LowerTheTone.com

I’ve unashamedly been an O2 customer for many years. I say unashamedly, because I have had good experiences as well as bad hence why I’m still their customer. I have at times looked at their competitors as an option and even on my darkest day, O2 managed to rescue me (?) from switching.

But over the past 12 months I have had an increase in bad experiences. From their blatent disregard for non business pay monthly customers who can’t avail of offers like O2 Freedom which Speakeasy customers can, to their inability to offer free roaming to the UK, unless of course you ring and ask them for it. But they don’t give it to everyone seemingly.

I’ve been tempted to rant about O2 for some time but I was never truly pushed that far, until last week. And while my story may sound simple, it is probably the most frustrating experience I have ever had.

Cut to Monday evening, 5th January. I was happily doing my domestic chores at home when my phone was possessed by the Devil himself and lept out of my pocket into a bowl of water. It died a painful and unforgiving death. No amount of radiator or hairdryer tricks were going to save it. I was in a panic the next day as I was due to leave the country on Wednesday and needed a replacement handset. Being the technogeek that I am I needed a new iPhone. I say a new iPhone because the phone that took a water trip was an iPhone, albeit not an iPhone I purchased direct from O2, much to my pleasure I must ad.

In a moment of weakness spawned by a flurry of reply tweets on Twitter I opted for upgrading to a 3G iPhone. I was under time pressure on the Tuesday and I need to act fast with a company that could cater for me efficiently. O2 weren’t that company.

I rang the Carphone Warehouse which was closest to my place of work to see if they had an iPhone in stock and they said they hadn’t. Ok no problem. Plan B. I rang the O2 Helpdesk who gave me some upgrade advice that I wasn’t aware of and told me that the Carphone Warehouse doesn’t at present have any iPhones in stock but O2 Retail definitely do.

Great says me. I hopped in my car and made my journey to Henry Street O2 Store. The queuing system is very poor. O2 appear to have semi borrowed some ideas from Apple and implemented them pretty poorly in my opinion. After queuing with other confused customers for 5 minutes, I was served by a helpful staff member. She proceeded to tell me they had no O2 phones in stock but the Grafton Street store did and Dundrum O2 did too. (She told me this after checking her computer terminal)

I travelled by foot with flask of tea and sandwiches to Grafton Street with a wad of cash in hand and time eating into my lunch break. I arrive to the Grafton Street store to queue bigger than the queues for the shops in Newry at Christmas time. It wasn’t that there was a special offer, they were just busy. There was about 5 staff on although I wasn’t sure what 2 of them were doing and if it was customer related. While queuing for 15 minutes, the instore Speakeasy top up machine went faulty creating a new “special” queue adding to the chaos. My tummy was rumbling and I had to get back to the office.

I was eventually greeted by an employee. He proceeded to tell me that they had no iPhones in stock. In fact he told me (without checking his terminal), that the only places in Ireland I could get an iPhone at the moment were Letterkenny or Kilarney. He couldn’t give me a reason why the sister store on Henry Street told me that he did have iPhones nor why they told me Dundrum did too. But much more to my frustration he couldn’t tell me why they didn’t have a sign on the door saying “Sorry no iPhones in stock” rather than lavishing the store and store window’s with ads for the iPhone. It wouldn’t have been so bad had the queue not been so big. But after queuing in one store to queue in another to be told “sorry none in stock” and being made feel like a plonker for even suggesting buying one, I admit I had to bite my tongue leaving the store.

The story doesn’t end there though. On my sorrow filled walk back to the car park, I passed a large Carphone Warehouse Store on North Earl Street. It had an iPhone ad in the window. With a mischievous grin on my face, I went into the store to ask where their iPhones were.

I was shocked to find there was no queue. I was even more shocked to see a sign on the wall saying iPhones in stock. The employee who sold me my iPhone was equally shocked to hear that O2 were telling people that Carphone Warehouse does not have any iPhone stock at present.

I purchased an iPhone in the colour and GB size that I wanted in a swift and friendly transaction. I was even more furious with O2′s inability to communicate simple information to their customers and potential customers at that point.

But the story doesn’t end there. On checking my phone last night I discovered that O2 neglected to move my phone tariff to the iPhone tariff. Perhaps this time I will wait for them to contact me before I alert them to it. In the interim I shall enjoy carrying minutes forward, as little as they may be!

In a totally unrelated comment, I have always been confused as to why O2 use water bubbles in their marketing imagery.

