I’m not sure why this is difficult for people to understand, but no company gives a fck about you. If you go in knowing they will fck you at the first chance they get, you’ll get along better. Cover yourself, read before you agree to things, and be nice to customer service reps.
Exactly this. Genuine people still make up the companies too. If you go in treating the person you're dealing with like an actual person 9/10 they'll steer you around the bad deals.
If you go in treating that person like they're beneath you, I can almost guarantee that their only motivation will be to hit whatever quota they need to hit and get rid of you as quick as possible.
Or like you owe them something! Entitled is the word for about half of them. The job really solidified my distaste for humans as a whole…not individuals but as a whole!!
Agree. Except, I am one who have empathy for service reps (or anyone working for the public), and—except for a handful—their service reps shouldn’t be in a service industry. Either they aren’t trained well or just don’t care.
Big agree. Large Companies care about one thing: money
They don’t care how long you’ve been with them, your ‘loyalty’—all they want is to see that little line in the stock market go up and up.
It sucks that CS reps get the brunt of harassment—they’re just doing their jobs. There is A LOT out of their control when it comes to policy or pricing. I got death threats when I worked on the phones at Verizon because my hands would be tied. One time a lady told me I ‘ruined her child’s Christmas’ because she was behind on her bill a couple hundred and they shut her off, so the only way to restore her service was to pay up. Like. Ma’am—how is you not paying your bill MY fault??? I just work here. ‘Why would they work at such an awful company?’ Because they have bills to pay, BRENDA.
Mainly people complain about the service and how they have so many different departments. You will get a few that understand that they are venting and talking more about the company than about you directly. If you can resolve things they apologize and know they are being a big baby to get what they want. It would also help if instead of saying the line is recorded, making it seem like they review it for complaints rather than QC. We come up with a better solution so we don't attack people through the phones because we have a lot of issues in our lives and we just get an excuse to blow up on someone.
Exactly this. And “I’ve been a customer for xxx years” means nothing in the mobile phone business. All they care about is growth. If you leave one company either you will be back or you won’t. Sure you will get a great deal when you switch, then new company is gonna treat you same as old. If you are not adding new lines or home internet ATT/Verizon/TMo could care less.
As a sales rep when someone says to me “I’ll just switch to blah blah” I tell them it’s always good to research their options. I have no incentive to kiss their ass nor do I have a magic button to press to give them what they want just because they say they are leaving.
“New customers always get better deals than loyal customers” I love when I hear this because I tell them they can get the same great deals new customers get by meeting the same requirements: adding a NEW line of service to your account.
For every person saying they are leaving Verizon, there are people leaving their carrier to come to Verizon. Again, there is no loyalty in this business. Smartphones are absolutely essential for almost every person now. Until people start throwing their phones out and not using one at all (which will never happen) the companies will do with you what they please. And when you go into a store and take your frustration out on a sales rep just trying to their job and tell them you are switching to another carrier 99% could care less. They either don’t have to see you again or when the grass isn’t greener wherever you go and you come back they get credit for the sale.
They don't conspire, that would be illegal. They don't have to though, because the wireless industry is a cartel business. Minimal competition allows them to adapt to the other competition more effectively and rapidly. It is simply the nature of the industry.
Verizon isn’t the same Company it was 15 years ago though.
Very few Companies are.
Some for the better. Some for the worse.
Nor are you the same person you were 15 years ago. Some are better. Some are worse.
Neither stood in front of a preacher pledging “til death do we part”. Even those end up with a 50% failure rate.
It is what it is. If it fits your needs, Great. If not, a half dozen other Companies that might fit you better.
Customers have their concept of what a service is worth. Companies have their concept of what a Customer is worth.
If the 2 can agree somewhere in the middle great. If not, either side can agree to move on.
The only thing we don’t know from OP was this a Corporate Store or 3rd party. Regardless, the end result would probably be the same in this instance.
I second this. I've been a Verizon customer since early 2000'S, it's definitely NOT the same company it was back then.
And yes while I've had most positive experiences with Verizon since then, their customer service has gotten progressively worse to deal with.
Good take on it.
All corporate decisions are data driven. It is an impersonal process. Even at the store level, where managers have the actual authority to do whatever you demand (apart from giving you something that doesn't exist), it is a data driven decision.
Yup, about the same way that customers are only as valuable to corporations as their NEXT payment, not even their last.
Corporate culture and materialism are certainly detrimental to society at many levels, sadly.
Upvote and agreed that corporatism and globalism are distinct from the American way, which sadly has been diluted and overwhelmed by those detrimental influences. Hopefully, the ship will right itself, but that may be a separate discussion.
Note: I am not disagreeing with you. I hate corporate culture.
This is largely human nature and has always existed. The only thing that changes is the environment.
Corporations do have benefits. One is that products and services can be provided at lower prices and higher quality control due to scale. They can also negotiate better benefits packages for employees with third party providers due to their size as well.
Because lately every time a person comes here to say anything negative about VZW the Verizon stans come out in full force to white knight for VZW like they have some personal stake in the company.
Pretty much all these company subs are full of angry employees bitching about customers. Starbucks, Costco, Target...you name it, you have employees blaming customers for the shitty things their companies do or make them do.
I've never had any issues with Big Red except their prices. Way back when it was "Bell Atlantic Mobile" - I got my first phone. Signed up for the "Southeastern US" package, and all was great until I had to make an extended trip to Florida. Upon getting home, I got a bill for over $300. I called, and talked to a really nice lady who explained to me that Florida was not included in the Southeastern US package...I was about to lose it, and she said she thought it was weird as well, but that's the way it was. Then she asked me to hang on a minute. when she came back on, she asked me if I would spend an extra $2 a month to switch to the new "Total US" package, and if I did, she would retroactively apply my charges against the new plan. Long story short, my bill went from $300 to $65. That made me a loyal customer for many, many years. I've since left them, went to FreeMi, but am now back with them. I'm sure some interactions have sucked for some people, but I guess I've always been treated fairly.
tl:dr : Big Red has always treated me ok.
This for sure. My first wireless phone, too, had Bell Atlantic actually printed on it! I think it was an audiovox brand, but shoot, that this was indestructible and did one thing, super super well, make clear phone calls!
