I disagree with this entire complaint. And switching from Fios to another cable company just to get a cheaper deal? This is just my opinion but I would think that it would cost more time and money just to do that. I just renewed my 2 year contract with Verizon and I am getting discounts ( 2 $10 discounts I believe); upgrades for lower rates; and a $250 pre-paid debit card which I fully intend on using. That's a great savings! I don't have a DVR and if I had a DVR, of course I wouldn't mind getting that for free. Someone else here apparently was able to do that as an existing customer but that's just given to new customers as far as I know. And regardless, given the nice deal I'm getting to keep my rates down, not to mention being able to have access to all of these extra stations that cable customers would have to pay extra just to have and to have picture quality and Internet speed and digital phone service which are way better than what cable could offer, how can I go wrong with that? The only increase I'm getting is a higher initial bill because of the one time activation fee and the partial month of service for which I get billed in advance but then after that, my bill is estimated to be even lower than what it was before.
Cable doesn't offer anything close to the kind of quality that Verizon offers and the rates for cable go up and up without a contract. I think there are certain things that Verizon has communicated poorly. You will have no disagreement from me when it comes to that but I do not believe that Verizon is "screwing" existing loyal customers because I have just mentioned the rewards for a loyal customer like myself and all it took was an on line chat with a CSR under the link for "upgrade and renewal center" and this particular CSR did a fabulous job with me.
I had been thinking about possibly switching to Comcast but there is just no way. Not only would I not gain anything, but that would be settling for a product of lower quality and I am sure that the customer service would vary just as much.
All I can suggest is that you do your research and get all of your information right before switching. Take some time to think about it first, seriously. And the only other thing I can say is that if the rewards for renewing your contract aren't enough and all you are looking for is the exact same deal that a new customer would get, then I guess you would indeed have to switch to cable for a while and then back to Verizon. I have seen what my family has with Cablevision and Cablevision doesn't impress me at all when it comes to the graphics, TV picture quality, no IMG menu, and fewer choices of channels. The fiber optics are far better than that.
Questioning...you are missing the point. We were'nt able to get that deal...I dont know how you got it...I talked with 5 or 6 reps and none of them would honor tha deal for me since I wasnt a NEW customer. So I dropped the TV and got Netflix...I havent missed the TV at all.
How did I get the deal I mentioned? Like I said, by renewing my contract and I explained how I did that, by going on line to the upgrade and renewal center and getting onto a chat with a live rep to walk me through the process. It's really not rocket science. I'm sure my case isn't unusual and that it wasn't just a case of being lucky. I don't have any connections with Verizon higher ups and it didn't just come about magically. If your intial 2 year contract has expired and you are now on a month to month plan where your rates can just go up whenever, you're not going to get the rewards that I described if you just stay on the month to month plan. My point is that if you renew your contract, then you can get the pre-paid debit card, discounts, and upgrades for lower rates as I described and your rate is locked in for the next two years with the early cancellation fee, just like starting over as a new customer only nobody needs to come to your house to install the wiring which is already there. It's not a question of whether or not a particular rep wants to honor a deal.
You're not going to get the deal that new customers get and that's what the whole emphasis of this thread seems to be about. If you're looking for a free DVR for life as and the new customer rate of $89.99 per month, then that's not going to happen. And my other point is that if you're just expecting these deals that I'm getting by staying on a month to month plan and hoping that a rep will just grant that to you, that's not going to happen either. Try renewing your contract and you will be much happier.
so-and-so wrote: " ... If there were 10 cable companies in your area, I bet you could get a better price ... "
And if there were ten storm sewers companies, I suppose my quarterly bills would be lower. How about ten police departments, ten municipal governments, etc.? Why stop at entertainment suppliers?
My point of course is that the capital and infrastructure to support the type of mass market supply under discussion is not free, and one way or another the investment must be recovered. Otherwise it won't be made in the first place.
Good answer armond! Verizon is a utility company, not just a carrier of TV service. I think another factor is that if all existing customers were to suddenly get the introductory rates and free DVRs given to new customers, where would the profit be? I'm not even the biggest fan of corporate America but it makes sense and that's how all corporations stay in business.
And yes, I agree that 10 cable companies in the area wouldn't make any difference in price.
I found out how to reap the rewards for loyalty.
Amen! I made the following post http://forums.verizon.com/t5/General-Residential-Products-and/Customer-Retention-or-Customer-Abandon... several weeks ago to no avail. I've asked again for some response from "Customer Retention" and just receive the same script or promises of a call back by a supervisor that is NEVER kept....... Unfortunately, the only recourse is to vote with your pocketbook and take the business elsewhere. The real kick in the pants is that Verizon keeps records and scans address, credit reports, etc in an effort to deny you the New Customer deals if you cancel and then try to re-subscribe! I think that this demonstrates exactly what kind of company you are dealing with. The wise thought that "Character is what you do when nobody is looking" is embodied in Verizon's policy of rewarding "new customers" versus punishing existing customers.....BAD CHARACTER>>>>> (before the Company schill's weigh in with their comments, I am not talking about customers who get a deal for a 2 year contract then cancel and re-up....I'm talking about, in my case, a customer who signed up 9 YEARS ago and has continued to pay my $200 a month for 9 YEARS. Now, I am asking to receive something even close to the deal that I just got for my daughters new house of $140 per month for MUCH faster/better/more channels service along with a $500 gift card. In all, over a 2 year contract the new customer will pay $1,940 LESS than this Loyal customer. We are not talking chump change)
Then switch to cable if you're not satisfied. I skimmed over your other thread and it seems like you got some very helpful suggestions with good information.
The June 2012 edition of Consumer Reports has a breakdown on customer satisfaction for many telecom companies. They also include in that piece some advice on how to bargain your way to a more satisfactory contract. Worth a mention.
When companies get as big as Verizon is they just stop caring, It's all about profit not doing good business.
My monthly bill is now down to $128 with my renewed contract and I will be receiving my $250 pre-paid debit card in about a month. I would say that I feel rewarded knowing that.
Start a new topic or ask questions in the open forum.
