Evening Kerfluffle
Last night, around 8:20-ish pm, the power flashed off and then on again for a split second, and then the indisputable sound of the electrical transformer making two distinct *BANGs* and then the power went out completely. This got me instantly pissed off because it wasn't raining and blowing or anything, and the damn power just goes off just like that. And I was watching a program about the Best Places for Halloween Scares so I was doubly pissed off.
Not being one to sit around and wait for someone else to call FPL(Florida Power and Light, or as one of my friend calls them, Filch, Plunder and Loot), I grabbed my cell phone and called their Outage Reporting Hotline to make a complaint. For the first time ever, after I dealt with their stupid automated computer voice, I was connected to an equally stupid customer service person. This guy sounded like an illiterate. He was mumbling like he had a mouth full of marbles and trying his damnedest to read the script. I could barely understand a damned thing this guy was asking me. Seriously? If a company is going to hire someone to work a customer service line, shouldn't the person be able to speak English clearly and be able to read? Anyway, I gave the guy the address and explained what the problem was and he told me to go test the breakers on the house. Okay, seriously again? I just told you the transformer made two explosion sounds and the whole block is sitting in the dark. Flipping the breakers isn't going to help me one hoot.
I then went to gather up our hurricane lanterns, put batteries in them, and then strategically place them around the house so we would at least have some light in the house. At least my laptop had it's backup battery charged so I surfed the web for a while waiting for the power to come back on.
Around an hour later, an FPL truck was sighted inching its way down the street, shining their spotlight, trying to find the problem transformer. My weirdo next-door neighbor was sitting in his car in his driveway and he got out and said something to the FPL truck driver. I couldn't hear what was said but the next thing I know, the truck continued to the end of the street and proceeded around to the other side of the block. I thought that perhaps they could access the transformer better from the other side but NO! They didn't get out to work on it at all. They just fucking left!
Now I was more pissed off than ever. I called the hotline again and it said that a crew was out and working to determine what the problem was. THE FUCK THEY ARE!!! They aren't determining shit! They came out, decided they didn't want to work in the dark, and then fucking left! For the next hour or two, I kept going outside periodically to see if anyone was working and then calling back the hotline to check for updates. Their first update was that a branch had damaged FPL equipment and it was affecting 24 customers and that the power should be restored by 11:30pm. I don't know how they determined that since no one actually got out of the truck to investigate anything and no one was on scene actually working. Subsequent calls later, they took off the 'expected time of restoration.' No shit. No one was out doing any restoring.
Around 1:30am, I gave up hope that the power was going to be restored this night so I just decided to go to bed. It was rather stuffy in the house and I like a cold bedroom and a fan on for white noise. It was around 70 degrees according to the thermometer in my room so at least it wasn't terribly hot. I have no idea when I finally fell asleep. To my shock at 5:08am, the power came back on. My TV clicked on with it loudly blaring static since the Satellite hadn't reset itself yet. I was relieved because I have two fridges and a deep freeze full of crap that would have all gone bad if the power had been out any longer.
I went around the house and turned off all the lights that had came back on and then went and cranked the A/C to a cooler temperature and then went back to bed, fan blasting. Then I slept to nearly 1pm.
The moral of the story: FPL sucks ass and doesn't maintain their equipment, therefore, a mouse fart can make the power go out. They also have asshole employees.
Not being one to sit around and wait for someone else to call FPL(Florida Power and Light, or as one of my friend calls them, Filch, Plunder and Loot), I grabbed my cell phone and called their Outage Reporting Hotline to make a complaint. For the first time ever, after I dealt with their stupid automated computer voice, I was connected to an equally stupid customer service person. This guy sounded like an illiterate. He was mumbling like he had a mouth full of marbles and trying his damnedest to read the script. I could barely understand a damned thing this guy was asking me. Seriously? If a company is going to hire someone to work a customer service line, shouldn't the person be able to speak English clearly and be able to read? Anyway, I gave the guy the address and explained what the problem was and he told me to go test the breakers on the house. Okay, seriously again? I just told you the transformer made two explosion sounds and the whole block is sitting in the dark. Flipping the breakers isn't going to help me one hoot.
I then went to gather up our hurricane lanterns, put batteries in them, and then strategically place them around the house so we would at least have some light in the house. At least my laptop had it's backup battery charged so I surfed the web for a while waiting for the power to come back on.
