If you have seen stronger and funnier evidence than this phone call that a high school degree from a public school in this country proves little to nothing about a person’s intelligence, I would love to see it.
This poor sap spends an hour on the phone (20 minutes recorded below) with no less than 5 Verizon Wireless reps trying to explain to them that $0.002, which is what they read from their screens and papers, is not the same as saying something costs “0.002 cents“. Not a single one of them is able to see the difference. I know, you don’t believe me. Just listen to the thing right below.
Hello people!? Just because it came after a dollar sign and a decimal point doesn’t mean you can read it “cents” willy nilly. I didn’t know whether to cry or laugh as I listened to this recording. Of course I erred on the side of fun and I laughed uncontrollably throughout the call. Here’s hoping that you do too.
Epilogue: According to the blog this guy set up, VerizonMath, after several days, hundreds of thousands of people learning of the incident, and no doubt hundreds of them writing or calling to Verizon, VZW has finally admitted their mistake, refunded the guy’s money, and promised to edit their reference materials to make things clearer for their 2nd-grade-educated reps.
Let’s be clear. I have no beef with you if you answer support calls for a living. I do think you’re incompetent if you don’t know how much money $0.002 is.