FIOS vs. DirecTV

Faithful readers of this blog will recall my problems with DirecTV and Verizon last year, when the Brave Astronaut bought our house. If you would like to refresh your memory, go here, here, and here for the DirecTV saga and here, here, here, and here for the Verizon tale.

So, now after a year, I have received numerous offers to switch to Verizon FIOS TV from DirecTV. I have been happy with DirecTV and was not looking to give Verizon anymore of my money. But I thought I would at least give Verizon an opportunity to pitch to me. The price quoted was less than what I was paying for DirecTV. There was really no one at Verizon I should talk to except my good friend Nancy at Verizon, so I contacted her. I don't know if she recoiled in horror when my email popped up in her inbox, but she did call me and made the pitch to me. She offered all of the advertised specials that FIOS was running ($47.99 for the service, free DVR for the year) and talked about some "unadvertised" specials that might come my way, if I made the switch.

I decided to wait and give DirecTV an opportunity to keep my business. So on the way home the other day, I called DirecTV and explained the situation to the representative who answered the phone. He asked me to hold while he transferred me to a "retention specialist." Really.

So I explained my situation to the retention specialist and told her that I was not interested in leaving DirecTV if they wanted to make me an offer to stay. So here's what I got:

• An extension of the $10 monthly credit (that was set to expire next month) for another year.
• Free DVR service for six months ($4.99/month)
• Free Showtime and Starz for six months (I wasn't really interested in Showtime, so I asked for HBO instead - so I got HBO for three months and Starz for six).
• I had recently changed my package (dropping HBO) and agreed to step up to the next service package, which restored several channels that I had lost as the credit will make the price almost identical to the FIOS price.

I said thank you to the nice retention specialist, told them I was very happy with DirecTV and hung up the phone. Who says you don't get stuff when you ask nicely? But now I have to tell Nancy that I'm breaking up with her, again.

Houston, we have a phone AND Demands Met

I spent most of the day sitting by the phone today (the one at work, the one that works) waiting for the fine folks at Verizon to call to say they were on their way to install my phone service. To bring you all up to date, they were supposed to come yesterday between 8:00am and 1:00pm. When I called at 10:30, they were still coming. When they hadn't arrived by 2:30, I went out. Verizon alleges they came at 4:30 but there was no one home. Here's the funny part. The phone number that I am going to have, has voicemail on it. Today I was given instructions on how to set it up. So I did. Then I heard there was a message on it. Want to guess who the message was from?

Wait for it . . .

"Hi, this is the Verizon installation department. We just wanted to let you know the installer is running late but should be there soon. We'll call before we arrive."

Um, yeah. Verizon called the number which they were to install to leave me a message. I'll let that sink in for a moment.

Go ahead, think about it, I'll wait.

So when I talked to the installation department this morning, I made sure they would call me at work, so I might actually get the call, and be able to go home to meet the technician. You just have to know that somewhere a bunch of Verizon techs are drawing straws to see who has to deal with me. So the guy showed up around 6:45 and had the phone hooked up in about 30 minutes. I forgot what a nice sound a dial tone can be.

So, yesterday afternoon, I sent the email I shared with you the other day. This morning, my friend Nancy called. She had been busy. First, she was checking to see if the number was active. It was she who told me the line is active, but it just doesn't ring at the house, nor can I make outgoing calls.

Then she told me what she was going to do for me to make me feel a little better and not want to take a hammer to Verizon's equipment. She did OK:

• She credited my entire account at the old address, including my wireless charges so I don't have to pay that bill. In fact, she reports, and I confirmed online, there is a $.03 balance. Think I should hang them for the three pennies? Credit = about $167
• She has credited me for all charges incurred at the new address to date, primarily for the Internet, as that is the only thing I have right now. Credit = about $50
• There will be a $10 reduction on my phone service for the next 12 months. Credit / Savings = $120
• She is sending a second American Express gift card in the amount of $100. Total bonus = $200.

So Verizon has given me about $600 in credits, refunds, and free cash. Is it enough? And I was even nice to the technician when he arrived. Funny how he mentioned to me that my story seemed typical. Hmmm.

For those tuning in for a recipe, yes, I know it's Monday, but another moving issue is the new stove is still not hooked up and I am hoping to be able to cook again soon. Maybe you'll get double recipes next week.

Tick Tock, Verizon missed the deadline, Surprise!

Here it is nearly 1:00pm and no Verizon technician. I have called and they told me they were still coming . . . tick, tick, tick.

Here is a story sent by a friend with a story of a woman who had it with her attempts at getting service to her home. This time the perpetrator was Comcast.

