Why is all of this name calling being allowed in the forums?

[oldfashioned]

I understand that people who post at times are going to be expressing their frustrations but even just on this one post for general products and services, a customer was calling Verizon employees "liars" and "morons" and the Verizon employee who responded to that didn't bother to edit those parts of the message. 

Name calling is totally unnecessary and immature coming from any grown adult no matter what the problem is and I am surprised that this is being allowed here to say the least.  I didn't even read the posts because when I saw all of that, I thought it was very disrespectful and demeaning.

[prisaz]

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@questioning wrote:

I understand that people who post at times are going to be expressing their frustrations but even just on this one post for general products and services, a customer was calling Verizon employees "liars" and "morons" and the Verizon employee who responded to that didn't bother to edit those parts of the message. 

Name calling is totally unnecessary and immature coming from any grown adult no matter what the problem is and I am surprised that this is being allowed here to say the least.  I didn't even read the posts because when I saw all of that, I thought it was very disrespectful and demeaning.

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Have you tried using the Report inappropriate content link for the post?

I thought name calling and bashing is a Violation of the Terms of Service for this community. I agree with the fact that it should not be allowed. Thanks for the comment and pointing this out. I have refrained from comment on many posts, but feel that commenting on this post is fair. Regardless of how upset people are, and how un happy they are about one thing or another, sensitive subject matter or not, it should not be tolerated. The rules are the rules! Right?

[oldfashioned]

I feel like our society is going downhill.  I realize we live in angry times and I know I myself can relate to issues with poor customer service.  It's sad.

[smith6612]

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@questioning wrote:

I feel like our society is going downhill.  I realize we live in angry times and I know I myself can relate to issues with poor customer service.  It's sad.

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Agreed. I try my best to maintain my "cool" but there isn't a whole lot you can do when you're exposed to negativity and corruption 24/7. One thing I won't do intentionally is call someone a bad term. If I do spill it, it was more or less an accident, human nature. There's a few things I'm bugged about with Verizon, but people don't see me going around proclaiming "HEY GUYS IM GONNA CANCEL MY DSL I CANT PLAY GAMES BECAUSE WE LAG HAVING 40 DEVICES ON THE NETWORK!!!!!!!!!1111." In reality, it's the truth and I've grown tired of FiOS not being around and waiting for it. My refusal to get 3Mbps here because a higher than 3 package is not offered here will simply lead me to get a cable connection installed in the very near future when I do break. But I won't go around saying "Verizon sucks 'cuz they didn't bring FiOS out here," and I will probably keep the DSL connection around as a personal connection just for games, since it runs nice when there's nothing else running on it and the software-based provisioning on Cable is just horrid when you're maxing connections. Even with the cable connection, if I do wind up shutting down the DSL, I will still stick around here and help out when I can like a community member would. I have no reason to be mad at anyone here, and I have no reason to be mad period.

I suppose to make matters worse, I'm constantly helping people out with computer questions, aka Computer Consulting. I can't always solve someone's problems, but I appreciate those who ask for help and remain calm, even if I cannot solve a problem right on the spot like they're shooting for just because it takes time. When they're frusturated, it makes me unable to do my task as nicely, and honestly it takes any extra benefit of the doubt I might give someone away. I'm not sure if some people have accused me behind my back of reading from a script, but I can say that everything I do is based on my own knowledge. If they say it while they're talking to me, I'll spill a bit of Cisco or Juniper at them and see what they think 😉

I'm a very observant person, and unfortunately I've seen too much. I guess I have to deal with it though. I suppose having a pleasant and positive personality is what really helps me get through tough times.

[oldfashioned]

Dealing with the general public is work.  I know that myself. I'm tired and I know that I've seen too much myself.

What just concerns me at times here is the level and the petty arguing that occurs so often, not that that doesn't happen anywhere else because we all know that's reality.

Btw~I had the Verizon DSL connection for quite a long time before Fios became available here at home.  Cable, Fios, what certain people have or don't have or what they can or can't do.  We cut our losses and move on.  I just don't understand sometimes what people are really singing about.

[somegirl]

The part of the forum Terms of Service that seems to most fit here is the section that prohibits posting "...Profanity; material that is libelous, fraudulent, unlawful, defamatory, pornographic, obscene, profane, abusive, offensive, threatening, hateful, or otherwise objectionable..."

While I agree that "**bleep**" is unecessary, I have recently had to defend calling someone a liar. If they lie, that makes them a liar and I feel we have every right to call them such. Calling someone a liar just because you don't like them is a whole other kettle of fish, though.

