Monthly Archives: July 2011

Neotel

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I was contacted by Rocco from Neotel at the beginning on June this year.  For those of you who don’t know who Neotel is – they are the second fixed line operator in South Africa offering telecommunication and data services.  Anyway – Rocco wanted to set up an appointment to see us at our offices to discuss taking over our voice & data services from Telkom.

Now this is not the first call we have had from Neotel – we have had 2 previous meetings set up over the the last 18 months and the Neotel representatives did not pitch to either meeting.  I explained to Rocco that I was not prepared to do business with Neotel based on past experience – if they couldn’t be bothered to attend meetings, then I had no faith in their service.  Rocco explained that there had been some changes at Neotel and could I please give them one more chance. I explained that it was pointless meeting with us anyway as Neotel could not get their signal to us.  He insisted they could….

So I went along and filled in the account applications forms.  I did query why I was opening up an account if there was no guarantee that they could get their signal here but apaprently you have to open up an account first and if you are “approved”, they then send out their installation team who test the signal before they install.   I have nothing to lose as they were offereing a better broadband speed than I am currently getting for around the same price. 

They finally sent their installation team this morning to do the install – and guess what – they cannot get a signal here!  So it was all a total waste of my time.  I should have stuck to my guns and not given them the time of day in the first place!

Neotel

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I was contacted by Rocco from Neotel at the beginning on June this year.  For those of you who don’t know who Neotel is – they are the second fixed line operator in South Africa offering telecommunication and data services.  Anyway – Rocco wanted to set up an appointment to see us at our offices to discuss taking over our voice & data services from Telkom.

Now this is not the first call we have had from Neotel – we have had 2 previous meetings set up over the the last 18 months and the Neotel representatives did not pitch to either meeting.  I explained to Rocco that I was not prepared to do business with Neotel based on past experience – if they couldn’t be bothered to attend meetings, then I had no faith in their service.  Rocco explained that there had been some changes at Neotel and could I please give them one more chance. I explained that it was pointless meeting with us anyway as Neotel could not get their signal to us.  He insisted they could….

So I went along and filled in the account applications forms.  I did query why I was opening up an account if there was no guarantee that they could get their signal here but apaprently you have to open up an account first and if you are “approved”, they then send out their installation team who test the signal before they install.   I have nothing to lose as they were offereing a better broadband speed than I am currently getting for around the same price. 

They finally sent their installation team this morning to do the install – and guess what – they cannot get a signal here!  So it was all a total waste of my time.  I should have stuck to my guns and not given them the time of day in the first place!

One of those days

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I had one of this days today. It started with a dental appointment this morning. Had to see the dentist for a check up and to have some x-rays done. Then I saw the dental hygienist for a clean and polish. This was a follow up to my last appointment 2 weeks ago where I had an infection in my gums that required some intervention.

So I got that over and done with and went to our local shopping centre to pick up my husbands chronic meds for the month.  When I got back to my new Prius,I  opened the passenger door and put everything on the seat. Then I went over to the drivers side to get in. However, I could not unlock my door. So there I was clicking my remote – lock / unlock / lock / unlock. Nothing happened, I could not unlock the door.

I then opened up the remote and released the hidden key and tried to manually unlock the door with the key – and no joy – my door would not unlock. So now I am starting to feel like a dumb blond – doesn’t even know how to unlock a car door.

My only option at the end was to get in the passenger side and climb over the centre console into the drivers seat. Well, anyone watching me must have had a really good giggle. I am not the smallest of people, not to mention rheumatoid arthritis in my hips which makes it rather difficult for me to get into certain positions.

So got back home in a foul mood. Finally figured out that something was wrong with the drivers door lock – it was stuck. I could force it open from the inside to get out and left the window open so I could get back in.

Kept myself busy for a few hours this afternoon and then eventually resigned myself to the fact that I would have to drive all the way out to Toyota to have it looked at – I cannot leave my window open forever. So I drove all the way out there, had a cappuccino while they fixed it.

It dawned on me that my new car had something wrong with it today – do you think that if I asked for a new one (in terms of our new consumer protection act), they would have given me a new one – theoretically I would have been entitled to do this – would have made for an interesting argument!

One of those days

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I had one of this days today. It started with a dental appointment this morning. Had to see the dentist for a check up and to have some x-rays done. Then I saw the dental hygienist for a clean and polish. This was a follow up to my last appointment 2 weeks ago where I had an infection in my gums that required some intervention.

