My bad VZW experience with a bad unit.
- Thread starter cmiddleton
- Start date
im not sure which fruit tastes better.. blackberries or apples.. but both of them arent that incredible
First, Congrats. My wife and I are also expecting. We are only 11 weeks into it though. Not that this helps much as you are already almost done, but I found a cool app called pregnancy ticker gold. This is my first child, so I check it all the time.
Second, I didnt read your entire reply, because I sent my post off the cuff. Most of it is out of frustration as I have been on both ends of the countertop. Ive seen both sides with verizon. It is frustrating, and I wish from this side I could do more to help people, but some person in a suit some where said I have to jump through the hoops that I do. It is stupid, and annoying. When I was the customer it felt like I was helpless to this corporate monster. In Fact it took me 2 months to accept my job offer because of bad experiences with verizon.
Last, I agree a cell phone is no where near the reason to even pull a weapon. My comment was more based on the fact a customer wanted to wait 2 1/2hours for me to get off work, and then god knows what might happen.
I think we all have these bad VZW customer service experiences. I know I have had a few. I had to return my Storm 1, 5 times. One time I took it into the store because the screen stopped clicking. Wouldn't click at all, nothing. The tech took a look at this, saw there was a problem and handed it back to me. "I think you downloaded a virus or something. The background wallpapers can cause issues sometimes and I see you have a custom wallpaper. You might try a reset to see if that fixes the problem." It took me a second to register what he was saying to me and telling me to do. I just kinda stared at him blankly. I couldn't believe he was trying to tell me that my screen click button was not working because of a custom background. I grabbed my phone and walked over to the other tech at the counter and handed it to him. And started all over explaining my issue to him. I knew I was about to tell the other rep off so I walked away. But I wasn't willing to walk away without a replacement that worked. I did walk out of that store with a new phone.
The entire story makes no sense to me. You have 30 days to exchange or return the phone - no questions asked. If one person at one store is not cooperating, ask to speak to their manager or drive to a different store.
P.S. - my phone works in places none of my others ever did, so you probably got a lemon.
P.S. - my phone works in places none of my others ever did, so you probably got a lemon.
I knew I had a 30 day period, but when reading the fine print, the buyer has to pay a restocking fee if not returned within 3 days.
In dealing with the many VZW reps along the way, not one of them reminded me of this. I knew it was an option the whole time, but I have had VZW service before and I know their coverage is second to none. I really wanted them to give me a positive experience.
I had to threaten to cancel before I got real help. And the couple of lies I was told along the way were very disheartening, ie. bars are a better indicator than -db & the new software update will resolve your coverage issues (exchange update).
I don't think there is a perfect company out there; I have been with all 4 in the US at some point, with a personal or work phone. T-Mobile seems to be the best in terms of customer service, unfortunate that their coverage does not work for me. At least in my experience.
AT&T was a nightmare. Did you know that when you cancel with AT&T, that they wont prorate the final bill. Say the cycle ends on the 4th of the month, and you cancel on the 5th, they will turn off your service, then hold you liable for the bill going all the way to the end of the billing cycle on the next month even though your phone was turned off. And it isn't a consistent policy, because when you sign up with them they will prorate the first bill.
My wife loves Sprint and has a Hero. I tried Sprint for 7 days with a Hero, back in February. The coverage was fine for me but I just wasn't going to commit to a increasingly outdated handset for a 2 year period contract. Sprint totally forgot about their money back guarantee. My first bill was 120.00 and I canceled with them and they refunded 40.00 bucks, after I had to call and tell them they had not refunded the charges. Then I had to call again and remind them of their policy on returns. Then they refunded the rest. I fully intended to go with Sprint for the Evo based on the fact that they did make things right, but my company went with Verizon repeaters in my building to give signal there.
So, I guess you guys are sick of hearing my tales of cell service providers at this point and how I at a loaner instead of ribs.
BTW Congrats to NVR2ND on the new baby coming soon.
In dealing with the many VZW reps along the way, not one of them reminded me of this. I knew it was an option the whole time, but I have had VZW service before and I know their coverage is second to none. I really wanted them to give me a positive experience.
I had to threaten to cancel before I got real help. And the couple of lies I was told along the way were very disheartening, ie. bars are a better indicator than -db & the new software update will resolve your coverage issues (exchange update).
I don't think there is a perfect company out there; I have been with all 4 in the US at some point, with a personal or work phone. T-Mobile seems to be the best in terms of customer service, unfortunate that their coverage does not work for me. At least in my experience.
