My VP asked if I had included the iPhone Hotspot feature on his device and I discovered that when I had the order set up that it fell through the cracks. So the task was clear, have Verizon turn the feature on. This should have been a shrug, a flick of a switch, and blam, all set.

No.

I emailed my Verizon rep and in the subject put down the person, the line, and then in the message, would they please turn on the hotspot. My iPhone was configured to put a signature at the bottom of the email, Andy McHugh – 269-216-4597. So I sent the email to my rep at Verizon thinking that was that.

No.

What I saw was a CC’ed message from Verizon with a number I didn’t recognize. But then again, I didn’t really look at it too deeply because I remember from Sprint that my Blackberry had a “Real Number” and a “Bullshit Number” and I thought at least on a cursory glance that this iPhone had the same deal. A “Real Number” and some “Bullshit Number” that only means something to Verizon. I didn’t give it any thought at all.

Then I got a message from Verizon Government Care, “Uh, Mr. McHugh, we, uh, we can’t do anything with 269-216-4597, it’s not ours.” Yes, you are right. That’s my GOOGLE VOICE NUMBER! Durrr. So I replied “Dear Sonia, please LOOK AT THE SUBJECT.” and then reiterated my request with the name and the right phone number.

So, is it Verizon’s fault for misunderstanding my original message? Is it my fault for having a rather humdrum signature on my emails? Bygones. There is more than enough blame to go around and it wasn’t like there was anything really life-threatening on the line. I have learned a lesson though, it pays to be really REALLY demonstrative and clear and repetitive with Verizon. It’s not that they can’t do the things I ask of them, it’s just GIGO is apparently a very shallow target.

Huuuurrrr. I started to have Sprint-related flashbacks, that’s never good. 🙂