The Just Plain Bitterness of....Verizon Customer Service

All of you who know me knew that is was only a matter of time...

I had a mystery charge from Verizon on my credit card Friday. As you may recall, I had FiOS Internet installed back on March 2. For the record, I love the internet service itself. Faster than any connection I have ever had anywhere. Because I signed up on the internet, I was supposed to get my first month for free. So I was curious as to why I was being charge an odd amount of $27.10 only three weeks later.

I made my first call to Verizon last night (Sunday) as soon as I saw the charge on my card. I went through their rather lengty voice response system. The system determined why I was calling and transferred to me to a department. I waited on hold for several minutes, and then the voice response unit came back and said, and I quote, "I ordinarily would transfer you to a department to handle your request, but our offices are now closed." Why would they let you hold for several minutes and then tell you they are closed? I wonder why Verizon, a PHONE COMPANY, has the worst phone system ever??? Oh well. I decided I would just call the next morning (today).

I dialed Verizon at 9:40 this morning. I went through the voice response unit AGAIN, and then was on hold for almost exactly ten minutes before the first person answered. I wasn't on guard yet, so I didn't get her name. She said she couldn't help me, but that she would transfer me to the correct department that handles FiOS billing. Mind you, I called the FiOS billing number, which she confirmed, but she still couldn't help. Fine. I was on hold for almost exactly ten minutes again, and then another woman answered. She also wasn't in the right department to help me. I then let her know that I was frustrated, and asked how many more people would I have to talk to to get an answer to my question? She was very pleasant and said she didn't know, but she would get me "right through to a person." She also gave me the direct line for the department I needed to talk to. She did get me right through with no hold time, and a man answered. This man was very confused. He couldn't even complete a sentence, and then said he was going to get someone to help me, and transferred me back into the voice response unit. Ok, I am pissed now.

I hung up the phone, and I dialed the number the woman had given me as the "direct line for the department you need to talk to". I was only on hold for a minute or two, and a man answered. I tried to calmly explain to him what my issue was. I told him I had a charge of $27.10 on my credit card from Verizon, and that I wanted to know what the charge was for. Before he EVEN asked me for any of my account information (I had learned to enter nothing into the IVR), he said, "Sir, I can tell you that no one here will be able to tell you what that charge of 27.20 (yes, he said the wrong amount) is for because we have no services for that amount and we do not currently have installation fees." And I asked, "Did you just say that no one at Verizon can tell me why Verizon charged my credit card $27.10?" He confirmed that he had said that very thing. He also said that I could speak with a supervisor, but that supervisors are not available by phone on Mondays. I laughed out loud, and then I said that I would like to talk to whoever could cancel my service. He said he would transfer me to the cancellation department. He put me on hold, and I assume he transferred me. I waited fifteen minutes, and then I hung up.

While I was on hold for the cancellation department, I decided that I didn't want to go through the trouble of having to find yet another internet service provider, so I made one more call, and gave Verizon one last chance to keep me as a customer...at least for another month. I got lucky and was connected with a very nice man named Eddie B. I didn't mention the previous call as I started speaking with him. I told him why I was calling, and he looked up my account and explained what the charge was for. I asked a few questions, which he was able to answer without issue. I then told him about the last four people I talked to, and asked him why it took five people to get me an answer. He was very apologetic. I asked him if it was true that supervisors were not available by phone on Mondays, and he confirmed that was indeed true. He offered to have a supervisor call me back on Tuesday, which I gladly accepted. I have a lot to say (duh!), and I want them to know what a horrible experience I had.

There are two morals to this story. First, if you don't already have Verizon for any service, RUN IN THE OTHER DIRECTION!! DON"T DO IT!!! Second, if you experience bad customer service, DON'T STAND FOR IT! Talk to as many people as you have to to get the answer you want. And if a rep is rude to you, or doesn't provide the level of service you expect, ask for their supervisor or manager and report it. That goes for face to face customer service as well. We don't have to stand for it. There are other options, and you can punish these companies by not doing business with them anymore if they don't treat you properly!! And make sure you tell everyone you know about you experience. Stand up! Fight back!!

Wow! I am a customer service activist!!! Or a lunatic. Or both...