Date: December 18th, 2007
Time: 8:00 AM
Per the instructions received from the Verizon FiOS Sales Office the night before I called the FiOS Encore Support at 8:00 AM. I am connected with Mrs. Carbajal who identifies herself as a supervisor.
I explain to Mrs. Carbajal everything that happened and that I want Verizon to help me get my number back to my original provider and turned back on. Mrs. Carbajal states she can’t do anything and I need to call Vonage. She can’t or won’t confirm that Verizon took my phone number as part of this botched order. She refuses to connect me to her supervisor and I get very agitated with the fact that despite acknowledging that I was mistreated and the order mishandled there is NOTHING they can or will do to help me restore my phone service. They repeatedly tell me that the only remedy is to spend my own time calling Vonage to try and get it sorted out.
In my frustration I ask her something like “I want to know what Verizon is going to do about taking my number and illegally disconnecting my phone”. Apparently I have said the magic words. At this point Mrs. Carbajal will tells me that they have a special department that deals with “slamming” cases and commences reading legalese that is obviously from a script. She continues to read the legalese over my objections and when I stop her she insists she can no longer help me and I have to deal with this department who will “conduct an investigation” into my claims. She tells me several more times that she will not help and that I must deal with this department. Here are some other tidbits:
- They disconnected my phone but won’t give me a number to call in this “slamming investigation” department to try and expedite getting help.
- They will contact me within up to 5 business days to investigate.
- This department will call me AT HOME (number is disconnected so I am not sure how that will work) or at alternate numbers.
- I ask that once the investigation is completed that one of her supervisors call me back and after repeatedly saying this would “normally” occur within 24-72 hours of the investigation being completed she finally commits to getting a phone call within 72 hours.
In the end she advises that the only people that can help get my phone working agian quickly is Vonage…
Is there a word to express frustration beyond apoplectic because that is how I feel.
10 responses so far ↓
1 Harold // Dec 20, 2007 at 6:35 pm
This is BS, Someone in the company is doing this, No one seems to know who, I think it is time to contact multiple department and ask for a sup in each of them, compare what they say and get the info you need to get this resolved, Ask for a sup, Go to every department and compare the info from the supervisor, Finally get the # from on of the supervisors and contact them direct, Didnt get the info you needed, time to contact the next dept, Get names, devision, procedure, Also, Why wait for them to contact you, wait about half of the time and remind them you are still waiting, Hence checking up on it, Good Luck
2 Mike Ma // Jan 3, 2008 at 1:03 pm
I am right there with you buddy … here is a post of my experience … I sure hope I don’t get stiffed on the delivery or the TV.
3 Karen B // Feb 15, 2008 at 7:50 am
I am currently going through hell with NJ Verizon over a FiOS Triple Play install that started last week. Only two of the three services work. The internet connections keeps dropping and I beleive that their router shorted out the Network Interface Card in my desktop (6 months new), which has to be repaired now by the manufacturer. I have had two techs come to my house, talked to 8 people on the phone at least. I keep getting the runaround. I had a confirmed “emergency appointment” setup for Wednesday (7 days after initial install) and NO ONE SHOWED UP or even called. Everytime I ask for a supervisor, the person on the line refuses to transfer me. In fact, I was told a supervisor was coming to my house. He/She never came. When I called on Thursday to complain, I was told that three different stories about what happened to my “supervisor escalated” appointment. When I called Biling to say that I was going back to Cablevision, I had a really nice guy check into the history. He came back on the line and said they came to my house but that I was not at home! LIARS…They are costing me money because I work from home - via computer. The Internet connection has not worked properly for a full 24 hours in ten days!!!!!!!!!!!! I hate them.
4 Anthony Zummo // Mar 2, 2008 at 7:38 am
My wireless int. connection seems to go down often & disconnects. Automated tech support cannot help. NEED LIVE PERSON to contact for assistance. thank you..
5 Dover // Mar 11, 2008 at 10:21 pm
Man, I feel your pain. I have had a similarly maddening experience with Verizon FIOS and a botched installation on a phone. Seriously, they are enough to drive a man insane. I can’t imagine they are still in business.
One suggestion: I would look into starting a blogspot (or similar), free blog. Navigating your story is a bit difficult.
http://fiosexperience.blogspot.com
6 Bob // Mar 20, 2008 at 10:13 am
Does anyone have a phone number of a high ranking FIOS supervisor? Had FIOS installed in Nov. 07, lost my phone number, still haven’t received my letter for my free 19″ tv, 8 calls , 6 e-mails, upgrade to DVR and am still waiting for UPS postage stickers to arrive after 3 calls.
Thanks if you can help, I can’t wait 30-40 minutes on hold and get nowhere again!…Bob
7 DC // May 6, 2008 at 8:54 am
Why don’t you complain to the Public Utilities Commission or the Consumer Protection Division of the State Attorney General?
8 DM // Jul 28, 2008 at 4:40 pm
As bad as Verizon customer service can be for botched installs and other communications, think how bad it is for the competitors. Vonage does not even have live persons. Comcast is so bad people are begging for FIOS in those areas. We are all to blame because deep down we prefer low prices over things like customer service. Once everything works who cares how many people are manning the phones? The fact is that it does work great for the majority of customers. I’ve had FIOS TV for 2 years and no problems except once when I upgraded the DVR, had to call back to get the new firmware uploaded.
9 BB // Aug 28, 2008 at 7:06 pm
It is truly interesting to see these reports as my own experience has been similar with the simplest of answers taking hours to find. The automated attendant cannot provide suitable answers nor has the capability to route to anybody who can. Fios service is a great offering and their business would be a killer if they had even the most basic of a functional customer service group. If thing go right — you will have great service but if you EVER have a problem — God help you if you have Verizon.
10 D Branch // Sep 9, 2008 at 2:21 pm
I appreciate everyone who contributed their nightmarish accounts in order for us non-subscribers to draw a conclusion. Mine is. This sh*t is garbage.
Has anyone attempted to email or call the corporate offices? It seems you keep dealing with people that are:
1. Incompetent.
2. Rude.
3. Poorly Trained.
5. Foreigners who don’t have a clue.
6. Hands are tied thus incapable of satisfying its customer base.
7. “Supervisors” yet can’t make “real” decisions
In the past, I have had to send emails or make phone calls to corporate offices and always got results. There, they can go against the BS policies & procedures the company put in place for its soldiers. I actually emailed AT&T (back b4 they sold to Cingular) about how inefficient their device insurance claims process operated. I actually got a call from a corporate secretary a couple of days later and told me that my email was read at an AT&T board meeting and that they were going to analyze the problems with the insurance process and change it ASAP. She also told me, to my delight, that they were giving me 2 months of free cell service!
I’m telling you all this because, in dire customer service situations (like this one), you have to go to the very top. Especially when Verizon probably farmed most of it’s customer service jobs to India. Nothing against India but I’d rather someone tell me things off the top then off a script. Someone here needs to post Verizon’s corporate emails and phone numbers. Only then will you see results and restitution. Goodluck
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