Hi Everyone,
Every once in a blue moon, I read something that really makes me scratch my head in disbelief. I am fully aware that people seem to have a favorite news channel that they watch more then any other. I also understand that people believe that certain news channels sway more to one political party or the other. But when it comes to right and wrong, no news channel should be immune.
According to the HuffPost, Fox Business Network rejected a TV ad created by a women's rights group that calls for pundits Lou Dobbs, Erick Erickson and Juan Williams to be fired for negative remarks they made on the network a few weeks ago about women who work outside the home.
Ultraviolet, an online community that advocates for women's equality, created the the ad using Fox Business' own footage of Dobbs, Williams and Erickson complaining that the rise of female breadwinners in families will ruin our society, hurt children and undermine social order. Really? What planet do those three come from? How soon can they can deported back to that planet? How can anyone say something like that? That is the utmost diss to women that I have heard in a while.
FYI, a spokesperson for Fox News did not respond to HuffPost's requests for comment. In my opinion, if Fox News rejected the ad, refused to fire the three stupidos for their comments and even refused to apologize means nothing other then they approve of the their sexist views. Don't you agree? If they are allowed to continue to say anything they want without fear of repercussions, what's to stop them from making other more incendiary statements? Right, absolutely nothing.
Even though their statements were outright lies, the bigger picture should be just as concerning to all who watch Fox News. Is that the kind of news channel that you want to watch? Fox News is now as much to blame and has as much common sense as the three stupidos, which is none. Fox has again shown their true colors by not at the very least reprimanding the three and by not even putting out a statement. People should boycott Fox News for this reason. They have no business allowing such statements on their shows.
Now if you continue to watch Fox News, you too are then sending a message to the network that the statements were OK. Do you really think the statements are OK? If not, stop watching. That will send a message to Fox News that they will hear. It is all about viewer numbers.
Til next week.
Peter
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Sunday, June 9, 2013
What a Great Deal!
Hi Everyone,
Have I got a great deal to tell you all. In order for it to effect any of you, there is only one prerequisite and that is you must work in the public school system here in the wonderful state of New York. The following is a true story and if it doesn't get you mad, it very well should.
Blind Brook and Rye, New York is located in Westchester County. The area is a well off community. William Stark, 66 is the school superintendent of the Blind Brook-Rye school system. On June 30th, 2013, Stark is retiring from his job. Then on July 3rd, he will be rehired by the same school system with the same $260,000 salary. Because he retired, he will then receive his pension. His pension amount is almost $200,000 per year. That is a total compensation package of almost $460,000 per year. Maybe your first question is, is this legal? Well, here in New York state, it is unbelievably legal. I get so mad when I hear about loopholes in laws that allow this kind of abuse. It also really gets my goat when, during school board budget votes, these same retired but still working administrators state that the reason for higher taxes is due to unfunded state mandated programs. They are right, because of a loophole where they also contribute to the problem when it is to their advantage and complain when it is not to their advantage.
The school board which approved the deal, will on the surface seem to save local tax dollars like: expenses related to health care and unbelievably, pension expenses. But this deal is a bad one for all the taxpayers due to the fact that they now have to pick up the $200,000 state pension for someone still working. This is so beyond absurd, it is mind boggling. Why can't Albany fix this glaring problem? Oh right, they are politicians who don't care because they let it continue and continue.
Shame on the lawmakers who wrote the bill, with the loophole, that became a law. Shame on Albany for not fixing the loophole and shame on the employees who use the system to their greed based benefit and cost the taxpayers more money. And I thought schools taught about morality. I guess not!
Where is common sense when you need it?
Til next week.
Peter
Have I got a great deal to tell you all. In order for it to effect any of you, there is only one prerequisite and that is you must work in the public school system here in the wonderful state of New York. The following is a true story and if it doesn't get you mad, it very well should.
