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Why I Never Want Anything To Do With Verizon Ever Ever Again

consumerist.com — Verizon is finally installing FiOS in my area. But I'll never use it. I'll never sign up for another Verizon account in my life, and I'm encouraging my parents to change to a different service when their Verizon cell contracts end soon. Over the course of eight months, I've become completely appalled at the horrible customer service I've gotten

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  • socialpyramid, on 12/11/2007, -6/+136I was recently at a meeting where this woman from the UK said cell companies in Europe, Asia and elsewhere have much less power than they do in the U.S., where they have really muscled govt around. Then we wonder why we get such crappy service.
    • citizen782, on 12/11/2007, -15/+37Because interfering with business on any level in America means you are a socialist pig. Companies should be able to do whatever they want without any government interference or regulation and "the market will correct itself" based on consumer trends. Or so I'm told.
      • heartcoldfusion, on 12/11/2007, -13/+57The market will correct itself when the government doesn't interfere. Unfortunately, government meddling is what caused these companies to have so much clout in the first place.
        • citizen782, on 12/11/2007, -3/+26Apparently you are not aware of how fond AT&T and Verizon are of FCC rulings. They love the "meddling" creating this mess to insure they can maintain monopolies and limit competition. They are working hard to limit cable company expansion into fiber services. And they could succeed thanks to the current government meddling.
        • mediaploy, on 12/11/2007, -1/+7First Rule of the FCC, don't ever mention the... uh, nevermind.
        • toastjam, on 12/12/2007, -0/+6Are you guys agreeing with each other? You both seem to be against the meddling, but the "Apparently you are not aware" is confusing me...
        • zonk3r, on 12/12/2007, -0/+4Umm... I don't think you know what you are talking about. Or at least the history of what you are talking about.

          Before the government stepped and "meddled" there was only a single phone company, AT&T. They had a 100% monopoly and defended it with an iron fist. Nobody owned their own equipment. Nobody could attach anything to the phone network without AT&T's approval. Everything was leased from AT&T and built by a single company, Western Electric ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Electric ).

          It was only after the government "meddled" and broke up AT&T that competition came about ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_System_divestitu ... ). It wasn't until the early 90's when we started seeing new interesting technologies sprout up that brought services above and beyond AT&T voice service. These "baby Bell" companies grew and competed with each other and many other companies sprouted up and an entire telecom industry grew from nothing.

          Ironically most of the major phone companies we know today are made up of the once broken up Bell companies that have since grown and gobbled each other and other companies up. It has only been some 20 years after AT&T was broken up that the former "baby Bells" are going back to the same type of behavior that AT&T was exhibiting before the breakup. There have been very few checks on the monopolistic behaviors of these companies which is why we see the kind of mess this guy is in.

          I can't say they are worse today than they were in the past because we now have new services that wouldn't have happened if AT&T wasn't broken up. If AT&T was still the giant monopoly there would be no telecom industry. There would likely be no high speed internet. In fact the internet's growth is a direct result of the breakup. So while government meddling may be a bad thing sometimes, in the case of the AT&T breakup it was an overall positive act by every measure.

          Wanna know the sad thing? In the old pre-breakup AT&T days if your phone service was broken they had a guy at your house who fixed the problem for you. No do-it-yourself kits, no over-the-phone tech support. They came and fixed the damned problem the day you called.
          • citizen782, on 12/13/2007, -0/+1AT&T is becoming bigger than before with the acquisition of Bell South and IBM Network Services division. They are positioning to become another AT&T of the past (minus the customer support - that's not even part of the expensive option package anymore). But yours is the best breakdown I've ever seen of the emerging problem.
        • davidrools, on 12/12/2007, -0/+1@zonk3r
          the at&t antitrust thing explained best by stephen colbert http://www.glumbert.com/media/att
      • CoolWind, on 12/11/2007, -1/+12"Companies should be able to do whatever they want without any government interference or regulation and "the market will correct itself".
        Didn't Ron Paul say that?
      • 80hd, on 12/12/2007, -5/+8Read the Jungle by Upton Sinclair for a good idea of what noninterference will do and tell me that the market will correct itself. There is a golden mean between letting the big guys take advantage of people and socialism -total laissez fair only works for the people standing on the backs of those being taken advantage of.
        • stalefries, on 12/12/2007, -0/+9Hold on, there's a fundamental difference between human rights violations and poor customer service.
        • 80hd, on 12/12/2007, -1/+2just two different places on the same slippery slope.
          Cell carriers have so much power over customers. I realize it's any body's choice to do business with these people, but the fact is that it's common practice make every effort to get customer's back up against the wall if they try and decline a service.
      • rpgmaker, on 12/12/2007, -3/+11"Companies should be able to do whatever they want without any government interference..."

        How fast people forget the history. The government has to interfere and regulate the market to keep the economy working so we won't have to live the Great Depression 2.0.
        • intangible, on 12/12/2007, -0/+2Cool! Can they do that instead of selling out our country to the Fed (which is just a collection of the largest banks)?
      • Grummond, on 12/12/2007, -4/+4And that's exactly why Ron Paul is a bad choice, letting the market correct itself has never worked expect in a libertarian economics major's wet dream.
      • scubasteve377, on 12/12/2007, -0/+5My God, you people act like its ***** voodoo. It's not. It's as fundamental to economic theory as the law of supply and demand. The free market "corrects itself" because nobody wants to pay for a ***** product and terrible customer service. So if that's what you, as a business, are offering, prepare to go ***** bankrupt. The free market puts consumers in control and forces companies to compete to earn their business. In the free market, he who gives the people what they want, wins. He who doesn't, crashes and burns.

