Thursday, April 28, 2016

CCR 04-28-16 An Open Letter

the   Controversial  Committee   Report
“We don’t raise sacred cows...we just butcher them.”


"An Open Letter"

Dear Irving City Council:

   When Verizon, in the dark of night in a smoke-filled room, sold their e-mail system to AOL and the company’s phone, FiOS-TV, and Internet services to Frontier Communications on April 1, 2016, Irving users and subscribers were assured by all parties: prices would remain the same; service would not be interrupted; and no customer concerns should be observed.

   Sadly, the Frontier and AOL trains have run off the tracks.  Either Verizon wasn’t interested in the capabilities of Frontier, or Frontier thought they could handle such an undertaking.  

   AOL e-mail users, for former Verizon customers, are still plagued with problems; and most FiOS premium channels with Frontier seem not to be working.  
   (Tune to a channel you are already paying for and the screen probably fills with a promotional ad to subscribe to the channel.  What?!)

   Even land lines with Frontier are fraught with new glitches and problems.

   Did Verizon flip the wrong exit switch when giving Frontier the keys to the system?

   To compound the problems created by these sales, Verizon has disconnected their customer service lines, and Frontier customer service lines seem to mostly connect to a busy signal.  If one is lucky enough to actually talk with a customer service representative, the language understanding-barrier presents another set of problems while attempting to resolve the issue.

   Residents of Irving are expending tremendous amounts of money for undeliverable services, while not being able to accurately register problems with the new provider.

   Local social media is abuzz with the multitude of problems and issues created by Verizon’s sale to Frontier.

   Personal Note:  An e-mail, to Frontier regarding FiOS-TV, took over a day to receive a response and, as of this writing three days later, the issue has not been resolved…nor has there been any follow-up by Frontier personnel.  Premium channels, which are being paid for, are not functional.  Non-HD set-top boxes are not functioning properly.
   The land line which includes a $6.99 monthly charge, for a virtual number, to receive faxes is now inoperable along with the land line itself.  Contacting a Frontier customer service representative has failed to resolve the issue at this time.
   Conducting personal business without services, supposedly to be provided by Frontier, is become impractical.

    What makes all these issues and problems even more egregious, with Irving customers, is that Verizon is seeking to build a for-profit campus (unrelated to their previous communications business in the city) and will be seeking massive infrastructure and tax deferrals from the City of Irving…paid for from personal property taxes.  
   (The total amount of these corporate "gifts" to Verizon have yet to be disclosed by the Irving City council.)

   For every problem, solutions should be provided.  

   The following might assist to provide some positive relief to Irving citizens, who have depended on Verizon over the years, and are now forced to utilize a provider who seems to have considerable difficulty maintain the level of service they were handed:

  •   The city council and city administration should immediately meet with key Frontier Communications personnel to determine when services will be returned to normal as it was before the sale by Verizon.  
  •   Frontier should consider a billing reduction for customers regarding all the time their service was interrupted or nonexistent.
  •   The Frontier customer service functions (phone and e-mail) should be overhauled to eliminate considerable time attempting to reach and be assured the issue is understood and resolution is forthcoming.
  •   The Irving City council should not consider any development agreement with Verizon until such time as Frontier has demonstrated Irving’s communications systems, under Frontier, is totally functional and working as efficiently as it was before the sale by Verizon.

   After over a week of dealing with unresponsive and faulty communication services, isn’t it time for the city’s leadership to become involved on behalf of all Irving citizens?

Sincerely,

Staff of the CCR
Dylan Westie, Mark Holbrook, Mike Howard   
   

cc: Frontier: Liam Morrison, Texas Media Relations, (via e-mail) Liam.morrison@FTR.com

      Verizon:  Lowell McAdam, CEO, (via e-mail) lowell.mcadam@verizon.com