Hi Everyone,
Today's blog is about a large city that just can't seem to get it right. Yonkers, New York, is the fourth largest city in New York state. Yonkers fiscal situation never seems to be good and definitely is never in the black. At the start of 2012, Yonkers projected a $452 million deficit for the next three years. For the 2013-2014 budget, the deficit slimmed down to $50 million. Why? Check out the problems that the Yonkers Department of Public Works has had, I guess forever. If anyone in Yonkers politics had at least one ounce of common sense, these problems would have been solved a very long time ago.
A six page report on the DPW contained the following "questionable practices":
- Employees working a second job, while still on city time.
- Employees knocking off hours before the official end of their shifts.
- Related employees supervising each other.
- A general confusion by employees and managers about work rules, policies and even who their supervisors are.
WHAT??????
All of the above occur in a city that has, for as long as I can remember, claimed poverty and asked for state and federal help, (hand outs). But this isn't the first such report. The last report resulted in a top DPW official being suspended after he approved post-Sandy repairs done by his son's contracting company.
Any real world company would not allow such problems to first of all, happen and secondly to continually occur without taking some kind of action. Why? I truly believe it is because the money they lose is not the "company's" but rather the taxpayers money. Politicians just don't seem to care as much when it is taxpayers money. All the above problems could be fixed pretty easily by issuing updated rules and regulations or policies and procedures. All employees should be given the new or updated rules, have them read them and then have them sign for them. Then you hold all employees accountable! It will be interesting to see how long it takes the bureaucracy just to figure out what to do and then how long it takes to implement them. Of course it will be a very long drawn out procedure.
Prerequisites for being a politician should not just include having common sense, it should also include having business experience to learn how real world companies are run. Maybe another should be, no more lawyers. It seems that the majority of policitians are lawyers and we have all seen what that has done to our political system.
Til next week.
Peter
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Sunday, April 21, 2013
The Communications Company That Is No!t
Hi Everyone,
Today's blog is a real event this happening to me and continues even as I type. The communication company is none other then Verizon. We have had Verizon FIOS for years now. Every time our 2 year contract is up, I have to negotiate with them to keep our monthly fees reasonable. Part of my newest deal with Verizon was to accept Digital Voice. Digital Voice became effective 3/27. That is the day when our problem started to occur and still has not been fixed and this is where our story begins. The first problem that occurred on 3/27 was what we call ghost calls. Every half hour, on the hour, 24 hours per day, seven days per week we receive ghost calls. Our ghost calls work like this: first the phone doesn't ring, but all the phones light up and the caller ID states, incoming call. You answer the call and all you get is dead air. Caller ID gives no further info i.e.: name and phone number. I called Verizon and explained the problem. The first service tech that I spoke with told me that the problem was with the actual switch that didn't switch us completely to Digital Voice. I was told, someone from Verizon would call me withing 24 to 48 hours.
Three days later and no call back from Verizon led me to calling again. By the time I called, there were other newer problems, including inability to call out of state, not receiving calls from people we know and no caller ID on our TVs. I told the second tech about the problems and he told me that the problem was internally, with our phones. I thanked him and told him that I knew what I had to do. I subsequently disconnected all our phones and reconnected one phone to each phone jack and waited. Sure enough the ghost calls continued. So I had to call Verizon again. I made many calls after each attempt to reboot my phone system (2 times) and work supposedly done on the infamous switch, (5 times) all to no avail.
By this time I knew Verizon's internal chain of command. When you call for a repair, you get a tech who is level one. When that person is unable to fix your problem, you request a Supervisor. When the Supervisor can't fix your problem, you request a tech to come to your house, level 3. Be forewarned though, Verizon will tell you that if the problem is in your house, meaning your wiring and/or phones, they will charge you for their visit on your next bill. So on Friday, 4/12 a service tech showed up at our house. After I described the problem(s), he told me that he had never heard of such a problem. I had him wait and see for himself when the ghost call happened, right on cue. He then went through our entire FIOS system and determined that the problem is indeed at the local, central switching station. He finally told me that he would call me and give me an update after going directly to the central switching station. No call back.
9:30 Saturday morning, 4/13 a second service tech arrived. I greeted him and asked why he came? He told me that I had requested a tech to come and that was why he came. A told him that a tech was here the day before of which he had no knowledge of. He also did the exact same thing as the tech did the day before. He waited and witnessed the actual incoming ghost call. He also told me that he had never since this problem. Then he told me that he would call me when he returned to the central switching station. Again, as usual no call back.
