My misadventures with Verizon FIOS
gsusser
Newbie

FIOS recently became available to my building, a 125 apartment condo.  A salesperson,{edited for privacy}and an accomplice, came to sign up new accounts and they had a field day.  The only competition is Comcast and residents were eager to be free of their evil clutches.  [management won't allow satellite, probably illegal.]  The lobby was crowded with potential customers and I asked Sheridan to call me cuz I didn't have time to wait.  

He called from his car phone and signed me up on his drive home!  I told him my needs:  least expensive and no frills TV to be used with TiVO (requiring a cable card) and fast internet, 25mb.  He seemed unhappy that he couldn't sell me more but I knew what I wanted.  He said he'd sign me up for the Spanish package, La Complexion, or something like that, because it was the only no frills package.  I told him no hablo espanol, but that seemed to be no problem.  Installation would be the upcoming Saturday.

Okay, I could go on endlessly here, but the installation date was completely botched by Sheridan, not to mention he didn't return calls or emails.  ["I'm not just here to sell you the service, I'll always be here to help with any problems."  Yes, he said that! 

The installer came out the following Saturday even though Sheridan told me there was no way the installation could be done until further notice because there were issues with the wiring.  It's a good thing I was home, well, maybe not.

Meanwhile, I never got any paperwork or an exact cost, only an estimate.  The installer did a good job and got the job done in 2 hours.  The first sign of a problem was when he asked which phone I wanted to hook up.  Huh?  I didn't ask for phone service.  The installer said he didn't have access to what plan I had, which didn't seem to be an issue.  Next sign of a problem was when I was able to get all the premium channels.  Sheridan seemingly signed me up for a tad more than I asked for.

I called Verizon to figure out what was going on.  Sales supervisor {edited for privacy} listened with seeming disbelief to my story, sympathized, empathized and apologized profusely, and said he would call back in 2 days.  Stupid me believed him.  I forgot I was dealing with Verizon.  He couldn't access my records right then and there since my account was too new and not on the system.  But he did determine I was signed up to the most expensive plan.  It's now 7:30pm and no call from Nick.  Meanwhile, I've had service 3 days and today, no TV.  Tech support couldn't figure out what the problem is and they have to send out a technician.

Can I just say shades of Verizon DSL, the worst customer service nightmare I ever had!  Fortunately, Comcast hasn't disconnected service yet and yes, I'm going back.  I would have thrown out the FIOS modem and router by now but I left my own router at work thinking I was done with it and was going to give it away.  Or maybe I'll keep the Verizon router, it's very nice and I deserve it.  There really is truly something wrong with this company.  I really wish an OTA antenna worked from my apartment, but I think, for now, it's back to the less evil Comcast.

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Re: My misadventures with Verizon FIOS
ElizabethS
Moderator Emeritus

Hi gsusser

Sorry you are having difficulty, an agent with access to your account will reach out to you directly by email, private message in the Forums and/or the billing telephone number on your Verizon account for more information to help you resolve your issue.

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Re: My misadventures with Verizon FIOS
flea2
Enthusiast - Level 2

Run for your life.  Misadventures?  You haven't seen anything yet.  {please keep it relevant}RUN!

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Re: My misadventures with Verizon FIOS
gsusser
Newbie

Just to put a period on this...

I gave my info in response to a private email and no one contacted me.  I am posting here because no one at Verizon returns calls or keeps promises.  I'm simply posting out of frustration and to let others know.  My TV has now been out for 3 days (FIOS was only installed on Saturday!)  I'm going back to the devil I know, Comcast, and they will be re-installing their equipment tomorrow.  Actually, I know Verizon from my nightmarish experience years ago with DSL and land line service.  While Comcast leaves lots to be desired, Verizon just keeps getting worse.

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Re: My misadventures with Verizon FIOS
Erincc
Newbie
I have been threw similar issues 5 times in the last 2 months. I will be contacting corporate monday morning, just a rep told me too saying it was the only way for anyone to MAYBE listen to my complaints
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Re: My misadventures with Verizon FIOS
oldfashioned
Specialist - Level 2

to gsusser: "He called from his car phone and signed me up on his drive home!"

----I personally think cell phones are the worst invention.  That scenario that you described is unfortunate.  Personally, I would only sign up for services by calling the business number if I didn't have the time to wait for a rep in the lobby so then that way, everything can be documented instead of having miscommunication on someone's cell phone while that person is driving....just saying.  Driving while speaking on a cell phone is so dangerous.  I just don't think I would go along with signing up for services in that manner.  In a way, it's understandable how everything got messed up given the way this sales person handled it because without a computer system right there for him to document your order and to create a record, it leaves too much room open for a  "he said/she said" scenario and miscommunication about what you really want.  It sounds to me like he was looking to make more sales by any means necessary, probably due to a sales quota that he was trying to meet.  

At this point, before switching back, you could follow through with having a technician to come look at the problem since you have made it this far.  It's only a suggestion and hopefully you could get a 4 hour time frame instead of an all day appointment for that.

I'm going to be sending a written complaint soon to Verizon's corporate office about some other issues I have had with their customer service.   

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