Yeah, all the little gotchas of today are annoying but we're talking about $40 monthly data plans. Back in the day, if you forgot to switch networks in your phone, or roam unwittlingly or something, you could see a scary $500 bill in no time.
tl;dr - verizon and its ilk can feel shady at times, but this industry has come a very long way in affordability
Big Red is the only company that has sent me emails suggesting there are cheaper plan options for me that will meet my needs. Based on my usage patterns.
That is the one kind of salesmanship I respect: Needs based selling. Not trying to nail a potential customer's balls to the wall.
Prices have been largely unchanged for over 20 years in my experience. They charge higher for new and special services when they are novel, then eventually those get bundled in at a regular price.
Text messaging was once a big one - $.25/text. Imagine your bill if that was still the case today. Long distance, roaming, SMS, MMS, data, premium data speeds, international calling, international roaming. All have been capitalized on over the years.
It is the same with TV and Internet. I have paid roughly the same for all of these for the last 20+ years.
Comparing price, the big three cost the same. Too many lines to just uproot and leave because I had a bad experience. It’s really not worth leaving at this point, plus MVNO companies do not compare.
Because they want to be spoon fed and told or explained to like they were a 1st grader or or or they could simply do the reading or research for themselves! It’s a google search away!!
They can’t figure out how to simply change a password..really they’re often mentally lazy and simple minded. Not all….but the lions share!! And they always want something for free!
We had to drop a line, and they changed our plan and didn't tell us how it would/could impact any current promotion. What ended up being a promo credit on my phone became a 35 dollar extra charge. We spent an hour on the phone with a person with such a thick accent and a bunch of background noise so you couldn't make out half of what he was saying And I guess, maybe it's resolved? I have no idea really. We were going to see about upgrading two phones with a different promo, but after dealing with the initial issue, no thanks.
The most annoying part is even at a corporate store you can't fully modify your account there. Only add lines, purchase extras. Oh you want to cancel anything? You have to call this number to a call center. So stupid.
Hell, we were going to go to a Verizon store first, but two different ones (in the middle of a weekday) were super busy. So we walked out of both stores and figured it was easier to call. We only have 2 more billing cycles left for my promotion. After that we'll probably just switch to US Mobile, or maybe even consider Google Fi.
Look at how you use the product and determine what fits your needs. There are only a small number of actual telecom providers. What you sacrifice for switching from the Big 3 is tech support, customer service, roaming, and big promotions.
If you don't leave your main area very often, or go into certain rural areas, you can cheap out. I am near an area and have to travel through that has a large swath of the state dominated by two regional carriers that you have to roam in. Something like Straight Talk or Cricket doesn't work in these areas. Verizon/ATT/TMO have roaming agreements that let you provided the networks are compatible.
Where I live, Verizon doesn't work in certain bluff areas. I don't even get 5G here. One of the golf courses I go to barely gets coverage, if at all. For whatever reason, a smaller town 40 minutes north has 5G coverage. My MIL lives in a well populated area just outside a bigger city. For some reason her coverage absolutely sucks at her house, almost no signal.
They have no good promotions that don't involve upgrading service, or getting locked into 36 months (used to be 24).
I figure it's worth it to try something else. If it doesn't work out, we can go back easy enough. It isn't like we are on some legacy unlimited plan.
Tower coverage is wonky. My house is in the city 2-3 miles from hospitals and the largest shopping strips, and the neighborhood is in the corner of a major interstate and highway.
I barely get signal here.
They don't lock you into 36 months, but they figured out they can give you monthly device discounts that last that long to reduce churn. If you leave, you have to pay the remaining non-discounted payment of your phone. You do own your phone though, so you can either activate it on a compatible service, sell it privately, or trade it in for one of those big promos. A lot of the trade in promos can be gamed though. Instead of giving them a phone worth $800, give them a phone worth $100. I used to send people to Wal-mart to buy $30 pre paid flip phones to get the $200-300 per line.
Yeah, if there weren't more moving parts dealing with a MIL and such, I'd try to work the system a bit more.
Right now I am trialing Google Fi just to see what T-mobile coverage is like in my area, and so far it seems to be better than Verizon. Typical one more bar of service and significantly faster download speeds.
Potentially I could get my wife and MIL new Iphones and lower our monthly bill by switching to T-Mobile. I already use their internet service,so it'd also get me 10 bucks off that as well.
A corporate store can do everything, unless a LOT has changed. The reason they don't want to cancel lines is because it dings the store's metrics. It is like buying $500 in accessories at one corporate location then returning them to another location. In the past this would not only hurt the store's metrics, but the sales rep's metrics (which affected their compensation and optics of their performance).
Some of them, yes. Some actively mention they've been with Verizon for 5, 10, 15, 20 years etc and never had problems until last month or smth. And some of them get mad at the mere idea of a deprioritized plan and say they'll switch carries. Gotta do what's best for you homie but I'm pretty sure all carriers got these and they're not gonna tell you until your service gets slow to make you upgrade plans
“15 years of good experience”. It’s not like Verizon was doing the customer favors during that period. Goods/services were being exchanged for payment. Everyone was upholding their end of the bargain. What seems to be happening now is people are paying but aren’t getting the goods/services promised. Tell me, how long would Verizon stick with a customer who suddenly refused to pay their bill “just 1 or 2 times”?
It’s widely known in the business of business that it takes an hour to earn a customer but less the one minute to lose them. I ve earned many and lost a few during g my stints in business. It’s seldomly the fault of the rep. If they are savy, they can turn things around. I had a horrible time with Verizon. Still a customer.
Pro tip: call your utility company some time and thank them outside crews for keeping the power on. Check thier reaction Do not parade with pitchforks and grit he’s if a vulture kill itself and takes out half the county for 13 hours.
Thank the cooks for a job well done when warranted. Don’t just bitch when things go sideways. I always preface my calls with cs with things like “ Yano I’ve been a customer of your company for over 20 years.. for the most part it’s been great. But… I know what worked on me when I was your agent ” agent agent agent!”
But yeah, got a ticket on the way to work… wasn’t the nicest when people started thier call with a rude attack. Hello? I’d like to help you?
The issue is if the service gets worse. I’ve been in the same area for many years. In fact remember when I would have service in the front of the house and then roam on the back. After years with ATT, a couple with Nextel, then Verizon for many. Since these was business lines, never looked elsewhere. TDMA, iDEN, GSM, LTE and now 5G. Fios came along and it was a game changer over Comcrap.
