[brannong]

First let me say that I have been a loyal and happy VIP Verizon customer for many years. I would never think of switching to another carrier because of my travel needs and "The Network". However, this past week I have less that desirable results from Verizon. I want to share my story with others to see if their experiences are similar.

Last Tuesday I called 611 to notify VZW that I wanted to upgrade one of my lines to the new Storm but that it wasn't eligible for upgrade until December 15. The lady stated that since that line had not been upgraded in 20 months and it appeared that I was having problems with the current phone that would go ahead and bump up the upgrade date eventhough this was not the primary line. She stated that she couldn't place the order until Friday since that was the official release date. She promised me she would set a reminder to place my order first thing Friday morning and she would send me a confirmation via text. She also stated I would receive it on Monday.

Friday morning I waited until 11 AM EST when I had received no confirmation to again call 611 and was told that the order had not been processed but that it would benefit me to go to a store and pick up one. So I proceed to the closest store and was told that they were sold out but could order one and get it to me by Wednesday. I immediately went outside and called another store about 5 miles away. They told me yes they had some in stock but that unless it was a new activation they could not sell it to me.

I then proceed back to my office to try and place the order online spending about 60 minutes trying to place the order and every time I got to the checkout screen it would take me back to the main page. So I reluctantly called 611 again to try and place the order. They took the order and said it would know be the 25th before it could ship and that if I wanted it before Thanksgiving I should pay the 8.99 for overnight shipping. Feeling cheated I reluctantly told her ok. Now I am thinking I would get it on Wednesday.

Saturday morning while shopping at the local Walmart a friend calls to tell me there was a bunch of problems with the firmware and that all the shipments had been delayed until Dec 5 or 15 depending on when you placed your order. I was certain that since I had been trying to place it since the previous Tuesday I would not be affected but I again called 611 to verify. The lady so yes there are some problems but you should be fine to have yours shipped on the 25th. I also told her about the store telling me they could not sell me one because it was not a new activation. She stated they could not do that and asked me for the name of the store. I gave her the information and she credited my account $25. I thanked her but had an uneasy feeling so after I left Wal-Mart I called another Verizon store that I had not previously visited. They said they had some left from the previous day and had received another 20 that morning. So I immediately made my way to that store. I arrived told them what I wanted and even added a couple of accessories. All was well and I was about to leave with my new Storm. That is until the lady reached the checkout button where it would not let her proceed. I told her about my pending order and said if you give me 2 seconds i will cancel it. So I immediately called 611 again and explained the situation. The lady told me that she could not cancel the order because the warehouse was not open and there was nothing she could do. She said the only thing I could do was wait for the shipment and refuse it then it would cancel it. (Well that kinda defeats the purpose right?) So I immediately walked outside the store and called 611 again thinking I might just get a more knowledgeable rep. She put me on hold for about 5 minutes came back and said the same thing, but she could email them and call me on Monday or Tuesday to tell me what they say. She also added that my order had been pushed back and that my storm would not ship until December 5. Knowing how likely they are to call back i said no thank you. Not to mention that if my order was canceled and the stores ran out of stock I would be that much further down the list. So once again I had the storm in my grasp but left the Verizon store empty handed and heart broken.

To top it all off I have a very good friend that was in the same situation. She went to the store Saturday they were able to cancel her pending order but when they were activating her with the last Storm they had in stock it gave a please reload the software error. After trying to reflash it several times she had to leave the store empty handed. She then drove to the same store I had just left and was told they could not cancel her pending order. However, she received a call from the original store later that night stating they just got a new shipment and that if she would be at the store at 12:30 PM on Sunday she would have a new Storm. She explained the issue that both of us had experienced and the rep promised her if she showed up she would leave with a new Storm. Well today she went and he was right he canceled her order and gave her a new one.

As you can see I have been around the block the last few days trying to get my hands on one of these devices and I am just about sick of the whole deal and starting to wonder if it is even worth it anymore.

Have others experienced such issues?

