it's not nice.
Here's how it went down. A friend asked me to join her for lunch in a public park since she had made some homecooked fried chicken and homemade coleslaw and biscuits. I agreed! What a treat. So, on our lunch hour, we cruised over to a park close to our work and, because all the shelters were full, we decided to eat in her car. The parking lots are not shaded and it was rather warm in the sun so, she parked, as several other cars were, under a tree. There were others in their cars around us, also enjoying food or, for a few a little shut eye. We were enjoying our food, when a police officer in a patrol car stopped and indicated for my friend to roll down her window.
This is where the profiling started. The officer asked what we were doing (as if she couldn't see we were eating fried chicken and biscuits!), my friend answered having lunch. The officer then proceeded to tell us we needed to park in a parking space and we should really be using a shelter. My friend pointed out that all the shelters were full, including one that had homeless people sleeping on the picnic tables. The officer replied that we still needed to move to a parking space. We said sure and thanked her. My friend rolled up her window and pulled into a space close by. It was an irritating interaction to say the least. Even more so, because none of the other cars parked around us with people sitting in them was asked to move.
A minute or two later, after the police officer had left, a car pulled up next to us. Two guys from our work were in it. One guy hopped out and asked us why the police officer asked us to move. They were just a few cars down also parked under a tree and not asked to move. We said we didn't know. At this point the other guy pointed out that we were the only car with no men in it. Either that cop was too afraid to confront men, or there was something going on with women and we were being profiled for it. They had heard the whole exchange as their windows had been cracked and thought they missed something. Another woman, this one with a dog stopped by at this point and said she had witnessed this as well (she was behind our car walking her dog when the officer showed up). She gave us her information, in case we wanted to file a complaint with the police department.
I was ready to drop the whole thing, but I could tell it bothered my friend. As we drove back to work, she decided to ask the husband of one of our co-workers (also a police officer) about it. What she heard from him, was eye-opening. He said there was an investigation going on involving prostitution rings where two women were sitting in a car in the park. However, he said all the issues were occurring in a totally different part of town and the women who were apprehended were not eating lunch or had any evidence of food in their cars. He also said that there were a large number of complaints recently from patrons of the park we were at and another nearby of a female officer harrassing two or more females congregated together while ignoring others doing the same thing (just hanging out talking, or sitting in cars like we were) or other possible safety issues (the homeless people sleeping on the picnic tables, for example). He gave my friend the information to file a complaint. And I think she will. If this woman thought we were prostitutes than all women in business attire must look suspicious to her. And it was strange that she only asked us to move. If we truly were doing something wrong, everyone should have been asked to move. If she was intimidated by the men in other cars, well, she is in the wrong line of work.
I am not anti-cop. I appreciate when they patrol areas like the park for our safety. But I have a real intolerance for incompetence. And there is no doubt in my mind now, people are profiled by both good and bad cops every day.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Indignent Whispers
Today I lost my voice. A minor issue associated with a cold. I have been allowed to rest it and thanks to my blackberry I can blog between putting out non-verbal fires in the work place.
About a month ago, I went to the doctor and had a sinus infection. Because of greatly enflamed tonsils, the doctor ran a strep test on me, just to rule out strep throat. The test was negative and we move on.
I got paperwork in the mail a week ago describing why my claim with insurance was denied. The test was deemed unnecessary because of a coding error in my diagnosis by the insurance department in my doctor's office. So, I called insurance, found out what I needed to do, and called the doctor's office who advised me to just drop off the paperwork and it would be handled. I dropped the paperwork off same day. I was told the claim would be resubmitted in 48 hours.
Today I got a call back. The same woman who put in an incorrect code that resulted in my claim being denied was calling to complain that she didn't understand what she was supposed to be doing. As I tried to calmly explain to her that she needed to refile the claim with the correct code, she continually interrupted me and in her thick drawl said, "Hun, I'm gonna have to ask ya to speak up, umkay?" Did I mention I have lost my voice?
