The American Service Industry

For some reason, I always pictured America as a service based industry. A place where diner waitresses would call you strange nicknames while pouring your coffee, and the overly helpful nature of the general population would spill forth into the realms of service.

Alas, I appear to have been dreadfully mistaken.

Now, on three completely different occasions, I have been absolutely astonished by the horrendous levels of service I've encountered. Not just that people were unhelpful, or didn't know the information, but they willfully just didn't give a crap about the customer, and would dick you around for no particular reason.

I've dealt with hospital bills that came from three different departments in said hospital, all of which were for different amounts, even though they were for the same services.

I spent hours going between radioshacks looking for a very common object, a Firewire cable. These things are industry standard, yet most people hadn't even heard of them. Radioshacks are small places, they don't have that much gear. If you can't even be bothered to know what stock you have, that's shocking. Because most of them had Firewire cables, just the wrong sort for me. I was also trying to buy an audiorecorder. When asking about the difference between two models, the only response offered by the sales assistant was "I don't know."

And finally, I've just spent two days wrestling with the RMV trying to get a local form of ID so I don't need my Passport to go out to a pub. Why they insist on seeing my social security card, I have no idea. It's a 21+ card, why do you need my social security number. One lady didn't want to accept my NZ drivers license as a second photo ID because they don't accept ID "in other languages." Oh sweet Buddha. I saw a girl leaving in tears from their waiting room today. I wonder why, but I am in no way shocked.

I never thought I'd meet an organisation to make StudyLink seem like a bastion of helpfulness and intelligence. In the last month I've been to at least three.

The wonders of the petty bureaucrat. They will never cease.