My neighbor, Ms. R. came over Saturday morning to use our phone to call Verizon. Their telephone was not working, so we found a number and she spoke to a representative who, despite admitting that the problem was with their equipment, said that the earliest someone would be out to fix the problem would be Tuesday at 6 p.m. Fair? They don't have to be fair, as Lily Tomlin's character on Laugh-In always said. They're the phone company!
Last December, the Northeast sustained quite an ice storm. Power was out for several days, as was the telephone. When everything was turned back on, I called the phone company to say that I didn't want to be charged the daily base rate for the time we had no service. I don't remember the exact conversation, but I'll reproduce it as best I can for you, just for chuckles.
Verizon: I'm sorry ma'am, but you need to call us as soon as your service is out so that we know you're not lying.
Me: I couldn't call, the phone was out.
Verizon: Ma'am, do you have a cellphone?
Me: No, but even if I did, there's no service here. I would have to drive somewhere IN AN ICE STORM to be able to use it.
Verizon: Could you have used a neighbor's phone?
Me: Duh. They were out, too. You know this. Verizon had crews up here working on the problem. It was in the newspaper. Don't say you didn't know!
Verizon: All right, ma'am, I'll do it for you this time as a courtesy (!). But next time, you need to call.
Me (under my breath): Stupid cow.
This was embellished a bit, but not much. Imagine millions of people paying for several days of service they didn't receive, for one reason or another. That's a lot of free money for the phone companies. Deregulation, ah, what a joke. At least one thing is the same as before the break-up of Ma Bell: They're still not fair. And they don't have to be.
Last December, the Northeast sustained quite an ice storm. Power was out for several days, as was the telephone. When everything was turned back on, I called the phone company to say that I didn't want to be charged the daily base rate for the time we had no service. I don't remember the exact conversation, but I'll reproduce it as best I can for you, just for chuckles.
Verizon: I'm sorry ma'am, but you need to call us as soon as your service is out so that we know you're not lying.
Me: I couldn't call, the phone was out.
Verizon: Ma'am, do you have a cellphone?
Me: No, but even if I did, there's no service here. I would have to drive somewhere IN AN ICE STORM to be able to use it.
Verizon: Could you have used a neighbor's phone?
Me: Duh. They were out, too. You know this. Verizon had crews up here working on the problem. It was in the newspaper. Don't say you didn't know!
Verizon: All right, ma'am, I'll do it for you this time as a courtesy (!). But next time, you need to call.
Me (under my breath): Stupid cow.
This was embellished a bit, but not much. Imagine millions of people paying for several days of service they didn't receive, for one reason or another. That's a lot of free money for the phone companies. Deregulation, ah, what a joke. At least one thing is the same as before the break-up of Ma Bell: They're still not fair. And they don't have to be.
No comments:
Post a Comment