Good afternoon,
I don't usually do this but I wanted to share this story with everyone. I have been with Verizon since 2005 and have nothing but great experiences with them since. That has all gone straight down the drain as of the last two weeks. I've had the original Droid for 2 and a half years until this past black Friday when I saw the Droid Razer Cranberry being advertised for free with a 2 year commitment. I jumped all over it. The phone was mailed to me very quickly within just a few days. When I got the phone I went through all the steps in the manual it comes with. After spending two hours on it with no luck, I decided to call Verizon support so they could walk me through the process. After an hour or so talking to the support guy he decided that I must be setting the phone up wrong and suggested that I got to a Verizon retail store. By this point I've spent half my day on this. I take the phone into a customer service rep in the Verizon store and tell him what has been going on. Every time I install the SD card in the phone I kept getting an error message saying "this device requires an SD card". I knew I was doing it right. After an hour of him trying to do the same exact thing, he determined it was actually a bad phone device. He said it was the first one he had seen in quite a while. So he swapped it out right there and programmed a new one for me in just a few minutes. Even though it had taken a total of 4 or 5 hours to get this thing ready, the guy was able to help me out and I decided that was enough.
About a week later I had my new phone (in a new case) in my pocket at work. I literally "bumped" the size of a dresser knob, pulled my phone out of my pocket, and the screen was cracked. I was really upset but figured since I just bought the week a week prior I shouldn't have any problems taking it back up to the same Verizon store and having them swap on another phone. After work I took the phone to the Verizon location, in Edwardsville, IL, and first spoke to a young man who very quickly asked if I needed help when I walked in. I explained the situation and all that I had gone through the first time around and that I would appreciate it if they could help me out since I had bought the phone just a week prior. He gave me a card and told me to call the physical damage claims number and they would be able to help me out. He said I should be lucky that I had insurance. So I went out to the parking lot and called the number. They said they would be able to ship me a new phone right away since I pay insurance every month. That was great! Then the customer service rep asked how I wanted to pay the $99 deductable! To be quite honest I was dumbfounded at this point. I told her that was unacceptable and I expected this phone for free. I went back into the store and asked to see a manager.
I informed the manager what had happened. I told him I had been with the company for over 6 years and have been loyal, recently added my wife to the account. She used to be with AT&T. I explained that I had literally just bought the phone a week ago. He informed me that the device is $600 and I should feel lucky that it's only $100. Needless to say, he had a VERY unhappy customer at this point. I asked why they couldn't just give me a new device since they were able to do so with ease the first day I had initially brought in the malfunctioned phone. Why could they do it then but not now. The phone itself does not costs this company that much. He said there was nothing he could do since a 3rd party handles all of their claims for them, which I knew was a lie. (The part about not being able to do anything). He then offered to give me a card for a company that repairs phone screens in town and gave me directions. I told him thanks but no thanks.
Now I am on here writing and still in the process of getting a new phone, at no cost. It's ridiculous that it takes this kind of effort. Verizon is the leading cellphone provider in the world and you're telling me you can't help out a loyal customer who made an honest mistake every once in awhile. In addition, it's not about the money. I'm past that at this point. It's the principle. If this doesn't get resolved soon I will cancel my account and switch to your competitor. And I don't care how much that will cost me. Moreover, I will blow up every social media site known to man.
Just thought I would share with everyone. Don't expect a favor from Verizon. They will not back up their customers.
I sympathize with you, but sorry I don't agree with your expectation. The 1st time you got a free replacement because it was a bad phone (their problem), you did nothing to cause it, the phone was bad from the get go. The 2nd, you broke it by bumping into a door knob, not their fault. If someone else dropped it, or bumped into something else and cracked the screen, it's not fair for Verizon to hand out free replacements.
Now if we're talking about retaining a loyal customer, like what you want, then that's a different issue. This would be completely up to the personal decision of the store manager, it'll be a personal "favor". Maybe if you had bought all your stuff from this one store, then the manager would be more receptive to doing you a favor. Did you buy all your stuff online? This is akin to buying cars and getting all service from 1 dealer, then they would be much likely to offer you free stuff, out-of-warranty repair as a favor for you patronizing their store.
So, you buy a new car and hit a tree on the way out of the dealership and they should give you a new car?
I believe the (insurance) contract mentions a $99 fee. Plus, you probably would not be getting a brand new phone, but a refurbished one (also in the contract).
yeah its unfortunate but as you can see, its your bad. i dont think "blowing up any social media sites" will help your situation nor convince anyone to leave verizon because of a mistake on your part. dont waste your time. your best bet is to get the screen fixed. that usually costs around 40-50$ vs. 99$ for a most likely refurbished device. good luck to you. hope you get it figured out.
Yep all purchases through this store. I actually kept pursuing this and catching another manager. I explained the situation to him and he was able to provide me with a new phone. I knew they could do it. Just took a little extra push from an educated consumer.
Thank you. I did get it resolved. Got a new phone for "free". Don't give up if this happens to anyone. They "can" work with loyal customers.
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