The District of Columbia agency that advocates for residents on utility matters is calling for an investigation into what it contends are the recent failings of Verizon to meet basic standards of quality service. The Office of the People’s Counsel this week asked the D.C. Public Service Commission to investigate and determine the cause of the “declining quality of service being provided to Verizon DC’s customers,” and to establish “remedial measures necessary for Verizon DC to upgrade its network, improve its facilities and provide a high quality of service to its customers in the District of Columbia,” according to filings with the commission.
Verizon has consistently failed over the course of the year to meet the “retail quality of service measures” established by the commission, the District’s utility regulator, according to the People’s Counsel Office. The telecommunications giant, the leading provider of local land-line service, is judged on three benchmarks: installation commitments met, trouble reports per 100 lines and out-of-service clearing time.
“Verizon’s inability to meet service quality standards appears to be a deeply entrenched Company issue that extends beyond the District’s borders as neighboring jurisdictions have recently initiated proceedings to address and curtail Verizon’s substandard delivery of telecommunications services,” the People’s Counsel Office wrote in a filing with the commission, citing similar actions ongoing in Virginia and Maryland.
Citizen complaints received by the office are kept confidential.
Cleveland Park resident Ann Loikow, who said she had her share of problems with Verizon when she struggled to switch long-distance providers, was happy to hear an investigation might be launched.
“I’m [irate] at Verizon, but I don’t know what other choice I’ve got,” she said.
Verizon spokesman Harry Mitchell acknowledged the company had occasionally missed targets, often “by a whisker.” But Verizon filed a response to the commission’s concerns in late August, he said, laying out what went wrong and what it will do to make it right.
“There’s no need for the commission to take any action on service quality in the District,” Mitchell said. “Verizon and its employees are focused on customer service, and we’re providing D.C. residents and businesses with quality service.”
