We (me and wife) swung by Verizon in Florida to upgrade our Droids to the latest Samsung or Apple Smartphones. We haven't upgraded in well over three years but decided now was the time. We have unlimited bandwidth so I did have a few questions. A rep came over and asked for our phone number, etc. to pull up our records. Well, that was about as much service as we got! I couldn't get him away long enough from his tablet to actually answer my questions. I wanted to see how the new Samsung worked but it was on a charger and he just looked at me. I said I sure would like to see this Samsung work - he looks back down at his tablet. I asked him the difference between the Apple and Samsung and he said operating systems! I asked him if I could live within the 2GB limit - so, how much was I actually using - he said 1 GB or so. I asked him if I could transfer my address book over to the Samsung easily - he said yes and looked back at his tablet. It went like this until I thanked him and we walked out disgusted. I have been a faithful Verizon customer longer then 80% of this community and get treated like shit! I felt like shoving the rep's tablet.....
Anyway - this was my first negative experience with Verizon and I guess Verizon really doesn't need anymore of my money.
Funny - I tried to find a e-mail to send a complaint - the Chat rep says I can only send a letter - unreal Verizon!
That tablet was for accessing your account. He was not using it to look at YouTube videos.
That is how they look at your account, make changes, make sales, give customer service.
If you have unlimited data you must pay full price or use Verizon's device payment plan. Not Edge. If you take any subsidy you lose unlimited data. So choose wisely.
Good Luck
To answer all of the questions you had about your account, the rep needs to look at their tablet for about 1 minute. To answer the rest of your questions he did not need to look at his tablet. The next time his eyes needed to go there was to process a transaction. Sounds like you just had a rep that was not good at his job. I would say to go back to the store and get someone else. If they continually look at their tablet then I would ask for a manager. VZW started using tablets to bring the reps away from the computer and from behind the counter. I can tell you that the S5 is going to function just like any other Droid. The operating system is essentially the same. There are not many differences between the iPhone and an Android as the 5 major functions (phone calls, text messages, internet, camera and email) are all achieved in essentially the same way. People like the iPhone because it seems to have a better battery life. This is because iOS isn't as intense and Android OS. Android is more customizable meaning that you can change almost everything about the look of the icons and screens. I have even had different background pictures on my text message conversations. This all requires a little time and patience but is not necessary. Android has a lot of other options that allow you position apps on the screens anywhere where as iOS is snap to grid. I usually advise that if you're interested in a smartphone that you want use and don't care about or need these customization options iPhone should provide all that you need. If you have an iPad then you already know how an iPhone works. They are exactly the same. Most Androids are going to have bigger screens and some of the options may not apply to what you want or need now but may in the future. The best way to get a feel for it is to go into a store and pick each one up and try it out.
Elector - Now, for the record - we were in the store for about 15 minutes. The representative had more then enough time to access my account. He did - asked me to verify my name and everything. Yes, we just stood their while he entered the data and verified the account. When I asked about the amount of GBs I was using - he looked at my account for a minute or so and give me the 1 GB or so answer while looking at his tablet. The rest of the time - he would look at the tablet - glance at me trying to get the Samsung out of charge mode and look back at his tablet. I finally said sure would be nice to see how the Samsung worked but it seems to be locked in charge - he never raised his face from his wonderful glorious tablet. The only other question I had was would it be more expensive now that we would be using a 4GL phone vs. my 3GL phone - he didn't even have to look at my account for that - he said it would be the same price.
sprmankalel- you just provided me with super information and will use it to make our decision. We did play with the iPhone but the Samsung was the issue. Had the rep just got it out of charge - we probably would have bought two phones yesterday. We are leaning toward the Samsung (size and familiarity). Thanks for the constructive information.
Thanks Elector and sprmankalel for the comments and suggestions - maybe we will swing by Verizon again in the future.
Ha ha the premise here is the kid you dealt with probably found the tablet his knowledge base.
When I went in my local Verizon corporate store the first guy (manager) was a total idiot. He did not use a tablet but he should have. Totally incorrect information, no knowledge of product or services and the girl he motioned to did not use a tablet but tried to help me purchase my new iPhone 5s. However his interference just made me tell her I will return after I calm down. At that point I would have (removed).
I did return later in the week or so, the guy I dealt with did everything on his tablet. Looked up my account and sold me my phone, told him no account changes other than from 3G provisioning to 4G and make sure everything matches the copy of my account particulars I brought with me. He did say I don't use more than less than a 1 GB and really should think about buying the device for cheap and saving $600 told him no.
I paid full price of $800 and the whole process took less than 15 minutes. That kid was great so it is hit or miss with whom you end up with.
My wife went in previously and wanted to buy a tablet (Apple iPad with retina display) she wanted to just use that prepay plan so it would not be on the account. However the guy she dealt with said it had to be put on the account as a share plan, and lose our unlimited data. However she said evidently you don't know what your talking about and walked out of the store. She got a tablet at Sprint. She was happy.
She also went in and tried to get her phone replaced with a new LG G2 but ran into a kid who said unlimited was not offered any longer and she must choose 2GB of data. However she was paying full price so no plan or data changes were needed. She already had a 4G LTE device. Again the guy at the store either because he is told to steer folks away from unlimited data or via being dishonest will not give factual information.
Verizon lost two sales that month. However I bought a second iPhone 5s as the spare. Again totally painless transaction. It is all in who waits on you.
Or and they can print receipts from those tablets. Don't let them give you line of view it online etc.
Good Luck
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Thanks Elector for your update. We went by BJ's and stopped by their counter. The representative was fantastic! He did say that if I upgrade - because I am a unlimited customer - I would be moved into a 6GB per month plan at the same price as a 2GB plan. Well, I can't find any reference to that so am checking right now. IF I find out that their is no such thing as a 6GB plan at the same price for long time customers under unlimited - that will be the final strike for Verizon and will move over to a different carrier after a ton of years. Enough is simply enough. I will let ya know how it goes...
Out of curiosity if you're using less than 1GB why in gods name would you spend so much on a cell phone?
VZW stopped letting you keep unlimited in September of 2012. They do offer 6GB for the same $30 per month. My whole family (5 people) uses 6GB a month. You should be fine with that.
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