For anyone who doesn't know, FIOS is the new fiber to the premises thing that Verizon is offering. We've been hearing about it for a while and it's finally in our neighborhood - almost!! Circulating around our county are horror stories about the "installation" of these fiber lines and now, well, we can just add to them!
About 6-8 weeks ago, every got a little note on their door from Verizon informing us that they would be digging in our neighborhood. We'd assumed as much as Miss Utility had already tagged our lawns, clearly marking where electric, gas and phone lines were. The little note said they would be coming very soon and that anyone with an electric fence should clearly mark it, which is what all our neighbors did. Then, we waited.... and waited..... and waited..... No one came.
Finally, 3 1/2 weeks ago, after lawns had been mowed, markers removed and spray paint disappeared, at around 7:30 am the trucks rolled in and diggers started digging. Up first, our neighbors electric dog fence. It's a good thing no one got electrocuted! They worked well into the evening, and it was impossible for anyone in our neighborhood to warn them or communicate with them because every last one of them spoke only Spanish!! And the Verizon foreman who dropped them all off here?? Nowhere to be seen!
The ended that one day of digging by running off with my neighbor's phone line cut. On top of it, the operator she called refused to believe it was cut by her own company because the FIOS guys didn't call it in - duh, how can they? They don't speak any English! So she had to wait an entire week before they sent someone out to fix it. The Verizon repair man said obviously it was cut and he spends most of his time following the FIOS guys around!!
Well, for over a week he hadn't seen hide nor hare of these dayworkers, until yesterday. I had hoped they were done, but no. Even after the new electrical, gas and phone line marking were once again erased did they start digging again around to our house. Monday and Tuesday and checked our phone all day long to make sure they hadn't cut the line. I was prepared to run out and tell them, "Mi telefono esta messed up!" I wasn't really sure what I'd say, but I figured they'd have to understand me - LOL. What really happened, though, was just something I wasn't prepared for at all.
While getting ready to go work teaching 3's at a Mother's Day Out program, Em with a fever staying home with T and Kt just gathering things for school, the doorbell rang. I had just made lunches, thankfully, and was pouring milk into my cereal when I hear a man telling T to get everyone dressed quickly, grab all our important belongings and head up the street. The FIOS guys hit a gas line and this time, luckily for us, they reported it! Because we just had our gas line hooked up to our home two years ago, we had to get out immediately and no one in our court was allowed to start their car!
So, up the street we went, Kt with her school gear was able to hop on the bus. There was a huge firetruck blocking our street with cones and several firemen at the end of our court with gas spewing out of this pipe. While we stood up there waiting for BGE to arrive, another ladder truck showed up. This was a two alarm deal! Hmmm.... I was scrambling to get a hold of school to tell them I wouldn't make it on time, Em was in her pajamas with a fever (luckily it was a balmy 70 degrees today!), T, well, he was just standing around. Everyone else was allowed back in their non-gas hook up houses.
After BGE arrived, they finally gave me a minute to run in the house, grab what I needed and start my car. It was slightly nerve wracking, but I wanted out! As I drove away, I was wondering what Em and T would do all day! Luckily, they were allowed back in about 1 hour after the whole thing started. What a mess.
T told me this morning that the fireman explained that the workers were using the wrong tool, a shovel, to dig. Had they been using the correct tool, an air knife, it would not have punctured the gas line. For that error, the man with the shovel get two days off with no pay. That really infuriated me!! Verizon goes and picks up non-English speaking dayworkers, probably with no work papers, sends them into neighborhoods with shovels, tells them to dig and then the "jefes" leave. They hit a gas pipe because they were doing their job in an unmarked area and THEY get two days off without pay?? Seems to me like the "jefe" should be taking a little siesta!! What a joke!
I'd say in this matter, shame on Verizon. I've heard the horror stories, but now I've lived them, on our tiny court with 8 houses. We've had the electric fence ripped up (and when they returned, they dug it up AGAIN!), a phone line cut and not reported and a gas line busted. Will any of us ever get an apology? Doubtful.... and to make matters worse, they are not even done yet!
