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Bye Bye DSL

After 11 years I just canceled my Verizon DSL service. Cable is significantly faster and I sense the reliability may be much better.

As a parting gesture, I wanted to list the details that led to my decision:

1. The system went down fairly frequently (or slowed, or stalled, etc).

2. Each time, Verizon help (when I could get past the automated voice) assumed it was me.

3. Each time, it was something in the Verizon system, not me.

4. Each time, I was put through the same elementary script given to off-shore service teams.

5. In the past 3 months I experienced Actiontec router difficulties. Verizon replaced the first failed router under warranty. The second router failed and I didn't have the desire to move on to a 3rd.

6. My DSL service was down 48 hours after my service call before anyone got back to me.

7. After 72 hours the problem still persisted and I had a message that the problem was likely with my home wiring. Why now? Fairly new house, DSL consistent for over 8 years…

8. I tested the system outside the house at the junction box. No Internet there either. I do not think the problem was with the inside wiring,.

9. 5 days on, still no response.

10. One week: Bye, bye DSL. When I canceled after 11 years, the agent wasn't phased. Cold as ice.

Some suggestions:

1. Please lose the the auto-voice call attendant. I know it saves you money, but it's extremely infuriating, since invariably my option is not one of those being spewed by the automated voice. A menu with push-button options is far better. (Pressing "0" incessantly helps, but it's still annoying.)

2. Yes, I realize the majority of customers are techno-bumpkins, but some are not, and it's annoying to be patronized by elementary scripts when the basics are known. For example, I know how to power down a modem, yes there are filters on the telephones, etc. Can we skip to the next level up?

3. Stop assuming the problem is always with the customer and their equipment.

4. I do not believe a call center 8,000 miles away really has an accurate picture of the local networks. Better local resources should be made available so that customers can get quicker resolution to their problems. In my case, I strongly suspect there was an incursion to some physical connection between my house and the network at-large. Who knows when that might have been fixed, and meanwhile I was paying for the service. There is no way this problem could have been detected from distant call centers.

5. Also note that some accents are very difficult to understand. On one call (India, I believe), I had to have most things repeated as the technician was talking so fast he was nearly unintelligible.

6. I live in an outlying area. I wonder if the "service" in areas such as these are marginal? If so, it might be better to market them appropriately.

Comments

hey_moe1

I really feel for you. Verizon could really careless if you leave. I don't think any customer out there has a problem paying for FIOS when it works like they promised. I have had Cox ( which is just as bad) and also Direct TV. Direct TV has the BEST customer support out there. Even when you search on line they are rated higher than any other TV service out there. I changed to FIOS because I wanted the fiber set up.If Verizon would correct their customer service and STOP lieing to their customers to get a sale they would be number one. In this day and time customer service is more important than the product itself. Verizon should give the employees more training on that subject. When you are paying over a hundred dollars a month for a plan you expect great service. When you do have a problem and call in and try to correct it this is where the problem starts. I found out in the long run it is better to file a formal complaint with the BBB because Verizon is a member and they hate it when someone goes in that direction. It should never ever have to go that far.What Verizon should have done was a manager should have contacted you and offered a refund from the time this started or even yet offer a months free service. This is a drop in the bucket compared to what they have lost now due to the " Who cares if you leave or not" Internet, land line phones and Fios TV is a luxury and something that you don't really have to have. If you lost your job right now that would be the first thing that would go. If Verizon would take the time and start looking at it that way things would change for the better for them. Verizon already knows for a fact that for every customer you lose you also lose ten more from word of mouth. Look at Sprint. They kept cutting service and their customer service sucks. They were flying high at one time and now look at them. Hanging on by a thread. All of this was due to customer treatment.

andylui8

Haha, everything u said here is freakin true!!!

1billb1

How true that is I am going trough this same thing right now their support will not even talk to me or come out to fix the problem just the support out of India not the one at the central office here in the USA .

ECUnited

As others have said, everything you said rings true. Unfortunately, I have no other option than Verizon (I, too, live in one of those 'outlying' areas). I've had constant struggles ever since I activate my current service in 2008.

First major issue was constant DSL dropping or not connecting (especially Saturday mornings). They finally came out and split my phone/DSL lines coming into the house, which cleared up 95% of my DSL dropping for no apparent reason.

