Customer service clarification, Verizon

I've been blogging about customer service issues and dissed Verizon, but I should have noted that when they (the company) sent a technician out to my house, he (the person) was excellent.

First, he told me frankly there was no way I could get the connection speeds I signed up for and suggested I downgrade my plan. I was just to far away from the local hub. Then he installed what he called a home run—a direct line from the service box on my street to my modem. He claimed by bypassing any local connections in the house, this would ensure I was getting the fastest speed possible.

This is a good illustration of something I said earlier (forgive me for quoting myself):

...good customer service is often representative of the individual and bad customer service often of lame brain company policy.

Anyway, I felt like I needed to set the record straight on that one. I am not actually sure if he was a Verizon employee or a subcontractor working for Verizon. But in any case, I felt he helped me out as best as he could.

Bad customer service: Verizon (part 2)

I've blogged a few times on customer service, both good and bad. I said I experienced both flavors with Verizon, my DSL provider. But I never followed up on that last post. Really it was not the modem at all. But that is a long story and not relevant to today's post. Except that Verizon's customer service is pretty bad.

Recently I wanted to find out if my IP address is unique to me. I tested a few times and found that is is always the same, but I really wasn't sure if the IP was specifically mine or if they filtered a number of clients through the same IP. After talking with some others who know more about this than I do, I am pretty sure my IP is unique to me. But in my process, I sent an email to Verizon technical support through their web site and asked the question.

I got the following response. Did they even read my email? I've annotated the email below just for kicks.

Dear E. Stevenson,
Yes, that's right, most people call me "E period."

Thank you for contacting the Verizon eCenter. I have received your email dated January 18, 2007 regarding information you need from Verizon Online DSL tech support.

We apologize for the trouble you are having.
Well, I am not really having any trouble, I just have a technical question and figure the technical support group would be the best people to contact.

In order to provide you with the technical assistance required to resolve your issue, please contact our Verizon Online Technical Support team directly.
Hmmm...is email not direct enough? Are the smart technical support people only available by phone? Don't they have email?

To reach Verizon Online Technical Support, please dial (800)567-6789. Verify the 10-digit telephone number on which you have or wish to have Internet service, then say the name of the department.

A Verizon Online representative will be happy to assist you.
Aren't you a Verizon Online representative? If not, who are you and why did you get my email I sent to VERIZON?

For offline self-help, DSL customers can use Verizon Online's Support Center software, which should have been loaded on your computer during installation.

You can run the Support Center software to automatically check and fix many common Internet and e-mail problems. You can also find answers to frequently asked questions. Like, why do you have email support, if you then direct people to call? That is a frequently asked question I now have. Just look for and click on the Verizon Online Support Center software "question mark" icon located on your computer desktop or you may go to the following web site to download the software at no additional charge.

http://www.verizon.net/help

The Verizon Online Technical Support team to which we have referred you will be able to assist you. If you have any additional questions, please let us know. Yes, is my IP address specific to me.... We look forward to serving you. If you had just answered my question you would have served me and wouldn't need to look forward to it at a future time.

Thank you for using Verizon. We appreciate your business.

Sincerely,
Darlene
C'mon, we are pretty close. Can I call you "D period?"
Verizon eCenter

Bad (and good) customer service: Verizon

A day before my recent vacation, I experienced intermittent and slow connection speeds with my Verizon DSL. For the 8 months or so before that my service had been fine.

I called Verizon's DSL technical support and one question threw me for a loop: how long was my phone line from my computer to my wall jack. Well, I set up my office in my basement and ran the lines myself. There really is no wall jack (it is just running to my wireless router outside my office). I ran the line right from the main console and it is about 25 feet. So I said "25 feet." Seems Verizon says your line can't be more than 10 feet. But what is the difference if I was on, say a third floor, with a 2 foot line to my wall jack that had 30-40 feet running down to the main console? And why, all of a sudden, would my 25 foot line cause problems? The technical rep didn't want to hear anything else. She wouldn't go beyond this issue and refused to help me until I moved my set up closer to my non-existent wall jack.

I was frustrated but had a vacation in front of me. When I returned, I set up the modem right off the main console and called back. This time, the rep did not ask me this stupid question. But he did do a number of line tests, determined my modem is faulty, and said I will receive a new one in 2-3 days. Problem diagnosed in about 10 minutes and the solution on its way via mail.

Now, why couldn't the first person run the same test?