WAPA incompentent nightmare from hell

Tell us how you really feel:-)

welcome to the vi

Sounds like it's time for solar panels and windmills... I hope to make use of them when I have a home there. I realize that's often easier said than done, but I've heard of plenty of people who live off the grid. How great would it be if we all did that and put WAPA out of business? 🙂

LoL! I feel so much better already! Thanks for the welcome, this is my 13th year living here and suffering with WAPA;)

took you long enough to get upset 🙂

Tell us how you really feel:-)

That made me LOL (tu)

But in the mean time, consider that last week/this week has been Easter. Not an exuse, just reality.

Wow, you called locals incompetent & no one came to their rescue or got on your case for doing so!!!!!(tu)

When I called many workers here in many fields of work incompetent or even retarted, some here lashed out at me saying NOT TRUE, NOT TRUE, you are bashing for no fault!!!

Some posters here felt I was delusional (obviously we now know THEY are!).;)
The labels I used ` were based on actual interactions, & were not limited to phone or customer service etiquette , but included such as: laziness, electrical, mechanical, building, keeping to your word regarding service/quality/BILLING & so on.

I highlighted my opinions before, & I stand by them now!

Don't be subservient to those who perform their work substandard, TELL it like it IS!(tu)(tu)

i for one have been to office at sunny ill twice to pay my bill and people where friendly and only took me 5 to 10 min both times and my power bills in vi are a lot cheeper then my bills in wa. state

jerry

dun u r a trip.

noting a particular situation is one thing. ascribing a poor experience to an entire community quite another.

So A Davis, do you agree or not?
What's your position regarding WAPA/Local incompetency?

This "particular situation" as described above didn't take one, but many Incompetents to come to the unfriendly and inefficient conclusion the poster experienced.

To think of a recent experience I had @ Value food.
I picked up 2 items from the 50% off price as marked cart.
When i went to the cashier, she took 3 minutes to calculate 50% of $1.50 & $1 with her very long fingernails,I said $.75 &$.50(she said that's what I'm figuring out)
I took the long 3 minutes in stride, didn't even roll my eyes!

In the past, i would have thought she was screwing with me!
I was not at all surprised she needed a calculator to divide a dollar & a buck & a half by two, in as much as I'm not surprised it takes 45 minutes to get 3 items of fast food with 3 persons ahead of you, or 45 minutes @ the post office or bank w/ 3 persons either.

Nor am I surprised a crowbar instead of a wrench is used to tighten a belt,my Jeep Cherokee is called a sherokee by Tropical shipping office employees, Local workers & contractors ask for 2-3X what they quoted, Workers who are hired@ $12/hr. to spread concrete, you supply boots, gloves & rakes for that remind me of the picture American Gothic, with the old man standing there still with a pitchfork in his hands next to his wife when the concrete truck arrives @ $100/hr.(And want twice as much $ at the end of the day for doing nothing), store managers who scold you for patronizing the establishments that pay them, cashiers who get angry with you when you point out their numerous mistakes, nearly every wall, deck, footing is out of level, out of plumb, or alignment(I'm afraid to complete my utility shed, may be one of the few properly built buildings (& I'm NOT a builder), reversed polarity wiring, switched neutrals, grounded hots,
Cows with stools on their heads, senators who murder their children & are scott free, the same stealing building supplies during a hurricane, the locals who think this is so good & normal, they vote him in again! very rudely being taught manors.
I sometimes feel that Jerry Lewis's special kids did all the work & voting around here (not to impune Jerrys kids, they are special after all!)

But, as a reminder, I take this all in stride as it is the NORM!

I sometimes get a happy grin when the vender/service is provided properly.
I scoot forward, & praise this person for job done as it should be!
I tell everyone i know, everyone whom could benefit about this miraculous person/service!
Unfortunately this is the exception, rater than the rule.

But, this is all we can expect as the bar is definitely lowered here!

Understand, I'm NOT complaining, I know how it's like & am realistic about it!

Remember, i don't sugar coat anything, i tell it as it is!

Makes me chuckle!

Edited to say Why am I not surprised you came to their rescue A Davis!
Though I ask, don't they have enough entitlements??

DUN, I have a serious question -- why do you continue to live in the USVI?? And I'm not being flip or funny. You don't seem to like it here, disparage the local population, police, utilties, etc. The beaches and weather can't be so great that you'd stay here just for them.

Don't get be wrong, i see lots wrong here, but I like the people and generally enjoy being here. You don't seem to. Make me understand why you stay. Thanks.

So A Davis, do you agree or not?
What's your position regarding WAPA/Local incompetency?

This "particular situation" as described above didn't take one, but many Incompetents to come to the unfriendly and inefficient conclusion the poster experienced.

To think of a recent experience I had @ Value food.
I picked up 2 items from the 50% off price as marked cart.
When i went to the cashier, she took 3 minutes to calculate 50% of $1.50 & $1 with her very long fingernails,I said $.75 &$.50(she said that's what I'm figuring out)
I took the long 3 minutes in stride, didn't even roll my eyes!

