Customer Service

[NCG1]

I'm writing today to convey the atrocious customer service experiences I have had the last week with Verizon.  Let me set the stage so we can all have a common framework to start from.

On October 1st this year I was experiencing an issue with one of my Verizon devices, a MiFi Jetpack.  The device was randomly turning itself off and after powering back up it would again randomly turn itself off.  I did everything I could including downloading the most recent updates, but nothing seemed to remedy the issue. 

I contacted customer support and spoke with a nice young lady who after listening to my issue diagnosed the problem as a defective or failing battery.  This was surprising for me because the unit was off or turning itself off during the diagnostic process. I explained that to her when she came back on the phone and the answer I received was that it was ok.  She said that a new device would be shipped to me the following day October 2nd with a delivery date of October 3rd, no charge for anything.  I indicated that would be fine and thanked her for her assistance and the call ended.  

October 3rd- No delivery/No Device

October 4th- Delivery made, device received. 

October 5th- Attempted to activate new device.  Note: The so-called new device was actually a refurbished device.  When I unpacked the replacement device, I immediately noticed that there was no battery present.  This struck me as rather odd because it was the battery that was diagnosed as the issue, and I was sent everything but a battery.  I read the enclosed directions and the directions indicated that if the defective device has a removable battery, then take it out of the defective device and place it in the replacement device.  This made no sense to me since it had been determined by Verizon that the battery was the issue.  I once again called customer service and received the same monotone scripted sympathetic platitudes of understanding and was given the less then sincere apologies, but she could not do anything to help except that she would send the issue to their escalation department.  When asked how long until I could expect a response she could not say.  When asked to speak to her supervisor, the supervisor was too busy to take the call at that point but after some rather energetic conversation with the representative, I was told that the supervisor would call me back at 6pm that evening. I waited and 6pm came and went and so did 7pm and 9pm without a call back.  To this date (10-8-23) I have not received any call from any supervisor concerning my issue.  Now still October 5th I tried a different tact, I entered into a chat conversation with Verizon support.  Initially I believed that I had finally contacted someone that was going to help me.  The representative read the previous notes taken during my prior two contacts and assured me that a new battery would be shipped out immediately and I would have it by noon the following day, October 6th.  Additionally, the representative said that they would personally monitor this to make sure that everything went as it should and I would be getting an email concerning this contact with all the information I would need.  I profusely thanked this representative and commended them on their judicious efforts and superior customer service.  Well, I guess I was too quick to bestow these accolades, I should have known better.

October 6th- Upon waking I noticed a text from Verizon support indicating then needed more information before they could take any action regarding my issue.  Since I had such apparent good luck the previous evening, I again entered into a chat with yet another Verizon representative.  Once again (this is the 4th time now explaining the issue) this representative like the one two days prior could not help me in anyway shape or form.  The only thing this representative did was suggest that I go out to a local Verizon store and purchase a replacement battery or get one off of Amazon and Verizon would reimburse me for the cost of the battery. When asked if he could check the stores inventory to see if a battery was available, they were not able to do so.  I also asked more than once for contact information for the offices of dispute resolution or complaints, and I was meant with utter silence.  Now this was between 4 and 6am PST before I went to work.  Later that morning I asked my wife for assistance by calling our local Verizon stores (as directed by customer service) to try and locate a battery.  She had to call a general line and was transferred to a local store and was told that they did not have them and to try one of the other stores in town.  Upon calling the general line expecting to be transferred again to a different Verizon store she was meant with we can't do that and placed in a terminal hold scenario.  Our guess is that the call center didn't want to deal with an increasingly agitated individual and was hoping she would just hang up if left on hold long enough.  Later my wife was able to contact someone in Verizon's technical support department who then called me at work.  Mind you I drive heavy commercial vehicles for a living and trying to do that while once again dealing with the same endless questions and promises that lead to no resolution, well made my increasing agitated.  This lady was willing to try and secure a whole new unit for me including the battery locally but had to jump through some company hoops to make it happen.  I was once again hopeful that this issue would finally be resolved but once again my hopes were dashed.  I received another call from another individual who I believe was from higher up the chain of command in tech or customer support.  Again, I got a scripted monotone discussion that led basically nowhere and exponentially again increased my level of frustration.  This gentleman wanted to now do things to verify it was the battery that was at fault and not the unit.  I indicated that it was already diagnosed as a defective battery the previous Sunday by Verizon representative.  That was not a sufficient for him, he wanted to do a more in-depth evaluation.  When asked if the front-line representatives when evaluating or diagnosing an issue have a trouble shooting chart or matrix they utilize to help determine the cause of the issue and a course of action to resolve, he said they do.  Then why did the representative not ask me the things you are about the battery (is it swollen or discolored) or upon the arrival of the new unit try the old battery to see if the problem remains? His response was he did not know.  After 10-15 minutes of discussing this with him and that no one was in a position to try the old battery in the new device or make a visual survey of the battery, he says that sending a replacement battery was not an option for Verizon because it was considered an accessory and is not covered, that's when I ended the call.   After work I went to my local batteries plus store and ordered two new batteries but unfortunately, they won't be here until Wednesday.

So, is this in anyway adequate or even near adequate customer service? For me no, nor to I think it would be for anyone else.

Q. Why didn't the original customer service representative have the training or information necessary to avoid all of this in the beginning? If the initial customer service representative just would have said "It appears to possibly be the battery, but we are not sure.  Does the battery appear to be discolored or swollen in any way? We will send a new unit less the battery. Once you receive the replacement unit try the old battery in it to see if the problem still exists. If it does, then you will have to procure a new battery because the battery is considered accessory and is not covered".  This simple piece of information and communication could have avoided a lot of time, labor, and frustration for everyone involved.

Lastly why is the battery considered an accessory?  To me anyway an accessory is something that is not part of the primary device and if the accessory fails it does not prevent the primary device from working. So, if your earbuds, wireless speaker, charging cable, etc., goes bad it won't prevent the primary device its connected to from working, that's an accessory.  In my case here the battery is an essential part of the device, and the device won't work without it. So, the way I look at it is that the battery should be part of the device and covered.  I will submit my receipt for the battery to Verizon for reimbursement, we'll see if they honor what they said they would do but I'm not holding my breath.