I have been dealing with something I find terribly annoying. Contacting someone and not hearing back to resolve the situation. I seem to get into periods in which I have several of these situations at once. I am in one of those periods now.
First, a serious problem is one for a club I am in. We decided to do a craft project and want to get kits for those members interested in the project. Unfortunately the kits for this type of project are not sold in the U.S. We found someone in Australia who makes the kits. I have been in contact with the designer several times by email. I made sure at first that there would be no problem shipping them to the U.S. I checked what method of payment would be accepted. I followed up a month ago with a partial list of the kits we want, pending hearing from a few last members. The designer has been extremely nice. Over a week ago I sent an email with a final listing of which kits we want and asked for an estimate of the shipping and kit costs - (and asked about insurance because it is comes to about $500 - and I mean U.S. dollars). I mentioned that I need an estimate as one of our members is letting us use her Paypal account and I have to deposit an approximate amount towards the charge in her bank account so she can transfer it to Paypal and pay for the kits. I have not heard back from the designer. I sent out a second email today, just in case the first one went astray - while also acknowledging that she might be busy and hoped that all was well with her. Now I wait.
Second, back in June my husband and I had blood work taken at our doctor. The doctor’s office forwarded the blood to the lab. Now, the past 2 years we have had a problem with our medical insurance due to the doctor using the wrong lab. In 2014 we had blood work done and our insurance company denied the claim from the lab the doctor sent the blood to and we received bills for the full amount of the lab work. It was rejected by our insurance as it was not an approved lab. We checked, the lab was on their list. I telephone and the insurance employee agreed with me that it was a covered lab. After several months it was resolved and the lab was paid in full. In 2015 we went to the same doctor and again blood work was done. It was sent to the same lab and again it was rejected. That time we were told that the lab was not on their plan and that it was not on their plan in 2014, but since it was mistakenly on their list then it had been covered and, despite never being told this in 2014, we should have known this and not gone to that lab. I was confused by this as we had not gone to the lab. Apparently because we go to the doctor for the blood work a week before we see the doctor, the insurance company thinks that we are going to the lab itself for the blood draw. Managed to get that fixed also. Both years the blood work was covered in full.
So now that we knew the story, before we went to the doctor this year for our blood work, I called the insurance company first and got the list of approved labs. I then called the doctor’s office and found out which one on the list they deal with. When we went for the blood work I wrote a note that our blood work had to go to this lab. It apparently did. Now we have been billed for a copay, which did not exist last year. I telephoned the insurance company and spoke with a pleasant fellow who actually tried to be helpful. He told me that was our copay. I pointed out that the past 2 years we did not pay anything. He said that we have a different plan this year - well, technically yes, but really no. I cannot find the copay in the plan book. The closest copay I can find is for $20 (each) less than we are being asked for. I pointed this out to him. He insisted we have the copays. Blood work is only covered if it is for preventative reasons. Huh? Well, I explained why we had the tests. They are covered and he was going to call the doctor’s office and tell them to resend with a corrected code. I thanked him. After I hung up I realized that he was probably not going to tell the doctor’s office to do this for my husband’s work, just mine.
I have trouble making telephone calls as we live off schedule from everyone else - we get up around noon and go to sleep at 4 am. I tried calling the doctor’s office the next day to check if they had been contacted and make sure they knew about husband’s lab work also. I found out that the office closes at 4 pm, not 5 pm. It was about a week before I had a chance to call again. It was again late in the day. I was told that I had to speak to “A” who handles the lab billing and she would not be in until the next morning. I was put through to the lab line and left a message explaining the situation and asking to be called. The next day at 1:30 in the afternoon I called the lab line again as I had not heard back and left another message.
Yesterday I tried calling again - left another message on the lab line. This morning I got up early (for us) and tried calling as “A” seems to only be there in the morning and I hoped to catch her in, but no, I got the machine, so I left another message. I also called this afternoon at 4:30 when the office staff had left so I could leave a message in the general “mail box” so someone else would know what is going on. Hopefully that will get me a call back.
Yesterday I wrote a letter to the lab explaining what is going on and asking them to take no further action until the matter is resolved with the doctor and insurance, just to cover us as the bill due date is coming up.
At the same time I received another mailing from the lab asking for a copy of my insurance card as a followup test was done and the info they were given was incorrect. That was also sent, but somehow I know when it is processed I will have the same problem as I am having with the other lab work.
Third, we have several problems with our supermarket. I finally had enough and wrote, online, to the corporate office. I did not contact the store management as the problems are not within the store problems, but, as they say, “above the manager’s pay grade” and based on decisions by corporate. Last Sunday I had a message on our answering machine from someone who identified himself as the manager of the store and he said he would call back on Monday. No one called Monday or Tuesday. Yesterday (Wednesday) I received an email from corporate saying that the manager had tried, but could not reach me and I should call him.
I replied. I explained that I had contacted corporate not the store management as the problems come from them - not the store management. They redid their self-service registers so that they hard to use in terms of accessing them, there are arguments among customers as to if there is one line or two for same and their software in same (I am not using an unacceptable word which comes to mind) is terrible. I pointed out that store management had tried to resolve one of the problems caused by the changes from management by putting up a small handwritten sign explaining there was one line for all 4 registers which no one sees. I have had to go to the service desk on several occasions to get a “rain check” for items in their circular that they do not have - generally the same item, they should know by now to ship more of it to the store if it always runs out right away when there is a sale. Despite numerous people in line waiting for help, the one employee (and the person varies depending on the day) at the service desk takes people who have just walked up to the counter to buy, check or redeem lottery tickets first. I am not talking one or two tickets - I am talking 20 minutes worth of purchasing, checking or redeeming tickets - and then if the lottery ticket person has a purchase - that is rung up for them while the rest of us wait. It is bad enough for someone who has decided to return something, but I am (as I explained) on the line because they did not have in stock what they advertised for sale. Lastly, we get a weekly circular delivered to us for this store which is for a different store in the chain. When I last asked why this was true, someone at corporate mailed the correct circular to me for about a month and that was the total resolution of my question.
At the same time I have emailed several printing companies about orders and they emailed back the next day with the information requested. How come they can do this for a stranger, but the others don’t contact back a customer?
So I am dealing with all 3 situations, while dealing with everything else life needs to have dealt with. I am so aggravated from not being contacted back.
Does not being contacted back bother you also?
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