So, in as an indignant a whisper as I could muster, I told her I lost my voice so she would need to listen hard and close and turn off her radio that was blaring in the background (she understood this well enough to do that). I told her that I was promised a week ago that in 48 hours my claim would be refiled with the correct codes and this was written in plain English on the paperwork she was given and I needed this done immediatly, not in another 48 hours but today and that I would be by this afternoon to collect the information plus the confirmation of the fax being sent out. And I hoped her recorded line was picking this up.
She hurridly assured me she would do this immediately and have the paperwork ready. I am not normally like this, I usually treat people so much better than I expect to be treated but this woman's incompetence was bewildering. Here are some general rules I have learned pertaining to calling customers:
1) Never, ever, have a loud radio or television in the background. Your customer's deserve your full attention and you can't attend to them if you can't hear them.
2) If co-workers are chatting noisily close by, ask them to leave. They aren't doing their work and are keeping you from yours.
3) Don't chew gum or eat. That is disgusting and rude. Do it before or after you call not during.
4) Don't interrupt someone when they are speaking. If you need clarification or the customer to repeat something, wait until they are finished before asking.
These are rules we shouldn't just apply in the workplace but with every phone call. I often refuse to answer my phone in a store because I don't want the whole store to hear a private conversation and I know most people don't want to hear me! And it really gets my goat when someone is talking on the phone in the bathroom...have a little respect people please, not just for the person you are talking to, but the others using the facilities.
I hope these indignent whispers do more than just make people laugh. I hope they can learn from them!
About a month ago, I went to the doctor and had a sinus infection. Because of greatly enflamed tonsils, the doctor ran a strep test on me, just to rule out strep throat. The test was negative and we move on.
I got paperwork in the mail a week ago describing why my claim with insurance was denied. The test was deemed unnecessary because of a coding error in my diagnosis by the insurance department in my doctor's office. So, I called insurance, found out what I needed to do, and called the doctor's office who advised me to just drop off the paperwork and it would be handled. I dropped the paperwork off same day. I was told the claim would be resubmitted in 48 hours.
Today I got a call back. The same woman who put in an incorrect code that resulted in my claim being denied was calling to complain that she didn't understand what she was supposed to be doing. As I tried to calmly explain to her that she needed to refile the claim with the correct code, she continually interrupted me and in her thick drawl said, "Hun, I'm gonna have to ask ya to speak up, umkay?" Did I mention I have lost my voice?
So, in as an indignant a whisper as I could muster, I told her I lost my voice so she would need to listen hard and close and turn off her radio that was blaring in the background (she understood this well enough to do that). I told her that I was promised a week ago that in 48 hours my claim would be refiled with the correct codes and this was written in plain English on the paperwork she was given and I needed this done immediatly, not in another 48 hours but today and that I would be by this afternoon to collect the information plus the confirmation of the fax being sent out. And I hoped her recorded line was picking this up.
She hurridly assured me she would do this immediately and have the paperwork ready. I am not normally like this, I usually treat people so much better than I expect to be treated but this woman's incompetence was bewildering. Here are some general rules I have learned pertaining to calling customers:
1) Never, ever, have a loud radio or television in the background. Your customer's deserve your full attention and you can't attend to them if you can't hear them.
2) If co-workers are chatting noisily close by, ask them to leave. They aren't doing their work and are keeping you from yours.
3) Don't chew gum or eat. That is disgusting and rude. Do it before or after you call not during.
4) Don't interrupt someone when they are speaking. If you need clarification or the customer to repeat something, wait until they are finished before asking.
These are rules we shouldn't just apply in the workplace but with every phone call. I often refuse to answer my phone in a store because I don't want the whole store to hear a private conversation and I know most people don't want to hear me! And it really gets my goat when someone is talking on the phone in the bathroom...have a little respect people please, not just for the person you are talking to, but the others using the facilities.
I hope these indignent whispers do more than just make people laugh. I hope they can learn from them!
