YOU DECIDE: Am I a valued customer of Verizon?

[ValuedCust]

 Here is my experience (so far).  Let me know what you think

The quick story:

I placed an order. Two days later, Internet goes out, when I call I get message about mysterious “outage” – and will call back when fixed which never happens.  The next day the order is supposed to go through, does not, no notification.  Call back and have to re-order service but must wait an additional 4 days (6 days since originally supposed to have service and 7 since “outage”).  Call at 8PM on day it supposed to be up.  Am told everything is fine it will be up by midnight.  Next morning still no service no notification from Verizon and when I call I am being asked to call back later to see why they haven’t provided the services I have been promised. So I am being asked to follow up (for a fifth time) to find out why I don’t have Verizon services?

The long version for anyone who is interested

• 5/05 – On website place an order to upgrade internet speed. Have dry-loop DSL and am upgrading to high speed interned at a better speed. Dry loop is no longer offered so a phone line must be included in order (I work from home most days – office is an hour away – so this will be useful for conference calls et rather than using cell phone minutes). Total monthly cost for higher speed with phone line is about $10 more a month than current charges.
• 5/06 – get email thanking for order and service ready date is 05/08
• 5/07 – Internet is not working. I have to go to the office so not worried, maybe has something to do with upgrade due 5/08?  After work call.  Get automated message, report the issue and get message that there is an outage in the area and won’t be fixed until 6 PM 5/08.  Rearrange my schedule to work in the office instead of at home (am going away for the weekend so must have everything with me so I can leave directly from work).  Using phone I check Verizon outages, don’t see any.  Call back wondering if the issue has anything to do with my order. Bounce around automated system until I get that the message that there is an outage and that’s all the information an analyst would be able to tell me.  Gives me option to leave a number to be told when issue is resolved.  I do.
• 5/08 – Internet not working. Go to work and then away for weekend. No call, messages, notifications from Verizon so assume service is activated and “outage” issue resolved
• 5/10 – Return home, no internet. Call Verizon. Takes more than an hour to get through to tech support.  The order is still pending.  Looks like there was an issue because of the dry loop DSL when they put a phone it split the signal incorrectly and I’m not getting service.  Analyst asks if phone is working.  I don’t know. I don’t have a phone to connect to it.  Advises that I am paying $10 for Long Distance which if I’m not using the phone I don’t need and she can take $10 of my bill by removing it.  I agree, so she has to re-order my service which won’t be ready until 5/14 (unless I have a technician come but I can’t be at home unless I have internet).  So I agree to wait an additional 4 days to get service that I was supposed to have 2 days ago.  I have to record a message for the FCC about agreeing to change the long-distance and when it is over my call is disconnected.  Wait…I wanted to check my bill to make sure I wasn’t getting charged until I get service.  Have to call back.  The billing rep doesn’t understand my issue is that I want to know what my bill would be as the service was initially supposed to be on the 10th and now won’t be until the 11th so I don’t want to pay for services I haven’t received and I get transferred to service support.
• 5/14 – After 7 days of no service…..still no service. I haven’t been able to work from home all week anyway (which round trip takes 2 hours of my time) so I go in. Don’t get home until 8PM, still not service.  Takes almost 2 hours to get the phone answered and transferred to a service rep who tells me that the order is still pending and should be through by midnight.  He does offer to credit my account for the week (at least the money – I guess my time -- 10 hours lost from inability to work remotely and almost 4 hours spent on phone so far -- while valuable to me isn’t Verizon’s concern)
• 5/15 – check internet @ 5:30 – no service. Call at 7.  Wait 30 minutes to get answered.  Looks like the order is still pending.  Will have to transfer you to the group who can push it through.  Wait, they don’t come in until 9.  Can you all back later today to see why you don’t have service?

I don’t feel valued, would you?  Should I keep trying or give up and look elsewhere? 

[ElizabethS]

Your issue has been escalated to a Verizon agent. Before the agent can begin assisting you, they will need to collect further information from you.

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