Do you ever feel like the Universe is messing with you?
By the time John picked up the boys from football (soccer) practice on Friday night, he could barely get the car home. The electric went out again and the car wouldn't accelerate (not good, but especially not good in a town with a lot of hills). The dealership had closed thirty minutes before, and the mechanics wouldn't be in again until Tuesday morning because of the holiday weekend (Armistice Day). It was a long rainy weekend of waiting, looking out the window at a car we couldn't drive.
On Sunday, two more mice showed up in the kitchen. We've since figured out their traffic pattern -- they come in from a small hole under the dishwasher, and disappear through a similar hole under the refrigerator. It appears as if our kitchen is some sort of mouse super highway. Yet the trap in the corner remains empty. These mice seem to be smarter than their predecessors, and if we hadn't seen them for ourselves, we would have no way of even knowing they'd been there.
Tuesday morning arrived, with more rain, and a tow truck. It was the same driver from last week. One of the blessings on that list I mentioned in the previous post? The emergency tow service John signed us up for last year. (Unlimited FREE Towing = Huge). Anyway, with a really confused look, the tow truck driver said (in French), "This seems familiar." "No kidding," was my answer.
When John arrived home from taking the kids to school, we discovered that our internet was down. It was starting to feel like Belgium was trying to send us a message: "Get the F@#* out."
I eavesdropped for the next several hours as John tried to work it out with various online assistants. I try not to complain about customer service here in Belgium. I don't expect Belgium to be the same as the United States, and I have come to learn that there are cultural differences that translates to different expectations, especially with customer service. And besides, like with everything, sometimes people are helpful while others are not no matter where you are in the world.
But this particular company is notorious for its poor customer service. And with everything else we've been dealing with lately, I was impressed by how patient my husband managed to stay throughout the day. (I heard a few random, loud swear words, here and there, but never when he was on the phone, which, when you read further you will know would have been justified.) We reached a point during the afternoon, where there was nothing to do but laugh and ask each other "Is this really happening?"
Here are a couple of my favorite excerpts from those eavesdropped moments to customer service:
1.) "Ok, I've got a stack of bills here from the last six months with multiple passwords and codes, but not the e-code that you are asking for. Is there any other way I can prove to you that I am authorized to access this account?" (The answer was no.) Side note: After that particular call, I heard ten straight minutes of really loud Led Zeppelin coming from John's office.
2.) After driving to Waterloo in search of a new modem, the store manager announced to the six people waiting with broken modems, that they were out of modems. John called the service line again, to suggest that the service tech bring the necessary modem to the appointment the next day. The agent instead suggested that John drive to a store in Antwerp "to see if they had one." (He did not.)
But by the end of the day, the internet was back up and running (thanks to John's patience and perserverance). And today, the sun is shining. A phone call to the car dealer revealed that they think the know exactly what is wrong with the car, finally, and we should have it back tomorrow. And while I'm not holding my breath, it's a more hopeful answer than we've had in the past ten days.
Belgium, if you are trying to make it easier for me to leave, I appreciate your efforts. But it's too late. I have loved every minute of living here, even when those minutes seem like they are trying to teach me something. Nothing you do now will change that.
But I would appreciate it if you'd stop trying.
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