Verizon and Irritation

Verizon. Wired. Cellular. FIOS. Irritation. Sales or not.

When I first moved here, my telephone company was GTE not AT&T. There were no cellphones. There was no Internet, at least, there was no Internet outside of DARPA. And, I had no answering machine on my phone line.

GTE morphed into Verizon and I now have all of the above and much more. De-regulation of the telecommunications industry has helped to make this possible. Some of this has made my life easier and some has also made my life harder. And, some of it irritates the heck out of me.

Remember door-to-door salesmen/women and missionaries? I do and we still have them; they will not stay away, no matter what signs we put on our gates or doors. They are a continuing irritation. Do they really think that by interrupting my dinner or nap, against my expressed wishes on the door sign, that they are going to sell me their product or service or convert me to their particular brand of mythology? They’ve already shown me that they do not respect me or my wishes and they think this expression of their disrespect is going to convince me to buy something from them? I think not.

The same thing happens on the phone. I get calls from people/organizations that I have never knowingly done business with, from people I have done business with and from those whom I have specifically told never to call me again. Most of these calls come from robots. You know the type. You answer “Hello,” and there is a three-second delay while they realize that a phone has been answered and look at their screen to ask to speak to Samuel (only your mother ever called you that and only when she was particularly irked at you). These are all robo-calls, numbers “dialed” in sequence by machine software. (If you are not home, you come home to four “messages” on your answering machine and they are all blank.)

Irritation; extreme irritation.

You speak to them politely and explain that you do not want to talk to or buy from them and ask that they not call again. They call again. You are not so polite this time. They call again and you express yourself in “language that would make a sailor blush.” They call again and you damage your phone as you slam it down. You register with the National Do Not Call Registry. They call again. Get a whistle and blow it, loudly and in their ears.

1.410.910.0689

Verizon seems to be one of those companies that has no respect for their own customers. Not only do we get three or four pieces of mail each week touting their products and services but they’ve been calling us each and every day. Yes, I know we have their phone service and they have a legal right to contact us. But, do they really want to so irritate an existing customer? I’ve asked them not to call; I’ve told them not to call, all in a quiet, calm and reasoned voice. I have just added another Verizon service – Caller ID (maybe their strategy is working). I now know the number from which Verizon’s robo-calls have been originating: 1.410.910.0689. They called today at 10.01 am, yesterday at 10.35 am, the day before at 10.31 am and the day previous to that at 5.15 pm.

I called that number back and, following the directions from their robo-voice, had them take our number off of their calling list; this was yesterday. They called again today. According to the robo-voice it would take up to thirty days for our number to be removed from their list. Efficiency, ain’t it wonderful?

Door Hangers

On another note, β-flat?

Do you ever open your front door to find a door-hanger? You know those irritating ads from your local realtor, gardener, pizza parlor, etc.? Those little notices that tell people that you are not home? I’ve stopped calling them door-hangers and now call them: “Please, rob me; nobody’s home.” signs. How do you stop them? Ignore them and throw them in the trash? Look out for a neighbor and throw away those you see on her front door as she will do the same for you? Call the numbers on the signs and ask that they not be hung on your door? Ha, good luck.

Wait, here’s an idea. If you get robbed, sue the people who announced to the thieves that you were not home.

At any rate, I’m going to start collecting those hung on my front door, or left on my Welcome mat and post them here. Any other ideas?