What happens to many other Verizon customers happened to me today and it wasn't pretty (UPDATE)
As a 20-year Verizon customer, the carrier took advantage of me today by lying about losing my perks.
UPDATE:Verizon's Executive Office reviewed the tape of my phone call with the rep and admitted that she did unintentionally fail to tell me that I was going to lose my perks including Hulu, Apple Music, Apple Arcade, and Google Play Pass. The carrier is giving me a monthly discount that will more than cover the monthly Hulu perk I ended up signing up for yesterday.
Going forward, Verizon's Executive Office has some good ideas that could prevent a rep from forgetting to mention certain things to a customer changing plans. One such idea would allow a rep to see a series of boxes with reminders such as "Mention loss of perks." This system would prevent any changes from being put through the system unless all of the boxes have been checked. Sounds like a plan that could help both Verizon customers and the carrier's reps.
The original story follows...
As a 20-year Verizon customer, I was extremely upset today when all of the negative things that I have written about lying reps ripping off the public hit too close to home. This afternoon, I was in the process of upgrading an iPhone on my Verizon account when the rep told me that I could save a few bucks by changing the plans I was paying for. According to the rep, the monthly cost would be reduced to $65 per month from $69 per month, but I would get an increase to 30GB of high-speed mobile hotspot each month, up from 25GB.
The rep told me that this was the only change, so I agreed to it. But the rep lied, and after all of the reporting I've done over the last few years detailing the shady side of the wireless industry, perhaps I shouldn't have been surprised. What the Verizon rep failed to tell me was that I would lose my perks which included free Hulu, free Apple Music, free Google Play Pass and free Apple Arcade. Another Verizon rep I spoke with admitted that the first rep I spoke with did not tell me the truth.
The amount of lying and gaslighting in the mobile industry is quite astonishing. And it doesn't matter whether you're a new customer or a 20-year customer. And don't bother to ask for a supervisor because you'll never hear from one, even if you are promised a call at a certain time. I was told that a supervisor would call me within an hour after I finished my call with the rep. It's been six hours later and a supervisor never called. The only solution, and one that I see many recommending on social media, is to subscribe to an MVNO,
An MVNO is a mobile virtual network operator. These are wireless firms that don't own a network or spectrum. They purchase wireless service wholesale from one of the major US carriers and sell it retail. Because they usually don't have the expense of paying a salesforce or expensive building leases, the MVNOs can charge lower rates than the major carriers, even though some MVNOs are units of Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T. Some of the top MVNOs in the US include Visible (ironically owned by Verizon), Google Fi, Cricket Wireless, and Xfinity Mobile.
Should I switch carriers after 20 years with Verizon? It's something that I am seriously considering because, after the way I was treated today, it seems that it is time for a brand new relationship with a company that values my business. That is not Verizon. Not anymore.
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