Mona Shaw

Infobox Person
name = Mona Shaw

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image_size = 225px
caption =
birth_name =
birth_date = Birth year and age|1932
birth_place =
residence = Bristow, Virginia
nationality = American
other_names = "The Hammer"
known_for = Smashing Comcast equipment with a hammer
education =
employer =
occupation = Retired Air Force nurse
height =
weight =
religion = Unitarian Universalist
spouse = Don Shaw
children =
parents =
relatives =


website =
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Mona "The Hammer" Shaw is an elderly Bristow, Virginia resident who rose to national media celebrity in August 2007 when she registered her discontent with Comcast customer service by smashing equipment in her local cable office with a hammer. Some regard her as an American folk hero of consumer and elder rights, while others dismiss her actions as criminal and inappropriate.

Comcast incident

Background

Mona Shaw and her husband Don signed up for a special-priced telephone, cable television, and high-speed internet service through America's largest cable company, Comcast. The Shaws waited all day on Monday August 13, 2007 for the installation worker to arrive, and no one showed up. [http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/WaterCooler/story?id=3750705&page=1 Cable Rage Pushes Granny Over the Edge: Cable Guy Doesn't Show Up, So Granny Does -- With a Hammer] , ABC News (October 19, 2007). Retrieved on January 6, 2007.]

A Comcast representative started the installation the following Wednesday, told Ms. Shaw that a third party would finish the job, and left, leaving some of his equipment behind. Hanley, Kipp. [http://www.insidenova.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=ISN/MGArticle/WPN_BasicArticle&cid=1173353015622&c=MGArticle Taking a hammer to Comcast] , Potomac News (October 6, 2007. Retrieved on January 6, 2008.]

The next day, the Shaws weren't able to receive phone calls: without her consent the technician had changed her phone number of 34 years. Ms. Shaw called the customer service line to complain and was greeted with an automated phone tree. [http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/WaterCooler/story?id=3750705&page=1 Cable Rage Pushes Granny Over the Edge: Cable Guy Doesn't Show Up, So Granny Does -- With a Hammer] , ABC News (October 19, 2007). Retrieved on January 6, 2007.]

The next day, the Shaws went to the local Comcast office to speak with a manager and were told to wait outside on a bench in hot mid-August weather. Two hours later a customer service representative came outside to tell them that the manager had left for the day. "They thought just because we're old enough to get Social Security that we lack both brains "and" backbone," she later told the Washington Post.Hanley, Kipp. [http://www.insidenova.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=ISN/MGArticle/WPN_BasicArticle&cid=1173353015622&c=MGArticle Taking a hammer to Comcast] , Potomac News (October 6, 2007. Retrieved on January 6, 2008.]

When they returned home that night, they discovered they had no phone service at all. Shaw, who was 75 years old and had a serious heart condition, worried about her ability to get medical attention in the case of an emergency. Using a prepaid cellphone, Shaw managed to get a hold of a customer service representative who told her Comcast would contact them on Monday.Hanley, Kipp. [http://www.insidenova.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=ISN/MGArticle/WPN_BasicArticle&cid=1173353015622&c=MGArticle Taking a hammer to Comcast] , Potomac News (October 6, 2007. Retrieved on January 6, 2008.]

Arrest

After hearing no word from Comcast on Monday, August 20, Shaw slipped her husband's claw hammer into her purse and drove to the Manassas Comcast office. She walked past a line at the front desk, took out the hammer, and smashed a computer keyboard and then a monitor. "Now" do I have your attention?" she exclaimed. Tucker, Neely. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/17/AR2007101702359.html Taking a Whack Against Comcast: Mona Shaw Reached Her Breaking Point, Then for Her Hammer] , The Washington Post (October 18, 2007), pp. C01. Retrieved on January 6 2008.]

"The next thing I know a police officer comes roaring in. When he said put down that hammer, well I did, right on the telephone!" Shaw later recounted. [http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/WaterCooler/story?id=3750705&page=1 Cable Rage Pushes Granny Over the Edge: Cable Guy Doesn't Show Up, So Granny Does -- With a Hammer] , ABC News (October 19, 2007). Retrieved on January 6, 2007.] "I figured, 'Hey my telephone is screwed up, so is yours.'" [Associated Press. [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21379720/ Woman fined for hammering Comcast office: Her fury with cable company led to attacks on keyboard, monitor, phone] , MSNBC (October 19, 2007. Retrieved on January 6, 2008.]

By the time the incident was over, the police sergeant and two backup units had been called. An ambulance was also called for Shaw herself. "My blood pressure went up around my ears. I started hyperventilating," Shaw said. "They had to call the rescue squad and put me on a litter." Tucker, Neely. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/17/AR2007101702359.html Taking a Whack Against Comcast: Mona Shaw Reached Her Breaking Point, Then for Her Hammer] , The Washington Post (October 18, 2007), pp. C01. Retrieved on January 6 2008.]