So I got that over and done with and went to our local shopping centre to pick up my husbands chronic meds for the month.  When I got back to my new Prius,I  opened the passenger door and put everything on the seat. Then I went over to the drivers side to get in. However, I could not unlock my door. So there I was clicking my remote – lock / unlock / lock / unlock. Nothing happened, I could not unlock the door.

I then opened up the remote and released the hidden key and tried to manually unlock the door with the key – and no joy – my door would not unlock. So now I am starting to feel like a dumb blond – doesn’t even know how to unlock a car door.

My only option at the end was to get in the passenger side and climb over the centre console into the drivers seat. Well, anyone watching me must have had a really good giggle. I am not the smallest of people, not to mention rheumatoid arthritis in my hips which makes it rather difficult for me to get into certain positions.

So got back home in a foul mood. Finally figured out that something was wrong with the drivers door lock – it was stuck. I could force it open from the inside to get out and left the window open so I could get back in.

Kept myself busy for a few hours this afternoon and then eventually resigned myself to the fact that I would have to drive all the way out to Toyota to have it looked at – I cannot leave my window open forever. So I drove all the way out there, had a cappuccino while they fixed it.

It dawned on me that my new car had something wrong with it today – do you think that if I asked for a new one (in terms of our new consumer protection act), they would have given me a new one – theoretically I would have been entitled to do this – would have made for an interesting argument!

Vegging out

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My husband is away for a couple of days so I have some time to myself. It is not often I have the pleasure nowadays. I have been to the cafe, bought junk food for the kids and I am officially vegging out for the day with some chick flicks. Busy watching the Twilight films which will take up most of the day. Sun is shining and it is reasonably warm for a change. Have opened the doors and letting some fresh air in – life is bliss!

Vegging out

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My husband is away for a couple of days so I have some time to myself. It is not often I have the pleasure nowadays. I have been to the cafe, bought junk food for the kids and I am officially vegging out for the day with some chick flicks. Busy watching the Twilight films which will take up most of the day. Sun is shining and it is reasonably warm for a change. Have opened the doors and letting some fresh air in – life is bliss!

The Power of One – Toyota

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My husband has been driving a Range Rover Sport for the last 3 years.  The Range Rover itself is a very nice vehicle.  However we have had endless trouble with it, not to mention the attitude and hassles from the service centre as well.  Now I could ramble on about Land Rover itself for hours but this is probably left for another blog down the line.  The only thing I can say is that there are certain companies and products I will NEVER EVER support ever again and Land Rover is one of them. 

Last year I traded in my Chrysler Voyager which was the perfect vehicle to accommodate 4 kids.  Now that I only have 2 kids at home, the Voyager was far too big   So I purchased a Toyota Prado 4.4 VX – top of the line.  It is absolutely brilliant.  The entertainment and navigation system is fantastic and it is a pleasure to drive.  The only down side is that it is a very hungry beast. 

So we were feeling rather guilty that we have 2 vehicles which are both heavy on petrol and we decided to offset some of the carbon footprint by purchasing a Prius.
I tried to purchase a Prius Exclusive from Toyota in March – around the time that Japan had the earthquake, but Toyota have had no stock.  I have been calling Toyota on a regular basis to ask when they will have stock again and of course no one ever got back to me.  I eventually complained to Toyota’s Customer Centre at Head Office.
I have been very impressed by their reaction and have had various calls to assist me.  I finally made a deal agreeing to trade in the Range Rover for a good price  and purchase the Advanced model of the Prius and they would throw in a full DVD, Navigation, Bluetooth, touch screen system with rear cameras and sensors.  This would all integrate with the steering wheel controls as well.

I took ownership yesterday of my new Prius.  It has not got the entertainment system installed as yet as they are still waiting for the faceplate and I should have this installed within the next 2 weeks.  I was quite impressed with the drive home from the dealership – it is extremely silent and will take some time getting used to the silence when driving, especially when stationary as one could easily forget the vehicle is actually on.  It is certainly not underpowered and can stand up to any 1.8 litre engine. 

I am rather disappointed with the current entertainment system – it is equivalent to something one would find in a much cheaper vehicle and certainly does not do the Prius any justice.  Based on this, I would not agree to purchase a vehicle for this sort of price, however this issue will be resolved in 2 weeks when they install the new Entertainment system.   

