Replacement phone has no back to REPLACE MY BROKEN DROID 3 with a broken back...
Drucatic
Newbie

Saturday My Droid 3 that had already been difficult to use because it would not keep a new phone contact and would freeze in emergencies (I am talking get an ambulance, input a doctor's number while standing in the emergency room, or in business meetings, occasions like that) started losing the screen, it would go black if I opened the keyboard and then freeze with a black screen, continuously. It would not respond to attempts to turn it off. I took out the battery for a minute and put it back in and rebooted only to have the same thing happen over and over if I tried to use an app, make a call, view picture gallery, whatever. So I took my phone to the Oklahoma City, OK Verizon Wireless Store #331769 for CUSTOMER SERVICE. I showed the sales people my frozen black screen phone and that the back was broken and was being held on only at the top and by the neoprene case. They took the battery out and  put it back in and declared my problem solved and told me that my phone was like a computer and needed to be turned off once a day and kept charged. I assured them that I was aware of this and that I did turn it off and let it reset and I charged it up every night and sometimes in the day as needed. The FIRST SOLUTION was to reformat the phone which WIPED ALL INFORMATION AND APPS OFF OF MY PHONE. I let them do that and they sent me home with it to replace all my information and apps. My phone was no better. I returned for my 2nd VISIT and told them again that my phone was broken. They took the battery out again and tried to figure out what is wrong with the back. I showed them where two tiny tabs were broke off while I gently pried the back off with my fingernail in the provided recess in the upper right hand corner of the back of the phone. The SECOND SOLUTION was to removed the micro SD HC card and once it was removed and the same battery replaced it worked to their satisfaction (not mine) and again sent me home to do all the leg work to reinstall all the lost information. Again at home the phone froze and I immediately returned to Verizon Wireless Store #331769 for CUSTOMER SERVICE. They took out the battery and restarted the phone and agreed with me that it was indeed broken. Ya think? They kindly ordered me a replacement phone that was over-nited to my mail drop box and I received it today at noon. I took the package back to my office only to find the "replacement phone" had no back on it. I took my current phone with the broken back and the package with the "replacement phone" and told them that I was sent an incomplete phone. They told me to use the back off of my old phone. I told them that the back was broken just like it was on all THREE visits on Saturday. They had to verify that it was indeed broken, or course. Then they contacted someone by phone, presumably at Verizon or Motorola (how would I know?) and after a while they told me that they could not provide me with a back for my "replacement phone". I told them a that I needed CUSTOMER SERVICE and that "one-stop resolution" would have been nice on Saturday. I asked them if they were aware that "replacement phones" were shipped without backs. They said that is the way they come and people just use the back off of their old broken phones. I told them that if the people who helped me on Saturday knew that, then they passed the buck to them to explain to me why I still don't have a working phone. What could they say? Nothing. They said that the only place they could locate a back for my phone was on ebay. THAT'S RIGHT, ON EBAY! They said that their superiors had, to their amazement, authorized that when I find a back for my phone, presumably on ebay, that I will receive a credit for the purchase price on my next bill.

SERIOUSLY? I AM EXPECTED BY VERIZON FIND MY OWN PART, PURCHASE IT AND SUBMIT A RECEIPT FOR A CREDIT ON MY NEXT BILL?

THIS IS TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE TO ME. I SIGNED A BINDING CONTRACT IN WHICH IN RETURN FOR PROVIDING A WORKING PHONE (WITH A REASONABLE EXPECTATION THAT THE PHONE WOULD BE COMPLETE) THAT I AGREE TO PAY MONTHLY FOR THE SERVICE TO THAT PHONE. I CONSIDER THAT THE CONTRACT WILL BE BROKEN BY VERIZON IF I AM NOT PROVIDED WITH A WORKING REPLACEMENT PHONE FOR THE ADDITIONAL FEE I PAY MONTHLY FOR "EXTENDED WARRANTY" FOR SAID PHONE.

I am an Independent Petroleum Landman and I work on contract and I need my "smart phone" for my job 24/7 at the office and more importantly out in the field and often out of state. I could not travel today because I don't have a working phone. I am supposed to be in the field, out of state this week working for my "employer" on a multi-million dollar project, with me alone acquiring thousands of acres of mineral interest for Oil & Gas Leases so that wells can be drilled at the cost of approximately three and one half million dollars a piece and I am being held up by VERIZON CUSTOMER SERVICE, over a piece of plastic back to a suppoed "replacement phone" under warranty and contract.

