The latest news about Qwest makes me long for the days when we got our telephone service from Mt. St. Tel & Tel — no dial phones, polite operators, good service, honest directors and executives, and regular dividends. Now, after mergers, de-mergers, re-mergers, our state has been plagued with poor service, myriad complaints and outright crookedness.
Telephone stock was always heralded as the safest investment for widows and orphans. No more. The price of the stock has plunged (the second worst collapse on the exchange) and the ex-president has left with millions of dollars.
The least you can do, Mr. Nacchio, is give back your ill-gotten gains. Does anyone else remember when Salt Lake had good service — just two exchanges, Wasatch and Hiland —and honesty was the watchword of our business leaders?
Esther R. Landa
Salt Lake City