WebAxe reviews Recovery.gov

Dennis Lembree and I review the Recovery.gov website on the latest WebAxe podcast. If you are interested in accessibility, front end development or better coding I highly suggest taking a listen or subscribing to the podcast! It is amazing how much you learn just be taking a practical look at some of the sites currently online.

What makes it more interesting is that the website is required to be accesibile by the section 508 guidelines, yet clearly fails to do so.

How to Respond to an Authentic Jobs Posting

Looking into the next few months I am seeing an influx of ongoing, relationship based work and clients. Looking into the future of my company I expect and hope to grow steadily, which at some point means expanding my team.

At this point it doesn’t make sense to take on a new full time hire, however I will certainly need dedicated work over the next few months (and hopefully well into the future as well.) What I decided to do was try out Cameron Moll’s Authentic Jobs by posting a listing for a freelancer.

I got a plethora of responses, all very qualified

I was shocked at the quality, quantity and how quickly I got responses from a vast amount of qualified individuals. So much so that sorting through and rating all of the candidates has been difficult (although I would have to say this is a good problem to have.)

Because of the high level of competition and simply not enough time to deeply go into every single candidates portfolio I had to develop a system to really pin point the “rockstars” that I am looking for. While I wish I had the time to devote plenty of thought and review to each case it simply wasn’t plausible.

If you are applying for a job or a freelance position, what you might think about

While every person who is reviewing applications will be different, you can be sure there are common elements for any person playing a HR role.

Address the needs of the listing

I was surprised at how many applications failed to answer questions I specifically asked to have included. Others ignored large portions of the listing (like experience with common open source CMS solutions). Even if you had no experience (or little) I spent twice as long considering the applicants who at least addressed all of the points.

Make it easy

I must have gotten 60+ applications for qualified individuals. The reason that I am looking for a new expert to help my team is to make things run smoother and easier. At some point I realized that if the e-mail sent to me was difficult to review than chances are the applicant wasn’t a perfect fit.

This included not giving me specific links to recent work, instead pointing me to their website homepage (where I have to spend some time hunting for their portfolio). Some applicants attached a resume (word or PDF) rather than explaining their relevant experience. I would have had the time to learn a lot more about the applicant if it had been included in the e-mail.

Be honest

Some of the applicants I sent a second round of questions, one of which asked “Are you a detail oriented person or a big picture person?” A large portion of responses said something along the lines of “both,” which really didn’t answer the question I was asking. While I realize the question may have sounded like a trick, I was looking for someone who was detail oriented because I am not. I need someone to balance out that weakness. I can not get an accurate reading on a response like “I am the most detailed big picture person in the world.”

Stay strong on your pricing!

Since I was asking for freelancers one of the questions I asked was “what is your hourly rate?” While of course I have a ceiling on what I could reasonably pay, but the listing was pretty clear that I was concerned about quality over cost. I was shocked at how many people e-mailed saying that “price was normaly X but they would be willing to negotiate.” This often comes across as “I don’t value myself at X an hour.” Be strong on your price, if you feel comfortable charging it then you are worth it!

Do what you can to stand out!

There were some great responses that talked about what blogs they followed, what books they read, clients they had worked with, mistakes they had made in the past (very impressive idea!). Some responses had very clever subject lines that caught my attention, where others spent a little more time formating the e-mail to be easier to read. These sorts of things impressed me.

Don’t send a boilerplate response

I would recommend writing something unique to every listing you respond to. I could tell some e-mails were simply boiler plate responses with my company name swapped in. Had I only gotten 10 responses that might work, but if you are competing with 50 other people chances are this is not going to work.

Best of luck!

I am very impressed at the quality and quantity of responses I got from the listing. This is great for those of us posting listings, but makes it difficult for those who are responding. Consider these tips next time you respond to a job listing online.

