I don’t know if it is because I spent all of my professional life more or less tied to a telephone line, but I have come to resist talking on the telephone – to anyone! With technology having grown into what it has become, telephones should be extinct, even the ability to speak live to a person on a cell phone! Now, I get it – there are still among us those who did not grow up and grow into the benefits of technology – and I give those few a free pass, but I also know people well into their 70s who use a cell phone these days. And, obviously, cell phone coverage has changed as well – no longer are their such things as ‘roaming fees’ or paying for long-distance calls.
As someone who almost over-respects a person’s privacy, I prefer texts and emails outgoing. We’re all busy hurrying around doing nothing, and we all have different hours of going to bed and getting up. I can’t tell you when I’ve last actually spoken on the phone to a loved one, but I suspect it’s not since right after my dad passed away, and that was more than 5 years ago!
I also know that I had to learn how to multi-task being on the phone with other things while at work, and my attention was always divided when listening to someone speak. As a result, these days when I do need to speak on the telephone for a professional reason (customer service, making medical appointments, etc.) I end up making notes about what’s being said so that I don’t forget minutes later.
I am back at square #1 – again – with Medicare. I thought things were finally moving forward after my agent and I communicated by telephone the last time in order to fill out the application for me to enroll in a Part B plan through Aetna. Huh! Even though this plan came up as available to me, it turns out that it isn’t – and now I have to go searching through all of the allegedly available plans to me again.
So that will be my plan for this weekend, followed by making a list of questions, followed by phone calls (UGH! – again!) on Monday and then followed by another telephone consult with my agent once I have answers. My agent says he’ll gladly go through the telephone calls with me, but to be honest, it feels like that’s a waste of his time; I also find that I can be a little more direct with my tone of voice when no one is listening in. Right now my agent thinks I’m a nice person – why should I change that opinion??
I’ve got a few typical rants I feel like sharing, but I need to remind myself to focus on this one thing that keeps popping its ugly head up at me and get smashed down and conquered. Honestly, I look at the people I know who have already conquered All Things Medicare and wonder why I’ve never heard a single complaint? I’ve successfully navigated auto insurance for over 40 years, life insurance for 35 years, medical insurance all of my adult life – until now. So why is this causing me so much trouble?
Anybody have any wise words of wisdom on navigating this path to success??? It’s now become a source of anxiety – on different levels depending on what I’m dealing with – but at some level all the time, even just thinking about what the next steps are.
Ramblings and Ruminations 