ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED WITH CUSTOMER (DIS)SERVICE

[rrutl]

In this age of squeezing more 'revenue' from a flat lined customer base, we are subjected to an never ending onslaught of new fees and evolving pricing structures. While we, the workaday Joes and Janes who comprise the herd of 'cashcowdom' (otherwise known as subscriber base), struggle to maintain even a remote semblance of our former lives in a stagnant economy, the major corporations charge fast forward in ever increasing profits. Gone are the days when VZ (or any multinational) can just squeak in a surcharge and we just let it slide without notice. We all know they have done it before, sometimes successfully, sometimes not, and they will continue to do it.It's in the corporate DNA, they cannot help it. Out sourcing customer service is another way to increase revenue, and the ONLY positive thing I have to say about the VZ version of third party CS is that it is based in the continental US. The people speek good English, but are less proficient in providing accurate and timely answers. Always ask for 'certified' VZ employees sitting in a VZ building who collect a check from VZ (courtesy of you and me BTW). Whether or not you get good answers even with that caveat, can only be determined by calling 3 (yes 3) times whatever answers you get that match (best 2 out of 3) is likely to be true. People,it's our fault,we let this happen, so get proactive, make them realize we will only stand for truth even if they don't give it to us, we will obtain it by perseverence. GIVING UP IN FRUSTRATION IS NOT AN OPTION. DON'T ALLOW THEM TO KEEP YOU ON HOLD, BE FIRM, BUT FAIR, IT'S A MATTER OF FORTITUDE, TAKE NAMES AT THE BEGINNING OF THE CALL AND RECORD THE CALL CENTER LOCATION. ASK FOR SUPERVISORS WHEN ILL TREATED AND NEVER ACCEPT WHAT YOU KNOW TO BE UNTRUE OR UNFAIR.          

[commonsense101]

Verizon isn't the cheapest.. Stop trying to drive a bmw on a toyota budget.

I read the whole rant and you didn't say anything.

If you have a problem with your phone or bill please post it

[rrutl]

thank you very much common but I was under the impression that the forums were for dialogue. I was advocating customer involvement, and will continue to do so

[AZSALUKI]

i just come to these forums if i have a question or need an answer. half of the members here know more than any CS rep anyway.

[rrutl]

that is a sad state of affairs should I take that as a repudiation of VZ CS ?  (course I already have my opinion as posted) but then I had thought that the CL folks here were mostly VZ friendly and while truthful your comment is not complimentary of the service we should all expect and demand. But hey, it is all about solutions to immediate AND long term issues. If I should henceforth disown the customer service element of the cell phone experience, surely that epiphany will occur soon and my expectations will be recalibrated

[AZSALUKI]

CL's have no affiliation with verizon. we are simply forum members who have been members for some time and participate on a fairly active basis. while i happen to prefer verizon over every other carrier (mostly due to network capability. i live in phoenix and travel in the desert often. verizon is the ONLY carrier that is reliable across most of AZ), there are plenty of things about the company i don't care for. unfortunately, CS as a whole is not what it used to be. in nearly any industry, i find that going to a company's forum is more useful than calling the company itself (with the exception of a specific billing issue or something like that). heck.....i emailed spotify the other day with a question/suggestion. the response i got back was to check their forums, as the email was not sent to a department that handles inquiries. really? because i sent it directly from the app description in the google play store. if that's not where my question should go, then why even post their email address?

i have just found that there are SO many makes and models of consumer goods, that a generic rep can't possibly be familiar with them all and they will go from a script. if i go to a forum for that particular good (whether it be a phone, tablet, tv, etc, etc) i can find others who have that exact model and who can help me. if you know the ins and outs of your specific phone, you could likely walk in to a verizon store and teach most of the employees their how to use it. if they don't own/use it, then they aren't going to know much about it. they just simply don't learn everything about the 30-40 devices that they carry in the store.

[rrutl]

Thanks for the input AZSALUKI, and thanks for your service. However let me specify that my own issues with Verizon CS was when I asked for clarification about Verizon policies VERIZON POLICIES. That one should be a no brainer. Verizon should be able to keep their people up to speed on THAT. dontchathink ?  Additionally on SAT I asked a genuine verizon employee in CS a question about the upgrade fee and after explaining the fee, she said I could offset the 30 dollar fee by trading in an older device, yeah, just send us a device you once used and we'll send you a 30.00 gift card. In fact that trade in program ended over a month ago. I am pressing management to review the call and determine the validity of my frustration as I found out she was misinforming me. If they do decide to issue the credit, I will probably offer to donate it to their training program. 

[commonsense101]

ended a month ago?

https://videos.verizonwireless.com/Device-Trade-In-Program/v/I7X0VUVA/

https://www.trade-in.vzw.com/home.aspx

[rrutl]

According to a VZ CS rep the flat 30 dollar trade in program (as described by a prior rep), had ended on APRIL 30 2012. Either way, one of the reps was wrong, thats a 50% accuracy and I find that deplorable