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Customer loyalty/appreciation died a few years ago

TOM20084

I failed to understand how you – the corporate you - Intend to expand your customer base when you treat loyal customers like me (13 yrs) so poorly and unabashedly greedily. No matter how gently or sweet your customer service voice is on the phone, be it male / female / robotic, it's really the answer that counts. So why am I about to leave Verizon:

Have seven lines and or devices on the 40 GB data plan. Yes, think about how much money I pay you monthly.

Had overage charges last month for 40.20 GB. Overage per GB = $15. I think to myself, I've been a good customer for 13 years and this is the first time this has happened, I watch it closely, surely they can forgive one time... WRONG.

I wasted more than $15 of my life talking to three customer service representatives, who all gave different answers, ranging from: (1) negative, our forgiveness policy is no way no how; (2) please continue to hold forever because it might be possible but it's not actually but I'll chat with my manager while you sit on the phone for 30 minutes, to (3) we can meet you halfway and refund $7.50, or half of the overage charge.

I just want to say thank you for your willingness to meet me halfway because you didn't have to do that. You could've said sure customer, we like your business, don't take it elsewhere over $15. But no, you didn't.

Instead you said self we really want to keep that $7.50.

So I congratulate you, my soon-to-be former wireless provider, for earning $7.50 more than my usual $550 bill.

As you will soon not have $550 per month from this customer, what did you gain?

I am willing to meet you halfway on that economics lesson.

Comments

deloused

The reason is they are only out for profit. With the way their policies are now they gain more customers than they lose and are #1.

One of their highest costs is the overhead of providing customer service, in addition to a potential credit that could be given. That's why they also provide online and self serve options for us customers to use like data alerts or change options to be aware of and avoid an overage.

It's good you shared your story, they would want customers to know they don't want to provide courtesy credits for valid charges or customer error. If customer's knew they would hand out credits it would drastically increase their call volume, and their operating costs. These costs would also be noticeable and passed on to all of us customers by higher fees.

It would not make good business sense for them to change this process as that would affect their profit, shareholders, and other customers.

W7GFD

deloused, you sound like a Verizon executive. Simple thing of it is Verizon is no longer number #1. per my local news channel last night, they lost that spot to T-Mobile. In my opinion it is due to their customer service or there lack of. That includes the faults advertisement from Black Friday, lies from sales rep.(chat, phone, and store).

Tidbits

Those awards are meaning less. How many millions of customers are each carrier and how many are actually interviewed? See where I am going here? I believe moat of these CS awards only pick 100,000 people at most our of 10 to 100's of customers. You only get a small sample. There's complaints everyday on T-Mobile customer forums over various things and they will agree those awards are just paperweights.

Verizon_Support

Tom20084, loyal customers like you are hard to come by. With so many competitors in the marketplace, keeping you here would mean the world to us. I have sent you a private message so we may work together to find a resolution.
LorenB_VZW
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Patdio58

