Ugh, VZW...another carrier rant

[foghorn67]

I have been a loyal VZW customer since 2001. Weathered through their damn branding and neuterization of their dumbphones hoping they would change. The customer service and coverage made up for that. Got a BB to get passed the ugly VZW ROM's for minimal intrusion. Later got an Android device and things were going swimmingly.
Until I moved. Cannot get reception in my own apt for the life of me. If a call connects, it WILL drop.
Roommate noticed the same thing with his BB. We have two devices with proven radios.
He decided to call VZ. I had high hopes because several months ago, I had two friends with lousy coverage, so they sent them repeaters that boosted the signals.
After numerous calls with various echelons of tech support, they sent him a refurbished BB. Same model. Mind you, he bought his new. Now, none us had any faith in a different phone fixing it. It's the coverage. The BB showed up and it had several scratches. Cosmetic? Yes. But he has no scratches at all after a year of owning his.
He called again, and said it didn't fix anything. But they insisted they would take his BB. He battled with them for 45 minutes until they gave in and said they would take the shitty refurb back.
Not winning any fans there on insisting to take the better one back.
Would they send a different device just for retentions sake? Nope. No other BB or Android's were offered even if he is willing.
That repeater. They would sell it to him for 400 dollars.
Again, not winning any fans.
This reminded me of Spring circa 2000-2008. VZW in my recent experience sucks. Short sighted, not caring about keeping someone in contract for 2 years.
I tried calling VZW myself, and my experience was the same.
Roommate has his renewel in March, he will wait it out for LTE, if that fixes it, he will be happy. Me? I'm up in December of 2011. Sucks to be me. No LTE for foghorn, not even a decent 3G signal.
I might sell the OG Droid for whatever I could get. It's dinged and scratched and my ETF is $175 right now.
Now....to find a new carrier. Maybe. Not sure if I want Binged LTE Android devices that VZW is making. I know some can be rooted or whatever to get passed that, but it's downright disgusting.

 

[Bateluer]

My ETF is 115, as of about 3 weeks ago, only thing keeping me on Verizon right now. I really wanted to pick up a MT4G or G2 under TMO's Even More Plus plan, but those seem to be being phased out. :/

 

[gsaldivar]

Why would they charge $400 for a Network Extender, when they are listed for $250 on Verizon's own website?

http://www.verizonwireless.com/networkextender

 

[notposting]

Why would they charge $400 for a Network Extender, when they are listed for $250 on Verizon's own website?

http://www.verizonwireless.com/networkextender

LOL I was about to ask the same thing. Hell I got mine for $100 AR.

 

[sivart]

Let's see.

• You had good coverage
• You moved
• The area you moved to doesn't have good coverage
• You expect Verizon to give you a free extender
• Verizon offered another phone to see if the problem could be remedied.

Doesn't make much since why you are so upset. Now, I agree that Verizon should let you out of the contract with no fee since your current area doesn't get reception, but I wouldn't expect more than that. Then again, Verizon doesn't have to do anything other than what was promised in the contract. What does the contract say about dropped calls / bad reception?

I'm not saying Verizon is an angel, but they're not your mother either...don't expect handouts for something Verizon has no control over (I.e. you moving). You entered into a business contract not a friendship.

 

[foghorn67]

Let's see.

• You had good coverage
• You moved
• The area you moved to doesn't have good coverage
• You expect Verizon to give you a free extender
• Verizon offered another phone to see if the problem could be remedied.

Doesn't make much since why you are so upset. Now, I agree that Verizon should let you out of the contract with no fee since your current area doesn't get reception, but I wouldn't expect more than that. Then again, Verizon doesn't have to do anything other than what was promised in the contract. What does the contract say about dropped calls / bad reception?

I'm not saying Verizon is an angel, but they're not your mother either...don't expect handouts for something Verizon has no control over (I.e. you moving). You entered into a business contract not a friendship.

