If you see Verizon, turn and make like hell to the horizon.

I’d like to say that I have a lot of life experience- most of it was because I grew up in the third poorest country in the world. And quite honestly, maintaining an account with Verizon is exponentially harder than trying to stay alive. I had AT&T.. they screwed me over several times so I thought, ‘I’ll show them, imma switch to Verizon. Teach them to appreciate me a lil more.’ Little did I know, I simply just played my self. Right off the bat, I found my self being charged double, even triple the amount I was initially told. The lack of honesty and transparency with the customers is staggering. I call their customer service more than I call my own mother. There is something fundamentally wrong with that.

I should have seen this coming when I walked into the store and asked for a simple plan with their cheapest iPhone. Communication is communication. I don’t need to match my student loans payment just so I can receive 2 texts a day and a call once a month from my concerned mother. I guess I wasn’t clear... this lady brought out the latest iPhone and offered the most expensive plan. Their intentions were clear- extract as much money as they can from the people who believe them when they say ‘we are here for you.’ I spent the following months constantly on the phone with CS asking them to explain the unexpected charges that would show up on each bill. I became close with them. Sometimes, I’ll call just to check in and say hi. It’s not their fault Verizon has a wack business plan.

Anyways, you would [rightfully] assume that this is all due to the pandemic that sent the world into shock. But you know what happens when you assume. Haha. Love that one. I called a rep inquiring about their proposed plan with this pandemic. The rep told me not to worry about it until the end of May. I thought, ‘perfect. I’ve lost my jobs but now I can rest assured that Verizon is here for me.’ Sort of like a dysfunctional parent. Once again, I was wrong. Verizon is more like that functional parent who only contacts their kid when they want something. About a month ago, I kept receiving phone calls from an unknown number during times where I would normally be asleep (5am-6am). Eventually, my phone labeled it as spam. So I never picked up. I don’t like spam. I barely even like meat. But one day I did because the call was later in the morning- like around 7. It was Verizon. Classic. The lady on the other line asked me if I could pay the bill. And I said, ‘I talked with a Rep and they said, I’m ok until the end of May.’ She just kept asking me when I could pay. And I kept reminding her that the world is ending as we know it and I’m struggling trying to keep my life going- which is incredibly hard to do with out food or money to get that food. I am not sure what happened. She hung up. The next day my line was cut.

Fantastic right? Nope. But I realized, I’ve spent most of my life in a third world country. I’ve returned from spending 8 months in Belize helping girls recovering from sex trafficking (where I didn’t have a cell phone plan). A cell phone plan isn’t necessary for survival. More specifically, a cell phone plan provided by a company who is willing to lie, cheat, and steal from their customers is absolutely not necessary.

Unfortunately though, we do live in a world where people like this exist. I would recommend sticking to watching the Verizon commercials- in all honesty, they are quite entertaining AND you would save a lot of money this way. Also remember, it’s almost never the reps or the customer service people’s fault. They are just following protocols and guidelines. The people that can implement actual change are conveniently unreachable. I hope this helped. Have a wonderful day. And remember, if the Coronavirus can obey the 6 foot rule. So can you. Stay safe.

-do I sign these?