        The only way the telecoms get away with their high prices and all of their *****, is because the FCC has propped them up as monopolies through various regulations and subsidies. In a truly free market, without regulation and government interference, monopolies do not exist. This idea that, without regulations, corporations can do whatever they want is mindbogglingly stupid. In capitalism, businesses are accountable only to consumers. In corporatism, however, government works for businesses at the expense of consumers. The variable here is regulation, the use of force (the government) to stifle competition. The corporations have the government in their pockets. Who do you think really writes the regulations? Who do these regulations really protect? The answer is corporate profits.

        Ironically, it's many of the same people who constantly bitch about corruption in government and corporations having too much power, who are constantly screaming for more regulations. Regulations that will be written by the corporations, for the corporations. Seriously, this ***** isn't complicated. People need to get educated and quit handing our country over to the goddamned corporatists.
        • davidrools, on 12/12/2007, -2/+3You say "In capitalism, businesses are accountable only to consumers" which is precisely the problem with capitalism without any government regulation. Take the case of any monopoly or impenetrable market like cable TV or cell service. When consumers don't have a choice, the big companies cannot be held accountable - people just put up with lousy service. The only other option is for people to, en masse, live without these services until the companies shape up. There's no amount of organization that could bring this about other than government regulation. Capitalism relies on consumers being responsible for everything that's important to them. Unfortunately, the consumer can only use this power to the extent that they have choices and information, which in many cases they do not.
          • scubasteve377, on 12/12/2007, -1/+2Did you miss the part where the FCC (government regulation) created the monopolies and the impenetrable market in the telecom industry? So you're suggesting that the only way to fix a problem, created by government regulation, is more regulation? Um. Yeah. No, thank you. Deregulate the market and competition will emerge. It's called capitalism. It has worked very well for us over the years, when we let it.
          • arbulus, on 12/12/2007, -0/+3but it's funny how competition has tried to emerge, but the big guys sue the ***** out of everyone who tries. Look at Vonage for example. VoIP is a power technology and a strong competetor to typical telephony. And when Vonage debuted, every sinlge telco sued them.

            We first need to eliminate over-broad copyright and IP laws that facilite the blanket litigation against anyone and everyone who might possibly be kind of considering proposing an alterntive to your services.
    • dsmx, on 12/11/2007, -0/+8The main problem with the telecoms industry in America is the lack of competition, if you have a marketplace with lots of competition you don't need to regulate it because everyone is trying to compete to be the best and the market corrects itself. When you have a situation where there isn't true competition then you have the problems that the current telecoms industry has in America.
      • arbulus, on 12/12/2007, -1/+4That's what these "market will correct itself" people don't understand. A market will only correct itself when there is competition. there is no competition in the telcom industry or the cable industry or the ISP industry. These people are monopolists and there is no way to "balance" the market when there is no one who can offer an alternative.
        • intangible, on 12/12/2007, -0/+7Thankfully we have the FCC to selectively sell off whole sections of the spectrum to the highest bidder. That really fosters competition.
        • bradleyland, on 12/12/2007, -0/+5The reason there is no competition is because the telco and cable markets are not "open". They're government/private hybrids. They're privately owned, and operated for profit, but the government says who can and can't play in the game. It's government for profit! IMO, telco and cable should either be completely open, or completely government run. This hybrid ***** doesn't work.
        • zaphar, on 12/12/2007, -0/+1All I can say is look at Somalia's telecom industry, it is an excellent example of how the free market works. For those who aren't going to look it up, Somalia has the best phone service in Africa.
    • jmlambe, on 12/12/2007, -0/+4yep
    • Richandler, on 12/12/2007, -0/+1If you are looking for a cellphone company there are several alternatives. If you are looking for internet, not so much. However this is slowly changing. If you don't think so well you just aren't looking and are stubborn.
    • cjeong, on 12/12/2007, -3/+0Verizon is actually not that bad.. I think these stories that keep coming up are rare because I just canceled my account without a problem in about 2 days.
    • cawpin, on 12/12/2007, -0/+1I'm burying this as inaccurate. If the guy lies about Verizon's website not working in Firefox, why should I believe anything he says? I have used Firefox exclusively for the past 3 years and just checked Verizon's site again to make sure. Yep, works.
    • citizen782, on 12/13/2007, -0/+1This was a hell of a discussion.
  • EllieElliott, on 12/11/2007, -10/+97They owe me three months of my life. And I want those three months back!! And the 58, 613 minutes I spent on their "customer service" line futilely trying to get them to fix the mistake THEY ADMIT THEY MADE. That's some business model.
    • dk911, on 12/11/2007, -17/+4Uhhh... customer service is airtime free -- unless you called some 800-number? It's *611 or somesuch number.
      • manellis, on 12/11/2007, -1/+24I believe that he meant that he wants those minutes of his life back, not that he was charged for them.
    • ResonantToe, on 12/12/2007, -1/+1Verizon will send you compensation for your time in the form of a monetary reimbursement. Please expect a cheque for 25 cents in the next 3-5 working days.
  • whorelock, on 12/11/2007, -52/+14This is the reason I don't own a cell phone, period.
    • slashbot, on 12/11/2007, -3/+45Grandpa?
    • gatorfreak, on 12/11/2007, -4/+12You may reconsider when/if you have a pregnant wife. Then you'll pay for two.
    • heartcoldfusion, on 12/11/2007, -1/+32Nice use of the dramatic period, period.

