Customer service
Mario pulls up in front of the driveway. He stops the car and leans his forehead against the steering wheel. “I can't go in,” he murmurs.
The smartphone, as
timely as ever, starts talking again: “Would you like to go to the
bar on Morosini street? Traffic conditions: congested. Travel time:
eight minutes. Three of your friends are already there: Alberto,
Gino...”
“No,
please. Disable help, updates, everything.”
“Connection
to customer service underway.” the device responds.
Mario lifts his head
from the steering wheel, reaches for the smartphone nestled in the
car's control panel, turns it off and takes out the battery, just to
make sure. A light feeling of freedom gives him the strength to turn
the ignition back on and park in the driveway in front of the garage.
He gets out of the car
and moves towards the front door. He puts his hand on the doorknob.
Isabella, his wife, has been waiting for hours and she opens the
door, looking for a miracle in his eyes. He shakes his head “no”.
She brings her hands to her face to hide the tears starting to fall.
“I'm
so sorry. I...” Mario starts. He comes towards her, brushes her
arms with his gentle fingers. He draws her to him, puts his hands on
her back and kisses her on the forehead.
Isabella uncovers her face and lifts her eyes: “Now what?”
The display on the door
activates: “It's Friday night. Would you like to make reservations
at Pizza & Joy for eight thirty and a lane at the bowling alley
for nine o'clock?”
Mario's eyes are cruel:
“Isabella, please, let's turn off all this stuff.”
“We
can't, darling, you know that.”
“Yes,
yes we can!” Mario goes down to the basement and unplugs the
electricity meter. As soon as he gets back to the living room,
Isabella's smartphone starts to ring.
“It's
customer service,” she says, worried.
“I'll
take care of it! Give me that.”
“Please,
Mario, let's not make things worse.”
With a firm yet gentle
hand he takes the smartphone from her: “Hello.”
“Hello,
this is operator three-hundred forty-seven from DataCom customer
service. Is this Mrs. Isabella Orsini?”
“No,
I'm her husband.”
“Very
well. We understand that there was an interruption of DataCom service
today in your smartphone as well as your residence. Is there
something we can do to help?”
“Listen,
we're going through something here. We need a little break.”
“The
User Contract expressly forbids enabling pause mode. If we are unable
to provide service, we will be forced to suspend access to video,
music, TV, reservations, travel and credit card services. In
addition, personal photos, files and all data stored on the DataCom
servers will be inaccessible.”
Operator three-hundred
forty-seven is a virtual entity. Mario, however, has no intention to
give up. “Listen, please. Today I lost my job. We just need a break
for a couple days. Please, don't take everything away from us.”
“The DataCom
jobs service is available after termination of work contracts. You
can use it to search for an exciting new employment opportunity.”
Isabella speaks up: “Mario,
please...”
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