Filing a complaint?

[jhmeighen]

To whom it may concern,

Sunday, September 22, 2013, my cell phone (iPhone 4s Black 32 gb) stopped working.  The screen shut off at some point in time and after normal trouble shooting (plugging it into a wall outlet and attempting a hard reset) I went to the local Verizon Wireless Store. 

I was greeted by a young man named Christopher.  I explained my problem and he was very eager to help.  I made it clear I needed a phone that day and that I had the insurance. I was traveling for business and the need for a replacement phone was rather urgent.  He pulled up my information on the computer and proceeded to explain to me he had no iPhone 4s in stock at that store.  While waiting on the insurance he wanted to know if I had any objections to having a newer iPhone 5c.  That is all he had in stock.  I did not have an objection, and we proceeded with the call to file the claim. While on the phone they denied the request to upgrade and offered to mail a replacement.  I said this was not acceptable and that I needed a phone today. The only other option they could offer was to take a downgrade.  I was also unwilling to accept a downgrade.

Christopher and I requested to talk to a supervisor at TechProtect and while we waited he explained to me that I was not the first customer that had experienced this problem. He had about 4-5 other people in this same position.  The supervisor stated the same thing the subordinate said.  The only options were to wait for one to ship take downgrade. I finally conceded and decided to have the device shipped.  I have since modified my business plans to not travel this week.  I am not heartbroken about that but I am very disappointed in the overall customer service aspect of the insurance company that Verizon fronts. 

While conceding to the phone being shipped, I also inquired about have the deductible voided or reduced.  The insurance representatives said no.  Realizing that I was only wasting time I conceded again.  I paid the deductible in full and Chris told me he would do his best to get with his store supervisor to somehow pay me back the $199.00 deductible.  I hope to see it but I will not hold my breath. 

My issue is that everyone that I encountered yesterday does not have the authority to write anything off or do whatever is necessary to keep a customer.  Verizon Wireless can rest assured that I will not try to “buy out” of my contract but I will begin looking around for another provider. If I do stay with Verizon I will certainly use the Apple store and no longer purchase anything in the store or the insurance.  With an iPhone and a 2 year apple care protection plan I am confident I will not need the additional hassle of paying for something and not getting it when I need it.  I pay $10.99 a month for in-store replacement that I did not get.  I did nothing negligent with my device – it just stopped and no one can help – just tell me to pay up and wait.

I have a few ideas in mind that will help lessen the sour taste in my mouth regarding Verizon.  I will wait until I am able to chat privately with someone in the customer service department.

I appreciate your time and consideration in these matters.  I will look forward to hearing from you, and your solutions.

R/S,

Jeffrey

>>Personal information removed to comply with the <<

Message was edited by: Verizon Moderator

[vzw_customer_support]

I'm so sorry about all of the difficulties with replacing your iPhone 4s jhmeighen. I would feel just as frustrated and disappointed. We certainly don't want you to consider leaving.

In many cases, phones are replaced from a warehouse and shipped to you- even with insurance replacements. The only exception would be if you purchased a separate insurance through the store directly, that offers same day, in-store replacements. With warranty replacements, you get upgraded to overnight shipping for free, verses 5-day ground shipping, but seldomly do phones get replaced in the store. Unless you have that separate insurance purchased at a store, I'm having a hard time understanding why the representative would offer to upgrade to a new iconic device, (iPhone 5c). We shouldn't have set that expectation if we knew we couldn't honor it. Again, I apologize for the entire experience. Did the phone, (4s), get replaced? 

Thank you,
VanessaS_VZW

Follow us on Twitter @VZWSupport

[jroeder]

That must be frustrating, however asking for an exact replacement on the spot for a phone over a year old is a bit much. They have since came out with 3 newer models of the phone so it should be surprising that they don't have one in stock at the store. Your insurance does cover a replacment of the SAME model so an upgrade is not an option........not for free anyways. Even if I was in the same situation, I wouldn't ask for them to cover my deductible. You wouldn't ask your car company to waive the deductible because they can't get you a replacement vehicle for a few days, so this is no different. And if you went through Apple for your insurance and bought it through the Apple store, you would still have to wait for a phone to be shipped out, so I don't see a difference there. Just my opinion.

