Getting Boosted...

 OK... I've got us on the schedule for Monday to get our COVID boosters. It only took most of the afternoon. And by the time I finally got finished, I was ready to eat nails.

I knew I could get the damn things scheduled on-line at our local CVS, but - stupid me - I had a really, really simple question: Could we both get the shots at the same time, rather than scheduling two separate trips to the store? I know our CVS is only a bit over a mile away, but still....

First, I tried to call on the phone to just ask. Stupid me again.. I should have known better - what was I thinking? NO ONE (i.e. a live, breathing, human being) ever answers a phone anymore. It's always that same, pleasant-sounding but highly annoying automated voice. The one that gives you 3876 different choices on which number to punch on your key-pad.....

"For information on COVID vaccines, press 1"

"For Pharmacy information, press 2"

"For store hours, location, press 3"

"For information on how many people we've annoyed with our stupid phone tree, press 4"

And so on. You get the picture.

OK, so I'll press 1. Click. Ring signal. Click. "Hello, and welcome to our COVID information line. Please listen carefully, as our prompts might have changed..."

"For information on COVID vaccinations and boosters, press 1"

"For information on COVID testing, press 2"

"For COVID testing results, press 3"

"For all other information, press 4, or stay on the line."

Sigh... OK, I guess 1 is my best bet.... Click. Ring signal. Click. Sound that remotely resembles music - probably from another planet...

Approximately 15 minutes of strange alien music. Click.

"Heddoo. Dizis Aluhandabadabootiebogawwotomie. 'Ow cad I hup you?"

WTF???

So let's see if I understand what's just happened here... I call my local CVS store to get a simple question about COVID boosters answered. After spending 20 - 30 minutes navigating  a phone tree that makes the Mines of Moira seem like a kindergarten playground, and getting treated to another 15 minutes of strange alien music, I get connected with some idiot in India that I can barely understand?

What the $&^&$%, people?? Is THIS what "customer care" has degraded to in this country? If this is what the future holds, then please... Send those alien musicians over in their nice, shiny flying saucer to pick me up. I want off this loony planet!

Anyway...

After about 8 separate phone calls, I FINALLY was able to talk to one of the managers of our local CVS to vent my frustrations and see if I could get some answers. She was very patient with me, apologetic about my experience, and as helpful as she could be under the circumstances. 

Turns out that she, too finds the phone system and all the hoops to jump through as annoying and frustrating as I (and probably millions of others) do. 

Seems like all those folks at the top of the food chain really don't give a rat's ass what us peasants (you know, us folks that spend our money at their quaint little empires ..... uh, oops, I mean businesses) or even their own employees have to deal with. No big surprise there, I guess.

Where are the Jedi when you need 'em?

I finally got on their website, did a bit of poking around and found a day where I could schedule our boosters with back-to-back time slots. I guess that's a whole lot faster than trying to do it the old fashioned person-to-person way.

Sad.