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I spent this afternoon sitting with M’s boss, letting him listen to Jaws.
He wanted to prioritize the issues, asking which one is the most important, and should be fixed first.
By the time I left, they were all simpathetic, saying how sorry they are about all this, and how they have forty-five people who know how to use Jaws, and they’re going to get it fixed.
Yesterday it wasn’t that many, and those people had “remedial” knowledge of Jaws.
I was waiting for one of them to start patting me on the head and give me some candy.
I feel so unclean.
There’s no need for either extreme, whether apathetic or simpathetic, just get it fixed.
We’ll see what happens.
I’m not believing anything they say until I see it.

Originally published at Customerservant.com. You can comment here or there.

John came out to the patio while I was out there on my lunch.
He said he’s going to try to get me to do some monitoring this afternoon.
Apparently he also talked to UM and co.
So much for UM having a soul.
John’s just breathing down his neck again.
Go John!

Originally published at Customerservant.com. You can comment here or there.

UM came back here to let me know he heard that the suits came back here yesterday to talk to me.
I gave him the run-down, and he said he didn’t care if M’s boss is keen on the idea of using Jaws or not.
He says we should just make him do it anyway.
That’s heartening.
That means the incompetence most likely doesn’t originate with him.
We’ll see where it goes from here.

Originally published at Customerservant.com. You can comment here or there.

I looked through the classifieds in the local paper this morning, and emailed several ads to my home address.
I plan to look into them when I get home, mainly because I don’t have a copy of my resume with me.
Here’s hoping for the best.

Originally published at Customerservant.com. You can comment here or there.

UM’s boss and M’s boss came to my desk shortly before I clocked out this evening, and said that M’s boss wants to sit and observe what Jaws does when interacting with the db_interface.
I told them that the best way for them to figure that out was to use Jaws themselves, but they shot that one down.
I also told them that Cary would be more than willing to give them information about what’s going on with it, and they said they want to talk to me first, and then maybe we can see about talking to Cary.
I love being treated like some sort of lesser being.
Maybe I should consider it progress, since neither of them stooped down to talk to me.
But then, their tone betrayed it all.
I’m waiting for DSB to get back in touch with me before I drop the L-bomb.
The end result of the latest batch of smoke is that I get to spend tomorrow afternoon letting M’s boss sit there and find out that he can’t see what Jaws is doing, and we’ll be right back at square one.
And here’s the best gem of all.
Apparently their programmers have a remedial knowledge of Jaws and how to use it.
Right.
There is no remedial level.
Either you know how to use it or you don’t, and if you don’t, you can’t make your software accessible.
You have to at least know how it works.
And for M’s boss to sit there and say that their programmers have a remedial knowledge of how to use Jaws tells me they don’t have any knowledge.
I’m hoping I can just evolve to the point where I can live off bullshit, because I’m fed enough of it that, if I could live on it, my grocery bill would be non-existent.
Time to run the maze, yet again.

Originally published at Customerservant.com. You can comment here or there.

It’s almost 17:00, which means the work day’s almost over.
I didn’t get to torment the suits today.
I actually managed to catch a nap today.
God, this is ridiculous.
This isn’t the kind of stuff I’m supposed to be able to do at work.
I have to find more creative ways to spend my time.
I emailed DSB today, but haven’t gotten a response yet.
I wonder if I can civilly sue for pain and suffering.
Bordom definitely falls into that category for me, (and there’s definitely a hint of depression), because I can’t stand being prevented from doing my job.
It’s not that I’m some sort of workaholic, I just have a work ethic, and if I’m going to be in this hell-hole, I might as well be working.
Instead, I’ve gotten caught up in some sort of political bullshit.
I promised myself I wasn’t going to blog about this today, but unless an earthquake happens, it’s literally all that’s going on.
Being able to listen to some music helps a little, but there’s only so much that can do.
I can’t read blogs all day long because (a) they only update so often, and (b), what am I going to do, steal their content?
Something’s got to give.
Bobby says he’ll push the issue.
I don’t think this has anything to do with UM, or what he can do on the local level.
I think he’s being held back by his superiors, and the political scene he’s bound himself to, and maybe he just doesn’t give a damn.
I’m feeling very tired.
I usually end the day feeling like that, and I shouldn’t because I haven’t worked.
It makes for a lousy evening, not to mention it screws my own sleep schedule up, and I’ve just been feeling all around crappy because of this.
But then, when it comes to pressing charges, I will probably get caught up in yet another bureaucratic web.
Maybe I should contact Pat Robertson for some answers.
After all, that crazy seems to believe he has a line to God.
He’d probably tell me to give more to the church or something.
God, I really hate being unproductive.
Every last bit of this sucks.
I’d like to take all the suits who created this mess, or who contribute to it in any way, out and shoot them all.
It’d probably be more entertaining.
Probably the circle-jerkers who sit around creating travisties like the db_interface too.
This really isn’t bringing out my better side.

Originally published at Customerservant.com. You can comment here or there.

Today is Tzom Asar Tevet (the Fast of the 10th of Tevet), a public fast which commemorates the date on which Nebuchadnezzar began the siege of Jerusalem, ending in its destruction and the exile of its inhabitants to Babylon.
The fast gets the ironic distinction of being the “easiest” fast, since it falls near the winter solstace, making it the shortest one on the calendar.
This also means that heat and dehydration aren’t factors when trying to observe the fast.
Everyone have an easy fast.

Originally published at Customerservant.com. You can comment here or there.

