the making, for the gautrain and for twitter/social media in south africa.

 

i have discovered the blog of tracy todd. she is a south african woman, who became a quadriplegic after a car accident. she writes openly and truthfully and from the heart. and within moments, your insight into the life of 'differently abled' people changes. forever.

if you are an international reader, and you know someone who is coming to south africa for the world cup, and they are on twitter, tell them to look for the hashtag #worldcuphost. there they will find active south african tweeters who are prepared to act as twourgides virtual guides, with anything they need, at any time.

south africa the good news is a website that collects all sorts of positive info on south africa. a great place to visit when the negatives of living here are getting you down. africa is not for sissies, but it is not all bad, either!

 

and last, but not least:

  

 

traffic problems...

it seems it was a bad day in traffic this morning. huge accidents had whole highway closed in places, or at least several lanes at a time. there was an accident on the N1 so bad, that the new bridge was damaged. it was one of those days where the traffic reports on the radio seemed to go on and on forever. no wonder then, that they did not get around to reporting on the serious traffic problem that i encountered on my way to work this morning..

on my way out of my plot, i encountered a situation that also blocked the entire road. it caused me to be late at work today!

i did manage to take a pic of the scene with my cellphone, as i had to come to a complete standstill, and wait for the situation to be cleared. please be aware that the photo is very graphic, and not for sensitive viewers...

  

i really hope it is better on my way home!

 

one quiet hour of me-time...

they stumble and run out of the house at just before 7am, to go to school and work, and leave me alone for my favourite time of the day.

from just before 7am every morning i have one quiet hour, some me-time. this is the time i make my toast and coffee, and get back into bed, and read, or use my phone to go online to catch up with last night's twitter, and follow links to the news and stories of the day. i just breathe and chill and relax. at just before 8am i have to get into the shower, and get ready to leave, to open my shop on time at 9am.

that one quiet hour of me-time i cherish...

so, after they leave the house in a rush, and the house gets restfully quiet, i stumble to the kitchen in my pj's. i reach for the kettle, to switch it on, and find it is empty. so i take it to the tap to fill. while it is filling, i grab the wet cloth, to wipe down the counter, that is full of breadcrumbs and sugar and water from the breakfast rush. i also wipe down the kettle. while waiting for the water to boil, i gather all the water bottles and coffee cups standing around and put them in the basin. while fumbling for the coffee bottle, i see the sugar container is empty, and i fill it up from the big tub on top of the cupboard.

i stumble over the cat. she complains, and i see their food bowl is empty. i reach up for the food, and fill their bowl. then i rinse the water bowl and fill it with fresh water, and fill the dog's bowl with her food. i accidentally kick the water bowl, so i mop up the spill, and wipe the stains off the floor while i am busy, and refill the bowl with water.

i take out the toaster, and as i pick it up it rains crumbs. so i grab the cloth, and wipe up the crumbs and wipe down the toaster. i take out the bread and see it is almost finished, so go to the freezer to get a new loaf so it can defrost. while i am there, i take out the meat for tonight, and make a mental note that i must use the frozen carrots soon. i put in 2 slices of bread to toast, and while i wait, i wipe down the inside and outside of the bread tin, and lift it to wipe below it and behind it. in the meantime, the toast has burned, so i take the slices to the rubbish bin, to scrape off the black bits. the bin is full, so i take out the bag and knot it, and put it outside. i get a new bag, and put it in the bin. then i decide that the toast is still too burnt, so i put 2 new slices in the toaster, while i go outside to give the burnt toast to the big dog.

on my way back in, i find sean has decided against taking his jersey to school, and has dumped it on the couch in the lounge. i take it to his room, and switch off his lights, the bathroom lights and his radio. i shake my head at the state of his room. in the lounge the remote controls are on the couch, so i put them in their place, and i straighten the carpet, and the throw, and the coffee table, and put the magazine away.

back in the kitchen, i reach for the butter, and see that the tub is practically empty. so i go to the fridge to get a new one, and see that there are no more. so i write it on the grocery list, along with a few other items. back to the toast, i put cheese on one slice, and go to the grocery cupboard to get the syrup for the other slice. the bottle is very sticky, so i get the cloth and wipe down the bottle. before i can put the bottle back in the cupboard, i have to wipe the whole shelf because it is full of syrup too. i water my plants on the windowsill, and break out a few dead leaves.

reaching into another cupboard for a plate, i find the top one was not washed properly, so i put it in the basin, and get a new one, and put the toast on it. i put the cutting board, knives, cheese cutter and teaspoon in the basin, and wipe the counter again. grabbing the kettle, i feel the water has cooled, so i put it on to boil again. while i wait, i see that there is no milk left, so i get a sachet from the freezer, and put it out to thaw.

finally, i take my cup of coffee, and plate of now-cold toast, and with a contented sigh, i get into bed. just as i read the first sentence, i hear something. i get up to find my cleaning lady has arrived, and is in the freshly cleaned kitchen. i realise with a shock that that means it is now just after 8am, and i am already running late, and i have not even had my coffee yet...

...and i wonder for a moment why that one quiet hour of me-time that i cherish, always seems to be so short...

  

ps. i was admonished by linda on facebook, so i edit to add this: when i got to the shop, i spent a few minutes chatting to linda. suddenly, she checked my earrings, and started laughing. i was wearing 2 different earrings! they are not even remotely the same. shows you how crazy things were this morning...