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Verizon Sued After Tech Punches Customer In Face
suraj.sun writes "A Verizon customer filed a lawsuit after the tech the company sent out got a little punchy. Instead of fixing the customer's problem, the tech allegedly hit him in the face. The New York Post says the tech attacked the customer after he asked to see some ID before allowing access to the apartment. From the article, '"You want to know my name? Here's my name," Benjamin snarled, slapping his ID card into Isakson's face, according to Isakson's account of the December 2008 confrontation. "The guy essentially snapped. He cold-cocked me, hit me two or three solid shots to the head while my hands were down," said Isakson, a limo driver. He said the pounding bloodied his face and broke his glasses. But things got uglier, Isakson said, when Benjamin squeezed him around the neck and pressed him up against the wall. "He's prepared to kill me," Isakson said. "That's all I could think of." The customer broke free and ran away. The Verizon tech then chased the customer until he was subdued by a neighbor who was an off-duty cop.'"
While it's possible the tech just snapped and went apeshit on the guy (after all, there are violent headcases out there...), why do I get the feeling that there's a whole lot more to the story than we're getting from the victim?...
I expect the tech assumed racism from being asked for his ID, much like Dr. Gates did in the encounter in Boston.
I think his actions speak for 90% of the people that have ever worked a support job.
Verizon spokesman Rich Young said the company has "zero tolerance for any sort of unethical or illegal behavior" and noted Benjamin was not convicted of any crime. "In the months since this incident, his conduct has been blameless. As a result, we will not take further action," Young said.
Wow, they've gotten no complaints from the HUNDREDS of homes they've sent this guy into since "this incident." Makes you feel warm and trusting all over, doesn't it?
Apparently "zero tolerance" doesn't mean the same thing to Verizon that it does where I work. Do they at least give their service techs "___ Days without Attacking a Customer" buttons?
In "The Armed Citizen" in American Rifleman than on Slashdot.
He shouldn't need to show identification. All Verizon guys walk around with an entourage of hundreds of jumpsuited, smiling techs and assistants. You really can't miss them.
Yea right, My wife had a PGW worker ( Gas Works) knock on the door saying that he needed to check for a possible leak
He was wearing PGW garb but when she asked for ID he said it was in the truck and would be right back. He never did come back.
We called PGW asking and they said that no one was scheduled for our address. ALLWAYS ask for ID before letting someone into your house.
You know I might agree with you if Verizon had disciplined the employee but considering they are quoted in the article as saying he still works for them I am going to say maybe this is one of those suites that makes sense. I'd prefer to think any company that is going to send technicians to my house would have a no punching the customer "even if he really deserves it" policy but maybe that's just me. You can have the crazed employees in your house that get to punch the customer for something unreasonable like asking for ID which I would bet if you check Verizon's web site is even a suggested behavior when you have tech come out.
The company didn't fire him, and the DA declined to press charges. So yeah, he's really pissed off that all he wanted was proof that the guy claiming to be a phone tech really was a phone tech, and he got punched 3 times in the face, strangled, and chased down the stairs. And Verizon is just like "Well he wasn't convinced, we can't punish him, have a nice day sir." Lolsuit is his only option left.
ASCII stupid question, get a stupid ANSI
Unless the dude had a history of violence/instability that they were aware of and ignored, I can't see why VZ should be held liable.
The dude should be charged criminally with assault.
The fact the Verizon tech still has a job is interesting.
"In the months since this incident, his conduct has been blameless. As a result, we will not take further action," Young said.
The lesson here is if you work for Verizon you get to punch the customers as long as you only do it every now and then.
The employee still has a Job most likely because he is not White !!
And that's not funny !
"People don't just attack random strangers, there is always a reason."
You're kidding, right? Have you ever worked a job that dealt with the public? Have you ever walked down the street in a major city? Have you ever visited a bar? I've seen plenty of one-sided situations and I suspect a lot of people on Slashdot have also.
Well its a bad situation. The guy should have been fired for committing assault on the customer. More to the point though is this is a cry for money when verizon is not the person who snapped. He should be going after the tech guy for any damages.