Working on working on work

When running your own business, especially a small one (meaning it is myself and two helpers) I often find that you can spend just as much time (if not more) on all the details surrounding work as the actual billable hours themselves.

When I say this I don’t necessarily mean doing all the non-fun things like accounting, paperwork, etc… Because if you get to a point where those things are really dragging down your billable hours it becomes profitable to hire someone to do it for you. Even if they bill at the same rate you do chances are they will get through it much quicker.

What I am talking about is the interaction and management of clients and potential clients.

Any project is going to require a dedicated amount of time to communication. Any potential new clients even more so. Now if you have experienced this at a high volume hopefully you have figured out that you need to account for and add it into your proposals. If you haven’t, now is a time to start…

Scheduling

As demand increases and you are required to become more productive to keep up, one of the first things that you will learn is that you really need to set a schedule of what work will be compelted and when. This will help you figure out and align your bandwidth and set realistic expectations for your clients.

What Scheduling Can’t Account For…

The client themselves. Now I have always hated how often people express an angry sense of “Me vs the client” syndrom, however this is a case where you simply can’t always predict, schedule, and account for the timing of a client wanting interaction.

Most clients you come across will have an expectation of getting a response fairly soon after they pose a question (weither it is via phone, or via email). However it is pretty easy to get into a situation where you are simply answering the phone / email all day long rather than making progress on the projects you have available.

How Do You Handle This?

You could hire someone to try and handle your communications. However they are unlikely to be able to do much beyond delay the onslaught of communication and the salary cost is nothing to sneeze at. Author Tim Ferriss recommends driving everyone to e-mail, setting up a auto-responder that says “I check e-mail at 10:00a.m. and 4:00p.m.”, and then only answering e-mail twice a day.

This is a good start. However you are still likely to have issues with those who just can’t help but pick up a phone, and bug you time and time again.

Be Clear Up Front, and Charge for Points of Contact

Lately what I have found to be effective is to be very clear up front that I… selll… hours. I don’t sell a product, so what you are paying for is the time of myself and my employees and contractors. This time is NOT just the time that anyone is directly working on the project, but also the time it takes to manage your project including phone calls, emails, etc…

Clients may not like this idea at first, however if you clarify it with “If I did not handle the business this way I could not realistically give you a clear picture of when your project would be done, or that it would be done on time.”

At this point there seems to be a bit more clarity in the situation. I usually go on to say “This is also the reason why it is important to understand that it may take up to 24 hours for me to get back to you. However this will most likely only been under extreme cases.”

Sometimes it All Crashes and Fails…

This last week it just didn’t work out. A very quick turn around project for a new group (Sustainable Solutions Alliance) while handle a few other Phase II / Phase III including some SilverStripe coding for Ann Arbor State Bank I had an onslaught of calls, emails, and problems, that I couldn’t really pass off. Being that some of the calls and emails were “things have broken” it is hard to explain to a client your 24 hour policy when it is the state of “emergency.”

I have yet to find the best way to handle this. As you start to acquire and aid new clients at some point you will run into a large portion of dormant clients (who are not regularly assisting your cash flow) who will have no problem knocking down your door when something goes wrong.

At this point I think raising your rates might be the best solution, but I am all ears. Anyone have any worthwhile suggestions?

The Gutenburg Diagram in Design

We are fortunate to be a part of the web design as it has begun to reach a level of maturity. With advances in technology and prominent bloggers publishing great information on design concepts such as using grids, baselines, art direction and the rule of thirds (among others) we are able to work with the design of websites on a much higher level than even a few years ago.

However there are other principals of design that have yet to get ample amount of attention or usage. One of these principals is the “Gutenburg Diagram,” which you have likely used on some level with out realization.

How the Gutenburg Diagram Will Improve Your Design

The gutenburg diagram is a method of understanding how cultures who read right to left, visual navigate a composition, and how to optimize layout as a result of it.

Since we are trained to read from the top left to the bottom right naturally, we instinctively sweep a composition starting from the top left down to the bottom right (often several times).