It’s about time I wrote something about work life. After all, my working career has been good to me so far, although I have been good to my career by working at it. I work in a finance role at the moment managing a small global team for a large multinational. I have been in my limited career, project managed, insourced, outsourced, invented the wheel, fit square pegs in round holes and drank lots of tea. You don’t need to be a coffee drinker to succeed in life – trust me!

Given its all doom and gloom in the papers today, Ireland is hemorrhaging jobs, let me share with you some thoughts and ideas to maintain a healthy career. Some of it may seem obvious, some of it may seem like common sense, but hopefully there is something in it for everyone. Granted this is a very brief article, hopefully it can inspire some ideas.

We all need some level of security in our place of work, be us a cog in the corporate wheel or an up and coming entrepreneur. What sets us out from everyone? Think about the reasons that you shop in Dunnes Stores instead of Tesco, or go to one gym instead of another. After price, whats the reason? For many of us its Value.

Have you set yourself career goals, short, medium or long term? You probably have one of the following answers:

* Nah, what’s the point, sure I’m in X career, there is only so far I can go unless I go back to college or sumthin.
* Haven’t had a chance or given it much thought really.
* Yes

Now if you are reading my blog, you’re already a walking genius so lets assume you’ve your goals written down. Well done, you’ve given yourself a head start on everyone else. There are plenty of books that will quote you stats on how much more successful it will make you. But lets be honest, writing down “Goal 1: I want to be rich and successful” isn’t going to make you rich and successful no matter what Rhonda Byrne (author of The Secret) may tell you!

Its all about the detail.

If you goal is to be rich and successful, where do you begin? I’m fecked if I know! So get specific. Write down goals such as; “Goal 1: I want to own a 03 Mercedes in 2010.” Now we’re getting somewhere. You’ve set yourself a specific goal with a timeframe. Same goes with the workplace. E.G. “Goal 2: I want to project managing the outsourcing of X tasks to Site B by 2010.” Bingo. Same thing. Specific, time frame.

I could go on, but there are plenty of books out there on goals and realising them. Lets look at the roadmap to realising your goal.

Lets say your goal is to be your team supervisor by such and such a date. However there is rarely an opportunity for promotion because the person currently doing it has been there for years yada yada. Sound familiar? Yeah we’ve all been there at some point. I couldn’t be arsed, blah blah blah, hate the place blah blah blah. You get my drift. One day though that person will leave, or new position is created or a new opportunity within your company or externally. Its definitely going to happen. The question is how are you going to be prepared for it?

Let me give you an example from some years ago when I managed a large team of 20 people with 4 supervisors. The supervisors were institutionalised and happy with their positions. No signs of them moving on. One of the core feedback items from their subordinates was there was rarely opportunity for promotion. 2 people in particular came to me asking me for advice on moving up the ladder and expressed interest in progressing the management route. Over a 12 month period, the penny dropped with one of the girls, she started taking on additional responsibilites from her supervisor, getting more involved in task and decision making where she could and started to do more in house training. All off her own back and without (a) brown nosing and (b) working any extra hours. The other girl moaned about it the lack of progress in the company and how “shite” morale was. 12 months passed and one of my supervisors annouced she was unexpectedly pregnant. No prize for guessing which of the team members was first in line to cover her maternity benefit. The same individual is now a team manager in another industry, for another company. Progress with little effort.

So what has this to do with riding out a downturn? Well its an analogy for your effectiveness in the workplace. Take a step back from yourself at work. Are you good at your job? How do you know? Are you grade against your responsibilities or are you graded on what you do above and beyond your responsibilties? What value do you you add to your department and organisation? Just because its not in your job description does not necessarily mean you shouldn’t take heed or just get it done. The buck stops with each of us individually regardless of whether we are customer facing or not.

As a manager I surround myself with good people. (Some will argue its because Im a lazy fecker who wants to skive as much as possible!) If you are part of an effective team, your strengths far outway your weakness and in many cases, null and void them. For the same reason the dragons on the Dragon’s Den dont invest in the new and interesting products but rather the individuals who create them, companies like to keep good people. Are you one of them?

Its a busy pace of life both at home and in the office. I generally use the Outlook calendar and Tasks to manage my daily routines. Whenever I need to set my goals for the week or even the day, I write them all down and then shave 30% of them off the list. That way I know I have a good chance of achieving them. Afterall, the work week never goes as planned. We get distracted from all directions. Bespoke requests from management, dragged out customer request, or just even the computer network being down. It all adds up.

Finally the last thing I will say (if you’re still reading and chances are you’re not!) is try stay positive. Nothing worse than a grumpy employee!

HUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM.
Thats tinnitus described in one line. Although to a tinnitus sufferer, the line is probably alot longer, and much louder.

