Nuisance Calls Are Not a Customer Inconvenience Claims Verizon

  Day 10, and Verizon Wireless still can't get it's own Customer Service alibi straight.

  The story so far. One telephone number has been nuisance calling my personal cell phone.  I contact Verizon Wireless,  they can't block it from their end - it has to be done through my on line account. Completed.

  The nuisance calls keep coming.

  Telephone Tech Support, they block the number - the calls keep coming.

  Telephone a Tech Coach who claims the block is not present - despite hard evidence on my end. They go to block the telephone number from their end, and the number now "mysteriously" appears as a blocked number that they can't explain - but the calls keep coming.

  Today I telephone Customer Service - who confirm that no block exists, but upon further review, report that the block is on all telephone numbers - except the phone receiving all the calls. I'm calling them out - incompetent, deceitful, and failure to provide the service requested.

  "You haven't been inconvenienced in any way by the nuisance caller," the Customer Service agent claims.

  Ten days, eight calls and eleven hours on the phone to Verizon, broken sleep, and the inability of a cell phone company to fulfill their service agreement apparently is not enough for Verizon Wireless to be considered an inconvenience for their customers.

  Can you hear me now moving to @Sprint.

Verizon Wireless Bait and Switch

  There are entities, who believe that they are so far above reproach, that they do not have to supply the level of service that they bill for. The worst offenders are cell phone carriers,  and Verizon Wireless heads that list.

  I have been receiving nuisance calls from one telephone number.  Incoming calls at 11:30pm at night, 4:30am in the morning, 6:10am on Sunday morning. Inconvenient times. I know my cell phone carrier has been charging for the past 12 years for a block application - I'll call customer service and ask them to activate it.

  "I'm sorry, Verizon Wireless can't activate call blocking without changing your plan." (Which invokes a higher monthly cost.)

  Verizon Wireless Customer Service is unable to commence a call blocking service that I have already been paying for, without charging me a higher rate? (Sounds like extortion.)

  Customer Service reports that they cannot activate the service, but, I can use the on line web page to access my account and start the call blocking service.

  Later that day, I access the on line web page, log into my account and block the incoming call across all cell phone lines.

  Want to guess who calls me the next day at 9.55pm? My blocked caller. I call Verizon Wireless and sit on hold for an hour without an answer before calling it a night. The next morning, my nuisance caller is at at it again at 06:05am and I phone my cell phone carrier straight away.

  "We can't explain why your block caller is able to get through - let me put your through to Technical Support Tier II."

  "You don't have any blocked numbers," Tier II claims. I call them out and print out a copy of the on line account not only showing the blocked cell phone number,  but the expiration date.

  "Oh, well...we can't explain why your blocked caller is getting through."

  That's what I thought. Verizon Wireless can't supply the services that they have been charging me for. Why, am I still paying them?

  Can you hear that? 

National Screenwriters Day

January 5 is National Screenwriters Day.

One day, my children will be watching and recognize themselves.

And they will sit behind while the credits roll up, just so they know.

Happy 75th Birthday, Dad.

My father turns 75 today.

A milestone birthday, and this year, I was away, once again.

What can I say, my father is better Dad than I am

Happy birthday Dad, from Texas.

The Writing Power of the Dark Side

Laying in bed on Thanksgiving Eve this week, I came to the realization that not much writing has been accomplished in the past year.

The major project - not yet completed.

The prequel - title and idea only.

It would appear that I write better from the Dark Side, when there is disharmony in the galaxy.

Apparently, I have not yet understood the Writing Power of the Dark Side. 

Happy 21st Birthday

In Australia, it is November 17, and my youngest child turns 21 today.

It has been 4 years to the day since we last spoke on the phone.

It has been 4 years and a day since her mother said she would never allow her to visit me in the USA.

It is 7 years since her mother violated court orders and moved her 3 states away.

It is 8 years since I last flew back to Australia, and her mother withheld her from me.

It is almost 12 years since I left Australia.

Her 21st birthday marks the end. It is over.