As information hierarchy and visual emphasis are such critical parts of design, knowing how a user is going to look at your site despite design can lead to a much more effective layout.

How the Diagram Works

The diagram dissects the composition into four quadrants. In this case since we are designing for the web, it will be dictated by the screen resolution and location of the fold.

The upper left quadrant is the first area that a users eye will focus on. The eye will then sweep downward crossing the center or intersection of all four quadrants, before coming down to the bottom right hand quadrant.

The upper right quadrant and lower left quadrants are called fallow areas. The top right is a strong follow area, where the lower left is a weak follow area.

These areas will receive little visual attention unless they are emphasized through design. The top right will receive more attention than the lower left all other things equal.

Using the Diagram for Excellent Web Design

By understanding and working with the diagram we can maximize the effectiveness of our designs by using it to our advantage. It is probably a good thing that web convention puts the logo in the top left of the screen. It will be the first thing that users see, tell them where they are as well as help brand the website.

De-emphasis

Since we know that the bottom left and top right quadrants will receive less visual attention, we can put less important elements in those areas. You may have noticed the convention that puts secondary navigation links in that area, such as client login, rss feed, etc…

This is a perfect use of the gutenburg diagram, as such navigation is not nearly as critical as the primary navigation. However those who are looking for it can still find and use it when needed.

Place important visuals and content consciously

As you design down the page, you may also want to consider moving more important content or visuals into the path of the diagram. If you have a choice, place important content at the fold on the right hand side of the design rather than the left. A common occurrence would be swapping content for a image left to right, to place greater emphasis on one or another.

You may also want to reconsider placing the navigation in a right aligned manor, as you are unlikely to place it at the bottom of the composition anyways.

Examples of the Gutenburg Diagram

OH Tele

Rocket Club

Revyver HQ

Wellness Class

Final Thoughts

The Gutenburg diagram is not gospel. Once you start playing with visual emphasis and weight, how a user looks at a design can drastically be altered. However the idea is to use the diagram to your advantage and use our instinctual way of looking at a design to strengthen the layout and composition.

Wordpress as a CMS tips on Stylized Web

On my blog design related blog I have recently posted an article about making Wordpress client friendly as a CMS. Worth taking a look if you use wordpress for clients (or in many cases it is helpful if you use it for yourself as well).

I will be doing a post soon on the use of flutter for wordpress as a CMS, so stay tuned to either blog for more information.

cheap macbook pro’s on amazon

If you are looking for a deal on a MacBook Pro, check out the listing of the late model 15.4″ pro’s on Amazon. Sure it isn’t the shiny new glass screened version but it is still a hell of a deal on a great machine if you don’t need the latest and greatest.

This was brought to my attention a few days ago by coder / developer Mike Erb so I am not sure how long they will have the old models in stock.

I am considering picking up at least one for my intern while supplies last. If you come across any other good deals on these units feel free to post them in the comments.

Spatial Awareness in Design

Have you ever come across a design that is so simple, so clean, yet so beautiful that it makes you wonder “How are they able to do so much with so little?” If so, then you are probably subconsciously realizing the special awareness of the design. Huge, Inc is a perfect example of the “less is more” approach with outstanding spatial awareness.

What is Spatial Awareness

Spatial awareness is simply the understanding and use of space in an effective way on your canvas. It sounds simple but it really requires a high level of mastering to get correct. This could be taking advantage of whitespace, or even grouping elements close together to create tension.

Those designers who can harness and use space to their advantage will find that elements can be placed in all sorts of unconventional ways, yet still work. Often times beginning designers place elements based on what “looks” or “feels” right, however that is not the best way to use space as accuracy and consistency is very low.

How can I use Spatial Awareness?

The first step to great spatial awareness in a design is developing a grid system. A grid divides your canvas up into small sections consisting of margins, columns, modules, flowlines and spatial zones. The canvas then ends up looking like a a series of boxes with columns (I found an example on google images here).

