Problem we can all call our own

Lest you think you?re the only one who deals with the inconveniences of bureaucracies and businesses that might not always be paying attention, take heed.The Item got caught in the web of bureaucratic inertia this week as well.Tuesday night, the announcement came down that Partners HealthCare and North Shore Medical Center had come out with its latest plan to restructure Salem and Union hospitals.In a meticulously nuanced (and that?s being kind) statement, NSMC announced it was all but closing Union Hospital.Anyway, this is merely context so that you?ll see how the little picture of the moment fits into the bigger picture of the entire night.This, of all nights, was the night that our telephone vendor, Mitel Networks, shut us down.Of course, we didn?t know that. All of a sudden, we were all trying to call out … and we all got the same message: This line has been taken out of service.We thought the phone system had gone down. We?re relatively new in this location, and as is sometimes the case when businesses move, there are kinks to be worked out.Were that the only problem.Here is what happened: Mitel had sent a bill to our old address, 38 Exchange St. The amount is immaterial, but for the record, it was for less than $100. $3 less.Because the bill was sent to the old Item address, it was not paid.Mitel?s headquarters is in Canada, and nobody there would know The Daily Item from the Daily Planet.So, Mitel pulled the plug. No warning. No call. And, ultimately, no dial tone.This left us scurrying around. One of our reporters didn?t have any minutes left on her cellphone, so she had to borrow one.Another had to call all his sources to tell them to reach him on his cell.This may sounds awfully 20th century-esque to some, especially those millennials who haven?t used a landline since they called their grandparents 20 years ago.But in this business, we need real telephones, with numbers that are published, so that people who might have a news tip, or any other kind of issue that needs to be addressed, can get in touch with us.As you perhaps saw from Wednesday?s paper, we got the hospital story, so we?re good there.And we?re also not squawking about what happened, because Mitel has a business to run, and it obviously has its policies, and it almost certainly did what it normally does in these situations.And the problem was rectified early the next morning, without any further prompting from us, so the company obviously understood it had made a mistake.However …What if you?re not a newspaper? What if you?re just you – a powerless customer of a big corporation whose levels of bureaucracy are multi-layered and practically inaccessible, as so many seem to be?It?s so easy for these types of miscommunications to happen. And, very often, you have to jump through hoops before anyone will address your concerns and rectify them satisfactorily.And I can speak to this. Twice in my life I?ve been the victim of a bureaucracy whose minions did not pay attention.The first time happened years ago and it involved a doctor?s office that double-billed.That ended up going to a collection agency, and, before I got rid of the situation completely, I had to produce both invoices to prove I?d been double-billed.The last time happened only last year, when National Grid kept threatening to shut off power to a house I own. I?d been paying the bill regularly, but the company wasn?t seeing the money (I pay electronically).It turns out that even though I?d changed account numbers when I purchased the house from my parents? estate, and even though the electronic check clearly contains the new number, payments had been credited to my father?s account – one that no longer existed.And, of course, nobody over there took my word for it. I had to go back and get copies of my transactions and mail them to the company, which then miraculously found the money that had been credited to the wrong account.So we can be thankful that Tuesday?s problem had a happier, and quick