[terpdog]

Well if it makes you feel any better you aren't the only one with problems.
Foolish us for thinking that the Verizon Reps would actually put our order
in on Friday morning like they said they would.

I wasn't going to drive around/wait in a line in the cold. Figured I'd put
my order in early like lots of other did. It is supposed to be shipped by
12/5 but I put the order in early last week. Got a message that there
were some problems at about noon on Friday(why wait that long to let
me know) they finally placed the order about 6pm EST. Heck I could
have place the order at 5am that morning the guy next to me at work
did and he's at home right now using his storm. I foolishly believed that
Verizon was going to do what they told me they would do.

They did get me a $25 credit. I really was contemplating going to AT&T
for the iPhone. If only they had better service in Maryland, I have friends
that live along major highways and they drop lots of calls. If it doesn't
work as a phone then why get it :-)

ARRRGH Well at leas a little more venting

[brannong]

Well I certainly don't want this to turn into a VZW bashing session but at least you were notified. I only found out after numerous calls to 611.

[vanwas]

Similar situation here. I was told that because the order was in a "processed" or "closed" state the only way to cancel it was to refuse the shipment which no one could tell me when I would receive. This was while on the phone and holding a Storm in my hands at an Authorized Agent that I could have purchased and taken home.

Evidentially, they AA's can't do everything that a corporate store can do, so I was hearing the same thing from everyone on *611 and telesales, "sorry, but there's nothing we can do..."

Called this morning, spoke with a supervisor, and she promised me I'd have my phone by Tuesday. Still frustrating when I was holding a phone I could have brought home yesterday (Saturday), which is also the day for which I paid to have the phone arrive.

[Travisl1213]

i dont even want to discuss the situation i had with vzw but it was just as bad. i about cancelled my service over all the crap i have had over the weekend and still have no storm, but i do have a tracking number that says it should be here tuesday

[raorth]

I have to admit, my experience thus far with Verizon has been extremely positive. I am currently an ATT user and went to inquire about the Storm over 2 weeks ago at a local Verizon store. The rep took my name and said she would call when they knew the exact date of release. As I was driving home from work on Thursday I received a call from the rep and she said that the best way for me to get a Storm is to order one since they were unsure how many they would have in the store on the actual release date.

I immediately went to the store and spoke with the rep in person and she was extremely helpful and I felt very upfront and honest. She told me she could take my order now and submit it first thing Friday AM and I would receive anywhere from 7 - 10 days. She did say it would be shipped 2 day Fedex but she said they were telling people 7 - 10 days due to the anticipated amount of orders. Anyway I placed the order and left.

On Saturday afternoon I decided to stop in and see if the order was placed. The same rep was there and she stated she placed it first thing Friday AM (around 6am). They went in early to submit all pre-orders before opening their doors at 8am. She printed out the order # and tracking # for me and it should arrive on Tuesday.

Sorry to hear your experience wasn't as positive as mine. Looking forward to getting the phone.

[bong_water]

I have to admit, my experience thus far with Verizon has been extremely positive. I am currently an ATT user and went to inquire about the Storm over 2 weeks ago at a local Verizon store. The rep took my name and said she would call when they knew the exact date of release. As I was driving home from work on Thursday I received a call from the rep and she said that the best way for me to get a Storm is to order one since they were unsure how many they would have in the store on the actual release date.

I immediately went to the store and spoke with the rep in person and she was extremely helpful and I felt very upfront and honest. She told me she could take my order now and submit it first thing Friday AM and I would receive anywhere from 7 - 10 days. She did say it would be shipped 2 day Fedex but she said they were telling people 7 - 10 days due to the anticipated amount of orders. Anyway I placed the order and left.

On Saturday afternoon I decided to stop in and see if the order was placed. The same rep was there and she stated she placed it first thing Friday AM (around 6am). They went in early to submit all pre-orders before opening their doors at 8am. She printed out the order # and tracking # for me and it should arrive on Tuesday.

Sorry to hear your experience wasn't as positive as mine. Looking forward to getting the phone.

