Very Positive Service Change Experience

[PJL]

Last month I used the MyVerizon web site to change my service.  (I went from an old bundle with POTS phone service, 25/15 Internet, and legacy Extreme to Digital Voice, 50/25, and the current Extreme.)  I  was concerned about messups, and had delayed the change because of my paranoia with Verizon.  However, this was a very positive experience.  And I'm saving a lot of money due to current offers and credits.  Some observations:

1. Using the web site to do the upgrade was fairly easy.  The comparison of current versus new options was very helpful.  Scheduling the change was easy and informative.  Seeing all credits and promotions doesn't occur until checkout is a slight negative, although you can see them prior to commiting to the change.

2. The confirmation on MyVerizon was fairly clear to understand.  The order showed up immediately on MyVerizon with the correct changes.  The page promised and e-mail within an hour or so that would include a summary of the order and an estimate of the first bill after the change. 

3. The estimate showed up as promised (although it was routed by my Outlook rules to a filing folder for my Verizon Call Assistant caller ID/voicemail notification emails so I didn't see it for three days -- stupid me).  The estimate included all discounts and promotions and credits/charged for the partial month due to the service change.  My billing date was not changed -- something I liked since last time I did this (two years ago) I got a new billing date.

4. The service change occured as scheduled and was flawless.  The TV package changes were the first to occur and was completed before 5am when I woke up that day.  Several channels were removed from the old grand-fathered Extreme HD package that I had.  No STB reboot was necessary.  Next was Digital Voice. The change occured shortly after I got up, setting it up wasn't too difficult, and the instructions to start the process were clear.  Detailed setup via the web was only hard in that I needed to educate myself on what was available by reading the manual.  Caller ID on the TV broke, but running the STB caller ID troubleshooter fixed it immediately.  Last came the Internet change at what I think was precisely at 6am.  I did a speed test just before 6am and still had the lower speed, but just after 6am I did another and had the new speed.  I never touched the router.  (Speedtest.net results to my local Dreamhost site: 8ms ping, 57.89 Mbps down, 36.15 Mbps up.)

5. Several days later I received a paper mail service confirmation and billing estimate that was the same as the email version.

6. On my normal billing date (well four days after that since it takes Verizon four days to post in on MyVerizon), the new service appeared correctly on the bill, and the bill was consistent with the estimate.

So I'm impressed that the front-end web experience with MyVerizon, the backend ordering processing and completion, and billing all worked as they should.  This has to be some fairly complex workflow, and in my case Verizon got it right. 

I've gotten used to all the new service.  I'm already taking the higher Internet speed for granted, and like the features of Digital Voice (including management via the STB and my tablet).  I only miss one Digital Voice feature, which is the old Verizon Call Assistant program that provided a caller ID popup on my PC.  But I found a free program that does it for me using my modem.  (By the way, VCA obviously no longer captures any phone activity, although I can still logon and see the account.  It would be nice if the VCA account was automatically deleted in the change to Digital Voice as I don't know how to delete my VCA account.)