FIOS Installation Misinformation
WltS1235
Enthusiast - Level 1

On July 9, I ordered the FIOS service for my home to be installed on the 28th of July between 8 and 12PM.

On July 26, I was contacted by a Verizon representative who left a message for me on my answering machine that there was a problem with my order. That afternoon, I spoke to a Verizon service representative who informed me that my order had been cancelled (unbeknownst to me) due to a 3rd party verification issue--and that I would have to place another order and set another installation date. I told her that would be unacceptable...and after great effort (and excellent service) she was able to keep my original service date of the 28th. That afternoon I received an email from Verizon confirming that installation date.

As you may have already guessed, I spent this morning (away from my office) waiting for Verizon to come to my home to install my service. At 11:25 this morning (7/28) I received an email telling me that Verizon would reschedule installation for the 10th of August. After a call to Verizon I got the runaround, and veiled accusations that I have this all wrong. The representative on the line (Houston) told me that the 3rd party verification issue was the reason for this delay. An hour later however, I spoke with Kim who told me that the 3rd party verification issue was resolved, and that it appeared to be a scheduling issue. Needless to say, I was very disturbed to learn that the first representative had lied to me.

This afternoon, there was a knock on my door. Unbelievably two representatives from Verizon were waiting to speak with me. At first I thought that perhaps this had something to do with the problems that I had dealt with today...No, they were there asking if I had heard about FIOS becoming available to the neighborhood...they were very nice, but I told them that they needed to let someone, anyone know at their Verizon office about what subscribing to FIOS was like for the consumer.

When I sat back down at my computer to write this message, the phone rang. It was an automated message from Verizon instructing me how to use my voicemail service. I swear, I am not making this up. Apparently, at least some of Verizon's computers had my date right all along. 

A couple of years ago after canceling my Verizon phone service for repeated problems and poor customer service, I received a phone call from a Verizon service asking me why I had done what I did. After telling him, the gentlemen asked me what Verizon could do to get my business back and I told him that the company needed to be responsive to its customers problems...most especially when they begin to effect one's quality of life.

While I still would like to be a FIOS customer (as it is clearly a better service technologically), I don't think I can proceed down that path until I receive an assurance that this type of treatment won't be the rule rather than the exception. I have spoken to representatives that promise to call me back (so far only one hasn't). I left a message for a manager {edited for privacy} who has thus far ignored me. I've written emails to the President of Verizon and the CEO. As I live in the DC area, my next step is to sit down and write a couple of folks that I know over at the FCC.

I'm hoping that someone on this forum can help, because this is beyond ridiculous at this point. 

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Re: FIOS Installation Misinformation
WltS1235
Enthusiast - Level 1

This morning I received a call from Executive Customer Relations. As I must depart for work I will be unable to speak with them until later this morning. Following my conversation with them I will report back to the forum. 

As I am not yet certain which one of my methods spurred this communication, I will throw a preemptive thanks if it was someone in this forum, or someone who read this post. When I have all of the information, I will check back.

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Re: FIOS Installation Misinformation
WltS1235
Enthusiast - Level 1

I just got off the phone with an enormously gracious individual in the Executive Customer Relations Department. Apparently my email to Ms. Rusterholz was immediately forwarded to her and she is working diligently to resolve my case.

I find it very unfortunate that a few bad apples in the company gave me no other recourse then to burden these individuals. The representative in the Executive Customer Relations department in particular sounds like a person who should be engaged in activities far more crucial to the operations of the company then having to call around to figure out why a few folks dropped the ball.

My hope is that by naming the representatives that I spoke (or didn't speak) to that these individuals will be reprimanded, and perhaps place a call to the President and the individual in the ECR to apologize for their behavior and learn what it means to deliver service to the customer. Again their names are Houston (who was especially rude and dismissive), and Stefan (a manager in Richmond who never called me back).

One other note, there was an additional individual that I spoke to on the 26th that did her best to help me as well. I can't recall her name, but I would hope that someone could pull the record and thank her as well for trying.

I will update this forum again when I hear back from the individual in the ECR (I'm purposely withholding her name as it sounds like she's got a lot on her plate).

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Re: FIOS Installation Misinformation
WltS1235
Enthusiast - Level 1

Well the fun continues. I called the check my home phone answering machine and apparently Verizon the lesser believes that I have not issued a third-party verification (completed 7/26) with respect to my current service (Cox).

Given the ability of my angel in the ECS department, I'd imagine that this won't be a problem for Verizon the Greater (corporate)...But we will see as oftentimes in a company as large as this one suffers from the inmates exerting more control than they should on the asylum.

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Re: FIOS Installation Misinformation
WltS1235
Enthusiast - Level 1

A call to Henry revealed that the 3rd party verification was confirmed...So once again the information that I'm receiving from one end of the organization doesn't interface properly with the other.

My sincere thanks to Henry for his candor and his unprompted offers to help and attempt to move my installation date up, but I told him that I was already working with the powers that be. It's good to see that the ratio of people that tried to help me has exceeded the people that haven't. But like the French Revolution, all it takes is a few determined individuals to begin a "terror."

Bon chance to Verizon the Greater. This is quite a virus to slay.

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Re: FIOS Installation Misinformation
WltS1235
Enthusiast - Level 1

The day has ended and methinks that Verizon the Greater is having difficulty with the inmates. I have not received a phone call back, which leads me to believe that my Angel in Executive Customer Service is either overwhelmed, or stuck in bureaucracy. 