Im glad to hear that you received good service. From hearing this, what i would recommend to everyone on here is that you go to a store and talk to a rep and keep doing this until you find one that works well with you and helps you to your liking. When i say help you to your liking i dont mean hook you up with free stuff. This will always benifit you in situations like this. I have many customers that will deal with me and only me when they have questions or want to buy anything. Many of my customers have my personal number and i do my best to get back to them when i can. This also benifits you because the more people that do this the better service overall you recieve because over time the ****ty reps will end up getting fired because they dont create enough sales or NPS (net promotor scores) Yes, we get scored by customers and yes, people have been fired due to having to many detractor customers. Thats why the receipts all have survey website addressed on them. Dont abuse this system though, this is purely grading the service rep that you are working with not if you agree with any company policy or you like a phone or not. Those surveys get disregarded. you should really try to find a personal sales rep. Over time you'll notice getting more discounts and way better service from people who actually are willing to work with you.

[brannong]

Its very difficult to build a relationship with a rep and find you that you can trust when there is some churn. Every time I go into a store there are different reps working. I don't even want to get started about the issue a close friend had with his business account rep. I have had the best luck by calling 611. Again I am not bashing Verizon I am only telling of my experience with this one product. My father-in-law is a independent Verizon dealer the only problem is that he can't even get one until 1-2 more weeks. A Verizon rep that can't get his first phone until 2-3 after its released. That is sad when you can find them in every Wal-Mart.

If I am able to finally cancel this order I am just going to wait until he can receive shipment and get it from him.

Bottom line: I am unhappy with the way that Verizon has handled me in relations to getting a Storm. I still believe they are the best company to deal with and I am in no way switching carriers. I just wish they would have handled me a little differently. If they were just proactive and honest I would not be so upset. To do one thing for someone and then tell someone else it cannot be done is no very good customer service. In today's time you cannot do that. If you do it goes on message boards just like this.

I am sure that once I finally do receive my storm all will be forgotten but until then I will just sit here and fester.

[mikells43]

i can tell u i called in at 6am, they wouldnt let me upgrade even thou my acct was notated by a supervisor.

called back at 630 to order. order wasn't apporved. dude never called and told me.

called back in at 3:30, and they processed the order.

i could have gotten it at 630 but it would have been 499.

i got a curve in may. and they gave me the 250 2 year price. so thats what all the supervisor appoval was about. my acct had been prenoted by a sup due to my complaining about my current blackberry.

but yea . i woke up early(i work nites) and felt like crap the whole day. it wasn't worth it. for me.

[bong_water]

if customer service notates the account they have to follow through with the order. they are not aloud to send you to a store and tell you that you can get it at the store and that they notated it.

[ClickClack911]

I had a pretty similar experience to several others on here it sounds like. Frustrating for sure. But yea, I feel your pain. I'm just wondering when I'll get it... Mon, Tues, Wed???

[thewolf]

Actually, my VZ story isn't bad at all. I had won $100 in the Storm hunt, and was ready to go to either my local corp. store or the kiosk at Circuit City on Friday, but my Wife was ill, so I called the CC store and they said they could order it for me if I came in. But i explained that I couldn't and about 4pm, I got a call from the VZ rep who said, "Hey, I know you can't come in, but I'll just order it for you and add it to your monthly VZW bill."

Within minutes, i was texted that the order was shipped and it gave me my new phone # (I wasn't eligable for update, but I had fam plan and simply added a line)...hoping that it comes Monday or Tuesday.

This rep was on the ball. Another rep I was talking to from CC dropped the ball and she stepped up.

[brannong]

if customer service notates the account they have to follow through with the order. they are not aloud to send you to a store and tell you that you can get it at the store and that they notated it.

Well one store says they can't cancel an order but another says they can. That might be the rule but I tell ya that is what they told me.

[jakeh0]

I just really get the feeling from verizon reps that they don't care... I mean, I've seen and heard of people threatening to leave to AT&T or something and the rep just goes "okay..."