Blind Brook and Rye, New York is located in Westchester County. The area is a well off community. William Stark, 66 is the school superintendent of the Blind Brook-Rye school system. On June 30th, 2013, Stark is retiring from his job. Then on July 3rd, he will be rehired by the same school system with the same $260,000 salary. Because he retired, he will then receive his pension. His pension amount is almost $200,000 per year. That is a total compensation package of almost $460,000 per year. Maybe your first question is, is this legal? Well, here in New York state, it is unbelievably legal. I get so mad when I hear about loopholes in laws that allow this kind of abuse. It also really gets my goat when, during school board budget votes, these same retired but still working administrators state that the reason for higher taxes is due to unfunded state mandated programs. They are right, because of a loophole where they also contribute to the problem when it is to their advantage and complain when it is not to their advantage.
The school board which approved the deal, will on the surface seem to save local tax dollars like: expenses related to health care and unbelievably, pension expenses. But this deal is a bad one for all the taxpayers due to the fact that they now have to pick up the $200,000 state pension for someone still working. This is so beyond absurd, it is mind boggling. Why can't Albany fix this glaring problem? Oh right, they are politicians who don't care because they let it continue and continue.
Shame on the lawmakers who wrote the bill, with the loophole, that became a law. Shame on Albany for not fixing the loophole and shame on the employees who use the system to their greed based benefit and cost the taxpayers more money. And I thought schools taught about morality. I guess not!
Where is common sense when you need it?
Til next week.
Peter
Sunday, June 2, 2013
What To Do When It Affects Your State
Hi All,
Sometimes I ask myself why do so many politicians say one thing and then do a 180 degree opposite. Seems to me that politicians will say whatever, to either get elected or re-elected.
Last year, Hurricane Sandy struck the east coast. When all was said and done, it was determined that is was the most costliest storm to date. When it came time for congress to debate the amount of Sandy FEMA money, there were two Republican Senators that spoke up the loudest regarding the enormous amount of FEMA money requested. The two senators are Jim Inhofe and Tom Coburn. But let's look at 2011 first. That's when both senators voted against legislation that would have granted necessary funding for FEMA, when the agency was set to run our of money. Coburn even said that sending money to FEMA would have been "unconscionable".
Then Sandy hit and these two Senators both backed a plan to slash disaster relief to victims of Sandy. Sandy relief through FEMA was held up for months and was only approved in increments, instead of the usual lump sum payment. These two Senators as well as others, wanted a reduction in federal spending before any monies were released. This may sound good, but the reality is that it is not practical to reduce federal spending every time a disaster occurs in the U.S.
In the last two weeks, Oklahoma has been hit with multiple tornadoes that have devastated areas, including wiping out whole towns off the map. I can't imagine what it is like to be in a EF5 tornado with wind speeds of 200+ mph. I feel for their loss, as do all Americans. But, now that Oklahoma Senators Inhofe and Coburn own state has been devastated, again, they want FEMA money ASAP! What? It was OK for them to hold up money for Sandy victims, but when it comes to their own state, they have done a complete about face and want their money now, not months down the road. So they have flip flopped to help their own state but not others?
FYI, Oklahoma ranks third in the nation after Texas and California in terms of total federal disaster and fire declaration which kick starts the federal emergency relief funding process. But when it comes to their own state, both of their beliefs did a 180 degree change and want immediate help without delay. Maybe they should have thought about that when Sandy victims waited needlessly for their share of FEMA money due to politics.
It makes no common sense to flip flop when it suits you. Common sense tells me that there should be a federal tornado insurance program like the federal flood insurance program. This is especially important for states that continually get socked by frequent tornadoes. Money isn't free and maybe houses will be built better if owners had to pay an insurance premium for rebuilding. Maybe people in tornado alley should also consider building safe rooms, for their homes and businesses when they are rebuilt.
Til next week.
Peter
Sometimes I ask myself why do so many politicians say one thing and then do a 180 degree opposite. Seems to me that politicians will say whatever, to either get elected or re-elected.
