Verizon Wireless Sucks

If you’ve been following me on Twitter over the past week, I’m sure you’ve seen at least one of my posts on how Verizon is giving me a hard time with replacing my phone. This is more of a rant than anything else, but I wanted to make this post, so anyone else out there with Verizon Wireless problems, can share their experiences.

Here’s how it all went down… the other day I went out in my friends boat and they put my LG Voyager in their back so it wouldn’t get wet. Unfortunately some water drained into the back of the boat where the back was, and the LG Voyager sucked in the moisture (but wasn’t wet). At this point I wasn’t able to get my phone working, or even turned on.

Later that night I went to the mall to visit the Verizon Wireless store and talk with my sales manager there. The only reason why I am still will Verizon, is because my sales manager is awesome and can always get stuff done. So I went to the store and my guy was there, showed him the phone and he immediately asked, “what kind of liquid did you get in here?“. He could see that the charger area was already corroded. So at that point he said there was nothing he could do, mainly because I didn’t have insurance on the phone. (You know, whenever you actually get insurance you never need it… but the one time you don’t!)

So I went home, without a new phone and hoping my LG Voyager would dry out and come back to life. Later that night while watching TV I heard my phone start beeping… it came back to life! Everything is fine on it now, except none of the QWERTY keyboard keys inside work the phone. So I called my sales manager up and let him know it came back on, he then said I could get a replacement phone and battery for $79. Awesome, right!? Unfortunately he wouldn’t be back til Thursday (it was Sunday night this happened).

Monday came and I went to the mall to tell them my situation and that my sales manager said I could get it replaced. The person at the Customer Service desk started giving me a hard time and saying “we don’t do exchanges”… I told her I was in the previous day and talked with my sales manager, then she went and talked to her manager. She then came back and said it could be done, but they wouldn’t have the LG Voyager phones in till Thursday. However, she did make a note in the system that I would be approved for the exchange for $79.

Thursday comes and I head over to the Verizon Wireless store again. My sales manager left early, so I have to deal with the people in Customer Service again. I get the same attitude and story again… that they won’t replace or exchange the phone. I told the girl it was in the system, and she still didn’t care… her response was “well, that just means some one wrote it, and we don’t always acknowledge that”… so wtf does that mean! I knew my sales manager would be in the next day… so I just left.

Now it’s Friday, I call Verizon Wireless and make sure my sales manager is there so I don’t waste my time yet again, he’s in! I head over, talk to him and I’m ready for the exchange. He talks to his manager then tells me that “management” yelled at everyone yesterday and told them to “turn in their badges if they give any discounts or deals”. So once again… I’m screwed… after being promised by a customer service worker and my sales manager that I could get my phone exchanged for $79 instead of buying a whole new phone.

So I asked what my options were… my sales manager went to his manager a few more times and he was finally able to get me an LG Voyager for the price of a one year contract… which came out to $270 (-$50 rebate. So now I have to pay the $270 instead of the $79 I was initially promised.

In addition to everything I’ve written and gone through… here’s my breakdown of why Verizon Wireless Sucks!

– Horrible Customer Service Staff / Department
If you’ve ever been to a Verizon Wireless store, the Customer Service Department is usually crammed into a corner and no one ever has a smile on their face. The worst part is, these people have the worst attitude and everyone thinks they are a god. Because they were dealt with a poor position for a job, they seem to take it out on their customers… usually not solving most peoples problems.

– Upper Management Doesn’t Care About You
While employees and sales managers are doing their best to signup and help new customers, the upper management either stays in the back room never to be seen, or not at the Verizon Wireless locations at all. Again, the only reason why I am still with Verizon is because my sales manager is awesome. Now his job is being threatened by Verizon for trying to help customers, like myself, with phone problems and staying a member. I pays over $250 a month for the several phones on my plan, which comes out to $3,000+ a year…. but Verizon doesn’t care, I’m just a number among millions to them.

This was my rant and as long as it was, you get the point of how frustrating it has been. We all conduct business online and know what expectations we want others to have of us, and I would be mortified if someone felt this way about my business.

Are you with Verizon Wireless and have you had any complaints with them?

Similar Posts

81 Comments

  1. Cell phone companies are a necessary evil. I've had AT&T, Cingular, AT&T, and Verizon in that order. I've had some good and bad experiences with customer service with both companies. I think my coverage with Verizon is better. I also think Verizon has better customer service over the phone, and AT&T has better customer service in their stores. Bottom line they are businesses out to make money and they do and they can, because we are willing to pay just about whatever it takes to have cell phones.

