I read an article on MSN about getting HBO without cable last week, and Verizon was one of the companies that offered it. I was very excited since I enjoy HBO programs, but haven't been able to get them without a TV bundle (which is expensive). I saw Time Warner, Comcast, AT&T and Verizon all had this option, and was even to find a deal for it that connects to the Verizon website (http://www.verizon.com/home/MLP/OnlineCS1.html). I was very excited, since I have enjoyed Verizon Internet and would like to add HBO, so I signed-in to this website to talk to a representative...who told me to call Verizon...
The first phone call was with a nasty agent who was condescending, rude, and tried to make me feel like **bleep** for asking for a deal that Verizon was currently advertising! She explained it as "if you brought a shirt when it was $5 off, and then they lowered the price to $15, you can't return the first shirt and get the second." Which I would understand, if I had signed up for a contract plan with Verizon, but I DIDN'T SIGN UP FOR A TERM PLAN and she even agreed that I didn't sign up for a contract. I explained that when I buy a shirt, I don't pay for it every month; and that Verizon sells a service I continuously pay for, not a product I buy once. Also, since it isn't a service I have a term contract with, it isn't one I am obligated to keep for any period of time. Nonetheless, the representative ignored me, repeated her line (after I explained to her that it was a false analogy) and when I stated that I didn't feel respected and asked to be transferred (since she wasn't listening to me, just repeating her line in a condescending tone), she said "I can't do that because there is no one else here" Really Verizon, you expect me to believe you have only one customer service rep?!?!
(although that would help explain the long amount of time I spent on hold).
The second phone call, I got a different representative, who was much more polite (I know, it is shocking that there is more than one)! But she was ignorant of the offer. When I finally emailed her the screenshot from your website she explained that it is an "online only" offer - which is frustrating since the only reason I was calling is the online representative told me to!
So, Verizon; I know what I want. You know what I want. You were my first choice of the companies that sell the service I want, since I have liked my current service (although this experience has eaten up most of the good will you built up) but the article did mention other companies that offer what I want as well. Why won't you sell it to me! Am I going to have to get it from someone else instead?