Comments on: Verizon Phone Adventure

By: Verizon’s Worst Salesperson Ever | The Life of an Insurance Salesman

Verizon’s Worst Salesperson Ever | The Life of an Insurance Salesman — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 14:40:28 +0000

[...] my Verizon phone adventures continue. If you read the original post then you met Karen, thought not by name. What I [...]

By: March Links Roundup: Yakezie Challenge Edition

March Links Roundup: Yakezie Challenge Edition — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 12:03:36 +0000

[...] Life of an Insurance Salesman: Verizon Phone Adventure: CJ echoes my post about space heaters–he really wanted to spend [...]

By: Michelle Mangen

Michelle Mangen — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 01:45:59 +0000

After I got the replacement phone and they were able to upgrade the software it did actually work…..though then they should have told me NOT to do the *228 as I did it a few weeks later (was having a problem) and it “unprogrammed” the phone….their store is a good 20 minutes away so I cringe every time I have to run that far for a phone issue…..I’ve been to their store way too many times to recount….I agree, their cell service is good (coverage) but def not so much on the sales/tech end of things. I’m not sure in any of my times in their store that I actually had a good experience.
.-= Michelle Mangen´s last blog ..Changing the Lives of Children with just two clicks! =-.

By: CJ Bowker

CJ Bowker — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 21:36:05 +0000

Michelle:
The funny thing is I wrote this post not to bash Verizon but as an example of poor salespeople. I actually have stayed and been happy with the quality of the product Verizon puts out. However, as it seems many can attest to, a company of this size really needs to do a better job of training their salespeople. What’s even sadder is that you had a problem. There job is to fix it. Did you try that mini tower? and did it work?
Shouldn’t a good salesperson recognize the problem and offer a solution? If price wasn’t an issue for you, it definitely shouldn’t have been for the salesperson.

By: Michelle Mangen

Michelle Mangen — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 01:56:05 +0000

CJ – OMgosh – I hate to complain but Verizon is def on my short list. Here goes my wordy story….

I ONLY have Verizon because they seem to be the only company who has service that works in my house and working from home that is CRITICAL to me. So the phone works fine for the first year and then suddenly when they acquire Altell I no longer get service in the house. (no sense right, as we should have more towers to pull from).
#1. Call Customer Service – get excuses
#2. Call Customer Service again – get excuses
#3. Call dear friend who is District Manager – tell her my saga, she says “you can’t do *228 too often with conversion to Altell – she has me satisfied, I do *228 on a daily basis – still not working in the house
#4. Go into local store. Told I need new software upgrade. Come back in an hour. Afterwards, still doesn’t work.
#5. Call Customer Service to downgrade plan, after all why do I have unlimited if I have to walk outside for each phone call. It’s summer, I’m OK with it and use that time to clean up dog poo in yard but know that I won’t want to go outside for calls in the winter
#6. Go into local store (again) on Labor Day – get the most complacent, uncaring rep ever. She tells me I need new software on the phone and she’ll install it. (Later we determine the phone won’t take the upgrade and I need a new one as this one is out of warranty (by a month) so I have to pay $50 for a replacement phone, which will be shipped to me in 14 days because they don’t have them in stock.

While I’m walking around the store I notice they have a “box” that is to act like a mini-tower for your house. It’s $200 but I’m intrigued, maybe that will fix my problem. Fast forward…software upgrade done. I ask the lady about this tower (I have 30 days to return, right?) and she tells me YOU DON’T WANT TO BUY THIS.

Me: Really, why?
Her: Because it’s $200
Me: $200 is nothing to me if it means I don’t have to stand outside to make/take calls
Her: Yeah, well………….you don’t want it
Me: But I can return in 30 days if it doesn’t solve my problem right?
Her: Um, yeah…
Me: Okay, thanks, have a great day

Needless to say I’m so “argh” with them!
.-= Michelle Mangen´s last blog ..Using Local Business Profiles to Promote Your Business =-.

By: CJ Bowker

CJ Bowker — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 19:54:07 +0000

John:
Why is it that wireless carriers can get away with this? Is it because there are so few options? I don’t think AT&T is any better otherwise I would switch. In fact, I’m worried they would compound bad customer service with bad coverage. At least now I know I have good coverage. To my first question though, a small or local business owner could never get away with this type of service. They would be out of business simply because customers wouldn’t put up with it. How do wireless carriers get away with it?

By: John Vaillancourt

John Vaillancourt — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 19:06:18 +0000

Hey CJ,

I’ve been on both sides of the counter at Verizon Wireless. I worked for a local reseller for a few months about two years ago and the transaction to change things in a Verizon account is WAY more complicated than it should be! I can sympathize with the clerk’s situation but no matter how complicated the transactions are there’s no excuse for poor customer service. I also know that there’s no training on the phones provided by Verizon to their staff. Oh yes, there’s some online training modules that you could work through, but the smartphone in the training module was outdated and the instructions were no longer applicable to the new products in the store. Then there were the mornings where you’d come in to open the store and the software to do the things that you were doing the day before was all different. It was always a real special day when you’d come in an didn’t know how to do anything in a transaction!

As a customer; I was in the store four months before I knew what phones offered what level of features. And during that time the product mix changed two or three times; can’t get an LG-Env any longer, it’s an Env-II now and it acts more like a Jetson than a WillRobinson. Oh no, the BBerry 8330 isn’t available it’s an 8850 and it doesn’t have a camera. Of course you can get a camera on a BBerry, but the only dialing option is put it your back pocket and dial with your BUTT! I ended up upgrading to a phone that was a return from a customer and I think that the reason that it was returned is that the customer couldn’t figure out how to use it, and neither could I for the first couple of weeks…

I’m in agreement that it’s not a positive experience going into a Verizon Store, it’s better in a reseller location but the whole system is set up to give Verizon control of the customer, it’s not set up to make anyone HAPPY. Can AT&T stores really be that much different?

By: CJ Bowker

CJ Bowker — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 17:38:25 +0000

Rick
You are exactly right. I should have not tolerated it. Most of the time I don’t but that day I was sick and tired of being there so I left. I figured I could get everything taken care of over the phone and didn’t need to waste my time with this person. Plus, I was with someone, they were annoyed and ready to leave and we had things to do so I just left
I should apologize to the next person in line that had to deal with that saleswoman or everyone else that goes in there to deal with her. I might have been able to make their experience better.

By: CJ Bowker

CJ Bowker — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 17:35:07 +0000

Brad:
I too will stay with Verizon for their coverage. My first cell phone was with AT&T. Nothing but problems and I’ve been with Verizon ever since.

By: Rick Roberge

Rick Roberge — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 12:09:32 +0000

Ahem! Did you ever ask to speak with somebody with a brain? This is a great example of a crappy salesperson and crappy salespeople will continue being crappy until they are trained or switch professions. I would have absolutely asked for a supervisor. If everybody tolerates mediocrity and ineptness, companies don’t know that they need to make changes. Interestingly, you started the story with “there is a decent wait”. You were willing to wait for the right service. By not complaining, didn’t you tell the company that not waiting for sub-standard service was better than waiting for a brain.

BTW – didn’t you say that she broke your phone? What are you doing until the 14th?

BTW 2 – Did you send your blog post to Verizon?
.-= Rick Roberge´s last blog ..A good story is magic, but characters never die. =-.