Great Product, Poor Customer Service

It's always frustrating for a consumer to see a great product marred by a lackluster (or even worse) customer service experience. However, this scenario is all too common as companies continue to not make customer service a priority.

From the consumer's standpoint, it's a bit of a no brainer. After all, why spend so much on advertising and promotions, and then scrimp on providing good service to your loyal customers? I'll never figure it out, but when I have a problem, day or night, I expect to be able to speak to them, and they should speak clear English. They also should be educated and empowered to handle the problem.

It's easy to see that Verizon's Fios offering is a key technology that is keeping the cable execs up at night. With fiber directly to the home, and the ability to add bandwidth faster than the competition, it's no wonder that the phone company jumped into the number 10 cable provider nationally, even though this didn't exist before 2005. While this is no small feat, I'm completely confused and dismayed how they continue to screw up the customer service end of things. This today out of Florida:

Sam Miller came so close to tossing his Verizon cable TV box to the curb outside.

After signing up in November for Verizon's $99 a month deal for FiOS cable TV, Internet and phone service, Verizon was still sending him bills for $130 or more. He called to complain each month, but eventually his bill was stacked with $265 in extra fees.

One time he called Verizon, "they told me we didn't have an account. I told them they could pick up their stuff at the curb," Miller said. By calling random phone numbers at Verizon, he eventually found a helpful marketing clerk in a branch office to untangle his bill. He still hasn't gotten the free TV for signing up — that's going to take months.

"The TV picture reception is noticeably better," Miller said. "It just seems like they grew so fast they could not keep up with customer demands."

Unfortunately for Verizon, Miller is not alone in having complaints.

Yeah, it's stuff like this that give you pause. I'm still trying to figure out why they keep advertising a $95 monthly deal for triple play (it varies by market up to $105), when it doesn't include any set top boxes so it's hardly accurate. They don't sell internet, and then rent me a modem every month, do they? This initial offer and then the jack up is a type of bait and switch that confuses less tech savvy consumers.

Customers have also been very frustrated by the limited hours that the service department are open. When the TV is out before the big game on the weekend, do you want to wait until Monday to speak to someone? At time, Verizon acts like the old phone monopoly that could get away with that type of thing, and not the major communication provider they're turning into.

Is there a solution here? I don't really think so. Just don't be so disappointed if Fios is not in your area yet, and realize that while the fiber is great, the entire experience is nothing to write home about. Hopefully Verizon will get on the ball and eliminate these kinds of complaints before they run the fiber to your neck of the woods.

Jonas