Economics, Literature and Scepticism

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I am a PhD student in Economics. I am originally from South Africa and plan to return there after my PhD. I completed my M. Comm in Economics and my MA In Creative Writing (Poetry) at the University of Cape Town, where I worked as a lecturer before starting my PhD.

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Thursday, July 31, 2008

Happy Efficiency

Posted by Simon Halliday | Thursday, July 31, 2008 | Category: |

I thought I's just recount two happy first world efficiency tales.

The first: my HP laptop had been playing up. I thought that the hard drive was wonky. At first I interacted with my guy in South Africa from whom I purchased it, thinking that I'd have weird issues with my international warranty from SA. He said I'd have to speak to an HP outlet or something. Then I spoke to the departmental computer guy who told me to phone to 'numero verde' on the HP website. Did that. They sent a courier to pick up my laptop. Told me it would be back with me in 5-7 working days. On the fifth day it was dispatched back from Poland. I got it back on the sixth day. Hard drive working. Problem was with my motherboard. I didn't have to pay a cent.

The second: I had to renew my British passport. Got the photographs, got people to sign papers and sent it off last week (Tuesday) to the British Embassy in Rome. I received my passport today - the seventh working days later! Fantastic.

So, thank you to the British Embassy and to the efficient HP people. I'm planning to send happy emails to them. First world joys. Hopefully I don't miss them too much when I return to SA. I will live in hope...

Currently have 1 comments:

  1. PLEASE could you kidnap a couple of the British High Commission people you interacted with. Send them to the BHC in Pretoria. If that is difficult, post them to SARB... attention me and I'll pass them on. Here... I tried for two months to renounce my other citizenship... ALL I can say is that they are a bunch of incompetent, badly trained, bad mannered, and potentially not too well aquainted with the English language bunch of twerps, and that is me being nice! I have managed to put through the forms at long last (and the bankrupting fee), but only after being told a bunch of lies... although the idiots did not necessarily know that they were lying... HMMMPH... this is still a bit fresh in my mind a week later... I'm truly green reading about your lovely experience!