Last year, Hurricane Sandy struck the east coast. When all was said and done, it was determined that is was the most costliest storm to date. When it came time for congress to debate the amount of Sandy FEMA money, there were two Republican Senators that spoke up the loudest regarding the enormous amount of FEMA money requested. The two senators are Jim Inhofe and Tom Coburn. But let's look at 2011 first. That's when both senators voted against legislation that would have granted necessary funding for FEMA, when the agency was set to run our of money. Coburn even said that sending money to FEMA would have been "unconscionable".
Then Sandy hit and these two Senators both backed a plan to slash disaster relief to victims of Sandy. Sandy relief through FEMA was held up for months and was only approved in increments, instead of the usual lump sum payment. These two Senators as well as others, wanted a reduction in federal spending before any monies were released. This may sound good, but the reality is that it is not practical to reduce federal spending every time a disaster occurs in the U.S.
In the last two weeks, Oklahoma has been hit with multiple tornadoes that have devastated areas, including wiping out whole towns off the map. I can't imagine what it is like to be in a EF5 tornado with wind speeds of 200+ mph. I feel for their loss, as do all Americans. But, now that Oklahoma Senators Inhofe and Coburn own state has been devastated, again, they want FEMA money ASAP! What? It was OK for them to hold up money for Sandy victims, but when it comes to their own state, they have done a complete about face and want their money now, not months down the road. So they have flip flopped to help their own state but not others?
FYI, Oklahoma ranks third in the nation after Texas and California in terms of total federal disaster and fire declaration which kick starts the federal emergency relief funding process. But when it comes to their own state, both of their beliefs did a 180 degree change and want immediate help without delay. Maybe they should have thought about that when Sandy victims waited needlessly for their share of FEMA money due to politics.
It makes no common sense to flip flop when it suits you. Common sense tells me that there should be a federal tornado insurance program like the federal flood insurance program. This is especially important for states that continually get socked by frequent tornadoes. Money isn't free and maybe houses will be built better if owners had to pay an insurance premium for rebuilding. Maybe people in tornado alley should also consider building safe rooms, for their homes and businesses when they are rebuilt.
Til next week.
Peter
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Driving Without CS
Hi Everyone,
Today's blog topic changed from my original idea, to real life events that occurred yesterday. So there we were yesterday, my wife and I, doing overdue Saturday errands. My wife drove for the first part of our errands and I drove the second part. But what is unique is what happened to the both of us while driving.
So at about the fourth mile from our home, we noticed that the car in front of us wasn't using their directionals to indicate that they were turning left at a traffic light. We were also turning left, so their non use of their directional was meaningless to us. Then as we traveled further along, we began to notice that more and more drivers were not using their directionals, when they were in fact turning. The first part of our trip was a 15 to 20 minute ride. During that time, we saw approximately 7 or 8 drivers not using their directionals.
After our first errand was completed, I then drove. We did not even get out of the parking lot, where the second car we met, at the parking lot intersection, didn't use their signal to indicate they were turning left and cut me off. I couldn't believe that our streak, if you want to call it that, was continuing. Then not even a 1/4 mile away, at the very next T intersection, there was a big black SUV, with Connecticut plates, no turn signals on, in the left lane, to turn left, or so you would think. But no..... the driver decided that they really wanted to turn right, but from the left lane. The driver turned on his right directional and immediately turned right, cutting right in front of us. Believe it or not, at the very next traffic light, the car in front of us didn't use their signal to turn left. And when I looked into my rear view mirror I watched the stopped black SUV change lanes from the middle lane into my lane without using his directional.
So what is up what with drivers today? I was unable to see whether the drivers were young or old or male or female. But how can people be so self centered or so oblivious to their surroundings or just so stupid? I don't know the answer to that one. What is obvious to me is that all the drivers had two things in common. The first being that they had failed to use common courtesy by following the law on using signals when turning and the second being that they had no common sense, at least while driving. Whatever their reasons for their not using directionals is inexcusable, but if they had one ounce of common sense they would have used their directionals as second nature. Failure to adhere to the most basic of traffic laws can end up in an accident.
