Kokua Line
Kokua Line
Verizon working on
fixing isolated outages
Question: Our telephone on Kalaepohaku Place went out Monday night, Nov. 26. We were promised our phones would be back at Friday night, Nov. 30, and our neighbor's was to be restored Dec. 4. It's Dec. 4, and there are no results for either of us. There are 16 homes on the whole block. Two to three homes have been out of service. We don't know who to call or who is responsible. I know we had heavy rains, but it's been over a week and no one has been working on our problem. Then today, my daughter told me there is no record of our calling to report the problem. Somebody has dropped the ball. Can you please help us?Answer: Verizon Hawaii apologized for the delay in restoring service, which happened Thursday afternoon, Dec. 6. A report that your phone was out was recorded on Nov. 29.
The company was still dealing last week with the "unusually high volume of small pockets of customers" out of service, spokeswoman Ann Nishida said. Combined with "double trouble" in some cases, it was taking longer than usual to restore service, she said. "Our customer operations director told me this is the highest volume of isolated troubles she's ever seen, so this is an unusual situation."
By "double trouble," Nishida was referring to problems on both the cable and individual lines to some homes.
Because of that, "we have to isolate and sometimes dispatch repair crews several times before service is restored," she said.
You were to be credited by Verizon at your prorated monthly rate for every 24-hour period your phone was out of service.
She also assures you that someone was working on your problem, even if you don't see someone working on overhead lines.
"Much of our work is done inside our area facilities or underground. Our repair staff and support staff have been working around the clock, pulling 12- to 15-hour shifts since the storm" in late November, which disrupted service statewide.
Nishida also pointed out that federal deregulation resulted in changes that many customers may not understand.
For example, when customers call to report trouble, they are asked questions and may be asked to do things like unplugging and re-plugging their phones.
"Some customers become very irate about this (because) they feel it's Verizon's responsibility," she said. "But federal deregulation drew boundaries between what is considered the customer's responsibility and what is considered the phone company's." That's why "we need to ask them to do some of these things first. Sometimes what the customer does on his/her end actually does restore their service, so it's to their advantage."
Q: Can the state make the onramp from Ka Uka Boulevard to H-2, going to Honolulu, much more visible? It's hard to see where the H-2 onramp is for those turning left as they come from Mililani Memorial Park, especially at night.
A: According to the state Department of Transportation, there are adequate signs to direct motorists to the onramp.
However, following your complaint, "it was noticed that some of the pavement markings were slightly faded, which may have caused the concern," spokeswoman Marilyn Kali said.
The pavement markings there will be re-striped.
Got a question or complaint?
Call 529-4773, fax 529-4750, or write to Kokua Line,
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210,
Honolulu 96813. As many as possible will be answered.
Email to kokualine@starbulletin.com