Thank you, come Again!

My DSL modem broke. As such, I had to call Verizon to schedule a replacement. I am so angered by the level of inadequate customer service provided to me.

I am very liberal. However, I must say that while I encourage equal opportunity, I am not a huge fan of sending these customer service jobs overseas to begin with. I guess that is one price we pay for true globalization. It was originally meant as a cost-cutting measure as overseas wages were significantly lower than domestic wages, especially once benefit costs were tabulated. While Verizon's plan is supposedly aimed at saving me money, I would gladly pay more for an experience similar to that when contacting Cingular, which operates from Tennessee. I'll take a drawl over a choppy accent any day.

My call was routed to "George". George did not speak very good English, which quickly answered the question of whether I was speaking to someone stateside or in India. George could not answer my questions, he proceeded to tell me (not in so many words) that I don't know what I'm talking about. I must have ventured too far off of script. Once he realized he could not help me, it was determined that I would need a replacement modem. He struggled to deliver my home address, having no clue how to pronounce Philadelphia. PHIL-A-DEL-PHI-A! You know, one of America's LARGEST cities! Even in Mumbai, Delhi, Calcutta, or anywhere else from where you may be operating, you have surely heard of it. And I am surely not the first person in all of Philadelphia to require a replacement part.

I am sure that costs for the amount of time I wasted trying to bridge the apparent language barrier have now been offset by the costs it could have taken to resolve the issue (which I might add was not actually resolved) in half of the time speaking to someone who was didn't have the Verizon Script in one hand and Hooked on Phonics in the other.

I hate to cut into George too harshly though, he did give it his best shot. I'm more angered by the ineptitude of his employer. Here is my favorite part. The automated system placed me on hold, but first ran me through some potential trouble-shooting procedures. Finally, before sending me to George, they finished with the message "we're sorry you are having difficulty connecting to the internet, we will be happy to assist you. While you wait for one of our technicians, try logging on to help.verizon.net to assist you."

Correct me if I missed something here, but how is providing me with a website to troubleshoot connectivity going to help me AT ALL?

Screw you Verizon. And your little Indians too!