All drivers need to use common sense when driving. Period, end of story.
Til next week.
Peter
Today's blog topic changed from my original idea, to real life events that occurred yesterday. So there we were yesterday, my wife and I, doing overdue Saturday errands. My wife drove for the first part of our errands and I drove the second part. But what is unique is what happened to the both of us while driving.
So at about the fourth mile from our home, we noticed that the car in front of us wasn't using their directionals to indicate that they were turning left at a traffic light. We were also turning left, so their non use of their directional was meaningless to us. Then as we traveled further along, we began to notice that more and more drivers were not using their directionals, when they were in fact turning. The first part of our trip was a 15 to 20 minute ride. During that time, we saw approximately 7 or 8 drivers not using their directionals.
After our first errand was completed, I then drove. We did not even get out of the parking lot, where the second car we met, at the parking lot intersection, didn't use their signal to indicate they were turning left and cut me off. I couldn't believe that our streak, if you want to call it that, was continuing. Then not even a 1/4 mile away, at the very next T intersection, there was a big black SUV, with Connecticut plates, no turn signals on, in the left lane, to turn left, or so you would think. But no..... the driver decided that they really wanted to turn right, but from the left lane. The driver turned on his right directional and immediately turned right, cutting right in front of us. Believe it or not, at the very next traffic light, the car in front of us didn't use their signal to turn left. And when I looked into my rear view mirror I watched the stopped black SUV change lanes from the middle lane into my lane without using his directional.
So what is up what with drivers today? I was unable to see whether the drivers were young or old or male or female. But how can people be so self centered or so oblivious to their surroundings or just so stupid? I don't know the answer to that one. What is obvious to me is that all the drivers had two things in common. The first being that they had failed to use common courtesy by following the law on using signals when turning and the second being that they had no common sense, at least while driving. Whatever their reasons for their not using directionals is inexcusable, but if they had one ounce of common sense they would have used their directionals as second nature. Failure to adhere to the most basic of traffic laws can end up in an accident.
All drivers need to use common sense when driving. Period, end of story.
Til next week.
Peter
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Why Use Common Sense?
Hi Everyone,
So it has finally been finalized, without the need of or obvious use of any common sense. The outcome is basically what I had expected. What I am talking about? The new Tappan Zee bridge that will cross the Hudson river between Tarrytown, New York and Nyack, New York. The Tappan Zee bridge is the only bridge between the George Washington bridge to the south and the Bear Mountain bridge to the north.
The back story goes like this: the Tappan Zee bridge was opened in 1955 as a six lane bridge. For whatever reason, probably the cost, the bridge was built as a temporary one with a life expectancy of 50 years. These past 57 years have not been easy for this bridge. Besides the fact that it requires huge expenditures of money to keep it "safe", the question became why pour good money after bad if it had reached its life span?
Evidence of the bridge not being able to handle the huge influx in the amount of traffic that crosses it daily began about 27+ years ago. Of course there were the usual traffic jams, almost always on the side of rush hour. The median barrier was eventually removed and a moveable center barrier was installed to turn the six lane bridge into a seven lane bridge. The moveable barrier was moved twice a day to increase the rush hour side to four lanes. That solution didn't last long since the traffice jams continued to occur. Even adding E-Z pass about 15 years ago didn't help move traffic along much quicker.
