by Nikki Silverstein
HERO: Accolades to the folks at the Golden Gate Bridge District and law enforcement for their handling of the bridge closure to private vehicles last weekend as work crews installed the lifesaving, moveable median barrier. With weeks of advance warning from lighted signage on Highway 101 to last-minute Nixle text and e-mail alerts from the California Highway Patrol and local police departments, Marinites were ready for the longest shutdown of the Golden Gate Bridge in its 77-year history. In fact, we were so well-prepared that the anticipated traffic jams never materialized. At the end of the weekend, the barrier installation was finished and the bridge was back in business six hours earlier than scheduled. Best of all, the death lanes and head-on collisions are gone forever.
ZERO: I am almost bald right now from pulling my hair out during a recent 10-hour showdown with Comcast. Lowlights: Comcast created a second account number for me; disconnected my Internet service for nonpayment of nonexistent account; claimed to reestablish service; and then blamed my equipment for the continued connectivity issue. I purchased a new router and modem and waited for a technician who never arrived. Two days later, I received an automated call stating there had been an outage in my area, which was now fixed. No surprise that Consumerist named Comcast the Worst Company in America in 2014. Preposterous that last week, Comcast Cable CEO Neil Smit said, “We expect that customer service will soon be one of our best products.” Monopolistic, moonstricken miscreant.
