As a general rule I really like Verizon. The network quality and coverage are exceptional! The Customer service on the phone is top notch; and while I think the pricing could be better you get what you pay for.
Then there are days like today.
So as I told you before I was on my local store’s list to get a call when the Storm came in. Supposedly they were gonna hold one for me but that I half expected that to not happen given the limited quantities. I did, however, expect a call and at least an apology for the inconvenience. I got neither. I waited for some sort of call yesterday and most of today which never came. So on my supper break. I talked to a guy I don’t recall ever talking to before or at least I didn’t recognize the voice. I’m in the store regularly so I know 4-5 of them by name.
Anyway, the guy told me that they were out and that they had only had 5 this morning. This was not a surprise given the store is just a mall store and there is a full store less than a mile away. I asked him why I did not at least get a call. He said and I quote here, “couldn’t tell ya”. I waited for him to offer to order if for me or tell me when they expected more. No dice. Now that’s what I call customer service — NOT!
Anyway, finally I said I’d just have to go through telesales and he said okay. I hung up more than a little annoyed. I called *611 CS and once I finally got a person (the wait was longer than usual but that was not unexpected) expecting a 10 minute phone call and the phone to be here on Monday or Tuesday.
I talked to this nice guy named Derek, and he told me that none of my lines were eligible for update right now. I told him about the post card that I mentioned in this post,
PLEASE JOIN US FOR
THE VERIZON WIRELESS PRE-HOLIDAY SALE
NOVEMBER 17-DECEMBER 1
And as our gift to you, you’re now eligible to upgrade early!
Bring this postcard with you for exclusive, early holiday discounts
on some of the season’s hottest gifts
The wireless number(s) with the last 4 digits listed below are eligible to upgrade early with 2-year promotional pricing.
(all 4 of my numbers were listed)
and he knew nothing about it. I also received the same info in an email earlier today. The only difference being I got 3 separate emails, one fore each line, and one (the one with a data card that I renewed only two months ago) was not included.
He researched a bunch of stuff on all 4 of my lines and finally found something on one of them; the line I did NOT want to extend because I don’t really use it. He told me that the card needed to be used in the store and that it should say so on it. I called up the email in my trusty BB Curve and it did not say anything of the kind. He did tell me that the device was in huge demand and that if I did order it it would might not be shipped till early December.
He talked to his supervisor and was basically told that since it was not in the account and the line I wanted to extend was last renewed in May, I would need to bring it into a store or get an agent (a trusted family member or friend) to do it for me if I was not able to do it myself and have the order processed that way. He told me this was because numerous attempts at fraud people trying to get the storm cheaper like $49.99 and whatnot. I told him I was more than happy with the 2-year upgrade price if $249.99 given that full retail was $499.99.
As a way of saying sorry for the inconvenience he did tell me that he was putting a note on my account that if I did buy it in the store I could get the instant rebate rather than the mail in one. I thanked him and ended the conversation; pissed off at the system, not him.
I want to know WHY a company would send these mailers and emails out to people and NOT have any record of it in their computers? How disorganized are they? I also want to know WHY I should have to go to the store to order a phone when I already know that the store is out of stock? That’s what telesales is for, for Pete’s sake!
Anyway I went back to work still ticked off but tried to get it out of my mind. As soon as I got off of work and got home I took a closer look at the postcard and sure enough there was NO MENTION of it being an in store offer only all there was was a mention of it not being available everywhere but that’s just a standard disclaimer. Depending on how you read it you may need the card to get the discount on the Perl and enV 2, but not the renewal. I don’t know about the enV 2 but the price listed on the card was the same as the in store price the last time I was in there so that was not really a sale.
So I’m fuming again sitting here in front of my computer thinking about emailing Amy the Asst Store Manager that Ive been dealing with to see if she could do anything. I decided to give CS one more try so I called *611 again and this time got someone a but more helpful.
Her name was Jessica and she listened to me lay this whole thing out. She listened patiently and was very courteous given how really ticked of I was (I warned her about it first and told her not to take it personally). She mentioned that an email had gone out to reps saying that some people were mailed upgrade offers by mistake and that she could not say anything other than it was a computer glitch.
It does not seem like a glitch to me. It seems like someone decided to do something nice for their customers (possibly the VIP customers, not sure) and then someone else decided not to honor it. Why am I being penalized for their mistake or change of heart!?
Anyway she told me that what she saw in the system the line eligible for early upgrade on Dec 24 which was actually not the line Derek had mentioned before and I actually use that line so renewing on that line was not my first choice but acceptable. I told her that a regular annual upgrade was one year pricing and the card promised two. She said it would be two year pricing with an instant rebate. Reluctantly I agreed.
She started to place the order for me and told me that while she was placing the order now it is possible that it might not get shipped till DECEMBER 5! What? I said! RIM manufactured 400,000 of these! I know she said I’m just telling you what it says here.
I asked her if I qualified for corporate pricing from my employer and if my VIP $50 discount applied. She checked and said that doing that would remove the instant rebate so my final price was $214.99. It’s not clear to me why the $50 VIP discount does not apply, when I’ve read numerous accounts online of people getting it; but at this point I’m just happy to have made progress. After she finished the order we ended the conversation, since there was nothing more I needed.
So, after THREE phone conversations, I finally got my Storm ordered. Not quite as cheap as I was hoping but overall not bad. Why it is gonna take TWO WEEKS is really a mystery to me though.
I have no animosity toward the two CS people but I have to say this, VZW really needs to get their crap together! There is NO excuse for sending out mailers AND emails like that and NOT leaving a record of it somewhere.
