Immediate Fios Activation Possible? 4 hours on hold, no answers!

[Jkgisme]

So, I spent 4 hours on the phone with Verizon last night trying to get this figured out, received conflicting answers and got nowhere. 

I need the internet for work and my new apt already has an ONT box all lit up and seemingly ready to go so 2 days ago I went to a Fios store and was extremely clear I would only sign up for Verizon if I could self install immediately. They said it would be no problem and signed me up for some fancy bundle. At several points I checked, "And you're sure I can self install this immediately?" which they always confirmed. They said a technician would have to come out to do something(?) but it would work in the mean time. There are no evening hours for technician appts and I just started a new job so the soonest I could schedule was more than 2 weeks from now.

I went home with my router and cable box and immediately tried to install the router. Everything seems fine, except there is no signal coming from Verizon. 

I went back to the Fios store yesterday and they pretty much blew me off telling me to call 1800VERIZON. So I went home and did that.

1. One hr on hold -- Tech support, he said nothing could be activated for 2 weeks until the technician came out. Not because the technician had to do anything but because that was the 'due date' & it's impossible to change. He transferred me.
2. Half an hour on hold -- Customer service, he said of course they could activate it right now & would connect me to a tech support supervisor. 
3. Half an hour on hold -- heard a couple beeps in the hold music and was disconnected
4. Call back. 20 mins on hold -- Customer service. Explained everything. He said the soonest it could be activated was 1 week from now because their computers take that long to process 'flipping a switch'. I was frustrated, but not angry or hostile, & mentioned that it was very confusing that all the Verizon employees told me a different thing. I asked how that could be possible. He did not speak & it was silence for 2 minutes when suddenly the hold music started again.
5. 15 mins on hold -- Someone answered. I asked what department this was & he told me tech support. This guy confidently said he'd figure it out. Ended up with I had to wait for a technician to come out. I asked him if it was because I chose 150Mbps and they had to do the ONT ethernet connection. He said he couldn't tell; all he could see in the computer was that a 'field connect' was required and that could mean anything. I suggested I lower my speed to under 100Mbps so that way it wouldn't be an issue. Since he knew I had been on hold for over 2 hours already he seemed concerned to make sure I got through to the customer service people I'd have to be transferred to. 
6. 1hr 30 mins on hold -- The nice guy from Step 5, Michael, waited with me the entire time. Put me on hold and then came back every couple mins to tell me he's still waiting for a customer service person. He sounded less upbeat each time he came back. Finally he came back, said they answered & he was going to explain the situation to them and then connect me. I was so relieved. He came back a few mins later and said he got hung up on! Said he'd 'try California'.
7. 20 mins on hold -- Michael got connected, talked to the customer service first and then connected me. This customer service guy said it was definitely a result of the 100Mbps or more speed that a technician had to come out. He offered nothing more. After I prodded him he said that if I switched to a lower speed they'd be able to activate it immediately. I asked if he could do that but he said no. He said he recommended I cancel my entire order. Wait til today, sign up for a new bundle with a lower speed online, then go back to the Fios store and return the router/cable box I'd already gotten and get a new router/cable box because the old ones wouldn't be compatible with the slower speed. Then after that worked I could upgrade to my desired speed. 

I went online today to see about signing up for the lower speed. It offered me the coveted self-install option but it said the earliest activation date was 4 days from now. Sigh. Before I spend another 4 hours on the phone with Verizon does anyone know if it is possible to activate immediately if I do the low speed, self-install and then call? I do not understand why this is such an ordeal. I just moved from an area with several providers offering 1Gbps and Verizon is acting like 100Mbps is so fast it requires special handling. I can plug an ethernet cable into a box just as well as a technician can. What is this all about??? I've already used my entire month's cell phone data in the last 2 days because I need internet for work. Is this what Verizon customer service is like? This has been insane. The moment I said "already on hold for 2 hours" I should have been transferred to a supervisor. Or when I said "on hold for 4 hours"! 

tl;dr Promised immediate Fios self-install but service not activated. Is it possible to self install with equipment from the Fios store and get the Customer Service people to activate immediately?

[LawrenceC]

Hi Jkgisme,

Your issue has been escalated to a Verizon agent. Before the agent can begin assisting you, they will need to collect further information from you. Please go to your profile page for the forum and look at the top of the middle column where you will find an area titled "My Support Cases". You can reach your profile page by clicking on your name beside your post, or at the top left of this page underneath the title of the board.

Under "My Support Cases" you will find a link to the private board where you and the agent may exchange information. The title of your post is the link. This should be checked on a frequent basis, as the agent may be waiting for information from you before they can proceed with any actions. To ensure you know when they have responded to you, at the top of your support case there is a drop down menu for support case options. Open that and choose "subscribe". Please keep all correspondence regarding your issue in the private support portal.