Is Verizon Customer Service really as bad as the comments in this forum?

[toddelof]

I have been with Sprint for many years.  They have bad customer service.  I am thinking of moving to Verizon.  I have searched for reviews and read that Verizon's customer service is better than the other carriers.  See this:  http://cell-phone-providers-review.toptenreviews.com/ 

What I read in the Verizon forums makes Sprint sound good.  Is Verizon really that bad?

[minerva3n8]

I've had nothing but good "people" in dealing with customer service.  It's not their fault that some companies policies prevent the customer service reps from helping more.

I've been with Verizon for several years.  I"ve never had any of them be rude.  They've always helped the best they can. 

[toddelof]

Thank you, good to hear that.

[Ann154]

The customers who don't have issues don't come to forums like this. You are seeing a skewed slice of the customer base.

[minerva3n8]

A good consumer (after trying to resolve issues with customer service) will

post in forums to let buyers beware, and let others know of their

experience.

[Xyvis]

I've had great luck with Verizon customer service. In fact recently renewed a new two year agreement using my upgrade for my wife (transferred my unlimited line's upgrade to her so I could keep unlimited, the online system views this as an upgrade from the line that receives the transferred upgrade, not necessarily the line getting a new contract).

I called the customer service reps after ordering the phone and elected the pickup at store option to ask them about waiving the upgrade fee. They explained the upgrade fee and what it was for (classes, etc...) and I told them I had been with them for many years, and would like them to issue a credit on my account to waive the fee. The lady issued the credit after just a few minutes it showed up on my account.

The only time I've had issues with Verizon employees is in the store. That same day I went in and got into an argument with the manager over keeping my unlimited data with the upgrade, I explained what I did to him and he said it didn't matter. After the phone was activated and I showed them the unlimited data was still there, they were shocked. However in the explanation over why I was to lose the plan they were very aggressive.

[Waimon]

They do anything in their power to help you. Which to me is a great thing. If they cannot help you they will always be trying to assist you anyway they can find. They do not just say sorry I do not know your problem which to me shows great customer service.

[Xyvis]

I agree with this, the customer service phone reps are always extremely helpful. I have never gotten off of the phone with one of them upset or unsatisfied.

One of the big things as well is they all (to my knowledge) are located here in the US, which means they are easier to understand then some of the other companies which outsource their support. Not sure if Sprint does this, however it's certainly something to keep in mind.

[Jakeman1]

That all depends. I have been with Verizon since before they were called Verizon and I have to say over the years I have had some Great Customer service and some horrible Customer service. I hate to say it but most of my Bad Customer Service has been within the last 2 years and prior to that it was good if not outstanding.

I think one of the many problems we see here in the forums is Verizon pushes everything to a Customer Service rep (Technical issues, return issues, damaged phone issues etc...) but they do not give the CS rep the kind of training they need to handle everything. Most of the bad CS issues I have seen in the forums has to do with the Verizon CS rep providing answers to why people are being charged for damaged or non returned phones and Verizon is really a third party to that process and rely on what the Processing center tells them or puts in their notes.  The other bad thing I see here is that in many cases the CS rep just does NOT know the answer to the question either basic or complex so they give the customer what they think is the right answer or more so what the customer wants to hear.

The last part is While the CS rep might want to do the right thing and honor someone else's promise or try to make it right for the customer, Verizon does NOT allow them to in many cases especially if it deviates at all from actual policy.

I think the CS rep gets a bad rap in many cases and in some they are bad mostly from a lack of training.

[Tidbits]

It's high turn around. There's only so much a person can take. Often most people take out their frustration on these reps and eventually they'll go find another job.

Sometimes reps are being helpful and the customer doesn't see it that way because they are not getting what they want regardless of what happens. They have unrealistic expectations at times too.

No I do not work for Verizon. I have done a long stint CS jobs when I was much younger. You'd be surprised how much abuse these guys take on a daily basis.