THIS IS TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE TO ME

As I typed this message, I had an automated call from Verizon Customer Service Survey. I answered the survey honestly that my problem is 100% unresolved and on a scale of 0 to 10 (10 being outstanding positive Customer Service), I gave the Oklahoma City, OK Verizon Wireless Store #331769 A ZERO (0) for CUSTOMER SERVICE. Really what else could I do?

Now I am going to call the 24/7 Verizon Customer Service number 888-294-6804 and see if I can find someone with the authority and WILLING to resolve my dilemma for a working phone FOR MY BUSINESS!!!

ANYONE AT VERIZON CUSTOMER SERVICE HAVE AN IDEA TO RESOLVE THIS?

How about upgrading me to a new phone on my remaining contract? Out of the question???

HELP!

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Re: Replacement phone has no back to REPLACE MY BROKEN DROID 3 with a broken back...
Drucatic
Newbie

Am I the April Fool of the day?

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Re: Replacement phone has no back to REPLACE MY BROKEN DROID 3 with a broken back...
Drucatic
Newbie

I just got off the phone with customer service where I was told by lady CSR that they couldn't help me at all because Motorola had no battery backs in stock. I explained to her that I was looking for a solution to my problem of not having a working phone so I could go out of state tomorrow to work on a multi-million dollar project because I had landed a contract to buy thousands of mineral acres for Oil & Gas Leases. Every time I asked her if Verizon could help me solve my problem she would immediately revert to the fact that all "replacement phones" are sent without backs. She told me this SIX TIMES, TIME AFTER TIME.

I finally asked to speak to her supervisor and she politely said that she would get her supervisor on the line. After seven minutes on hold I got to ask a supervisor if he could help me get a working phone so I could go out of state tomorrow to work on a multi-million dollar project because I had landed a contract to buy thousands of mineral acres for Oil & Gas Leases.

My dire circumstance of needing a working mobile phone ASAP as in tomorrow did not phase him at all. No empathy. He did repeat how there was NO WAY that he could get a back to my "replacement phone". I explained to him that I in fact understood that fact after being told that six times by the CSR and now thrice by him, but that I was looking for Verizon to help me with a solution for a phone. Money no object, I need a working phone ASAP, PLEASE I AM BEGGING YOU TO HELP ME.

He smugly, I mean smugly, told me that when I added an extended warranty on the phone that it didn't cover the battery or the back of the phone. I told him that I was never told that the back of the phone was not covered by the added charge of the "EXTENDED WARRANTY", not when I purchased the phone and not on Saturday at the Oklahoma City, OK Verizon Wireless Store #331769. I told him that that fact was never disclosed to me. He got a little smugger and commented that he "didn't know what I read or didn't read" [sic] in the fine print of the service contract or the added (for an extra monthly fee) "extended warranty" agreement that I signed.

I told him that I expected the CUSTOMER SERVICE reps at the Verizon Wireless Store #331769 would tell me that VERY IMPORTANT AND PERTINENT FACT when they knew that the battery back door was broken on the phone that they called in a replacement for me.

I explained to him that I was indeed unaware of the fine print regarding the back battery door because I was only told that the "extended warranty" did not cover the battery, which sounds perfectly reasonable to me. In essence I was played for a fool because I didn't stop and read the entire agreement and ask questions before committing myself once again to a two-year contract with Verizon. I told him that I was a LONG TIME CUSTOMER and asked him what he thought about customer retention... he was dead silent, NO ANSWER FOR THAT QUESTION, NONE.

I pleaded with him one final time if there was any way that Verizon could provide me with a working phone for my very important an expensive to lose business needs. He went on again about the back door not being available, now we are up to nine or ten times for that explanation - do you understand it yet? I did the first time. He said I could pay full price for an upgrade to 4G phone. He then told me that he could provide me with a similar 3G phone like my Droid 3 but that it was a purple phone and he didn't think that I would like having a purple phone. (WTF?) I explained to him once again why  I needed a working smart phone ASAP for the multi-million dollar contract project that is waiting on me getting a working mobile phone for the field, and that the color of a phone was of little interest to me in the light of that project. He went on to tell me that even if he could get me a phone (as if he has no power to sell me a phone) that I wouldn't get it in the mail until Wednesday now.

