Background...I am in Florida and part of the fairly recent conversion from Verizon FIOS to Frontier Communications.
My Two year contract with Verizon was up in mid-July.
In early July I call up Frontier to discuss my options for possible renewal. Mind you I was paying $188.17 in total for 50/50 internet, 3 cable boxes (multi-room DVR), premier channel line up, 2 phone lines (one was a fax) etc. First person I talk to at Frontier tells me for the same services I have now it will be $213.68 and that is the best they can do. My response to the 13.5% increase is that I will need to contact my local cable provider to check pricing and get back to them...
Called Bright House cable and get a quote of $193 plus change all inclusive (includes taxes and fees)...
So, figuring that Frontier is likely losing clients, they may want to retain so I decide to give them another shot. This time I talk to another person (Connecticut)... she says that since I am a recent Verizon convert that she can input me as a NEW client and they can offer me special pricing which will amount to somewhere around $5 less than I am paying now for the first year, and about $3 more the second year. To which I agree. She says she will input all of this into the system later that day and I will get an email confirming what we discussed and the pricing within 24 to 48 hours. So I end that phone call feeling good about everything.
5 days later I have not received an email. So I call them at about 10pm at night. Lady looks it up and says something to the effect that she sees where they entered a bunch of discounts and that it looks similar to what the first lady told me. I asked her to send me the confirmation email. She states that she is just a ????(some kind of employee) and she does not have ability to email me, but things should be good. OK, the hair is up on the back of my neck now, but decide to roll with it. 2.5 weeks later I get my bill....$213.68 !!!!!
So now we are at the end of the first week in August, I call Frontier after receiving the bill. Girl on the phone (different one again) says that the first girl screwed up when the order was placed, and that she checked and she can get the order placed. But says this will require me to have new cable boxes (new technology she says). She actually credits back my account for the difference of what I was promised and the bill, and says I will get a box via Courier with new cable boxes and another with cardboard boxes so I can send the old ones back.
Three days later I get the cardboard boxes but no cable boxes. I wait 3 more days and I have to call them again. Girl that answers(another new one) says she does not see any order for cable boxes, and that the monthly charges on my account still amount to $213.68... In the meantime, Frontier has disabled the multi-room DVR functions on my current Verizon boxes.
I ask to speak to a supervisor. After about 25 minutes on hold, a guy picks up. And I can tell right away he is not feeling like being friendly. I explain the situation from beginning to end. He looks up all the notes made on the account. Then comes back and tells me that (I am paraphrasing here) "IF like you said, the first employee you spoke to eluded to the fact you could get new customer pricing, then she was wrong and she has no authority to do that" "So if she said that then maybe we have a training opportunity on our end, but we cannot honor that pricing... the pricing is $213.68". "But I am not even sure she told you that because she did not put that note in the file". To this I replied....does the girl get a commission if she sells me a contract as a new customer as opposed to a renewal? His response was affirmative.
I am livid now because this guy is not apologizing but pretty much accusing me of making up this whole story... But I tell him, ok I will likely take my business elsewhere, I need to think about it. Asked him when I am paid up until. He said 8/22. I told him that I would expect any termination fee to be waived based on circumstances. He said that would be fine and pretty much hung up on me....
Got Bright House cable/internet/phone all installed on 8/17. They ported my primary phone line as usual. Called up Frontier to tell them to cancel all my services as I have switched carriers. Besides the girl being sickening sweet and asking me what they can do to change my mind...I just told her to look at the notes in the file and she will see there is nothing in God's green earth they can do to make me stay... So she cancels out all my services. I ask her about the termination fee, telling her the supervisor (I mentioned his name to her) said that would be waived. She says there are no notes to that effect on file (of course not!!!!). But she reads all the notes, asks me a few questions and notes the waiver that the guy agreed to in the file.
So now I think I am done with them...right? Nope, Saturday, 8/27 I receive a bill for the second phone line for service from 8/22 - 9/17. I am angry now but decide to call Frontier right away. She asks me for the account number which is a new account number and PIN than I ever had before. I give her both that one and/ the old one that went along with my package. I tell her that I canceled all of my services on 8/17 and I expect this bill be o credited back and the account closed.
She looks up the new account, states there are no notes on file that I closed this account on 8/17 and says the bill stands I asked her to look up the other account. She does, and then comes back and says the notes do not state that you specifically said to cancel the second phone line, and that unless you did they would not have known to so the bill stands. So now I am raising my voice because I am beyond aggravated. I tell her I don't care if you give me your supervisor, because when I told you people to cancel ALL of my services, that means ALL of my services. To which she says there is nothing she can do and tells me that if I continue to shout she is going to end the call.
At that point I lost it. I am going to call back again tomorrow, and try to get this done calmly. The bill was only $13.83 or something like that and the service would have been for 5 days before I canceled, so we are talking probably $3 if they will pro-rate it.
But I have never ever dealt with such a company that is so NOT customer focused in all my life. I never received any apologies for all this aggravation, just blame game, and practically accusing me of making this up. Gee, what in the world would I have to gain from that? Saving $20/month? Not worth it... Nonetheless, based on all the employee missteps here, I would have thought they would have discounted the service as a gesture of goodwill. Or something excep for rudeness...
Girl 1 - should have called me when she found out she could not input my account as a new customer
Girl 2 - should not have promised to honor girl 1's promise and should have called me when the order would not go through.
Supervisor - should have not been accusatory. Instead should have apologized and offered something as a gesture of good will if he could (and I am sure he is authorized to do so). Instead of too bad so sad I don't even know that you are not lying posture.
Last girl - should have used a smidge of common sense instead of going right to the talk to the hand response. Obviously when I cancelled all my services I meant all of them. Not inferring that the client should know that I need to specifically mention each and every thing. That is what the words ALL SERVICES means...
Sorry for the wall of text... Such a shame. I actually Loved Loved Loved Verizon and FIOS...
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