Verizon — Local services in Alamogordo

My wife and I switched to Verizon due to their service reputation and recommendation from others. Our phones have been wonderful and the service really does outperform the competition, in my opinion. We even have service when we are camping which is more than can be said by our prior service provider.

However, I have lost confidence in the integrity of this particular store due to being lied to. When we were initially going over plans, we were told that I qualified for the "first responder" discount because I am a physician. I was initially skeptical because I am an ophthalmologist, not exactly the type of physician considered to be a first responder. However, the gentleman working with us assured me that I qualified. He knew full well that I was an ophthalmologist because he even started talking about his own eyes. He just said we had to provide proof of my medical license within the first few months of joining Verizon.

Fast forward about a month later and I couldn't find anywhere on my account to put in information regarding my medical license. I only found places for paramedics, firefighters, police officers, etc. We called customer service and were told that we had to go to the store we purchased the phones from to get that resolved. We did so and the lady that greeted us at the entrance informed us that physicians did not qualify. When questioned why it appeared that we were lied to, she replied by saying that she was not there for the original conversation but that she could talk with this particular sales rep. Fair point, she wasn't there. I explained that I wanted to talk with him personally so we waited for him to finish up with a different customer.

He came over and started talking about miscommunication and that he meant "best case scenario is that they would accept me as a first responder." This was not miscommunication. My wife and I remember the conversation very well, particularly because of how skeptical I was about it to begin with (again, ophthalmologist a first responder?). I can't stress this enough: this was not miscommunication. There was absolutely no discussion about best case scenarios or that we might not qualify. We were told to our faces that I would qualify; no "ifs," "ands," or "buts." No questions asked, all we had to do was provide proof I was a physician. We were lied to for a sale and are now stuck with a higher monthly bill. However, money isn't the main issue. The principle of integrity is. We were lied to and there is absolutely no accountability being taken because all we were told was "sorry" by the sales rep and his manager. There was no offer to try to make things better or restore goodwill. Unfortunately, "sorry" doesn't cut it when you aren't the one stuck with the bill after being lied to. It is a real shame because this seems all too common these days. It is not about doing what is right and having integrity. It's about getting the sale regardless of how you go about getting it. They can apologize all they want and send us an "issue resolution contact form" but, in the end, it is doubtful any accountability will be taken given the lack of concern already shown. I am genuinely shocked. We would have picked Verizon even without the first responder discount. However, we were played. Well done guys. You got us. Hope it was worth it.

Will we stay with Verizon? Probably, the cell service really is pretty awesome. It just hurts to be taken advantage of and I cannot, under good conscience, recommend this particular store due to the questionable ethics of their...

The person who helped us was very prompt and polite and helpful but we were quoted significantly Less in the store for what a new line would be than what we were actually charged when we got home and checked our bill. We were told a new line would only be $41, but before discounts and taxes and surcharge the line is 65 and after discounts it is 50, but it's still more than what we were quoted in store. We also were quoted the $35 activation fee, which was to be expected but also found an additional charge for nearly $30. We anticipated a little higher than 41 with the taxes and fees for the regularly monthly as my line is about 10 more with fees and surcharge but not $25 more a month than what we were quoted in the store. The initial fees with activation are $142!!!! 66 and change for the regular monthly. I attempted to call the local store shortly after we left and discovered the discrepancies but was taken to a call center not in the country and was told that there's no way to contact the local store by phone nor by email, and that the only way we can reach them is to go in person and I live an hour away from the city that this was done in because I was adding my dad to my plan and he lives in this city, so to resolve this issue or even speak to the person who helped me I have to drive an hour out of my way. Had we been quoted the correct amount initially, we would have changed a lot of the options that were also on the plan. The person in the store was also very kind and helpful which is why I wanted to speak to them, the person that I got at the call center that it sent me to was very rude and continuously talked over me and I had to ask to finish my sentence several times. Overall disappointed in Verizon in general. It seems a little ridiculous to me that there's no way to contact the local store by phone when it's literally a phone store, even when you know exactly who helped you and you were only there 30 minutes prior. I've had Verizon for over 7 years and I'm constantly disappointed in the customer service, the app functionality, and the steadily and consistently increasing prices. I'm certain that the only way they keep customers is because they have good cell tower coverage and I'm very hopeful that that will soon change so I can switch to a...

Gone in twice for upgrades, left twice without upgrades. The first time, the lady was super nice and suggested better promos would be coming up. So when a better promo came along, we decided to go back and upgrade. The gentleman who was assigned to help us was quite useless. He seemed completely disinterested in helping us. He claimed he couldn’t tell me my trade in value on my phone. I was able to look it up on the Verizon app right in front of him. I wanted him to find this information so he could use it to tell us what our monthly bill would be with upgrades after trade in - but he kept saying “I don’t know”. We literally gave up and walked out. If I had to guess, he didn’t want to help us as it was the end of the day and he knows his paycheck is coming whether he gets customers set up with new phones or not. Or he is trying to push us to wait to the newest phone coming out in a few months. Won’t be going back. Would rather do everything online or over the phone ...