Verizon FiOS customer service has been horrible. What do I do now?

[MuleSkinner]

I've got two major complaints with the customer service I've received regarding my recent installation of FiOS services (all three). Today I wrote a letter to the vice president of sales and customer service detailing my experience. If this goes nowhere, what's my best next step before calling the cancellation department and threatening to cancel my service unless my complaints are fully addressed? I do like the actual services, but the problems I've had with customer service and the installation so far have been beyond frustrating.

Here is an edited version (names, phone number, etc.) of the email I sent today:

Dear Ms. Smith,

I am responding to the automated voice message I recently received. Unfortunately, I am not very happy with a couple of the aspects of my recent service from Verizon. I will focus my attention in this email to one particular complaint.

On 13JAN11 two Verizon technicians came to my home and installed FiOS service. From the moment they arrived, they were in a rush to leave and go to another appointment. I was afraid this rush they were in would be reflected in the quality of the work to be done in my house and I was correct. The work was done sloppily and unfinished. Below are several complaints along with links to pictures.



Plastic garbage left ouside my house:

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff458/Picocurie/Verizon/IMG_0573.jpg




Hole drilled in aluminum siding and the jagged edges were left as is:

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff458/Picocurie/Verizon/IMG_0581.jpg

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff458/Picocurie/Verizon/IMG_0582.jpg

I don't know what Verizon's protocol is for covering holes and jagged edges, but I doubt it is to be left as it was by the two technicians that provided me with FiOS service. When inside the house, you can actually see sunlight coming in from outside.



No covering for hole. Dust from drilled hole left on the floor.

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff458/Picocurie/Verizon/IMG_0586.jpg

Sawdust left on ledge:

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff458/Picocurie/Verizon/IMG_0589.jpg



The other side left in similar condition:

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff458/Picocurie/IMG_0588.jpg



When I had Comcast service, I split the cable line and ran a cheap store bought piece of cable to the television in my basement. I showed one of the Verizon techs this and he said that cable was "good enough". I told him I would appreciate it if he could instead use the thicker, more professional cable that Verizon uses to run to that television and he said he would. He also told me that he would neaten up the cable and not leave it like I had (notice that the cable is not stapled to the wall and ran to the bottom; the turn is made at the middle of the doorway). He never got back to this and left it as is, including never replacing the cheap cable I used in the past for my Comcast sevice. I would have brought this up before he left had I noticed it hadn't been done yet, but the two technicians and I were upstairs immediately before they practically ran out of the house and I hadn't realized this part in the basement was left unfinished.

http://i1236.photobucket.com/albums/ff458/Picocurie/Verizon/IMG_0587.jpg


My TiVO box was also hooked up incorrectly to the Verizon set-top box, but luckily I was able to fix this problem myself.


On Friday, 14JAN11, I called Verizon to inform them of my above complaints. My intent was just to have the job finished correctly, not receive any other kind of compensation. The rep on the telephone was very understanding and told me she would issue me a $50 credit to my bill. I told her I appreciated that, but I really would like someone to come back to my home and cover the holes that were left both outside and inside my house (I'm assuming Verizon typically does this with some sort of rubber or plastic cover?). She told me should would contact the dispatcher and I would receive a call Monday or Tuesday. I never received a call. I called Verizon back on Wednesday, 26JAN11 and talked to another rep and explained the situation and that I never received the call from the dispatcher. He told me he would contact them and I should receive a call within the next 48 hours. It is now Saturday afternoon and I have still not received a call.


All I am asking for is for someone to come to my house to fix the sloppy look of the drilled holes inside my house, and to do the same to the holes going to the outside of my house in a way where sunlight can not be seen coming through. I appreciate your taking the time to read all of this and I look forward to your help in resolving this issue. Thank you.

John Doe

1313 Mockingbird Lane
Anytown, USA
555 555-5555

Master Order Number: XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Also, what's your opinion on my expectations? Am I expecting too much or has my customer service experience on both the telephone and at my house been enough to warrant being slightly perturbed/pretty pissed off/completely outraged? Thanks.

[LurkerInNJ]

You are expecting too much, and it looks like you have a very low frustration level. Come on, plastic ties on the ground? A bit of sawdust? It would have taken you a minute to clean that up.

Ask them to mail you a couple of the little plastic round things that look like a donut (the cable goes through the hole) to cap the outside holes.

[Lobsang]

Some tiny holes have jagged edges and they left a small amount of debris in places?

Maybe my opinion is influenced by where I live, where I was brought up, my place on the poverty scale, but to me it looks like you are expecting too much.