-Don't be stupid. I know you want to play the corrective know it all, everyone is a baby except for me kind of guy. But you suck at it.
I moved to an area covered on the vaulted red map. Yes, fine print says it's not a expectation of coverage. But I live in a developed area that has well established communications, not the boonies.
-Even the shopping centers that surround it have spotty coverage. So it's not because I'm in some random dark zone. Maybe it's too much traffic and they are slow to respond the increased needs. Not sure.
-Customer service was shitty when they handled the roommates refurbed and fubared phone. No excuse for that.
-Network extenders were part of retention. Why change that?
-They said it was $400 over the phone. You guys say that like we priced it out. We didn't. It's what they told us. If they don't know the prices to their own products, that's not something that strikes me as competent. Probably the old intranet vs internet trick.

 

[MJinZ]

I have been a loyal VZW customer since 2001. Weathered through their damn branding and neuterization of their dumbphones hoping they would change. The customer service and coverage made up for that. Got a BB to get passed the ugly VZW ROM's for minimal intrusion. Later got an Android device and things were going swimmingly.
Until I moved. Cannot get reception in my own apt for the life of me. If a call connects, it WILL drop.
Roommate noticed the same thing with his BB. We have two devices with proven radios.
He decided to call VZ. I had high hopes because several months ago, I had two friends with lousy coverage, so they sent them repeaters that boosted the signals.
After numerous calls with various echelons of tech support, they sent him a refurbished BB. Same model. Mind you, he bought his new. Now, none us had any faith in a different phone fixing it. It's the coverage. The BB showed up and it had several scratches. Cosmetic? Yes. But he has no scratches at all after a year of owning his.
He called again, and said it didn't fix anything. But they insisted they would take his BB. He battled with them for 45 minutes until they gave in and said they would take the shitty refurb back.
Not winning any fans there on insisting to take the better one back.
Would they send a different device just for retentions sake? Nope. No other BB or Android's were offered even if he is willing.
That repeater. They would sell it to him for 400 dollars.
Again, not winning any fans.
This reminded me of Spring circa 2000-2008. VZW in my recent experience sucks. Short sighted, not caring about keeping someone in contract for 2 years.
I tried calling VZW myself, and my experience was the same.
Roommate has his renewel in March, he will wait it out for LTE, if that fixes it, he will be happy. Me? I'm up in December of 2011. Sucks to be me. No LTE for foghorn, not even a decent 3G signal.
I might sell the OG Droid for whatever I could get. It's dinged and scratched and my ETF is $175 right now.
Now....to find a new carrier. Maybe. Not sure if I want Binged LTE Android devices that VZW is making. I know some can be rooted or whatever to get passed that, but it's downright disgusting.

VZW is the most over-rated POS ever.

I want back to Sprint where I never had signal or data issues, VZW ends up being just the opposite with piss poor data as well.

I'm looking at jumping to a good W7 Phone ASAP, or maybe Iphone 5. My Droid phone is laughable in many ways.

 

[foghorn67]

Double checked with the roommate. He HAD coverage, these calls started to drop a couple of months before I moved in during the summer.

 

[notposting]

Yeah, it may be an understatement to say VZW isn't known for their customer service.

Sorry and good luck...try calling again or maybe check on Howardforums and see if they have any tips on who to contact?

 

[Bateluer]

Are there any ways to get out of a contract, without paying the ETF?

 

[foghorn67]

Are there any ways to get out of a contract, without paying the ETF?

Not sure. They told my roommate he couldn't. It could be a YMMV thing.
I'm leaving that for my next attempt at CS or Retention.

 

[gsaldivar]

Are there any ways to get out of a contract, without paying the ETF?

Yes, there used to be a provision in most providers' contracts that allowed a subscriber to cancel with no ETF penalty if they relocate to a non-serviceable area. That may no longer be the case - it depends on the provider. Most subscribers allow the carrier to subsidize the cost of their phone, and the subscriber retains ownership of the phone if they move outside of the carrier's service area, so the carrier has not fully recovered the cost of the phone if the full term of the contract is not fulfilled.

In the OP's case, if they replaced the phone, and the subscriber accepts the replacement and continues service, then the contract will certainly remain valid.