  2. Verizon wireless does not suck. Customer service in general sucks. They can never keep their stuff straight and they cba to do anything.

    I've been with Verizon for over 6 years and have never had any issues with them. Their coverage is better than both Sprint and AT&T, my friends are always complaining about AT&T's low bars here.

  3. I've been buying unlocked phones off of craigslist for the last few years to avoid all this insurance and contract extension nonsense. I'd get angry everytime I'd go into the Cell phone store to have them tell me that due to where I was in my contract I'd have to pay $200 for a phone and extend my contract…My response would always be, "but I can get the phone nearly brand new on craigslist for $100 and not have to extend anything"…they're response, "um, erm…well…yeah you could do that…"

  4. I agree with some other posters — all cell phone companies suck to some degree, but like political candidates, some suck worse than others.

    I was with Verizon for two years and they were 10x better than Sprint (who I had for years before and Nextel before them). We had a similar situation to yours, Zac, but when we called the national number and pushed a little, we got what we needed and expected from customer "no" service.

    We recently switched to T-Mobile, but only because Verizon phones and plans were just too expensive. We gave them the chance to keep us as a customer, but they just couldn't compete. I was happy enough with Verizon that I would have stayed if they even got close, but between the cost of the phones and plans, T-Mobile was almost 50% less than Verizon. So far, it's been a good jump, but Verizon was one of the better companies I used, all things being relative to the other 3 companies I've dealt with before.

    1. I was previously with T-Mobile, and they had great customer service, but their coverage in my area was horrible… so I had to switch over to Verizon, which is vice-versa. Fortunately I really never have any phone problems outside of this one, so it seems to equal out.

      1. I refuse to leave T-Mobile simply based on the fact that their customer server has always been incredible. It's true that their coverage is not the best, but I can make do with it in San Francisco.

        And it's also worth mentioning that I had to deal with Verizon's Business Account customer service over the phone (for a company I previously worked for) and they were always pretty good to me, but I'm sure they take their corporate accounts way more seriously than their individuals.

  5. So let me see if I got this straight… You got your phone wet. You don’t have insurance. You’re mad at Verizon Wireless?

    I think you should be glad they’re willing to help you at all by giving you a discount. I put a phone through the laundry once and it stopped working completely. I got no discount at all and had to buy a new phone. I was upset, but I knew it was MY FAULT for messing up the phone so I sucked it up. No rants or complaining.

    Now, on the other hand, if they told you they would hook you up for $79, they should honor that. The problem is, your sales manager person apparently didn’t have the authority to make that deal with you. Personally, I would have asked to speak with his manager directly and took things to the next level.

    On to Verizon in general…I agree that they suck. Mostly because of they way they lock down their phones and force their customers to pay for every little thing. I used to have Cingular before AT&T bought them and coverage was terrible. I switched to Verizon because they were much better at the time. Now that AT&T has taken over, their coverage is much better and I plan on switching but just haven’t gotten around to it yet.

    I have heard a lot of people complain about Verizon’s service. I am not a power user and never really had any issues, so I can’t complain.

    1. I agree that I didn't have insurance, and that sucked… but being promised something, then getting the attitudes and run around is what bothered me. This isn't the first time… otherwise it wouldn't be an issue.

    2. I bought a Blackberry Pearl about 9 months ago. I have had problems with this phone since day one. The battery does not keep a charge(they sent me a new one and it didn't solve the problem), I can't get my e-mails, the track ball freezes, the phone freezes, the list is long.

      The customer service has been unbearable. Each time I have called or gone into a store I have been treated with condescension. I am blamed for the problem before we even start. Once I walk them through my experiences and have them review the notes on my account I am able to defend myself. Which is ludicrous.

      I want to cancel my service, I want money back for the service I have paid for and not been able to use. Their answer is to send me yet another refurbished phone! When I tell them I want nothing to do with the Pearl anymore because I know there are major issues with this product – they come to Blackberry's defense. When I explain that I know many other people with issues with this phone and have a friend that works at Alltel who is aware of the issues(they are replacing the Pearls constantly) they pitch a spin that could only come from the executive meeting rooms of Blackberry and Verizon Corporate. If I want to switch to a phone with less capabilities they tell me I will have to pay full price since my early "upgrade" isn't available until January. Basically I am stuck with having to call or visit Verizon every week until January 2009. The thought sends shivers down my spine. I will probably cancel once I can stomach paying them to get out of a contract they did not uphold, lose money on the stupid phone and have to buy a new phone and service. They know this and keep you hostage. I truly don't have the time to deal with this but I am so angry I will find the time to use every vehicle I can to send a message about Verizon and Blackberry Pearl. I think it is important to note that I am a person that believes in the whole "you get more bees with honey" approach. Verizon pissed on the honey. I have never encountered so many unfriendly, condescending, and inept people under one company name. So Zac, in short, I feel your pain.

