Posted by ( largo2889 ) on April 3, 2008 at 11:43 a.m. ( Suggest removal )

DOUG: YOU'RE MY NEW HERO.

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Posted by ( diamondgirl17 ) on April 3, 2008 at 12:06 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

I left verizon because customer service was so horrible. you would be on hold at least an hour to talk to someone in India who could not understand a word you said!

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Posted by ( bhnh0907 ) on April 3, 2008 at 12:23 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

My neighbor used to work for Verizon. He would tell me how people would call in for customer support, and then he bascailly had to try and turn the call into a sales call instead of actually trying to fix an issue.

What a load of crap. If I call for a problem, the last thing I need is the call to be turned into a sales call. Fix the problems and STOP being so focused on sales. At what point does it become obnoxious.

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Posted by ( 3bullies ) on April 3, 2008 at 12:50 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

I was quite excited to see the folks working on burying the Fios lines coming up my road. Before all this started ignorance was bliss, I was just waiting for them to turn the circuit on to my neighborhood and I was gonna be on the Fios train. Then I read about the broken sales promises, customer service and billing issues and it got me asking around to family, friends and co-workers who were already Fios customers and they confirmed all the stories. Plus they get you locked into a two year contract that if you want off the crazy train you have to pay again for. It's simply not worth it to me to switch. I thought I hated Brighthouse customer service, but at least they don't have me over a barrel with a contract. They all tell me that Fios itself is great, but the headaches that accompany it is NOT worth the picture clarity or internet speeds.

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Posted by ( GelatinousMonkey ) on April 3, 2008 at 1:01 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

So...many of you had experienced had/heard about bad customer service...so you left or changed...the free market works! I bet if enough of you leave, then they'll HAVE to improve the customer service! Maybe the employees should do the job they get paid to do and let the customers decide what "bad service" is.

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Posted by ( rosemadison ) on April 3, 2008 at 1:03 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

I worked for Verizon. It was exactly this....The customer calls for service or a billing question, you MUST offer them TWO different products or get written up. That was the most important part of the call. There were few RULES about how to handle the customer's problem....Just on how much you can sell them. Way to go Local 824!

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Posted by ( phil ) on April 3, 2008 at 1:07 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

In the pursuit of the mighty dollar we ALL suffer....VONAGE ROCKS!!!

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Posted by ( cgoch ) on April 3, 2008 at 1:19 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

I must be very unique, in January I called to have the full bundle installed as soon as the lines were run and the flyer was on the door. I called and spoke with a sales rep who brought on a tech to make sure all the sales guy said was correct. I got my deal and the free TV and was scheduled for install. On the day of install the tech showed up in the middle of the window they gave me for him to show, he was in and out of my house in a few hours and I have had no trouble at all. I did have some user issues and when I called the reps were friendly and helpful and didn't try and sell me any additional product. The first bill was a month and a half and I was told in advance it would be, My 2nd bill was exactly what they said it would be as well. I was told it would take 6 to 8 weeks to get my authorization for the free TV and it took 8 weeks almost to the day. I got my TV and did have issues with the TV that Magnavox couldn't fix but when I called Verizon tech support Allen was patient and stayed with me until the problem was fixed. Every thing I was told and every action from every person associated with Verizon was a great experience. If I'm wrong and it wasn't then maybe it was just so much better then Brighthouse that I didn't notice.

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Posted by ( BigBoat77 ) on April 3, 2008 at 1:42 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

If I had recorded several of the mishandled, hour-long attempts at help with Verizon Customer Service (over a very simple issue), I could have sold it to Brighthouse Advertising for a lot of money! They are the worst. The slightly better picture with FIOS is hardly worth the ridiculous experiences on their customer service line. Try it and see! I applaude the union workers for their actions!

