It isn't doing more as customer service (otherwise, they'd just get rid of it in the first place). They're just giving in to crybabies who bother to call.
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Be careful opening a new line with Verizon (bad exp)
- Thread starter Cryozeal
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It isn't doing more as customer service (otherwise, they'd just get rid of it in the first place). They're just giving in to crybabies who bother to call.
Whatever helps you sleep at night.
And you too by worrying about activation fees.
If $35 hits you in the pocket that bad then one might want to reevaluate their priorities. Complaining about an activation fee is about as silly as people buying smartphones who don't need nor know how to utilize them.
I'm using the activation fees, as an example, to back up what I said earlier.
The reseller represents Verizon. If they said they will waive the fee, then they should - regardless of who takes care of it.
Corporations don't do business on a handshake, which is why it's important to get everything in writing.
You wouldn't play the same game with a car salesman.
The $35 fee is actually fine for me. I've paid it before with AT&T. However, the thing that upset me was that they lie (twice!), and the fact that they seem to have been doing this for quite a while and going to keep doing it in the future. It's just not acceptable for customers.
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I didn't really buy the iPad based on the salesman pitch. At the time I bought it, Apple just released it, and I was going to buy it anyway even without deal or discount. However, I bought from them because they seem to offer the best (fake) deal around that area.
I wouldn't call it lying per se. Over the years I've come to find out that most customer service/sales reps really don't have a clue on what they can or can't do. I would call it a lack of knowledge really.
It's actually a different experience for different people. Some have gotten quite a bit even from Verizon while others have gotten shafted by AT&T or some other carriers. There's no real generalization that applies. Just like in every other business out there different people will have different experiences with different carriers.
I really want to believe that way, but no. I don't think so, and I don't think I was the first person they ever tried to offer this same deal. It would be too optimistic and to naive for me to believe like that.
I have had similar experience at T-Mobile a couple of years back. I think it was also an authorized distributor. The sales representative agreed to pay my ETF and waive the activation fee if I switched over. The guy strung me along for a month saying it will be taken care of, mysteriously was no longer working there (according to manager he was promising things he wasn't authorized to). Luckily it was written on the printed contract, pay ETF and waive fee. Manager credited ETF to my account. It is always important to have it in writing, even if it is hand written by the sales rep.
Verizon is one of the worst companies I've ever dealt with in my life, and in my line of work I deal with dozens of companies in the tech and communications industry every month. Their customer service is the worst in the business, and they have garbage training.
I am so glad I dropped them. The ETF's were more than worth it.
I am so glad I dropped them. The ETF's were more than worth it.