[Rjsumthin]

In response to jake as a rep.... just so you know it's not just "okay..." but threatening to leave for another carrier to get your way just is old news, im not saying that's what all people are doing but it's like saying 'If you don't do what I want (which usually the demands are outlandish) i'll just goto at&t'..... well alright buddy if you want to be 7 years old and act childish then please go ahead. ((THIS IS NOT ALWAYS THE CASE, but most of the time the individual bolstering those claims is acting like a child to a representative just doing a job and receiving the brunt of that users frustration who normally says "Not to take this out on you it's not your fault but CUSS CUSS CUSS CUSS CUSS"

secondly,

This storm relase is plagued with a lot of things and a lot of misinformation and a lot of right information. In my HONEST opinion both as a rep and a consumer, I EXPECT things like this to happen. It doesn't make them right, but I expect it. Looking at the alternatives and knowing the grass is never greener on the other side, it's just a bite your tongue thing.

I will say verizon, and as a consumer with insight into the company, bends way over backwards to help it's customers while maintaining valid business decisions and even as such in my eyes is a much better consumer advocate than MOST huge companies even need to try to be. You are going to get these experiences, they suck, and shouldn't happen, so please goto Cell Phones, Cell Phone Plans, Cell Phone Accessories - Verizon Wireless and use the contact us link.

Unfortunately it's to little to late, if things could be turned around for ya I definitely would handle it personally, but just being a fellow crackberry user and an honest person, atleast you get 95% positive results **judging by your post** and just a bad one every once in awhile. Nothing to complain about there right? I wish i got half the treatment customers get, :P, as an employee i get no storm, no credits, no quick calls and quick fixes, everything takes longer and yeah, haha.

All in all, i have experienced it, and i am seeing it, and I am terribly sorry we have dropped the ball, amidst the chaos the reps are only human and I would guess they are doing their best to maintain sanity in a chatoic situation, and unfortunately one of the mistakes they made were made with you, either due to lack of knowledge, intentionally, or completely unintentionally!

[jakeh0]

Rj, I see what you are saying, however there have been times when I myself have tried to discuss something or even just ask some questions and I get a shrug of the shoulders from some rep and just end up leaving the store bitter, and that's the kind of thing that makes people want to leave, which i havent done yet.

oh well, i guess thats big business

PS you are obviously more informed and reasonable than some of the people at VZW ive spoken to and your words do assuage some of that bitterness lol


oh well, *presses f5 on fedex.com*

[rb26naya]

brannong:

your story is EXACTLY like mine. i'm a first time blackberry user, and i pre-ordered the storm on the 15th of november, and my representative told me that i would have the phone delivered to my office on monday, the 24th. i checked my email for the purchase confirmation on saturday the 22nd, and i didn't have one... i called verizon wireless when i got to my office today, and they told me the same thing. my phone will not be shipped until december 5th.

i can't complain too much, because i'm getting the phone for $99.99, but still. i understand that the storm was in high demand, but they should've emailed us and let us know that our order will not be shipped until december 5th, instead of telling us that we would receive our order the following monday.

oh well. sh*t happens. i'm sure the storm will be worth waiting for....if not, i'll return within 30 days.

meanwhile, i'll keep reading reviews and getting feedback from our fellow crackberry addicts.

[rb26naya]

I just really get the feeling from verizon reps that they don't care... I mean, I've seen and heard of people threatening to leave to AT&T or something and the rep just goes "okay..."

why do you think one of the options when you call says, "to cancel service press 2."

i think verizon wireless is more focused on getting new clients than keeping old ones. that's how i've been feeling lately too.

[brannong]

RJ,

I think you head the nail on the head. Overall I have been treated very well and this one occasion will not change my overall opinion of Verizon. I just had to vent for a minute.

[Rjsumthin]

RJ,

I think you head the nail on the head. Overall I have been treated very well and this one occasion will not change my overall opinion of Verizon. I just had to vent for a minute.

We all need to and waiting for a device like this then being tossed around i would be the same way!

