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Poor Service Haunts Verizon's Rollout

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: April 6, 2008

Verizon Communications helped make Tampa one of the most wired cities in the nation by crisscrossing neighborhoods with fiberoptic cable that can deliver Internet services at lightning speed.

That's the good news. The bad news is that Verizon failed to support its high-quality product with high-quality customer service.

Numerous complaints have been filed by people who say the company can't get its bills straight. Others complain about its sales methods. Now two members of the city council want answers.

Councilman John Dingfelder and Councilwoman Gwen Miller plan a May 1 forum for customers to vent and company representatives to tell their side.

Even the company's largest labor union is getting into the act. The local International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers is asking members to picket their workplaces - not for better wages and benefits, but to protest the company's abysmal performance with customer service.

There is an old saying that telecommunications franchises are regulated monopolies yearning to be free. But freedom requires responsibility and local governments have an obligation to ensure that companies awarded franchise agreements are a benefit, not a burden, to the community.

When it comes to listening to its customers, Verizon should let us know: Can you hear me now?

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