AT&T was a nightmare. Did you know that when you cancel with AT&T, that they wont prorate the final bill. Say the cycle ends on the 4th of the month, and you cancel on the 5th, they will turn off your service, then hold you liable for the bill going all the way to the end of the billing cycle on the next month even though your phone was turned off. And it isn't a consistent policy, because when you sign up with them they will prorate the first bill.
My wife loves Sprint and has a Hero. I tried Sprint for 7 days with a Hero, back in February. The coverage was fine for me but I just wasn't going to commit to a increasingly outdated handset for a 2 year period contract. Sprint totally forgot about their money back guarantee. My first bill was 120.00 and I canceled with them and they refunded 40.00 bucks, after I had to call and tell them they had not refunded the charges. Then I had to call again and remind them of their policy on returns. Then they refunded the rest. I fully intended to go with Sprint for the Evo based on the fact that they did make things right, but my company went with Verizon repeaters in my building to give signal there.
So, I guess you guys are sick of hearing my tales of cell service providers at this point and how I at a loaner instead of ribs.
BTW Congrats to NVR2ND on the new baby coming soon.
YourMobileGuru
Formerly VZWRocks
I see nothing wrong with what he did.
He received a defective unit and was brushed off by the store. I would have raised all kinds of hell.
And THAT is why stores brush people off...
The OP clearly had his mind made up when the whole thing began and had a chip on his shoulder, this the rep who felt threatened. From the way he told the story he had a superior attitude about the whole thing. That turns people off.
* A PRL upgrade CAN fix signal issues. I have seen that myself.
* Yes Shawn was an idiot, the dbm is the true indicator of signal strength not the bars and there seems to be a but in the Incredible OS build which inaccurately shows signal strength (specifically less bars than the actual signal). This has come up on several sites.
* As for the telephone reps, they have specific things they are expected to do before they can authorize a replacement device. If they don't do them they can get in trouble.
* Everyone complains about the cost of devices and the cost of our service but I read on BGR (and have seen similar statistics before) that something in the area of 95% of electronics returned as "defective" aren't.
* All of these returns/exchanges cost the carrier and manufacturer money which they then have to pass on to the consumer. I'm not saying that the OP's wasn't (it certainly seems that it was). But reps deal with people all day who are complaining about something and are well aware of the cost of returning devices which are not actually defective. They have to go through the same troubleshooting steps as the phone reps to ensure that the phones are indeed defective.
* If the OP's phone was right next to the display phone and the DBM was that different it definitely sounds like a defective phone to me (as long as both phones have the same PRL version, they should be talking to the same tower. It's my understanding all VZW stores have cel repeaters in them which is why the phones all look like they have near perfect signal.
NIKSTORM
Well-known member
Is there actually a reception problem or just a problem with the reception meter? My storms bars are all over the place yet I am always able to make a clear call.
VZWRocks: I appreciate your input, but I have to tell you. I certainly did not have a chip on my shoulder. I was open to any solution up until the point that the rep did two things:
1. He lied to me about bars versus -db
2. He did not even listen to my theory of how I troubleshooted (is that a word?) the device to see if my logic was flawed
He completely ignored anything I said.
It is very hard to convey the tone of the conversations when telling it after the fact using only text. Maybe some people are better at it. Obviously, you are inferring that I was superior in attitude from your interpretation of what I wrote in the original post.
NVR2ND posted that a customer tried to get a replacement over water damage, etc. Before I entered the world of healthcare, I put myself through college by working at Best Buy for some time. I have dealt with moron customers who are ill informed, stubborn and think they are right. I have also dealt with very well informed customers; most of the successful people I worked with knew the difference between the two and tailored their interaction to fit the needs/education level of the consumer.
Shawn did not do this. If there was a process that had to be followed to obtain a replacement, as I found out there was, he should have explained the steps.
The sad part was right there in the store, using the same model device, same location, phone less that 24 hours in the customer's hands, same PRL and 12 to 20 -db difference in my defective device that it was not enough for Shawn to say, maybe I should explore this a little further and give the customer a little credit for not wasting my time on a non-issue.
The silver lining on the cloud is this: I am done, I have my replacement and it works as it should and nothing short of the best cell phone I have ever used. I never have to deal with Shawn again.
1. He lied to me about bars versus -db
2. He did not even listen to my theory of how I troubleshooted (is that a word?) the device to see if my logic was flawed
He completely ignored anything I said.
It is very hard to convey the tone of the conversations when telling it after the fact using only text. Maybe some people are better at it. Obviously, you are inferring that I was superior in attitude from your interpretation of what I wrote in the original post.
