Verizon — Local services in Capitola

I am rating this location 3 stars as I've never encountered any problems until today!

I was directed by Verizon customer service to initiate a return and an upgrade on one of my devices to one of their retail stores. Upon arriving and stating my business above the representative made it a point that the word 'return' was incorrect as it wasn't a phone I bought and was 'returning within 30 days'. Note, on my Verizon account online lists the following statement on the phone I wanted to return and upgrade: "For $149.43, you can return this device and upgrade early." Once he was done correcting my choice of vocabulary with my request, he told me the phone wasn't available to be returned or upgraded. I informed the representative that I've been informed by both Verizon customer service and on my Verizon website that I could. He still said no and if I returned the phone, I would not get credit for the phone's value if I purchased another phone. He then directed me to work out it with customer service. I got back on the line with customer service and resolved the issue in under 10 minutes including returning the phone, getting the old phone's value credited to my account (once they receive the old phone), and purchasing the upgrade.

I'm not sure what the disconnect here was between this retail outlet and customer service, but it required more time and effort than needed. It also cost the retailer new sales including an upgrade phone, case, and screen protector. I would recommend utilizing customer service instead of this retailer for...

After waiting for 45 minutes with two people ahead of me. I decided to come back another day so I decided on Saturday. BIG MISTAKE while waiting for an hour I decided to read the reviews for this store. There were more complaints than good reviews and the manager continued to respond to the complaints with canned responses, so while waiting I decided to check out T-Mobile. T-Mobile picked up the phone immediately with a real person on the other end of the line. If you call Verizon you get a robot that asks you for your pin # and you wait again! If you don't know your pin# you are out of luck. T-Moble not only picks up but tells you how long your wait is at their store- it was 10 minutes! So I left Verizon for the last time to get an identical plan from T-Mobile for LESS than HALF THE PRICE of Verizon. Jose at T-Mobile was available in 20 minutes and was so accommodating and efficient. Now we're on T-Mobile and I'm extremely happy with their service. LET YOUR FEET DO THE VOTING!

ONE MONTH LATER OK, My tail is between my legs! After one month of T-Mobile I sadly discovered that their coverage map is bogus. No coverage in Capitola village, no coverage in south county or Hollister. Verizon is way better! After talking to a friend who is a Verizon cable installer I learned that I can avoid the long lines and poor service at Verizon stores by going to BEST BUY. There was NO WAIT and they are just as competent as the Verizon people at the Verizon stores. So I have to say they have the BEST coverage and the WORST...

To all who are considering visiting this store, make an appointment. I tried to wing it on my lunch break and knew I was screwed the moment I saw someone sleeping on a bench in the back of the store. 2 stars because all I needed was a new SIM card to put in a new phone after losing my previous one. In the store when I realized the wait was gonna be over an hour, I asked if I could activate a new SIM over the phone or online. They said yeah I could. So I asked for a SIM and I would be on my way. They said they couldn’t give it to me because it would “deplete their inventory”. Isn’t that the point? To make sure Verizon customers have SIM cards to access their network? I thought I was being helpful by taking the activation process off their hands, but instead I made an appointment and drove all the way back the next day. I got right in, and was out with what I needed in 20 minutes. And for Verizon in general: I couldn’t order online because 2 factor identification would only allow a text to my phone number I didn’t have available to me. I also couldn’t chat with an agent on the web chat because it required login - 2 factor ID text message. And I couldn’t call because…I lost my phone and that was the whole reason I was trying to get support. Please make it easier to contact Verizon support for those that don’t have their phone...