    3. THe bottom line is Verizon sucks no matter how u look at it. THey are out to steal people money. They conn u into signing another contract by giving you free phones. THeir biggest money maker is if u accidentally go 2 the internet. they charged me 30 for that and wont credit me.

      I hate verison they r just a large corporate busines out to make money at all cost.

      Hate haTE HATE HATE HATE VERIZON

  6. I think all wireless networks suck. They always say they’re going to do all these things for you but they never do. These companies are complete asses.

    1. The funny thing is that everyone NEEDS to have a cell phone now. Look back ten years ago and only a few people had cell phones… now it's a necessity and the cell phone carriers know it, so they can charge and do what they please.

  7. Did you ever try calling into customer service? sometimes they can help more than the store. Just a thought.

  8. Yea, if it was your fault, then don’t complain big baby! 😉 yet they aren’t the best! I am leaving them this month, finally my contract is up and going back to att… now that they bought cingular.

  9. You should call in to Customer Retention, they have a lot more leverage in the company than any of the retail positions, I promise. Just call and say you’d like to cancel — they will transfer you to retention, then explain to retention you are a $3k customer, the problem you had in the store, etc and they will make it happen.

    Or, next time, just buy insurance when your phone gets broken ;).

      1. you’re absolutly right!!! i m sure – you need do chose good phone plus inssurance or chose a cheep chinese one) you ll pay 300$ and your phone will work for a year or more! and when it get over – you really don’t care!!! a chineese one is my chose!

    1. Well first off Verizon only cares about save and sell that’s it.

      They push there reps to sell you anything they can and send as many emails to customers to buy more crap as they can. They try to get you to promise to send 5 or 6 emails to each customer you talk too. Lol and then they turn around and say your spamming customers. They have the worst management staff I have ever seen. Seventy five percent of there call center employees have FMLA because they hate there jobs. They pay you well enough to keep you but treat you like you’re a piece of crap. They have no honor because I have seen a lot of reps step up and work hard only to get put back to where they started. Verizon care about nothing but money they talk a good game but the bottom line is money and there weird atmosphere. Its like Nazi Germany there in there call center you have to live breath and kill yourself for Verizon or they get rid of you.

      1. wow, you hit that nail right on the head. I just quit one of the call centers and still waiting on 2 paychecks that cant seem to pay me for. Dont forget to pay them though, that service will be cut off in a heartbeat. Then you have to deal with Satan's minions, Financial Services.

  10. Uh, Zac. Verizon does not owe you a phone. Although you were promised an exchange for $79, I would guess your “sales manager” (whatever that means) was bending the rules or breaking them, so too bad you did not see that when you were jeopardizing his job by going there when he wasn’t there.

    1. Hi Kim,

      I see both sides to this as I have worked retail in the past. Sure he was bending the rules but if he was concerned he should've made Zac aware he was bending the rules to begin with instead of offering false promises from the beginning…

      If he was straight with Zac to begin with there would've never been a mis-understanding.

    2. It wasn't just that I was being offered the $79 exchange by the sales manager, but a girl in customer service said the same thing and to come back on Thursday to get the phone exchange done. It's a poor setup of communication and no one listens to each others notes in the system.

  11. Just a heads up on Metro PCS, we have them here, also and were thinking about getting them. However, their coverage is VERY limited. Here, if you get anywhere outside a major city, you have zero coverage. We travel too much to be covered only in cities. I guess it's really based on what you need, but it was a deal breaker for me.

    1. ALSO they rapidly recycle their phone numbers, so once you sign up with them, expect to get dozens of late night phone calls for "Pedro"

  12. I'm with Sprint myself but the coverage in the city I just moved to is terrible. Verizon covers just about everywhere here with good signal strength but their phones are expensive — they both are on CDMA so I generally force my phone to roam on Verizon towers and it seems to work out sorta/kinda okay.

    I just picked up the new Instinct through Sprint last week and it does not have an option to force roam so I'm not sure what my next step will be since Sprint coverage here isn't all that great. Maybe I will discontinue service and move to Verizon as T-Mobile's service isn't any good here either.

  13. Zac,

    How much time do you have left on your contract with Verizon? This might make for the perfect "excuse" to move to AT&T and get an iPhone.

    Scott

  14. It's interesting you posted this Zac because I've had a similar problem with Verizon, but with a happier ending.

    First off, let me start by saying that I've been with Verizon for over 6 years now, as they have the best coverage, good phones, and decent customer service.