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Posted by ( nmoore ) on April 3, 2008 at 2:55 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

I think this bruhaha is gonna take customer service from Verizon to a whole new level of quality. Let me
relate Yet another example of poor service: my neighbor told another service horror story about Brighthouse,
after testing his internet speed at a web site called speakeasy.com he found his speed was 1.5 MPS or less
everytime, he had been told it would be 7 MPS. When he complained to BH they said to read the fine print (yet another asterisk!) which said the speed is not guaranteed. After enough complaining they lowered his bill and
gave him free movie channels. Both him and his wife use the internet for some work from home and the kids are
gamers who also use the internet for their homework. The slow speeds became to much for them and they
switched to Verizon. Verizon also does not guarantee their speed but their basic package starts at 10 MPS. My
neighbor says it tests above 10 MPS every time on their FTTP network even during peak activity which is when
BH gets really slow on their shared network. He said this resulted in him and his wife finishing their work
faster and the kids getting their homework done quicker which resulted in more quality family time. You cant
put a price on that. Try the speed tests for yourself and at least get a discount if they are not delivering
the promised service. And watch out for those asterisks!

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Posted by ( getthestorystraight ) on April 3, 2008 at 3:04 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

I know several people that have worked for, or are still employed with the Verizon Corporation. The longevity of these Verizon employees sometimes spans 30 to 40 years of service. It is hard to believe that someone would stay with a company for that many years it they were not compensated with a good rate of pay, benefits, paid vacations, and several paid holidays. If the employees think that they were providing poor service to their customers, why would they continue working for such a bad company? Is it the customer that the employee is concerned about, or is it greed? I understand the company has cut down on overtime and adjusted forces to get work done in the course of a normal work week, instead of working overtime. Maybe we need to wake up some of the folks you see napping in their trucks and ask (this was previously stated in a comment on your site yesterday), because if they are not working overtime than why they are so tired that they have to sleep on the Company’s time.

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Posted by ( mobo308 ) on April 3, 2008 at 3:16 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

Sorry bobntapa you will never get it done by calling customer disservice oh I meant service or tech support. Try calling the Customer Experience Group's Brooke Massey at 813-989-7580. It will be solved in under 8 hours.

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Posted by ( jada ) on April 3, 2008 at 3:35 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

So......going on strike is going to help the customer how?

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Posted by ( Slumdweller ) on April 3, 2008 at 4:05 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

PNA,

Bell Atlantic bought out Nynex as I understood that merger, just like GTE got bought out. Doesn't improve the image much for me. You hit the nail right on the head with the problem though. The "Terrible" and all his New England croonies.

To answer your question , "Getthestory..", there probably won't be too many people actually working under the Verizon name for 30 + years. I know like most of the employees prior to Verizon, we gave it our all and when things got bad, we got out. Its hard to start over when you're retirement age, especially these days, so we ate crow for a couple of years until the new retirement plans were announced.

Prior to Verizon, GTE wireline was the name of the game in the Tampa Bay area. The GTE wireless network, which was state of the art, was sold off after Verizon was incooperated. Once the new Verizon management took the reigns (took about 3 years for the dust to settle), most of the 30 + year people (lifers) from both companies jumped out the windows prior to the FIOS network ever being in place.

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Posted by ( mobo308 ) on April 3, 2008 at 4:21 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

For Bobntpa here's another direct number: Susan at 1-877-483-3651. If anyone can help with verizon.net problems she can. Whatever you do don't call or email the e-center. It's a useless waste of time and energy.