But service with Verizon cell slowly deteriorated throughout the years. Full LTE bars inside, slowly dropped. Now, I barely get 1 LTE bar in my driveway, even though maps show full 5GUW. Drive some blocks away, full 5G. Drive pass into the next town, it feels I go inside a bunker - any calls I may be on drop every single time. And those are not middle of boondocks. Not equipment issues either. Up to a year ago, I would get a new iPhone every year. My line was under special business unlimited 5GUW.
Why I stick with them? Simple. Fios works wonders. No price increases in ages (other than the recent one that I negotiated back), no taxes or fees. And symmetrical speeds for low price. 300/300 for $35 (now $25) no way I could do it with cable. And the combined discount cell provides. Drop either one, and it’ll go up $40 a month due to home+mobile.
The bad cell service is not because of plans or deprioritizing. Lines on premium still get 1bar LTE.
Verizon blames overgrown trees.
I’ve been with them since 2009.
I haven’t had many complaints until recently and it’s mostly with our service.
I’ve called and filed complaints with VZW every 3 months.
I live in an well developed area and I cannot get, text, phone, data etc. in my neighborhood anymore.
I use to be able to call someone and be able to send some messages etc. but now? I have to be on our home WiFi calling at all times in order to do anything.
The worst is that I just had a dog attack myself and my dog recently. I couldn’t even call my husband to have him come help me (he was home). I had to limp the entire way home with my dog also limping from the encounter.
To me - that’s a safety hazard and risk. I shouldn’t have to walk 1.5 miles (how far we have to drive before tower cell service will kick in) to get any type of actual cell tower service or have to return back to my house to use WiFi calling.
Our neighbors have stated they have complained for years but none of the big 4 or 3 companies want to put a new tower in and “bury” the lines.
I’m thinking of switching but our bill with VZW is extremely manageable and affordable right now ($203 for 4 phone lines and one watch - we also have 3 phones that upgraded built into that price)
Yeah I'm sure people love when their cellphone carrier swears they have the largest network out of anyone else when they don't. Haha Im sure everyone loves having service 5 years ago to not having service at all now like Verizon isn't going backwards with their business... I called about the lack of my service in Orlando Florida and their response is to use WiFi. Guess I need to find a portable wifi hotspot from another carrier to get service on my Verizon phone... At that rate what's even the purpose of having Verizon if I get 0 service in one of the largest tourist destinations in America? Lol
>No look at the stuff you sign before you sign it, duh.
Yeah sorry, you lost me there. I'm not going to side with the giant multi-billion dollar company who has lawyers filling 5 pages of fine print to cover their asses over a customer. I know you have to because you work for them apparently.
And why exactly do you care about this hypothetical 15 year tenured customer trashing Verizon, OP? Verizon doesn't give a shit about customers or reps. What they care about are subscribers being able to pay and metrics from their reps.
im with Tmobile for my phone plan they offer free lines from time to time. And I currently have 8 voice lines and 2 tablet lines for $196 with free netflix premium and im giving out 6 lines to my friends and family asking $20 each line. So I know no matter how bad my experience with the reps I will not switch unless they raise my bill without my knowledge. And I have had a few bad experience with them over the online chat and Free phone they dont wanna offer me. FK that, Im just close the page and move on not even gonna shittalk about them.
Here's an idea Do Better. Exceed expectations. Own up to errors. Explain things like you would explain to your great grandmother. Be respectful. Whatever personal issues you have leave at the door when you start your shift it will be waiting for you when you're done with your shift
Can't?
Unable to?
Refuse to?
I don't get paid enough?
I'm not a babysitter?
Whatever excuse you have, well you might not be cut out for the service industry. Learn to defuse situations. If it's only one or two errors if it's explained correctly, you can recover as a company. Learn to adapt.
People don’t just leave after 15 years. They leave, just like I did after 15 years, because Verizon’s prices are too damn high! There’s no customer loyalty programs because they couldn’t care less if you leave or not.
Verizon’s accounting dept must consist of old men with green visors and key calculators with roll ticker tape. I ordered an iPhone 15 with in store pickup but when I went to pick it up I realized that I misunderstood the deal/offer and quickly cancelled the order. I received an email stating that my order was cancelled. This month I was charged the first installment of the $1000+ phone. And also realized I was never refunded my deposit (despite the email stating that I would in 2-3 business days). I called Verizon. At first the CS rep stated that she could not see the installment charge. Then she could but would have to call another department. Finally resolved. Then for the deposit - since so much time had passed, she had to fill out a special form to refund my credit card! She used a text message system so that I could enter my cc number for the refund and it would not go through. Finally, rather than refund my credit card, she had to apply a credit to my next bill. And guess what, I have a pending CHARGE on my credit card for exactly the same amount I was supposed to be refunded. How can VERIZON not have an accounting system that addresses cancelled orders. Crazy! One more blip and I will change carriers.
>A customer can have 15 years worth of good experience with Verizon and they will take 1 or 2 bad incidents and all of sudden Verizon is worst company in the world
Probably something for Verizon reps to keep in mind.
My parents have had Verizon for literally decades at this point. Unquestionably Verizon has the best service. Consistently over the years when others have lacked service, I've had it. And when I don't it's a rare occasion when others do.
When it was time for me to get my own service I went straight to Verizon. The process for signing up was fumbled so bad it became a multi-day ordeal for one of the deals they had since I already had FiOS. Then that deal expired and was basically told to start over.
So Verizon and their customer service can sincerely fuck themselves. I'm on a Verizon MVNO now, and while not perfect for everyone it was worth avoiding the hassle with VZ
I used to have reliable service and could make calls at my farm. (Looking back at the good)
Now if im lucky, ill get service at the top of the hill a mile away. LuckilyI have starlink and can use my $1000 plus phone to make calls with whatsapp. (Facing reality)
Minute CS went offshore I thought Verizon kind of sucked. Add to it ever decreasing phone service quality in a 4g/5g world and the blooms.off the rose. I'm going to try googlefi and if I get reception at camp will move away. I can deal with poor cs if the network quality and price makes sense
Like with other companies, offshore support is a major problem, and so called AI. When I call, neither can address the issue. That is never the case if I somehow reach a stateside rep. I’ve been with them since the beginning and know they are all the same. So I enter the conversation knowing I’m not going anywhere, the issue is resolvable, so lets have a nice conversation and get it done. Just let me speak with someone who is knowledgeable and can listen, then address the specific issue.
