I just had a surprising customer service experience. I am a bundle customer, which means that I purchase internet, phone, TV, and wireless all in one bundle, for about $400 a month. I previously agreed to an electronic bill to be sent to my Verizon e-mail account. Once it arrives each month, I pay it electronically. Verizon did not send me a January monthly e-mail bill. I found the error in February and called Verizon. After talking to them, I paid everything except the $5.85 late fee and changed from electronic billing to paper, to make sure I would always get a bill. The customer service rep said that this late fee would be removed.
When this month's bill came, the late fee was not removed. I called the 1-800 number to correct Verizon's error. During the conversation, the represnetative told me that th late fee was $5, not $5.85. I explained to him that he was wrong and the bill, which I had in front of me, said it was $5.85. He would not remove the $5.85 late fee, insisting that the late fee was not the full $5.85. While it is only $0.85, the fact that he was wrong, compounded by the numerous other customer service issues I have been experiencing from Verizon, I was not going to let it go. I asked to speak to his supervisor. He asked me why. I explained it to him again. When I asked to speak to his supervisor again, he repeated the question of why. At this point, I did not repeat the answer, instead, I repeated the request. After going back and forth for a few minutes of this, the representative finally told me he would put me through to his supervisor, but informed me that the wait would be long. After about 10 minutes, I was forwarded to a ringing phone, where noone picked up. I let it ring for about 3 minutes before hanging up.
Clearly Verizon has made a business decision to try to cut costs on customer service, knowing that switching service for many is a difficult thing to do. I would strongly recommend to others before they choose a phone, internet, or TV service to consider the customer service aspect. Once you have signed up for Verizon, you are locked into the poor customer service.
