Eber:  When Technology Does Not Work

I have a love/hate relationship with technology.  When it works, I love it.  When it does not work, I hate it.  Sadly, our lives revolve around technology, email, phones, texting, research and even games and photo collections.

The evil part of this is that when you need help, you are forced to deal with people 10,000 miles away, who barely speak English and seldom understand what you are asking.  I bet when you read this article you will remember a time these things happened to you.

The worst part is that we are held hostage to phone system thousands of miles away.  As the cartoon says, “there ought to be a law” that all assistance is from operators in the U.S.

Eber:  When Technology Does Not Work

Richard Eber, Exclusive to the California Political News and Views,  4/10/24  www.capoliticalnewsandviews.com

“This call is being monitored for quality control and security purposes.  Please stay on the line and a representative will be with you shortly.”  

It seemed like hours; but only a few minutes of fulfillment music ensued, that would put an elevator to sleep.   At last a guy from the Philippines  speaking hard to understand pigeon English, comes on the line.

Calling himself “Peter” this fellow asks for a phone number, account, and code prior to sending me a text message to verify my identity.  Once these formalities are settled, I try to explain why my wireless internet service is not working very well.  Only three devices, including computers and televisions operate at the same time in my home/office.

This process continues over a course of several days with four or five overseas representatives trying to assist. Each time I must repeat the same story as no representative has access to past conversations. Nothing can ever be found in Cyber 800 World where solutions are at a premium.

These people do not have the power to fix much of anything at call centers.  They just pass the buck hoping the problem will solve itself. 

Finally on my 5th call,  a case number NRB0001153462 is given.  Within 3 business days, my complaints  (which apparently many other Verizon customers are having, is supposed to be addressed. 

A week passes.  Just like a Valentine that never came, no one contacts me. My problems, with inadequate wireless services, remain unsolved  While over10 hrs has been spent  dealing with Verizon,  $75.00 in credits are given to compensate for their screw-ups.

This doesn’t ease my pain.  I just want the damn service  paid for to work.The beat goes on with this hapless corporation.

At the same time Microsoft has cut off my word processing abilities to use their  365 program.  A year ago, I purchased this service.  Unfortunately, I could not receive or send emails because the security code is being held by my previous employer.  

Without this security code I am FOB sidewalk as computer techs have been unable to remedy the situation. 

Even their well trained engineers in India can’t help.

 As a result I want to move on from Bill Gate’s empire. They are not aware of my dilemma as no doubt their emails are being sent to an address that no longer exists. 

The only problem is my Microsoft Word Directory is frozen.  Past and present articles I am writing are not available unless an extortion payment for the renewal of Microsoft 365 is paid.  It really bugs me over 500 articles of mine are being held for ransom by the Windows mafia operation.

In effect I am paying for what amounts to a corporate protection racket. Trying to reach MicroSoft has proven to be impossible as all their calls from consumers are handled by artificial intelligence (AI) devices. Unfortunately, they are of no assistance to me. 

What to do? With no other choice, I will likely have to pay Microsoft for extending 365. This will enable copying files to be transferred to another vendor.  In the end, the gangsters  from Bellevue Washington will likely triumph.

My recent experiences with high tech companies tells me change is needed to protect consumers from exploitation.  With my suggestions below not being recorded for quality control purposes, might I suggest:

1. Phone calls pertaining customer service should be handled by workers domiciled in the United States.  It is obvious the present system of foreign based call centers isn’t working.  If there are a shortage of qualified network engineers to man the phones in the USA, why not bestow work visas for such people?  It is almost

certain these guys will not be needing public assistance like most of the 10 million unwanted visitors crossing our Southern border since Joe Biden was inaugurated.

2.  Bigger isn’t always better with companies such as Microsoft, Apple, FaceBook, and other social media concerns.  It appears these businesses are exerting far more power than any oligopoly should possess in a democracy.

3.  Following the Presidential election, Congress should consider legislation to determine the role high tech is to exert in the future of our country. Keeping the first amendment in mind, should they be subject to regulation?  This discussion should be a non-partisan issue if such a thing exists an longer.

4. Conversations recorded for quality control purposes that can’t be traced by call center personnel or their recipients, should be banned.  Such intimidation tactics have no place for answering the complaints of consumers.