Natural gas, that is. Because of this fact, Nicor (my gas provider) needs to inspect the meter--some requirement from the federal government as part of the "Federal Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act." They are nice enough to send me a letter that states they would like to set "up an appointment at a time convenient for [me]" (emphasis mine).
So I call them up. It takes her forever (ok, probably about 3 minutes) to bring up the appointments "screen"--mental noite, they need a new computer system if it takes that long. The conversation proceeds something like this:
CS: Are mornings or evenings better for you?At this point I'm thinking, well a 4 hour window isn't all that convenient, and noon-5p doesn't really seem like evenings to me...
ME: What are the definitions of morning and evening?
CS: We have appointment windows from 8a-noon, 8a-5p, and noon-5p.
ME: It depends on the day.
The screen finally comes up...
CS: Our first available morning appointment is Thursday, May 31.
ME: How about a weekend?
CS: Oh, we don't do weekends, it's Monday through Friday only.
ME: I guess we have a problem then--I'm not really available during the week.
The conversation pretty much finishes up at this point. They need me to be around so that they can be in compliance, but they aren't willing to do a better job about getting here when it is truly convenient for me? I'm not planning on taking a half day off of work so that they can inspect my meter...
I guess when I get another reminder I'll have to try again to get a weekend appointment.