[jhmeighen]

VanessaS_VZW,

Thank you for your response.  The phone is being replaced but as of now I

have still not received it.  I feel like the more time goes on and the more

I found out - of what I should have done I become more frustrated.  I

thought in store replacement was the way a mechanical malfunction was

handled.  I wouldn't have purchased the insurance if I knew I would have to

wait for three days to get another "like new" phone.  I didn't drop my

phone or throw it into water.  It stopped working.  There was not

negligence on my part yet I am being punished.  The sales representative

offered a new iconic phone because he had seen it happen before where a

customer was upgraded.  He offered it because he realized my urgency and

did what he thought was right to keep a customer happy.  You should

probably promote him and give him the authority to handle business to keep

Big Verizon going.  I am not saying any of this to be snarky.  I am pretty

much over this entire process and have learned my lesson.  I will deal with

Apple from now on.  I have been happy with them time and time again and I

am sorry I didn't go with them to start the process.

If you want to keep me after my contract ends at least reimburse me the

deductible I had to pay to get a like new phone.  Or give both of my

devices authorization to get upgrades effective immediately.  I have been a

Verizon customer since I had my first cell phone - my wife is the same way.

I don't complain about my phone running slowly every once in a while or

the occasional dropped call.  What I do complain about is the overall lack

of commitment in satisfying a customer.  You offer a great service - and

most people I know are happy with it.  But with out the customer service

aspect bumped up its not worth much at all.

Please accept my apologies if any of this appears to be short in tone.  I

am quiet irritated but working very hard to maintain professionalism. Thank

you for your response, time and consideration.

R/S,

Jeffrey

>>Personal information removed to comply with <<

Message was edited by: Verizon Moderator

[jhmeighen]

Jroeder,

Thanks for your input. Are you a Verizon Wireless employee? I am not sure

how you determined what a bit much is, but I will go along with it. The

phone is just over a year old with no major issues up until now. And with

3 newer models why couldn't one be offered to me to supplement - especially

if there is an abundance of them? How do you know what specific insurance I

took out on the device? Why wouldn't you request a deductible or

additional cost be covered? If I bought a vehicle and it had a defect that

was found a year later I would demand the dealership get me a loaner for

the time it required to repair. I wouldn't claim the insurance for a

defect. For an accident, absolutely but not a defect. And as far as

dealing with Apple, I have had remarkable history with them and at this

point you cant really say that they wouldn't have an iphone 4s instock - or

be able to supplement my a newer model. Thanks for your opinion!

Respectfully,

jhmeighen

[jhmeighen]

>> Duplicate post removed to comply with Verizon Wireless Terms of Service.  Original post is elsewhere in this thread. <<

Message was edited by: Verizon Moderator

[Ann154]

The only official Verizon Wireless employees on this community forum are clearly marked as an employee by the Avatar used and the community rank of "Wireless Employee".

[jroeder]

I agree with that completely, maybe you should have asked them if you could have took a temporary phone (maybe you did, I'm not 100% since it wasn't in the post) And I personally wouldn't ask for a deductible because I would have agreed to the deductible in the first place (Just how my brain works). I'm not sure which plan you took but none of the current plans offer a replacement upgrade. I would absolutely give Apple a shot. Verizon has to carry all the latest phones of all types and Apple only has to carry Apple products so they would be a better choice to try and get an immediate iPhone 4s, so I agree with you there as well. Verizon is just staying with the times only carrying the latest phones in store so I hope you don't think any less of them for that

[vzw_customer_support]

Thank you for keeping us updated, jhmeighen. You certainly deserve the highest level of support at all times. As the deductible is paid to Asurion we are unable to waive it. I am confident that we will work hard to restore your confidence in our service and support.

Thank you,

YaleK_VZW
Follow us on Twitter @VZWsupport

[doherty1]

If you are within the 1 year warranty of your iPhone 4s (from the date you bought it to exactly 1 year later) Apple would probably have had no problem replacing it for you since it obviously wasn't your fault the phone stopped working. If it was found that it wasn't covered by Apple's warranty or it was expired, I think it's $140-200 for a replacement and the do that right away in-store. Personally I think you should only go through your insurance if your phone is lost, stolen or has had water damage since Apple's warranty doesn't cover these things. If it's a possibly, next time try the Apple store.