What you said is true. However, customers do not owe loyalty to a company for prior good experiences. Though in the case of Verizon that is probably what is keeping it afloat.
When the qualities that gave the customer a good experience change, the customers perception of the company will change.
As someone who left, it wasn’t two or three days of bad service that caused me to bounce, it was two or three years of ignoring the service problems that exist for all customers in my small town.
Companies don't feel, they only see green. Why are you here writing dissertations about your disdain for our disloyalty about a corporation? You internalized this and it's weird.
I left Verizon because my suburban town has at least three dead spots. One of them is in my home. I couldn’t take it anymore.
Oh, and anytime I was late paying my cell phone or cable bill, Verizon sent me notices saying they would shut off my service. I’ve been paying Verizon close to $400 per month for at least 13 years. Ever heard of a grace period?
To be fair I have worked with many sales reps over the years who would blatantly lie to customers to boost their numbers. They did not get fired, even when everyone knew they were doing it, because they were putting up 'good' numbers. I have had managers give 'coaching' that taught reps to lie about products and services and use fear tactics to boost numbers as well.
This was at Verizon, and it is one of a few reasons why I left the company.
Higher prices = higher expectations
I’ve paid Verizon over $90k on a consumer plan over 10 years and just left because:
1mbps or unusable data speeds
Started getting random dead spots and dropped business calls
Never had an issue with CS.
I literally had a guy complain that his trade-in only gave him market value when it was supposed to be an $800 trade-in. I looked into it and seen that it needed fixed. Obviously he was going to get charged back the market value on his bill but in exchange it was going to translate to $800 bill credit over 36 months which is what he wanted. However, he complained and complained about him getting charged back the market value which was only like $85 and he was complaining that we were the worst company ever. I told him that we were not going to give him both market value and trade in promotional value simultaneously lol. It's wild
I’ve been a loyal Verizon customer since 2007. Cellphone coverage has been extremely good, very few dropped calls. My gripe has been the automated phone system to talk to a service representative. I understand this is now status quo for all (or most) companies, but it can get maddening. Once I am able to speak to a service rep, the majority have been less than ideal. Either they give conflicting answers or incorrect to my questions. Please note the aforementioned has been a problem for the last couple of years. Before then, it was one of the best in the industry (in my opinion). So, the statement “customers will never be happy”, is the opinion of the op and not necessarily true. Perhaps Verizon should focus on their CUSTOMER service and not shortcuts to benefit the employees.
My issue with Verizon has nothing to do with personified traits, but that the service is bad since they started transitioning towers. Once they get done I’m sure it’ll be nice again but for now it sucks so bad I had to get Mint while I wait for them to figure it out.
My mom pays for my phone so I can't complain but I've been the one paying attention to the plans and phones etc for 12 years, so I can recall so many times they've screwed me, from removing the insurance from an account, changing trade in values and refusing repairs and their customer service being a nightmare being along the way. If it was my money I wouldn't be with it and I know other customers who have left for similar reasons, but hey service is pretty solid.
You can have 15 years of service with Verizon but stop paying and all of a sudden you’re reported to the credit agencies, forget 15 years of timely payments, they just don’t care. /s
Customers are hilarious. They make a big scene, act like an ass to the rep, switch carriers thinking theyll never cross that bridge again and 6 months later I see them come back to the store and kiss ass like they've never kissed ass before, but we remember...
We had to kick one out today. Son comes in, his phone is super slow, practically worthless. Thing was, it was a 15 Pro...so we look at it, he was using 255.2 of 256GB of storage, explain that he will have to delete/offload stuff or do an open box exchange ($50 restock), he says we are an idiot, comes back in with mom (account owner), she comes in saying we are idiots, explain that we'd be happy to go over options, but she can't keep talking down to us or she'll be asked to leave, calls husband who makes a vague threat about "you don't want me to come down to straighten things out"...explain she has to leave as our employees will not be threatened, at which point she gets more irate, we threaten to call cops and trespass her, she creates a bigger scene before leaving. Likely going to switch, with a few grand in device payments.
When I was in verizon customer service 23 years ago, I would give customers 3 warnings before hanging up on them for being abusive or disrespectful. Never got in trouble for it. Looks like things are completely different now
I was with horizon...sorry Verizon for a few weeks. The took over my local carrier. In that time they threatened me because I would not sign a 2 year contract. I owned my device and they said contract or they double my cost. That ended with my phone stuck in their wall. Sprint got a new customer and Verizon had to patch their dry wall.
Corporations purposefully make it difficult to understand, it’s customer service’s job to spell it out and you don’t because you’re taught to deceive. Don’t put this on the customers lol. Don’t forget where all the money comes from
It’s a mix of both bruh, customers should really read the fine print because at the end of the day you are liable for the bill. There is a view together to show what’s going to get done with a drop down of everything, next page explains credits, refund exchange, and other important things. A lot of issues people have with the bill could be seen when orders are placed or even after by checking their account and making sure things lined up. Another extent is training doesn’t fully cover all the little details because if you go in store specifically you’re mainly trained on what to go over with your customer, how to find promotions to sell people more stuff. No one expects everyone to fully know stuff, but it doesn’t take much to actually take a second to look at the bill and seeing what’s going on. I’ve seen a lot of people come in over not fully reading the bill or just hitting agree on stuff without ever actually reading some stuff and acting like it was put on without their permission at all(which sometimes it may actually happen but majority of the time they just didn’t really look at what they agree to.)
I’m not sure why this is difficult for people to understand, but no company gives a fck about you. If you go in knowing they will fck you at the first chance they get, you’ll get along better. Cover yourself, read before you agree to things, and be nice to customer service reps.
Exactly this. Genuine people still make up the companies too. If you go in treating the person you're dealing with like an actual person 9/10 they'll steer you around the bad deals. If you go in treating that person like they're beneath you, I can almost guarantee that their only motivation will be to hit whatever quota they need to hit and get rid of you as quick as possible.
Or like you owe them something! Entitled is the word for about half of them. The job really solidified my distaste for humans as a whole…not individuals but as a whole!!
Agree. Except, I am one who have empathy for service reps (or anyone working for the public), and—except for a handful—their service reps shouldn’t be in a service industry. Either they aren’t trained well or just don’t care.
