Writing vs. Speaking

Okay, so I love to write. I can collect my thoughts better when I have to write something down than when I have to speak to someone. I was never the kind of person who could think up things on the fly, so yes, I feel pretty stupid when somebody asks me a question and I don't have much time to come up with a good answer. In fact, my mind draws blank quite often due to extreme nervousness when talking to people. Hope I'm not the only one that happens to. :-)

Anyway, apparently there are times when speaking engagements are needed over the written word. Here's a situation I'm currently involved with where my cleverly written arguments just don't cut it.

I have a subscription to PC Gamer magazine. Last year, my niece was selling subs for her Girl Scout council, so I renewed my PC Gamer subscription. I renewed the magazine for $20, which is their usual price; however, when ordering from a third-party company, apparently the magazine doesn't come with demo discs. So I contacted PC Gamer (via email, of course) and asked them why I stopped receiving the discs with the magazine. They told me the reason and they also told me I could upgrade to receive a disc version if I sent them an additional $11. I love my games and I love being able to try out games, so I sent in my additional money. It took over a month for them to receive and cash my check.

My next issue didn't come with a disc after that, so I emailed them again. They gave me some spiel about the address labels already being pre-printed and that my upgraded sub would start with the March 2007 issue. I got a disc with my March 2007 issue, hooray!

In April, my magazine came without a disc, so I emailed them. They responded with saying my current subscription was made with a third-party and doesn't include a disc. If I wanted to upgrade, I had to send them an additional $8. What????? Didn't I just go through that several months ago?

I emailed them and told them I paid $11 to upgrade my sub. I told them to double check their records. I got a response back again saying my current sub NOW does not include a disc. Argh! I tried emailing them one more time and telling them yes it does. I enclosed my previous correspondence that said my upgraded version would start with the March 2007 issue. If they can't understand this, the written word has failed me and yes, folks, I'll have to pick up the dreaded phone and try to sort this out verbally. *sigh*