There is always some wiggle room when dealing with retentions, all I can advise is to be polite and persistent. However be aware that the carrier isn't really obligated to do anything for this situation.

 

[sivart]

-Don't be stupid. I know you want to play the corrective know it all, everyone is a baby except for me kind of guy. But you suck at it.
I moved to an area covered on the vaulted red map. Yes, fine print says it's not a expectation of coverage. But I live in a developed area that has well established communications, not the boonies.
-Even the shopping centers that surround it have spotty coverage. So it's not because I'm in some random dark zone. Maybe it's too much traffic and they are slow to respond the increased needs. Not sure.
-Customer service was shitty when they handled the roommates refurbed and fubared phone. No excuse for that.
-Network extenders were part of retention. Why change that?
-They said it was $400 over the phone. You guys say that like we priced it out. We didn't. It's what they told us. If they don't know the prices to their own products, that's not something that strikes me as competent. Probably the old intranet vs internet trick.

Okay, change service, problem solved. Have you read your contract? What recourse is provided?

I looked....

What Are My Rights for Dropped Calls or Interrupted Service?

If you drop a call in your Coverage Area, redial. If it's answered within 5 minutes, call us within 90 days if you're a Postpay customer, or within 45 days if you're a Prepaid customer, and we'll give you a 1–minute airtime credit. If you're a Postpay customer and you lose Service in your Coverage Area for more than 24 hours in a row and we're at fault, call us within 180 days and we'll give you a credit for the time lost. Please be aware that these are your only rights for dropped calls or interrupted Service.

and...

Where and How Does Verizon Wireless Service Work?

Wireless devices use radio transmissions, so unfortunately you can't get Service if your device isn't in range of a transmission signal. And please be aware that even within your Coverage Area, many things can affect the availability and quality of your Service, including network capacity, your device, terrain, buildings, foliage and weather.

Call back again, ask to speak to a supervisor...or use the old trick, "I had a great experience and would like to send an email to the supervisor, do you have their email / phone, etc?" That has got me past the gatekeeper many times. My work is an a "covered area" but we couldn't get service. We complained and received free repeaters for the building...granted we have about 400 lines and not just 1 or 2 that you are dealing with.

 

[foghorn67]

Okay, change service, problem solved. Have you read your contract? What recourse is provided?

I looked....

Wow, so I need a total outage of 24 hours to get any kind of compensation? (I'm I reading this wrong?)
I'm not so worried about getting compensation for a dropped call then getting credit for those dropped minutes. I don't even come close to using my regular airtime. It sucked hard when I was job searching from home. Getting calls dropped when talking to a hiring manager or recruiters sucked bad. Driving out for PHONE interview is what threw me over the edge.

 

[foghorn67]

Okay, change service, problem solved. Have you read your contract? What recourse is provided?

I looked....
and...

Call back again, ask to speak to a supervisor...or use the old trick, "I had a great experience and would like to send an email to the supervisor, do you have their email / phone, etc?" That has got me past the gatekeeper many times. My work is an a "covered area" but we couldn't get service. We complained and received free repeaters for the building...granted we have about 400 lines and not just 1 or 2 that you are dealing with.

Lol. They would have to complete morons for not sending some repeaters to save 400 lines.
Might try the trickery you suggested. Mind you, I am very cordial in person. This is a rant, and during rants I vent. Venting will get stuff out of my system. I apologize if my above posts was directed at you.

 

[Bateluer]

Getting calls dropped when talking to a hiring manager or recruiters sucked bad. Driving out for PHONE interview is what threw me over the edge.

Might be worth it to get a cheap local only landline?

Edit - Or use Google Voice/Skype from a hard line Internet connection?