Sunday, 4/14 I called Verizon for the umpteenth time. Keep in mind, each and every time you call Verizon regarding a problem, even though it is hopefully detailed in their computer system, you will talk to a level 1 tech and you have to painstakingly have to repeat the history of the problem. This includes answering the same questions each time, very frustrating. So I spoke with another level 1 tech and his level 2 Supervisor. By this time, I was livid with Verizon and demanded that I be given the name and phone number of their complaint department. I was told that there was no such name and phone number and that I would have to register my complaint online. I certainly wasn't going to go to the end of the line and start the process from the beginning. Again I demanded to speak to the Supervisor's, Supervisor. I was told there was no one higher than him at the location that I called. I told the Supervisor that he had to have a way to contact the person he reported to. After about 10 minutes of the BS going back and forth, he said that he could text his Supervisor. I told him to. FYI, almost every time Verizon put me on hold and/or tried to transfer me to another department I would get disconnected. So I always told the person I was speaking with, to make sure they wrote down my number so they could call me back. So as usual, I was disconnected and no way to call back and speak to the same person. Again, as usual, no call back.
Monday, 4/15 around 9:30 AM, a third tech showed up at my house. I asked if he knew that 2 other tech's were just here. He wasn't aware and all he was told was the install a new something or other in the main FIOS control system located in my basement. He said this would solve my problem. He installed it and left. Five minutes after he left, the ghost call happened right on cue again.
I waited until Tuesday, 4/16 to call Verizon back. The level 1 tech told me that the next department that I had to call was the Unlawful Call Center. FYI their number is 800.518.5507, if you need it. So I called them and had to again explain the problem. Right away, this Supervisor told me that they would be unable to trace the ghost calls since the calls never actually connected. I then told the person that I was sick and tired of having to speak with a different tech/supervisor each and every time that I called having to repeat the same story with the same questions posed to me. This woman told me that Verizon did have an Action Line to File a Complaint @ 800-483-7988 and that someone there would take ownership of my problem until it was resolved.
I couldn't call that number fast enough. The prompts gave me 2 options, either residential or business. So I went for residential. And who do you think I was connected with? A level 1 tech. I was furious when I found out that I had to repeat me story again to a level 1. Her Supervisor also couldn't help, put me on hold, was disconnected and I called the same number again. Same problem happened for a second time. I called the same number a third time and this time one prompt was for escalation department. I had mixed emotions, were they actually going to help me? The woman told me that yes, an Escalation Dept. employee would own my problem until it is fixed. She then told me to expect a call within, yes 24 to 48 hours. I said fine and hung up. Around 4:30 PM that day, a man called, said his name was Rick and that he is now my point person until the problem is fixed. He also gave me his direct, no prompts needed, phone number. He said that the first thing they were going to do was to trace the ghost calls. I told him that the Unlawful Call Center was unable to do that since the calls never actually connect. He told me that they had special equipment that the unlawful call center didn't have. Twenty minutes later, he called me back, (which unto itself was a minor miracle) until he told me that they were unable to trace the call since it never connected, DUHHHHHH! I already told him that. Then he said he would send a 4th tech to my house tomorrow to test the signal strength of the call from the interface box located on the outside of our home. Whatever that is going to do.
The next morning, I received another call from the Escalation Dept. The woman said that she was my point person until the problem was fixed. I asked her if she was aware that I already received a call the day before from her dept. and that I had already been assigned a point person. She replied that she was not aware.
So here we are, 26 days later and our problem is still not fixed. I have spoken to 19 Verizon employees and 3 techs, so far, who came to our home all still to no avail. I am flabbergasted regarding the total lack of communication between departments and employees in Verizon. And they call themselves a communication company? I THINK NOT. Their internal system is totally dysfunctional and has no common sense what-so-ever.
I do apologize for the length of this blog, but there was no other way to let you know what has happened and continues.
Please write down the number for the escalation department, since they do not give out the number easily, 800. 483.7988 and good luck.
Til next week.
Peter
Today's blog is a real event this happening to me and continues even as I type. The communication company is none other then Verizon. We have had Verizon FIOS for years now. Every time our 2 year contract is up, I have to negotiate with them to keep our monthly fees reasonable. Part of my newest deal with Verizon was to accept Digital Voice. Digital Voice became effective 3/27. That is the day when our problem started to occur and still has not been fixed and this is where our story begins. The first problem that occurred on 3/27 was what we call ghost calls. Every half hour, on the hour, 24 hours per day, seven days per week we receive ghost calls. Our ghost calls work like this: first the phone doesn't ring, but all the phones light up and the caller ID states, incoming call. You answer the call and all you get is dead air. Caller ID gives no further info i.e.: name and phone number. I called Verizon and explained the problem. The first service tech that I spoke with told me that the problem was with the actual switch that didn't switch us completely to Digital Voice. I was told, someone from Verizon would call me withing 24 to 48 hours.