    About 3 months ago I bought the Samsung Glyde, and while it was OK at first, it just started malfunctioning and not working properly. So I took it back to Best Buy (where I bought it from) and they told me there was nothing they could do….I wanted to just swap it out for another Glyde or an env2, but since the 30-year warranty was up, there was nothing they could do. So my mom and I went back to Best Buy like last week, and she pretty much took care of the problem. Gotta love mothers, lol. So we went back and there was a different guy there this time, and he was really cool, and exchanged my phone and switched over my contacts for free. It was great.

    So I guess it kinda depends on where you go or who you see.

    Good luck to ya!

  15. Verizon is pretty hit and miss when it comes to customer service and coverage. I read this AT&T vs Verizon review before I switched to AT&T but I had a totally different experience.

  16. I wish T-Mobile had a huge service area. I'd dump any of the other carriers for them.

    Although as bad as Verizon is, I think Sprint may be even worse.

  17. Wow, you had a sales manager and a service rep tell you, you would get a discount, plus they enter it into the system and then they don't give to you. That's a bunch of BS! Just another story of how screwed the mobile industry is. Nobody seems to know wtf is going on. If they made you a promise, they ought to give you the discount, no questions asked.

  18. You could've saved your phone from the wetness by taking the phone apart and let the phone completely dry before turning it back on. I've accidentally dunked my phone in the cup of water but I was able to get it back by doing that. Oh well, it's too late for you since you turned the phone on (or it turned itself on) while some other components were still wet, causing permanent short circuit.

    These phones actually cost quite a bit of money to make but Verizon "subsidizes" the phone by locking you up for 2 years and gives you the phone at huge discount. Is someone needs another phone within that 2 years, they obviously can't give you the same discount since they were already counting on your monthly bill to pay for the discount on the first phone.

    I would still say if they promised, they should have honored it.

    As bad as people complain about VZW, they actually have better reputation for their customer service than all other carriers, although individual results may be different.

    Check out my website for all verizon users. There is a section for ranting. The site is constantly being monitored by independent verizon store owners so maybe it will help them as well.

  19. Ditto brother …

    I just want to mention the $26 call – 53 minutes to Canada I never made that I HAD to pay for …

  20. Hi Zac,

    Depending on how far you want to go, this is a strategy I teach people for credit repair and any other consumer issue.

    It's amazing just how well it works but sad that this is what it takes to demand customer service.

    It's called a goodwill letter. Take a moment to find the nomenclature of Verizon's email system, i.e. bankofamerica.com. Next, go to YahooFinance (my favorite) and find all the top "C" class execs.

    Copy/paste your post into an email with a clear call to action. You will get a positive response once you hit C-level management.

    The mistake many people (not including you) is that they tolerate poor customer service. Unfortunately, floor-level customer (dis)service people don't care (or don't seem to care).

    Once you articulate your request (as you've done) and why you believe you deserve what you're requesting, you will get what you want. Naturally, no business wants to upset (or worse, lose) customers…not intentionally.

    In twenty years of teaching (and using but not abusing) this strategy, I've not heard (or experienced) even one strike-out.

    In today's "texting" world, many people (if you can believe this) simply cannot (or choose not to) write a grammatically correct and cogent letter (or email). When the C-class receives a letter from a customer who's articulating his position and request, the letter gets attention.

    You provide great value with your blog, Zac. I hope this helps you. Email me if I can be of any help to you.

    Mike

  21. Zac, They all suck, I know, I used to be a Alltel dealer, but I was an independent dealer which is different in a way to those at the mall. I lost money at times, because I, like your guy, went out of my way to give customer service. I have actually given people phones when Alltel wouldn't because if I didn't, and they were still within a certain amount of days from when they originated the contract. I would get a charge back on them, in other words, Alltel (CellularOne at that time) would make me call before any activation, they are the ones who approved these peoples credit, not me, yet when the people defaulted on a bill or had a problem with the phone and cancelled the contract, I took the hit, I was out the money I paid for the phone plus any commission I made on the activation. Which I believe sucks, they approved the customer they should stand behind that approval. I hated being a cell phone rep, because the customers thought it was my obligation to make things right. I was the middle man. They must be having some problems at Verizon, to get so many people who don't want to give you customer service, and the one who did, I know how he feels, he needs a job, but the Big Dogs who don't actually know or even care to know the customer, throw their power around and threaten. What is the world coming too? I was so relieved to be out of the cellphone business, because I actually cared about each of my customers, especially in a small town and I have known all these people all of my life, I would rather replace their phone than to have lost business because of the whole town talking trash on the company. It isn't fair, I hate that you are probably in a contract renewal for 1-2 more years and with that kind of customer service going on, who knows what is to come.