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
I am, how you say, confused...
There is a blogger who I read from time to time. She is a mother, a Catholic. She is not American. Well, she's American but a Canadian citizen who lives in the US. She has a green card and has lived here several years, but never became a citizen.
How can someone who is so passionate about US politics as to make endorsements and proclaim all manner of opinion on EVERY law Congress pass not become a US citizen? I just don't get it.
I'm all for having your own opinion, but to not be able to vote? What is the point in having an opinion if you can't exercise it? I was mildly disturbed last year to hear that members of her family living in the US had received Canadian pensions (from the Canadian government) that basically amount to welfare/social security. This person prides herself on stretching a buck and avoiding welfare, but yet, her family was receiving it, just not from the US government. So, I guess that makes it ok. After all, she fled the socialist Canadian government to come to the land of free-market capitalism where she laments the lack of "suitable" employment and her lack of health insurance despite multiple maladies.
I'm sorry, I want to be charitible but this confuses me!
On another confusing note, a friend and I were recently trading good vibes about our presidential candidate and political party when she blurted out, "And I want them to build a great big wall between us and Mexico with one opening that you can only get through legally." Now, I agree we need MAJOR immigration reform. MAJOR! And I know that in an already struggling economy illegal immigration is putting strain on a structure that wasn't up to code to begin with. That being said, my objection to what she is saying is the wall ought to be between us and Mexico. If we are going to shut down borders, SHUT THEM ALL DOWN!!! Why is it that all Cubans are given immediate amnesty but Haitians are turned away in disgust? Have you ever been to Haiti, I haven't but a co-worker in the reserves was stationed there last year briefly. It is horrifying, why is it that the Cubans get amnesty when the Haitians have it just as bad, if not worse? I can tell you why, better lobbying on K Street. And let's not forget, all the al-Qaeda terrorists that we didn't let in through our "legal" visa processes ourselves, got in from the Canadian border. So, shut it down too. I don't think building a wall is an answer. I'm more of a build a bridge girl. Figure out how to do it and do it right!
All I want this election year is clarity. Crystal clarity, sha-right!
How can someone who is so passionate about US politics as to make endorsements and proclaim all manner of opinion on EVERY law Congress pass not become a US citizen? I just don't get it.
I'm all for having your own opinion, but to not be able to vote? What is the point in having an opinion if you can't exercise it? I was mildly disturbed last year to hear that members of her family living in the US had received Canadian pensions (from the Canadian government) that basically amount to welfare/social security. This person prides herself on stretching a buck and avoiding welfare, but yet, her family was receiving it, just not from the US government. So, I guess that makes it ok. After all, she fled the socialist Canadian government to come to the land of free-market capitalism where she laments the lack of "suitable" employment and her lack of health insurance despite multiple maladies.
I'm sorry, I want to be charitible but this confuses me!
On another confusing note, a friend and I were recently trading good vibes about our presidential candidate and political party when she blurted out, "And I want them to build a great big wall between us and Mexico with one opening that you can only get through legally." Now, I agree we need MAJOR immigration reform. MAJOR! And I know that in an already struggling economy illegal immigration is putting strain on a structure that wasn't up to code to begin with. That being said, my objection to what she is saying is the wall ought to be between us and Mexico. If we are going to shut down borders, SHUT THEM ALL DOWN!!! Why is it that all Cubans are given immediate amnesty but Haitians are turned away in disgust? Have you ever been to Haiti, I haven't but a co-worker in the reserves was stationed there last year briefly. It is horrifying, why is it that the Cubans get amnesty when the Haitians have it just as bad, if not worse? I can tell you why, better lobbying on K Street. And let's not forget, all the al-Qaeda terrorists that we didn't let in through our "legal" visa processes ourselves, got in from the Canadian border. So, shut it down too. I don't think building a wall is an answer. I'm more of a build a bridge girl. Figure out how to do it and do it right!
All I want this election year is clarity. Crystal clarity, sha-right!
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