Three days later and no call back from Verizon led me to calling again. By the time I called, there were other newer problems, including inability to call out of state, not receiving calls from people we know and no caller ID on our TVs. I told the second tech about the problems and he told me that the problem was internally, with our phones. I thanked him and told him that I knew what I had to do. I subsequently disconnected all our phones and reconnected one phone to each phone jack and waited. Sure enough the ghost calls continued. So I had to call Verizon again. I made many calls after each attempt to reboot my phone system (2 times) and work supposedly done on the infamous switch, (5 times) all to no avail.
By this time I knew Verizon's internal chain of command. When you call for a repair, you get a tech who is level one. When that person is unable to fix your problem, you request a Supervisor. When the Supervisor can't fix your problem, you request a tech to come to your house, level 3. Be forewarned though, Verizon will tell you that if the problem is in your house, meaning your wiring and/or phones, they will charge you for their visit on your next bill. So on Friday, 4/12 a service tech showed up at our house. After I described the problem(s), he told me that he had never heard of such a problem. I had him wait and see for himself when the ghost call happened, right on cue. He then went through our entire FIOS system and determined that the problem is indeed at the local, central switching station. He finally told me that he would call me and give me an update after going directly to the central switching station. No call back.
9:30 Saturday morning, 4/13 a second service tech arrived. I greeted him and asked why he came? He told me that I had requested a tech to come and that was why he came. A told him that a tech was here the day before of which he had no knowledge of. He also did the exact same thing as the tech did the day before. He waited and witnessed the actual incoming ghost call. He also told me that he had never since this problem. Then he told me that he would call me when he returned to the central switching station. Again, as usual no call back.
Sunday, 4/14 I called Verizon for the umpteenth time. Keep in mind, each and every time you call Verizon regarding a problem, even though it is hopefully detailed in their computer system, you will talk to a level 1 tech and you have to painstakingly have to repeat the history of the problem. This includes answering the same questions each time, very frustrating. So I spoke with another level 1 tech and his level 2 Supervisor. By this time, I was livid with Verizon and demanded that I be given the name and phone number of their complaint department. I was told that there was no such name and phone number and that I would have to register my complaint online. I certainly wasn't going to go to the end of the line and start the process from the beginning. Again I demanded to speak to the Supervisor's, Supervisor. I was told there was no one higher than him at the location that I called. I told the Supervisor that he had to have a way to contact the person he reported to. After about 10 minutes of the BS going back and forth, he said that he could text his Supervisor. I told him to. FYI, almost every time Verizon put me on hold and/or tried to transfer me to another department I would get disconnected. So I always told the person I was speaking with, to make sure they wrote down my number so they could call me back. So as usual, I was disconnected and no way to call back and speak to the same person. Again, as usual, no call back.
Monday, 4/15 around 9:30 AM, a third tech showed up at my house. I asked if he knew that 2 other tech's were just here. He wasn't aware and all he was told was the install a new something or other in the main FIOS control system located in my basement. He said this would solve my problem. He installed it and left. Five minutes after he left, the ghost call happened right on cue again.
I waited until Tuesday, 4/16 to call Verizon back. The level 1 tech told me that the next department that I had to call was the Unlawful Call Center. FYI their number is 800.518.5507, if you need it. So I called them and had to again explain the problem. Right away, this Supervisor told me that they would be unable to trace the ghost calls since the calls never actually connected. I then told the person that I was sick and tired of having to speak with a different tech/supervisor each and every time that I called having to repeat the same story with the same questions posed to me. This woman told me that Verizon did have an Action Line to File a Complaint @ 800-483-7988 and that someone there would take ownership of my problem until it was resolved.