With this grid you can now find where elements should and can be placed on the page in a way that activates and takes advantage of space. Because you are using space in a consistant mathamatical way the overall composition of the design feels much more consistant and unified.

Taking it to the Next Level

These same principals of consistency can be applied to the typography as well. Because the grid will dictate margins for any element on the page (if a column is 18 pixels in width, then the margins of headings should be 9px/18px/27px/36px/etc…). The line heights off all type should also follow the structure and rules of the grid.

All of these steps to better map out your designs will be a subtle but noticeable improvement in your design over the tried and passable “eyeball it” methods. Note: There are times where you want to break the grid, some designs actually benefit from the chaotic and unstructured feel. However you have to make a decision as a designer that it is in fact what should be done.

I will be posting more about spatial awareness and using grid systems in the future, stay tuned.

Have any experiences with grids or spatial awareness? Post them here!

Writing for Personality Profiles (Optimizing Landing Pages, Part 3)

“Optimizing Landing Pages” is an on going series that will total 20 posts. The series is written by 3.7 DESIGNS and Ross Johnson to help web professionals build sites that achieve specific business goals. This is post 3, and the topic is “Writing for Personality Profiles.”

As much as us designers would like to think that conversion is heavily based on visuals and aesthetics, the truth is that the content of a site is really where you get an opportunity to persuade users to convert or take action. Now that isn’t to say visuals isn’t important, the visuals are extremely important; it is just important at different stages.

Points of Resolution

When a user comes to their site they are always going to have questions that need to be answered before they take the action that you wish them to take (or in other words convert). These questions are called “points of resolution,” and as a web site strategist it is your job to anticipate these questions and answer them.

Some typical points of resolution could be:

• Does this site offer what I am looking for exactly?
• Does this site offer a solution to my problem?
• Can I trust this site with my information?
• Can I trust this situation will work?
• Will I be able to establish a long term relationship with this site?

Personality Profiles

The tricky part of this process is that users are going to have a variety of different questions, and all of those questions will need to be answered despite the fact that they will be different.

To simplify the development of content and prevent the need to stuff the page with more content than anyone will read we look to personality profiles. Using personality profiles we can anticipate the majority of questions that will be raised, and how to answer them in an efficient way.

Methodical

Some people just want the hard facts, and these people are often described as “methodical.” Where others want to know that they will be well taken care of, the people on the phone will be nice, etc… Methodical people are not those types of people. Instead they want data, diagrams, facts, proof. They will sit and read through detailed copy about how your product or service will solve their problem and they could care less about anything else.

Spontaneous

A spontaneous person wants excitement, acceptance, they are flexible and open to new suggestions even if it doesn’t feel like the perfect fit. They are much more likely to make a purchase or action based on the idea that they will gain a higher status or fit in because of it. Reinforcing a strong brand or establishing high credibility through testimonials can really catch the attention of a spontaneous user.

Humanistic

Humanistic users value other peoples needs before theirs. In most cases they are looking for evidence of being able to establish a long term relationship with a company. They don’t want to have to hunt for a new company to work with every time they have a need, they want to have their contacts with in a company and know that they will be taken care of. Consider the use of testimonials to show them that previous customers have been delighted with your service and approach.

Competitive

Competitive people want to win. They are controlling and goal oriented. They are looking for accomplishment, and your product or service needs to be the key to their accomplishment or they are looking elsewhere. They want a guarantee that what you provide will work, no questions asked. Even if it is a personal guarantee it means something.

Putting it all together

Of course you won’t know exactly what type of user is going to be viewing your site, so the trick is to write for all users in an engaging way. That way the user will self select what portions of the copy are most important to them. Further, you can provide in-text links to let them click to more detailed information and answers to their point of resolution.