 

[Cuda1447]

I have to agree with what someone else in this thread said. You moved to an area with bad reception. Aside from them letting you out of the ETF, which they probably should do, what do you expect? A new phone won't fix it and they aren't going to give you a pricey extender for free. Nor are they under any obligation to. If you want those things, buy them. *shrugs*

 

[foghorn67]

I have to agree with what someone else in this thread said. You moved to an area with bad reception. Aside from them letting you out of the ETF, which they probably should do, what do you expect? A new phone won't fix it and they aren't going to give you a pricey extender for free. Nor are they under any obligation to. If you want those things, buy them. *shrugs*

re read thread.

 

[Cuda1447]

re read thread.

No need to. I understand your pissed off about the exchanged phone/refurb thing, which is the way every carrier would exchange a phone. But you have to understand your roommate probably called up with a bunch of attitude. The guy on the phone knew he had no way of magically making your coverage better and the only way to get your friend off the phone was to offer him some sort of 'solution' so he did a warranty exchange, really the only thing he could do. Of course that didn't fix it.


At the end of the day though, there is really nothing they can do. Stop being pissed at them, don't bother calling with attitude, they can't magically make your coverage better and at the end of the day they have the nations best overall coverage.... so you complaining about coverage to them is silly... there are dead spots. They are the best in the nation at covering those dead spots, but even they aren't perfect. Get over it, ya know?

 

[foghorn67]

No need to. I understand your pissed off about the exchanged phone/refurb thing, which is the way every carrier would exchange a phone. But you have to understand your roommate probably called up with a bunch of attitude. The guy on the phone knew he had no way of magically making your coverage better and the only way to get your friend off the phone was to offer him some sort of 'solution' so he did a warranty exchange, really the only thing he could do. Of course that didn't fix it.


At the end of the day though, there is really nothing they can do. Stop being pissed at them, don't bother calling with attitude, they can't magically make your coverage better and at the end of the day they have the nations best overall coverage.... so you complaining about coverage to them is silly... there are dead spots. They are the best in the nation at covering those dead spots, but even they aren't perfect. Get over it, ya know?

No again, you are assuming a ton, and you don't know what you are talking about. Arguing with this guy is like arguing with Mother Teresa.
What's with you assuming everyone on the internet is a bunch of jerks? We handled with this like normal people. You should get out more.

 

[Cuda1447]

No again, you are assuming a ton, and you don't know what you are talking about. Arguing with this guy is like arguing with Mother Teresa.
What's with you assuming everyone on the internet is a bunch of jerks? We handled with this like normal people. You should get out more.

What don't I understand? Please explain to me, what are you expecting Verizon to do? They won't give you anything for free, nor are they under ANY obligation to. You called about a problem that you and I both know they cannot fix. So what the fuck do you want?

 

[Raduque]

You called about a problem that you and I both know they cannot fix. So what the fuck do you want?

"What the fuck" he wants is to get out of the contract, etf-free. That's what Verizon should be doing if they cannot fix the signal issues.

And getting a scratched-to-hell, banged-up refurb device as a replacement for a perfect device is unacceptable.

 

[Cuda1447]

"What the fuck" he wants is to get out of the contract, etf-free. That's what Verizon should be doing if they cannot fix the signal issues.

And getting a scratched-to-hell, banged-up refurb device as a replacement for a perfect device is unacceptable.

Many people in this thread, including myself have said getting out of the ETF is a perfectly reasonable expectation. The OP has never said he wanted that however, instead he said he wanted a free cell tower thingy or a brand new, different phone. *shrugs* Whatever.

 

[foghorn67]

Many people in this thread, including myself have said getting out of the ETF is a perfectly reasonable expectation. The OP has never said he wanted that however, instead he said he wanted a free cell tower thingy or a brand new, different phone. *shrugs* Whatever.

They didn't offer it to my roommate.
As for me, I asked to work things out somehow before I suggested that. I have not called about the ETF waiver. A repeater would have been a simple solution.
You're still a dolt.

Edited by Moderator PM
Personal attacks are not allowed.

 

[Cuda1447]

They didn't offer it to my roommate.
As for me, I asked to work things out somehow before I suggested that. I have not called about the ETF waiver. A repeater would have been a simple solution.
You're still a dolt.

A repeater costs money, if you want one, buy one. But I'm the dolt...