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Posted by ( mattbuster ) on April 3, 2008 at 4:36 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

I am a little confused on why the employees would want to picket. Oh I forgot they want to due less and make more money. People of Tampa these union reps make at least 20 dollars an hour so if they picket i would hope they feel like idiots. There are plenty of people that would love to take there jobs and be happy to represent verizon. Did i mention 20 an hour. Thats good money in todays market. God bless verizon and the great union president Doug sellers. Way to go Doug Sellers

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Posted by ( tarselgland ) on April 3, 2008 at 4:41 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

my neighbor works for verizon and he tells me that none of the employees(including lower management) understands the direction that upper management is taking the company formerly known as gte...thru attrition,there are 50% less copper field techs this year vs a year ago which equates to a need to work overtime to stay caught-up on the work load....they were indeed working overtime up untill about a month ago,and thus keeping up with the load...however,at that time,upper management deemed overtime unnecessary...folks, here is the simple equation***if the field tech is allowed to work,then your phone gets fixed in a timely manner****if he is not allowed, then you have to wait weeks!!!by the way,where is that $ going that is saved on labor costs???do ya think possibly into upper managements pockets....they sure are not giving rebates to the lowly copper customer!!!!

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Posted by ( tarselgland ) on April 3, 2008 at 5:13 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

hey mattbuster, it was nice to read your grammatically correct post...

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Posted by ( godzilla ) on April 3, 2008 at 5:34 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

I have FIOS, it's a better technical product than cable, but Verizon's customer service does suck. Verizon poured billions into FIOS, basically they bet the company. They need to follow up that investment with one in customer support. Their field techs are generally good. The call center people are the weak link, a lot are good, but some of them are the dumbest human beings walking this planet.

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Posted by ( terryjnj ) on April 3, 2008 at 5:57 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

I had Fios installed in early December.
Went back to cable last week. Veizon Customer torture kept me on hold anytime I called about the free tv and when I tried to cancel it was a 2 hour process. I also got rid of my cell phone service with them. Maybe if everyone took $250.00 per month business from them, maybe serice would improve. Ps. Did anyone ever get the free tv?

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Posted by ( anyone ) on April 3, 2008 at 8:10 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

Well it's getting worse folks. Check out the problems with security.
http://tinyurl.com/2xw6rg
http://tinyurl.com/35dcxz

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Posted by ( qotfw ) on April 3, 2008 at 8:20 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

Dear getthestorystraight,

Wow, 99% of the comments are from customers or employees with real experiences with Verizon. Apparently you are either Verizon management, related to management or sleeping with management. Nice try ;)

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Posted by ( clustermonkey ) on April 3, 2008 at 8:37 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

OKay, even though I'm still impressed with the workers and unions with Verizon, my husband told me that we have Bright House for our home phone and internet. I dunno, I just pay the bills, he sets up the services. We only have our cell phones through Verizon. I'm still in support of the argument that they have.

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Posted by ( margaritagirl ) on April 3, 2008 at 8:49 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

Employees need their jobs, try looking at the economy and tell them to find another job. The informational picket is designed to let management know that the employees deserve the chance to help the customer. These employees are striving for quality not quantity. However, they are faced with the threat of disclipline for spending too much time with a customer. The employees want to do a good job. Management just needs to allow that to happen. Hourly employees are thankful for their benefits, their vacation, and pay. They thank the union every day for making sure that is all possible. This is all about the customer. This is about being allowed to do their job to best of their ability.

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Posted by ( littlejon69 ) on April 3, 2008 at 9:18 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

I work for verizon as well as a lot of other people that are posting comments on here. i would like to address getthestorystraight's comment.i don't really think that we feel as if we are providing poor service to our customer's. we provide the best service possible in the time that we are alotted to do the job.greed isn't a factor in our day to day work. no one is greedy to get harassed on a daily basis on how long it takes to get out of the workcenter when you are trying to get supplies amongst 100 + employees doing the same thing.we stay with the company because a majority of us like our jobs, you have good & bad everywhere you work, for us, it seems it is escalated to a level never seen before. . next time you see a verizon technician in his/her truck, you should go up to them & see exactly what they are doing before you post a comment about something you have no idea about. to back up bigirish76's statement, we do operate under a negotiated contract. yes we have benefits, vactions just like most other employees who work for large corporations. is that a sin ? we are dedicated to our customer's and our careers, that's why we stay working for verizon. i have faith that if we stick together & stay steadfast to our belief's we will prevail in our fight to wake up the upper management that is making these policies on productivity to once again truly put the customer first.to address jada, no one is going on strike, just an informational picket, you should read the whole story b4 posting a comment.i hope that we as employees have been able to shed some light on what we {local 824} are all about. i extend an invitation to anyone who would like to show some support for us & you the customer on monday 4-7-08 between 6:30am-7:30am.

