This post isn’t about the election results, although that’s an underlying contributor to my angst these days. I wanted to share my frustration–and echo yours, I’m sure–with a virtual conversation I had this afternoon while trying to consolidate my email lists for future marketing.

Of course, getting a human being on the phone is a luxury we rarely experience these days. Next best is the online chat where an actual human responds to you in real time.

Here’s the one I had with the experts at my online newsletter service:

 jane: I’ve got too many names in too many places. Can you please help me consolidate?
(08:55:41 PM) George: Sure, Jane! Here’s a link to an article that shows the capabilities of each permission level. If you scroll down to the bottom of this page, you can see a chart that lays it out for you:
Manage User Levels in Your Account: http://eepurl.com/b2Q70j
(08:57:09 PM) jane: You’re kidding, right? This is above my skill level. Can someone walk me through? It’s moving too quickly for me to comprehend, and I’m a smart person. 😉
(08:58:03 PM) George: Sure, Jane! I know that all of this is pretty complicated, because I had to learn it from scratch once, too. It took me over a month of full-time study to figure it out!

Please note the level of self-esteem and confidence I display. George and I quickly became pals, and I eventually figured out how to do this. Anyone else out there frustrated by the expectations of us mere mortal entrepreneurs with no IT departments? A little sympathy please…