pointer’s blog

Becky moved from one apartment in her building to another (2 bedroom apartment) on 09/26.  In preparation for this she called Verizon (on 09/22) to schedule to have her DSL service transferred to the new apartment.  The building she is in is relatively new–built within the last 5 years or so.  Verizon continues to insist that there is no phone line in the new apartment.  Here’s a log of our attempts to do business with Verizon:

Becky:
09/22/2008 @ 17:04 ET – for 31 minutes
09/25/2008 @ 17:36 ET – for 33 minutes (disconnected)
09/25/2008 @ 19:38 ET – for 26 minutes (on hold; did nothing)
09/30/2008 @ 16:56 ET – for 3 minutes (disconnected)

She gave up at this point.  A good friend recommended that I try the Verizon Direct forum over at DSL reports.com.  Verizon actually pays employees to answer questions on this forum.  With great hope, I registered an account and posted my question on 09/30/2008.  A very kind employee with the registered nick of VZ_MichelK responded stating that she couldn’t really help me directly.  She did, however, provide guidance on what I needed to tell the CSR.

Here is the catalog of my phone calls:

10/02/2008 – 13:03 ET Spoke with a Ms. Mitchell. She told me that she had taken care of everything and that my wife should receive an email regarding the new install date.  I never received the email

10/03/2008 – ~15:07 ET – 15:54 ET Spoke with Ms. Tillman. She said she made a note on the account and forwarded a request to the “referral group.” She said that a network technician will be going out to set it up. I think she meant that the technician will be making sure that everything is in place to proceed with the provisioning process. I provided her with my mobile number for callback, but never received a phone  call or an email

10/13/2008 – 09:27 ET – 10:30 ET Waited for 1 hour and 3 minutes on hold.  Apparently Verizon’s CSR group is closed for Columbus day, but they don’t change their greeting(s) or log out of the IVR?

10/20/2008 – 09:37 ET  – 09:58 ET Spoke with {forgot to ask for name}. I immediately explained the situation and requested to speak with a supervisor in a polite dialogue. I was told that it would take a minute to secure the ear of a supervisor and was put on hold.  Loretta is the supervisor I was transferred to. She is trying to get in contact with someone in the “Dry Loop” group.  Loretta told me that she was going to do some digging and get back with me sometime between 16:00-16:30 ET on 10/21/2008. She seemed to understand the situation and stated that she would thoroughly document it for me (in the Verizon CRM?).

I have yet to hear back from Loretta, Ms. Tillman or Ms. Mitchell.  I also have yet to receive an email from Verizon.

For what it’s worth, the people I have spoken with on the phone and the kind VZW employees (VZ_MichelK, VZ_DebbieH, and VZ_KlaudiaK) on the forums have been extremely polite and empathetic.  I just wish at least one of them was empowered by Verizon to help me.

I saw this post and had to screen cap it.

I was starting to lose faith in Digg…

So I really am alive, but I’ve been terribly busy.

Please go download Firefox 3 today.

I still haven’t uploaded pictures from the trip to Mass. Becky uploaded some though.

I made it back from vacation in one piece. I met Becky in Boston and we drove to Hyannis. We took ferries to Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. I’ll post more–including pictures–when I have time.

On our way back through Boston, Becky took me by MIT. I was supposed to have dinner with a friend and his wife, but he told me they’d rather dig holes in their backyard. :-\ sorry spot, I had to

I saw this on Gizmodo and couldn’t help asking myself how their insurance company would respond. Would the car insurance companies of the LEGO owners be responsible for this? I’m doubting it, since they weren’t driving their car(s).

I drove to Chicago on Thursday (05/01) and stayed with Brenda and Sam. I couldn’t have made the drive on a nicer day. There were a few obnoxious truckers in Kentucky who thought it would be cool to go 5MPH below the speed limit beside each other, but it only lasted for a bit.

Friday, I went to lunch with Keith, Yossi, and Roi (sp?). Dan was supposed to come, but he drummed up excuses ranging from jury duty to family emergencies to get out of it. We savored the wonders of Noodles & Co without him. P.S. If someone from Noodles & Co reads this, please open a franchise in Chattanooga, TN!

I hung out with Jesse and Angie on Saturday (pardon the picture quality, Becky has the good camera):

Current Album: 05/03/2008 - Chicago with Jessie and Angie
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Note that Angie is pregnant with a girl and due in July!

And I went to Chris Walter’s wedding on Sunday (check out the garden where the reception was held!):

Current Album: Ceremony
Images:

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So I mentioned that I had been traveling/driving a lot. I stole a Google Docs spreadsheet from a friend a while back and started tracking my fuel economy and how much I was paying for fuel. Please note that I travel a lot on the east coast and there is a noticeable cost difference between the regions in which I travel. Maybe I should start logging the location that I fill up in.

I drive a 2006 Golf GLS TDI. It’s a PD TDI, for those of you that care.

Here are some pretty charts:

I finally got back home last night. :-\

As fun as it was to be in DC visiting Becky, I never sleep well anywhere but my own bed at home. It’s really good to be back.

Here’s the synopsis:

- Drove to DC on 04/17-18

- Had Passover Seder with Becky’s extended family in Silver Springs, MD on 04/20

Current Album: 04/20/2008 - Passover Seder
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- Worked in the Juniper POC lab in Herndon all week (04/21-25)

- Went to Becky’s 10 year HS reunion @ BMA with her

- Drove back from Hamburg, PA -> Chattanooga yesterday afternoon

I’m ready to sleep for about a week now. I barely had enough energy to go to the gym this morning.