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Posted by ( marriedtofios ) on April 3, 2008 at 9:37 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

PS... No offense to the "hillbillies", I have some fiddle-playing at my family reunions too! It was just a figure of speech, I'm sure you understand if you read my large prior comment.

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Posted by ( fedupvztech ) on April 3, 2008 at 10:12 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

I am a verizon FIOS installer. I have been installing FIOS since "day one". Back then we were able to spend as much time as needed to make sure everything was perfect on your install. The only thing that mattered was that the job was done correctly. We were to do everything in our power to "WOW" the coustomer. Now we live in a different world, we are allowed to spend as little time as possible to get it working and move on! Believe me quality on your install is NOT a priority of management. However for me, my only concern is to install your service as if I were installing it in my home. We get called several timers a day if we dont make certain "triggers". Lastly, to the idiot that said we sleep in our trucks. Until 2 weeks ago, we were forced to work 6 days a week, 10-14 hrs a day!!! It got so bad that my 8 yr old son asked my wife "when is daddy coming to visit us again".

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Posted by ( mattbuster ) on April 3, 2008 at 10:21 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

marriedtofios - first let me start by saying thank you to your husband for serving this great country and protecting us from the real enemies. As for IQ I don’t think so. I don’t even know what that means. Ha Ha I am sorry to offend anyone on previous messages but to call out grammar, come on! I can find an error in everyone’s messages. No one is saying that the techs, customer service Reps are not working hard. We all know that customer service is a job that few can handle. The real problem is that if you are going to work for a company you need to put your full amount of energy into it. People complain no matter what company they call, people say their customer service is terrible. Why? Because they didn’t receive anything for free. Sure verizon has its problems but in order for verizon to get through this its employees need stand by them. I know the employees are picketing on their own time and they have the right. I guess what I am trying to say is that verizon is a good company with great employees. If this doesn’t get better they can always out source to another country where Americans loose jobs and service is a bigger issue. Best of luck to verizon and their employees. No I am not affiliated with verizon , I just feel as though everyone is trying to bring them down. All this was probably started by an Brighthouse associate. Best of luck

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Posted by ( verizon23 ) on April 3, 2008 at 10:52 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

With that out of the way I have to ask “Are you serious when you say Brighthouse is better?” Please don’t make me laugh. I am 1 of few true blue Floridians. I remember when Brighthouse was Time Warner. They got such a bad rep that they were forced to change their name to Brighthouse just to save face. Different name same old terrible service/products if you ask me. And are we really crying about contracts? You might not be aware but Brighthouse is privately owned and not a regulated company. In laymen terms BRIGHTHOUSE CAN DO/CHARGE WHATEVER THEY WANT!!! They don’t have to guarantee you any price for any amount of time. While Verizon’s contracts do just that, guarantee your rate. So sorry but I’m not jumping on this bandwagon. I will continue to call Verizon’s first-rate customer service agents located in sunny Tampa, FL (for those of you who missed the enormous Verizon skyscrapers and claim to always be speaking to India).Verizon cant give free service to their employees, so dollar for dollar I will pay for my stunning FIOS services any day over Outhouse. OOPS, I meant Brighthouse.

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Posted by ( anyone ) on April 3, 2008 at 11:40 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

Conogre47

I won't stone you but I will educate you. New cell phones have a gps locator in case of an emergency. Unless you talk on the phone for hours you probably can find a plan that would be cheaper than your landline.
During the hurricanes when landlines went out my cell worked. And with a cell phone you can go where ever you want. If you end up in a jam you can call whoever you want from where ever you are. Ask the people in your neighborhood who they use, you might be pleasantly surprised.