I told him that I give up. I understand full well that there is NOTHING HE CAN DO TO HELP ME GET A PHONE FROM VERIZON. I ended my lesson in "read the contract fool", with that after all my pleading for help with a solution that tomorrow I would have to BUY A PHONE, and that I wanted to buy it from my service provider that I currently have a contract with, VERIZON.

HELLO? CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?

ALL I WANT TO DO IT "RULE THE AIR"!

This is a textbook example of pitifully POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE. The complete culture of NO I CAN'T HELP YOU NO MATTER WHAT! I never thought that having a positive outlook and demeanor as a customer service representative, even as a supervisor of customer service representatives, was "thinking outside the box" at a company as large and I assumed prestigious as Verizon.

Tomorrow I begin again to find a way to actually have a working mobile phone. I wonder if I can cancel my contract and pay the early cancellation fee and get a new phone? NOW THAT REALLY IS THINKING OUTSIDE THE BOX!!!

AMAZING? Not really. Just a simple solution to a simple problem.

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Re: Replacement phone has no back to REPLACE MY BROKEN DROID 3 with a broken back...
Ann154
Community Leader
Community Leader

This is a peer to peer forum where customers can give suggestions and advice to other customers with their questions. Not everyone who reads a post will respond to it. You have repeated your personal job reasons for needing a working phone twice now. There really isn't a need for me or anyone else to know about that of you.   If money is no object as you wrote in your second long post, why don't you purchase another device at full retail price or purchase a phone from eBay?

The phones sent as a warranty replacement often are sent without the battery or the back cover. If those parts are the bad pieces, perhaps you should have requested nicely if you could get a different but similar model of phone. If the request was refused, then another avenue could have been explored.

I'm most definitely NOT a VZW employee. If a post answered your question, please mark it as the answer.

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Re: Replacement phone has no back to REPLACE MY BROKEN DROID 3 with a broken back...
Drucatic
Newbie

I'm glad that you got something from this. Repetition is such a drag isn't it? Did you miss my solution at the end? Does that bother you?

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Re: Replacement phone has no back to REPLACE MY BROKEN DROID 3 with a broken back...
Ann154
Community Leader
Community Leader

If you cancel your service with Verizon and try to start a new contract with Verizon Wireless, they will see your previous line of service and reactivate it. You will also lose your phone number in the process.

Why don't you just purchase a new phone at the full retail price? That might be cheaper than the ETF plus the cost of a new subsidized phone and the activation fee on another carrier.

I'm most definitely NOT a VZW employee. If a post answered your question, please mark it as the answer.

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Re: Replacement phone has no back to REPLACE MY BROKEN DROID 3 with a broken back...
Drucatic
Newbie

I was very nice when I explained that the battery door on my Droid 3 was broken when I brought it in the very first time on Saturday and I reminded them on each subsequent visit until they deemed my phone broken enough to replace. I really really wish someone who knew that the replacement phone would come without a battery door would have looked into finding a replacement for it on the FIRST VISIT. I was looking for customer support as well as service. I feel like I got a lot of "it's my fault for not reading the fine print of the warranty contract, shame on me".

Ironically, a friend of mine on facebook just posted this message about the warranty for her and her husband's iPhones:

So impressed with SquareTrade's customer service. After a unfortunate baking mishap with my phone and lemon curd they overnight-ed me a replacement iPhone and offered a replacement for John's phone as well due to touchscreen problems with only 12 days left on our extended warranty. Kindness from everyone on the phone, no hassles or waiting period. So used to bad customer service lately, this made my day!

Now whats the best way to back-up everything on my iPhone without buying extra iCloud storage?

There is still good customer service representatives out there, not just customer contract information representative that work from a culture of NO WE CAN'T HELP YOU because we have fulfilled our contract to the letter.

I have to accept the responsibility of making the choice to buy a Droid 3 with a less than adequate extended warranty. That part is 100% MY FAULT. I get that from all the blow back regarding ONLY my responsibility in finding a solution.

I DO appreciate that you have taken the time to make that clearer to me so others can gain knowledge that may help them from this forum. Good job on both our parts for that. Gotta stay positive. Thank you.

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