Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Circumlocution office

She phoned last Thursday, requested info I had already provided, & asked if I'd be in for the rest of the day - because, she said, she'd be phoning me with more questions.

So I stayed in all day. She never called. That was last Thursday... and she has never called again.

So I checked their web site (useless), & then called their office. My extimated wait time was 50 min - would I like to request a "call-back" when someone was available? Well, OK...

An hour later, I got a call from a non-native-English-speaker: I have to call a different number, and speak with (uncertain name - female, he insisted - but he clearly didn't undertand it himself). And of course, the office at that number closed early...

So I phoned today. And was put on hold for 15 minutes, while the friendly receptionist tried to sort out the answers... After a struggle, I got the right name (it was a man's name, not a woman's - in fact, when I pried it out of her, I recognized him as someone I'd spoken with in person 4 months ago)

Answers?
- The decision will come in "a couple of weeks"
- The mistake in their records can't be addressed until they've made the decision

Circumlocution office.

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