Second issue was download speed. I was paying for upto 3Mbps (the max I can get in my area), but was only getting just over 1.5Mbps. Spent over an hour with a support rep trying to walk me through the whole power off the modem, etc. The whole time I'm telling him, it's not my equipment, you have throttled back my speed. I offered to send him the screen shot of the modem/router connection summary to prove it. Finally told him the call was over and hung up on him. I got a call from executive appeals, and found out that the central office had indeed throttled my speed back because I submitted the first complaint above! Are you kidding me? I register a complaint and so they reduce my speed?!?!? Had a wonderful technician who checked the signal all the way to the trunk and said there was no reason I couldn't be running at full speed. He called the CO and had me bumped back up. Now, I have a direct number to executive appeals whenever they throttle me back. I've only had to use it one time and was back up to normal speed in less than 15 minutes.

Here's the 'answer' that ticked me off.... as long as you are achieving at least half of your maximum speed, you are in Verizon's acceptable range. I told them in no uncertain terms, that I understand to them that's 'acceptable', but not to the customers who rely on their service for their livelihood.

I totally agree, that there needs to be another tree that we go down when we know what the heck we're talking about. I shudder to even think about having to call, because I know the first half hour is a total waste of time. By the time I call them, I've already done the 'stupid' troubleshooting stuff like turning off my modem. And they ALWAYS assume it's something on my end. Yesterday I kept dropping DSL again, and called, went through the power off..., put on hold. While on hold, looked at my modem/router settings, and someone (I have to assume VZN, because I did NOT change it, and they are notorious for wanting you to reset your modem/router), changed my connection protocol from PPPoE to RFC....no wonder I could never reconnect! Changed that and had connectivity back before the support guy got back on the phone.

Unfortunately I'm stuck with VZN until I move out of the boonies..... can't come soon enough!

smith6612

ECUnited: Need some help with the DSL? I might be able to point you in the right direction if you don't have a thread around here already for support. I've got a few cards to play with once we have some information.

Just_tired

Ahh, so true verizon needs to not just update their equipment, but their very approach to service.

I know my line is being throttled, due to using peer to peer software for Legal reason, like umm software updates, paid legal delivery of content paid for so on. If so concerned trace my line to the other ISP and find out if I'm violating copyright they may be surprised to find out their own equipment gave a false positive. I pay for 15 Mps and in October my line speed dropped to 5 to 7 Mps. After verizion repairs my speed went to 2 to 3 Mps. Now I am down to about 1.7 Mps if it works at all.

Adding insult to injury verizon tried telling me my line never supported the 15 Mps, which I find strange given until October it was running fine at about 9 to 12 Mps ( which is acceptable for a line rated 15 Mps). Again in December my line speed went back to normal running at about 9 to 12 or 13 Mps.

In January it crashed out and now stuck with line speed at 1.7 or lower speed. Meanwhile I am paying for 15 Mps.

Maybe only way to resolve this is when customers file "Informal Complaints" with the FCC, then maybe verizon will get off its duff and do what it should instead of blaming customers and fibbing about facts.

smith6612

@Just_tired wrote:
Ahh, so true verizon needs to not just update their equipment, but their very approach to service.
I know my line is being throttled, due to using peer to peer software for Legal reason, like umm software updates, paid legal delivery of content paid for so on. If so concerned trace my line to the other ISP and find out if I'm violating copyright they may be surprised to find out their own equipment gave a false positive. I pay for 15 Mps and in October my line speed dropped to 5 to 7 Mps. After verizion repairs my speed went to 2 to 3 Mps. Now I am down to about 1.7 Mps if it works at all.
Adding insult to injury verizon tried telling me my line never supported the 15 Mps, which I find strange given until October it was running fine at about 9 to 12 Mps ( which is acceptable for a line rated 15 Mps). Again in December my line speed went back to normal running at about 9 to 12 or 13 Mps.
In January it crashed out and now stuck with line speed at 1.7 or lower speed. Meanwhile I am paying for 15 Mps.
Maybe only way to resolve this is when customers file "Informal Complaints" with the FCC, then maybe verizon will get off its duff and do what it should instead of blaming customers and fibbing about facts.

Are you sure the problem is throttling, or is it because they're not being aggressive with pushing high speeds or they've placed your area under a "lower all the speed" range because of capacity issues they won't resolve? In most cases Verizon's solution is to reduce the speed of the DSL, which is in most cases not my cup of tea to accept and I'll light some fires under Verizon until they get it to a definied speed I ask for. I see those as workarounds rather than full-blown fixes. Acceptable for some, but a poor taste for others.

Just_tired

Well as far as throttling goes only verizon can answer that and we know they will never own up to it. As far as their doing a "lower all all speeds in this area" then they would be in big time violation to reduce my speed from 15 Mps to 1 Mps without my consent remember I'm the one footing the bill their equipment problems is not my concern and besides if done would need to be ALL lines in this area including Fios which is not the case.