      /sarcasm, period.
    • gn0stik, on 12/11/2007, -2/+16Because a company sucks? What else don't you own, luddite?

      I wonder if you typed your comment from a windows machine.
      • camg188, on 12/11/2007, -0/+4The Edsel is the reason I don't own an automobile, period.
    • cliffzdude, on 12/11/2007, -0/+14Big company was a pain in the ass to deal with? Status quo.
      Dude lets his cell phone company hit his checking account AT WILL to pay his cell bills? Very common.
      Results? Priceless, and ***** STUPID!
      Consumer rule #1; NEVER-NEVER-EVER let a company have access to your money account. NEVER I SAY DAMN IT! Why the do you trust a big company to always get their billing right, or to immediately fix errors if they ***** up? Really? Why?
      • arbulus, on 12/12/2007, -0/+5That is why i NEVER pay bills with automatic draft. I will send a check or pay on their website with my credit/debit card when the time is due, but I will never give a company the right to just charge me when they feel like it. Automatic draft is just asking to get *****.
    • halobender, on 12/11/2007, -0/+6Some of us have jobs that require us to be reachable.
      • razrielle, on 12/11/2007, -1/+7Then that job should issue you a cellphone
        • Ajajadude, on 12/12/2007, -0/+5Some people just use their own phones and are reimbursed by the company.

          I'd rather have that happen than have to use some old ass P.O.S. phone that looks like it's been through WWIII
      • Jomwilli, on 12/11/2007, -1/+2Say it ain't so? Name a job that doesn't?
        • saturdaysinbed, on 12/11/2007, -0/+5I think what he meant was just "some of us have jobs"
    • maffiou, on 12/11/2007, -0/+2I don't have a mobile either and I work for a mobile phone manufacturer... I used to have prototypes but I kept loosing them, and my wife keeps calling me and being pissed off because I'm not reachable when I should be, so I just decided to do without... and I'm very happy about it...
    • The_Dude, on 12/11/2007, -0/+2Yeah man, phones suck in general. Cell phones suck extra hard. Most company's customer service is fairly crappy also, except financial institutions are pretty straight up on the whole. But services like phones, internet, cable....yeah, they kinda blow on the service side frequently. It's becoming a law of nature, if it isn't already. Discount brokerage csr's suck ass as well. TD Ameritrade are downright surly. Their attitude is "we're a discount brokerage so we can suck!" Bottom line, the less products and services that you need and that run your life, the less stress you're gonna have.
    • jayb1rd, on 12/11/2007, -0/+2I need a cell phone because I go to school about 1,000 miles away from my parents so they need to know I'm alive. But I would love it if I didn't have to have one. I hate the idea that people think you should always be reachable if you have a cell phone. Sometimes, I just don't feel like answering it, or I'm busy. It's my prerogative and I'm sick of my friends bitching when I don't answer the phone. I don't like being accountable to a bunch of people.
      • joe361, on 12/11/2007, -2/+2You sound like a douche bag.
      • mcnearcj, on 12/12/2007, -0/+1I just don't answer my phone when I don't want to. When people ask why I didn't answer I just tell them the truth.. "I didn't feel like it"
    • acceleration, on 12/12/2007, -0/+2All these people complaining about phones - you're not forced to go on a billed contract. Just pay the extra $20 and buy the phone outright, and get a pre-paid SIM.
  • Tserk, on 12/11/2007, -26/+18230 megs down and 5 up is worth the hassle.
    • dunderballer, on 12/11/2007, -11/+26The rest of us will be taking a stand for fair consumer treatment and adequate customer service with our wallets.
      • citizen782, on 12/11/2007, -3/+25Ya, that'll work.
      • Hickeroar, on 12/11/2007, -1/+47Yeah, by supporting Comcast or TWC? Good luck with THAT one.
        • Drahkar, on 12/11/2007, -4/+1Thats what I was thinking. All in all I've had a hell of a lot less issues with Verizon than any of those other providers combined.
        • camg188, on 12/11/2007, -4/+1So you want the government to take care of it for you? How's that been working out for ya?
          • Drahkar, on 12/11/2007, -0/+3You think the current government gives a damn about the average consumer? What are you smoking and where can I get some?
      • proto, on 12/11/2007, -2/+9And yet, Verizon is STILL better than the thieves and liars over at AT&T!
      • BRODEL, on 12/12/2007, -0/+1No company is perfect. My choices are Comcast and soon to be Verizon (just got the FIOS thing on my door today)

        I still can't wait till FIOS is installed just to get rid of comcast!
    • Dokument, on 12/11/2007, -3/+15or 20 up 20 down.
    • gcnaddict, on 12/11/2007, -10/+2or 50 down and 20 up
    • john2kx, on 12/11/2007, -6/+27or 120 up and down.... ON MY NUTS.
      • manellis, on 12/11/2007, -0/+1or live at Georgia Tech, which they say is the fastest internet outside the pentagon.
      • darkciti2, on 12/11/2007, -1/+2Uhm, I think Florida State University has that title with the SuperComputations Research Institute (SCRI) and Internet2 backbone access. ;)
        • cawpin, on 12/12/2007, -0/+1A lot of institutions have Internet2 access. Florida isn't anything special and never will be.
    • ravage86, on 12/11/2007, -3/+65I just got FIOS, and I can't resist... 30/15
      http://www.speedtest.net/result/211141450.png