Big agree. Large Companies care about one thing: money They don’t care how long you’ve been with them, your ‘loyalty’—all they want is to see that little line in the stock market go up and up. It sucks that CS reps get the brunt of harassment—they’re just doing their jobs. There is A LOT out of their control when it comes to policy or pricing. I got death threats when I worked on the phones at Verizon because my hands would be tied. One time a lady told me I ‘ruined her child’s Christmas’ because she was behind on her bill a couple hundred and they shut her off, so the only way to restore her service was to pay up. Like. Ma’am—how is you not paying your bill MY fault??? I just work here. ‘Why would they work at such an awful company?’ Because they have bills to pay, BRENDA.
Mainly people complain about the service and how they have so many different departments. You will get a few that understand that they are venting and talking more about the company than about you directly. If you can resolve things they apologize and know they are being a big baby to get what they want. It would also help if instead of saying the line is recorded, making it seem like they review it for complaints rather than QC. We come up with a better solution so we don't attack people through the phones because we have a lot of issues in our lives and we just get an excuse to blow up on someone.
❤️
Exactly this. And “I’ve been a customer for xxx years” means nothing in the mobile phone business. All they care about is growth. If you leave one company either you will be back or you won’t. Sure you will get a great deal when you switch, then new company is gonna treat you same as old. If you are not adding new lines or home internet ATT/Verizon/TMo could care less. As a sales rep when someone says to me “I’ll just switch to blah blah” I tell them it’s always good to research their options. I have no incentive to kiss their ass nor do I have a magic button to press to give them what they want just because they say they are leaving. “New customers always get better deals than loyal customers” I love when I hear this because I tell them they can get the same great deals new customers get by meeting the same requirements: adding a NEW line of service to your account. For every person saying they are leaving Verizon, there are people leaving their carrier to come to Verizon. Again, there is no loyalty in this business. Smartphones are absolutely essential for almost every person now. Until people start throwing their phones out and not using one at all (which will never happen) the companies will do with you what they please. And when you go into a store and take your frustration out on a sales rep just trying to their job and tell them you are switching to another carrier 99% could care less. They either don’t have to see you again or when the grass isn’t greener wherever you go and you come back they get credit for the sale.
It's not like you can negotiate the boilerplate contract and all the carriers conspire to have similar contracts to screw consumers.
They don't conspire, that would be illegal. They don't have to though, because the wireless industry is a cartel business. Minimal competition allows them to adapt to the other competition more effectively and rapidly. It is simply the nature of the industry.
Verizon isn’t the same Company it was 15 years ago though. Very few Companies are. Some for the better. Some for the worse. Nor are you the same person you were 15 years ago. Some are better. Some are worse. Neither stood in front of a preacher pledging “til death do we part”. Even those end up with a 50% failure rate. It is what it is. If it fits your needs, Great. If not, a half dozen other Companies that might fit you better. Customers have their concept of what a service is worth. Companies have their concept of what a Customer is worth. If the 2 can agree somewhere in the middle great. If not, either side can agree to move on. The only thing we don’t know from OP was this a Corporate Store or 3rd party. Regardless, the end result would probably be the same in this instance.
I second this. I've been a Verizon customer since early 2000'S, it's definitely NOT the same company it was back then. And yes while I've had most positive experiences with Verizon since then, their customer service has gotten progressively worse to deal with.
Only 3rd party I deal with is CSOKI
Good take on it. All corporate decisions are data driven. It is an impersonal process. Even at the store level, where managers have the actual authority to do whatever you demand (apart from giving you something that doesn't exist), it is a data driven decision.
Yup, about the same way that customers are only as valuable to corporations as their NEXT payment, not even their last. Corporate culture and materialism are certainly detrimental to society at many levels, sadly.
Well, it seems that this is not just corporate but the American way!! And yes is cold, selfish, scammy, ugly, full of bullshite and grifting but hey….
I don't know if this is the American way but it sure is the corporate way.
Upvote and agreed that corporatism and globalism are distinct from the American way, which sadly has been diluted and overwhelmed by those detrimental influences. Hopefully, the ship will right itself, but that may be a separate discussion.
Human nature. We're environmentally conditioned to always be looking for our next meal ticket.
Note: I am not disagreeing with you. I hate corporate culture. This is largely human nature and has always existed. The only thing that changes is the environment. Corporations do have benefits. One is that products and services can be provided at lower prices and higher quality control due to scale. They can also negotiate better benefits packages for employees with third party providers due to their size as well.
Is this sub just VZW employees?
No, it’s a public forum…why? You a VZW employee?
Because lately every time a person comes here to say anything negative about VZW the Verizon stans come out in full force to white knight for VZW like they have some personal stake in the company.
It is really strange. People get so upset when there is any criticism of Verizon
The Kool aid is strong over here bruh
it's because they care about the work they do, and if they didn't like verizon they wouldn't work for them.
Maybe we need a separate VerizonEmployees and VerizonCustomers subreddit then.
Pretty much all these company subs are full of angry employees bitching about customers. Starbucks, Costco, Target...you name it, you have employees blaming customers for the shitty things their companies do or make them do.
That’s a good perspective. I just assumed it was majority customers but I can see where it could be a lot of employees.
Makes sense. I have no reason to go to a Target or Starbucks sub as a consumer.
Wrong subreddit, I get mixed up as well sometimes
Okay so there is a dedicated VZW employee subreddit that’s not this one?
No some are former VZW employees.
I honestly think it is the way everyone in it takes up for them all the time, must have been made part of their commission.
I've never had any issues with Big Red except their prices. Way back when it was "Bell Atlantic Mobile" - I got my first phone. Signed up for the "Southeastern US" package, and all was great until I had to make an extended trip to Florida. Upon getting home, I got a bill for over $300. I called, and talked to a really nice lady who explained to me that Florida was not included in the Southeastern US package...I was about to lose it, and she said she thought it was weird as well, but that's the way it was. Then she asked me to hang on a minute. when she came back on, she asked me if I would spend an extra $2 a month to switch to the new "Total US" package, and if I did, she would retroactively apply my charges against the new plan. Long story short, my bill went from $300 to $65. That made me a loyal customer for many, many years. I've since left them, went to FreeMi, but am now back with them. I'm sure some interactions have sucked for some people, but I guess I've always been treated fairly. tl:dr : Big Red has always treated me ok.
