I have got a bit fed up of various "systems" around me in the past week or so. Namely:
- UMSU - which has quite possibly some of the most unhelpful staff of any organisation in the world. I do think that it should perhaps be a requirement that persons applying for a job in a students' union actually like students. I wouldn't mind if I was actually a rude person who demanded lots but I think I'm quite pleasant and I don't seem to get it reciprocated very much which is very frustrating.
- Manchester Medical School - well I have a Project Option now, and thank god it will be something good. Although despite being given the name of a potential supervisor to contact by the Project Option administrator, when I handed my form in there was surprise that I had a "new" tutor - which meant I had to get the project approved. Did no-one think that maybe they shouldn't give out names of supervisors if they haven't checked that they are ok?!
- HSBC - now appear to charge me about 36p a month for having a bank account. This requires a phone call every month to be told it's a mistake and I will be refunded and that it won't happen again. Well guess what HSBC - it does happen again. And again. And the phone call to tell you roughly costs about 36p, so by the time I'm done waiting for some incompetent to process my call (which I know is important to you), we all lose out!
- Manchester City Council and GMPTE - this is about congestion charging. If this gets implemented in Manchester, it will cost me £8 a day to drive to Salford (unless I do what everyone else is likely to do and use the tiny residential streets to escape the charged roads). MCC and GMPTE claim that this will make me want to use public transport. Well guess what, it won't! I used to use public transport which took 3 times as long to get me anywhere. And cost more than it currently does to drive in my little car. I am all for the environment, and I tried taking the bus to Salford every day after I had got my car because I felt it was the right thing to do. But instead of feeling good, I felt punished that it would take me 90 minutes instead of 20 minutes to get home each day. I'm not giving up my car any time soon - and if I'm saying that as quite an environmentalist, then the authorities have a lot of convincing to do. But then we all know that congestion chraging is not for the benefit of the environment, and that in no way is 100% of the residual profit going to go on funding public transport. Or maybe I'm just cynical...
But it hasn't all been doom and gloom, a call to NTL, nicknamed by some as NTHell, was a rather suprisingly pleasant experience. My call was answered as soon as I'd pushed my final option in. I'd rung because the transition to Virgin Media has meant that my bill has changed and they'd got my package wrong. The woman knew exactly what I was talking about, and despite the fact that my old NTL package did not now exist for the same price under Virgin, she changed the bill so it did, and all because she trusted the fact that I told her I'd signed up for a 12 month contract - even though there was no evidence on her screen.
So why have I ranted all this off? I'm about to get philosophical, that's why. The biggest challenge facing humans in the 21st century is not global warming, nuclear warfare, terrorism or racism in the Big Brother house. It's social management. All these problems come from humans primeval instinct to be selfish and look after ourselves. We needed that when we were cavemen, but we aren't going to get anywhere if we can't all start to see that if everyone was willing to give up a little for everyone else, then everyone would be happier. The trouble is, you just need one person who isn't willing to take the bus, or give their staff proper (and thus more expensive) training, and it all collapses.
So let's all make the effort not to be that bad person! In New Zealand, they have a national Random Act of Kindness Day (which is coincidentally my birthday) - that's a start, but we have 364 days to go!
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