Verizon rant

[bill at horne.net (Bill Horne)]

Jerry Feldman wrote:

>Several years ago I switched from Verizon phone service to AT&T Broadband 
>Digital Phone. The main reason was that my wife wanted Alpha caller ID and 
>Verizon told her it would be 6 months. In any case, I switched at that 
>time. The difference was a slightly lower cost and a much clearer phone 
>where my Verizon phone always had static. (Note that Comcast Digital Phone 
>is NOT VOIP).
>
>A couple of months ago, a colleague of mine who had Verizon DSL had her 
>service disrupted. She needed that service to work at home. It took Verizon 
>over 2 weeks to fix it. She moved to Comcast. 
>
>10 days ago, my friend who lives across the street from a Verizon CO lost 
>his phone service. It took them 4 days to get a service person out. Now he 
>can use his phone to dial out, but he cannot receive calls. (This affects 
>his entire condo building). Also, Verizon admitted the problem was an 
>outside problem, not inside his building.
>
>  
>
Some time ago, I attended a management course that included a session on 
the history of AT&T.

During the early part of the 20th century, AT&T's stock became so widely 
distributed that, for practical purposes, nobody owned the company. It 
was, therefore, responsible only to itself, and the corporate attitude 
that persists to this day is that "Ma Bell" is able to dictate the way 
it does business.

So long as the majority of customers don't know about/seek out/care 
about alternatives, Ma Bell will continue to be responsible only to itself.

Bill Horne



-- 
E. WIlliam Horne
William Warren Consulting
Computer and Network Installation & Service
http://www.billhorne.com/
781 784-7287