It does not come close to my Prado, but it certainly makes one feel good to know that you are doing your bit for the environment and I know my petrol bill will be much less each month.

The Power of One – Toyota

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My husband has been driving a Range Rover Sport for the last 3 years.  The Range Rover itself is a very nice vehicle.  However we have had endless trouble with it, not to mention the attitude and hassles from the service centre as well.  Now I could ramble on about Land Rover itself for hours but this is probably left for another blog down the line.  The only thing I can say is that there are certain companies and products I will NEVER EVER support ever again and Land Rover is one of them. 

Last year I traded in my Chrysler Voyager which was the perfect vehicle to accommodate 4 kids.  Now that I only have 2 kids at home, the Voyager was far too big   So I purchased a Toyota Prado 4.4 VX – top of the line.  It is absolutely brilliant.  The entertainment and navigation system is fantastic and it is a pleasure to drive.  The only down side is that it is a very hungry beast. 

So we were feeling rather guilty that we have 2 vehicles which are both heavy on petrol and we decided to offset some of the carbon footprint by purchasing a Prius.
I tried to purchase a Prius Exclusive from Toyota in March – around the time that Japan had the earthquake, but Toyota have had no stock.  I have been calling Toyota on a regular basis to ask when they will have stock again and of course no one ever got back to me.  I eventually complained to Toyota’s Customer Centre at Head Office.
I have been very impressed by their reaction and have had various calls to assist me.  I finally made a deal agreeing to trade in the Range Rover for a good price  and purchase the Advanced model of the Prius and they would throw in a full DVD, Navigation, Bluetooth, touch screen system with rear cameras and sensors.  This would all integrate with the steering wheel controls as well.

I took ownership yesterday of my new Prius.  It has not got the entertainment system installed as yet as they are still waiting for the faceplate and I should have this installed within the next 2 weeks.  I was quite impressed with the drive home from the dealership – it is extremely silent and will take some time getting used to the silence when driving, especially when stationary as one could easily forget the vehicle is actually on.  It is certainly not underpowered and can stand up to any 1.8 litre engine. 

I am rather disappointed with the current entertainment system – it is equivalent to something one would find in a much cheaper vehicle and certainly does not do the Prius any justice.  Based on this, I would not agree to purchase a vehicle for this sort of price, however this issue will be resolved in 2 weeks when they install the new Entertainment system.   

It does not come close to my Prado, but it certainly makes one feel good to know that you are doing your bit for the environment and I know my petrol bill will be much less each month.

Proud Mom

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I was inspired to start my own blog a few weeks ago when I attended a workshop on social media. Not that I have much to say but I thought I would be adventurous.

Anyway, my 10 year old son approached me about a week ago. He has seen me blogging and he wants to start his own blog. My first thought was to say no. 10 Year olds should not be blogging as they do not understand the impact of voicing their opinions online. I could think of 50 reasons why he should not have his own blog.

However, a little Voice at the back of my mind said why not. I could always change the privacy settings so that only a select few would be able to read it. But I thought I would give him the opportunity first and see what he was blogging about. So him and I sat together and created his blog. We went through a few titles and we agreed that Millennium Child was a good title – he was born in the year 2000. This is the last input I have had with his blog.

He has now written 3 posts (on his own) and I am very impressed and a very proud Mom. His maturity amazes me. 

Please go and have a look at his blog at milleniumchild.blogspot.com

Proud Mom

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I was inspired to start my own blog a few weeks ago when I attended a workshop on social media. Not that I have much to say but I thought I would be adventurous.

Anyway, my 10 year old son approached me about a week ago. He has seen me blogging and he wants to start his own blog. My first thought was to say no. 10 Year olds should not be blogging as they do not understand the impact of voicing their opinions online. I could think of 50 reasons why he should not have his own blog.

However, a little Voice at the back of my mind said why not. I could always change the privacy settings so that only a select few would be able to read it. But I thought I would give him the opportunity first and see what he was blogging about. So him and I sat together and created his blog. We went through a few titles and we agreed that Millennium Child was a good title – he was born in the year 2000. This is the last input I have had with his blog.

He has now written 3 posts (on his own) and I am very impressed and a very proud Mom. His maturity amazes me. 

Please go and have a look at his blog at milleniumchild.blogspot.com