Shaw was charged with disorderly conduct. The judge suspended her three-month sentence, fined her $345, and ordered her not to go near the Comcast office premises for a year. Tucker, Neely. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/17/AR2007101702359.html Taking a Whack Against Comcast: Mona Shaw Reached Her Breaking Point, Then for Her Hammer] , The Washington Post (October 18, 2007), pp. C01. Retrieved on January 6 2008.]

The day after her arrest, the Shaws canceled their Comcast service, but several weeks later received a letter from Comcast thanking them for subscribing. Hanley, Kipp. [http://www.insidenova.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=ISN/MGArticle/WPN_BasicArticle&cid=1173353015622&c=MGArticle Taking a hammer to Comcast] , Potomac News (October 6, 2007. Retrieved on January 6, 2008.] They are now much happier with service from DirecTV. [http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/WaterCooler/story?id=3750705&page=1 Cable Rage Pushes Granny Over the Edge: Cable Guy Doesn't Show Up, So Granny Does -- With a Hammer] , ABC News (October 19, 2007). Retrieved on January 6, 2007.]

Response

Comcast vice president, Beth Bacha, disputes some of the details of Shaw's account of Comcast service, but refused to disclose any specifics because of Comcast's customer privacy policy. She called the incident: "truly a unique and inappropriate situation," adding "nothing justifies this sort of dangerous behavior." Bacha notes Comcast has over 25 million customers, the majority of whom are satisfied with the service they receive. Tucker, Neely. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/17/AR2007101702359.html Taking a Whack Against Comcast: Mona Shaw Reached Her Breaking Point, Then for Her Hammer] , The Washington Post (October 18, 2007), pp. C01. Retrieved on January 6 2008.]

Neely Tucker of The Washington Post compared Shaw's actions to the vigilantism of:

* The Dillinger Gang, who destroyed the mortgage records of the banks they robbed.
* Stephanie St. Clair, a mobster during the Harlem Renaissance who exposed police corruption.
* Admired outlaw, Junior Johnson, who moonlighted as a rum-runner during Prohibition before a successful career in NASCAR.

Neely later adds the caveat: "Being a responsible newspaper, we must note that this is a misdemeanor, a crime, a completely inappropriate way of handling a business dispute." Tucker, Neely. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/17/AR2007101702359.html Taking a Whack Against Comcast: Mona Shaw Reached Her Breaking Point, Then for Her Hammer] , The Washington Post (October 18, 2007), pp. C01. Retrieved on January 6 2008.]

Shaw's actions struck a chord with many Comcast customers, perhaps especially local residents. In June 2007 the Manassas city council held public hearings about Comcast service before negotiating a new franchise agreement with Comcast and Verizon Communications, a popular competitor. According to the Potomac News, a local Prince William County newspaper, Manassas customers "had virtually nothing good to say about Comcast." Hanley, Kipp. [http://www.insidenova.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=ISN/MGArticle/WPN_BasicArticle&cid=1173353015622&c=MGArticle Taking a hammer to Comcast] , Potomac News (October 6, 2007. Retrieved on January 6, 2008.]

UU World, the magazine produced by the Unitarian Universalist Association, published a short blurb about Shaw's actions on their website under the title of "If I Had a Hammer", a reference to a song by Unitarian Universalist folk singer and civil rights activist, Pete Seeger. [Cohen, Sonja L. [http://www.uuworld.org/news/2007_10_14_archive.php#6950449382413196088 Unitarian Universalists in the Media: Prominent human interest story, death of respected leader, and more] , UU World (October 19, 2007). Retrieved on January 6, 2008]

Shaw claims she has been invited to appear as a guest on the Dr. Phil television show, although the show says it will not publicly confirm guest appearances until they are advertised. [Hanley, Kipp. [http://www.potomacnews.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WPN/MGArticle/WPN_BasicArticle&cid=1173354087843&c=MGArticle Bristow resident to appear on Dr. Phil Show] , Potomac News (January 4, 2008). Retrieved on January 6, 2008.] Shaw appeared on Good Morning America on October 19, 2007. She did indeed appear on Dr. Phil along with other people who took 'action' against things they were against.

References

External links

* [http://monashaw.org/ Official Mona Shaw Fan Club]
* [http://www.comcastmustdie.com/Comcast-Must-Die-Dec.mp3 ComcastMustDie.com December 2007 PodCast] , interview with Mona Shaw and others.
* [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/17/AR2007101702359.html Taking a Whack Against Comcast: Mona Shaw Reached Her Breaking Point, Then for Her Hammer] , Washington Post article by Neely Tucker.