Verizon — Local services in Lake Oswego

UPDATE The staff here are friendly enough, but my recent experience was not positive.

On Sunday 09/26 I visited this store to set up 3 new lines because I want to drop my current carrier. My Rep's name is Alex and we evaluated several options ranging from refurbished phones to the new iPhone 13. Due to wanting a 5G phone and not having new enough phones to qualify for the iPhone 13 promo, I decided to go with the iPhone 12 mini because they were 5G compatible and were available at “no cost” with a new plan. I wanted to get the 128 GB model, but they didn’t have anything in stock, so we ordered 3 of them in red (the only option for immediate shipping) and were assured we’d have the phones in a day or two.

After I got home, I received an e-mail from Verizon with an invoice for the order, but on review, the order consisted of 2 128gb iPhones and 1 64 GB iPhone instead of the 3 128 GB phones that I ordered. I immediately e-mailed my rep (the store was closed by the time the e-mail arrived) and advised him of the mistake.

I called the store the following day (Monday 09/27) and spoke with Alex, who was unaware of my e-mail from the previous night. He assured me that he would correct the order by cancelling the delivery of the 64 GB phone and then order another 128 GB phone. He said it might be an extra day or so, but I wasn’t in a hurry so I agreed.

I received a call Thursday evening (09/30) advising me that all of the correct phones had arrived, and I advised Alex that I’d be by on Friday afternoon to complete the setup.

I arrived on Friday (10/01) and met with Alex, who advised me that the sales promotion on the iPhone 12 mini was no longer valid and that he couldn’t honor the plan we’d setup earlier. He advised that I would need to purchase the iPhone minis at full retail price if I wanted to keep them. When I advised him that the only reason I chose the minis were because they were free, He tried to “upsell” us into a new iPhone 13 promotion. I then reminded him that we’d evaluated that plan Sunday afternoon and had declined it because our phones were too old to qualify. I then asked if he could reach out to Verizon and explain the delay in receiving our phones due to the order being incorrect (through no fault of ours), and he agreed to do so. When he returned, he advised that he’d spoken to both his manager and Verizon, and that while everyone felt it likely that Verizon would honor the promo for us, no one could guarantee it. Further, the only way to know for sure would be to take possession of the phones and activate the new lines and wait a few weeks to see what happened. Alex assured me that we’d know within the 30 day return period, but if the plan wasn’t honored I’d have to select a new set of phones and return everything else. I declined his offer and walked away without purchasing anything.

It’s now Saturday evening (10/02), and I’ve been looking for a reasonably priced 5G phone on the Verizon website because I still want to change carriers. I’m not seeing much, but I do see that the iPhone 12 mini is currently listed as free with a new qualifying plan.

Make of that...

Many issues with this store in my experience. I came here last week to replace my phone since it's nearby. This is a Verizon partner location, not a corporate store, and they charge more than buying directly from Verizon and use some shady practices. 1.) When buying a phone they ask if you want device protection or any of the premium add-ons offered with the plan. I declined this offer, the salesman named Taylor confirmed, I got home and saw he had signed me up for $85/month of extras including device protection which we specifically discussed and declined. When I went back in he said "you caught me" and removed them all. They most likely get a bonus for how many people they can sign up. 2.) If you go in and look at phones you'll see they advertise prices on tags that are the same you would pay as if you bought directly from Verizon, but the true price they charge is more expensive than the listed tag price and the store won't tell you until you ask for a breakdown at checkout. How they make money is by telling you they will include a bunch of accessories (case, protector) for "free" and then when it's time to pay they will charge you for all of them on the basis they are discounting the cost down from their marked up price to the same as Verizon's price. i.e. Verizon charges $1299 to buy the S24 ultra outright, this store charges $1399 and they "give" you the $100 difference in accessories. I should have received $100 worth of accessories but instead they charged me $85 still on top of the regular $1299 price 🤣, when I went back in with my receipt to ask for a breakdown the salesman could not explain the charges but again said he "messed up" and offered a $35 refund (for what exactly I am not sure, he could not tell me). He went on to say the only way he could do it is to refund $85, then charge me $50 (???) for a net balance of (-$35), that was 5 days ago and I still don't have the refund but I do have the 2nd $50 charge, I went in a 3rd time today and the manager assured me the refund would come through today. Overall an insanely complicated process that the salesmans themselves don't seem to understand.

You need a sharp eye, attention to detail, and a lot of time to spare when dealing with this store. I can't imagine how many older folks they take advantage of by "accidentally" signing people up for things they don't need. Save your time and money and go...

TLDR; just go to this store. Don't go to any of the other stores in the area, this is the one you want. Kyle and the team will have you in and out, with fantastic customer service and a great price on your order. And they know what they're talking about.

First, I have to say that Kyle and the team greatly disappointed me. I'd loaded up an audio book and a great game onto my phone before I stopped in to find a phone for my wife, ready to beat the game, finish the book, then leisurely spend another hour or two waiting before a Verizon rep got around to helping me. That's what I'm used to at Verizon stores. One time, at Verizon, I learned how to speak German (fluently) while waiting for someone to help me.

Not only did I NOT have to wait very long, they had chairs where I could comfortably sit while waiting. I'd specifically purchased a pair of orthopedic shoes for $400 knowing that I'd have to be on my feet in a corner under a freezing A/C vent for two hours. Chairs? Might as well give these shoes to Grandpa for Christmas now, I guess I don't need them any more.

And then Kyle knew EVERYTHING about what I needed, and he just told it to me, and didn't sprinkle in stories about that game he's writing, and how he used to be in a band, and then sold digitized seashells at the beach, before getting this gig at Verizon. I didn't learn ANYTHING about his girlfriend's tech startup. He just helped me pick out a phone, gave me direct pricing, found me a great deal, and I was on my way.

Now I have to go in today to pick up the phone I ordered, and I'm not sure what to do. Do I just throw on a pair of flip flops? Do I load up "Calculus for Dummies" before going in, or do I just grab my debit card and plan out the rest of my day? I could literally be out of the store in 15 minutes, which leaves me a LOT of day to fill up. Thanks a LOT, Verizon. Maybe I'll stop by the DMV on...