Tom2084- Verizon truly does not care about their customers anymore. I have been a customer for 25 + years. Back then they would go out of their way to accommodate a customer that has been loyal and paid their bills on time. I recently had an abysmal experience purchasing a new phone with an upgrade. On day 6 I decided I wanted to return my phone under the "14 Day Return and Exchange Policy". First, when I had received the phone I had noticed there was no "Return Shipping Label" in the box. Which at the time did not really bother me,because I have never returned a phone. So when I had decided on day 6 that I did want to return the phone, I had remembered there was no return label in the box it had arrived in. I went on My Verizon and learned I could go to a specific page where the recent orders placed are, and you can just click on your order and a picture of the item pops up, along with a box to click that says "Print Return Shipping Label" ! Great, I thought. The order for the phone was not there. Strangely the two orders I placed a day after the phone order, were there ! So I called customer service and explained everything. She said "No problem, I will just send you one". I said "Great, by e mail or fax ?" She said "No the US Mail " I have returned items to other companies in the past, they always e mailed or faxed the Return Shipping Label. It seemed a bit odd, and a pattern was developing !! This was a Thursday, She explained that it had to be sent by regular mail. Again, a pattern without a doubt. She said it would arrive tomorrow (Friday) or Monday at the latest. On Tuesday, day 11 I called Cust Serv and tried to find out what was going on. Of course the specifics of the fact of all the issuers pertaining to actually being able to return the phone were becoming obvious. This rep explained as long as the return is "postmarked" within 14 days, was all that was required. I said would you e m,ail me that in writing ? He said it says it in the "Return Policy". I guess he had no idea I had read it 30 times! I said "really, could you show me where it says the ?" After 5 minutes of himming and hawwing, he said, " TRUST ME, IT IS IN THERE" You mean kind of like the label that was "not" in the shipping arrival box ? Or the order page where for some strange reason, only the phone order did not exist ? Or "We are not allowed to E mail or fax a Return Label ? Nope, sorry no way am I trusting you and sending in my brand new phone, and due to the fact that it did not arrive to Verizon within the 14 day Policy, they get to keep my phone and not return it. Where they will sell it again (according to them, they can not sell it new anymore, it would have to be sold as refurbished, and why wouldn't anyone believe that. They have been so honest so far) On Thursday, day 13 the label arrives. No Way, No How am I giving them a chance to steal my phone. I wind up having to keep a phone that by now I have grown to despise !! I do go on the Forum to express my disdain for how a 25 + year customer has been treated. Would you believe a "moderator" asked me "How did I loose my phone ?" Also to give him the specifics, so he could see what could be done. Which I did. I get a return comment that

"Due to the time frame of the late date of your attempt to return the phone, it no longer falls in the 14 day Return or Exchange Policy" !!!!!!! Unbelievable. Then after about a week, I figure that I hate the phone so much, but I refuse to trade in my phone and let them resell it for an incredible profit. I will just use it as a second phone. So I call Customer Sales and of course she asks the proverbial question of 'how are you doing today" . Well I told her. She was very polite and was going to see if there was any way of rectifying the situation.She comes back on with "Great News Mr.****, I have been able to get you an additional upgrade to trade phones, so you can get the phone you want. I almost can't believe what I am hearing. Verizon is going out of their way to take care of the situation. So, we go through the half hour process of "designing the Droid 2" and all the other issues with the purchase. Just before it is time to click the confirm order box, she explains that they will send me a Return Shipping Label and If the phone is in brand new condition, they will accept it. Then I will begin the monthly payment plan, with my new phone ! So I click confirm and say good bye. Two minutes later it hits me, they are giving me the phone I want, but they are not exchanging it, they are taking my phone back without giving me a dime. Plus making me pay for another one !!!! Tell me they do not have the Customer Sales Reps go to seminars on how to do these things. I felt like I had been on the streets of NY City, where the guys have the "Three Card Monty" games going on. For those of you that are not familiar with Three Card Monty, it is a three playing card game where you have to guess where the certain card of three cards are. As the guy switches them around. There is always a guy in the crowd that is in on it at the beginning that wins several times, before the other people think it is easy to do and win $20. Except soon as the other people put there $20 down the guy switching the cards goes into hyper mode. There is no way you can follow the card ! That is exactly how it felt a few minutes after hanging up. Of course I called and attempted to cancel. When the Rep goes, "I am very sorry but because that is a special order phone because you designed it, there are no cancellations". I say are you trying to tell me that Motorola has already begun to build my phone two minutes after I put in the order ? I said "Boy they must not have any orders do they ?" I tell her it is very simple, when the order arrives I will just refuse to accept it and it will be sent back. Of course the scare tactics come out, that I will still be billed for it and if I don't pay it will go on my credit report !! They truly must think their customers are stupid ? !!! It took one phone call to Motorola and in two minutes the order was cancelled. The Motorola Customer Service Reps, are just that, Customer Service !!! Now all Verizon Customer Service reps are not as evil as others. I have encountered for the majority, they are pleasant and very helpful. They are just doing their job. I would be willing to bet they

will fin d some reason not to display this saga, as they have others that I have done nothing against their code of ethics and appropriate comments. Other than tell the truth !!!

