Customer Service

[richandterriland]

On 3 Feb 23, my wife and I scheduled an appointment with the Verizon Service Center to evaluate phone upgrade options.  We made the appointment early Friday morning for 6:00 PM, which also required us to shuffle our work schedules.  We arrived at the Verizon Center at 5:45 and checked in via the Verizon app.  When trying to enter the store, we found the doors to be locked, and 3x employees inside chatting, without acknowledging that we were present.  While were trying to figure out why the doors were locked (no sign on the door or any other posting), 3x other customers were now waiting with us.  Finally, 1x of the employees (an Assistant Manager) came to door, unlocked it, poked her head outside and said, "we're closed due to an unexpected issue...you'll need to come back tomorrow".  One of the customers waiting outside with us asked why, and the response was "we don't have any workers....just 3x managers".  Having made the appointment, and no appointment cancellation messages from Verizon, we asked to speak to the Store Manager.  The Assistant closed the door, locked it, and started speaking to the Store Manager.  After an additional 3-4 minutes of us waiting outside, the Store Manager poked his head out and stated "we closed due to company protocols".  I offered to show him our appointment confirmation email, plus the "You're now Checked-in" text message we received from Verizon -- he wasn't interested in seeing these messages, nor the fact that we had an appointment.  His response was "we're closed, the messages are automated and you'll have to take that up with Corporate."  In a very condescending manner, he asked if we would be interested in making an appointment for Saturday, 4 Feb.  After waiting outside in the cold, given no explanation of why they closed, or any sort of acknowledgment that we indeed had an appointment, and the sad fact the Store Manager had no intention of offering any sort of apology or expressed any inkling of concern, we absolutely did not want "another appointment" or to continue service with this Store Manager or his staff.  I have been a Verizon customer for over 20 years (since 2003).  This is bar-none, the absolute worst customer service I have ever encountered in any consumer setting.   Ironically, we left this location and went to an Authorized Verizon Retailer and found that 2x of the other customers waiting outside with us at the Service Center were also now at this alternate location expressing the same extreme level of discontent.  The Retailer employee, was extremely helpful and a SUPER professional that answered all our questions.  I highly recommend that Verizon Management consider this post, investigate the incident described above, and implement some level mitigation for both the lack of customer service and lack of notification for the cancelled appointment (any amount of prior appointment cancellation notification might have led us to be able to reverse the work accommodations).  I apologize in advance to the Verizon Community for posting this discrepancy on this forum, but there is no other option to submit a formal complaint -- in-fact, when you search the Verizon site for filing a complaint, it routes you to the Community page.

[vzw_customer_support]

Hello, richandterriland. We always strive to deliver top-notch service, so I'm troubled to learn of your experience. We appreciate you bringing this to our attention. As a company, and as people, we are committed to treating others with respect and dignity. We are lifting your concerns to our leadership team to be addressed. I'm glad the retailer employee was able to answer all your questions. We're here 24/7 if you have any other questions. Help is also at your fingertips with the My Verizon app: m.vzw.com/m/myverizonapp. Have a good weekend, and thanks for choosing Verizon Wireless! -Tracy