Shouldn't…but Do

I am an unabashed fan of The New York Times.  It started with the Science Times, branched out to Dining, then Business Day.  Those more articulate than me speak glowingly of  the breadth of the publication, I just agree.

For years I conducted forays to local outlets to search out  the newspaper and when home delivery came to my town, I signed on.  Now, even in greatly reduced financial circumstance, I maintain that one last vanity – a home subscription to The New York Times (not the Sunday edition).  It means, and delivers, the world to me.

Online too, it rarely fails to deliver.  But yesterday was one of those days.  I received a message informing me my ten free articles for the month have been viewed — subscribe now…

Digital content is part of the home delivery package so the message is a technicality for me.  It means I am not recognized.  Usually I log in again and the world, and the news, flow on.

Not so this time.  The first tier  of NYTimes customer service could not solve the problem, so I was passed to technical support – both in Florida.    And in another shameless plug, I will point out NYTimes customer service – real people – are available on weekends all day.

The technical representative I spoke with was in Florida by way of Ohio.  She does not care for the hurricanes of Florida, nor the deep snows of parts of Ohio – but seems to prefer the Buckeye State.  We discussed the underground threat of earthquake  in the west verses above ground threat of tornado and hurricane in the Midwest and East.  A question of whether you prefer warning with your natural disaster.  But I digress.

With polite proficiency, the technical representative assessed and addressed my problem.  The software inexplicably showed I had not logged out for years, and recognized me only as who I was.   We are none of us, especially me, who we were and sometimes it takes a glitch to remember that.  Deftly handled, the software now recognizes who I am, and the world once again streams across my computer screen.

I thanked the rep and she thanked me for the conversation.  She said many people are agitated at technical problems.  I told her I thought her skill set should get her wherever she wants to go in life – even back to Ohio.