flutterfly8497

If I am understanding your post correctly, you are going to demonstrate your loyalty by flipping out and switching providers the first time you have to pay overage. Doesn't matter if you pay your bills on time (you're supposed to do that, you know), or if you have never gone over before (evidently you did last month), you are not a more important customer than anyone else, and you aren't entitled to special treatment. Well done on demonstrating your loyalty, though. Before you accuse me of it, which is the common response when fellow customers disagree with an angry poster, NO, I don't work for Verizon in any capacity. Never have and never will.

W7GFD

And I would agree with you on the paper weight. And I'm nit saying be any means that the other carriers don't have there problem. But when you (or in this case Verizon) goes along and puts it front of everyone about be being number 1 as they do. A company start to and in this case thinks that they can't be removed from being the king of the hill. They forget where their strength came from. Then all that boasting of being the "leader" and Number 1 comes crashing around their head with comments that we are see now. from customers, Verizon needs to take a step back and see the problems from a time before they became the king of the hill. Have trained Reps and at all levels and positions (online, phone and stores) that are giving if not the same answer very close to the same answer and so forth. I'm not saying they need to be prefect put when you get blown off with not contact for three days and when you try to came contact no one know what you are talking about you start and eventually get angered. customers shouldn't be treated like that.

rcschnoor

Personally, I don't understand why the anger when you use more than the allowance YOU choose to have and are charged according to the terms of your service agreement with Verizon. It's not as if they are charging you something for which you have not agreed to pay as per your service agreement.

It seems that this is the first time in 13 years you have gone over your allowance and since Verizon is billing an additional 2% of your monthly bill according to the terms of your agreement you are going to another provider, regardless that Verizon has been a good provider for those 13 years. THAT is the perfect picture of a "loyal customer". NOT.

If you are unhappy with their prices/service, move on, but it is a bit two-faced to CLAIM to be a "loyal customer" and leave simply because Verizon charges what their advertised prices are.

Patdio58

So let me get this straight, as a loyal customer myself of over 25 years, there should be absolutely no room for courteous business procedures ? I am not talking about an entire months charges be waived, but a small overage of .2 GB can not be eliminated, provided it is not a continuous and reoccurring issue as is in Tom's case ? I do agree with Tom in the fact that we the customers of long ago when Verizon was up and coming. A majority of people I know had AT+T. We are the ones that helped Verizon achieve the status they now enjoy ! I further agree that the comparison from the early days, when they would never have treated loyal customers of four or five years, with the disdain that they do now ! The Customer Service reps are in no way to blame. They are just doing there job, and what they are trained to do. The fact that the policy makers have taken away the reps discretion, when it comes to matters such as Tom's is what is so wrong ! Tom- I applaud your principles. The unfortunate part is that you will find other carriers do not have the monopoly, Verizon does. You will see the quality of cell service a step or two lower. That is exactly what should never happen to a company. Because then they loose their motivation for striving to satisfy their customers. I too have said, " I will take all my 7 lines and go to another carrier " The answer was " Go Ahead" !! An absolutely true story !!

rcschnoor

Patdio58 wrote:

So let me get this straight, as a loyal customer myself of over 25 years, there should be absolutely no room for courteous business procedures ? I am not talking about an entire months charges be waived, but a small overage of .2 GB can not be eliminated, provided it is not a continuous and reoccurring issue as is in Tom's case ?

Absolutely. Everyone should be treated the same. It is when Verizon starts choosing arbitrary numbers to determine who will/will not receive benefits is when they can get customers REALLY angry.

Why did you give that other customer forgiveness for their data overage and I did not get forgiveness????? I've been here for 15 years and they have only been here for 5 years!!!!!!

Someone will ALWAYS be angry. This way, there is no way to point to favoritism. EVERYONE lives by the same rules. That is the point of having the rules in the first place.

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