Sandy – Here's What I Think…

I may just have used up all my sulking points for 2012 today…I may even have a jump-start on 2013. Here’s the thing: I work hard. I consider myself to be a good mother. I give of myself to these two endeavors. When I’m at home my wants are simple: electricity, water, Internet and cable TV. What? Am I crazy? Aren’t these “amenities” a given? After all, it is the year 2012…

The main road near my house

Hurricane Sandy passed through about 3 weeks ago and we were left without electricity for 8 nights. This in and of itself was uncomfortable enough, but it was the lack of responsiveness and dearth of credible information from the Jamaica Public Service Co. (JPS) that really, really got my goat. So I went to battle. I called them…every day…multiple times per day. I stalked their Twitter feed and their Face book page, making myself known at every opportunity. I wrote to the press. I wrote to one well known reporter. I bitched using every medium I knew. Service was restored on night 9, and on day 11, the Daily Gleaner published my submission on this issue to them. I heard from the CEO and now I am on a first name basis with my Parish manager and I have a direct line to her should I have any issues in the future. I am tired.

Then 2 weeks after the passage of Sandy, our water in storage got dangerously low. So I put on my boxing gloves again, but this time the opponent was the National Water Commission (NWC). I was already on a first name basis with the gentleman who trucks water in my area in times of shortage. And I already had the mobile number for the Operations manager who is responsible for service delivery in my area. When your water supply depends on your being on a first name basis with “Ruddy”, you know you’re in trouble! After hounding them for 2 days straight, we got our tanks filled from a truck and pumping from the NWC source resumed the day after. I am tired.

I live 15 minutes from the outskirts of what we call the corporate area. It’s blissfully cool, green and very quiet. I enjoy decompressing on my veranda.

My Veranda

But there are moments when I feel as if I really live behind God’s back. We are definitely NOT a priority when it comes to utility companies. At least it feels that way. We’ve been living here for 12 years and it feels increasingly difficult to survive here. The (public) road leading down to my house is like a river bed. The feeder that provides electricity to this area is totally unreliable and at the first smell of rain, the first roll of thunder, the first flash of lightening, there goes the electricity. So we decided a few years ago to make ourselves independent of JPS. Over the years, we have increased our capacity, and I have to admit, that our response this time around post storm was decidedly better than in previous years. We were able to keep the ‘fridge running and we could iron and read and watch local TV. But because we are still not where we plan to be, we still had to rationalize our use of power during the period we were without service from JPS and so comfort levels were not at all optimized. As for water, we have capacity to store 1650 gal of water, but this is depleted after 2 weeks with no re-supply.

Me in front of the water tank: Water is Life!

Post Sandy, it took two weeks for the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) to resume garbage collection. Garbage receptacles from the bottom of the hill all the way up were overflowing. I simply waited and hoped for the garbage truck to come. I didn’t have the energy to do battle with that lot.

That’s to give you some context. Let me continue my rant now.

Then last week Friday evening, cable TV suddenly went. Service was restored Monday evening. I called. I called again. And still I called. A whole weekend with only TVJ as entertainment comes as close as I can imagine to what hell must be like. It is the lack of responsiveness and clear, credible info in the absence of product/service that really ticks me off! I was told that the storm damaged their lines. I was told that vandals had cut their lines. Still don’t know what the real story is. I am tired.

Then this Thursday night, we lost Internet service. And land-line service. We reported it to Lime. They could not proffer a reason but diligently recorded the complaint. And while watching news last night, my initial fears were confirmed: vandals had yet again stolen $5M worth of Lime cables from the area. They aim to replace said cables and restore service by the end of next week. This has happened twice in the past to the best of my knowledge, and the last time it happened, service was restored after 6 long weeks… and this only after I pressed a colleague of mine who had a direct line to the then president of C&W (now Lime) to intervene on my behalf. I am tired.

And now today, Saturday… I came home at 1pm after spending the morning at the Learning Center at my church helping out. I collapsed into my bed and started watching re-runs of the Voice when the screen went blank. Nothing. Cable service once again interrupted. It is now almost 9:30pm on Saturday night and I am forced to watch TVJ. Hell all over again. I was able to report the issue to the cable company before they closed for the weekend. Big deal. Dunno if their cables have been stolen too. Dunno when I’ll be able to watch some good TV again. I am tired.

H says that the country is in decline…that what we are experiencing are the results of a society falling apart. I can’t disagree with him. Main thoroughfares have simply broken away: Mt. Ogle in Stony Hill, Dunrobin near Red Hills Road, Junction en route to St. Mary, Cassava Piece off Mannings Hill Road…a clear sign of neglect and decay.

Bloomberg News says that Jamaica is perched on the edge of defaulting on our debt. The few dollars that I have managed to save and invest in government paper are once again at risk. The portfolio took a hit in the JDX scheme implemented a few years aback where we were asked to accept lower interest rates. “Jamaica has been the poster boy for imminent default for years now, but they don’t default,” Segura said in a phone interview. “The country has a weak ability to pay but strong willingness to pay.” So how do I preserve the little that I have accumulated? Equities? Real estate? FX? I am tired. There are those who have worked hard, educated themselves and fine themselves under-employed or un-employed. I’m not going to go into the crime situation, the young and old begging at stop-lights, the steady decline of civility in terms of how we deal with each other in terms of tone and deed. I am tired.

Now I have to strategise if I am to continue to live up here: increase the capacity of the solar set-up, add at least another 1000 gal to the water in storage, investigate options for wireless Internet (and this is not as simple as it sounds as right now I can’t pick up Lime cellular signal at home) and just decide to read more and build a library of DVDs in lieu of watching cable TV. I am tired.

Perhaps when the weariness overtakes me I should simply transport myself in my mind to those perfect times when I am sitting on Negril’s white sand looking at the perfect sunset, perfect cocktail in hand. Perhaps I should focus on the fact that my family is intact and in good health. Perhaps I should focus on the fantastic Sunday dinners that we still have, and the love and laughter and music and banter that we still share.

Paradise?

When JPSCo put full page advertisements in the press only a few weeks ago, I was puzzled as to the reason why. Afterall, JPS is a monopoly so it’s not as if they are grappling for market share. There were pictures of newly appointed parish representatives, but again, I was struck that there were no names and no contact information given. Fast forward to the recent devastation wreaked by Hurricane Sandy. Staring the sixth consecutive night of darkness in the face, I tried in vain to get contact information for my parish representative. I called the 1 888 Customer Care number and was told that they could not provide the information. To my distress, they could not give me any updates on my immediate predicament either. They made a great show of recording my name and number and recording the fact that I had no service.

I fully understand that we just came through a natural disaster that no one had any control over. What disturbs me is the lack of credible information concerning when paying customers can expect resumption of service. JPS has ramped up its’ on-line presence, sending out frequent tweets and updating its’ Facebook page regularly. But the opportunities for actual dialogue are extremely limited.

It is not enough for Customers to lodge their complaints into the void that is called Customer Care. How do we know that our issues are understood? Who can we speak with in order to get clarity and understanding? We don’t even hear Winsome Callum or Ruthlyn Johnson giving updates anymore. Mrs. Tomblin herself is becoming the face of the company. Even so, I don’t really care. All I want is the ability to speak with someone about my issues and to have reliable service. It seems to me that JPS is confusing Public Relations with Customer Service. What else would you call faces without the ability to contact? What else would you call a 1 888 number that takes your details and never calls you back?

I’d like to remind them that the best customer service is reliable and efficient delivery of the product/service. PR stunts only serve to anger and frustrate.