I’ve had tinnitus since I was 15 and it has had a major impact on my life since then. Family and friends often comment that I don’t speak about it much, so I decided to write about it instead.

What is tinnitus? Well it affects people in many ways. Its believed that as many as 1 in 10 people suffer from it throughout their life. For most sufferers its an incurable condition. So what exactly is it? Well this is what Wikipedia has to say:

Tinnitus (pronounced /tɪˈnaɪtəs/ or /ˈtɪnɪtəs/,[1] from the Latin word for “ringing”[2]) is the perception of sound within the human ear in the absence of corresponding external sound.
Tinnitus can be perceived in one or both ears or in the head. It is usually described as a ringing noise, but in some patients it takes the form of a high pitched whining, buzzing, hissing, humming, or whistling sound, or as ticking, clicking, roaring, “crickets” or “tree frogs” or “locusts”, tunes, songs, or beeping.[3] It has also been described as a “wooshing” sound, as of wind or waves. Tinnitus can be intermittent or it can be continuous. In the latter case, this “phantom” sound can create great distress in the sufferer.

Thats about right. What causes it ranges from long exposures to loud noise or “you just get it” syndrome. For me, I have it in both ears although it is slightly louder in my left ear. I have it 24/7, 365 days a week. Even on bank holidays. And its fucking annoying.

I first noticed it at about 15 years of age one night, when I heard a ringing noise but I wasn’t sure where it was coming from. Its now far louder than what it was then, I suppose I can blame that partly for my love of music and my involvement in bands some years ago!

So what did I do when I got it? I went to my local GP. He was the family doctor and very down to earth. He explained the ins and outs on it, but admitted he doesn’t have that many patients for it and “you’ll just have to learn to live with it”. Yeah thanks doc. It seems what he said is an immortal line that is said to many of us “T” sufferers around the world.

What happened next was I went mad. I went through periods of depression, withdrawal from life and a fear of going to bed. It’s at it’s worst at night when things are quiet. Falling asleep can be awful on a bad night.

The doc referred me to an E.N.T. (Ears, nose and throat specialist) in case it was something more serious. At this stage I had tinnitus for a number of years. I was a a shy late teen with plenty of anxiety. The ENT was pricey and to be honest, useless. His did some hearing tests with my ears (which later confirmed my hearing was perfect) and sent me for an MRI scan. He was able to recreate the sounds I hear, via his sound desk and in an effort to “phase” or mask out the sound temporarily, he played it into my ear at the same pitch that I hear. It reduced my tinnitus slightly for a day or 2.

As expected the MRI confirmed I had a brain and 2 ears. It also confirmed I didn’t have a brian tumour. It was a nice result but not really what I was expected. The ENT wrapped up my visit with a lovely letter telling me I didn’t have that brain tumour. Thanks doc.

So I ended up being in a worse place than I was before. The pricey ENT couldn’t help, and the Dark Years began. I started to drink most nights. Not heavily, not to get drunk, but to help me fall asleep quicker. I was really depressed and at my wit’s end. I often feel asleep in tears with cheap headphones wrapped around my ears or stereos beside my pillow. I didn’t know what to do. The National Deaf Association had a tinnitus support group but as far as I remember, they met only once a month. I didn’t know what to do and I couldn’t bear the thought of a life like this and even considered suicide.

Then one day the internet was invented.

I got into the habit at night of getting up if I couldn’t sleep and browsing the net. I didn’t tell my family or friends how bad it really was at the time. It was pointless. Unlike a broken leg, the tinnitus wouldn’t heal so I didn’t see the point in offloading my problems all the time. Besides, none of them truely understood how awful it was. Most of us when we go to a niteclub or concert, suffer temporary ringing in the ears depending on how loud it was, but it subsides. Its hard for people to imagine having it all the time.

One sleepless night when browsing the internet on a dial up connection, (Broadband was the name of an overweight lady’s clothes shop in those days!), I discovered a Tinnitus support forum online (which unfortunately is no longer around). It was fecking marvelous. People from all over the world just like me. Some worse, some better. In the middle of all the users was a man, who indirectly changed my life.

His name was/is, Dr. Stephen Nagler. He is a US doctor who suffers from tinnitus. He has dedicated much of his life to helping those with Tinnitus. HIs website can be found here.

While I never met the chap and couldn’t tell you what he looks like, I did read his posts, and study up on his TRT – Tinnitus Retraining Therapy.

He inspired me to tackle my condition. I attended acupuncture, took some herbal remedies to better my well being. (Although I avoided the controversial Ginkgo Bilbao herb). On studying TRT, I began to teach myself how to tune out to Tinnitus, to turn the Tinnitus noises, into something similar to the buzzing of a fridge or the air conditioning noise in your office. Over the space of a year, my life started to improve.

