Shoddy Work

NSW LOTTERIES PAYMENT ERROR (again)

"A small number of tickets are producing a message "NO PRIZE DUE" when they are checked when they may actually be winners. If the ticket is entered into a draw between Sat 22 Sept Thurs 26 Sept please contact ..."

This was the message agents were given recently. Several questions arise from such a problem in prize payments. One is - what do Lotteries consider a small number? Another is - what about unregistered tickets surrrendered and binned? What can players do about tickets they do not have any more? How much time do NSW Lotteries think agents have to check and undertake such cumbersome tasks? We get 15 cents for each $2 lottery ticket sold less wages, penalty rates, workers compensation, additional insurance, machinery hire, administration, cleaning, light and power, phone charges, security, etc.

Since the people who made the error have a sole job to properly administer the games (and not have to deliver papers, serve customers, sell phonecards, sweep floors, distribute magazines, advise on many products, etc, etc, etc) how badly are they performing their task? What has been done to resolve and eliminate such problems?

In the past month or so there have been a number of monumental errors regarding prize payments. It really is not good enough for our customers. We expect better performance because these errors cause us the grief when we have to face our regular customers. The people causing the problems are shielded from direct contact within the corporation running lotteries.

Maxine and Peter

We're Confused!?!

NURSES' WAGES AND CONDITIONS

We are confused with the recent union advertising about the lack of nurses being a result of the poor wages and conditions brought about by the workplace agreements by the Australian Government and enforced on nurses. According to our understanding the majority of nurses are employed under state agreements controlled by the NSW Government. (But we realise that some nurses in the private sector may have different arrangements with their employers.)

It seem that in the rush to cause panic among voters, someone has lost the plot. Maybe this is a timely warning not to believe what politicians promise or say, especially with an election approaching.

This brings to mind the old joke about politicians:

Q. How can you tell when a politician is not telling the truth?

A. His lips are moving!

Maxine & Peter

Same Old Chestnut

DAYLIGHT SAVING AGAIN

It seems that we are going to be given extended daylight saving time whether we want it or not. The state government has put legislation on the books to introduce this next year. This will allow all the complaints to wear themselves out over time and then introduce it without a murmur.

The simple solution of using state boundaries to divide the country for daylight saving is not practical and seems only to provide benefit to the capital city populations. People west of the ranges and north of the NSW border seem to have a good case against the artificial changes in time.

Now the Australian government want to move in and take over the regulation of the whole issue. What a bore!

Maxine & Peter