Verizon — Local services in Boston

Horrible customer service. I walked in and explained what I was there for (new phone) but that I wasn’t sure what I wanted exactly. I was basically told ‘well you’re going to have to figure that out yourself before we can help you so go look up the options online and get back to us’ rather than something more helpful like ‘ok let’s go over the different options and let you see/feel them so you can make a decision.’

Because of this, I instead went over to the Apple store where customer service was great. They answered all my questions and let me play around with the different options KNOWING they weren’t even going to get a sale from me because I was purchasing on a business account (which is handled only through the service provider).

When I eventually went back to the Verizon store I wandered around like a chicken with my head cut off looking for someone to help me or even simply check in so that the next available Verizon rep could help when free. Eventually I interrupted one of the reps who was with someone and said I can’t find a single free employee nor someone to even check in with! She tracked down the person supposed to check in new customers who was seemingly hiding in a non-obvious area of the store.

When I finally got a free rep, he was actually helpful. But I had a hiccup with the business account I needed to straighten out before finishing the transaction and in the time I was straightening this out over the phone/email, my rep went on break so that when it was all resolved, I essentially went back to the end of the line waiting for a free rep. There did appear to be a few employees just chit chatting together who said ‘we’ll help you shortly’ as if they couldn’t have helped me right then and there.

Eventually the rep I dealt with who went on break came back inside and asked is everything taken care of? I told him yes I got the business account straightened out but no other rep has helped me despite seeming free. He asked one of the reps who was chit chatting to help me now so the guy agreed. This rep was helping me WITH AIRPODS IN HIS EARS which seems so disrespectful. Sure, he was very likely not listening to anything but how do I know? He was not the only rep who has AirPods in his ears. Very...

If you need help with something, just call customer service: it will be faster and you will actually be helped. They have more security and people asking you whether you've been added to the queue than people actually helping you.

Here is my story: Opened an account with 2 new phones in December when there was a special price promotion ($19 instead of $35 for phone, or something like that), it would go into effect after 2 billing cycles or so. So 5 month later, the price is still full price, and I finally get around to going to the store to figure it. I thought, since I got it there, they would quickly resolve the issue. After 40 min of waiting, I finally explain what's happening, the guy tells me he needs to talk to him manager. Leaves. Comes back. Says his manager said it must have been a promotion where we had to trade phones in, and we didn't, so we didn't get credited. I say, no it was not, pretty sure the person who signed us up would have told us. They say they will look into it. Manager calls us, tell us they can't find what promotion it was, and there is nothing they can do. The person working with us must have forgotten to tell us to trade in the phones. I'm like, OK, this does not make any sense, there were no trade in phone requirements, it was a simple promotion price for Google pixel. Basically they could not find the right code, and were lazy to do something about it. It was a useless back and forth conversation where the manager had no idea what was going on and did not even try to resolve the issue.

I call customer service of Verizon, explain the situation, she puts me on hold, a few min later she says she found the right code and adds it to the account. She said it was the mistake of the person who opened the account for us. And due to that we've been overcharged for 5 months now. Thank you, kind lady!

Lesson learned: Should have called...

After the Patriot Parade, I needed to get my phone recharged, so I dropped by in the hopes that because I was a loyal Verizon customer, they would charge my phone for me. What a pleasant experience! They welcomed my request and charged it immediately. It took about a half-hour to charge my Samsung, during which time I had a chance to observe the salespeople in action and chat with a few of them. Over the course of conversation with one of them, I spilled my guts about a number of problems I was encountering with my Samsung Galaxy, including my problems with the GPS system and accessing the Verizon Cloud. The salesman with whom I was talking did a thorough troubleshoot of the problems at hand (I am in a position to judge his efforts because I myself am a high-tech PC software consultant and an intellectual property attorney), but ultimately failed to solve them. So he called in Omar, a hi-tech wizard who deleted a number of applications, then re-installed them and reintegrated them so that they were running seamlessly together. Maybe it was due to the effect of the Patriots' Superbowl celebration, but, in any event, I could not believe how cordial and friendly and competent everyone was about helping me, a stranger who came in off the street just to get his phone charged! Later, after I returned to my law office in Medford, I was greeted by a message informing me that one of the Verizon salespeople had found the gold-and-silver business card carrying case that I had mistakenly left behind on the counter, and that they would hold it for me for later pickup. I admit that from time-to-time I had considered giving up on Verizon for one reason or another, but this latest, unexpected, random experience with the company's representatives has restored my faith in the company. Hats off to the 899 Boyleston Street...