I couldn't call that number fast enough. The prompts gave me 2 options, either residential or business. So I went for residential. And who do you think I was connected with? A level 1 tech. I was furious when I found out that I had to repeat me story again to a level 1. Her Supervisor also couldn't help, put me on hold, was disconnected and I called the same number again. Same problem happened for a second time. I called the same number a third time and this time one prompt was for escalation department. I had mixed emotions, were they actually going to help me? The woman told me that yes, an Escalation Dept. employee would own my problem until it is fixed. She then told me to expect a call within, yes 24 to 48 hours. I said fine and hung up. Around 4:30 PM that day, a man called, said his name was Rick and that he is now my point person until the problem is fixed. He also gave me his direct, no prompts needed, phone number. He said that the first thing they were going to do was to trace the ghost calls. I told him that the Unlawful Call Center was unable to do that since the calls never actually connect. He told me that they had special equipment that the unlawful call center didn't have. Twenty minutes later, he called me back, (which unto itself was a minor miracle) until he told me that they were unable to trace the call since it never connected, DUHHHHHH! I already told him that. Then he said he would send a 4th tech to my house tomorrow to test the signal strength of the call from the interface box located on the outside of our home. Whatever that is going to do.
The next morning, I received another call from the Escalation Dept. The woman said that she was my point person until the problem was fixed. I asked her if she was aware that I already received a call the day before from her dept. and that I had already been assigned a point person. She replied that she was not aware.
So here we are, 26 days later and our problem is still not fixed. I have spoken to 19 Verizon employees and 3 techs, so far, who came to our home all still to no avail. I am flabbergasted regarding the total lack of communication between departments and employees in Verizon. And they call themselves a communication company? I THINK NOT. Their internal system is totally dysfunctional and has no common sense what-so-ever.
I do apologize for the length of this blog, but there was no other way to let you know what has happened and continues.
Please write down the number for the escalation department, since they do not give out the number easily, 800. 483.7988 and good luck.
Til next week.
Peter
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Tis The Season Again
Hi Everyone,
I have blogged about this problem previously, but this is an important issue, if you want to keep more of your hard earned money. So please take note.
If you live and work in New York State, this is the time of year that you can get ripped off by the Empire State. After working during the previous calendar year, each paycheck you receive has taxes deducted by the federal government, by the state, (if they have income taxes), by a city and other entities if applicable. So like clockwork, you have to file your federal and state tax returns by April 15th. So how do New Yorkers get ripped off by their state? First of all, let me state that since I have only lived in New York State, I do not know if other states do what New York state does.
So what does New York state do? If you received a tax refund from New York for the previous year, New York tax code states that you have to include that tax refund as part of your income for the year in which you received it. So what does that mean? It means that you already paid New York state taxes from each paycheck and then since you received a refund, you now have to pay taxes again on that same money. Doesn't make sense does it? Well it does make sense if you are a law maker and want more tax revenues. But the bottom line is that all of us living and working in New York get the dubious honor of paying double taxes on the same money, if you received a state refund.
So what can you do? To my knowledge, there is only one way to stop the double taxation dilemma. How? You must adjust your W-4 with your employer. Adjusting it means, that you have to increase the number of deductions you claim that is proportional to the amount of the New York state refund that you received. This means that you will actually receive a bit more money each paycheck and consequently, you will receive little to no tax refund from the state.
Don't let the tax collector get the better of your hard earned money. Bypass the double taxation by getting your usual tax refund in small incremental increases with each paycheck. Why pay the extra taxes? This is a no brainer.
Til next week.
Peter
I have blogged about this problem previously, but this is an important issue, if you want to keep more of your hard earned money. So please take note.
If you live and work in New York State, this is the time of year that you can get ripped off by the Empire State. After working during the previous calendar year, each paycheck you receive has taxes deducted by the federal government, by the state, (if they have income taxes), by a city and other entities if applicable. So like clockwork, you have to file your federal and state tax returns by April 15th. So how do New Yorkers get ripped off by their state? First of all, let me state that since I have only lived in New York State, I do not know if other states do what New York state does.
So what does New York state do? If you received a tax refund from New York for the previous year, New York tax code states that you have to include that tax refund as part of your income for the year in which you received it. So what does that mean? It means that you already paid New York state taxes from each paycheck and then since you received a refund, you now have to pay taxes again on that same money. Doesn't make sense does it? Well it does make sense if you are a law maker and want more tax revenues. But the bottom line is that all of us living and working in New York get the dubious honor of paying double taxes on the same money, if you received a state refund.
So what can you do? To my knowledge, there is only one way to stop the double taxation dilemma. How? You must adjust your W-4 with your employer. Adjusting it means, that you have to increase the number of deductions you claim that is proportional to the amount of the New York state refund that you received. This means that you will actually receive a bit more money each paycheck and consequently, you will receive little to no tax refund from the state.
Don't let the tax collector get the better of your hard earned money. Bypass the double taxation by getting your usual tax refund in small incremental increases with each paycheck. Why pay the extra taxes? This is a no brainer.
Til next week.
Peter
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