Verizon showing contempt for customers with $1 increase

[nate571]

I have had my wireless phone service with Sprint for about 10 years now - only because they have continued to honor the terms of my agreement and not try to play petty games with little fees.   I was looking forward to a similarly long-term relationship with VERIZON for FIOS.   I have not even been a customer 6 months and i get notified that they are bumping up the price of my HBO/MAX/MOVIE package by $1 per month.  That shows a complete lack of respect for me as a customer.  Obviously, most people are busy and don't have time to argue over $1 a month.  But we all know that this is just the tip of the iceberg.  Verizon is 'Cable" in sheeps clothing.  I've heard stories of people having their STB rates jacked up too.  

If thats the game they are going to play, I will simply cancel the entire premium package and bide my time until the contract is up and switch back to cable for whatever great deal they will give me.     

I'd call, but with the horrific customer service, I suspect it would be a two-hour ordeal that would get me absolutely nowhere..  Will $12 a year really make a big difference to them or me?  I would not think so.   (edit)I can at least take solace that I hadn't yet gotten my in-laws to switch over - which i nearly did.   These days, all you really need is a very high speed connection anyway, coupled with enough TV service to cover sports, and you have everything you need...  

[squatch1967]

Do you ALWAYS rant{please keep your posts courteous}over ANY price increases you see in your daily life or only on services where you have an HD plan with a 19" CRT TV?!?

You do realize that costs can and do increase in most industries? And most of these costs are passed along somehow to customers? 

And how can you complain for a measly $1 increase when you get countless movie channels, most in HD, which is a better value than ANY other competitor's deal? 

[Caps09]

Maybe you would rather Verizon had programming disputes like other providers. DirecTV hasn't carried Versus since August because the channel wanted to increase their fee by about 4 cents a month. Remember when Comcast wouldn't carry MASN for 2 years because it was overpriced (and happened to be a competitor to Comcast Sportsnet)?

Verizon is different because they know that their subscriber base wants more channels and not programming pricing disputes "on behalf of its customers". I especially want the opportunity to buy pay channels if I want. If I don't think it's worth it, I won't buy it.

[nate571]

wow- i guess i am being belittled here because i can only afford a small TV and $1 is money that I need to feed my family.   

FIOS is making plenty of money.  If they were really trying to meet our needs, they would provide more options on the different channels (a la carte).  {please keep your posts courteous}And people will be catching on if they keep it up with these types of tactics.  

(edit)

[nate571]

Squatch: 

Do I understand correctly that you are saying that:

Because most industries costs increase

Verizons costs must have also increased

so they are just  passing the increased cost on to the customer

?

Is it possible that you are making some assumptions there?  (edit)

[nate571]

CAPS, I am with you all the way really. i was happy to pay for NFL red zone and  I would not mind paying the extra dollar (and would be signing up for epix too) - but the fact is that we are forced to pay for a bunch of garbage that we do not want.  that extra $ stings a little more when i am already shelling a big chunk of money, primarily, just to get sports and news.

[squatch1967]

I didn't belittle your having a CRT. (edit)

If you are looking at cost containment, which many of us are then you shouldn't even be spending $30-$35 per month on movie channels. A more affordable alternative might be Netflix,sir. And if you watch for series, you might just have ot bite the bullet and cancel part of the package like I have needed to.

Do I like escalating costs? Of course not but it's a fact of life especially when the costs of programming and equipment keep rising even in this economic climate.   If you don't like slight cost increases like this one, shop around to see if you can get better. 😉  Possible way to beat Verizon is by leaving for the competition if indeed you feel you can get a better deal overall...or dropping movies totally for a Netflix/Blockbuster type monthly deal. Of course that is if you have a DVD player and/or streaming capabilties...

[Caps09]

Yes, we are forced to pay for a lot of channels we don't watch, but that's because the programmers would have it no other way. Each and every one of us pays about $5 a month for the ESPN's whether or not we like sports. If any carrier proposed carrying ESPN on any lower lever than basic, ESPN would pull it's signal, and there would be outrage by customers. The same goes with most other channels that a lot of us demand, so it's all or nothing. The only channels here that have accepted any lower level penetration are those SD channels on the "Extreme HD" package.

I believe I agree with most FiOS subscribers though. I want more channels without the carriage disputes, and I'm willing to pay for it. Of course, I don't want Verizon to automatically cave in to ridiculous demands from programmers, but I also don't need them to drop a channel over a 2 cent per month rate increase.

[spacedebris]

$1 per month seems like such a low amount that you would think that they wouldnt bother and leave the customer where they are. Until you consider the number of customers that Verizon has. $1 per month translates into 100's of 1000's of dollars (if not millions) of dollars every month.  I know that Verizon hit they 1 millionth customer last year. And I'm not sure about the numbers but I heard tell that they are pushing the 3 million number now. If even half of those have the HBO/max combo, that $1 would be in the neighborhood of 1.5 million dollars per month. Thats not chicken feed. Plus, in most cases the price increase is due to the increased cost of the channel. Dont forget that HBO charges Verizon to carry the channel. Verizon then resells that to the consumer. So if the cost of the channel for Verizon goes up, they pass the fee's along. They dont eat the cost. Besides, all cable companies have announced that their prices are going to increase next year (next month) most are going up an average of 2.5%. So this is not unexpected. All cable companies do this. Unfortunately switching companies will not do anything as you will find the same thing there. And these big companies dont really care (even though they say they do). Because for every customer that they loose, they will gain another from the other company that had a customer that did the same thing. Basically they just trade customers. What I mean is that I'm sure there is a customer over at lets say Time Warner, that is saying the same thing you are and they are going to switch to Verizon for the same reason your going to get rid of Verizon.

[film111]

When i was with Comcast, they'd have rate increases at least two (and opnce, Three!) times a year,    I hope that will not be the same with Verizon.  One dollar a year, I can handle.  But HBO isn't worth it.  I hate their policy of cropping movies and hate paying more for less.  As such, I've been thinking of dropping them completely anyway.  Also, if you are on a promotional package, the increase won't take effect until that period is up.