As an interesting coda to my prior post, I had to call Verizon today for another issue. Not only were they able to clear up yesterday's problem, but the customer care rep was extremely polite and friendly, unlike the two women I talked to yesterday.
So I guess sometimes the quality of the help you get really is based on who you talk to.
So in short, Thank you, Verizon. Even though I was no longer a customer, you still came through for me.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Friday, August 5, 2011
How can Verizon mess with you, even after you leave?
So I jumped ship from Verizon Wireless last weekend. The new Motorola Photon finally showed up on Sprint, and I decided to pick one up. Sprint also had a wonderful deal that gives you $125 in credit if you port your number in from another carrier. However, Verizon Wireless has insane "customer retention" polices that make leaving their service an ordeal worthy of the efforts of Hercules.
I took Sprint up on the offer, and i kept my existing phone number. I figured that I'd sell my Droid X2, and after getting a couple hundred dollars on EBay and the $125 credit, I'd end up money ahead.
I listed the phone on EBay on Sunday night. Someone bought it within a few hours of it going active, and I immediately packed the phone up and shipped it out the next day.
Fast-forward to Friday. The buyer, who was eager to activate his new Droid, wan't able to turn the phone on. Verizon told him that I needed to release the phone. I called Verizon, and was treated to some of the worst customer service I've ever had...
"I'm sorry, sir, I'm afraid I can't do that. The computer won't let me."
I talked to 2 representatives for a total of maybe half an hour, and both of them told me that my phone would be locked, unable to be transferred off of my closed account, until my next billing date.
So now, I am in the unenviable position of telling my customer that he can't use a new phone that he just bought because Verizon Wireless has some inane policy that won't let me transfer a device I already own.
Let me be clear on this: I OWN THE PHONE. The device was paid for in full, and I did not have to pay an ETF when I closed the account. That device is fully mine, and I should have the right to sell it, use it for a doorstop, or re-activate it if I so chose... instead, they are holding my phone hostage for 19 days for something as simple as "that's the way we do it."
So here's the kicker. If I had called them before I left for Sprint, they would have released my phone, and none of this would have happened.
I asked the rep how I was supposed to know that.
"There's no way you could have known that," she told me.
The real twist of the knife? At the end of the call, she tells me "Thank you for being the best part of Verizon Wireless."
I took Sprint up on the offer, and i kept my existing phone number. I figured that I'd sell my Droid X2, and after getting a couple hundred dollars on EBay and the $125 credit, I'd end up money ahead.
I listed the phone on EBay on Sunday night. Someone bought it within a few hours of it going active, and I immediately packed the phone up and shipped it out the next day.
Fast-forward to Friday. The buyer, who was eager to activate his new Droid, wan't able to turn the phone on. Verizon told him that I needed to release the phone. I called Verizon, and was treated to some of the worst customer service I've ever had...
"I'm sorry, sir, I'm afraid I can't do that. The computer won't let me."
I talked to 2 representatives for a total of maybe half an hour, and both of them told me that my phone would be locked, unable to be transferred off of my closed account, until my next billing date.
So now, I am in the unenviable position of telling my customer that he can't use a new phone that he just bought because Verizon Wireless has some inane policy that won't let me transfer a device I already own.
Let me be clear on this: I OWN THE PHONE. The device was paid for in full, and I did not have to pay an ETF when I closed the account. That device is fully mine, and I should have the right to sell it, use it for a doorstop, or re-activate it if I so chose... instead, they are holding my phone hostage for 19 days for something as simple as "that's the way we do it."
So here's the kicker. If I had called them before I left for Sprint, they would have released my phone, and none of this would have happened.
I asked the rep how I was supposed to know that.
"There's no way you could have known that," she told me.
The real twist of the knife? At the end of the call, she tells me "Thank you for being the best part of Verizon Wireless."
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