Here is the latest email I just sent to my "friend" at Verizon, Nancy. Let's see what becomes of that. My thanks to all of you who have sent me messages of encouragement and outlets to vent my rage. I'll share the letters I send to Verizon and DirecTV when they are ready.

Stay tuned.
_________________________
October 14, 2007
12:15pm

Dear Nancy,

As you are probably aware, a technician did not arrive at my house Thursday afternoon. I learned in conversations with the installation department as well as the FIOS Service Center, the order had been written incorrectly. A service appointment was scheduled for today, Sunday, between 8:00am and 12:00pm. It is now 12:15, and I have already called the installation center, and they assure me a technician is coming out. I am not optimistic.

As it seems this matter may be coming to a conclusion, I want to summarize where we are to date and find out what has occurred and what other compensation Verizon will offer for my difficulties.

My new account / bill should have the following services:

• FIOS Internet – this service has been up and running since September 20, although I have received notification from Verizon that the service will be interrupted on Monday, October 15, as they do not have a telephone number to attach the charges to.
• FIOS Phone Service – presuming this service is connected on Sunday October 14, with the phone number you have given me.
• Verizon Wireless services for my account attached to this account with the One-Bill discount.
• Whichever bundling discount is applicable to this account based on the services I have contracted for.

Now, to summarize. First, the old account. It is my understanding that my brother-in-law has canceled this account. I would like the following resolutions confirmed to me in writing.

• Refund / credit to me for the phone service for the month of September, prepaid on my bill of September 2, 2007, in the amount of $48.18.
• Refund / credit to me for the DSL Internet service for the month of September, prepaid on my bill of September 2, 2007, in the amount of $24.99.
• That no additional charges be applied to this account as it is no longer an active account and that I am not responsible for any additional charges on this account.
• The refunds /credits noted above be applied to my new account or refunded to me by check mailed to my home address.
• My Verizon Wireless account has been de-enrolled from the One-Bill service and will be re-enrolled in One-Bill attached to the new phone number.
• Some portion of my Wireless charges refunded to me as compensation for lack of any other phone service. I incurred an overage in minutes last month in the amount of approximately $70.

Second, the new account. As above, please confirm the items below in writing.

• Refund / credit for any charges incurred on this account to date and that no charges will commence until the phone service is up and running at this account.
• I am respectfully requesting a promotional discount or some percentage off my bill for a period of no less than twelve months (one year) from the commencement of service as compensation for the difficulties I have had with Verizon over the past six weeks.

Further, I am still awaiting the arrival of the $100 gift card you promised. You might consider an additional gift card of one in a higher amount as compensation for the missed service call.

Please note that I am intending to address this issue to the Maryland Public Service Commission as well as sending a letter to the Chairman of Verizon Communications. I have been very patient throughout this ordeal and it has completely mystified me as to why a company that is expected to provide good communication has been unable to provide service to a customer, who has been with the company for many years, especially in a situation where I was requesting an upgrade to my services, offering to pay you more money. And yet, we are in a situation where you are applying discount after discount to my account to make up for Verizon’s inability to properly establish residential phone service.

I am requesting that you share this email with your supervisors as well as those in the other offices that can help resolve the issues noted above. Please let me know the names of those individuals, as well as their contact information, so I may discuss my service with them as necessary.

Finally, please note that through this entire situation, you have been the most helpful source of resolving issues. While it has been difficult to reach you at times, you have been responsive to my emails and the corporate instant messenger service used by Verizon has been very helpful in getting information to you. You are to be commended for your work on this account and please let your supervisors know that I appreciate all of your hard work.

I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience, in writing, with responses to the issues noted above and what other compensation Verizon will be offering me as a result of the company’s continued mishandling of this matter.

Thank you very much,
Brave Astronaut

Verizon Update

Would it surprise you to learn that the order for phone service was written incorrectly? As a result, no technician will be arriving today. I have just received a phone call from Verizon stating they will send a technician out on Sunday from 8:00am to 12:00pm.

Anybody want to bet it doesn't happen?

Stay tuned. Meanwhile I will go back to the letters I am writing to the chairmen of DirecTV and Verizon Communications.

Anybody want to bet those go unanswered?

Oh my God! She's gone from suck to blow

If you are a fan of Spaceballs, you will recognize the above line. It also sums up my feelings these days about Verizon, with the exception that the company may indeed both suck and blow. There is something to be said about monopolies. In fact there is a story associated with John D. Rockefeller and monopolies, he of the first really, really big one.

John D. Rockefeller was playing golf with a friend, who was also a priest, when a messenger arrived to inform JDR that Standard Oil was being broken up into several smaller companies. JDR allegedly turned to his friend and said, "Father, have you any money?" The priest was taken aback. How could the country's richest man be in need of money? Was the punishment too severe? He evidently replied to Rockefeller, "No, John, I do not. Why do you need money?"