In the past, i would have thought she was screwing with me!
I was not at all surprised she needed a calculator to divide a dollar & a buck & a half by two, in as much as I'm not surprised it takes 45 minutes to get 3 items of fast food with 3 persons ahead of you, or 45 minutes @ the post office or bank w/ 3 persons either.

Nor am I surprised a crowbar instead of a wrench is used to tighten a belt,my Jeep Cherokee is called a sherokee by Tropical shipping office employees, Local workers & contractors ask for 2-3X what they quoted, Workers who are hired@ $12/hr. to spread concrete, you supply boots, gloves & rakes for that remind me of the picture American Gothic, with the old man standing there still with a pitchfork in his hands next to his wife when the concrete truck arrives @ $100/hr.(And want twice as much $ at the end of the day for doing nothing), store managers who scold you for patronizing the establishments that pay them, cashiers who get angry with you when you point out their numerous mistakes, nearly every wall, deck, footing is out of level, out of plumb, or alignment(I'm afraid to complete my utility shed, may be one of the few properly built buildings (& I'm NOT a builder), reversed polarity wiring, switched neutrals, grounded hots,
Cows with stools on their heads, senators who murder their children & are scott free, the same stealing building supplies during a hurricane, the locals who think this is so good & normal, they vote him in again! very rudely being taught manors.
I sometimes feel that Jerry Lewis's special kids did all the work & voting around here (not to impune Jerrys kids, they are special after all!)

But, as a reminder, I take this all in stride as it is the NORM!

I sometimes get a happy grin when the vender/service is provided properly.
I scoot forward, & praise this person for job done as it should be!
I tell everyone i know, everyone whom could benefit about this miraculous person/service!
Unfortunately this is the exception, rater than the rule.

But, this is all we can expect as the bar is definitely lowered here!

Understand, I'm NOT complaining, I know how it's like & am realistic about it!

Remember, i don't sugar coat anything, i tell it as it is!

Makes me chuckle!

Edited to say Why am I not surprised you came to their rescue A Davis!
Though I ask, don't they have enough entitlements??

why be bitter? i have my opinion regarding this topic and you have yours.

What DUN is saying is correct. It only rubs wrong when one realizes how much better things COULD but probably never WILL be. The bar is, indeed, set low here. The point is to observe, recognize it, but not to be overly irritated by it. I will remain a bemused outsider, never wanting to be part of the problem, help to improve things in my own way as I can, but recognize it is like the myth of Sisyphus. From my point of view, the laziness is appalling, the craftsmanship extremely poor in quality, the work ethic almost absent, the corruption astounding, the violence horrendous. But from an island point of view, I guess it gets by and there's still time for limin' and weed. Not everyone is like this, of course, but the culture is pervasive. It is the island way. One never ceases to be amazed by it, one has a difficult time respecting it, but one moves on and builds one's own home here doing the best one can.
It is possible that when the islanders see us educating our young properly, building better buildings, cleaning the garbage from our beaches and roads, running better businesses, being more productive and reaping the rewards therefrom that they might join us. For now, they seem content to have crappy, dangerous schools, corrupt senators, houses built out of plumb, plumbing put in backwards, shocking electrical wiring, long waits at the bank, the "fast" food restaurant, the checkout line at Plaza or Pueblo, where the check out folks can't even do basic math, and running the risk of being shot while they dine out with their family.

So "they" are, for the most part stupid, corrupt and lazy and need "us" to show them the corrrect way to live? Nice.

I got through the other day after being passed along for awhile and on hold. patience is key. she told me her extension, which i'll pass along to everyone at this board, lol. ext. 4720 for credit card payments. and she told me to "have a really great day" which was nice.

LindaJ~ Not saying one way is better or worse than another. Just different. My culture likes things straight, earnest, hard-working, honest. That is radically different from the main culture here. Is it "better?" Who is to say? "Lazy" folks tend to have less worry lines, fewer heart attacks, and fewer ulcers, I bet. Corrupt politics is just another way of doing business. Graft just moves things along for those who play the game. Stupid? who said stupid? Ignorance is not the same as stupid. Ignorance just means poorly educated. Stupid means low IQ. I may well be the stupid one for desiring something different. The system here seems to work, more or less, for those who live here. Just because I don't respect it doesn't mean that no one does. If you like it this way, don't change it! It hasn't changed in decades, so why should it now?

I am peaceful here. I love the beaches, the fish in the sea. I love the sunsets There are a large number of really great people here who I greatly respect. I have lived in many different cultures and most have their peculiar differences. But don't try to tell me the islanders in general are not content with the way things are. If they were truly discontent, they would change. Since they resist change, they must be happy with the way things are, don't you think?

But don't try to tell me the islanders in general are not content with the way things are. If they were truly discontent, they would change. Since they resist change, they must be happy with the way things are, don't you think?

