And we all know, that if that's the way the computer does things, then
there's nothing anyone can do about it.

I was told that one of the benefits of attending HP World and IPROF is
the opportunity to meet people firsthand, rather than having to go thru
regular channels, and hope for the best, which in this case, I hope we
haven't gotten to, yet. I also hope that one of the list members knows
someone with a clearer grasp of reality and a sense of customer service.


/soapbox
Having been exposed to the joys of automotive insurance rating
algorithms, and getting to see both their sophistication and
complexities, I understand that not every employee with a phone on their
desk can explain * why * this number is my rating, and how that number
was arrived at. But there is an explanation, and the only reason not to
let people know how they are rated seems to be for fear that they will
'cheat the system', by getting the most salient values changed in favor
of the one rated. I have had co-workers request that their policy be
rewritten a certain way, and their insurance agents complain when the
rewrite meaningfully lowers their premiums, because they must be doing
something wrong... A more extreme unfairness is in credit rating
systems, as I discovered when investigating mortgages, and was told
where I appeared on any one of three charts, but no one would tell me
why, although it was clearly someone else's doing, and not the
responsibility of the company I had on the phone...

insert std disclaimers