[Rjsumthin]

Rj, I see what you are saying, however there have been times when I myself have tried to discuss something or even just ask some questions and I get a shrug of the shoulders from some rep and just end up leaving the store bitter, and that's the kind of thing that makes people want to leave, which i havent done yet.

oh well, i guess thats big business

PS you are obviously more informed and reasonable than some of the people at VZW ive spoken to and your words do assuage some of that bitterness lol


oh well, *presses f5 on fedex.com*

haha i know how you feel and i TRY so hard not to be like that as well but I think the big thing is, as much as we love our customers and want to maintain them, the threat has just worn off on a tenured rep. I still try to do what I can but if i hear those words i immediately have a sour taste in my mouth. As a CSR I put that aside but still can't help but be like "Why you little"

And you seem level headed enough that you would sit down and be reasonable, but unfortunately in the real world that we are forced to live in the few have to pay for the mistakes of the many. Just like you get the shrug off when you mention the at&t bomb, we get the brunt of the frustration because of 12 other reps.

I've even had a guy cuss me out and threaten my well being because of an at&t mistake...... figure that one out eh?


At the base level we should completely respond way better when hearing that, but most reps have the "sheep who called wolf" syndrome and don't identify a legitimate complaint sometimes when it really should be assessed.

[Rjsumthin]

why do you think one of the options when you call says, "to cancel service press 2."

i think verizon wireless is more focused on getting new clients than keeping old ones. that's how i've been feeling lately too.

Sorry to hear you feel that way but i assure you that is not the case. The market is dry and really we aren't going to be adding a whole lot of additional lines in the near future, it's a tapped market, now your customers have to come from another competitor.

My thing is this

Billing or ANYTHING other than buying a phone - Call customer care, don't expect a sales rep to be customer service. I'm not saying they can't be and it may be wrong to say it, but they are trained to sell, not make nice. It's like trying to learn football from a hockey player, :P.

If you don't get a satisfactory resolution and you feel you are being reasonable, call back. But don't forget it is a business and if you went over your minutes, or used your texts, and expect a credit just because you have never done it before or you have been a customer for x years, yeah it's understandable, but at the same time from a point of view other than your own, if you have been a customer for x years, you should know how to check your minutes, review your bill, and know we can backdate you if you are going over.

I'm not saying this is you at all, or that expecting a little extra is unreasonable, but again it's like I said before, you can only do SO much before it's old and not good for business, and giving away stuff is teaching a bad habit anyways, if you get it one time you will **most will** expect it another time, then leads to the give me a supervisor thing and blech. haha

[rb26naya]

Sorry to hear you feel that way but i assure you that is not the case. The market is dry and really we aren't going to be adding a whole lot of additional lines in the near future, it's a tapped market, now your customers have to come from another competitor.

My thing is this

Billing or ANYTHING other than buying a phone - Call customer care, don't expect a sales rep to be customer service. I'm not saying they can't be and it may be wrong to say it, but they are trained to sell, not make nice. It's like trying to learn football from a hockey player, :P.

If you don't get a satisfactory resolution and you feel you are being reasonable, call back. But don't forget it is a business and if you went over your minutes, or used your texts, and expect a credit just because you have never done it before or you have been a customer for x years, yeah it's understandable, but at the same time from a point of view other than your own, if you have been a customer for x years, you should know how to check your minutes, review your bill, and know we can backdate you if you are going over.

I'm not saying this is you at all, or that expecting a little extra is unreasonable, but again it's like I said before, you can only do SO much before it's old and not good for business, and giving away stuff is teaching a bad habit anyways, if you get it one time you will **most will** expect it another time, then leads to the give me a supervisor thing and blech. haha

i hear ya, i've been happy with verizon for a very long time. i guess i was over-excited about getting the phone today... just a little bummed out.

[Roy Aguilera]

Sounds like many of you should have gotten up early Friday morning and got yours like all the other Storm owners did. You can't depend on the VZW reps to do all the work for you. Put in the foot work and you will succeed next time.

[rb26naya]

some people have to work friday mornings.

i did put the extra foot in. i called and ordered it on the 15th.