screwed by Verizon Wireless

I was trying to make calls this afternoon and I could hear everyone I was calling but no one could hear me. All they heard was a jumble of noise that was completely unintelligible.

So I ran over to the Verizon Wireless store on Oracle Rd & Wilmot and explained the situation. The customer service rep called my cell phone and verified that she couldn’t understand a single word I said. She couldn’t even make out words, just a jumble of noise.

So she smiled and said ‘well it’s under warranty’ .

Technorati Tags: Verizon Wireless

Yes it sure is it’s maybe 6 or 8 months old – an HTC Incredible – a $575 phone. 

Then she told me they don’t have any replacement phones in stock and they’d have to ship it from the warehouse. What! You mean to tell me you don’t have an HTC Incredible in stock and no other store in Tucson has one either. Well we don’t have replacement phones in stock.

No replacement phones. What does that mean. If I wanted to buy one, you’re saying I’d have to wait for it to be shipped from the warehouse.
Oh no, you could buy an HTC Incredible, those are new phones and they’re available.

Oh really.  So I had to do the old ‘let me speak to manager bit’ because I didn’t believe that what I was being told could actually be true. It couldn’t be.

But it is. The manager of the Oracle/Wilmot store said that’s the best they can do. They don’t stock replacement phones, that is used phones. And it doesn’t matter that you’ve been a customer for 6 years, that’s the best Verizon can do.

You see the replacement phones are factory refurbished phones – aka USED PHONES.  That’s right, you sign up with Verizon Wireless, you pay for the new phone along with signing a two year contract, and they smile and are nice, but if you need a replacement phone because yours broke down during the warranty period, you’re out of luck. You  have wait for a used phone to be shipped from the factory.
So now that they’ve got you for two years,  Verizon doesn’t give a damn about you. Is that slimy or what.

Can you hear me now,
_______________________________________________________________

The upshot,
I got up on Saturday morning and my phone worked just fine.  Clear as bell.
After all that!

Comments

[Dan Jaffe]

I had the same situation two years ago with the terrible Blackberry Storm.

Their customer service was terrible. I ended up switching to AT&T iPhone and, as Luke says, I haven't looked back.

[Luke Gardner]

Buy out your contract, transfer your number to AT&T and get an iPhone. I bet you wont look back.