      My penis may be small, but I'll always have my e-penis.
    • Drax0n, on 12/12/2007, -6/+5Wow, dont you feel proud for letting a company rape you just so you can get faster downloads... Slut...
      • ravage86, on 12/12/2007, -0/+11Yes, agreeing to exchange money for a service you are happy with is very slutty. How dare he be a satisfied customer when someone else isn't. Who does that bastard think he is, with his fancy internet.
    • benroy, on 12/12/2007, -0/+6Useless as soon as they begin blocking bittorrent traffic.
      • mikeazorin, on 12/12/2007, -0/+1Oh god, don't even make me consider that
    • CLShortFuse, on 12/12/2007, -0/+2Well, i'm playing $30 for 30mbps/5mbps in NYC area from Cablevision with no throttling. It's a special offer I got for switching from DirecTV.
      Regular price, no contract is $50 for 15mbps/2.5mbps. One Year contract is $30.
      $15 more for 30mbps/5mbps + Port 80 Hosting (HTTP) + Port 25 Hosting (SMTP) + Free domain
      Static is $20 more but I don't want it.

      Those prices are very cheap and I'm sorry if your cable company is screwing you over where you live.

      Compare it to Verizon's Dynamic IP 30mbps/5mbps for $139 with contract
      • CLShortFuse, on 12/12/2007, -0/+1Verizon raised the upload speed recently. Dynamic IP 30mbps/15mbps for $139 with contract
        Eh, I could still get two lines (60/10), no contract for $130
  • tomfraser2LOL, on 12/11/2007, -9/+69I have fios, and customer service is great for me... I have killed off 2 routers and both times they shipped another one out and i got it in 2 days.

    Always nice AMERICAN, and pick up without hold

    maybe this is a special case???
    • Linkage155, on 12/11/2007, -2/+10Exact same issue I had with the routers, they finally gave me a decent one after my second one had died. Again as you said, customer service was great, and I do have to agree the routers are *****, but they are built by Actiontec and not Verizon, their service was never down.
      • stalefries, on 12/12/2007, -0/+3Ugh, Actiontec routers. We asked for Verizon to transfer our service when we moved to a new house, only about 10 minutes away from our old home. The router did not work, and they promised to send a new one. We called when it did not arrive, and they told us that an order for a router had never been placed. MY dad ended up buying two routers, because the first, despite being the exact same model as the broken one and the second one, did not work.
    • citizen782, on 12/11/2007, -0/+12"and pick up without hold"
      This is indeed a special case. If you call Verizon for any reason and not get voice prompted to death you have achieved something. This goes for commercial accounts too.
    • Hickeroar, on 12/11/2007, -3/+8Nah, I've had far better customer service with Verizon than with Cingular/AT&T. As soon as my AT&T contract is up I'm moving straight over to Verizon for phones. I've got wireless broadband under verizon at the moment and It's great. I've had nothing but good experiences with their customer service.
      • sadilak, on 12/11/2007, -2/+0Ive had one bad experience with Verizon, but then it was one bad employee. Overall, in terms of treating the consumer the right way, T Mobile is the best, followed by Verizon Wireless(Not Verizon). I refuse to include the other company here. Not worth to mention them by name.
        Verizon/Verizon Fios must be pretty crappy since there aint that many players in that arena
      • smacksaw, on 12/12/2007, -1/+1Yeah, Verizon is incompetent but AT&T is malevolent. I've had all of the major carries and Verizon is the only one that has been able to resolve their ***** without legal action by me.
    • sandyg, on 12/11/2007, -0/+4We've had Fios for internet and television and have had absolutely no problems with them at all. In fact we've switched our phones...landline and cells...over to them too. Excellent customer service.
    • fadetoone, on 12/11/2007, -0/+9Verizon Wireless is essentially a separate entity. I've had nothing but good experiences with FiOS, except this buggy ass IMG they put out for the TV service.
    • fuzzmeister, on 12/11/2007, -0/+10Verizon Wireless is very different from Verizon. In fact, Verizon only owns 55% of Verizon Wireless, Vodaphone owns the other 45%.
    • WhiteIce89, on 12/11/2007, -0/+7Recently my mom got charged for a ringtone she didn't download, one call to Veirzon Wireless customer service and they took care of it, meanwhile we had the same problem years ago with T-Mobile on a ringtone she couldn't even possibly download from her phone and they wouldn't take it away. While I don't support their business model, I've had no issues with their customer service.
    • unionaire, on 12/12/2007, -0/+1put aside their cs for a min, VERIZON is infamous for giving out ***** equipments...their modem/routers always have troubles even if their lines are perfectly fine. This happens with DSL, and now i see it is happening with FiOS, if you're saying that the equipment is made by other companies, then would you rather believe that they buy them because those are good products or because they are cheap???
  • Linkage155, on 12/11/2007, -7/+77Had FiOS since the first week it was installed in my neighborhood, have absolutely no complaints, service has never been down for me, had it for about a year now.
    • sadilak, on 12/11/2007, -0/+3Same here with Optimum Online. Never had any problems. I have the BOOST option for internet, so have no complaints at all.
    • proto, on 12/11/2007, -0/+1Yup, me too! FIOS connection is reliable and relentlessly fast. Installation was quick, professional, and on time. One or two set-up issues were resolved by a couple polite phone calls with a CS Agent for whom English was first language. That was a year ago -- no problems since. Phone line and TV are FIOS too and work great -- the TV quality is way better than cable!
    • bwdd, on 12/11/2007, -0/+1Yer, and when some retard blocked NBC on us (and lost the password), I just called in and they helped me get it back.
    • nphase, on 12/12/2007, -0/+1Read the article. It's not about FIOS.
  • animus, on 12/11/2007, -24/+2tl;dr