For example:

You will be excited to know that all of our search marketing strategies use a time tested strategy that ensures success for every client. The approach has helped thousands of companies succeed, and we are equipped to meet any objective that you may have. Beyond the strategy to make it work, we are your partner in success. We are not happy until you see results. You will be accomplish your goals, we guarantee it.

As you can see even if you were to scan the text you could pick up on the important details, and click the in text links to learn more and have your questions answered. No matter what personality type (or mix of personality types) you have the opportunity to get your concerns answered so you can move to the next step and take action.

My life as a web design / development entrepreneur…

I feel that I live a pretty fortunate life, that is to say I am able to work full time on my own web design company and make enough to not only pay the bills, but have a downtown office, and pay people to help me on my projects. There are obvious pro’s and con’s to doing the business thing day in and day out (and it often is a seven days a week sort of deal), but some days I am reminded why I do it.

Part of running a business is networking and meeting people, as well as being an advocate for the things that really push the industry (and your company) further. The core of this networking and advocacy is to join and start groups that brings people together that you wish to meet, educate, and learn from. Today consisted mainly of working on and with those groups that I am a part of.

This started by at 9:00 where I attended a local group called Micro Co-working. Simply put, Micro Co-working it is a way for small business people, entrepreneurs, and those who are self employed to get some social interaction during a work day. This interaction and networking can be very refreshing, anyone who has worked from home or in a small office will relate to the feeling of isolation that one gets in such a situation. Despite the fact that I did not get billable work done, I did get to networking and interact with others in similar fields. These same people could some day recommend work to my company, or partner with my company on projects (that could come straight to me, and I need their help or vice versa.) Case in point, I was able to obtain the help of local Ann Arbor Information Architect Dan Cooney on some wireframes that I was working on for an upcoming web service project that I am a part owner of.

Not only was this valuable in the service that he provided to me (for free), but additionally I learn the extent of his expertise so that I can pull him in on larger projects, or refer people his way when I can’t help them directly.

Straight from co-working I attended a local lunch group called LA2M or Lunch Ann Arbor, Marketing, where expert Jamie Cope from nFormation Design talked about engaging user experiences and how his company uses 3D modeling to create them. His insights were incredibly useful, and as someone who is an advocate of conversion based web design I found myself saying “wow I never thought of that” more often than I would like to admit.

From LA2M I filled myself with work, before learning that my poor wonderful cat buster may be sick… which was cause for a quick run home and status update, followed by plenty of advice from Nicole on what to do next before taking him to the vet.

But I couldn’t stay with Buster as I had another networking event by the name of Refresh Detroit. Had it been any other event I would have surely missed it, however this one that I co-founded and planned it all. Surely it would be bad taste to simply not go, and there was little that could be done in two hours when it came to my cat Buster.

However there was a lot of value in going, even though the chances of me winning business through the connections of Refresh Detroit, the knowledge that is shared through such a group of like minded web professionals is invaluable. We all have secrets and methods that can help our industries and business become successful, and it simply is a matter of getting together to share war stories. I even learned of a few local people who are readers of this blog, which is flattering and reason to keep writing. Thanks Karen Tuttle and Jeffy Mackey for tuning in.

This day really got me thinking about the core of what keeps me self employed (and in turn able to employ others), and it boils down to relationships. I may have a skillset that is desirable, and able to use that skill set to provide a valuable service to others… but it is the relationships that I have with current clients, past clients, and will have with future clients that will keep this business moving forward. Even if I was the most skilled at what I do in the world, with out the ability to build and manage relationships no one would want to work with me.

It is often that the account people of advertising and marketing get overlooked despite the fact that their job is essential. Having done (and at this point continuing) both I truly understand the value and importance of managing expectations and relationships with those who wish to give you money in return for valuable services.

Being part of and managing these types of groups and networks is simply a set of the relationships that you need to maintain and grow in order to be successful at the business you do.

