When I was looking at the Turbo, I was considering going on contract, mostly due to another of our lines needing a new phone as well and he can't afford a new phone at full price. The first guy I talked to said the discount we had ($20 off per line as long as we keep data on the line) could stay. He directed me to the Max plan, available for people on unlimited plans, where you keep whatever minute allotment you have, unlimited texts, and 6GB of data per line for the same price as what I'm paying now.
Called back to sign up, and that CSR had never heard of the Max plan and essentially told me I made it up. I told him to search for it, and he came back and admitted while they did have the Max plan, they couldn't keep the discount on the line, so I asked for a supervisor. The supervisor told me the discount couldn't be retained, because it's for unlimited plans, even though my contract only says a data plan, not unlimited data. She asked why I didn't want to go with a More Everything plan, and I explained that we would not only lose unlimited data, but also that $20/ per line discount. She said that going with a ME plan would save me $75 per month. I informed her that it would cost me $100 more per month, losing $20 x 5 lines = $100. She then explained that she was figuring in the Edge discount, which wouldn't apply since each line would have to be buying a new phone. She asked what else she could do for me and I told her not much apparently. Then she said she would look into it to see what she could do to get me on a new plan that would be less than what I'm currently paying, and she would call me back either way. That was over 2 weeks ago, and I haven't heard a peep.
Lately Verizon has been more incompetent than usual. We got my brother's line a phone off eBay, and needed a micro Sim card. The tech told me I couldn't just order one, that I needed the IMEI number first so they could set it up and since the phone was already in transit I'd have to wait until it arrived and call back and order it. I mentioned that the window to get it was tight because my brother lived 90 miles away and I'd be leaving on Friday, and the phone would be arriving Wednesday. She assured me that they could overnight it. So I waited for it to arrive, and called it in. This CSR said there was no way that they could overnight it, only 2 day shipping, but if we got the order done by 5pm (it was currently 4pm) that it would be here Friday. So we went ahead, and he seemed to be having issues getting it done. Finally he came back on the line at 4:30 to ask a question and cut me off. So I called back in and started the process over again, but the guy didn't ask for the IMEI number. When I asked about this, I was told I didn't need it. So he finishes the order at 4:50. I check Friday to see that it was out for delivery, and so far the only thing that had happened is that the shipping label had been created. Long story short, we ended up having to buy a micro Sim card from a their party retailer for $15 (instead of free from Verizon) and the Sim card I ordered showed up the following Tuesday. The worst part about it was, since I didn't need the IMEI number, I could've ordered it the previous Saturday and had it here with plenty of time to spare. Between trying to get the rebate for the Turbo and a Sim card for my brother's phone, I've got at least 5 hours tied up on the phone with Verizon's customer service.
My biggest gripe with Verizon is they need to get all their employees on the same page. One CSR says one thing, the next says another, the next says something else, and so on. It's ridiculous to think a company as large as Verizon can function like this and still be in business. If we ever get forced off our plan, I will go to AT&T just to spite them. And I've been with them since 1997, before they were Verizon in our area. But the high cost of the plan and inept support is pushing me to my breaking point. I don't work for them and yet it seems 90% of the time I know more about their business than they do.