Unfathomable Aborted FIOS Install

wheelair

This is my tale of an unfathomable aborted FIOS installation -

At 10:30 AM on 2-2-12, FIOS installer showed up to presumably install FIOS Triple Play bundle. He first looked at existing POTS and cable wire on outside of house. We next came back inside and I gave him my ideas of where router, battery backup and power supply would be placed. He immediately showed me his attitude when he stated "we'll see - it all depends on whether I can get around in attic". He then went up to attic and in about 2 minutes came back down and announced that he couldn't get around in attic - there were ducts everywhere. He further stated that Verizon policy would not allow him to go anywhere in attic where he couldn't stand. It seemed to me that even before he went to the attic he was set to find a problem.

The fact is, that ducts are not everywhere - there are two places where he would have to stoop to get under ducts. The ducts are approximately 4' above ceiling rafters.

The next item to rear its head appears to be more Verizon misinformation than an installer issue. Per FIOS FAQs on Verizon website "The ONT power supply will need to be plugged into an indoors electrical outlet, so please ensure that an outlet is located within 150' of where the ONT will be installed. A battery backup unit will also be installed inside your home or garage and it should be installed not more than 50' form the ONT". Based on this information I had planned on the battery backup being in a bedroom closet and the power supply in the garage (no electric outlet in closet). The installer informed me that the battery backup and power supply are now one unit and has to be installed 25' from ONT.

The installer then suggests he install the battery backup and power supply in either my master bedroom or my living room - Unbelievable.

When I said no way to his suggestion, he called his supervisor to cancel the order and told me I would be getting a call fairly quickly to confirm the cancellation - I never got a call. You would think that Verizon would at least call to see if something could be worked out .

My question is - did I just by the luck of the draw get an installer with an attitude or is this Verizon policy? Also, is it true that the battery backup and power supply are now a single unit and must be within 25' on ONT?

Finally, how can I find someone with authority to contact - I already know what will happen if I call customer service - I won't be able to understand them and they won't know what I'm talking about.

pxhop

To answer your first question, each installer seems to do whatever he wants to do, and two different installers will handle the job two different ways. It appears that they all not all trained to the same procedures, or some of them are just lazy.

My battery backup and power supply are two separate units. I just had Verizon Fios installed two weeks ago, January 23, 2012.

I had a space cleared out in the basement where the ONT could be mounted on an unfinished concrete wall next to a grounded three prong outlet. I was floored when the installation tech said he didn't want to mount the ONT on a concrete wall. A Verizon repair man who came later to replace the DVR was also amazed when I told him that. My neighbor got Verizon Fios and the installation tech fastened a wooden panel to his concrete basement wall and then mounted the ONT on the wooden panel with no problem. What would my installation technician have done if I had an unfinished basement and a brick exterior?

I have also found Verizon to be a fountain of misinformation. A verizon video explaining how to prepare for the installation said I need to have a 3-prong grounded outlet within 50 feet of the "terminal". My installation tech said that a wood wall 8 feet away from the concrete wall in the basement was too far from the outlet to mount the ONT. He wound up mounting the ONT on the outside of the house and grounding it to the electrical service outside and then said I didn't need a 3-prong grounded outlet, but all the verizon info I saw told me I need to have a 3 prong grounded outlet.

Sorry, but I don't know who you could contact at Verizon. I don't know what you could do besides ordering another installation and hoping for a tech that can find an agreeable solution.