The old lady who busted up a Comcast office with her hammer after getting sick of their delays, that we told you about two weeks ago, got her story written up in a new and even more exciting fashion by the Washington Post. The piece includes this photo of Mona Shaw posing with her trusty tool of consumer vengeance.
WP got more choice quotes from Mrs. Shaw:
“They cuffed me right then…”
Of Comcast: “What a bunch of sub-moronic imbeciles.”
“I scared the tar out of some people, at least…It had never occurred to me to take a hammer to a phone company before, but I was just so upset. . . . After I hit the keyboard, I turned to this blonde who had been there the previous Friday, the one who told me to wait for the manager, and I said, ‘ Now do I have your attention?’ “
“My blood pressure went up around my ears. I started hyperventilating. They had to call the rescue squad and put me on a litter.”
A new American folk hero is born.
Taking a Whack Against Comcast [Washington Post] (Thanks to Tracey!)
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She sounds like a first-class asshole.
I am against abortion but I don’t like seeing abortion clinics vandalized. However if someone wants to vandalize a Comca$t office I would have no problem.
I agree that this woman’s actions were inappropriate…but…I spent most of yesterday morning, on a cell phone, crawling under furniture, moving televisions, resetting modems…trying to get our Comcast phone-web-cable up and running. I think the problems arise because these companies have a monopoly. Towns contract with them to provide service to their residents. Isn’t there an anti-monopoly law? If the companies had to compete for business, by offering better rates, better service, better options…the entire experience would BE better. The intro of telephone companies (Verizon and Sprint for instance) into the market may improve things…hopefully. I’m not as old as this “old lady” but I am a senior citizen. My biggest gripe is the push this button, push that button, hold for the next available garbage. My 89-year-old mother can’t follow these instructions at all…and, unfortunately, just about every establishment you try to reach these days has such a system. So, did I feel like taking a hammer to Comcast office equipment, yesterday? Yes I did…but I don’t even know where their offices are!
@ArtDonovansLoveChild.:
Employees had nothing to do with her problems? Maybe they should make her problem their problem and see what the customer wanted.
Go Hammer! Go Hammer!
Go granny, go! Companies today, especially those that deal with any sort of technology, are not very mindful and user-friendly towards their customers who are senior citizens.
Rather than admit that perhaps their initial treatment of HammaGramma was out of line, the Comcast veep says some nonsense about their customer file not being accurate. Not a mention of the aggravating circumstances that drove her insane, nor how they are going to prevent this from happening in the future. Typical.
This hero is paying her fine, and Comcast is paying a steeper price in bad bad bad PR. Sounds like a fair trade to me.
Can’t wait for her to be on either the Daily Show or Colbert.
Anyone calling this woman’s actions inappropriate has clearly never dealt with Comcast customer service. This woman’s reaction was restrained.
The site is called CONSUMERIST.com – are they here for the CONSUMER? Yes, duh. If they were taking up the cause of the corporations, they would be called CORPORATIONIST.com Do you really not get that???
“Employees had nothing to do with her problems? Maybe they should make her problem their problem and see what the customer wanted.
Go Hammer! Go Hammer! “
Is that really the society you want? one where someone pulls a gun or knife out at a McDonalds because they didn’t get their bigmac without pickles like they wanted last time?
“The site is called CONSUMERIST.com – are they here for the CONSUMER? Yes, duh. If they were taking up the cause of the corporations, they would be called CORPORATIONIST.com Do you really not get that???”
and as a consumer I don’t want to be in the same building as a customer being violent and abusive nor do I want a place to be closed because of vandalism when I need to go there.
Im not on Comcasts side, but Im not on this womans side either.
Appreciate the toungue-in-cheek responses people have posted, but lets be realistic. We all have jobs, and we all have times when we have to stick to policy, even if it isnt what we feel is right… so remember what youre saying when youre looking at someone with a hammer who doesnt agree with the decision you have made.
Violence isnt the answer.
Mona, you are a hero in my book!
Customers using hammers on keyboards and monitors? Why am I getting flashbacks of SCTV and televisions being thrown out of windows?
Corporations shouldn’t be surprised that people are responding with physical violence when faced with legal and economic violence by said corporations. In a way, the response by Mrs. Shaw is a lot like the Palestinian response to Israeli economic and political terrorism, using some of her own. Terrorism and violence should be the last act tried when all legal means have been exhausted; Mrs. Shaw did that, while Comcast used abuse and economic terrorism as a standard tactic. She was definitely in the right and did not deserve to be charged.
So… did she ever get the installation she was promised?
Hero in my book. About time someone not turned into a groveling pussy by todays pc world hands out and ass-kicking even if the ass-kicking is just to the office equipment. If we had more people that would not be afraid to stand up and actually do something about being screwed then we MIGHT actually see the crap customer service get better instead of walking all over us.
This lady is my hero! I have never in my life been so frustrated by a company I’ve done business with, than Comcast.
This sweet old lady was pushed to the brink, and I damn well know how she feels, after dealing with the same idiots for 7 days straight last week.
For those of you who are whining about “violence isn’t the answer” obviously you have never dealt with this evil company. If the early American colonists had taken this attitude we’d be paying 17% tax on everything right now. Instead, they dumped the tea in the harbor and Granny got her hammer!
This is a wake up call to big corporations like Comcrap. Bring back customer service or “we the people” will revolt.
@jesdynf: The sentence was entirely appropriate — and she finally got her phone service.
@marsneedsrabbits: So… did she ever get the installation she was promised?
Yea, but NOT from Comcrap – she switched BACK to Verizon for phone/internet (& Verizon is hated with a passion here in IL) & switched to DirecTV for TV – the TV story showed her getting it put on her house.
@Comcrap_sux: I do business with the company and though I am not happy with their service all of the time I have never been driven to the point of considering a hammer.
As for 17% taxes, take a peek at your cell phone bill in the state of New York and do the math, you’re already there.
@ArtDonovansLoveChild.:
ArtDonovansLoveChild suggest that this action will make Comcast employees ‘less likely to help people in the future’. This is impossible. There are no levels of customer service below 0. If Comcast wanted to improve customer service, they would fire all employees who treated customer anywhere close to this. But they don’t because they don’t care and they don’t listen. But, after Mona’s actions, they are listening now (I still doubt that they care, but Mona’s action has cost them thousands in income and millions in stock price drops