    Actually last time my son got a knew phone from Alltel in Lubbock TX we had to sign another 2 yr contract. The salesman told my Son, by the end of the year Alltel will be bought out by Verizon. Who knows what is going on in the offices of the CEO's and Stockholders of the companies. Sucks that we are so dependent on these cellphones and they know it. It is like they can do what they want because they know we need them.

    Sorry, I am having same kind of crappy things from Dell Computer, sent back equipment unused, and they knew it was coming, they accepted the return, 3 yrs later I get a collection agency harrasing me. WTF like you say, I sure am not paying for equipment I didn't keep. There needs to be some kind of consumer vigilante group. It sucks they can ruin our credit, or even report anything to the credit unions, whenever consumers are doing the best they can. Big business has so much power, and the little guy or consumer is screwed.

    Cellphone prices are ridiculous anyway. Do you know that they told me years ago, just having your phone in the bathroom, and the steam from the shower can corrode the phone. Insurance on the things over time add up too.

    Keep Ranting, maybe it will someday make a difference. After all this is America, we have our voice to speak, if nothing else, that is a powerful tool.

  22. I feel your pain with Verizon. My son's school called on Wednesday to say he was sick and needed to be picked up. My phone never rang even though I was in a high-coverage area. When I finally noticed school called it was three hours after the fact. I didn't have a voicemail which I found odd. Guess what? The voicemail finally arrived….Friday afternoon. Thankfully he was fine, but this could have been a very serious situation. Verizon won't release me from my contract even though I explained how serious their service flaw was in this situation. I've filed a complain with the Better Business Bureau and will never touch a Verizon product again.

  23. Well, if it makes you feel better… most cell phone companies suck and their customer service reps usually have no freakin' idea on what they're talking about.

    Jay

  24. There is always something with mobile services. I think they all have certain things they need to get straight. Insurance is a must have though. I break a phone every 3-6 months for some reason so it comes in handy.

    1. I had insurance w/ my verison phone the G-Z ONE shock proof and water resistant in 30 feet of water for 15 minutes. Yea right. Droped my phone in the bay at work in 20feet of water for 7minutes retrived it with my magnet I use to retrive hand tools. And the piece of *hit phone didn't work ever again. Hears the kicker verisons insurance carrier Asurion cancelled my insurance in may 08. Told me I basicly make to many claims so they cancelled me. F*$k Verison in the neck. and all the rest of thoes greedy f***s

  25. If you are so upset, why not switch carriers? Not sure how it is by you, but unfortunately Verizon has the best coverage where I am…

  26. Easy solution for your problem. Call VZW, enable insurance on your phone, they will charge you the remaining total on the month and maybe the following, go to a different VZW store and say hey my phone broke. Yes I have insurance…$50 for a new phone – thank you very much:)

    Solved with no hassle

    1. Umm…that's insurance fraud, and I believe it would end up actually costing you a lot more than $50 in the long run. 🙂

      1. hey I can't help it if they don't keep track of a customer coming into a store with a broken phone. They are more than happy to take your insurance money, give a discounted phone, and keep you as a customer.

        hell they aren't making money off the phones – it's from the rest of the garbage people buy and do with them where the $$ is…i know I am a former VZ employee.

    2. Yah, um they don't let you enable insurance on a phone more than a few days after initial purchase, you get insurance they have to inspect it at the store before it goes in effect.

  27. I resigned w/ verison in 2/08 upgraded to G-Z ONE model. phone was stold in 4/08 had insurance hasselled big time to get my replacement w/$50 deduct. 5/08 get a letter from Asurion cancelling my insurence. Well my piece of s**t phone is broke,and when I go to buy a new phone, they'll shove that corperate ROOSTER all the rest of the way up my DONKY. I hope their satilites crash into some UFO and the alians come to earth to get their insurance claim from all the CEO's from all wireless companies in the form of SPADED & CASTERATION.

  28. how can i screw with verizon wireless.they always scew with me …… is there a monkey wrench gang for this…………….

  29. Unfortunately, Verizon has in fact the best COVERAGE in the United States (AT&T has "better coverage" if you include other countries). All "phone companies" are evil. But if you think Verizon sucks try switching, you will have a new found appreciation for Verizon. I've had both Sprint and T-Mobile – but not AT&T. Call quality sucks on GMS networks compared to CDMA. I try not to "expect" exceptions to the policy.