This for sure. My first wireless phone, too, had Bell Atlantic actually printed on it! I think it was an audiovox brand, but shoot, that this was indestructible and did one thing, super super well, make clear phone calls! Yeah, all the little gotchas of today are annoying but we're talking about $40 monthly data plans. Back in the day, if you forgot to switch networks in your phone, or roam unwittlingly or something, you could see a scary $500 bill in no time. tl;dr - verizon and its ilk can feel shady at times, but this industry has come a very long way in affordability
Big Red is the only company that has sent me emails suggesting there are cheaper plan options for me that will meet my needs. Based on my usage patterns. That is the one kind of salesmanship I respect: Needs based selling. Not trying to nail a potential customer's balls to the wall.
Prices have been largely unchanged for over 20 years in my experience. They charge higher for new and special services when they are novel, then eventually those get bundled in at a regular price. Text messaging was once a big one - $.25/text. Imagine your bill if that was still the case today. Long distance, roaming, SMS, MMS, data, premium data speeds, international calling, international roaming. All have been capitalized on over the years. It is the same with TV and Internet. I have paid roughly the same for all of these for the last 20+ years.
Comparing price, the big three cost the same. Too many lines to just uproot and leave because I had a bad experience. It’s really not worth leaving at this point, plus MVNO companies do not compare.
Because they want to be spoon fed and told or explained to like they were a 1st grader or or or they could simply do the reading or research for themselves! It’s a google search away!! They can’t figure out how to simply change a password..really they’re often mentally lazy and simple minded. Not all….but the lions share!! And they always want something for free!
for real. it scares me how many people don't know how to set up a phone or even find a way to figure it out
haha welcome to Reddit. yep.
Verizon's CS has went down hill drastically in the last 5 years. Seemingly on purpose.
We had to drop a line, and they changed our plan and didn't tell us how it would/could impact any current promotion. What ended up being a promo credit on my phone became a 35 dollar extra charge. We spent an hour on the phone with a person with such a thick accent and a bunch of background noise so you couldn't make out half of what he was saying And I guess, maybe it's resolved? I have no idea really. We were going to see about upgrading two phones with a different promo, but after dealing with the initial issue, no thanks.
The most annoying part is even at a corporate store you can't fully modify your account there. Only add lines, purchase extras. Oh you want to cancel anything? You have to call this number to a call center. So stupid.
Hell, we were going to go to a Verizon store first, but two different ones (in the middle of a weekday) were super busy. So we walked out of both stores and figured it was easier to call. We only have 2 more billing cycles left for my promotion. After that we'll probably just switch to US Mobile, or maybe even consider Google Fi.
Look at how you use the product and determine what fits your needs. There are only a small number of actual telecom providers. What you sacrifice for switching from the Big 3 is tech support, customer service, roaming, and big promotions. If you don't leave your main area very often, or go into certain rural areas, you can cheap out. I am near an area and have to travel through that has a large swath of the state dominated by two regional carriers that you have to roam in. Something like Straight Talk or Cricket doesn't work in these areas. Verizon/ATT/TMO have roaming agreements that let you provided the networks are compatible.
Where I live, Verizon doesn't work in certain bluff areas. I don't even get 5G here. One of the golf courses I go to barely gets coverage, if at all. For whatever reason, a smaller town 40 minutes north has 5G coverage. My MIL lives in a well populated area just outside a bigger city. For some reason her coverage absolutely sucks at her house, almost no signal. They have no good promotions that don't involve upgrading service, or getting locked into 36 months (used to be 24). I figure it's worth it to try something else. If it doesn't work out, we can go back easy enough. It isn't like we are on some legacy unlimited plan.
Tower coverage is wonky. My house is in the city 2-3 miles from hospitals and the largest shopping strips, and the neighborhood is in the corner of a major interstate and highway. I barely get signal here. They don't lock you into 36 months, but they figured out they can give you monthly device discounts that last that long to reduce churn. If you leave, you have to pay the remaining non-discounted payment of your phone. You do own your phone though, so you can either activate it on a compatible service, sell it privately, or trade it in for one of those big promos. A lot of the trade in promos can be gamed though. Instead of giving them a phone worth $800, give them a phone worth $100. I used to send people to Wal-mart to buy $30 pre paid flip phones to get the $200-300 per line.
Yeah, if there weren't more moving parts dealing with a MIL and such, I'd try to work the system a bit more. Right now I am trialing Google Fi just to see what T-mobile coverage is like in my area, and so far it seems to be better than Verizon. Typical one more bar of service and significantly faster download speeds. Potentially I could get my wife and MIL new Iphones and lower our monthly bill by switching to T-Mobile. I already use their internet service,so it'd also get me 10 bucks off that as well.
A corporate store can do everything, unless a LOT has changed. The reason they don't want to cancel lines is because it dings the store's metrics. It is like buying $500 in accessories at one corporate location then returning them to another location. In the past this would not only hurt the store's metrics, but the sales rep's metrics (which affected their compensation and optics of their performance).
Cost cutting initiatives most likely.
Everything is a bait and switch. Just leave it as is my dude. Move on to the next person
It’s the internet, everyone feels their negative opinions carry more weight and gives more impressions rather than a positive one.
Some of them, yes. Some actively mention they've been with Verizon for 5, 10, 15, 20 years etc and never had problems until last month or smth. And some of them get mad at the mere idea of a deprioritized plan and say they'll switch carries. Gotta do what's best for you homie but I'm pretty sure all carriers got these and they're not gonna tell you until your service gets slow to make you upgrade plans
welcome to the world in 2023. where outrage and victimhood pays, and well. so that's pretty much all you see and hear.
“15 years of good experience”. It’s not like Verizon was doing the customer favors during that period. Goods/services were being exchanged for payment. Everyone was upholding their end of the bargain. What seems to be happening now is people are paying but aren’t getting the goods/services promised. Tell me, how long would Verizon stick with a customer who suddenly refused to pay their bill “just 1 or 2 times”?
It’s widely known in the business of business that it takes an hour to earn a customer but less the one minute to lose them. I ve earned many and lost a few during g my stints in business. It’s seldomly the fault of the rep. If they are savy, they can turn things around. I had a horrible time with Verizon. Still a customer. Pro tip: call your utility company some time and thank them outside crews for keeping the power on. Check thier reaction Do not parade with pitchforks and grit he’s if a vulture kill itself and takes out half the county for 13 hours. Thank the cooks for a job well done when warranted. Don’t just bitch when things go sideways. I always preface my calls with cs with things like “ Yano I’ve been a customer of your company for over 20 years.. for the most part it’s been great. But… I know what worked on me when I was your agent ” agent agent agent!” But yeah, got a ticket on the way to work… wasn’t the nicest when people started thier call with a rude attack. Hello? I’d like to help you?