Around an hour later, an FPL truck was sighted inching its way down the street, shining their spotlight, trying to find the problem transformer. My weirdo next-door neighbor was sitting in his car in his driveway and he got out and said something to the FPL truck driver. I couldn't hear what was said but the next thing I know, the truck continued to the end of the street and proceeded around to the other side of the block. I thought that perhaps they could access the transformer better from the other side but NO! They didn't get out to work on it at all. They just fucking left!
Now I was more pissed off than ever. I called the hotline again and it said that a crew was out and working to determine what the problem was. THE FUCK THEY ARE!!! They aren't determining shit! They came out, decided they didn't want to work in the dark, and then fucking left! For the next hour or two, I kept going outside periodically to see if anyone was working and then calling back the hotline to check for updates. Their first update was that a branch had damaged FPL equipment and it was affecting 24 customers and that the power should be restored by 11:30pm. I don't know how they determined that since no one actually got out of the truck to investigate anything and no one was on scene actually working. Subsequent calls later, they took off the 'expected time of restoration.' No shit. No one was out doing any restoring.
Around 1:30am, I gave up hope that the power was going to be restored this night so I just decided to go to bed. It was rather stuffy in the house and I like a cold bedroom and a fan on for white noise. It was around 70 degrees according to the thermometer in my room so at least it wasn't terribly hot. I have no idea when I finally fell asleep. To my shock at 5:08am, the power came back on. My TV clicked on with it loudly blaring static since the Satellite hadn't reset itself yet. I was relieved because I have two fridges and a deep freeze full of crap that would have all gone bad if the power had been out any longer.
I went around the house and turned off all the lights that had came back on and then went and cranked the A/C to a cooler temperature and then went back to bed, fan blasting. Then I slept to nearly 1pm.
The moral of the story: FPL sucks ass and doesn't maintain their equipment, therefore, a mouse fart can make the power go out. They also have asshole employees.
posted by Xul at 4:40 PM
4 Comments:
Good post. Nicely written.
as one of my friend calls them, Filch, Plunder and Loot)
Can't you change to another power company?
I could barely understand a damned thing this guy was asking me.
Ah, the blessings of outsourcing.
cranked the A/C to a cooler temperature
A/Cs are considered a bit of a luxury item around here. The newer houses do have air-conditioning that replaces the air in the house but it doesn't cool it down.
Can't you change to another power company? Nope. They are the only game in town. And what really pisses me off is they have 2 nuclear facilities for South Florida and that is like the cheapest source for power and yet they price gouge and provide shitty service.
Ah, the blessings of outsourcing. This one sounded like one of our local illiterates.
A/Cs are considered a bit of a luxury item around here. Around here, they are a necessity. It would be miserable and unbearable without them. I know, because my parents were cheap bastards and we didn't have A/C in the house until I started working. I'm the one who got fed up and bought one with my own money. Eventually, we had central air installed, years after my parents were divorced.
The newer houses do have air-conditioning that replaces the air in the house but it doesn't cool it down. WTF? You need some Floridians to come hook you up with some efficient A/Cs that work! I have heard that about most of Europe. No A/C. That makes me very sad. ;P 'Cept you guys have cooler nights, so I guess it's not that bad. I'd still need a fan. Humidity is another story. Half the battle of the A/C is dehumidifying.
Oh! The main point that I forgot to mention is how much it sucks when you don't have any electricity! I think I'm addicted to it and technology. If I'm without it I get very irritated like I'm having withdrawal symptoms. It suuuuuuckssss!!!!!
They are the only game in town.
Really? That sounds so... un-American?
I'm the one who got fed up and bought one with my own money. Eventually, we had central air installed, years after my parents were divorced.
Okay, nicely done then. I guess you do have some clout at Xul manor.
I think I'm addicted to it and technology
Isn't everyone these days?
I guess you do have some clout at Xul manor. Not much, though. :( It was *funny* how after I got the A/C in my bedroom, that it was now 'the place to be.' I told my mother if she liked it so much, why don't you get one for your room? Which she did. It's just that room units cost more to run than central air, so eventually we found a deal on central air installation and had it done.
Isn't everyone these days? Have you ever had to deal with a power outage for an extended period of time? Our worst one was after Hurricane Wilma--15 days without power. I was losing my mind over that one. The internet withdrawal was the worst part.
Post a Comment
<< Home