    1. oooh … you just hit on the most important point of all. THEY ARE ALL THE SAME!!! Try switching, and you'll eventually run into the same issues, the same attitudes. I think you just stick with the provider that gives you a working phone, and at least you still might get some better than average treatment with the sales manager that you have an existing relationship with. Perhaps he'll be a little more handcuffed than before, but at least he seems to care – that usually gets you a lot further than dealing with people who have no idea who you are.

  30. OMG They totally just did the same thing to me. I was supposed to get a rebate for the phone i just bought from them, and they totally screwed me on it! They are saying well you dont qaulify for the rebate. But they promised me a rebate. They are LIARS!!!

  31. Verizon coverage is good but here are what REALLY sucks about Verizon. I was a Verizon customer for more than 5 years. And I switched to different provider, Cingular/AT&T. I heard that Sprint/Nextel is good too.

    1) When you go over the allowed minutes, you should really pay attention on HOW MANY minutes you go over ONCE you go over. Verizon will OVER-charge you. In fact, you should pay attention on how many minutes you spent every month. I got burnt like 2 times but I couldn't provide proof. But HOW can you provide proof???

    2) Yes, their customer service SUCKS.

  32. After you've been with them for a while you can get up to five phones for $9.99 a line. With my family plan we need four phones so I just took the fifth phone. at $9.99 you save money in the long run over insurance. With insurance it's $6.99 and then you have to pay $50-$75 deductible. So we just have the extra line. That phone has never been powered on and now between the five phones one of them is almost always up for renewal for a free phone. That way I don't have to deal with all the crap when one of the phones dies, or gets dropped in the toilet (true story)

  33. Hey man I got verizon whats your beef! Ha, Just kidding, ya man, I don’t really like it either, I hear they can’t charge you a dissconnect fee anymore for switching, that true? I think I looked into switching before and it was like $300 to get out of the contract!

  34. Yes Verizon customer service is TERRIBLE, you get a different story and different options with each person you talk with…beware consumer

  35. You got your phone water damaged and wanted it replaced at lower than the full 2yr. contract discount. Really? Warranty doesn't cover damage. You are lucky you got the discount you did and that they still worked with you wanting something for nothing because of your own mistake. You take wireless for granted. It's not magic. You= con artist.

  36. Zac,

    Water Damage – Shutup and pay

    Your sales manager – What the hell are you talking about, he works for himself, not you. The sales manager at Verizon wireless is the Assistant manager at the store, he has full control to discount whatever he likes. This is a true statement, considering I worked for the company.

    Run Around – Don't be a dumbass, call customer care. and whoever said the customer service reps within the store are taking out their "lower end job" on the customer is an idiot. The customer care reps at the store probably make more than most of you people. The average non-commission retail customer service "bitch" in the store makes atleast 40k a year, for doing nothing but keeping you idiots away from the sales rep with your dumb attitude, that doesn't want to deal with your issue because he is busy making commission to support a family and doesn't get paid the hourly rate a CSR does for their job. It's business, don't be stupid. I've worked for practically every carrier, and Verizon is the only one that I don't feel like I am ripping off the customer when selling something to them, because their network WORKS.

  37. I'm with you. I've had an account with Verizon that was originally Bell Atlantic Mobile. As my family grew, the plan grew to four lines on a family plan. A second account opened for a work blackberry, plus an employee's blackberry, plus an air card for the laptop. Total payments mothly to Verizon between the two = +/- $500.00, or $6k / year. It buys you nothing.

    I went to no less than 4 Verizon Wireless stores on Friday November 21. Each received around 5-10 Storms, but each was happy to order me one to receive by December 15th. 3 weeks?!?!?!?!?

    So I ordered online. The Verizon Site proclaimed "Guaranteed Overnight Shipping" on online orders. There was no notice that quantities were limited, or that they were sold out. The next day, Saturday November 21 I received confirmation of my order. "Great," I thought. Pity those poor people that ordered in the store for 12/15 delivery. Monday November 24 I got the email. "Your order has Shipped," appeared clearly in the subject line. It went on to disclaim that my Storm would be received no later than 12/15. I found that odd, but I wasn't shaken. After all, I had been "Guaranteed" overnight shipping. As you might guess, Tuesday and Wednesday came and went without my having received the phone. A call to customer service revealed that the phone was, of course, oversold, but my order was processed and shipped…but FedEx hadn't picked it up yet because they're so busy with Verizon orders. Naturally I countered on this point. I felt certain it was more than just semantics here. That the order had shipped was clearly advised. The rep repeated that, indeed, it had shipped, but FedEx hadn't picked it up. I couldn't help but tell her that I disagreed, and that in my opinion "shipped" implies that a package is on a truck, en route, not still sitting in a warehouse. Affixing a label to a box does not constitute "shipped."

