I first purchased a cell phone in 1999. It was a local service as Verizon didn't exist. Then in 2000 Verizon took over my local carrier. For 25 years I have been a Verizon customer. Recently they decided my free promotional phone would no longer be free. So they started charging me $33/month, $1,000 total for the supposedly free phone.
To remedy this situation I called Verizon. After being put on hold multiple times I was connected with a man from India. This man had a heavy accent so I had a very hard time understanding him. He solved my problem, for that month and only that month. I had to call every month. Sometimes this process took hours out of my day. One day in particular I was transferred 6 separate times and nothing was solved. Can you imagine telling 6 different agents the same thing repeatedly? Only to be transferred again and again. Do you know how frustrating that is?
Months go by because I'm fed up with trying. Their neverending process wore me down. But one day I get the idea to post a message on the stores website. I then fill out some form and the regional director of Verizon calls me. I didn't see the call but he left a message. The message said he looked into it and the phone I received was meant to be free. He would handle it and get back to me when the problem was fixed.
Guess what? My problem wasn't fixed. I'm still getting charged an extra $33/month. I have no recourse. There is nothing I can do to fix their mistake. I am stuck with the financial burden of paying $1,000 for a phone I never purchased. I'll never get back all of the time I wasted trying to remedy their mistake.
My point is this, I am one of the longest reigning customers in Verizon history. 25 years of my loyalty and on time payments have gotten me absolutely nothing. In fact less than nothing. I, just like you will be just another number to this giant corporation.