Remember also my line was fine until October, then again Ok in December so what happen they lowered speeds then up again by mistake in December, I don't think so.

They may have equipment trouble, or may be throttling who knows, but one thing is sure my speed was fine until October then again ok in December, so whatever their trouble is, is not my concern. What is my concern is I am paying for, and I want and need the speed contracted for so if they cannot fix my line, or run a new line at their cost not mine. Let the FCC look into it and do as they will which can end up costing verizon very big fines in this area if found to be in violation of FCC req.

Me I don't care, I can and will file "Informal Complaint" with FCC and let verizon worry about weather or not they are in line in this area with the FCC. Do you think they really want FCC looking over their shoulder. Be easier to just correct my line and return me back to normal. Besides how can they even justify knowing my DSL and Phone were dead by restoring my DSL at 1.x Mps and not fixing Phone, I have been without Phone service now for over a week.

ElizabethS

Hello Just_Tired

Your issue has been escalated to a Verizon agent. Please go to your profile page for the forum, and look down the middle towards the bottom where you will find an area titled "My Private Support Cases".
There you will find a link to the private board where you and the agent may exchange information. This should be checked on a frequent basis as the agent may be waiting for information from you before they can proceed with any actions.

nospamsam

You summed it up very nicely. I spent 10 hours on the phone or an online chat with the Phillipines yesterday. All they do is keep telling you over and over how happy they are to help you when in fact, they have no idea what you are saying. I called back a fourth time and got India. She finally LISTENED and realized that what I had been saying all along was probably my problem--that someone at VZ shut me down because they thought I was a spammer. She said that she would connect me to someone who could definitely help me. She did. I got Kevin right here in the US. I was jumping for joy. Well, Kevin wanted to charge me for support! You have to pay for them to fix a problem that they caused? I'm letting my walking do the talking and going to Comcast--my only other choice. When will these companies learn? Overseas call centers might be cheap but you get what you pay for. These call center are robotic. They work from a knowledge data base and if your question isn't worded exactly how it is worded in their knowledge database--you won't get help. When you talk to Americans and you don't word a question in the exact way that someone else might, they have the cultural and

language knowledge to understand what you are saying. The robots in the Phillipines and India don't. Can't wait to cut VZ loose. I just hope Comcast doesn't have such horrible customer service.

AnnieS1

Hi nospamsam,

Please go to your profile page for the forum by clicking on your name, and look down the middle towards the bottom where you will find an area titled "My Private Support Cases".

There you will find a link to the private board where you and the agent may exchange information. This should be checked on a frequent basis as the agent may be waiting for information from you before they can proceed with any actions.

AnnieS

TonyaD_VZ

We received the more detailed description to your problem in the form you sent...

"A virus sent out an email blast to everyone in my contacts. When I tried to send emails, I got '552' error message & couldn't receive. After many hours w tech support, I can send via portal only on my desktop, can receive but still can't send via Windows Live or can't send on my ipad via portal.It started when VZ put the spam hold on my account. I am in work until 4:30."

When an account gets flagged for spam, it can not send through any means (email client or portal). Since you are able to send via that means, there is nothing flagged on the account anymore. If you are having lingering problems with the other machines or the email clients on your computers, then the virus had made changes to those programs and they will need to be corrected. This is not an issue with your Verizon account. Are you still having the trouble?

unknown

Well im glad at least im not the only one verizon is discriminating against. My plan is for 7-14 i think but lots of times i get 1. The indian support just right me off all the time. I'm still trying my hardest to be nice to them.

hey_moe1

Being since Anthony locked out threads that he doesn't like I can comment on this thread. Yes everything you said is true. They still have not done anything with my plan and kept it the same which I have asked them to put it back like it was because I was lied to about the new charges. Last night I filed a formal complaint with the BBB next week I will refile until someone in upper management decides to step in and correct all the lies that I am being told.I was told last night that they can't put anuthing back like it was because of their mistake and lie. I was also told that even though they renewed my contract without my knowledge there was nothing I could do about that either.

ricmallcom

I was one of you many folks with all sorts of issues until i finally had enough.
Switched all my services (internet, tv, landline) to optimum and have been extremely happy with it.

I strongly advise anyone having these issues with verizon to drop them, if you are in the NYC area and check optimum online, not only is is $10 cheaper than verizon dsl but faster, tech support is not in india with people who barely speak english and you will be treated like a valued customer.

I will never ever give verizon my business.

Raver2005

wavevision has the hottest internet right now

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