Bullshit. Verizon not only didn't do a background check and hired this guy and sent him to the customer's home (when it turns out they didn't need to even send him in the first place); when the guy beats the crap out of the customer they don't apologize -- in fact they call him "blameless" -- and they don't even fire the guy, practically guaranteeing this will happen again.
Sure, it's sad you lost your leg, but you wouldn't have made ten million in ten life times
No one is claiming you would have earned that much.. they are claiming that there are going to be ongoing expenses related to the loss of the leg (crutches, maintenance of artificial leg, installing a wheel chair ramp, etc.) and of course you're quality of life is now diminished because you may not be able to enjoy things you used to be able to, etc. And this is only if the hosipital made a mistake it shouldn't have.
Verizon tech? I don't believe Verizon company policy involves punching customers. Why is Verizon paying for a stupid employee's action?
Because it hired a nutjob and sent that nutjob to a customers home? Ya, its their job to NOT hire nutjobs.
Guess what, your cell phone bill isn't going to go down thanks to this lawsuit.
No, but hopefully it will cause VZ to be much more careful about the people it sends to my house. BTW, nobody gets a tech sent to their house for a CELL phone. This is either a land line or DSL.
This isn't about justice, it's about getting cash. Twits like this cost us hundreds of dollars a year in medical costs, repair bills, etc. Guess what -- your appliance tech gets to pay for insurance for in case a customer sues his pants off. A doctor gets to pay literally tens of thousands for insurance per year. Yeah, this guy got his face smashed, but now the rest of us will be paying for it. So, let me tip my hat and say: I hope your ****ing nose is crooked for the rest of your life, greedy twit.
Ya you know what, if it means VZ is more careful about who they hire, I think that's a good thing and I'm willing to pay the $0.0001 for it.
The only people whining about suits like this are the scummy doctors and shit companies being held to some kind of standard, and you swallowed their lies hook line and sinker.
But good job jumping to the conclusion the paper wanted you to jump to, all black men are thugs who just finished doing a bid.
You're an asshole for assuming this is about race. If you look at that picture and the only thing you notice about it is his skin color, then you're far more racist than the GP. Either your first reaction was "black guy! Run!" and you're defending him out of guilt, or you thought "black guy's being oppressed!" and you're defending him against some giant (nonexistent) racist conspiracy.
Yea, I cant really defend his actions, but that customer was probably the 15th straight guy who saw a black guy come to his door and ask for ID.
I'd ask for ID if I saw Eminem rolling up on my sidewalk. You're pretty much an idiot if you don't ID everyone who shows up at your door asking to come inside, whether black or white, young or old, rich or poor. That you want to paint this as a race issue says a lot more about you than it does the person you were replying to.
Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
Sounds more like meth to me...
-Myke
Unions. Need I say more? :-)
Mike @ The Geek Pub. Let's Make Stuff!
Our DirecTV guy pointed the dish to full signal strength by eye.
That's what you think.
Pointing a dish by eye where you start picking up the signal is not too hard if you do it often. Even an amateur only needs a compass, a level and the software which calculates the elevation and bearing for your approximate position.
Centering the dish with no tools to evaluate signal strength and no reference landmarks except the position of the sun? Buddy, you got taken by a lazy joker who figured out that you can't tell the difference.
Moderating "-1, Disagree" is simple censorship. Have the guts to post your opinion.
Are you defective? What's so hard or tough about asking for ID? My father-in-law retired from working for the gas company, and he said people used to ask for his ID all the time. If they didn't, he'd tell them they ought to next time. You're not accusing the person or anything; you're just asking them to prove that they're who they say they are. Anyone who works on-site has been IDed hundreds of times and won't think a thing of it.
Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
No, the point is that if you're black you can get away with it. No sentence, not fired. Poor white guy would not get the same break I guarantee it.
This is not the same as saying that all black men are thugs. (your words) Anybody can lose it, skin colour is irrelevant. Skin colour is relevant to how law and employers will respond however.