Plusses & Minusses (2)

As I mentioned yesterday, one disadvantage, while traveling, could be troublesome communication, notwithstanding today’s high technology, and larger availability of areas that provide access to online connections. This is especially true in airports, but in the private sector, and lodgings, the situation can be quite a different story.

This is not the case only when traveling abroad, but even within one’s own country. I can attest to that with friends, living in the wealthy and prosperous country side of upstate New York that, unhappily, cannot rely on a good phone system, and even less on a broadband connection for their online computing.

Here in Tirana, last year I entered into a contract for ADSL service with a local company, and, although this was a step up from the intolerable dial-up service used previously, is nothing to rave about. The procedure to establish connection after every shut off is very awkward, and it requires quite often that I fuss around a bit to successfully get online. Additionally, the service staff, especially the non technical one, continues to lack good training in customer handling. When, the other day, I expressed my concerns, also about the seemingly not to speedy connection, to a supervisor (whom I’ve known for years), his reaction left me astounded. Lowering his eyes, he mumbled : “we are used to this way”!!

This exchange was happening while both of us where in the business section of the bank we use, and, coincidentally, its President was passing by and stopped to greet me. BTW, contrary to the above, I always, for years, observed the excellent training of this bank’s personnel, who wears complete uniforms when on duty, and is fluent in more than one language.

Having overhead part of the exchange I was having (although quietly handled), the bank’s President pulled me aside, and literally dragged me into the executive offices of the bank. While informing me that he was concerned since they use the same vendor, he actually wanted me to meet his newest VP for Information Technology. He made me smile when he introduced me to him as: “one of our best auditor: our own client”! Solicited to do so, he gave me the perfect opportunity to also discuss their online service and one of my recent experiences in handling a transaction that was ‘accepted by the bank’, but never went through completion due to an error, but I, as a client, was not automatically informed.

Conclusion: there is always a silver lining behind every dark cloud! Speaking of which, the rain stopped temporarily today and we welcomed some sun in Tirana, but the forecast for the next 10 days is for more rain and cold weather. The Dajti mountains encircling part of the capital display their snow capped peeks amidst the fast moving dark and white clouds. The spring looks like a long way off …but, again, the positive outcome of the current meteorological situation implies a good supply of water and, thus, electricity, that would otherwise be scarce in this ever growing city.