    wahhhhhhh
  • InetRoadkill, on 12/11/2007, -24/+14I won't touch Verizon because they were one of the telcos that gleefully engaged in the illegal NSA wiretaps.
    • norman619, on 12/11/2007, -4/+8That'll show them!
      • InetRoadkill, on 12/11/2007, -0/+9How else would you show your displeasure for AT&T's and Verizon's blatantly unconstitutional and illegal conduct? Do you think so little of your freedoms and civil rights that you'd surrender them just to get a faster internet connection?
        • Ellipsys, on 12/11/2007, -0/+4What exactly is the alternative? I hear Verizon is the lesser of two evils compared to ATT who actually has NSA backdoors jacked into their server closets. Comcast gives the RIAA/MPAA whatever they want, while Verizon at least protects their customers in that respect. Most smaller ISPs lease from the big boys, so your data really isn't any safer. Where do we go now?
    • dk911, on 12/11/2007, -0/+3Who will you go to then? AT&T and Verizon admitted their actions -- the other telcos didn't, or they buy their service from AT&T or Verizon... Would be interested in knowing how to totally circumvent the problem.
    • laelfrog, on 12/11/2007, -0/+3and we wonder why the US is behind in the Bandwidth game?
    • vertinox, on 12/11/2007, -0/+9Name me one telco who hasn't.
      • fangorious, on 12/11/2007, -0/+6Qwest. If you count T-Mobile as a telco I haven't heard anyone allege them of complicity (I believe the Program targets RBOCs and ISPs though)
    • provost, on 12/11/2007, -1/+2they only admitted to it because there wasnt the executive order made by ***** george that made it not illegal for them to lie that they didn't. If that EO was made before they had admitted to it, then you better believe they would have lied. All other companies said no AFTER he made that EO. Those things are unconstitutional anyways.
  • webpoet73, on 12/11/2007, -6/+28I have called Verizon customer service twice and they were very friendly... so, I have not had any issues with their Customer Service... now, Bellsouth (well, now AT&T) has the worst... well, then, there is Microsoft Xbox Customer Support... so, all things considered Verizon isn't that bad.
    • sl123000, on 12/11/2007, -0/+1Xbox customer support was good, until the beginning of this year. Thats when they switched to VOIP, and indian tech support. (previously, it was US based)
  • 15thPD, on 12/11/2007, -3/+18I've used Verizon for my home phone, cell phone, and internet access for years, and I've never had a problem with them. For every disappointed individual, somebody else is satisfied with them.
    • p337r, on 12/11/2007, -0/+14so... HALF of the people who use it are dissatisfied?
  • CroMag, on 12/11/2007, -0/+27You'll just be going from one ***** customer service company to the next. I do believe in voting with our dollars, but at the end of the day, very few of us have a viable alternative.
    • dswissmiss, on 12/11/2007, -0/+6So true! You'll hear the same complaints and praises about each company (my beef was with AT&T a few years ago which is why I switched to Verizon). It just seems that with telcos it's even worse...I hope google will have something to offer us in the future.
      • vanscott, on 12/11/2007, -0/+9because their customer service is so awesome?
  • KhanneaSuntzu, on 12/11/2007, -42/+2If you dumb americans don't like it, get yourself a real democracy.
    • superkendall, on 12/11/2007, -1/+19SInce the phone companies here are not state run, that would help our phone service how again?

      From your post I wouldn't be throwing the "dumb" word around too lightly there, braniac.

    • norman619, on 12/11/2007, -2/+8You do know that a "real democracy" is just mob rule right? Show me how that has worked out well for any country in the world.
    • gn0stik, on 12/11/2007, -1/+15Please show me an example of a REAL democracy...

      *rubs hands together*

      This oughta be fun.
    • dk911, on 12/11/2007, -3/+6And the country you live in is... which one? It's better than America... how?

      Look, if you wanna pick on Americans do it to our faces you childish snob. If you live in such an amazing country, why don't you just let us know which one it is. Otherwise, shut the ***** up you ignorant ass hat... I'd be happy to beat your pimply face back to where ever the ***** hole you call home is.
      • acceleration, on 12/12/2007, -2/+1You seem to be just as bad as KhanneaSuntzu, if not, worse.

        "If you live in such an amazing country, why don't you just let us know which one it is."

        If you bothered to check her profile, you would see that she has, in fact, let everyone know what country she is from. And, by the way, I don't see any country specified on your profile. Why don't -you- tell -us- what country you're from?
  • democracysucks, on 12/11/2007, -0/+11I'm actually switching from Comcast to Verizon. I've been using Verizon for cell service for years, recently switched to Verizon for internet, and they're installing FiOS tv today.

    So far, cell service is just dandy (though prices suck), internet service is fast, reliable, and cheap (none of which I had with Comcast), and FiOS is giving me more channels for less (plus HD, and hopefully minus random sound outages...both unlike I had with Comcast).