As it is the customary hour, I head home to perchance dream of a FIOS filled future...But only to dream. The nightmare however, continues...

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Re: FIOS Installation Misinformation
WltS1235
Enthusiast - Level 1

This morning was an active morning, but still no resolution. At 7AM I received a "Tweet" from FIOS asking me what they could do to help. As this is my first Tweeting session I finally figured out how to reply back to let them know that I'd like my FIOS installed post haste. A gentlemen sent me his email address and asked me to send him my home address and telephone number. FIOS tweeted back and asked when my service was scheduled. I informed this gentlemen...2 days ago, and that my new date for the 10th of August was unacceptable. After sending my address and telephone number, as well as informing them that ECS was helping me I have not heard back from FIOS. So much for technology, or the simple act of saying, 'got it Mr. S, we're on it and will do everything we can to right this mistake.' Was I raised so differently than everyone else?

After an interesting meeting this morning, I headed back to my office to pick up the phone and call ECS. As of this morning, my angel in that office told me that she hadn't heard anything back from anyone. Funny, it's like my work with the government...when some higher-up tells the bureaucracy to do something, and the career people balk. Normally in a case like that, the offenders are "reassigned" to another task better suited for their "special abilities." Perhaps Verizon could learn a lesson or two from that as it does seem to get things done, especially with respect to mid-level managers like Stefan, who then proceed to yell at low-level personnel like Houston not to treat potential customers like serfs.

Oh well, we'll see how it goes...but as so much of my time and patience has been wasted to give a company my hard earned cash, methinks I might have made a mistake to follow this whole thing through. I will give ECS till the end of the day and see how I feel...just because I owe it to the angel in that department. Word to the wise however, when the President of a company, through a competent individual tells everyone to get something done, one would expect it to get done. Do you think that Neutron Jack or Louis Gerstner ever had to tell someone to do something twice?

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Re: FIOS Installation Misinformation
Gus_Gutz
Enthusiast - Level 3

@WltS1235 wrote:

This morning was an active morning, but still no resolution. At 7AM I received a "Tweet" from FIOS asking me what they could do to help. As this is my first Tweeting session I finally figured out how to reply back to let them know that I'd like my FIOS installed post haste. A gentlemen sent me his email address and asked me to send him my home address and telephone number. FIOS tweeted back and asked when my service was scheduled. I informed this gentlemen...2 days ago, and that my new date for the 10th of August was unacceptable. After sending my address and telephone number, as well as informing them that ECS was helping me I have not heard back from FIOS. So much for technology, or the simple act of saying, 'got it Mr. S, we're on it and will do everything we can to right this mistake.' Was I raised so differently than everyone else?


Since when has "Tweeting" become an acceptable form of communication for service problems. What happened to the phone call with a call back number. What happened to the one on one customer service that a phone call affords. Someone sitting at a computer Tweeting to hundreds of people who have problems does nothing to get the problem fixed. You have to go and fill our forms. They could fill out that info. They have it...  They know the problem or they wouldn't be tweeting. Why not just fix it and do away with the whole tweet thing.

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Re: FIOS Installation Misinformation
WltS1235
Enthusiast - Level 1

Gus, too true, too true indeed.

Well, it's Saturday morning and we're coming up on the 3 day anniversary since FIOS was scheduled to be installed in my home. To celebrate I have some frozen prime ribeye and a choice tenderloin that I'm going to cook up on the grill. It's going to be magical.

As the day ended yesterday, there was not a peep from my angel in ECS. I'm not sure what happened to her, but unfortunately she (under the direction of the President of Verizon) doesn't seem to be able to help me. I mean, it's been nearly 3 days and I have yet to speak to a single individual at Verizon that can expedite my installation for one of their products that was supposed to already have been installed. What if the CEO tells folks in the company to do something? How is it that this company is still around???

Then, over at Verizon's blog, I received a reply to one of my replies from Bill (I think) saying that he had spoken to ECS about my case and that they were working on it. BTW if you have a chance, you should take a look at Verizon's blog post -- it's all about how incredible their customer service is...I really am not making this up!  

I was thinking about this last night, and to be perfectly honest this is quite possibly the worst customer service experience I've had in my nearly 35 years of living. I'm not kidding!

The only other experiences that come to recent memory (mobile phone service and local phone service) are with...Verizon! 

Which got me thinking. A few weeks back I picked up a new iPhone from AT&T after deciding not to wait until 2011 to see if Verizon will get to host what I consider to be the best phone I've ever owned (I also had a 3G). Thank God I didn't. I have never, ever, had any problems with AT&T. While the service can be a bit pokey rarely), the differences between Verizon's network (when I had the worst phone I ever owned the Motorola Q) and AT&Ts are negligible. Given my customer service experience however, I wouldn't switch to Verizon if they paid me money after this episode.

So I continue to wait, and hopefully some of you continue to read. One way or another we are going to win this battle and restore a bit of order to the Universe. I don't know about you, but I'm sick and tired of faceless corporations treating me like I'm their serf, or worse yet, some **bleep** (and I say that as a conservative Republican). When you agree to something, that's your bond...To go back on your agreement requires some form of penance. Without those consequences you'll continue to engage in the same behavior and that hurts everyone.

So Verizon, I'm getting sick and tired of people telling me they're going to help...Actions speak louder than words.

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Re: FIOS Installation Misinformation
WltS1235
Enthusiast - Level 1

Please install my service per your agreement to do so. It's now been exactly 3 days since you sent me your unhelpful email canceling my installation on the exact same day that you agreed to install it. We're not getting any closer to a resolution.