It's too late for my girls, lessons learned:

- Manage your child child support. Make it your second job and ensure you receive credit for everything.
- As bad as it may be, stay close to your children. You cannot immediately rebuke that which is told to your children, from 7811 miles away.
 
Had I known I would lose both my children to their mothers forked tongue, I would not have left to remarry and have the family structure that was missing the first time.

I would have stayed a single, Dad.

My Favorite Photograph

When I was a child, my parents divorced. As a teenager I visited my father at his place of work one time and saw a photograph of my brother and I on his desk. It was an old photograph, taken when we first started school. 

When I asked my father about it he said "It's my favorite photograph."

Earlier this week I was sitting at my own work desk when an employee asked about a photograph of my own daughters. The phrase rolled off my tongue.

"It's my favorite photograph."

And in a moment of revelation, I learned yet another thing about my own parents divorce. My father's favorite photograph was just that, because,  that is all that he had.

The young girl in my photograph will be 21 in about three weeks. It's been four years since we spoke on the phone, and nine years since I have seen her. I have no idea who she is now.

With reverence to Ringo Starr, now, all I've got is a photograph.

Delta Airlines Leaves a Disabled Soldier Behind on 9/11

On September 11 2016, Delta Airlines completely forgot about a 75 year old disabled retired serviceman at Los Angeles International Airport. After being booked on a commuter flight from San Diego to Los Angeles, with connecting flight to Australia, +Delta Airlines dropped the ball when the original flight was late to leave the terminal.

Forgot to document his emergency contacts.
Forgot to document he needed a wheelchair.
Forgot to call his local family, when requested.
Forgot to advise on rebooking his connecting international flight.
And while they did give him a bed for the night...
Forgot to feed him.

Shame on you +Delta  Take a good look at the disabled soldier you left behind on 9/11.

Chicken Soup for the Soul: Angels and Miracles

A story twenty five years waiting to be written, represents the second appearance this year and the fifth overall.

For Alyse and Meghan, who never knew their Father.

Halfway

Halfway to the finish line.

The first 50 has been great.

The next 50 look to be awesome.

In Memorium, an Honorable Gentleman.

This week I have been in Orlando, Florida, enjoying a vacation. The day after I arrived, news reached me from Australia of the passing of a honorable gentleman. The man left behind a wife and two children. He had just celebrated his 50th birthday three months ago.

At the same time, news reached me about a story that has been 25 years in the making. In 1991, a friend passed away leaving behind a wife and two children. He was barely 25 of years. His passing profoundly affected me, not only because he was my friend, but because we graduated in the same Police Academy class, and worked side by side in Law Enforcement. For 25 years I carried a guilt over his passing, not for the event that took his life, but for the children he left behind.

His children were just two years and eight weeks of age.

I always wondered if there was more I could have done for his children, but I didn't. I isolated myself from his family, and as it turned out, from my own family. I eventually wrote about him, and that story will appear in November this year.

The honorable gentleman who passed this week left behind two children, who had just completed school and were making their way in the world.

It will not be 25 years before I write about how great, their Dad was, and how lucky I was to know him.

Put a Tablet On The Shelf

In the real world, writers complete major works, editors correct within a short time, publishers get the book out and royalties begin rolling in as every book is a major success.

When was the last time you purchased a book with a cover, paper and a spine?

E-Books are generally less cost to process, and open up a new reader base, but lacks the authenticity of a book on a shelf.

I'm just not ready yet to put a tablet on the shelf.

Third Book in 2016

Which Australian author has signed for a third book this year?

:) 

Disaster Management - Just Another Day at The Office

I'd like to thank the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for all their exception training.Without their help, today's disaster could have been much worst.

Sunday morning and I had just settled down to watch the Nascar race. The green flag had just waved when this blood curling scream erupted from the other end of the house.  Daughter #3 came a running.

"There's a mouse in my room."

Normally such exclamations do not phase me, however,  Daughter #3 followed it up with "It's a disaster, I don't know what to do."

