Phone Commitment Imminent

Since the month of January puts the "free" in freelancer, I've had more time than I need to think about my imminent 2 year cell phone commitment.

I have no problem signing an extended contract with Verizon. I've been a satisfied customer for more than 16 years. My commitment phobia is over the phone I'll call mine for the next 731 days.

Up until 2 years ago I'd never had to think twice about my phone. I had one. It worked. End of story. In fact my phone from 2 years ago is still holding its charge. Talk about reliability.

Then I was seduced by a slick piece of under-performing junk. You know what I'm talking about: the Razr. You've heard this rant from me before. I know it's wrong to hate stuff, but God forgive me I hate this phone. I just want it to work whenever I need it, all the time; not 7 out of 10 times on days when it feels like performing. ALL the time.

My brother just got a new Voyager. So far he is in love with it. I'm tempted to go that route, but wonder if it's too much phone for me.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

So in between practicing for my upcoming recital (and sometimes while I'm practicing) I'm wrestling with this decision in the back of my mind. Well, sometimes in the front of my mind. Actually, I can't claim much depth of mind at all since I'm still snarfing Sudafed in order to hear.

WHATEVER.

That's what's been going on here at FlutePrayer Central. That and lots of naps. I hope I feel up to snuff soon. Meanwhile, you'll find me in a corner mumbling, "Voyager? Blackberry? Envy?..."

Verizon Doesn't Care

Question: What's wrong with this picture?

Answer: That's Bob's phone line. It should be connected to the telephone pole.

Yesterday afternoon a large semi was illegally parked in the alley behind our home. A "Waste Management" truck tried to squeeze around the obstruction.

The trash truck got past the semi, but ripped down the poorly strung phone line in the process.

Bob went and tied off the dangling wire, then promptly reported the problem to Verizon.

He was assured that the problem would be taken care of next Wednesday.

NEXT WEDNESDAY????

Hey, no problem. Bob has always wanted to be relieved of those pesky work calls. Oh, and the fax that he uses to send his reports so he can get paid? Who needs it!

I spoke to Jan at Verizon this morning. With a perfectly straight voice she assured me that the problem would be taken care of by next Wednesday.

I politely and calmly pointed out that a week seemed a long time to wait for a problem with their equipment to be resolved.

She briefly put me on hold, then told me the problem would be solved tomorrow.

That's what Bob was told yesterday.

I asked that the calls to that Bob's number be forwarded to his cell phone.

Jan agreed to do this.

So, since he will be able to get his calls, the line probably won't be repaired until next week.

I'll keep you posted.

UPDATE: When I tried to call Bob's line, instead of the call being forwarded to his cell phone, I got the following message: "Your call did not go through. Please dial '1' and place your call again." Just for the heck of it I dialed '1' and the number. Here is the message I received; "Your call did not go through. Please dial '1' and place your call again."

I called Verizon (again) and spoke to a very nice woman named Ora. She was polite, patient and kind. It took her about a minute to fix the snafu.

The customer service people themselves are very polite. The service that is being offered to their customers is what seems to be lacking.

SATURDAY UPDATE: As of 12:15pm the wire was repaired by a very nice, very competent person named Ken. He said that in the future if we can get the license number of the trucks that cause the wire to go down, Verizon will track them down and charge them for the repairs. Meanwhile, the phone is up and running for which we are grateful.

Final Grades

Politeness of Customer Service Reps: A

Politeness and Competence of Service Technicians: A

Timely Response to Original Problem: F

Timely Response to Original Problem after Follow-up Call: D