Re: HORRIBLE Customer Service and total lack of communication!!
Tag_your_it
Enthusiast - Level 1

I have had the same horrible experience with Verizon! In fact, I have pages upon pages of notes from when I have spoke with the customer service representatives as well as their "Executive Team". I pay for 50/50 FIOS and most of the time I receive speeds equal to dial up. This is horrible, especially since both my 77 year old mother and I are both disabled and spend most of our time on the internet.

When I first called to complain, they stated it was interference and had me spend hours troubleshooting. I have a neck, back and shoulder injury so crawling around messing with wires and such isn't easy for me nor is having mom do it even a consideration. I also suffer from migraines so I have to go slow and steady when working on things taking frequent breaks due to my health issues. This isn't congruent with the way the technical support representatives want to work; therefore, they'd often get "frustrated and disconnected" making me call back and start from scratch with a new person, which made me even more upset.

They even had me relocate the router about 4 foot, from where their installation representative originally installed it, around the corner onto a different wall, then troubleshoot and call them back if I still received slow results. This relocation took me about 3 hours, I didn't receive employee pay, nor a discount on my bill, nor did it make a difference on the speed. When I hard wired into the router with a laptop sitting on a table 2 foot below it via an Ethernet cord I got close to the 50/50 speed; however, when I disconnected the Ethernet cord without moving the laptop an inch, I still got the slow dial up speed.

When I called back as directed, I was told it was "interference". I asked how can anything interfere that much when the laptop is less than 2 foot away, they couldn't and wouldn't attempt to answer. They simply said, "As long as you can hardware into the router and receive close to the 50/50 then we have fulfilled our part of the contract. We are no longer responsible as far as the wireless as our disclaimer states, "speeds are not guaranteed". I said, "I understand if it's a little slower, but from 50/50 down to 18/5 or somewhere in there is not acceptable and not anywhere close to a little slower."

They apologized and stated if I wanted faster speeds I needed to hardware my home. I asked them to hardware it for me due to them having a monopoly in Garland (Rowlett too from what I understand) and my being a loyal customer for over 6 years. I explained our house is around 1100 ft and I only need 3 outlets(1 in each room), which would consist of running an Ethernet cord to the attic, a splitter to the opposite ends of the house then one end to mom's room, a second splitter on one end to the 2nd & 3rd bedrooms then into the outlets. That wouldn't be that hard or that much Ethernet cord. They wanted to charge an absorbent amount per hour for their rep to do it as they refused to help as a courtesy even though I did all the rest of their job for them.

When I took it to the BBB explaining the monopoly, the wiring situation and even that all I was asking was for them to deliver close to the speed I pay for, they replied back with the disclaimer. The BBB didn't hold them to the contract and actually allowed them to use the disclaimer to get out of delivering the service I pay for. I explained that in Garland, the only other choice we have is Time Warner Cable and due to the monopoly they are only allowed to deliver 50/5 max. No other companies are allowed in the city according to the city (I called the City of Garland to verify the monopoly).  The BBB still sided with Verizon. I looked up Internet company monopoly rights per the FCC through Google and this is what I found:


http://www.fastcompany.com/3042895/as-big-as-net-neutrality-fcc-takes-aim-at-state-imposed-internet-...

I pray they bust Verizon and allow other options here as my 2 year contract is in its 2nd year, so not only did my speed slow down in the 2nd year, my price went up AND my battery backup just went out, so now I get the privilege to replace that as well. I called about the battery and this is what happened:

The rep, "Ren" who made me repeat everything twice, told me I'd have to purchase a replacement and could go to a local store and buy one. I explained this is their equipment, so I feel they should replace it. He said they would for a $48.98 fee. I freaked out and told him no. I've been in customer service for over 20 years and know good/bad customer service I asked for his supervisor. He informed me his supervisor would tell me the same thing. I asked him to spell his name then asked for his ID #. He spelled his name, but said he doesn't give out his ID #. I then advised him that I worked in c/s for over 20 years even as a supervisor and know the rules, this is now my 2nd request, I know you get bad marks for supervisor referrals, but I am not giving up so please transfer me. He said his supervisor was busy, so it might be a while. I told him it was a good thing Verizon wasn't my cell carrier as I have endless minutes and can wait all day (knowing full well they get graded on talk time), so again I told him I'd wait. He finally transferred me.

