FIOS and Me - pardon my rant

[Mommalina]

My FIOS battery died. May it rest in peace. :kinky:

 

Before you read about my trials and tribulations with Verizon

service (or lack thereof), here's the silver lining: A new (the latest)

FIOS battery system was installed. I'm renaming my previously

sluggish XP computer Speedy Gonzalez !

:groovy::groovy:

 

 

My rant:

I suffered 3 days without land-phone, TV, and internet connection.

My medical alert depends on a working land-phone; I don't dare

get in the shower without first testing it and hanging it close by.

 

Thank God for my cell phone (which I rarely use except to take

with me in case of an emergency when away from home). I used

it for 3 days trying to get through to Verizon and/or arranging and

confirming the need for technical assistance. What a nightmare! I

wish they would direct some of their new-customer advertising

dollars to service current customers!

 

First, because of my medical alert, they promised to send someone

that day (Tuesday). No show. No call to tell me why. I made more

calls only to learn they were sending someone over on Wednesday,

same time scheduled. Again no show, no call. I made more calls

and never got through. Thursday morning they called to check if I

still needed technical assistance. Since I could not reboot the FIOS

battery (which they already knew), I said, "Yes, puleeeze!"

 

Second call Thursday morning: technician will be there at 12:59

(same time as first and second days) .... and so he was! Technician

on time, professional, knew what he was doing, did it well. Complete

new FIOS battery system installed. I then surmised Verizon probably

did not have enough savvy, trained technicians to render that kind of

complicated service in a timely fashion . Why not train/hire more savvy

techs and keep their current customers happy and loyal and not bad-

mouthing Verizon as I am doing here?

:doh:

 

Bad, cheaply-made products from China drive me up a wall, but this

kind of customer service is state-side; we have no one to blame but

ourselves for putting up with it. Verizon spends more money on

incomprehensible "automated" customer service than live employees

who give a damn. No one, except the automated service, was rude.

Employees have to have the tools and authority to do the "right thing,"

or the employees' left hand can't possibly know what the automated

service's left hand is doing.

 

Thanks for allowing me to rant. .... now me and Speedy Gonzalez

are going to enjoy the rest of the afternoon. :D

[Plastic Nev]

You aren't the only one Lina, believe me things with some service providers are just as bad here in the UK. Yes they will spend millions on advertising, no they won't spend much at all on actually providing a decent backup to their service. You can blame the worlds tax systems on this, advertising is a tax claimable business expense, providing maintenance of the existing network is not.

[Mommalina]

You aren't the only one Lina, believe me things with some service providers are just as bad here in the UK. Yes they will spend millions on advertising, no they won't spend much at all on actually providing a decent backup to their service. You can blame the worlds tax systems on this, advertising is a tax claimable business expense, providing maintenance of the existing network is not.

 

Nev, I'm almost sure expenses incurred maintaining the

existing network are deductible business expenses

here in the U.S., just as are salaries, supplies, etc.

 

Before the age of computers, I used to keep the books

for an engineering firm. You would be amazed at what

they can write off. I had to remind my honest, ethical

boss that I could not write off a few bottles of booze as

"engineering materials." He must have been in outer

space (like many brilliant engineers) when he marked

that on the receipt.

 

Advertising may have another advantage other than

being tax deductible and perhaps attracting/keeping

customers. Ever hear of "kickbacks" to those in charge

of advertising? Directing the advertising to a business

owned by or employing a relative or in which they may

own stock? Why do you think we have so many

obscenely wealthy government legislators? I wonder

who learned what from whom? They have it down to

a "T," unfortunately.

 

These days, nothing surprises me. :weep:

Edited August 14, 2015 by Mommalina

[AWS]

I have heard many similar stories about Verizon Fios so you're not alone. Sad thing is many service providers are just as bad and in some areas you don't have a choice on who to use.

[Mommalina]

Well, we made it 6 days before FIOS conked out again!

 

Took over an hour to get through to a live person who,

to my surprise, set up an appointment for the next

morning!

 

To my astonishment, the next day Verizon called and

said the technician was on his/her way! I really did

not believe it, but it was true. I wonder if bombarding

their last satisfaction surveys with negative rage

helped; who knows?

 

Seems the last tech nicked a wire when installing the

new system/battery package. A female tech figured

it out and patiently replaced the wire both inside and

outside of my home. Took over an hour.

 

The bright side of all this is that the tech programmed

my FIOS remote so I can turn off the TV without using

the TV remote. However, she said I could also mute

the TV with the FIOS remote, but no go. I wonder if

I have the wherewithal and patience to call about it!

 

Oh, well. Such is life. You win some, you lose some.

:ouch:

[allheart55 Cindy E]

A female tech figured

it out and patiently replaced the wire both inside and

outside of my home.

:big_ha::thumbsup:

Of course she did.....

[Mommalina]

Of course she did.....

 

Yes, she did! Not only that, without my mentioning it or asking,

she reprogrammed the FIOS remote so I could turn the TV off

-- even though she somehow screwed up having it also mute

the sound. Who can fault her? She really tried to please and

make things easy for me and even thanked me for my patience!

 

:coolsun:

 

She reminds me of one of my daughters and one of my sons --

great at customer relations. (BTW, my son could sell ice to an

Eskimo.)