My Verizon odyssey gets more interesting by the day. As you may recall from an earlier post, my Verizon internet service has been about as reliable as Charlie Sheen’s psychologist. In other words- not very reliable. To briefly recap: for the past six weeks my Verizon DSL has run on one of three speeds- slow, intermittent & not at all. In fact, I’ve been going days at a time with no e-mail, no web browsing, no Twitter, Facebook- no nuthin! I’ve gotten a lot of comments on my previous blog which was intended to highlight the perils of poor customer service..
LF writes: “In this economy smart businesses are doing everything they can to keep their customers. Unlike Verizon…Apparently they either didn't get the "be nice to customers" memo or they think they are too big to care.”
TP writes: “While very nice and friendly, I have found that their customer service isn't always the best in the long run.”
Here’s one from BB: “Verizon has been a disaster for eons. I've been their customer since 1994 and still cannot get Internet service on my phone (don't ask!)… As far as I can tell, they do everything they can to make things as difficult as possible for the customer.”
Good to know that I’m not alone. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised when @VerizonSupport contacted me after seeing my story posted on Twitter. Score one for the Twitterverse.
 | @SteveBauerMedia We saw your blog and we'd like to help. Please follow us @VerizonSupport so we may DM. Thank you. ^adh |
I was asked to fill out a form outlining my beef. The result? Nothing. A week passed without comment. To be fair, my internet service was working (for the most part) during that time. But two days ago my connection to the outside world went AWOL again. Yesterday, I sent a Tweet to @VerizonSupport to ask the whereabouts of my promised help. I actually got a phone call from a sympathetic man apologized for not following up. He said he’d send a technician to my house.
Today, the technician did not show up at the appointed hour. But he did call to explain there was nothing he could do. He told me there is a pervasive problem affecting thousands of Verizon customers near my home. It appears the problem involves computer equipment located far from this area. I got the distinct impression that Verizon is trying to fix the problem on the cheap- instead of investing the resources to do the job right. The technician gave me the name and phone number for his supervisor. I called and left a message for her. Barbie- I’m still waiting for the call back
Next up I called the PUC- the Pennsylvania Utilities Commission. They can’t help me. That led me to the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office. I filed a report there and Verizon has 21-days to respond. Since I’m feeling pretty annoyed with Verizon I also called the FTC. That’s right, I'm making a federal case out of this! A gentleman at the FTC took a report. Sadly, the FTC will not intervene on behalf of us consumers. But my case is now in the files. Next stop- the FCC. They took my report and say Verizon is required to respond to my complaint within 45-days. Why stop there? Hello Better Business Bureau! I filed a report with the BBB and I’m waiting to hear back. I sure hope they call. There’s no telling how long I may have to wait for an e-mail. So that’s the latest on Verizon’s Customer Service. Remember, if you wish to address your concern in English, press one, en Espanol…
Editor's note: I wrote this blog on Friday, July 8, 2011. I wasn't able to post until Saturday morning because of continuing internet service failures. Since this was written I have spoken several times with people at @VerizonSupport who assure me that equipment upgrades are in the works. I should note that the people there have been unfailingly polite. While I now have (at least for now) internet service- it continues to be extremely slow.
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