Customer Service Isn't What It Used To Be
ChrisM1162
Enthusiast - Level 1

I have a flip phone on my family plan that is rarely used (37 minutes/year approximately) and I wanted to change it to a pay-as-you-go plan.  I went to a store and asked to change the plan and was told that I would have to contact customer service.  I called customer service and was told that I would have to go to a store.  I told the rep on the phone that store employees couldn't/wouldn't help me and was connected to a guy from sales.

I thought that I would give Verizon my credit card information and would be charged $1.99 every day that the phone was used.  But I was told that I would have to pay $100 up front or get a $15.00/month plan.  I said that I wasn't willing to spend $100 when the phone is used so infrequently, and the rep told me that $100 would expire after a year and was better than wasting $180/year for the monthly plan.  When I tried to ask a question, he interrupted me and talked over me.  I don't think he ever understood what my point was and how I thought pay-as-you-go works.

I felt like I was completely wasting his time.  I could practically see him rolling his eyes as he was talking to me; it was like talking to a 14 year old who knows everything about everything.  I thanked him for his time and hung up; otherwise I would have been rude back.  The customer service rep, Carol, from Arizona (wonderful and very helpful) who connected me to this guy, actually called me back to apologize for his attitude. 

I understand that customer service is a thankless job, but it would be nice if reps would let customers ask a question and treat us like adults.  It would also be nice if store and call-center employees were all on the same page. 

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Re: Customer Service Isn't What It Used To Be
SuzyQ
Community Leader
Community Leader

You said "I thought that I would give Verizon my credit card information and would be charged $1.99 every day that the phone was used.  But I was told that I would have to pay $100 up front or get a $15.00/month plan.... I don't think he ever understood what my point was and how I thought pay-as-you-go works.


Perhaps you misunderstand how the pre-paid plans work...

You pay an amount in advance, hence the "pre-paid" label, and the larger the pre-paid amount, the longer it is good for.  The minim um is $15, and it expires after a month.  $30 is good for 90 days, etc... up to $100 good for one year.  When that is about to expire, you can add another $15, or $30 or whatever, and it will extend the time you can use the $$.

And depending on your plan, you are charged $0.99 or $1.99 each day you use the phone; it is deducted from the amount you have "pre-paid".  When that balance gets low, or is about to expire, you add  more $.

You can't just give a CC# and have it deduct a charge when you use the phone.  You do need to pay up front, and the charges are deducted from that balance.  The level of up-front payment, and how long the $'s last, is entirely up to you.

Re: Customer Service Isn't What It Used To Be
ChrisM1162
Enthusiast - Level 1

I admitted in my original post that I had not understood what the pay-as-you-go consisted of.  That wasn't the problem; the problen was the customer service rep's attitude that I was wasting his time.  He acted like I shouldn't have called to bother him with my question. 

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