    Verizon's customer service might suck at times, but it's still easily one of the best deals in town. And by "town," I mean America.
    • sadilak, on 12/11/2007, -0/+3The Optimum online triple play is one of the best deals in town. Verizon Fios only seems to be a good deal. That veil will wear away very soon
      • sl123000, on 12/11/2007, -0/+1Optimum online boost is awesome.... too bad it's not available anywhere else than in the tri-state area...
  • Hickeroar, on 12/11/2007, -1/+11It has nothing to do with verizon and everything to do with telecom in general. Don't expect decent service from ANY carrier. Verizon is the ONLY carrier whose store you can walk into and someone actually walks up to you and asks if they can help. Whether your experience sucks or not doesn't matter. OVERALL your experience will suck no matter which business you choose to go with.
    • fangorious, on 12/11/2007, -0/+4"Verizon is the ONLY carrier whose store you can walk into and someone actually walks up to you and asks if they can help."

      Bull crap. What company name is on your shirt has nothing to do with whether you're a good enough employee to ask if you can help someone. When I was with Sprint, they greeted me and asked to help. When I was with Verizon they greeted me and asked to help. With T-Mobile, they greet me and ask to help. When I walked into an AT&T store, even without being a customer, they greeted me and asked to help. And when I made it clear I as a T-Mobile customer, and only wanted to borrow a SIM card to test that I had successfully unlocked my phone (with no hint of a possibility that I would then switch to AT&T), they helped. I
  • gatorfreak, on 12/11/2007, -9/+2Consider how much more your services would cost if every company employed enough trained staff to have a trained and knowledgable person (who speaks english) waiting by the phone for your call.
    • norman619, on 12/11/2007, -0/+1It's been prooven that a LOCAL support team will cost a company less than one based outside the country.
      • GreenGrassyNoel, on 12/11/2007, -0/+1Come on, that must be under specific circumstances. If this was true then why are so many large companies setting up call centers outside fo the country? These decisions aren't just made, you need to do a cost-benefit analysis etc etc.
        • ScornedPatriot, on 12/11/2007, -0/+1IBM was outsourcing their support staff all throughout the 90s, they are now bringing that staff back to the US. Why? because there were unseen expenses to outsourcing that they just didn't account for. The result was no savings in cost, and a worse experience for the customers. Other companies are starting to figure out the same thing.
          • fangorious, on 12/11/2007, -0/+1Dell business support was also brought back on shore. And Apple's off-shore endeavor's lasted less than a year, I believe.
  • GTPilot, on 12/11/2007, -4/+5file complaints with the FCC.
    • camg188, on 12/11/2007, -0/+3Because every complaint to the FCC equals 20 billion viewers.
      • link5280, on 12/12/2007, -0/+1Wasnt that on Family Guy, Peter TV?
  • IllBeBack, on 12/11/2007, -6/+45Let's see. I've been a Verizon customer since early 2001 and have yet to ever have a problem with them. I've called customer service a few times to add services or change calling plans and have dealt with nice people that solved my problems and did their job correctly.

    But my story won't be on the front page because it's positive.
    • p337r, on 12/11/2007, -1/+9there also isnt really much plot to it.... its kinda dull...
    • iregistered4ths, on 12/11/2007, -4/+3Yeah who cares if they were illegally wire-tapping phones, its all about the customer support.
      Whats awesome about FiOS is we paid for the wires years ago through taxes and then they just pocketed that money and are charging us now, gogo customer service!
      • mablung, on 12/12/2007, -0/+1Hmmmm thought that was AT&T that was wire tapping...
    • thedragon4453, on 12/11/2007, -1/+5Same. Actually, usually they've been helpful.
    • SD70MACMAN, on 12/11/2007, -0/+2Thats b/c they're happy to keep taking more of your money.
  • tmgneuguy, on 12/11/2007, -0/+30This is why I don't have any of my bill set up to auto pay. I pay every single one of my bills online via my bank once a month and while that may seem like a hassle compared to auto pay, it saves on the headache of being overcharged and having to get money back.
    • 31073, on 12/12/2007, -0/+1I do this as well, dont give anyone access to auto withdraw from your account. If they "Need" an account give them a real credit card, not your debit card.
  • verto351, on 12/11/2007, -8/+9Verizon Wireless blows, but FiOS is sweet.
  • TyroPyro, on 12/11/2007, -1/+24This is why I don't have auto-billing. Who hasn't gotten a couple bills that were wrong? It's so much easier to sort out mistakes if you take the extra few minutes each month to review your bills and pay them manually.
    • Slog, on 12/12/2007, -0/+2I have auto-billing set up for my wireless account but I receive the details of that month's bill about 15 days before the due date. On a few occasions, I've had to cancel the auto-payment for that month to sort out issues. It's really not that hard.
  • aklyz, on 12/11/2007, -0/+1generally I would agreed with the OP about how terrible Verizon CC is, however from several accounts I can tell you that the group responsilbe for FiOS is amazing, always understanding and know that they are talking about.
    • CPUGUy, on 12/11/2007, -0/+1Except you sit on hold for 2 hours anytime you try to call.
  • and303, on 12/11/2007, -1/+2Your first step should have been having your bank perform a charge-back. Then they're the ones who have to deal with the situation and mediate it if Verizon decides to charge-back again (usually they won't since it takes more company time than the amount is worth to deal with the ***** customer service of the bank!).
    • capainter, on 12/11/2007, -0/+3Agreed - or get an AMEX and pay with that. AMEX is badass when it comes to going to bat for their customers over disputes.
  • yokel, on 12/11/2007, -7/+3my experience with fios tv order

    http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r19450332-bad-expe ...
  • digital0verdose, on 12/11/2007, -0/+2The reason these companies get away with this horrific customer service and lackluster products is because there is, in many places, very little room for competition. The cable companies are a great example. In many places you have three options if you want a cable package; trad cable, a start-up cable company that will fail in 10 years or a single satellite company which is just as bad as your trad cable company.