    Bad enough, but it gets better. Later Wednesday I get another email from Verizon. I figured this would be a message advising a tracking number, or anticipated delivery date, or some positive news. No. This was an email to advise me that my order was being processed and should be shipped no later than 12/15. To recap briefly–yes–after sending me an email on 11/24 to advise that my phone was shipped, I get a follow-up email two days later to advise that it will ship at some future date, but not later than some three weeks hence. Groovy. An email to Verizon's order fulfillment was replied to with the usual recitation of the fine print. Still, no acknowledgement of anything. Nothing but a thinly-veiled "F you."

    Now maybe I'm just whining unncessarily, but if I ran my office like this cluster has transpired I'd have beemn replaced a long time ago.

  38. I just came from a Verizon Wireless Store. I dropped my phone in water and needed to get a new one. I had that deal where you get a new phone every 2 years and my two years were up so I figured I'd go down there, get a new phone and renew the contract (which you have to do to get the phone).

    There were about 40 people packed into this tiny place. You actually have to sign your name on a list and wait to be called. They have 1 list for new sales and one list for service. Guess which list never ever moves? I was talking to a guy who had been "next" on the service list for over 30 minutes. I was assured by 2 different employees, who were not helping anybody, that somebody would be with me shortly.

    After 20 more minutes that poor sap still hadn't been called. I decided right there to just ditch Verizon and go get a new phone somewhere else. I got ATT. I'm sure they suck, too, but I was so pissed at Verizon I swore they would never see another cent from me.

  39. Dude, I feel real bad for your situation. They could really have helped you out a little bit. This is why I am all about pre-paid wireless service. Contracts are simply a deceptive way to keep a customer without having to provide customer service at all!

  40. My wife had trouble when he enV2 stopped working and they kept giving her refurbished phones which had the same issue days later.

    <abbr>Steve’s last blog post..RB Carlos Hyde to Sit in 2009</abbr>

  41. You right, Bali Villas! Indonesia is the best Indonesia to get internet access by cellphone.

  42. Verizon has lost touch with its customers. I have 4 phones on their network and am eagerly awaiting the expiration of the contracts on all of them so that I can take my business to someone who cares about retaining their customers and making them happy.

    The waits in their stores are down right absurd. Activating a new phone can take nearly 45 minutes while other customers pile up. Have a phone that doesn't work, not to worry…they'll gladly issue you a "new" one. (Read: freshly refurbished).

    Have insurance on your phone…don't be surprised if a refurbished model arrives at your front door step. I recently went through 4 of the same phones within a 4 month span, only to be issued the same flunky phone over and over…finally I raised cane at a different location and was given a phone that has to be the all time cheapest model.

    Verizon has a lot to learn about truth in advertising — as in Can You Hear Me Now? It's the biggest bunch of baloney I've ever heard of. My construction related business is frequently out in the boondocks, where you are garanteed NOT to get reception.

    Yes, ladies and gentlemen..you read it here first. Once my contracts are up…I'm taking my business somewhere that cares!

  43. Where you screwed up was when you started talking to other people about what your sales manager promised you. That was between you and him. He was probably doing the exchange on the down low as a favor to you. He probably didn’t have permission to do this but could get away with it every once in a while without getting in trouble. When you started talking to all and sundry about what he offered you his boss had a fit you put him in an awkward position.

  44. If you want to attempt real resolution, get in touch with me. I have the contact information for Verizon Wireless "Executive Relations" team.

    I am among the thousands of unhappy Verizon Wireless customers. Recieved a Blackberry Storm by mail. Activated by an in store representative, only to later find out that I was being billed for a Data Plan subscription that I was not informed of beforehand, and that I did not accept. Attempted to return the phone numerous times, and have dealt with Customer Care a half a dozen times. Its been 8 months.

    Finally I discovered how to reach the Executive Relations team at Verizon Wireless. They are the only ones who can help resolve your problem, short of having an attorney contact them. BTW, I subscribe to Pre-Paid Legal for $35 a month, and their attorneys at no additional charge, will contact Verizon Wireless. Find me on twitter.com/verizoncustomer .

    Share your experiences online and then email me at verizon.sucks@yahoo.com . I will forward you important contact information to reach the real decision makers at Verizon Wireless, the Executive Relations team.

