Dear Verizon-

We get it.  We’re stuck with you.  You’re like the abusive spouse that’s got us stuck in a relationship we can’t get out of.  You’ve isolated us from our friends, and the only people we know who might be able to help us out are Comcast, who’s WAY worse, and satellite internet, which we can’t afford.

You have a monopoly.  You even have Geoff’s email address which he’s currently using to try and get a job.  We get that, but it doesn’t mean we have to like it.

Quite frankly, your service sucks.  I’ve met some very nice techs who work for your company, and I’ve met some completely incompetent con men.  Some of your offshore people who identify themselves as “Frank” or “Bob” but are really named something like Sandeep or Naveen are very good at their jobs as well.  Some of them even believe us when we call and explain that we really know what we’re talking about, that we’re IT people, and that we’ve already run the basic diagnostics.  Some of them barely speak English and we have to repeat ourselves ad nauseum to make ourselves understood.

Here’s what may be the worst part though, Verizon.  It’s what galls us the most.  You offer better service.  You offer fiber optic service.  But you don’t offer it to us.  We live in the technological heart of the Greater Boston area.  We live spitting distance from Tech Square.  We’re surrounded by the people who are your demographic for using and singing the praises of your FiOS fiber optic service.

And yet, you won’t install it here.

It can’t be the infrastructure cost.  Other parts of our fair city have it.  Cities a stones throw from here have it.  But for some reason the people the closest to the technology epicenter of New England can’t have it.  Do you want us to try and run a cable from MIT?  Would you rather us go to the abusive boyfriend that is Comcast?  I really don’t get it.

Seriously, DSL isn’t cutting it and DSL that craps out whenever it feels like it, techs who can’t understand us or who can’t be understood aren’t OK, and repair people who pretend to show up and leave messages saying they’re out front when you’re out front and they’re not… well, that’s just unacceptable.

We’d dump you Verizon, we absolutely would.  This relationship would be so over.  But there just isn’t another option.  You’re a monopoly with almost no competition and the only competition you do have is actually worse.  So we’re stuck with you.

We’ll keep calling, hoping that you listen, pleading our case, and praying for better service.  A “Network Specialist” is coming by tomorrow, but I’m not holding out much hope.

~Kelly