Adrian beat me to this post, but i think it deserves another mention not only because it is now the top rated post in youtube, but also due to the sheer stupidity of the people in verizon’s call center for their inability in differentiating $0.002 and 0.002 cents.
George who now set up a blog dedicated to ‘fighting’ this, seemed to have a lot of patience in explaining to various customer representatives of Verizon about the issue. If i were him, i wouldn’t know how long i would have lasted.
This is the part when i found it really amusing:
G: Well, let me just start out with a basic question.
M: Okay.
G: Do you recognize that there’s a difference between “point zero zero two dollars” and “point zero zero two cents”?
[pause]
M: Point zero zero two dollars?
G: Do you recognize that there is actually…
M: …and point zero zero two cents.
G: Yes, do you you recognize there’s a difference between those 2 numbers?
[pause]
M: No.
and even the Floor Manager got really confused:
A: What do you mean .002 dollars?
G: [big sigh] Okay, I think I have to do this again. Do you recognize that there’s a difference between one dollar and one cent?
A: Definitely.
G: Do you recognize there’s a difference between half a dollar and half a cent?
A: Definitely
G: Then, do you therefore recognize there’s a difference between .002 dollars and .002 cents
A: No.
G: No?
A: I mean there’s… there’s no .002 dollars.
G: Of course there it’s.. it’s two..
A: There’s .002 cents is what you’re quoted, and that’s what I do show that you… you paid, or that ya know, you’re paying for the kilobyte usage.
G: Okay. [sigh] I don’t.. I don’t know a better way to express this. .002 dollars is the same as .2 cents.
A: Okay. Well how would you… What would .002 dollars look to you?
G: It’s point…
A: Obviously, a dollar is “one, decimal, zero, zero” right? So what would a “point zero zero two dollars” look like?
G: I don’t know…
A: I’ve never heard of .002 dollars. .002 dollars, it’s just not…
G: This is just… this is just math we’re talking about… this is…
A: …not a full cent.
G: That’s right. And…
For the whole recording you can hear it from here:
and here’s the full transcript.
After this phone drama, he did put in a written complaint and here is what he got:
Dear George Vaccaro,
Hi George. My name is Nikki and I understand your frustration regarding the data charges on your bill. I am happy to assist you today.
I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and confusion this has caused. Per the remarks in the account, I have found that the customer service representative provided the correct pricing information. However; due to the miscommunication, I am willing to credit half of the data charges which would be $-36.00. Please reply to this email if you would like to accept this offer.
It has been a pleasure assisting you today, and we appreciate your business. Should you have additional questions or concerns, please reply to this e-mail.
Sincerely,
Nikki
Verizon Wireless
Customer Service
UNBELIEVABLE!
given that this just happened a couple of days ago, it would be interesting to see how this will be resolved!
UPDATE – the issue seemed to be resolved with verizon offering a full credit ‘refund’ as per email below:
Dear George Vaccaro,
Thank you for your reply. Again, I apologize for the miscommunications regarding this issue and for your frustration and inconvenience as a result.
In review of your account a previous representative has credited for the data charges in question for $71.79. You may take this amount off of your current amount due. In the future please keep in mind that it is .002 dollars per KB while in Canada.
It has been a pleasure assisting you today, and we appreciate your business. Have a wonderful week!
Sincerely,
Michelle
Verizon Wireless
Customer Service
Quad-Band: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz GSM/GPRS, EDGE + Wi-Fi
