If this is how customer service works for a POTENTIAL customer, I shudder to think

Mareid

I live in a condo complex and Verizon came to make a pitch. I was interested in a Fios bundle, but I needed to know the answer to this question: Do you have a way to suspend service when I go to Florida for 3 months each winter?

1 person didn't know

1 person said they didn't have it but were working on it

I called Verizon

1 person didn't know, but said he'd get back to me (he didn't)

1 person said they had it but it would cost $25. to reconnect

I looked on the web (you have to know what the service is called...I tried "vacation" "temporary disconnect" and variants, till I hit on the word seasonal.

This is a direct quote from the website:

What is Seasonal Service Suspension?

Verizon offers Seasonal Service Suspension to customers who will be away from their homes for an extended period of time.

To qualify you must suspend your FiOS TV service for at least one month but not more than six months. Also, there is a fee charged to temporarily suspend your FiOS TV service.

To suspend your FiOS TV service for an extended timeframe, contact us at 1-888-553-1555 for further assistance.

I got on the live chat to find out the cost. The person could not tell me. He said to call billing and gave me a link to the contents page. I did that and got a person who said, at first that they did not have seasonal suspension. When I read the web page to him he changed his tune and told me that it was technically not seasonal suspension. He said it was $24.99 to disconnect the TV, and that they would be charging me $20 per month for the internet service even though I wasn't using it. (which is about $15 per month more than cable charges me). I asked him how I could be sure that what he told me was accurate since I'd already talked with 3 or 4 other individuals who'd given me different answers, he just repeated the $24.99 & $20 per month.

So to sum up:

person 1 - does not know

person 2 - not available

person 3 - available and total cost is $24.99 at reconnect

person 4 - available but cannot tell me the cost

person 5 - available and total cost is $24.99 at disconnect PLUS $20 per month.

I don't think I'll be signing up for Fios TV and Internet any time soon

Mareid

Further update: I got a flyer in the mail and decided to take a chance and call Verizon again...maybe I'd get a definitive answer.

Person 6: There is a vacation service. It costs $25.95 to reconnect. There is no monthly charge for iternet service during the vacation period.