Completely outraged???

ETA: As I think about it further I realize you have probably put more effort into compiling a complaint and photographing evidence than it would have taken you to clean up and (if you are really bothered about the holes) write "buy some little plastic stopper things" on your shopping list.

[mikews99]

My FIOS installation took an hour, if that. Techs came by on two different days. The first guy dropped fiber from the pole to the aerial on my house and was done in ten minutes. Then the next day I went up on the roof, unwrapped the fiber cable, ran it along my eaves and down to the water heater closet where I wanted the ONT mounted, drilling and tie-wrapping everything neatly and cleanly. I also pulled ethernet cable through the walls, mounted a nice clean power outlet, and had a ground wire for the ONT run to the pipes (unnecessary as it turned out). When I was done I had a nice professional installation of cables run exactly to where I wanted them. At the end of the week the FIOS installer guy came by, mounted the ONT on the board I had put up in the water heater closet, plugged it in, booted it up, and was done in less than an hour. There was no mess, no screwed up wiring, no jagged edges, and everything worked perfectly.

Moral of the story: If you want something done perfectly, you've got to do it yourself. If you let someone else do it, you can have no greater expectation than "it gets the job done."

[Chris Luongo]

I'm on your side on this one. I wish more customers would be more fussy; if everyone were like you, technicians would do a better job the first time they come out.

I install automotive electronics for a living---mostly remote starters and alarms, but a little bit of audio, video, navigation, and whatever else you could imagine.

I make every effort to leave customers' cars as found. That is, no wire clippings on the car floor (and also not on the ground outside the car), all panels properly reinstalled, and so forth.

I invariably listen to the customer's car radio, and often have to reposition the driver's seat and tilt steering wheel. When I'm done, I put said items back as close as possible to where I found them. If I can't remember what station the radio was on, I at the very least will hit one of the preset buttons so at least it's on a station the customer likes.

Anyway, leaving garbage on the ground is a guarantee that the "technicians" sent to your home are a bunch of animals. You should forgive one or two of those items dropped accidentally, but not what they did.

Same goes for leaving the plaster dust around. A good friend of mine is an electrician, and when he did some work here at my house, he came back in with a dustpan and handheld broom and cleaned up after himself.

And if you can see daylight coming in through the holes where they ran the wires, you can be sure that it's an open invitation for water, drafts, and ants to come in. I know you mentioned wanting some kind of "plastic cover," but I'd imagine the usual treatment would be to run a bead of silicone caulking around the hole. That's what they did here (both Comcast and later Verizon).

Lastly, regardless of whether or not your expectations are too high, there's no excuse for them not calling you back.

[MuleSkinner]

You are expecting too much, and it looks like you have a very low frustration level. Come on, plastic ties on the ground? A bit of sawdust? It would have taken you a minute to clean that up.
You're ignoring the bigger issues that I mentioned and pretending that the reason I wrote the letter is because of the mess left. I think mentioning (and taking a picture since I was already doing so) was relevant as it helps complete the story of the unprofessional installation that took place. I don't think not expecting plastic strips to be left scattered on my property is expecting too much.

Ask them to mail you a couple of the little plastic round things that look like a donut (the cable goes through the hole) to cap the outside holes.
I can't even get them to call me.



Moral of the story: If you want something done perfectly, you've got to do it yourself. If you let someone else do it, you can have no greater expectation than "it gets the job done."
You really believe when someone is getting paid to do a job for you, you should have no other expectations other than that the job get done? I'm not expecting perfection, btw.

[Shagnasty]

You do have a basic point but I don't know if it makes you feel better or not to know that your complaint ranks #9,578,254 on the seriousness list of Verizon sins and that is in the amateur league of complaints. All of the top spots are reserved for Comcast from what I hear. Cable and internet providers have a semi-monopoly and most areas and I think you got off easy. I love my FIOS service which is why I still have it but you didn't mention the experience of being put on hold for 45 minutes at a time five times on three days and then having your call disconnected like I did and having to get some sleep and start over again on a new day. It is amazing they even sent people over at all when they said they would so I think a nice card or flowers are in order more than a complaint in case you need something from them agin.

I don't know whether to give you an award for trying to defeat the dragon yourself or just break out the world's smallest violin. You do seem to be the nitpicky sort so the more power to you. I am sure they will print out your e-mail and put it to good use in the executive washroom. There are plenty of other customers that just want their house rebuilt or their cat back.

