Review by pktgumby 
Posted: 2.9 years ago
member for 3 years, 31 visits, last login: 302 days ago
 Huntington Beach,Orange,CA
 Contract price not specified.
 "Would have been a good price if it had worked out...."
 "Postponed my installation date three times with no explanation why"
 "Horrible coordination (very nice customer reps, but terrible communication)"
| Pre Sales Information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection reliability:
Tech Support:
Value for money:
(ratings below consensus)
|
EDIT: I have rated connection reliability and Value for money at the highest simply because I was unable to experience them due to cancelling my order.
I first ordered Verizon Fios around 11/20/06 through their website, and was scheduled to have the installation performed on 12/9. So, after waiting for over 2 weeks for the appointment, the guy shows up on 12/9 as scheduled, and tells me he can't install because the outside line drop had not been performed. WTF? Nobody ever told me it was going to be two separate installations. I knew there was outside work required, but I was under the impression one guy would be doing it all. I was simply informed my installation would be on this date, and to allow 4-6 hours for installation. The guy says I have to reschedule my appointment after the outside work has been performed. He was like, "this company is run by a pack of wolves", and said they were very disorganized. He said my installation was the second one that day in which the outside work had not been performed.
I get on the line with customer service (who can never seem to find my information in the system since "It is very difficult to look up an order when you don't have phone service". Well, I have to admit, the customer service reps are extremely nice every time I call them, even thought nobody can ever give me any useful information. This guy tells me he is putting in another order to have the outside work and to call back by Tuesday (I was calling on Saturday) to make sure they have performed the work, and if it has not been performed they will put in a rush order to have it done so that the installation can be completed the following saturday, 12/16.
I call back on either tuesday or wednesday, and after waiting forever for the rep to find my order again, I am told there is a note on my order saying they are having "engineering problems" and the installation has been postponed until 12/24 (Christmas Eve), and to inquire about the order after 12/28.
I inquired about getting regular DSL to hold me over for a month or so until the fios would be completed (we need internet for work purposes) and was told to call back during their regular business hours to place an order for DSL, and the guy told me I should try to get them to give me some type of credit for all the hassle.
I called back the next day and after being transferred a few times, was told at first that I could actually order stand-alone DSL without ordering phone service, but was then told I actually could not get DSL at all since they had already laid fiber in the area. He was, however, able to change the installation date for my fios from 12/24 to 12/23, and he told me all of the work would be performed that day. I told him if they postponed the installation again, I would have to cancel my order and go to Cable, and the guy was like "I completely understand, I don't blame you".
So, after giving them a third chance, I called back two days before the installation date of 12/23 and confirmed with a customer service rep that the installation was still scheduled for 12/23, and actually received a recorded voicemail confirming the same.
Unfortunately, the day before the installation, I received another voice mail from a customer service rep apologizing and telling me my installation had been postponed for a few more weeks, with no explanation as to why. She actually sounded kind of scared to be leaving the message, like she knew I would be pissed. But, as I said before, the people themselves are extremely nice and I find it hard to get mad and yell at a customer service rep when it is not their fault.
So, I was forced to call back and completely cancel my order. The guy I spoke to asked if there was any particular reason why, and when I told him that they had postponed my installation three times, he seemed pretty shocked, and apologized and agreed that Cable seemed to be a better option for the time being.
I noticed later that sometime during that weekend of 12/23, they had dropped a line down from the phone lines above my apartment and had put up a box on the side of the building. I am assuming this had something to do with my fios installation, but this was after I had already cancelled the order.
I was then forced to order cable from Time Warner, and even though they scheduled my installation for less than a week from the time I called (it is set to be installed tomorrow) I am regretting having to give up fios for cable. I have read a lot of bad things about Time Warner and Road Runner, but it is literally the only choice I have if I want internet any time soon.
The 15/2 fios was going to be something like $29.99 for the first three months, then $39.99 after that. Time Warner is claiming to give me 8MBit download for $29.99 for a year, but I don't expect to be achieving even half of that rate on a consistent basis. I don't expect it to be much better, but I just hope Cable isn't worse than my old 1.5MBit DSL for online games and downloads.
Followup comments: | Forums » comments on review of Verizon FIOS |
|
Verizon FIOS
(163)
(150)
(171)
(109)