SHAME ON YOU, Honda Dealerships and Verizon Telephone companies

Being on call this week, I stayed up late last night working on a production issue. Early in the morning, a loud telephone ring waked me up. The caller ID showed the caller to be “UNKNOWN.” I guessed it might be from my mother in China because our early morning would be her evenings and most of her calls, being from overseas carriers, showed up as from an “UNKNOWN” id.

“Hi, Mom,” I picked up the phone, still half asleep.

After 2 quick clicks, the other end started a recorded session, “this is a second warning. Your vehicle’s factory warranty will expire soon... It is very dangerous to drive a car without such a warranty… We will soon give you another warning…”

Throughout the whole day, I had a hard time to calm down. I was mad. SHAME ON YOU, North American Honda Dealerships. Like a bunch of rapists, you have just forced on me against my free will. My house phone was an unlisted and telemarketer blocked phone reserved for my own family usage. I paid special fees to setup those special phone services. While purchasing a car, I gave you this number to prove my ID for a bank loan. You have no right to break into my phone to deliver your marketing pitches. Your action has resulted in my unhappiness and ruined half day of my otherwise productive time.

SHAME ON YOU, the Verizon telephone company! You acted like a smooth con-artist. One day, you sold your customers a ‘service’ called ‘Caller ID.’ The next day, you turned around to sell the telemarketers another service to allow them to hide their phone numbers while making outgoing calls. You designed this clever scam which allowed you to collect money from both consumers and marketing business at same time. What you gave to them? Nothing, exactly that, nothing! Therefore, we have to call you what you are – a thief.