That's akin to claiming a battered spouse must like being beaten because she stays, or a drug addict must like being dependent on drugs because she doesn't quit. People are not equally capable, and an inability to change does not necessarily mean one is happy with the way things are.

I stand corrected.

But don't try to tell me the islanders in general are not content with the way things are. If they were truly discontent, they would change. Since they resist change, they must be happy with the way things are, don't you think?

That's akin to claiming a battered spouse must like being beaten because she stays, or a drug addict must like being dependent on drugs because she doesn't quit. People are not equally capable, and an inability to change does not necessarily mean one is happy with the way things are.

incapable , inability or unwilling?
There is a difference!

I think many are unwilling, & so they resist change as antiqueone suggests.

We are all entitled to our opinion, but somehow i think one MUST agree the bar IS lowered here(otherwise, you need to put on a pair of blinders).
Certainly i didn't elevate this to making locals complacent to being spouse beaters & drug addicts!<That would be ridiculous!

I'm not saying that each & every person is incompetent or unwilling here, just that more than the norm (IMO)<<got it??my OPINION!
Some of you just don't seem to understand that every negative experience doesn't impact us as negative, just different (or adventuress/unusual/install you own word/experience here)to what we would expect or do ourselves(even if it's normal or totally acceptable for them).

And, that doesn't mean WE HATE THEM, or "don't enjoy being here"!
I like many locals here as well, Linda J & I do enjoy being here(I can live anywhere in the world comfortably should i choose to do so).

I find the incapable &/or the unwilling(however YOUR eyes see it) amusing, too

You just don't get what I'm saying.

Try not taking things so literal, use some common sense, understand the rub as it's been put.

I too respect straight, earnest, hard-working, honest. as antiqueone does, just because MOST don't adhere to this here doesn't mean I HATE IT HERE, or despise them...please!

Perhaps I'm merely disappointed with some(as i am with some here).

Sometimes i feel the posters here even eclipse the locals here who can't build, repair, rationalize or understand what is proper or correct(you have a good fit here for THAT reason).
Some of us are here for other reasons.

I believe my statement of "the bar is definitely lower here" says it all.

Now that I have received a taste of some who just don't get it, regrettably, I must say let the bashing's begin!

I'm not saying that each & every person is incompetent or unwilling here, just that more than the norm (IMO)<<got it??my OPINION!
Some of you just don't seem to understand that every negative experience doesn't impact us as negative, just different (or adventuress/unusual/install you own word/experience here)to what we would expect or do ourselves(even if it's normal or totally acceptable for them).

this is really all you had to say.

I had a different, maybe suprisingly different, experience with WAPA this week.

I had power issue 4/6 around noon (huge power surge fried all surge protectors and created some wacky voltages throughout the house) but wasn't sure if it was WAPA or my house wiring so I waited for my electrician friend to come by. He determined it was an issue with the neutral line coming to the house so I called WAPA about 5:30pm. I was disconnected three times during my request for emergency service but it was my fault not theirs and each time I got through again I reached the same pleasant woman who started right where we left off so I did not need to repeat myself.

Around 9pm WAPA crew #1 called my friend to request more specific directions and said they were close by. I immediately returned home but did not see them . . . neighbors said they were in the area but nothing seemed to be repaired so I left the power off overnight.

Next morning, electrician friend confirmed problem was not fixed so I called WAPA again, got right through and second crew arrived in less than an hour and fixed the problem . . . tree branch through the neutral line.

Around 5:30 the same day, WAPA crew #1 returned to fix what they not able to see in the dark the previous night, I told them crew #2 had done the repair.

So . . . I got through to WAPA on the phone and had 3 visits in less than 24 hours. . , all it cost me was no power for 24 hours, couldn't watch the NCAA final, a fried TV (brand new) and a bad relay and contactor for the fridge (still waiting for the parts to arrive). I guess the TV and fridge should upset me but I feel lucky my house did not burn down and that no one was hurt . .. still I may attempt to file a claim with WAPA (is it worth is???)

Yesterday I went to Motor Vehicles (STX) to get truck re-registered and found them closed without even a sign on the door, apparently they had a water issue and had to close and I guess it is not anyone's job to post a sign. I thought maybe they had moved.

Then I went to the bank (First) to open an account, it took a whopping 1 hr and 45 min to complete and that was with NO wait, I literally sat at this nice woman's desk that long while she painfully keyed my data into the computer . . . I really wanted to suggest I sit at her station and complete the info myself . . . could had been done in 15-20 min tops.

Took 2 hours at Innovative the other day to arrange for re-connection of phone line.

What else do I have to do???? Island time 🙂

WOW!!! Things have NOT changed at all there!! I lived there in 1981 and it is the same!! WAPA...........ugghh

I always find it interesting that anyone that lives here and complains about island life and often real island problems is categorized as being bitter or unhappy living in the VI. I haven't heard anyone complain about anything that isn't true. Its the things we all b*tch about so why can't a local complain about local problems without be labeled as bitter or miserable? It is absurd. You usually hear about these problems everyday, just talking to people, in the coarse of conversation.