    Cell phone companies are much of the same. While many of us can choose which we prefer, coverage becomes a primary reason for choosing a phone company, but since a single company will generally have the corner on the market for coverage, they also corner the market on customers.

    They like to make people think they are competing but in reality they have some sort of pseudo monopoly with their service which leads to poor customer service and a severe lack of caring that their customer service is so bad because many people, if they do switch, will be switching to an inferior product.
  • willi0ec, on 12/11/2007, -1/+2Maybe, just maybe, the simple answer is the right one. Did you ever think the tons of people being dicks to you aren't the ones that have a problem. I love verizon, and they are always nice to me. So, I ask you this, is it more likely that 100 people are jerks, or just you? Think about it.
  • jtbndy, on 12/11/2007, -3/+11Switched to a sprint SERO plan 1 day before my 2 year verizon contract expired. I switched the number expecting more than a days delay, but it happened almost instantly. I read Verizons website they now discount early termination fees so I figured ok, 50 bucks or so, its not so bad.

    Called customer support, they refused to discount my termination fee, claiming some bs that I didn't qualify. I asked if I could just pay my last bill I received today, they basically said ***** off and pay the $175 or whatever early termination fee. Was a Verizon customer for 5.9999 years and they refused to cut me some slack and dicked me over at the end.

    I will not have anything to do with Verizon again either. Yeah I know this is a cell phone issue, but still the same company~
    • CPUGUy, on 12/11/2007, -0/+6No, it's actually 2 companies.

      Also, chances are by your tone in your comment you called up and were a complete ass, which is why you didn't get what you want.
      Finally, you did sign a contract that says you will pay X for early-term. To expect them to reduce that for you us ridiculous.
  • mc7winkie, on 12/11/2007, -1/+7Verizon FIOS has some of the best customer support around. If you mess up anything technical you can call them up and get an easy to understand American representative to help you out.
    • res8qr6m, on 12/11/2007, -0/+1True. I've been a Verizon customer for the past 3 years and I've never waited for over 5 minutes and they've always been friendly and helpful. Something that I can't say for Bright House.
  • superkendall, on 12/11/2007, -8/+3All carriers suck. That's why I didn't mind switching to AT&T for the iPhone, where a lot of people said they'd have bought the phone if only it were on... Verizon.

    It doesn't take much searching to find similar tales of woe for any carrier. In a way, after an experience like that I'd be more likley to stick with a carrier figuring horrible customer service nightmares are like lightning - unlikely to strike the same place (or account) twice. That, and being a continuing customer gives people a lot more motivation to help you.
    • EXreaction, on 12/12/2007, -2/+1Screw AT&T, I'd rather not have anything than support those bastards. Sure, they have low prices and nice looking services now, but what do you think will happen after they buy or run everyone else out of business? High prices and no competition.
      • CLShortFuse, on 12/12/2007, -2/+1Yeah! Screw AT&T and their trying to ruin the 700mhz spectrum, making it easy to monopolize!

        ...wait...that was Verizon
  • zzzpoohzzz, on 12/11/2007, -2/+12what he neglected to metion is that he was hammered on st. patty's day and blacked out and didnt care to realize his phone was gone til he woke up the next hungover morning
    • nodrog, on 12/12/2007, -1/+1I believe "Veronica" is a "she", which goes to show you are making too many assumptions here.
  • xero69, on 12/11/2007, -0/+28The lesson here is simple: NEVER let ANY company auto debit directly from your bank account. That way you can catch these mistakes before any funds change hands.
    • bitszor, on 12/11/2007, -0/+2Amen.

      The title should read reason why this person will never use automatic debiting again...NOT Verizon. When I had Verizon, I never had a problem working with their reps. Mainly because I rarely had a problem with my service :)
  • FDL1, on 12/11/2007, -0/+6Moral of the story? Don't use automatic bill payment unless you absolutely have to.
  • Nougat, on 12/11/2007, -1/+13Hey guy, if you're so close on funds that you can't make rent if someone autobills your bank account directly for an erroneous amount: DON'T USE AUTOPAY. Use it for bills that never fluctuate.
    • tech9, on 12/11/2007, -3/+1yea, especially when you have it automatically deducted from your bank account.
  • halobender, on 12/11/2007, -5/+2They locked down the Razr 3c I think was the version. Has blue tooth and usb connector but they locked it down so you would only install purchased products, had to downgrade my firmware to allow transfer of files to phone.
    I signed up with a different cell phone carrier today.
    Oh and they messed up my bill completely when I first signed up and charged me weekend minutes.
  • subject117, on 12/11/2007, -4/+8Verizon, Verizon Wireless. Two different companies. Kinda ignorant.
    • flightvector, on 12/12/2007, -0/+1Same crap, I once tried for 2 months to upgrade my Fios to the 2nd tier and gave up, 2 months for offering to pay more! But there was a database issue that prevented it from happening. Then they started charging me for it even though the upgrade did not even appear on the bill! I even had a personal rep assigned and she couldn't do jack, then stopped returning my calls. Completely impossible company.
  • Scrappy1850, on 12/11/2007, -4/+7Her rent is $150!! wtf! i want her landlord.
    • lnxfi, on 12/11/2007, -0/+4the two of you should get together and take a reading course.

