Verizon Wireless Is Less Than Perfect

     My wife recently acquired an iPhone through Verizon along with cell phone service that is offered by them.  The idea was to reduce our telecommunication costs.  Gone now are our in-bound toll-free 800 line, (vast numbers of people have cell phone service that include long distance service at very low cost) or FAX line, and our remaining land line.  The FAX line number is now the number for the cell phone.  We reasoned that we could send FAXes on an Verizon wireless line.  When you call someone’s Verizon-serviced cell phone you hear, "to send a FAX, press 4", so that should work, right?

     I tried sending a FAX using the connection to Verizon.  Verizons 4G network is to dirty to send a FAX using an analog phone.  Our FAX machine is now useless.  My wife can send a FAX by using her cell phone, but if she is out of town, I have no FAX capability.  It is an inconvenience that Verizon did not take the time (or responsibility) to warn us about.

     When anyone calls to send a FAX, they press #4 and send it.  A friend advised us that such FAXes go to ones My Verizon account, from which they may be retrieved.  That means that any FAXes thus sent are there.  Several advertisements for vacations in Mexico are no doubt waiting for me, but also, perhaps, a purchase order from a school.  Attempts to navigate My Verizon to find and read the FAXes prove fruitless.

      We go to the Verizon Wireless store and inquire as to how we can retrieve them.  They have no idea.  The first stupid suggestion is, "Why don’t you just have them email the order to you.  My response was that, first of all Verizon encourages the use of FAX machine by giving you the option of pressing #4 and sending a FAX.  It does that on every call.  It is built into the Verizon system that many FAXes are received into My Verizon account every where, every day.  It should be easy to retrieve them.  The second stupid suggestion is that we should call "tech support" and ask them.  We are the customers.  You are here to solve problems for new customers.  WHY THE FUCK DON’T YOU CALL FUCKING TECH SUPPORT FOR US?