NVR2ND posted that a customer tried to get a replacement over water damage, etc. Before I entered the world of healthcare, I put myself through college by working at Best Buy for some time. I have dealt with moron customers who are ill informed, stubborn and think they are right. I have also dealt with very well informed customers; most of the successful people I worked with knew the difference between the two and tailored their interaction to fit the needs/education level of the consumer.
Shawn did not do this. If there was a process that had to be followed to obtain a replacement, as I found out there was, he should have explained the steps.
The sad part was right there in the store, using the same model device, same location, phone less that 24 hours in the customer's hands, same PRL and 12 to 20 -db difference in my defective device that it was not enough for Shawn to say, maybe I should explore this a little further and give the customer a little credit for not wasting my time on a non-issue.
The silver lining on the cloud is this: I am done, I have my replacement and it works as it should and nothing short of the best cell phone I have ever used. I never have to deal with Shawn again.
More bars all over the places
Nikstorm, if you are making calls ok, then just check out the -db:
-50 is better than -100 if you don't know how to read the numbers.
It is likely that since you have good call quality that your phone is fine. Some users are reporting the bars are not accurately reflecting the signal. This was not the case with my phone. My bar reading was bad, but so was my -db and my call quality was fading and dropping and not even connected at times.
Nikstorm, if you are making calls ok, then just check out the -db:
-50 is better than -100 if you don't know how to read the numbers.
It is likely that since you have good call quality that your phone is fine. Some users are reporting the bars are not accurately reflecting the signal. This was not the case with my phone. My bar reading was bad, but so was my -db and my call quality was fading and dropping and not even connected at times.
NIKSTORM
Well-known member
That is what scares me I have a di in route and I'm hoping that my reception quality will be ok...I was under the impression that the problem was a simple disconnect between the bars and the actual signal. Now you are saying reception is crappy also.
No offense, but it really sounds like you had a holier-than-thou attitude the whole time. I have exchanged phones numerous times, and as long as I was polite, I was ordered a replacement with NO problems and did not require any sort of charge to my credit card.
Word of advice for the future: don't use the stores. Most of the techs in the stores aren't that great, and will fight you tooth and nail to replace your phone. If you call (dial *611 and hit 0 at the menu) and be POLITE you should be able to replace your device with no problem.
I have had literally zero problems with Verizon's customer service. All you need to realize is that they're people too and they're just trying to do a job. If you're reasonable with your request and you're polite, they'll bend backwards to help you.
Word of advice for the future: don't use the stores. Most of the techs in the stores aren't that great, and will fight you tooth and nail to replace your phone. If you call (dial *611 and hit 0 at the menu) and be POLITE you should be able to replace your device with no problem.
I have had literally zero problems with Verizon's customer service. All you need to realize is that they're people too and they're just trying to do a job. If you're reasonable with your request and you're polite, they'll bend backwards to help you.
In all the years dating back to when VZW was BAM, I've only had a few issues. Mostly due to bad reps at the stores, but on the other hand, all the good experiences I've had are also due to the good reps on the phone and in the store. Replacements without questions while traveling, and all kinds of things.
I also read a review that stated the signal reception was not as good as it should be, and while I'm sure that yours was much more than that, I have to say that it could possibly be your attitude in general. I'm guessing you're not in sales? lol
I also read a review that stated the signal reception was not as good as it should be, and while I'm sure that yours was much more than that, I have to say that it could possibly be your attitude in general. I'm guessing you're not in sales? lol
Not to get on store reps vs phone reps or anything, but they all have some bad eggs. I think it comes from the "I know more than you" attitude a lot of the time as well. That works both ways. I would bet any store rep thats dealt with a number of customers before can and should be able to pick out the ones that know what they are talking about and the ones that are kids trying to skirt into a free upgrade or something. Maybe shawn just isn't good at this, I've never worked at a verizon store, but put me in one and I bet 9 of 10 times I will be able to sniff out the "bs'er".
Of course the OP could have been shawns 1 of 10..who knows. Glad the OP has his phone and is happy now....and I'll suggest again..don't go back to shawns store lol.
Now you want to talk crappy customer service? Lets talk about comcast lol...I could write a book on what I've been through with them.
Of course the OP could have been shawns 1 of 10..who knows. Glad the OP has his phone and is happy now....and I'll suggest again..don't go back to shawns store lol.
Now you want to talk crappy customer service? Lets talk about comcast lol...I could write a book on what I've been through with them.
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