With out the networks and relationships you will never be able to achieve the goals you so wish to achieve.

Verizon Wireless Customer Service – More like customer dis-service

Now normally I am not a huge fan about blog complaints about companies, I would rather write informational content and I believe in second chances. Having helped companies on the other end of the spectrum (dealing with reputation management), I don’t want to potentially abuse any potential power/influence through a blog post.

However, Verizon Wireless has disgusted me with in a matter of 4 days of getting their service.

Day 1

Bought the LG Voyager, came with a kit of equipment (holster, bluetooth, car charger), purchased the most expensive plan at unlimited data, txt, minutes, etc…

Day 2

Went to call customer service to port my old phone number over to the new phone. Can’t find the customer service number anywhere. It is not in the phone, or in any of the books that come with it. I had to call the billing phone number and get transferred.

Representative asks me a few questions regarding my information for the porting process. Tells me she needs to transfer me to the “porting center” to complete the process. Transfer is messed up and I get kicked back to the main menu. Upon getting a hold of a new representative and explaining the situation, she says my port went through and that with in 2 hours or 2 days the phone will stop being able to make out going calls and all I need to do is hit *228 to activate it. Fair enough….

Day 3 / Day 4

Number doesn’t transfer over, no big deal…

Day 5

Decided that the Voyager was not for me. Not great with e-mail, no real good applications to read books, RSS feeds, etc… Plus it keeps telling me that my applications have “expired” and that I need to pay to reobtain them? (My e-mail has expired?)

No problem, the Verizon sales person told me I could change the phone with in 15 days if I don’t like it. Great!

Head to the mall to replace it, wait 20 minutes in line because there are three people before me that need help and one sales rep. Great staffing…

Rep tells me they are out of blackberry curve phones and to visit a new location, fair enough.

Drive down to the new location where there are three sales reps and three people ahead of me that need help. I wait 30 minutes while they take their time helping customers, spending long periods of time in the back room “transferring numbers” while I and the long line behind me wait to actually get help.

The customer behind me comments “I hate coming in here, I always end up waiting 30 minutes. Sometimes I come in here and people are just standing around not helping customers.”

A customer at the front desk being helped mentions “I was in here the other day and they were helping new customers over existing customers.”

When I finally get my chance to go up, I explain my situation. I am told right off the bat that there will be a $20 activation fee for switching phones… great, was never told that– but whatever.

While looking at the receipt she notices that the phone clip that was part of my original package was actually rung up as phone case and she can’t return it. I will have to exchange it back at the original Verizon station. Great…

Additionally I am told that I can only switch the phones once, am I sure that I want this phone? Well after 45 minutes worth of waiting I hardly want to spend more time nit picking over phones and asking questions, especially with 4-5 frustrated people in line behind me, one of which only wants to pay her bill. So I agree that it is indeed the phone I want.

The rep starts trying to switch the phone over, pauses while staring at the computer and says “Why are you doing this to me?”

Turns out that because my phone number was never switched over, it has a future dated order and she can’t switch the phones.

To try and fix the situation she calls up the customer service phone porting number. The representative who answers the phone asks her a few questions, before she puts the headset down, puts it on speakerphone and says “The phone is hurting my ear.” At this point we are trying to hear and talk to the phone-rep while two other in store sales reps are asking and talking to the other customers in line. Great…

The rep informs us that I was never put through the “port confirmation” process. After I go through this process I will get a text message with in 2 hours to 1 day that will confirm the port has completed. So much for the information I was told on day 2 regarding the phone not making calls and activating it.

I ask why I was never put through the confirmation process or why I was told conflicting information she simply reads off why I need to go through the port confirmation process again.

After going through the port confirmation process the rep comes back on and asks me for the password for the previous carrier account… a password I don’t have with me. With out that password we can not port the number, I can not switch phones. At this point it would be an hour wasted.

