I have recently had a very poor experience with Verizon FiOS.
On Christmas eve I purchased a new HDTV and wanted to connect my box using the HDMI cable and it was not working.
I called Verizon for support, waited on hold and was told to basically follow the same steps I had already been through. Finally the agent advised I would need a new box but that another group needed to place the order.
I was transferred, placed on hold again and then got through to an agent who tried to make me follow the same steps as above. I resisted and the person placed a Ticket and advised me to go pickup a new box at Sixth Ave Electronics in Springfield NJ.
Today, 12/26, I went to the address to find that the location is out of business (Why is Verizon sending me to a closed location?). I used my phone to find another close location and went there.
At the Route 22 location, I actually met a Verizon FiOS rep who was solution oriented. He advised me that I needed an order # and that while the phone rep did not place one (why not?) he would do that for me (great service). He however encountered a problem as I have 8 boxes on my account and he could not add the order (why is this? Are customers with more Verizon products penalized for their business? Your commercials seem to want us to add more and bundle more but here I am advised this is a problem, my bad right?), so he processed a manual order for me (once again trying to help me and be solution oriented).
When I arrived home I called the Verizon Support # to activate my new box. Guess what... I waited on hold for over 30 minutes and then got through to a rep who advised me they cannot activate my box over the phone? (huh ??? **bleep**???). He then told me it would be best if I had him place an order and ship a new box to me and then return the box I had picked up.
My first recommendation is that for customers like myself (Verizon Fios with 8 boxes, Verizon phone, Verizon Wireless with 5 mobile lines) I should receive better phone service with direct access to people who can solve my problems.
My second recommendation is that you should provide your reps with accurate data. Sending customers to closed locations is not good at all.
My third recommendation is that when your reps realize that your internal processes have failed and broken down they should be free to do what it takes to make the customer happy. In this case they should have activated my box vs. Making me wait yet another day.
Finally, I looked all over the website for a place to send Verizon Support an e-mail with my displeasure and could find no place to do this. When you fail, don't make it difficult for your customers to share their feedback with you. I will now be sharing this miserable experience with all friends, family, acquaintances and all my social media 'friends'.
