The Venting Thread

[mamselle]

Our financial and accounting software at work has failed to open.  That's a serious problem, because today is the day each week that I do payroll and bill paying. 

I've been online with the company's representatives trying to get the situation resolved.  Still no fix.  I'm currently waiting for a third rep, who is supposed to be a "Second Tier" support expert, to call.

In 16 years I've never failed to get the payroll out on time.

I dealt with this once by doing all the computations in Excel and getting the treasurer to hand-write the checks, then back-filing all the debits once the system was back up (with approval, of course--but the overriding issue was that people needed to be paid, so the oversight person was OK with it).

That may not be possible in your situation, of course, but it, or something like it, might be an option if there aren't more than, say, twenty checks and the tax withholding stuff isn't too complex (I estimated based on the previous week and adjusted a couple by a few pennies the next week, again with permission).

Your bank officer might be able to suggest a work-around as well.

But it's no fun, I agree....!!

M.

[apl68]

The promised third rep--the "Second Tier" help--has yet to get back to us.  I don't know what else to do except to contact the help center again and start all over again.

[Langue_doc]

The promised third rep--the "Second Tier" help--has yet to get back to us.  I don't know what else to do except to contact the help center again and start all over again.

Oh dear! My sympathies. I hope things get resolved and people get paid on time.

[apl68]

The promised third rep--the "Second Tier" help--has yet to get back to us.  I don't know what else to do except to contact the help center again and start all over again.

Oh dear! My sympathies. I hope things get resolved and people get paid on time.

It's already too late for that.  Looks like I'll have to find an alternate way of cutting checks tomorrow, in between efforts to get hold of somebody who's actually in charge at the service vendor.

I've shown a great deal of patience during all this, but it looks like I'm going to have to to into squeaky wheel complaint mode to get anything done. 

[Parasaurolophus]

A year ago, I ordered some books from Palgrave-MacMillan because they were having a big sale. I entered my credit card number, etc., and a few weeks later got the books in the mail.

Today I got a letter from what looks like a collection agency telling me I owe Springer $144.  I thought at first it was fraudulent, but now I'm wondering...


I went back to my credit card statements for the time, and all I can find from Springer is a charge for $28, which makes it all weirder. I do have a copy of the original invoice which, upon closer inspection, seems to indicate that $0.00 was prepaid and I owe them $115. That's weird, because the whole point of providing them with a credit card number is that they then charge it, rather than not.

But it's especially weird because they charged me $28. And I've subsequently ordered other books from Palgrave, and as far as I can tell they charged me then and there, and not through Springer (although I can find no trace of charges on my credit card either, so...). So I'm just really, really confused about what happened here.

[apl68]

Still no service on our software.  After about another hour of piddling around with a third representative in chat this morning, I received a promise that a Tier 2 service rep will call "within the day."  Since I have no idea when that will be, I can't leave to go to lunch or take care of business.  I could well be here until closing time, waiting for a call that may--as happened yesterday--not even come.  On what was supposed to be my short day.  I need these short days, given that I come in six days a week.

I can't even really accomplish much at work, since I'm afraid to get into doing anything that I might have trouble dropping at a moment's notice.

[mamselle]

Still no service on our software.  After about another hour of piddling around with a third representative in chat this morning, I received a promise that a Tier 2 service rep will call "within the day."  Since I have no idea when that will be, I can't leave to go to lunch or take care of business.  I could well be here until closing time, waiting for a call that may--as happened yesterday--not even come.  On what was supposed to be my short day.  I need these short days, given that I come in six days a week.

I can't even really accomplish much at work, since I'm afraid to get into doing anything that I might have trouble dropping at a moment's notice.

Strong sympathy and high respect for your conscientious attitude towards your co-workers.

M.

[apl68]

Our VP of the Board of Trustees, a retired accountant who is our go-to person for financial matters, came in and got the copy of the software that he uses on his machine when developing the budget.  He was able to get into it.  We used my latest data backup, and I was able to cut the payroll and the most urgent other checks.  He also brought me a package of peanut butter and crackers, which I'm now having for lunch.

Won't be a long-term solution, but at least now I can send a staff member to the Mayor's office to get the checks signed so that I can distribute.

[mamselle]

Love the PB and crackers!