  45. HI, I have cable tv and have never had them offer to give me a tv because I pay for cable service. Why is it that you expect a cellular company to give you a phone because you pay for network access. I mean maybe cellular services should just require people to outright buy 6-700 dollar phones to get service, hmm that should fix the issue eh. Wireless companies pay for a phone and sell it to you at a reduced rate(IE they subsidize it and you commit to having service for x years for that reduced pricing) and you have the option for insurance which you decline; then you bitch and whine when your phone which you didnt pay for insurance for gets damaged through your carelessness, or error…. I mean really, just LOL

  46. DO NOT purchase the Verizon USB Wireless Airport Card. It is a complete rip. The wireless service is good for about 2-4 hours of airtime per month…which they do not tell you when buying it. Fees start out at $39.99+ tax per month. They don't tell you that the card falls under a two-year contract. They also don't tell you about the horrid overage charges that incur once you've used up the titsy-bitsy amount of airtime service. HUGE, HUGE RIPOFF. SHAME ON YOU VERIZON!

  47. I am so sick of being ripped-off by Verizon and pretty much any major corporation. These companies deliberately extend the reach from customer to customer service, they deliberately set-up problems for the custom then count on the custom just payingn the bill and putting up with the sh*t just to keep the service. THEY DON'T GIVE A ROYAL FUCK about you, the customer. As long as they get your money, they do not give a fuck.

  48. VERIZON WIRELESS ARE ASSHOLES and WILL RIP YOU OFF. Make sure you check every detail of your bill because they automatically upcharge you for features even if you specifically requested not to have the service. And it doesn't matter how long you have been a customer, they tell you that there is nothing they can do, NOT THEIR PROBLEM!

  49. Verizon Wireless allows and supports fraudulent charges. They make it difficult for you to refute fraudulent charges and force you to waste time and energy "proving" the charges are fraudulent.

    A big class action lawsuit is needed to teach them a lesson…

  50. Ya well I actually payed for the insurance and verizon is even giving me a hard time. They gave me a refurbished phone in the first place and the damn phone ended up having manufacture problems with freezing and also not letting me be able to use my keypad while talking to someone.So i went back to verzion and asked if i could get a brand new phone and not a refurbished one. The lady working there told me that my phone was a brand new phone and had never been previously owned (which wasnt true at all because someone had just returned the phone earlier the day i bought it). Its been about 3 weeks now and ive been just trying to make it by but now i cant even hang up when i make phone calls, i have to take the battery out just to hang up if someone doesnt answer my calls or else it will just leave a long voice mail. I finally got fed up with it and called customer service to see why i should pay for a phone i was given that was refurbished, and especially since it was having manufacturing issues. So customer service made things even worse and are now telling me that i havent had any insurance on the this phone (droid incredible) and she then explained that my insurance might be from another store and not verizon(even though the store says VERIZON WIRELESS in big letters) . This has made me really want to switch service providers since i payed 300 bucks for a BS refurbished phone, payed for insurance, and they still want to try and charge me for something. Honestly i feel like verizons scamming people because they basically sold me a broken phone and want me to pay more, on top of the broken phone price, the insurance, and the BS lies they told me. Ill make another post once i take my phone bills up to verizon and show them that ive been paying for insurance for a couple months. Hope it works out cuz this sucks

  51. I definitely hate them, too. I keep getting my calls redirected to the godsdamn financial center, and they ask me for the primary account holder's federal tax ID number … guess who's not the primary account holder? ME. And guess who can't call the primary account holder to get that number? ME. Because they're redirecting all of my calls to fucking financial center. We have an unlimited data plan – that doesn't include texting…. What part of texting isn't data? The other phone is charged with a ten dollar a month data plan that was required for that phone, they convinced us that we needed the data plan for that phone … yeah RIGHT! I don't even know what they're charging it for! The DAY my contract is up, I'm switching to at&t.

  52. Verizon Sucks I have been with them since way before they were Verizon 1994. They will not give me the Unlimited Data Plan that they gave to any idot that switched to them Less than one month ago. $29.95. Just Data that is all I wanted. Now they will lose 5 Lines. Fios. TV and Internet. All the rest of there fun Fees. I pay them now over $500.00 per month That is $6000.00 per year for just my Home Stuff. I also own a company with More than 100 employees and Fios and many other Verizon Services. Guess what else they are gona be missing. These people are nasty. I am going to switch everything to another service, and my Corp Sales Rep is going to kiss my A._ _ to get me back. I will never happen. I have paid them and setup several other companys on there stinking network. They will all be switching to. I think in the USA just stoped taking crap from companys like this and everybody switched Free Market would dictate price and service very quick.

    Verizon you Suck and have lost another one.

Comments are closed.