This past week, I have gotten so angry at Verizon and Dell that at times, I did nothing but yell and throw things. Of course, some serious drinking was also involved.

I started having problems with my computer last week losing connectivity and therefore, losing my internet signal. This was happening with such regularity, that I sent my computer to the Computer Doctor who waved his magic wand and restored it back to factory settings. That was the losing of my address book and calendar referred to in a previous post. The fixed computer did the same thing so he recommended I get a new desktop.  I always do what doctors say.

The new desktop worked good for about 14 minutes. That was my first dealing with Verizon technical support. After two days of testing, they said the modem must be bad and they would send us a new one. We have 5 computers on our in-house wireless network (that Verizon set up). The new modem came, was installed, and after three more dealings with technical support, continued doing the same thing. Kicking me off periodically due to no connectivity.

Please note that every call lasts at least an hour, and as long as three hours to somewhere in India, Pakistan, or somewhere they speak English but you can't understand a word they say.

In the meantime, my new computer which has Windows 7 doesn't recognize my old Dell printer which started my phone calls with Dell Technical Support somewhere in India, Pakistan or Zimbabwe. After they determined that there was no upgrade so that Windows 7 would recognize my printer, they wanted to sell me a new one.

I said, "No. I have to have a working printer tonight. I'll just run to Staples and get a new one."

That started a hard sell program that made my old days in the car business look tame. It even included kicking me over to a supervisor to "Close the Deal" and promise me delivery in 1-2 days rather than the 10 days they first offered.

Like a fool, I agreed and bought the thing, fully expecting it to be delivered last Friday. As of this writing, it still isn't here and as of this morning, is with Fed Ex in Nashville.  It wasn't even shipped until 5:30pm last night.  Count the lies in that one from Dell!!!!! After yelling at them last night, they refused to cancel my order and return my money.  So, if you are thinking about dealing with Dell, DON'T.

Back to Verizon, they finally determined that there is a problem with the incoming phone lines and promised a technician at our house on Monday. By last night, still no technician, I gave them until 9:30 this morning to get a technician here, and as of this writing, still haven't seen one.  Their latest promise is that the technician will be here sometime between 8am-noon tomorrow. 

But then, I forget. It takes a long time to ride a camel from Pakistan to Forest, VA.

So, I have started a Down with Verizon, Down with Dell campaign and are hashtagging my posts to Twitter and Facebook accordingly.  Feel free to relate any nightmares with these two poorly run and operated companies on these pages.