john@zygot.ati.com (John Higdon) (02/21/91)
Last night the {San Jose Mercury}'s telemarketing fiasco was back with
a vengence. Every one of my lines was called between 7 PM and 8 PM by
a dweeb wanting to know if I was getting the paper OK.
I asked to speak with the supervisor, and when I mentioned my name the
person practically swallowed her tongue. "Oh, no. Your name is very
familiar to us. I must now call my boss and tell him. I can't
apologize enough." That is correct; she could not apologize enough.
This morning I called Pac*Bell and began the formal complaint
procedure against the {San Jose Mercury}. My complaint will mention
the repeated attempts to request that the Merc cease and desist
calling my number with marketing pitches; how those requests have been
ignored and how the harrasment continues.
I also called the head of telemarketing at the Merc to tell him of my
action. He recognized my name, again told me about how it was the
fault of the software, and asked that I withhold my complaint. I told
him that my patience had come to an end and that I was no longer
convinced that any good faith action was really being taken. He then
admitted that he had other people complain and that he would shut down
the whole operation until the vendor could assure him that all was in
order. I told him that our last converstion ended with the same
assurances and now it was time for him to deal with Pac*Bell. The
reason I called him was not to hear more assurances, but to make sure
he knew just who was responsible when Pac*Bell landed on him.
I intend to push as far and and hard as I can. I will cut the Merc
absolutely no slack in this. I was patient for over a year. Time's up.
John Higdon | P. O. Box 7648 | +1 408 723 1395
john@zygot.ati.com | San Jose, CA 95150 | M o o !
[Moderator's Note: Good for you! Please keep us posted as the matter
progresses. Anyone willing to take on the hassles involved in getting
a large corporation to obey the law and respect the rights of little
guys deserves our applause. (clap, clap!) PAT]