Comments on: More Verizon Wireless Math

By: Anonymous Verizon

Anonymous Verizon — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 01:13:11 +0000

Maybe you would know most state per megabyte charge. You were deliberately trying to confuse them because you are the real moron. VERIZON RULES!!!!

By: Ruth

Ruth — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 00:10:47 +0000

I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don’t know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.

Ruth

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By: Evil Bender

Evil Bender — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 18:10:15 +0000

I worked for VZW answering the phones shortly after the first of these conversations was recorded. I can’t say whether upper level management was trying to defraud anyone (and I’m not inclined to defend telecoms in any event) but I can say we were specifically told to avoid making this mistake, with the actual rates highlighted.

Of course, I was also working for Tier 3 tech support: what they were being told in basic customer service positions, I can’t say. I do know that in my department, these videos were a huge embarrassment–as they should be.

By: I.M. Pissedoff

I.M. Pissedoff — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 16:52:02 +0000

“Verizon Wireless Math”… is that some sort of oxymoron?

By: Greg Laden

Greg Laden — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 15:39:42 +0000

It is possible that the bias is as expected. However, if so, then management is simply taking advantage of the situation by not training the bias out of the process. Customer service people are trained and customer service called monitored “for quality of service.” At the corporate level, this is willful ignorance if it is not willful misdirection. Same final outcome.

If someone went around the store and marked all the coffee mugs one dollar less than they are supposed to sell for, that company (in the US anyway) has to sell the mugs for the lower, incorrect marked price. Verizon should be forced by a class action suit to retroactively charge one one hundredth of the price for everyone receiving this service, because that is the price Verizon is advertising this lower price via what MUST be considered the most reliable source.

By: H.H.

H.H. — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 14:24:30 +0000

It would seem that these service personnel are being trained to lie. Otherwise, there would be a more even distribution of incorrect statements. Am I wrong?

Well, I think the reason the “lies” aren’t more random is because they were probably told the correct rate cost and are trying to remember it. They’re just getting it wrong. So they’ve been trained that it’s “.5 cents per kilobyte.” Most representatives who answered put the decimal in the wrong place. Some forgot that it was per kilobyte and suggested that the rate was per minute or some other unit of time. And many seemed not to remember anything about the number except that it had a 5 in it somewhere.

I think this is closer to the statistical spread you would see for wrong answers on an exam, where students are trying to regurgitate a number they remember hearing before rather than making up a number completely at random.

So I do think the lack of even distribution of incorrect statements is evidence that the representatives were coached, but not that they were coached to lie. The answers seem consistent with the idea that they were coached to repeat the correct answer, just not very thoroughly. If anything, this video is evidence that Verizon needs to do a better job ensuring that their employees retain the information they are given, or at least have quick access to such information when answering calls.

By: Tony P

Tony P — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 11:54:34 +0000

I don’t know if it’s deliberate on Verizon’s part. Put it this way, their customer service and sales people aren’t rocket scientists.

But then knowing Verizon, of course it’s deliberate. They’re hurting and will try to extract every pound of flesh they can.

Have to pay for that useless fiber install somehow.