Service of Too Big to Work Well in a Country where Big is Best
March 6th, 2023
Categories: Air Travel, Airlines, Big, Corporations, Inefficient, Technology
Image by Myriams-Fotos from Pixabay
My last post was about the trouble I’m having reaching Verizon to update my credit card info to continue the Auto Pay service on my business account. Verizon claims to be the largest wireless carrier in the U.S. with 142.8 subscribers.
Following are some more examples of organizations that may simply be too big to work efficiently.
Lights please
Con Edison describes itself as operating “one of the most complex and reliable electric power systems in the world, serving 3.4 million customers throughout a 604-square–mile service territory.” Last week I asked two men in the hallway on my floor what they were doing. A sliding door by the elevators was open revealing the meters for the tenants. Seems the meters weren’t communicating usage information so the technicians were retrieving it the old-fashioned way apparently typing the information into a laptop. I grumbled about technology gone wrong and one worker told me that lately his mobile phone has dodgy service, constantly dropping connections.
Can you hear and see me now?
Two weeks ago the fiber optic connection between my apartment building and the Verizon FIOS operation was interrupted causing a blackout with my high-speed Internet, TV and phone service. I wasn’t the only person here whose service was disrupted. Could have been due to something as simple as a finger smudge on a lens.
Love letters lost
A friend sent me a Valentine card from Westchester, 18 miles from where I live, postmarked February 9. It arrived on March 1. [Photo below.] I mailed an envelope to an address within my zip code that hadn’t yet arrived in five business days.
Oops
There seems to be a spate of almost plane related incidents in the U.S. and on March 1 CNN reporters Gregory Wallace, Pete Muntean and Jordan Valinsky wrote about five “recent near-collisions on US runways,” in Boston, Burbank, Austin, New York and Honolulu.
I agree with a comment by Lucrezia, a loyal reader, about the earlier Verizon post which addresses this one as well. She wrote: “It’s becoming increasingly clear that these corporate behemoths are taking on more than they can handle. In order to properly serve their clientele, they will either have to enlarge their staff or downsize. Being the greedy entities that they are, they’ll probably do nothing unless or until they face collapse.”
Do you think size and/or greed are the reasons so many procedures between giant entities and their customers are falling apart? Is technology put to use before it’s ready for prime time? Are there other reasons so much is running aground these days?
Tags: Con Edison, USPS, Verizon
My friend and I passed the Xfinity store. I said, “I am going in to tell them the cables are still lying all over my back yard.” [It has been this way since an ice storm over a week ago.]
We go inside and this very young and rude man said the wait is twenty-five minutes to see an account executive. I said, “I don’t need to see anyone; I just need to report the cables are still on the ground.”
He replied: “Well, you will have to wait your turn.”
Okay, now I lost my temper. I asked if I could leave a note on paper! No response! Cindy could tell I was really mad. She did have a piece of paper, so I wrote down my message on (gasp) paper.
Fortunately, another young man came from behind the counter. I said “I know I am a dinosaur, but I can’t seem to contact Comcast by phone or online.” He smiled and took it.
The first creep would have just thrown it away! Cindy was waiting in the car by that time. I think she was afraid of a scene!!
Deb,
I look forward to learning if you get a response either by phone, email or in the form of a crew to remove the cables that lie in your backyard. You are lucky that there is a place to go to in person to make a ruckus.
I am sad that there are rude young people in the Midwest suburbs. I thought that once you are away from a metropolis manners are taught and learned.
I had a friend who when confronted by anger from an employee would surprise them by quietly saying “My, I am sorry you dislike your job so much.” For some reason, these few words would scare most into changing their tunes and disagreeing with her analysis of their behavior.