Disaster? Emergency Management? Incident Command? This, is what I train for.

Daughter #3 debriefed me on the situation. "I'm not equipped to handle this."

So much for the Preparedness cycle, we'll move straight into response.

"I'm sorry sweetie I cannot help you until you expend all your own resources attempting to get the mouse out." No sense breaching any procedure today.

Minutes later she returned claiming to have cleared a path for me. Having received the "Emergency Declaration", I moved in.

The place looked like a bombshell had hit. First of all I couldn't see the floor let alone the mouse - I was going to need some Resources - probably a Type III cat. Jasper Kitty was first of the Cat Corps to arrive. Debris management went into place as Jasper begun his Search and Destroy mission.

"I'm out of here," Daughter #3 stated. "I can't sleep in here tonight with a mouse running around."

Good - self evacuation, saves me issuing a mandatory evacuation order. "You shelter in place on the couch while we continue with the Response Phase."

The mouse was located but the debris was too excessive - drink bottles, empty Cheetos, how many shoes does this girl have - I was going to need another Resource, something a little stronger. I'm going to need a Type 1 cat, and in came Jacob. Just in time too, I had to release Jasper on Safety Grounds when he started to show signs of Stockholm Syndrome towards the mouse.

Jacob wasted no time and had the mouse cornered.

"Don't hurt it," Daughter #3 said, peeking through the door from the edge of the disaster perimeter.I swore under my breath, I'd forgotten about Animal In Disaster.

Within hours, I had the mouse worn out, cornered, and captured. Removed from the Disaster Zone, and I was now into Recovery, returning all the bedroom equipment back to it's original position.

"No," Daughter #3 cried. "All my shoes go back under the dresser."

"Not any more," I said throwing them into the cupboard. "Mitigation."

Had to be my own CERT team as well, sending out and paying for own pizza once the job was down. And Papa's Johns still messed up my order.

Disaster Management - it can turn your Sunday into Another Day at The Office.

Geocaching With Murphy

This 4th of July weekend, Murphy has given me the opportunity to have two Amazon best sellers in a month.

Presenting, Geocaching GPS: Stories of Geocaching First, Geocaching With Murphy, now available on Kindle and in hardback starting 4th of July.

Thank you to my geocaching buddy.

Murphy

Coming soon to a geocaching book near you.

#murphy

Because the Night

Because the Night

Belongs to Writers

...and Bruce.

 ...even if Nils does steal Patti's spotlight.

Unauthorized Account Access Sanctioned by Verizon

Have you ever dialed a cell phone carrier's Customer Service division? You call in, punch in your pass code, provide your secret answer, and if you get a real person, they want to know who they are talking with. They ask for permission to access the account, and then they confirm that they can talk to you because you are listed on the account.

That's how it should work.

Earlier this evening Customer Service at Verizon Wireless confirmed by date and name, that they have have been talking to someone, who's not on the account, is not authorized to operate on the account, and who has authorized changes to the account.

It's taken 7 months to locate it and 4 hours on the phones in the past two days alone.

Who needs a better network as explained by colorful balls when Verizon Wireless sanctions unauthorized access to account.

#verizonwireless #verizon #admissionswithoutcorrections

Witness to The Fall of Saigon

The Fall of Saigon.

Earlier this week I got to listen to the first hand account from the man on the right in this photo.

Look for a feature article in a major publication soon.

Mission Control is Dark, Wall Street has Fallen.

Umm...

"Mission Control is Dark. Wall Street has fallen.."

Last week I wrote about the loss of a long standing computer, Mission Control.

Unbeknown, my files for several financial matters had been backing up to the recovery disk of the computer, instead of the external drive.

"Houston, we have a problem."

The recent American taxes were completed but the Australian taxes may have to be paid late. Extract files, transfer to another storage - maybe more money than I I'm willing to invest to recover just a couple months difference from my US taxes.

Lesson learned form the last crash several years ago - all the writing is salvaged including the major project which is now back on the menu.