[mikews99]

You really believe when someone is getting paid to do a job for you, you should have no other expectations other than that the job get done? I'm not expecting perfection, btw.
I don't know about in your area, but Verizon mostly uses contractors to install fiber to the premises. You are not the installer's customer -- Verizon is. The installer only has to complete the installation to Verizon's satisfaction, not yours. Verizon is satisfied if they can see sync at the CLEC, because then they can start charging you for service.

You could have done like many others have done before: offer bribes of cold beer (or cookies, or sandwiches, or whatever floats your boat) for a job well done. Food's a great motivator for many an installer to do a good job.

[Musicat]

You could have done like many others have done before: offer bribes of cold beer...And if they accept, report them for drinking on the job. You can't lose.

[Fear Itself]

I object to your abuse of the adjective, "horrible" which is not synonymous with "mildly annoying."

[LurkerInNJ]

You're ignoring the bigger issues that I mentioned and pretending that the reason I wrote the letter is because of the mess left. I think mentioning (and taking a picture since I was already doing so) was relevant as it helps complete the story of the unprofessional installation that took place. I don't think not expecting plastic strips to be left scattered on my property is expecting too much.


Yeah, it IS expecting too much. They don't promise a white glove install with a professional building contractor to manage the project and Merry Maid sweeping up after them.

You hired Verizon techs to do an install, and that's what they did. I, and pretty much every other Verizon customer, has had to pick up a few cable ties, disgarded cable, and a bit of dust when they were done.

The photos took your story from the horrible mess one imagined from your words to can you believe this guy? All the photos of the non-issues makes you look like a whiner.

Effective complaint letters get to the point way before the 15th paragraph, and they don't load up on non-issues for 14 paragraphs.

They DID talk with you, and offered you $50. $50 is more than enough to buy a tube of silicon to fill in the hole or cable clams to fix the outside holes. And a bag of 100 weather connector seal sleeves is less than $5.

[king_gorilla]

It is simple quantity vs quality. Telecommunication companies are more concerned with numbers of customers (new customers especially) than anything else. The faster they get done with your house, the faster they can get to mine, the faster they get done with mine, the faster they get off the clock and quit costing the company money. You can’t really blame it on the technicians; quality of work is not high on their boss’s priority list, so it’s not high on theirs.

This is what primarily irks me about such companies. I was a 10+year customer of Dish network. Always paid my bill on time, never called and complained about signal drop, or rate increase. I had a remote wear out and they expected me to buy it. Meanwhile they were giving away multiple room DVR’s to new customers. I asked why they would give a new customer, with no record of payment, a system worth hundreds of dollars, but would not give a customer with over 10 years loyal patronage a remote worth 30 dollars. They said it was policy, but I could get the same DVR package (with new remotes) for half the regular price (with a new 2yr contract), because I was such a good customer… even though I was 95% happy with my service, I cancelled out of principle.

So I say stick it to them. They’ve become so monopolistic, people have become account numbers rather than customers and there is no honor in good service anymore. Complain, call, email, Chris is right, if more people demanded customer service; they would be forced to come through.

[Tinkertoy]

I can only answer this from a prospective of a Directv employee who worked for a while setting up installs. If it was one of ours it would be ruled an “incomplete install” which means the install company would fix the problem or not get paid by Directv for the install. The garbage and dust would not qualify it but the unfinished holes would. They should have been sealed to prevent future damage from air, water and insects. Also the cable ran around a door should be fixed.

If you call and aren’t getting anywhere ask to speak to a supervisor and have the problem escalated to a resolutions manager. The call center main worker can only leave a request that the problem be taken care of, Resolutions can call the installer’s boss and withhold money until it is done.

[Quimby]

I just want to say I agree with you and hope you get some satisfaction. Verizon isn't a charity providing Internet and TV to all who ask for it, you paid them to come and they should provide the service properly. I suppose the saw dust and debris could be cleaned up by you but to me, those drilled holes look awful and seem like an invitation for damage over time and the wire running around a door is ridiculous.

[Chessic Sense]

I called and called about a DSL problem I was having. They kept getting me nowhere. I started recording all the events that they were screwing up and when the problem was finally fixed, I called the billing department.

I told them that I was given a credit for 15 days of service, but that I wanted 45 days because that's what it should have been. I was all prepared to run down the list of evidence and bitch and moan and make my case for the 30 extra days free. But the rep just said "OK, let me set that up for you." So I win.

So what I'd do is call the billing department, say that "another rep" said he'd give you a credit because of this problem, but he never did. Then the rep will just give you the credit. Use the money saved to go buy some rubber stoppers and a dust rag for your house.