We finally have DSL service again. Which means I will be posting regularly to this blog again. The next three paragraphs give the long saga of our problems with Verizon;– and the final paragraph offers some advice should you have to call Verizon’s support center.

Here’s what happened:– Our DSL service went out on July 31. We called Verizon the next day, and they sent a tech out on August 2 — he found that our service had been improperly grounded when originally installed by Verizon, and he fixed that problem. Still no DSL. We called Verizon again, talked to help desk people (with such poor English skills that they were obviously based in some call center overseas) who supposedly “tested the line.” At one point, the person I was talking to got offended when I told him he was going to have to repeat himself yet again because I simply couldn’t understand his accent. He claimed the problem would “be resolved.” Still no DSL by Wednesday, August 6, so we had to call Verizon yet again.

They sent a tech out, and then Verizon called back at 4:10 p.m. on the 6th saying the problem would be resolved within 24 hours. When we still didn’t have DSL by about 3 p.m. on Thursday, I called Verizon, who said that now the problem was in their office, and it would take five days for things to settle down (I think that’s what he said, again his English skills weren’t great). Still no DSL by Friday, August 15, so we had to call Verizon yet again.

They said they’d send someone out on Monday, August 18. Tom, the same tech we had the first time, showed up (Tom is great, by the way, one of the few Verizon employees I spoke with who seemed competent, intelligent, and courteous). Tom did some tests, and told me that our DSL modem had burned out, probably due to the problems and due to all the tests they had run on our line from the central office. So I called Verizon yet again, and after an hour got them to send us a free modem. Which arrived today, August 19. I tried to set it up, ran into problems, called Verizon yet again, yet again got someone who didn’t speak English well, and who couldn’t answer my question — she transferred my call to someone else, who promptly cut me off. During the 15 minutes I had to wait for him to call me back, I solved the problem on my own, and so didn’t bother to answer when the phone rang. By this time, the last thing I wanted to do was to explain to someone with poor English skills that I had solved the problem on my own — that’s not something that is on the scripts they read from, and I knew his response would be something like this: “[pause] OK, I understand. Now, please power down the modem and restart your computer….”

The following may be helpful to you if you have to deal with Verizon support:– (a) When you call Verizon’s 800 help number, press “0” (that’s a zero) at any time to be connected directly to an agent. (b) Be aware that their voice recognition software often cannot understand what you say, so whenever they give you the option of punching in information using your phone’s number pad, do so. (c) The menus on their phone system change from call to call, and making the same choice on one menu on two different calls will get you two completely different results — so be prepared to have your call forwarded to the wrong place. (d) Verizon help desk staff do not respond if you are polite or courteous, but they do respond if you speak loudly and use your authoritative voice of command. (e) If Verizon tells you something is going to cost you money, argue with them, tell them it is their fault, tell them you should not have to pay — worked every time for me. (f) Supposedly if you call their help line at night, you may get connected to their call center in Canada, which means you will probably talk with a native English speaker. (g) Remember:– Verizon is not in the business of providing good customer service. They’re the phone company, they don’t have to care. Your blood pressure may be lower if you can just keep that in mind.

We haven’t had DSL service for 15 days now. Verizon has been out to our apartment twice, and we have spent hours (literally) on the phone with their tech support people. Still no DSL. They say they almost have the problem solved now, and all it will take is one last visit to our apartment by one of their techs. But I am not holding my breath.

What was the line on that old television comedy show?… “We’re the phone company. We don’t have to care.”

Until Verizon finally effects a repair, I am using the free wifi at our local coffee shop, and posting to this blog when I can. But don’t be surprised if I skip a day now and then.