How do I know where I am

I took the DC Metro today from Dupont Circle all the way out to Shady Grove. It is about a half hour ride and I was not fully prepared for my meeting, so I opened up the laptop to read through some documents. The train was relatively empty, so I had my back against the window and stretched out a bit.

I heard a man's voice talking further up the train. I wasn't really paying attention. He was one of those people who talks but not necessarily to anyone. You know what I mean.

But then I realized he was talking about me. He said, "Look at this guy. How does he know where he is. Why don't you look out the window. You should look out the window. How do you know where you are?" He sounded rather stressed about this situation.

But then he continued, "And look at those shoes. My God, are you serious? How do you know where you are?"

I wasn't sure why he didn't like my shoes, but I would agree with him, sometimes it is better to look out the window. Then you know where you are.

Design without intelligence

I receive National Geographic in print. I am not sure what their online policy is. I took a quick look through the web site and it looks like only small excerpts of articles are available, even for subscribers. I am not sure.

But recently, I was reading this article (the full one in print), and thought what a great argument this is against Intelligent Design. I would think if there was some intelligent force actively involved in the creation of our species, complicated process like child birth would be a bit easier, as well as simple things, like scratching one's own back.

The point is, evolution is not intelligent per se and is not meant to be. It is a trade of and balance of characteristics that make a best fit for the species. But sometimes there are negative consequences. This article discusses how man's evolution to walk upright greatly benefited humankind, although with it we get all sorts of back and foot ailments, as well as risky and difficult birth processes. It's not intelligent, but it works for us. And I would say, if it did have some direct and active intelligent control pushing it forward, we wouldn't have these downsides. (And lastly, it doesn't mean that you can't believe in God and evolution of course).

Here is an excerpt from the article (describing the author looking at a skeletal model of a child size skull passing through the birth canal) and the web link above:

Turn the little oval skull face-forward, and it drops neatly into the pelvic brim, the beginning of the birth canal. But then it jams against the protrusions of the ischial bones (those that bear the burden during a long car ride). More shoving and rotating, and it's quickly apparent that the skull must traverse a passage that seems smaller than itself, cramped not only by the ischial bones but also by the coccyx, the bottom of the tailbone, which pokes into the lower pelvic cavity. Only by maneuvering the skull to face sideways in the middle of the canal and then giving it a firm push, does it move a centimeter or two—before it gets hung up again. Twist it, jostle it: The thing won't budge. Rosenberg guides my hand to turn the skull around to face backward, and then, with a hard shove, the stubborn cranium finally exits the birth canal.

And here is a really funny parody of Intelligent Design from the Onion.

Good customer service: US Airways (at least Mike)

I've posted twice on customer service issues (here and here). Although I do encounter bad customer service like everyone else, I also, on occasion, experience some really exceptional customer service. When this happens, my wife and I both have tried to make a point to follow up to the company to point out the experience and commend the specific person involved. If you are going to take the time to point out bad customer service, we figure you better do the same for good service.

I recently did this with my bank and about a year ago did so to US Airways. I didn't want my two previous posts to be representative of my reaction to customer service. There really is sometimes good customer service out there. Unfortunately, I think good customer service is often representative of the individual and bad customer service often of lame brain company policy.

On that US Airways example, I had somehow switched my laptop with another person while going through security. Don't ask how. It is stupid, but it happened (and hey, someone else was just as dumb as I was). After the experience, I've taped my business card on the outside of my laptop (it was either that or paint it bright orange).

After I was greatly assisted by someone (Mike) in baggage claim, I sent the following letter the the Managing Director of Corporate and Consumer Affairs at US Airways. There are only two bad sides to this story. One, I never got Mike's last name (but I hoped the detail in the letter would help identify him) and two, although while filling out the feedback form on the US Airways web site, I checked an option to get confirmation the letter was received, I never did (but I should note I both mailed this letter and emailed it through the web site). [UPDATE: For some reason, I was searching for something in my gmail account and up popped the response from US Airways in the results (it is a few years old now). I don't know why I do not remember seeing this before, but Katrina Y. Brown of the Executive Staff of the US Airways Office of Consumer Affairs did confirm receipt of my letter]

Anyway, here is the letter and a story of great customer service:

Ms. Deborah Thompson
Managing Director, Corporate and Consumer Affairs
US Airways
P.O. Box 1501
Winston Salem, NC 27102-1501

Ms. Thompson:

I wanted to write to inform you of the excellent service provided by Mike in the New Orleans airport bagging handling area.

While going through security in Philadelphia, I inadvertently switched my laptop with another passenger. I did not notice this until on board the plane.

When I arrived in New Orleans, on Sunday 4/24 sometime around 9:30, I was sent to the baggage handling area for assistance. Mike in the baggage area (I did not get his last name) was very understanding of the problem. This was not my socks that were misplaced, but my laptop with all of my business and personal information. Luckily I was able to retrieve a name from the laptop and Mike was able to track him down and found he was arriving in Las Vegas. Mike then worked his way through to the arriving desk in Vegas so that the attendant there could flag down this other customer with my laptop. This was done an hour after I left the airport (Mike set a timer for himself to call when the plane arrived).

I feel Mike did an outstanding job in connecting me with the other passenger and felt he was prepared to help as much as possible to solve the problem. He probably could have gone through some standard procedure, asked me to fill out some form, and send me on my troubled way. But he went all out to make sure the problem was resolved.

In an era where very good customer service is hard to find, Mike really stands out.

The other customer and I shipped the laptops to each other and all is well.

Thanks,
Ed

So, anyway, the point is there is both good and bad customer service out there. Recognize both. And with that, hopefully those in charge of customer service operations will seek to make ever evolving improvements as well as reward those who do an exceptional job.

Bad (and good) customer service: Verizon

A day before my recent vacation, I experienced intermittent and slow connection speeds with my Verizon DSL. For the 8 months or so before that my service had been fine.

I called Verizon's DSL technical support and one question threw me for a loop: how long was my phone line from my computer to my wall jack. Well, I set up my office in my basement and ran the lines myself. There really is no wall jack (it is just running to my wireless router outside my office). I ran the line right from the main console and it is about 25 feet. So I said "25 feet." Seems Verizon says your line can't be more than 10 feet. But what is the difference if I was on, say a third floor, with a 2 foot line to my wall jack that had 30-40 feet running down to the main console? And why, all of a sudden, would my 25 foot line cause problems? The technical rep didn't want to hear anything else. She wouldn't go beyond this issue and refused to help me until I moved my set up closer to my non-existent wall jack.

I was frustrated but had a vacation in front of me. When I returned, I set up the modem right off the main console and called back. This time, the rep did not ask me this stupid question. But he did do a number of line tests, determined my modem is faulty, and said I will receive a new one in 2-3 days. Problem diagnosed in about 10 minutes and the solution on its way via mail.

Now, why couldn't the first person run the same test?