As a loyal Verizon Wireless customer of over 12 years, I was utterly disheartened by the lack of competent, standardized, and informed customer service that I received, while attempting to order a new phone via the internet. A simple online order for a new Droid Razr Maxx HD and accessory bundle has turned into a now 9-day ordeal, and still counting. What should have been an easy overnight shipment of new phone to be charged to my Verizon account, has morphed into a bad dream.
After placing my order online, I immediately realized that I had forgotten to select the option for an in-store local pick-up near my home. I knew that my schedule would be very busy the next day, and did not want to miss the FedEx delivery. So, I contacted customer service within 5 minutes of placing the order to have it changed to a local pick-up. I was immediately transferred to internet sales who explained that they could not access the online order, as it had not shown-up in their system. I was told to call back in an hour. I called back an hour later, and was told that the order had already been processed for shipment, and it was too late to make any changes.
Just a few quick questions:
Why is there no way for the Verizon Wireless Internet Sales Department to access an order that a customer places online?
Unless I am mistaken, one could reasonably surmise that an “Internet Sales Department” would govern, regulate, and/or handle all of the sales orders generated via the internet... Shouldn’t the Internet Sales Team at least be able to access the order?
Why is there no way for the Verizon Wireless Internet Sales Department to make modifications to a customer’s order within 5 minutes of the order being placed?
It would seem like a common sense solution to prevent potential issues like this from arising in the first place. I am sure that I am not the first customer to want to make a last minute change or potential upgrade to their order...
Back to my ordeal,
I was transferred to another Verizon Wireless Representative. The Representative told me that she would have to create a ticket in order to change the order, and that I would be able to pick-up the phone within an a few hours at a store near my home.
I drove 20 minutes to the nearby store to pick-up my phone, only to learn that I had $14.00 available in my Verizon account due to the pending internet order. I was told that this was system-generated via Verizon, and that would be no way to override or increase the monies available to my account. I would simply have to wait until the phone was returned to the warehouse (a process which usually takes 3 to 4 days, I was told - another lie) in order to have the funds available in my account. Of course, I was encouraged to use a credit card to purchase the phone instead, via the store sales representative. This is not an option, as I could not be sure what was going to happen with the initial order already being shipped via FedEx.
After spending an hour in the store trying to figure out a solution with Verizon wireless, I drove another 20 minutes back to my house.
Once home, I contacted FedEx to see if they would be able to proceed with the original order, and deliver the phone to my home.
However, FedEx informed me that once a ticket is generated by Verizon an exception is created, and that the package would be automatically returned to Verizon. There would be nothing I could do to change it.
Just a few quick questions:
Why was I told by the Verizon Wireless to go to my local store to pick-up my phone, when it was obvious that the original order could not be modified?
Was the Verizon Wireless Representative not trained to recognize this “system-generated” issue?
Why can’t a Verizon Wireless Manager modify, or add to an account balance after a phone order has been placed?
Needless to say, the ordered phone was returned to the Verizon warehouse in Fort Worth, Texas a few days later. This was documented
and verified via FedEx online tracking.
Fast forward ten days later, and multiple phone conversations with Verizon Wireless Customer Service, my order is still being processed.
I have not received a credit back to my account for the returned phone, I cannot order a new phone to my account, I cannot make any changes to my account due to the pending order, and I still do not have a new phone.
Verizon Wireless has told me that it can take an additional 6 to 8 days to process a returned phone. They stated that it is a system-generated (their favorite catch-phrase solution to customer complaints) process and there is nothing that can be done to override or expedite the return process. When I suggested that they contact the Fort Worth warehouse facility directly, I was laughed at.
Basically, I was told that they are too big of a company to make an exception for one customer.
Additionally, during my 10-day customer service ordeal, I have been told the following:
“You already have a phone that works right? You should be happy with that...”
“We won’t pay customers to keep their business...”
The last comment from a Verizon Wireless Customer Service Representative was told to me after I asked for a $100.00 credit to my account.
I thought that this was a reasonable request considering I had been told to go to a local store to pick-up my phone, when in fact I would not be able to do
so. I spent over 2 hours of my valuable time, gas, and effort to no avail. I also have spent countless hours on the phone waiting for, and speaking with Verizon Wireless customer service. Not to mention, it has been over 10 long frustrating days since I placed the original internet order for my new phone.
So, $100.00 toward the purchase of my new phone seems pretty reasonable to me.
Apparently, a hundred dollars for my time, effort, and frustration is not reasonable to Verizon Wireless.
One would think that the opportunity to retain a loyal customer for another 3 years (as I would upgrade my wife’s phone later this
year) would be worth a hundred dollar credit. I would be generating $7500.00 in business over the next 3 years for Verizon Wireless, at a minimum. A hundred dollar credit would be a little more than 1% of the money that they would be generating from my business.
The point is that Verizon Wireless seems to have lost touch with its consumers. The company seems to have forgotten that retaining their long-standing loyal clients should be a priority. I have literally spent over $25,000.00 with Verizon Wireless during the last 12 years, via multiple phone lines. It may not seem like a lot of money to them, however during these trying economic times, it is a lot of money to me.
It seems that their “system” has grown too big and burdensome for the average consumer. If there is no way to make common sense exceptions to system-generated procedures, then the customer is the one who ultimately suffers. Verizon Wireless needs to understand that client satisfaction and retention needs to be tangible priority, not a mere afterthought.
As I mentioned to them on during my last phone conversation, I guess that I will just switch to AT&T. Maybe I will have to wait a few months for a comparable phone to appear on their website, which I am willing to do. I hear the new Samsung Galaxy IV is coming out in March or April, and that will be more than sufficient for my needs. As an added bonus, my wife will be able to surf the web while taking phone calls with her new IPhone 5S or 6 on AT&T. Something she cannot due currently on Verizon Wireless.
So, I guess there are some silver linings to this ordeal after all.
It is just a shame that Verizon Wireless has so alienated one of its most loyal and satisfied customers, that they are willing to change
service providers after 12 years. It is a shame that they have grown so cold and insensitive to the legitimate complaints of their clients. It is a shame that they have let the system become the rule, and the consumer the exception.
Well, this consumer will be an exception to their rule.