Rockefeller is said to have replied, "Not for me Father, for you. I would advise you to buy Standard Oil stock as this breakup is going to make all the stockholders a lot of money, when they get a share in each new company for each single share of Standard Oil they have. I am going to be a much richer man when this is over."

I have worked in customer service positions. It boggles my mind when a company that needs to provide good customer service (let alone good communications) completely screws up a situation and seems ill inclined to try and fix it. This would be my situation with Verizon. I am home now waiting for the Verizon guy to come and hook up my phone service, resolving an issue that has been ongoing for more than a month.

Here's my story:
At the beginning of September I called Verizon to tell them I was moving and that I needed new service at my new address. I was (at least I thought I was) very clear that I needed to set up a new account as the old account and services was to continue at my old address (for my sister-in-law and her family). I agreed to the "upsell" and ordered Verizon FIOS phone and Internet service at my new address. Please note, I was now agreeing to give Verizon MORE money than I had been giving them before.

I was given a service appointment for September 20 to install the phone and Internet service. I moved on September 17. At about that same time, my sister-in-law's husband went in to check on the status of the DSL service at the old address. Nope, disconnected. Of course, it was. Because Verizon put it in their systems as a transfer of service to the new address, despite that I was getting different service and a new phone number at the new location.

On moving day, I had my first conversation with a woman, Nancy, in the Verizon FIOS department. She has been the one person at Verizon that I have found who is mildly competent and has continued to work the issues and try and get them resolved. My sister would be convinced that it was my mother trying to help me out - Nancy was my mother's name.

The DSL service never returned to our old address and my sister-in-law's husband was even more disgusted with Verizon than me, so he has canceled the service altogether at the old address. That account still had my cellphone account tied to it (Verizon's all about the bundling) and I have now had to "de-enroll" from the Verizon One-Bill and will have to re-enroll into One-Bill when the new home number is up and running. As one might imagine, I went over on my wireless minutes last month (as my cellphone was my only means of communication with the outside world) and was looking at a bill with $70 extra in overage charges.

The Verizon technician arrived on September 20 and informed me that he was there only to install the Internet service as the phone portion of the order had been canceled (by Verizon, not me). As with DirecTV, Verizon neglected to tell me why this had been done. This was when I got on the phone with Nancy and started to "work the problem." As the DirecTV issue spiralled into chaos, I kept telling the Verizon guy, "You know, I used to hate Verizon. You should feel better, now there's a company that I hate more than you." I think I scared him. He wound up leaving his drill behind and when he came by a few days later, he asked Mrs. Brave Astronaut if everything was OK with the Internet, as he did not want me to ever be mad at him.

I was ultimately given a new service appointment for this coming Monday October 15, which I maintained with Nancy, was completely unacceptable. It's funny how things become more acceptable when you go around and around and the day finally arrives. Monday is but four short days away. But I digress, they are supposed to come today. So, I sit, and wait.

I have now been on the phone with Verizon again and have learned that the order for the hookup was done incorrectly, so I will likely not get hooked up today. Has Verizon done anything to make me feel better? Let's see. I have received:

• refund / credit at the old address for Internet and telephone service (since I wasn't there to use it and it was disconnected anyway.
• refund for the first month of Internet service here at the new address (sure I had it, but why pay for something when it is the least they can do and they are threatening to cut it off anyway because there is no phone number to bill it to).
• Half the overage charges were credited to me by Verizon Wireless (a gift, something they didn't have to do)
• A $100 gift card has been promised to me by Nancy.

So I am thinking there must be some more goodies in Verizon's goody bag for me. Suggestions? I am thinking a promotional discount on my service (whenever it gets hooked up) for 6 months? A year? Another gift card? Have them come and clean my house? Something better be coming to me. Rest assured of that. Stay tuned.

Can You Hear Me Now?

Two notable events in history today on the internal work webpage.

On this day in 1876, Alexander Graham Bell received a patent for his telephone. This of course prompts me to wonder when the "do-not-call list" was patented and why hasn't it been renewed, for it certainly isn't working. I like to think I am not a rude person, but I must admit to hanging up on my fair share of telemarketers. Sometimes, just for the sport, I will string them along (but using speakerphone, which drives my wife nuts) only to then shoot them down right when they think they have me.

Fifty years after Mr. Bell's patent was issued, in 1926, the first successful trans-Atlantic radio-telephone conversation took place, between New York City and London. Of course now, we think nothing of global calling, with satellite phones. And we wonder how we live without phones. Someday I would like to try.