I’m now 31 and I can sleep at night. Even though I will probably never sleep in a room without some form of audio distraction (fancy talk for a radio or ipod!), I don’t fear bed. I have a set of rules and routines I live by.

To friends and family, they have probably forget I have tinnitus and that’s a good thing. I don’t feel the need to ever raise it in conversation. When I have a “bad day”, I can deal with it on my own. I don’t get depressed and my self confidence is just like William Shatners. Why Willliam Shatner? Well because he has tinnitus. As does, Neil Young, Leslie Nielson, James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich from Metallica, Bono, Beethoven, Van Gogh, Thom Yorke and Sylvestor Stallone. To name but a few.

Every tinnitus sufferer has their story. Some of us come out the other side, some of us don’t. My story, albeit short summarised here, isn’t one shared by all sufferers unfortunately. Since my coming to terms with my tinnitus, I feel comfortable talking to fellow sufferers (in the past I would avoid them as they depressed me even more!) I hope that I have helped some of them in recent years. Or at least provide an understanding, um, ear!

Anyway that’s my story. Are you still listening?

Its hard not to find McDonalds or Burger King burgers tasty at some point in your life. Be it when dying with a hangover, or post drinking session with your friends or just because you are hungry, we’ve all done it. I went through a period of many years where I didn’t venture near fast food joints after reading Eric Schlosser’s excellent book, Fast Food Nation.

However now I’m older and far more ignorant. So when my head is pounding after a night on the tiles, I will settle, the odd time, for a drive thru from whatever fast food joint is nearby.

The trick with fast food is the flavour. Not the ingredients that are pulled from the ground, but the lab created flavours. Schlosser goes into as much detail as legally allowed in his book to explain it. Despite the complexity of it, one thing is for sure, you can blindfold a person and they will know the difference between a Big Mac and a Whopper. Both companies are very proud of their burgers that for sure.

But a strange thing happened recently. On a hungover trip to McDonalds, they had a new burger on the menu, the Big Tasty. ( I believe its called the Big N’ Tasty in some countries). It was a few quid extra but it looked huge and had bacon on it and I had a hangover..

It was tasty. Not as big as I expected but tasty. However there was something glaringly obvious about it as I removed the huge slices of tomatoes from the bun. It tastes exactly like Burger King’s Whopper.

Some google searches later and it transpires that the burger was introduced to directly compete with Burger King’s Whopper. See here. Now maybe I’m naive and this is common knowledge. But for the few extra euro for the same tasting, slightly smaller looking burger, I never thought I’d say this but….. I should have went to Burger King!

Facebook was in the news a lot this week. Mostly because of breasts. The social networking site has been removing photos of women breast feeding as they are considered to be obscene under their policy since 2007. Perhaps the decision makers on Facebook are all men, but they obviously never heard of the expression, Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. There are lots of angry women on facebook. A facebook group was set up by a lady, Kelli Roman, who noticed photos disappearing back in 2007. The group, “Hey Facebook, Breastfeeding Is Not Obscene!” has almost 130,000 members. A spokesperson for Facebook Barry Schnitt, in an unusual move, commented on the campaign advising that they only remove obscene photos where the full breast is exposed but they dont remove many breastfeeding photos. I say “unusual move” because Facebook are generally non responsive to many non standard user queries

The campaign set up a seperate sight with some of the photos that were branded obscene here. (Yes be warned, these photos contain boobies!)

I don’t have kids nor have I breasts, but I do think that in many cases Facebook is creating a bigger problem than it is trying to prevent. Breastfeeding is natural thing and the vast majority of it have been part of the process at some stage in our lives. By banning photos which is generating publicity is doing nothing but creating bigger stigmas around breastfeeding in public, something which regularly pops up in discussion both on and offline.

See an article in the New York Times here.

But the Facebook antics doesn’t end there. Internet movie uber geek, Harry Knowles, had this Facebook profile closed down without warning recently. Knowles, the founder and owner of the movie site Ain’t It Cool, had thousands of friends on his profile and would befriend anyone who requested it. He regularly updated his profile and photos. However Facebook didn’t like it when Harry received many Birthday greetings and closed his profile down. Although Harry wasn’t given a reason, he speculated that it was because of the high activity on his account. Weird. More on it here.

So all this social networking is giving me a headache. Its now acceptable to send birthday greetings via your social networking site (instead of um, a text message?) but its not acceptable to breastfeed your kids or be popular. Strange morality issues there me thinks!

What do you think?