Winds of Change.NET: As Long As We're Talking Business

October 4, 2008

As Long As We're Talking Business - Verizon, Chapter 2

by Armed Liberal at October 4, 2008 6:27 PM

So after my "somewhat frustrating series" of interactions with Verizon, I discovered that I could keep my Palm Treo functioning as a phone by disabling all email and SMS functions. That got me through the trip to Monterey, and when I got back, I emailed a commenter with a phone store (no one replied) and called Verizon again.

Shocking how different the experience was - I got this helpful young CSR who listened to me, look at the record, and asked me to hold while he talked to his supervisor. Five minutes later he came back and said I was approved for a Blackberry 8330, and did I want it mailed to me or to pick it up in a store?

There's a large Verizon store near me - on Lomita and Crenshaw - so I said I'd get it there.

Put me on hold for a few moments, and came back and said it was OK to go pick it up.

So - I go to the store, and the on-shift manager - massively rudely - says there's no way I am authorized for that change, there's no policy for it, and when I ask her to escalate, calls her manager and gives me the 'talk to the hand' when I try and explain to her that she's misstating the situation.

We chatted about that...

And when I got home, the good Verizon rep called, apologized for the confusion and said he was shipping one to me.

Which arrived yesterday, took 30 minutes to set up and synch, and has run for 24 hours without rebooting while getting email and SMS messages - far better than the POS Treo 755p that it will replace.

One step at a time...

Part of what's frustrating about this is that the bureaucracy is fundamentally Ottoman in that what comes out of it is so variable...

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Comments

#1 from raven at 9:18 pm on Oct 05, 2008

Anytime you "enter" a bureaucracy, the results you get may vary- try an auto dealership for repairs- the results have everything to do with the individual mechanic . Anytime I have to deal with ANY large organization, and I get a for real helpful person on the line, I always get their name and number so any future interaction can go to them. Especially useful with the IRS, for example.

#2 from virgil xenophon at 3:39 am on Oct 06, 2008

Truer words were never spoken, raven, Unfortunately some govt. agencies have learned, in the best spirit of Kafka, to thwart this tactic by making it physically impossible to connect with the same person each time by using a screening technique comprised of msg. takers answering from random call centers across the US who not only cannot talk to each other but can only forward your comments/requests to the individual/directorate one wishes to query via interdepartmental e-mail for a God-only-knows-when reply.

A truly "Waiting for Godot" experience.

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