It's a fine line between keeping things politically correct and censorship. Difficult to maintain at times, I'm sure.

As suggested above, use the Report inappropriate content link if you really feel something should be changed/removed.

[oldfashioned]

"**bleep**" is ridiculous.  I already reported inappropriate content and then that post was edited.  It's not about being politically correct or censorship.  I could care less being politically correct.  It's the level of respect which concerns me.  This isn't high school, I'm sorry to say. There was even someone else on the forums who wrote that I should "shut up" which got removed.  Profanity is just inappropriate.  And publicly calling someone a "jerk" is stooping to the same level when it's being posted like that on a forum.  We can all express our concerns and opinions without stooping to that level.

People are rude.

[Keyboards]

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@somegirl wrote:

While I agree that "**bleep**" is unecessary, I have recently had to defend calling someone a liar. If they lie, that makes them a liar and I feel we have every right to call them such. Calling someone a liar just because you don't like them is a whole other kettle of fish, though.

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The problem is that most of the CSRs or posters are not necessarily liars, but are just poorly trained / informed.  For that (regarding CSRs) I blame Verizon management and not the poor guy stuck on the phone.  Yes, there are times when it is appropriate to call someone a liar, but unless you are absolutely sure it is intentional (actually a lie) it is always best to give the benefit of the doubt.

Civility seems to be lost in the current climate.

[Heather_VZ]

Hi All-

I wanted to weigh in and say that I really appreciate your thoughts on this topic.

's a very fine line we walk as the moderators and as a company in the forum between allowing free speech and holding folks to the Terms of Service. As with everything related to social media, things shift and change and we try to keep up with them.  Please report anything you think is inappropriate by clicking on "Report Inappropriate Content" link in the thread. I can assure you that we review each and everyone of those and make changes as we see fit.

Thanks!
-Heather

[oldfashioned]

I don't care so much per se about the one term "liar" and with that, I agree that it depends on the context and I know what it's like being lied to or misinformed.  Sometimes that can be appropriate.  I'll agree with that much, the more I think about it.  We have all been there not just with Verizon but with many other large organizations for sure.  Just about every entity we do business with now-a-days is run by a coropration.  I'm just looking at this broadly when the level goes down saying stuff like "shut up" and calling people "jerks" and "morons", just the whole act of name calling like that because it's very immature and if it then goes down further with 4 letter curse words, then something is really wrong.  There have to be some reasonable boundaries.  I think that is more of the issue, not censorship.  It's about respect.  I understand frustration but we're all adults, not children and regardless, it's always up to us in the end to control ourselves.  I don't ever buy this excuse about people not being able to help themselves or having no ability to take the mature route.  No matter how nutty things get, how we handle ourselves is always within our control and that's everyone's responsibility.  I'm not going to blame Verizon for making people act like that because that's ridiculous and becoming this victim who just wants to blame everyone else for his or her problems will never solve anything.  I don't make excuses like that the same way I won't make excuses for the current economic climate provoking more madness because we live in "angry times".

The management with Verizon leaves plenty to be desired.  You will have no argument from me on that point whatsoever and I myself have dealt with my share of reps who were particularly rude and just had an uncaring attitude.  That never helps.  But believe me, I know from life experience that being rude and stooping down to the same level of disrespect oruselves only adds more fuel to the flame and can make the situation a lot worse than it has to be.  I don't let other people "rent space" in my head, if you know what I mean.  But when I stand up myself, I certainly let that person know how I feel and that I don't appreciate it.  And yes, I have dealt with my share of CSRs who were obiovusly poorly informed or trained.  There is no question about that.  I just dealt with one very recently and I had to tell her what this other rep told me the night before to get pointed in the right direction and sure enough, I was right.  It was kind of pathetic and funny at the same time.   

The one thing that most large organizations are guilty of is the "diffusion of responsibility" and one side not knowing what's going on on the other side. 

But usually with any large organization, I just keep my focus on resolving the problem or getting that much needed answer to my question.  It's not like I'm going to be best friends with any of these reps and it's not likely I'll be speaking to the same one again in the future.  So I think it's a matter of perspective too.  I usually let that stuff go.  If I have to deal with rude behavior from a doctor's office, then I'll definitely be out of there in no time.  In other words, none of this stuff that I deal with concerning Verizon is never, in my mind, anything personal.

And even just in general, when it comes to posting here or really dealing with people anywhere, we all have to understand that the other perspective is there, not that we have to agree with it.  I can't stand arguing.