I’ve spent the afternoon doing some reading, but not as much as this morning.
I’m really sleepy by this point.
God, this is really bad for me.
I’ve added more links to the respective categories in the links section, so take a look if you’re lacking reading material.
I’m not saying the blogs are boring, but I find myself wishing they’d update more often so there would be more to read.
That’s really bad.
I googled UM to see if I could find any outside-of-work info.
That’s even worse.
This is past the point of insanity, and I’m not entirely sure it’s UM’s fault.
It probably isn’t.
That’s why my efforts regarding pressing discrimination charges have nothing to do with him as a person.
What’s sad about all of this is that he at least portrays himself as believing he’ll actually get something accomplished with the client.
He may actually believe it.
Granted, if he does get something accomplished, I’ll be the first to acknowledge it.
But my guess is that he’s got a ton on his plate, and that this situation isn’t the highest on the list.
I don’t cause any trouble when left to my own devices, so I imagine he probably thinks, (if he has the time to stop to consider it), pretty much along the lines of “Out of sight, out of mind.”
That’s not saying I agree with that view.
And he still hasn’t managed to become acquainted with my twisted sense of humor, but if the Jaws challenge actually happens, he will.

Originally published at Customerservant.com. You can comment here or there.

I went back to UM’s office, and put forth my idea about having the client attempt to get Jaws and the db_interface to cooperate.
He didn’t shoot it down, although he could have been blowing smoke.
We’ll see what happens.
I hope to blog the results.
In the meantime, I’m still going ahead with the research of information for filing charges of discrimination.

Originally published at Customerservant.com. You can comment here or there.

I woke up around 03:30 with a migrane, and it hasn’t gone away.
I don’t have to be to work until 09:00 now, and I’ll work until 18:00 this evening.
I wish I could just stay home and sleep this thing off.
I plan on going in to work this morning and letting the suits know that I’m not accommodating anymore.
I think Cary and I have accommodated enough.
I’m also going to be emailing Division of Services, and looking into filing charges with the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission.
I’ve had enough of this.

Originally published at Customerservant.com. You can comment here or there.

I got off the phone with Cary about an hour ago.
It turns out he has been complaining, and submitting trouble tickets, to no avail.
No one’s listening, as usual.
Furthermore, the client’s coming down here and saying he’s not complaining.
Looks like it’s time to take further action.

Originally published at Customerservant.com. You can comment here or there.

After some mulling, I’ve improved my earlier idea.
Instead of letting the suits play with the screenshots, I’ll let them play with Jaws.
It’s not that hard to learn to use it enough to be able to use IE, and they’re never going to get where I’m coming from until they’re in my position.
What do you think?

Originally published at Customerservant.com. You can comment here or there.

I have a bunch of database interface screenshots, made using Jaws and a text editor.
I think, instead of taking a call, I’m going to have the suits sit down at computers with no mice, and scroll through those with their keyboards to find the information they need.
It will simulate, as best as possible, the way I use the database interface.
It’ll make it easier to explain what doesn’t work, and it’ll give me a little malicious satisfaction.
Sounds like a winner to me.
I’m going to love tormenting the suits.

Originally published at Customerservant.com. You can comment here or there.

I slept through most of Shabbat.
I came home yesterday, showered, and went to bed at about 21:00.
I didn’t eat dinner last night, and I didn’t eat until just a few minutes ago today.
I wasn’t very hungry.
Work was too depressing yesterday.
I thought things were going to change, but after testing all that software Wednesday and Thursday, we’re back at taking calls with the inaccessible software, so we can explain to someone who has, until this point, illustrated that they don’t give a damn about whether or not their software is accessible.
I’m tired of playing games.
Ze’evi’s out of town this weekend.
He won’t be back until Monday, so we won’t get to talk until at least Monday evening.
I’m going to contact Division Of Services for the Blind here in town and see what my options are.
I have no idea how I’ll afford legal fees.
I think that’s the route I need to take at this point though.
The company’s doing everything in it’s power to avoid putting me in another position, and the client’s not interested in making their software accessible.
UM would rather play games with the client than just solve the problem.
I can’t believe I’m having to fight this much and this hard, just to do my job.
It’s ironic.
Most people wouldn’t fight like this over a customer service job.
They’d just leave.

Originally published at Customerservant.com. You can comment here or there.

I’m testing out a new WP plugin, specifically written for 2.0, that should allow entries from customerservant.com to post to my LJ.
Hopefully this works.

Originally published at Customerservant.com. You can comment here or there.

I just had a discussion with UM, and he says he wants me to take an actual call, using the inaccessible database interface, so he can illustrate to the client what exactly is going on.
What the hell?
For the sake of argument, (really, because I can’t tell the guy no), I’m going to have to attempt it.
But, as far as I’m concerned, there are too many uncertainties to start involving someone’s real-life problem in some sort of a guinny pig operation.
He says we can have someone y-connect to spot.
I’m not sure what that’s going to do.
How can you have two people taking a call.
He’s not registering that, if the client has refused to do anything up until now, despite the trouble tickets, despite the repeated and documented explanations of the problem, they’re not going to do anything.
And nobody’s even considered the logistics of handling a call whose first step, after giving the opening greeting, is fraught with problems.
John doesn’t even know, and he’s the one who trained me, and has worked for this company for at least five years.
I wish I could just quit, and leave, and say to hell with all of it.

Originally published at Customerservant.com. You can comment here or there.

It seems as though we’ve tested all software, and the only thing that doesn’t work is the remote desktop client.
I’ll be looking for a Jaws-accessible telnet client at some point, but for everything else, it either works, or there’s a work-around.
UM says they’ll probably have me doing random odds and ends like cue management, entering exceptions into Digital Solutions, and whatnot, until they get the system fixed.
He still thinks they’ll fix the system.
It’ll do me no good to try to convince him otherwise, so I won’t bother.
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Originally published at Customerservant.com. You can comment here or there.