While I had no delusions at all that Verizon was the epitome of corporate evil, part of me always held out, thinking my opinion might be just a tad exaggerated.
The head of the country’s largest phone company ridiculed San Francisco’s interest in building a municipal Wi-Fi network that is designed to offer cheap or free Internet service throughout the city.
“That could be one of the dumbest ideas I’ve ever heard,” said Ivan Seidenberg, chief executive officer of Verizon Communications, during a meeting with Chronicle editors and writers on Friday
What, providing internet access is a dumb idea? Competing against the almighty Verizon is a dumb idea? For you it may be, but for quite a few people, competition is… well see, it’s the American Way, Ivan. This is kind of the equivalent of Barnes and Noble saying that public libraries are a stupid idea. Yet, they seem to co-exist just fine.
“Why in the world would you think your (cell) phone would work in your house?” he said.
Well gee Ivan… I kinda spend a lot of time in my house. You see, I kinda live there. And considering I spend so much time in two places – at home, and at work – I kinda thought it would make sense that if I pay a monthly charge for a service, it should at least work in the places where I live and work, and the points in between would be nice too. But hey! You’re right! I was sooo unrealistic in assuming that was reasonable. Silly me.
Last year, the California Public Utilities Commission ordered all phone companies to give customers 30 days to test a service without slapping them with hundreds of dollars in early cancellation fees. But after the PUC suspended the rule a month ago, Verizon shortened its trial period to 15 days to match its 15-day return policy in other states.
“We think there is a deal,” he said. “We invest in the business and have the best service. But when you sign up with us, we’d like you stay with us.”
Oh blast, Ivan’s right again. I shouldn’t have to have a reasonable trial period, because in Ivan’s all-knowing opinion, Verizon’s service is the best no matter what. And if it turns out it doesn’t work for me, well I was just expecting too much and being a bad, naughty customer with unrealistic expectations, and it’s all my fault, and I’m just screwed. How right you are, Ivan!
And now, all of you know why I go through such pains to make sure that I use services that compete with Verizon, and see to it that Verizon doesn’t get a dime from me.