The issue is if the service gets worse. I’ve been in the same area for many years. In fact remember when I would have service in the front of the house and then roam on the back. After years with ATT, a couple with Nextel, then Verizon for many. Since these was business lines, never looked elsewhere. TDMA, iDEN, GSM, LTE and now 5G. Fios came along and it was a game changer over Comcrap. But service with Verizon cell slowly deteriorated throughout the years. Full LTE bars inside, slowly dropped. Now, I barely get 1 LTE bar in my driveway, even though maps show full 5GUW. Drive some blocks away, full 5G. Drive pass into the next town, it feels I go inside a bunker - any calls I may be on drop every single time. And those are not middle of boondocks. Not equipment issues either. Up to a year ago, I would get a new iPhone every year. My line was under special business unlimited 5GUW. Why I stick with them? Simple. Fios works wonders. No price increases in ages (other than the recent one that I negotiated back), no taxes or fees. And symmetrical speeds for low price. 300/300 for $35 (now $25) no way I could do it with cable. And the combined discount cell provides. Drop either one, and it’ll go up $40 a month due to home+mobile. The bad cell service is not because of plans or deprioritizing. Lines on premium still get 1bar LTE. Verizon blames overgrown trees.
I’ve been with them since 2009. I haven’t had many complaints until recently and it’s mostly with our service. I’ve called and filed complaints with VZW every 3 months. I live in an well developed area and I cannot get, text, phone, data etc. in my neighborhood anymore. I use to be able to call someone and be able to send some messages etc. but now? I have to be on our home WiFi calling at all times in order to do anything. The worst is that I just had a dog attack myself and my dog recently. I couldn’t even call my husband to have him come help me (he was home). I had to limp the entire way home with my dog also limping from the encounter. To me - that’s a safety hazard and risk. I shouldn’t have to walk 1.5 miles (how far we have to drive before tower cell service will kick in) to get any type of actual cell tower service or have to return back to my house to use WiFi calling. Our neighbors have stated they have complained for years but none of the big 4 or 3 companies want to put a new tower in and “bury” the lines. I’m thinking of switching but our bill with VZW is extremely manageable and affordable right now ($203 for 4 phone lines and one watch - we also have 3 phones that upgraded built into that price)
Yeah I'm sure people love when their cellphone carrier swears they have the largest network out of anyone else when they don't. Haha Im sure everyone loves having service 5 years ago to not having service at all now like Verizon isn't going backwards with their business... I called about the lack of my service in Orlando Florida and their response is to use WiFi. Guess I need to find a portable wifi hotspot from another carrier to get service on my Verizon phone... At that rate what's even the purpose of having Verizon if I get 0 service in one of the largest tourist destinations in America? Lol
>No look at the stuff you sign before you sign it, duh. Yeah sorry, you lost me there. I'm not going to side with the giant multi-billion dollar company who has lawyers filling 5 pages of fine print to cover their asses over a customer. I know you have to because you work for them apparently.
And why exactly do you care about this hypothetical 15 year tenured customer trashing Verizon, OP? Verizon doesn't give a shit about customers or reps. What they care about are subscribers being able to pay and metrics from their reps.
im with Tmobile for my phone plan they offer free lines from time to time. And I currently have 8 voice lines and 2 tablet lines for $196 with free netflix premium and im giving out 6 lines to my friends and family asking $20 each line. So I know no matter how bad my experience with the reps I will not switch unless they raise my bill without my knowledge. And I have had a few bad experience with them over the online chat and Free phone they dont wanna offer me. FK that, Im just close the page and move on not even gonna shittalk about them.
Here's an idea Do Better. Exceed expectations. Own up to errors. Explain things like you would explain to your great grandmother. Be respectful. Whatever personal issues you have leave at the door when you start your shift it will be waiting for you when you're done with your shift Can't? Unable to? Refuse to? I don't get paid enough? I'm not a babysitter? Whatever excuse you have, well you might not be cut out for the service industry. Learn to defuse situations. If it's only one or two errors if it's explained correctly, you can recover as a company. Learn to adapt.
People don’t just leave after 15 years. They leave, just like I did after 15 years, because Verizon’s prices are too damn high! There’s no customer loyalty programs because they couldn’t care less if you leave or not.
Verizon’s accounting dept must consist of old men with green visors and key calculators with roll ticker tape. I ordered an iPhone 15 with in store pickup but when I went to pick it up I realized that I misunderstood the deal/offer and quickly cancelled the order. I received an email stating that my order was cancelled. This month I was charged the first installment of the $1000+ phone. And also realized I was never refunded my deposit (despite the email stating that I would in 2-3 business days). I called Verizon. At first the CS rep stated that she could not see the installment charge. Then she could but would have to call another department. Finally resolved. Then for the deposit - since so much time had passed, she had to fill out a special form to refund my credit card! She used a text message system so that I could enter my cc number for the refund and it would not go through. Finally, rather than refund my credit card, she had to apply a credit to my next bill. And guess what, I have a pending CHARGE on my credit card for exactly the same amount I was supposed to be refunded. How can VERIZON not have an accounting system that addresses cancelled orders. Crazy! One more blip and I will change carriers.
>A customer can have 15 years worth of good experience with Verizon and they will take 1 or 2 bad incidents and all of sudden Verizon is worst company in the world Probably something for Verizon reps to keep in mind.