"Josh" came on the line, made me explain to him that my battery backup said the battery needed to be replaced, beeped all night, the battery said it was a GT12080 HG 12V8Ah yet the door said to use only a 12V DC 7Ah. I explained that this battery was the original that came with the unit when installed. I asked which is the correct battery, "Josh" didn't know, I asked him how did they expect me to replace it if they didn't know which one was correct if they didn't even know. He then explained how to disable the alarm that was going off, but said once it's disabled it can't be reactivated. I asked if that was still the case if the battery was replaced and/or the unit was unplugged and replugged. He had to put me on hold to check. He came back online to explain that once you disabled the alarm, it would remain disabled until the entire unit was replaced. I suggested that as a process improvement for the future as that doesn't seem very congruent for the situation. He agreed.

After we went back and forth, he agreed to replace it this one time free of charge. After wrapping up the call he admitted his name was NOT "Josh", it was actually "Max". They give fake names....how do I know he didn't lie about sending the battery free of charge too?

I read through the forum and saw where people disconnected and reconnected the battery to reset it. It worked, now the alarm is off and the replace battery light is off. I won't pay for the battery regardless. This is a crock of bologna, that they lie to their customers! I know in all the big companies I've worked at, if we EVER lied about our names we'd be written up! That is not right. Not only am I already an upset customer who's gone to the BBB in the past, who would leave your company if I had a choice, but then you LIE to me!

So in summation I have a higher price, slower speed, liars as customer service reps and no choice in Internet carriers! I hope Verizon pays Garland, Texas well because I will post this anywhere and everywhere I can to warn people of the monopoly! Garland doesn't care, the BBB doesn't care and Verizon will take your last penny and lie to your face smiling as they do it! What a great city to live in!

Re: HORRIBLE Customer Service and total lack of communication!!
ranatlas
Enthusiast - Level 2

To Tag_your_it --

I received an email referring to your post; I assume it's because I had posted in this thread a few times before and I had checked off a box saying to "Email me when someone replies".  Anyway, I just wanted to write to say that I'm sorry to hear about your experiences with Verizon.  I can relate to your being disabled and having back and migraine issues. 

I too, figured out that the company had their customer service and tech people use fake names.

It's a sad shame that the BBB has sided with Verizon regarding your Internet and battery issues.

I had to pay for my backup battery.  It was simple to install but I should have questioned them about the price, because $50 is a lot of money for someone who has no income and is waiting and waiting for a Social Security Disability hearing. (I was turned down for benefits the first time so had to appeal their decision... attorney says the court date might be 1 1/2 years down the road... but that's another story.)

When I had FiOS installed for our Internet and phone, the tech put in one "jack" on the 2nd floor (where my desktop PC and router are) during the process and I didn't think to ask during the installation if another jack could be installed on the 1st floor.  Well, after the tech completed the installation, I asked him about getting a jack for the 1st floor.  I guess had already signed a paper approving the installation, so he said that any additional jacks would cost approx. $100.  I wish I would have been told this during the installation, because he would have included another jack at no extra cost.  I feel this was totally unfair but I never made a stink about it.  Looking back on it all, I wish that I had.

I hope you will get some resolution regarding your issues with Verizon, and I wish you and your mother better health.

0 Likes
Re: HORRIBLE Customer Service and total lack of communication!!
LawrenceC
Moderator Emeritus

As this thread is now over two years old, it will be locked in order to keep discussions current. If you have the same or a similar question/issue we invite you to start a new thread on the topic.

0 Likes