Talk of replacing the bridge has been happening for about 20 or so years. You would think in all that time, that the powers to be would have been able to use some common sense in the design and use of a new bridge. First of all and the best solution, in my opinion, was a tunnel, that also had a light rail line. That idea was tossed due to cost and how and where to have the tunnel see the light of day at each end. The second solution was a single span bridge that had a light rail and/or bus transit system running down the middle of the bridge. Again that idea was tossed due to cost. So the final idea that was approved for $3.9 billion and is now in the process of having the pilings pounded into the river bottom, is a twin span bridge with no new mass transit option what so ever. Additionally, the new bridge will have a whopping total of eight lanes of traffic. Which doesn't even add an extra lane during rush hour. The final design is so short sighted and lacks any common sense at all floors me, but doesn't surprise me. What I find utterly stupid and out of touch with reality is that they are building two spans which will be more expensive then one span. There will be no option for mass transit. If money was and is an issue, build a single span bridge with the center section space left void for a future mass transit system of some kind. The least that the powers to be could have done is left open the option for some kind mass transit that could be built in the future. But noooooooooooo, that is not going to happen, which makes zero sense on any level.
What is going to happen is this: on the very day the new bridge opens, it will already be outdated, since it will not be able to handle the amount of traffic. It will be no better than the current bridge at being able to handle traffic. What will then happen in another 5-10 years when even more traffic uses the bridge? Since there is no mass transit option, the answer to that question is more and longer traffic jams and delays. What a great way to show how not to use common sense.
On a side note, the actual design of the bridge, in my opinion, is blase and dull. But hey, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.
Til next week.
Peter
So it has finally been finalized, without the need of or obvious use of any common sense. The outcome is basically what I had expected. What I am talking about? The new Tappan Zee bridge that will cross the Hudson river between Tarrytown, New York and Nyack, New York. The Tappan Zee bridge is the only bridge between the George Washington bridge to the south and the Bear Mountain bridge to the north.
The back story goes like this: the Tappan Zee bridge was opened in 1955 as a six lane bridge. For whatever reason, probably the cost, the bridge was built as a temporary one with a life expectancy of 50 years. These past 57 years have not been easy for this bridge. Besides the fact that it requires huge expenditures of money to keep it "safe", the question became why pour good money after bad if it had reached its life span?
Evidence of the bridge not being able to handle the huge influx in the amount of traffic that crosses it daily began about 27+ years ago. Of course there were the usual traffic jams, almost always on the side of rush hour. The median barrier was eventually removed and a moveable center barrier was installed to turn the six lane bridge into a seven lane bridge. The moveable barrier was moved twice a day to increase the rush hour side to four lanes. That solution didn't last long since the traffice jams continued to occur. Even adding E-Z pass about 15 years ago didn't help move traffic along much quicker.
Talk of replacing the bridge has been happening for about 20 or so years. You would think in all that time, that the powers to be would have been able to use some common sense in the design and use of a new bridge. First of all and the best solution, in my opinion, was a tunnel, that also had a light rail line. That idea was tossed due to cost and how and where to have the tunnel see the light of day at each end. The second solution was a single span bridge that had a light rail and/or bus transit system running down the middle of the bridge. Again that idea was tossed due to cost. So the final idea that was approved for $3.9 billion and is now in the process of having the pilings pounded into the river bottom, is a twin span bridge with no new mass transit option what so ever. Additionally, the new bridge will have a whopping total of eight lanes of traffic. Which doesn't even add an extra lane during rush hour. The final design is so short sighted and lacks any common sense at all floors me, but doesn't surprise me. What I find utterly stupid and out of touch with reality is that they are building two spans which will be more expensive then one span. There will be no option for mass transit. If money was and is an issue, build a single span bridge with the center section space left void for a future mass transit system of some kind. The least that the powers to be could have done is left open the option for some kind mass transit that could be built in the future. But noooooooooooo, that is not going to happen, which makes zero sense on any level.
What is going to happen is this: on the very day the new bridge opens, it will already be outdated, since it will not be able to handle the amount of traffic. It will be no better than the current bridge at being able to handle traffic. What will then happen in another 5-10 years when even more traffic uses the bridge? Since there is no mass transit option, the answer to that question is more and longer traffic jams and delays. What a great way to show how not to use common sense.
On a side note, the actual design of the bridge, in my opinion, is blase and dull. But hey, beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.
Til next week.
Peter
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Why Can't They Get It Right?
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
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 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
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