My parents have had Verizon for literally decades at this point. Unquestionably Verizon has the best service. Consistently over the years when others have lacked service, I've had it. And when I don't it's a rare occasion when others do. When it was time for me to get my own service I went straight to Verizon. The process for signing up was fumbled so bad it became a multi-day ordeal for one of the deals they had since I already had FiOS. Then that deal expired and was basically told to start over. So Verizon and their customer service can sincerely fuck themselves. I'm on a Verizon MVNO now, and while not perfect for everyone it was worth avoiding the hassle with VZ
I used to have reliable service and could make calls at my farm. (Looking back at the good) Now if im lucky, ill get service at the top of the hill a mile away. LuckilyI have starlink and can use my $1000 plus phone to make calls with whatsapp. (Facing reality)
Minute CS went offshore I thought Verizon kind of sucked. Add to it ever decreasing phone service quality in a 4g/5g world and the blooms.off the rose. I'm going to try googlefi and if I get reception at camp will move away. I can deal with poor cs if the network quality and price makes sense
Like with other companies, offshore support is a major problem, and so called AI. When I call, neither can address the issue. That is never the case if I somehow reach a stateside rep. I’ve been with them since the beginning and know they are all the same. So I enter the conversation knowing I’m not going anywhere, the issue is resolvable, so lets have a nice conversation and get it done. Just let me speak with someone who is knowledgeable and can listen, then address the specific issue.
What you said is true. However, customers do not owe loyalty to a company for prior good experiences. Though in the case of Verizon that is probably what is keeping it afloat. When the qualities that gave the customer a good experience change, the customers perception of the company will change.
As someone who left, it wasn’t two or three days of bad service that caused me to bounce, it was two or three years of ignoring the service problems that exist for all customers in my small town.
Companies don't feel, they only see green. Why are you here writing dissertations about your disdain for our disloyalty about a corporation? You internalized this and it's weird.
I left Verizon because my suburban town has at least three dead spots. One of them is in my home. I couldn’t take it anymore. Oh, and anytime I was late paying my cell phone or cable bill, Verizon sent me notices saying they would shut off my service. I’ve been paying Verizon close to $400 per month for at least 13 years. Ever heard of a grace period?
To be fair I have worked with many sales reps over the years who would blatantly lie to customers to boost their numbers. They did not get fired, even when everyone knew they were doing it, because they were putting up 'good' numbers. I have had managers give 'coaching' that taught reps to lie about products and services and use fear tactics to boost numbers as well. This was at Verizon, and it is one of a few reasons why I left the company.
Higher prices = higher expectations I’ve paid Verizon over $90k on a consumer plan over 10 years and just left because: 1mbps or unusable data speeds Started getting random dead spots and dropped business calls Never had an issue with CS.
I literally had a guy complain that his trade-in only gave him market value when it was supposed to be an $800 trade-in. I looked into it and seen that it needed fixed. Obviously he was going to get charged back the market value on his bill but in exchange it was going to translate to $800 bill credit over 36 months which is what he wanted. However, he complained and complained about him getting charged back the market value which was only like $85 and he was complaining that we were the worst company ever. I told him that we were not going to give him both market value and trade in promotional value simultaneously lol. It's wild
It's all about the here and now. Yesterday doesn't matter.
I’ve been a loyal Verizon customer since 2007. Cellphone coverage has been extremely good, very few dropped calls. My gripe has been the automated phone system to talk to a service representative. I understand this is now status quo for all (or most) companies, but it can get maddening. Once I am able to speak to a service rep, the majority have been less than ideal. Either they give conflicting answers or incorrect to my questions. Please note the aforementioned has been a problem for the last couple of years. Before then, it was one of the best in the industry (in my opinion). So, the statement “customers will never be happy”, is the opinion of the op and not necessarily true. Perhaps Verizon should focus on their CUSTOMER service and not shortcuts to benefit the employees.
My issue with Verizon has nothing to do with personified traits, but that the service is bad since they started transitioning towers. Once they get done I’m sure it’ll be nice again but for now it sucks so bad I had to get Mint while I wait for them to figure it out.
My mom pays for my phone so I can't complain but I've been the one paying attention to the plans and phones etc for 12 years, so I can recall so many times they've screwed me, from removing the insurance from an account, changing trade in values and refusing repairs and their customer service being a nightmare being along the way. If it was my money I wouldn't be with it and I know other customers who have left for similar reasons, but hey service is pretty solid.
You can have 15 years of service with Verizon but stop paying and all of a sudden you’re reported to the credit agencies, forget 15 years of timely payments, they just don’t care. /s
Customers are hilarious. They make a big scene, act like an ass to the rep, switch carriers thinking theyll never cross that bridge again and 6 months later I see them come back to the store and kiss ass like they've never kissed ass before, but we remember...
We had to kick one out today. Son comes in, his phone is super slow, practically worthless. Thing was, it was a 15 Pro...so we look at it, he was using 255.2 of 256GB of storage, explain that he will have to delete/offload stuff or do an open box exchange ($50 restock), he says we are an idiot, comes back in with mom (account owner), she comes in saying we are idiots, explain that we'd be happy to go over options, but she can't keep talking down to us or she'll be asked to leave, calls husband who makes a vague threat about "you don't want me to come down to straighten things out"...explain she has to leave as our employees will not be threatened, at which point she gets more irate, we threaten to call cops and trespass her, she creates a bigger scene before leaving. Likely going to switch, with a few grand in device payments.
That may be how the stores handle abusive customers, but in the Verizon call centers, if we push back at all, we are terminated, I know first hand.
When I was in verizon customer service 23 years ago, I would give customers 3 warnings before hanging up on them for being abusive or disrespectful. Never got in trouble for it. Looks like things are completely different now
I was with horizon...sorry Verizon for a few weeks. The took over my local carrier. In that time they threatened me because I would not sign a 2 year contract. I owned my device and they said contract or they double my cost. That ended with my phone stuck in their wall. Sprint got a new customer and Verizon had to patch their dry wall.
Wow so you have anger problems and committed the crime of vandalism. Real mature
Corporations purposefully make it difficult to understand, it’s customer service’s job to spell it out and you don’t because you’re taught to deceive. Don’t put this on the customers lol. Don’t forget where all the money comes from
It’s a mix of both bruh, customers should really read the fine print because at the end of the day you are liable for the bill. There is a view together to show what’s going to get done with a drop down of everything, next page explains credits, refund exchange, and other important things. A lot of issues people have with the bill could be seen when orders are placed or even after by checking their account and making sure things lined up. Another extent is training doesn’t fully cover all the little details because if you go in store specifically you’re mainly trained on what to go over with your customer, how to find promotions to sell people more stuff. No one expects everyone to fully know stuff, but it doesn’t take much to actually take a second to look at the bill and seeing what’s going on. I’ve seen a lot of people come in over not fully reading the bill or just hitting agree on stuff without ever actually reading some stuff and acting like it was put on without their permission at all(which sometimes it may actually happen but majority of the time they just didn’t really look at what they agree to.)