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Posted by ( MrSmiley ) on April 4, 2008 at 1:50 a.m. ( Suggest removal )

To all of you that have made negative comments about verizon employees: Please get your facts straight. I work at verizon, and I love my job. I love going out every day pleasing the customers. It makes my day to go to someones home and provide them with outstanding customer service. I live to please the customer, and put a smile on their face. I am not "sleeping in my van", or earning "$100,000 plus" and doing "easy work". Trying hard to please the customer is my goal, and my job. I am continually pressured by management to abandon the customers that I work for, and not provide the quality service that the customers pay for. I have never asked for "more pay, and less work", only: please let me fix the problem right the first time. Picketing outside the workcenters has nothing to do with McDonnalds as "Snoopy" stated. It isn't even a correct analogy. We are picketing because we are fed-up with Verizon treating people like crap. We have the ability to picket, because of the Union.
Working in customer service is not like working on an assembly line. What I mean is: you can't just speed things up a little, and expect the same quality of work. You can't speed up customer service. It is like going into a crowded resturant, and expecting the same quality of service you would get if you were the only customer in the place.
Verizon has been "Speeding things up a little" for years now. Verizon speeds things up about every six months in my department. They call it "Management Objectives". Well, it has come to a point where the employees cannot meet the management objectives, and still serve their real boss... the customer. That is who we work for everyday, and that is who we serve. Please beep your horn when you see us picketing, because it is YOU the customer we are picketing for.

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Posted by ( LL ) on April 4, 2008 at 8:47 a.m. ( Suggest removal )

I have used Verizon wireless for over 2 years now, and it has been satisfactory but, from what I have read in these comments section, I won’t be using the FIOS service for a landline or television,
Verizon demands you sign a contract for 1-2years, and when the service is poor or non- existent they demand by contract to be paid, unlike other service companies that do a poor job and you simply fire them, Brighthouse has the right idea no contracts, if the service is bad you simply go elsewhere for that service it should be the same for Verizon, if there is no consequence for poor service and you have to continually pay for poor service why should they change, why does the consumer have to pay 200.00 to fire poor service companies such as Verizon. Remember the bottom line is money, the days of the customer being first are about gone.

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Posted by ( mim ) on April 4, 2008 at 1:50 p.m.

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Posted by ( mim ) on April 4, 2008 at 2:48 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

Wow Melody07! A freind of mine DID work as a V. customer service phone rep for computers and said that they would only give you a small amount of time, (they would listen in), for you to troubleshoot the problem ...then it was your butt on the line! We all know that sometimes it takes a while to troubleshoot a service over the phone.....especially if the customer happens to be an 80 year old lady. They would show no mercy!! Boy am I glad I went back to Brighthouse. I love my Roadrunner! Save me some donuts, I'll save you some coffee!!!

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Posted by ( mobo308 ) on April 4, 2008 at 4:44 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

Can anyone tell us where we can go to join this protest on Monday?

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Posted by ( lillbitt7 ) on April 4, 2008 at 6:42 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

At this point I have read everything above my post, WOW, a lot of misinformed critics out there toward the employees. I do have great benefits and pay, thanks to my union who keeps these greedy corporate thieves from taking my pay. If you don't belive me, just ask you nearest management personal. Yes they make less than us and have worse benefits. Further-more I do everything possible when I am at a customer location to help, they pay my bills and support my family. But if people understood how much stress Verizon puts on there employees to produce an unrealistic number or be fired you would understand what we are going through. We have leadership in position who have never performed these duties. It was not that way before. Someone that was respected was promoted and guided us to success. Not anymore, its dictatorship at it worst. Thanks Doug Sellers for help us protect our customer and our future by address the customer first, maybe then we can change our work environment. PS. Sorry to all those customer who have experienced poor service, remember it is you who can help change our work environment by speaking out. Please don't abuse the employees, we have to follow the rules. I have a motto...THE BEST WAY TO GET RIDE OF A BAD IDEA IS TO FOLLOW IT TO THE T.

