Last week I sat down to pay my usual end of the month bills. My power company is Progress Energy.Upon logging into the web site, I click "One-Time Payment". I'm presented with a screen that clearly states my account number and an option to start the payment process. So I grab my account number and copy it to the clipboard because I know I'll need it, and click "Pay My Bill Using EasyPay".I am then presented with a screen to provide my account number and my zip code to verify who I am. I paste in my account number, type in my zip code and click "Validate". And then...

Customer validation failed. Please enter valid customer information.

So what went wrong? The wrong account number, the wrong zip code? The box says to put all 10 digits of my account number in, but to leave off any leading zeros. Where can I go for help? Other than the submit button, there isn't any other links on the page. It just reeks of thoughtlessness for the user, un-professionalism and plain stupidity from whoever developed this system during their "Intro to Computers" class.After several repeated attempts to re-submit by changing the account number and making sure I copy pasted it right, I finally give up. Being 150% positive this problem was no fault of my own, I sent them an e-mail through their "Contact Us" section on the web site.Today, I received a response:

Thank you for contacting Progress Energy Florida.I do apologize for any inconvenience you are experiencing, please make sure you log out completely and re-type www.progress-energy.comIf you have any further questions or concerns, please reply to my e-mail or you may also call Customer Service Monday through Friday from 7:00 am to 9:00 pm, toll-free at 1-800-700-8744.Thank you for using Progress Energy's online services.Ms. XXXXXXXXCustomer Relations

Really? That's it? Log out, re-type the URL, and log back in? Wow, I must be stupid. I don't develop web sites or anything, and I'm definitely not familiar with copy-paste.And what if I wasn't savvy enough to know that I'm not in the wrong? The e-mail offers no real support answer other than to call and talk to some drone who will read predetermined responses from a computer screen - an experience on par with walking through the ever-worthless 'Windows Add New Hardware Wizard'.So what can I do? Pay it by phone, sure. I have nothing better to do than spend 10 minutes doing something that takes me less than 2 minutes. In all seriousness, I'm probably not doing anything that important that I couldn't spend 10 minutes to call the payment in. But it's the point. It's $1.00 more to pay by phone - something they call a "Convenience Fee" - although I don't think anyone knows who this is convenient for. But that doesn't bother me, it's the point.I could write to Progress Energy, but at the end of the day I'm just a price-tag and they just don't care.I could not pay my next bill, but then I wouldn't have power to charge my laptop so I can write such enthralling posts like this.