Keep in mind it has been clearly explained several times at this point that the reason we are calling is so that I can exchange the phone. I have to bring up and ask if I can simply cancel the port. This of course sends the phone rep into a whole speech about how I could get a new temporary number, and port the number later.

The in store representative has to ask why I can’t just keep my existing temporary number and port it over later, to which the phone rep again goes off and talks about how I can cancel the existing temporary number and get a new one.

Meanwhile I hear a customer next to me get asked if they would like to consider upgrading their minutes when their service is up next week, to which the customer responds “I am NOT going back with Verizon.”

We finally sort out that I CAN in fact keep my existing temporary number and just cancel the port. The in store representative hangs up on the phone rep before she can finish her “end of call speech” about what we did and what I can do if I have any more questions.

At this point it had been over an hour and the store was closing, I was the last customer in the store. They lock up, and my representative worked on setting up and activating my blackberry.

While waiting for the activation my representative pauses to try and smash an ant on the wall with a stapler. She comments “God I can’t wait for Orkin to come next week.” One of her co-workers says something, and she responds “I think they are coming out of the bathroom.”

Another co-worker answers the phone, sounds like her boyfriend. She says “I am still at work” and hangs up. The rest of the workers begin joking around about significant others who call at work, and other personal life related gossip.

Finally I am given the activated phone, a mere hour and twenty minutes later.

More food for thought, last Friday Nicole whole is also on Verizon went to have her phone numbers transfered from her old phone to her new phone… They accidentally erased all of her numbers on her old phone. Their consolation? Waved the $15 transfer fee… wow.

Even more food for thought… I went to Jimmy Johns for dinner next door after Verizon Wireless, they had me paid, my sandwich made, and me out the door in less than three minutes.

It is unfortunate that the state of the wireless industry is at this level. If you talk to anyone with any service they are not completely happy. Additionally in talking to other marketing professionals I have learned that all of the phone companies are competing to switch customers over from each other, there is NO focus on retaining existing customers.

This means that all they care about is getting you to sign that two year contract, who cares if you are happy after that. Who is going to spend the cancellation fees?

I plan on contacting Verizon customer service and telling them my story, I will post any updates here. Has anyone else had good / bad experience with Verizon, or any other wireless carrier?

Update

Verizon, in it’s efforts to continue to want to keep their customers dissatisfied has again treated me horribly. Upon calling again to get my number ported over, I am given conflicting information again from the Verizon representative. They now state that it will take 72 hours, and they are going to mail me a consent form. Uhh ok… upon questioning this situation I am transfered over to 3 different people, all who ask how I need help and forward me on to the next person.

When I get someone who seems to be able to help, he tells me that I can confirm over the phone. I go through the steps to confirm, and again I am not asked for a pass code. This representative states I don’t need it and that I will get a text message with in 1 hour to 1 day.

Alright, fair enough. I have had enough of this, and call to speak with a manager.

The first customer support representative I am connected to interupts me half way through me explaining why I want to speak with a manager laced with attitude asking “Sir, you have only had the service for 5 days, you haven’t even recieved a bill, what problems could you possibly have?”

I explain… and she puts me on hold to talk with another manager. I am placed on hold for 15 minutes, where manager “Justin” comes on the line where his tone pretty much sums up that he couldn’t care less. I explain the situation and he tells me “I am sorry, we can offer you a $35 credit to your account and forward a complaint to the store.”

Um, $35 at this point is an insult. I have wasted ten times that in billable hours. How does a complaint to the store help me at all?

I explain this, and he says “I can’t do anything but offer you a $35 credit.” Despite telling him that I am extremely dissatisfied with the service, and am prepared to tell anyone NOT to go with Verizon in addition to the fact that I just signed up for a $3,600 contract over two years, he failed to make any effort to change my opinion.

This means either A) Manager Justin is not fit to be a manager, or B) Verizon doesn’t give their managers enough power to actually correct issues that have caused great customer dissatisfaction.