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Posted by ( VerizonFree ) on April 4, 2008 at 11:30 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

Verizon has turned into a sick and rabbid dog that needs to be put down. The craft employees are being victimized daily by management's sadistic treatment which includes: an intensely negative unhealthy environment of fear of job loss every day. Which included "camping on one's line" not to assure quality contacts for the customer, but instead to make sure all eleven products were being offered in a systematic manner. I was caught only offering 8 of the 11 products that were mandatory to offer. During each contact the customer was very satisfied and the issue was completely resolved, yet due to being monitored not offering 2 more products in the systematic process called the "Whole House" I was terminated after nearly a decade of service, with an impeccable attendance record. And professional demenure showing each customer how much they were valued, despite Verizon attitudes and management actions to the contrary. Managements imposed quotas that were completely unreasonable and demoralizing. And not surprisingly only a very small minority actually were able to make their imposed numbers. I was a customer sales solution representative that provided the very best customer service under the idea of the Golden Rule, to treat others how you would like to be treated.

Verizon23 is one of many management stooges spewing the company line, say something enough times and eventually people will believe it, just like the Nazi's. It was stated that:
"so called former employees that you’ve been hearing from probably aren’t working for Verizon because they were part of the problem and not the solution."
Yet the "problems" are still there making all the decisions, one decision that was made was to get rid of customer service professionals in lieu of the high pressure sales annoyances. Then another decision to route calls out of country. Call tech support and get a tech in Mexico or some other third world country. In closing, superior technology will not out weigh substandard customer service.

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Posted by ( littlejon69 ) on April 5, 2008 at 10:24 a.m. ( Suggest removal )

for anyone living in east tampa & the brandon area, our picket will be at 7855 causeway blvd, that's between 78th st. & hwy. 301. i have read all of the comments above mine as well, i would to thank those employees who work in the field for standing up & voicing there concerns,as well as all of the customer's that have shown thier support, we need everyone to do the same, i believe we have reached a point in this "big corporate" way of doing business, that if we don't stand now, they drive our employment rate right thru the floor. not only union workers,but everyday hard working people. we as union employees do make a good wage, have good benefits, but we and i mean the employees & union members who have made sacrifices,put in the work to get what we have. make no mistake, we have to fight for what we have, do you honestly think verizon would willingly give it away, i think their actions in the past year have shown otherwise.the best way i have found to deal with these everyday problems we have is to inform every customer i come in contact with about our issues, which truthfully is theirs as well. some of the other locations where they will be picketing, plant city,alexander st next to the tampa electric yard,in tampa, 131st ave & 15th st.,anderson rd near waters ave, carrolwood @ zambito & erlich rd.we look forward to seeing as many customers out there at these locations as well as our fellow craft brothers & sisters. keep this in mind, if you think that these issues don't affect you because you don't attend the meetings or participate in the rallys & other events, it will be you as well as the rest of us that will suffer. " YOU NEED TO BE INVOLVED".

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Posted by ( ladiliberty ) on April 6, 2008 at 2:11 a.m.

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Posted by ( gman044 ) on April 7, 2008 at 2:05 p.m. ( Suggest removal )

I left the Verizon call center a few months ago because I was tired of not being able to actually help customers. What management fails to understand or care about is that in order to get to the ROOT CAUSE of the customer's problem...it takes more than 7 minutes. If calls went too long, the call center reps get harrassed by their know-nothing supervisors who would have no idea how to do the job that their employees are doing. I was paid very well and the benefits were great...no issues there....but I could not work for a company that treated their customers so poorly. My father asked me if he should switch all of his services from BH to VZ and I honestly had to tell him no. That meant that I did not believe in the company that I worked for or the products that I was selling....I had to get out.

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