      "the only bill I pay that's over $150 is my rent"
    • EarlOfLade, on 12/11/2007, -2/+1Try "Hooked on fonics!"
      • robdiggity, on 12/11/2007, -1/+2And you can try Hooked on Phonics!
  • johnnick, on 12/11/2007, -0/+9At one point I had Verizon for landline phone service, T-Mobile for my cell, and Comcast for internet and cable. Comcast pissed me off to the point where I got DirecTV for internet and cable. When it came time to upgrade to HD, DirecTV managed to piss me off to the point where I went to FiOS. Turns out FiOS doesn't play nice with my alarm system, but, fortunately, the Verizon FiOS tech knew that was an issue and got on the phone with the alarm company to solve the problem before he left.

    So, although I hardly ever use my landline for anything, I'm currently happy with Verizon's FiOS, and their customer support hasn't done anything to piss me off, yet.

    At the end of the day, they all suck sometimes.
  • CompIsMyRx, on 12/11/2007, -0/+1Verizon is notorious for taking extreme amounts of time to fix customer databases. This worked out in favor of my family though. My dad used to work there and got a brand new (at the time) cell phone to demo. The account on the phone was charged off to a demo account, so he didn't have to pay a bill on it. After he quit (because working at Verizon is like a living Dilbert comic), they never took the phone off of the demo account. 3 years later, he was still using the phone for everything, without ever receiving a bill, until the phone's screen broke and he threw it out.
  • Chirp08, on 12/11/2007, -0/+1Unfortunately we are stuck with Comcast until FiOS shows up, and when FIOS shows up you can bet your ass that Comcast will lose a ***** of customers around here. Our box will be in the mail back to comcast before the verizon guy shows up..
  • Lynxplus, on 12/11/2007, -0/+1I dunno I think I'd take that over Comcast... But seriously it's like what's the lesser of the two evils??
  • thesoze, on 12/11/2007, -0/+6obviously you never used Comcast
  • PolarBearFire, on 12/11/2007, -1/+0I'm sorry for your bad experience but if you couldn't get ahold of someone with authority to do something meaningful you can't get anything done. You have a "special" situation, meaning the first person who picks up probably won't have a clue how to help you. You need to go up the totem pole to find someone who can help you.
    • jayb1rd, on 12/11/2007, -0/+1looks like he did. did you even read the article?
  • JasonCox, on 12/11/2007, -4/+2I used to work for an ISP that did business with Verizon and I gotta say out of all the major telcos, Verizon is by far the worst.
  • labmouse42, on 12/11/2007, -2/+1I had an experience with a Verizon customer support agent who was rude and harsh last week. When my contract ends, I will transfer to a different carrier.

    I vote with my dollar. When Verizon has rude customer service, they pay the price.
  • nazgulnarsil, on 12/11/2007, -1/+2Stories like this keep popping up. Are people unaware that you can take a corporation to small claims court?
    If a company gives you the runaround, file with the court. you can do so online. If they don't show up, you automatically win. They will most likely just give you the money rather than incur the cost of sending a lawyer who bills the company $100 an hour or more.
  • norman619, on 12/11/2007, -1/+2My FiOS has never been down. the router they use is a POS but that's a different issue.
  • zate, on 12/11/2007, -0/+5I wouldn't know about Verizons customer service. In over 2 years my FIOS hasn't gone down a single time except for general power failures, and even then it has a UPS and is often the only thing working in the house. In fact during a hurricane I have used my wifes laptop on battery and the FIOS to lookup weather reports.
    I can however tell you alot about Brighthouse customer service as I used to call it twice a week when my cable went out.
    Verizon wins hands down.
  • ninjasenses, on 12/11/2007, -1/+5This is how the story should start:

    "This all started in March of this year, St. Patrick's Day, to be precise. While out getting wasted with friends, I was so drunk I gave some bitch my phone to use and I forgot about it. It wasn't until the next morning (in a drunken haze) that I realized I didn't have my LG Chocolate phone."
    • jayb1rd, on 12/11/2007, -2/+3Irrelevant. VZW said they froze the account so no one could use it anymore, and he was still charged. It doesn't matter how he lost the phone; he was supposed to be protected against what happened to him and VZW didn't fulfill what they were supposed to do.
  • NonLeftistDiggr, on 12/11/2007, -1/+2Not for me, I switched from AT&T Wireless who sold me to Cingular during my contract, and switched to verizon wireless. They charge for everything they can, but the customer service has been great for me. In comparison to Cingular, it has been FANTASTIC.
  • Relaxin22, on 12/11/2007, -0/+1Not so much a FiOS issue but in my experience Verizon Wireless service was outstanding. Extremely polite, knowledgeable American answered with almost no hold time. Sent me a replacement phone, it shipped to my University in 2 days and came with everything needed to ship the old one back. New phone works perfectly.
  • Surfrock66, on 12/11/2007, -0/+1I've been on Sprint and Cingular/At&T before, and so far Verizon has been the better of the three.
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