Judge Your Fellow Favorably, Even Ruth Porat, Alphabet / Google CFO

My experience of trying to cancel a non-existent YouTube TV subscription has felt like navigating a harrowing labyrinth with no exit. 

“We understand from the complaint that Mr. Brookstein alleges….”

Let it be known that this humble rabbi in Los Angeles named Jonah Bookstein, aka Yonah Bookstein, does not know anything about Mr. Brookstein. 

It’s possible that one of our relatives, when they left Zyradow, then under Russian control and technically Russia, but really Poland, changed their name to Brookstein at Ellis Island or some other entry point.

But I doubt it.

My grandfather came through Galveston, Texas, and changed the name from Buksztajn to Bookstein, never considering adding an “r.”

I wonder what my grandfather, who went by the name of Hy and worked with his father in the furniture business in Detroit, would think about the world today. Unfortunately, he passed away when I was two years old. I recently visited his burial place in Detroit to pay my respects and thank him for serving in WWI with the British Jewish Legion in British-controlled Palestine and settling in America. Żyrardów Jews didn’t fare well in WWI and were exterminated by the Germans in WWII.

We regularly find the extra “r” added to our name, especially when dealing with customer service situations. A linguist may help explain the urge to add the different consonants to our made-up last name transliterated from Polish. 

We — and I speak on behalf of many Booksteins, well, not that many as we aren’t a big family — have no idea why people keep adding the “r” in our name.

But I do know the feeling that most Americans have when they feel powerless, victims of mega-corporation like Google, and unable to seek redress because they cannot afford lawyers to represent their interests against illegal dealings.

I also know that in the letter from The Google Team, they refer to me as “Mr. Brookstein” but later as “Mr. Hayes.” Which I also am pretty sure is not me. 

But before a good coffee in the morning, I might answer to being called “Mr. Hayes.”

Most of the letter dated June 08, 2023, is legal gibberish, referencing Google support pages. They are likely pages put up in response to complaints from people frustrated with criminal Google charges.

I managed to do a master’s degree at Oxford University in Jewish Studies, with a thesis comparing pilgrimage routes of Israelis and Chasidim in contemporary Poland. But I could not figure out how to cancel something like a Google Subscription that doesn’t exist. 

The “Google Team” — that’s how the letter is signed — wanted the attorney general of California to know that if Mr. Brookstein had just visited https://support.google.com/youtubetv#topic=7071745…. he would understand the reason that Google has been charging him for services that he never signed up for.

Ironically, I never even saw the Google letter. The Office of Bob Bonta, the California Attorney General, forwarded me the Google Team form letter. A sincere woman named Rosa McElroy at the Public Inquiry Office had the courtesy to write to me, spell my name correctly, and include a photocopy of the Google letter.

The Google Team form letter sent to Mrs. McElroy was in reply to my complaint letter, also sent to the offices of the Public Inquiry Unit, detailing a complaint about unauthorized charges from Google.

As I wasn’t prepared to take a loan to hire a lawyer, I figured the easiest way to find out how to get a refund from Google — as I had exhausted many other efforts — was to Google how to get a refund from Google. A website from a consumer affair non-profit suggested that I write to the company’s CFO and the California Attorney General.

So that’s what I did.

I sent my letter on May 2, 2023, by USPS Priority Mail to Roth Porat, Chief Financial Officer of Alphabet / Google. I spent $9 on the priority envelope letter hoping it would at least get into Ruth Porat’s office and have a chance of being seen. 

And because, in general, I want to support the Post Office, where the people are always friendly to me.

In a rash moment of foolish idealism, I thought Porat might see the letter written by a rabbi in Los Angeles and do this rabbi the courtesy of replying. 

Porat, #18 on the Forbes 2022 Power Women List with a net worth substantially more significant than mine, did not reply.  

The Torah teaches us to judge others on the side of merit. “Do not do injustice in judgment- do not favor the poor, do not honor the great — judge your fellow justly.” (Lev. 19:15). 

The Book of Mitzvah Education explains, “The commandment to judge your fellow justly: And also included in this commandment is that it is proper for every person to judge their fellow favorably, and only to understand their deeds and words for the good.”

So while I may be frustrated being called Mr. Brookstein and Mr. Hayes, having spent $9 at the post office and many hours trying to solve this issue for over six months, I assume Porat never saw my letter. 

I also assume that if Porat had seen my letter, she would have instructed her office to investigate my claims asking them to get back to her within a couple of days. Then she would have a team meeting dedicated to discussing the rabbi’s letter, getting reports from different departments about the issue, performing a Google search about the rabbi, and determining that he is likely not the kind of person to flagrantly claim money from others, and decide that it was in the best interests of the company, the office of the CFO, and America to refund the rabbi.

But the reality is that Porat is a busy woman with a stellar career, many employees, and many things to do. Her office likely has dozens of people answering letters from others who have unauthorized Google charges. Thousands of these letters must be filling up her mailbox, and she can’t possibly reply to each one. 

Then there is the class-action lawsuit against Google for unauthorized YouTube subscription charges. That must be very distracting too!

I went to the post office and sent Porat another priority letter on June 12, 2023, when I hadn’t heard back after the first letter. I wrote that I might write a blog article in a Jewish newspaper detailing my frustrating experience seeking redress for an actual consumer complaint if I didn’t get a response.

Ruth, if you are reading this, please be in touch. A letter or a phone call would be great so we can figure out how to resolve the $1,254.80 in unauthorized charges.

If you don’t know my phone number or address, you can always Google it!