Glad it's resolved! Yea!!

I think I told this on on the Old Forum:

I worked AP at a nearby hospital, once, and we used to pay all the ER docs by voucher because their hours were so irregular. That raft of PVs went to my desk, often handed in at odd times--under my door at 2 AM when they rotated off, for example, etc.

Many of them were newly qualified MDs with huge bills to pay. Someone would come by the next day to pick them up as soon as they were run to distribute to their colleagues rather than wait for the interoffice mail we sent other such checks, like reimbursements, in. They needed those checks ASAP.

I woke once at 3 AM out of a dead sleep, sat up in bed, and said clearly and loudly, "I forgot to pay Dr. So-and-so!"

Went in early to the office at 7 AM and made it just in time to get the check into the next run.

Good times.

M.

[apl68]

Unfortunately it's NOT resolved (Although everybody's very glad to have their checks.  Mine isn't doing me any good so far, since I've been unable to deposit it.  One of several things I'd intended to do this afternoon, on what was supposed to be my short day).  We don't know how long the backup software I'm using will remain viable, and it's very awkward to use that workstation.

I've now been in building for almost nine hours straight.  Haven't set foot outside once.  The promised support center call hasn't taken place, and I doubt it'll come through in the next half hour until closing. 

Not sure what I'm going to do tomorrow. 

[mamselle]

Is it something like PeachTree or QuickBooks?

They can be a bear.

M.

[Langue_doc]

Unfortunately it's NOT resolved (Although everybody's very glad to have their checks.  Mine isn't doing me any good so far, since I've been unable to deposit it.  One of several things I'd intended to do this afternoon, on what was supposed to be my short day).  We don't know how long the backup software I'm using will remain viable, and it's very awkward to use that workstation.

I've now been in building for almost nine hours straight.  Haven't set foot outside once.  The promised support center call hasn't taken place, and I doubt it'll come through in the next half hour until closing. 

Not sure what I'm going to do tomorrow.

Time to throw a hissy fit. Higher-ups do sit up and take notice especially if you've shown that you've done everything you can to fix the problem.

[apl68]

Yesterday I got our IT contractor working on the problem to see if it was something we could handle from our end.  Which I had already come to suspect, but would like to have had some insight from the software vendor's support people to give the IT man to go on.  IT says he can fix it.  I'll check back with him on Monday.

Meanwhile, I've gotten an e-mail from the vendor saying that we should have our own IT handle the problem.  The e-mail said that they tried to contact us three times on Thursday, but it kept going to voice mail.

We do not have voice mail.

[Langue_doc]

The vendor either didn't call or called the wrong number. You could report the vendor to a state agency such as the AG's office.

I was reminded of a towing company claiming that they couldn't reach me and therefore had to cancel the appointment scheduled by my insurance company. It turned out that they had written down the wrong phone number. The insurance company rescheduled the tow, only for a second no-show. This time some (expletive) lady from the insurance company told me to leave the key in the car so that it could be towed and kept overnight in the towing company's possession as it was too late in the day for the car to be towed to the shop. I told the rep that there was no way in hεll that I would leave the car unlocked and that there was no guarantee that there wouldn't be additional damage or loss as a result of such a/an (expletive) idea. Finally, after the third no-show, I had to arrange for the car to be towed. This company had such bad reviews that the insurance company shouldn't have used them in the first place. Fortunately they are not being used anymore as I had a very professional tow truck driver tow my car a few months ago for bodywork (fender bender).

[RatGuy]

My class schedule has changed three times in the last three weeks. Factors include classes being cancelled for low enrollment, grad students pulling out of their assigned classes, instructors who desire to change their delivery method (online to hybrid or vice versa), and administrators who change delivery methods of particular classes. This has been a poopstorm for our department scheduler, and I don't fault her. But I've gone from "you're teaching this new class three times a week" to "you're teaching that class once a week" to "I know you just finished setting up your class, but now you're teaching something else. It's a twice-a-week class, but you'll be teaching half the class a time -- make sure to double up your assignments."

And just now I've received an automated message from the Office of Institutional Effectiveness saying that I haven't uploaded my syllabus for a class. Well, I'm not officially the instructor of record for that class yet, so I don't have access to the online syllabus system yet.