I would have to give Verizon Wireless online support a below average rating. This includes online (web) and phone support.
I have decided it is time to get rid of the old basic phone I have been using for 3 years now. Time to upgrade to a smartphone. Yeah, well maybe… I went online and the site states the primary number (Jennifer’s phone) is eligible for an additonal $100 loyalty credit. My phone, just eligible for a discount upgrade. Jennifer doesn’t want a new phone right now (though her’s is approaching 5 years old!), so we want to use her extra loyalty credit for my phone. And we want the advertised $100 gift card for switching from a basic phone to a smartphone. Oh, and since Verizon mysteriously turned on the $29 unlimited data plan on my basic phone two months ago, we want that data plan to transfer to the new smartphone (Verizon doesn’t offer unlimited plans anymore, so if you didn’t have it already, your limited to 2GB for same price!)
I am one that prefers doing business via the Internet. So I click on the support button to get the online chat with a representative to see what we can do. Nothing happens. I thought maybe it is because I am using Firefox and Linux OS. So I reboot to Windows 7 and try again. Still, nothing happens. So I try IE, finally a box below the chat states “offline” Hmmm, there support page stated online chat support is available from 7am – 2am eastern time. It was only 7pm and the middle of the week, so I think maybe it is just temporary. I continue to surf the net and come back a few times, still offline! Ok, time to call the phone support.
I call the phone support and get a male sales rep. Should have written his name and extension down!!! I explain what I wanted to do, and he reviews the account. No problem using the loyalty credit (leaving Jennifer with my old credit of just a discount) and no problem with the gift card. (after he checked it out first to make sure). When he states I have to add the 2 gig data plan, I inform him Verizon already has me paying for an unlimited plan that I don’t know who or why the added that, but I want to continue the unlimited. He asks me “Do you know why somebody would have turned that on?” Like, how would I know that?? After all, I have a basic phone, not a smartphone. He looks at the account and sees the data plan. He states he has to put me on hold while he talks to the customer support center to make sure they transfer the data plan properly.
After a few minutes on hold, a woman answers “Thank you for calling Verizon, how may I help you this evening.” What, wait, why are you picking up may call…. I tell her another agent was working with me and was almost done, he just needed to check one thing and put me on hold. She said, oh well give your phone number and let me look. I give her my number and then she states, well what did you want to do this evening. I ask, “can’t you see who was working with me and transfer me back.” “No sir, but I can help you with whatever you need” I start all over explaining what I want. She then tells me I can’t have the loyalty credit and the gift card both. I can only do one or the other! We went back and forth and my blood pressure started rising. I was almost done with the first agent, with everything I wanted to do and now I get some less friendly rep that says, I can’t do that and the other rep must have been mistaken! Finally I get mad enough to tell her forget it. I’ll just call back tomorrow and demand credits for the erroneous charges and forget renewing another 2 year contract.
When Jennifer came upstairs and checked her email, she saw there an email from a Ruth at Verizon apologizing for our call being dropped. She stated she understood I wanted the loyalty credit and the gift card and that was no problem, Did we want to go ahead with the order. I sent an email back stating, Yes go ahead and don’t forget to transfer the unlimited data plan as well.
That was Wednesday night, it is now Friday and I have heard nothing from Verizon. No email stating if she is proceeding or not. No email showing the order was placed. And when I go online, nothing indicating any changes at all. Still shows the two basic phones on our account.
Further exploring, I see the phone I want is $299 with a two year contract. I order it with my discount, it is $249. However if I try to order is as Jennifer’s replacement, it is still $299 with a $100 credit. So why do the show an extra $100? In reality it is only an extra $50.
So as of now, I am debating. Wait, or just go to the store and try to get an upgrade. I hate Verizon stores as past experience shows me they don’t know their stuff very well either, especially if you start asking technical questions. Stay tuned to see…will I get a new phone….or will I just demand a credit for something they are charging me for that I never asked for.