Service with a smile? Only at the CDCTA meet

David Snogles
Published: June 24, 2008

You may recall last week how I mentioned my recent move to Orange and how Anita and I were spending our time trying to get things sorted so that we could properly move in. Well, we managed to move the horses to their new home without a hitch and we have been on a wonderful trail ride around the area, enjoying the weather and the beautiful countryside to boot, but we still haven’t fully moved into our new house. What’s the hold-up you ask? Well, I can sum it up in one word — Verizon!

We have everything we need at the house (other than our furniture, of course, which is due to arrive any day from the UK) save for one important item. In order to carry out our daily tasks we are very much in need of a phone line. Not just for the ability to make calls around the country without interference or the annoying call dropping that happens with cell phones (no matter how “reliable” the network claims itself to be), but as the backbone to a speedy internet service which, to be quite frank, we need just to survive these days!

Now, back in the UK, we used to have a phone company very similar to the Verizon I have so far witnessed called British Telecom, or BT, as it is more commonly known.

I say “used to have” because once the Monopolies Commission came in and ordered the telecommunications marketplace to be opened up to competition, BT got its act together and sharpened up its service — to the delight and benefit of all us poor customers!

Now I know there is supposedly a free marketplace here in the USA, but because the country is so vast, there are clearly problems with infrastructure and as such I found myself with just the one service provider who could actually provide a physical service and not just say that they could. Well at least I thought that was what they said!

My experience to date has left me wondering otherwise and I have never before experienced such a poor customer service from a company as I have here. Apparently I am not the exception here, many others I have spoken to just nod sagely and mutter under their breath when I use the infamous “V” word.

I have experienced companies in the past who have failed to turn up for appointments when they are supposed to, but they usually called beforehand to apologize and to re-appoint.

Not so with Verizon — they just don’t show, and what is worse is that no one makes any attempt to contact the customer to let them know what is happening.

They just leave you to call customer service for the umpteenth time and get passed from pillar to post, through the infernal automated answering systems that ask you the same questions over and over again, and finally after about 15 minutes you get unceremoniously cut-off! When you do eventually get hold of a human being and query what has happened to your new service, there is no apology, no sympathy and no concern — just a robotic style announcement that your service is due to be connected.

Three times now I have experienced this over the past two weeks, and if I had a choice I would have taken my business elsewhere — but there lies the rub. I have no other feasible choice at this time, and I bet those folks at Verizon know it. What makes for real “salt in the wounds” is that I can’t get the new ultra high speed FIOS service either, yet I can see the fiber optic lines running past the house in just the next field!

Oh well, enough griping on about the woes of those awful telephone people, I just thank heavens for being able to chill out and enjoy some really excellent local equine events such as the Commonwealth Dressage & Combined Training Association Summer Horse Trials which were held at Locust Hill Preserve, Culpeper last Sunday. This is the equivalent of a three-day event (dressage, cross country and show jumping) held in just one day. It is an amateur event and is supported by many volunteers who help to organize the event, act as jump judges, and give up their valuable time for the benefit of members and the general public alike.

If you have never been to a one-day event before, keep your eyes and ears open for the next one happening in your area. It makes for a great day out (there are usually refreshment booths) and the cross country section which is my favorite (and something Anita used to do herself back in the UK), is an exciting spectacle to watch, especially if you can find a vantage point that lets you see most, if not all of the entire three to four-mile long course.

The CDCTA itself puts a lot of work in to providing facilities, opportunities for practice and training events for its members and if you would like to know more about them and the calendar of events for this year take a look at their website cdcta.com — it beats the hell out of waiting around for Verizon!

Until next week ……

David Snogles can be reached at david_hasbury@ yahoo.com