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-- Verizon customer service doesn't know Dollars from Cents!!!

Verizon customer service doesn't know Dollars from Cents!!!

this story has been slashdotted and put on a bunch of forums...saw it myself on howardforums

Click Here For Audio (approx 25mins)

quote:

Here's the background: I have a Verizon unlimited data plan in the U.S. and recently crossed the border to Canada. Pior to crossing the border I called customer service to find out what rates I'd be paying for voice and data. The data rate I was quoted was ".002 cents per kilobyte." I was surprised at the rate so I confirmed it with the representative I spoke to, and she confirmed it "point zero zero two cents per kilobyte." I asked her to note that in my account. I received my bill and was charged $.002/KB - which is dollars - "point zero zero 2 dollars per kilobyte". As it is translated to cents would be .2 cents or 2 tenths of a cent - which is a 100 times greater rate than I was quoted. My bill for my data usage in Canada was therefore much greater than I had expected - using the quote I was provided before my usage. I have tried to resolve this issue with customer service reps on the phone, but noone seems to see the difference between ".002 cents" and ".002 dollars". Here is the audio of my most recent call with them on the matter. I started recording when they put on the supoervisor - I was a bit ticked at that point. Who knew what confusion "$1 = 100 cents" could cause? I'm still currently on the hook for the $71 and change. Hopefully someone at Verizon will figure this out and make ammends.

George's Blog http://verizonmath.blogspot.com/ complete with emails to and from verizon ...this is going on now so its updated daily i believe

Audio of Call Listen to the audio...youll laugh, youll cry, you might even piss yourself a bit lol

im listening to it right now and im pissing my pants laughing.
its funny how people dont understand such simple math.

quote:

Originally posted by Djsketchbag Why are Americans so stupid? Ok i don't mean to offend anyone but seriously I work in a call center for Xbox and we do Tech support for Xbox live. And we have people of all ages calling in all the time but what I find most funny is a lot of adults in the states don't know what the work Annual means these are typical responses: Me: You will be charged on an annual basis American: so I will receive a bill every month? Me: You will be charged on an annual basis American: so how often will I see the billing? Me: You will be charged on an annual basis American: so the billing is every few months Me: You will be charged on an annual basis American: what's annual mean? Me: You will be charged on an annual basis American: so how often is that? Me: You will be charged on an annual basis American: so that's quarterly right? like I mean this wouldn't bug me if it was kids in grade school but these are parents calling in canceling their kids account like 40 plus .... and it's like 3-4 people a day no joke

LMAO at this phone call and lopi's post. OMG...ppl are so stupid

LOL @ this post for sure. As for Lopi's quote, why didn't you just tell him what Annual meant. I think someone mentioned earlier that the word annual isn't used very much in the states. Equally as stupid for just being a smartass instead of just telling them what they were asking when they obviously didn't know.

Wow. I'm listening to this and still going

quote:

Originally posted by DarkAngel Wow. I'm listening to this and still going

I knwo, I was only gonna listen to the first little bit...but I couldn't stop.

quote:

Originally posted by *~LiSa-LoO~* I knwo, I was only gonna listen to the first little bit...but I couldn't stop.

I couldn't stop either. Just finished now. All I have to say is.....

LOL.

I'll be keeping tabs on the blog to see how this plays out.

quote:

Originally posted by Surreal JRS LOL. I'll be keeping tabs on the blog to see how this plays out.

Post it here b/c I'll forget to look haah

george won! yay!

http://verizonmath.blogspot.com/200...100-refund.html


Sunday, December 10, 2006
Response from Verizon - 100% Refund
Hi everyone. Look what just rolled into my inbox.

There are a few things in the email that I don't quite understand, that make me think this was a very carefully, even overly crafted document.

First, notice the awkward wording of "a previous representative has credited for." Credited what? How about "credited your account for?"

Also, whats all this about a "previous representative" altogether? The previous represetative AFAIK was Nikki, and I had no other correspondence with anyone between Nikki and this email. Perhaps they mean within the walls of their organization, not sure why I would care about that though.

Also notice how very carefully they "reiterated" (if you can even call it that since its the first time a Verizon representative has used this term) their actual rate, ".002 dollars per KB." I hope their marketing and support materials will be updated to reflect that clear and unambiguous term (both visually and verbally.)

Thank you all very much for your support, kind words, and the pressure you put on Verizon. I personally think they dealt with this on a Sunday because they had no choice - they were probably getting hammered with calls from customers (and non customers) wondering what their actual policies were, and if they applied to their accounts.

As I stated before it wasn't about the money, it was about the idea of scamming your customers. Are you satisfied? IMO, I think Verizon would be smart to make some sort of public statement about their rates, and their customer service policies.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.

Here it is for your viewing pleasure.


Dear George Vaccaro,

Thank you for your reply. Again, I apologize for the miscommunications regarding this issue and for your frustration and inconvenience as a result.

In review of your account a previous representative has credited for the data charges in question for $71.79. You may take this amount off of your current amount due. In the future please keep in mind that it is .002 dollars per KB while in Canada.

It has been a pleasure assisting you today, and we appreciate your business. Have a wonderful week!

Sincerely,

Michelle
Verizon Wireless
Customer Service

"We never stop working for you!"

If you have received this e-mail in error or are not the intended recipient, please notify us immediately by replying to this e-mail and deleting it and all copies and backups thereof. If you are the intended recipient and are a Verizon Wireless customer, this response is subject to the terms of your Customer Agreement.


Original Message Follows:
------------------------

Nikki,

As I described in my original message to you, when I called before entering Canada I spoke to a rep who quoted me a rate of ".002 cents per KB." I thought that seemed like a great rate and confirmed it with her - she confirmed. I even went so far as to have her note it in the account.

Then, knowing that rate, I used your service in Canada accordingly. I now understand that the rate is actually ".002 dollars per KB" despite the fact that all your reps still claim its ".002 cents per KB." Also, had your company a policy of quoting rates per megabyte, which would result in a much more easily interpretable rate $2.05/MB this whole situation could have been avoided.

The main problem I've had in explaining this to your customer service reps is the difference between .002 dollars and .002 cents. To demonstrate that to you I have provided a link to google that will help you see what my bill should be using the rate that was quoted to me:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...3kb&btnG=Search

As you can see, the charge for my usage at .002 cents/KB is $.71786 - or $.72 rounding up to the nearest cent - 72 cents. That is what I was quoted and that is what I am therefore willing to pay.

If you have any problems understanding this, please leverage someone from your accounting department to help you understand it, as I'm sure they know the difference between dollars and cents.

Finally, if you'd rather not acknowledge this mistake, I'd like to at least offer you some advice. All 5 of your customer service reps quoted me the same rate ".002 cents per KB." You can find an audio recording of 2 of those 5 quoting this rate repeatedly to me when I called yesterday, on my blog here:

http://verizonmath.blogspot.com/200...from-cents.html

You can also see there that most people understand the difference between dollars and cents, and you therefore might want to offer your reps some training on the issue.

Thanks very much,
George Vaccaro

Posted by georgevaccaro at 1:50 PM 41 comments

I don't think it's quite over yet... In all probabilities Verizon refunded the money simply because they didn't want to spend any more time on this, rather than actually understanding their error.

Potential next steps mentioned on the blog:

• Request the official bill be reissued for $0.72.
  
• Have other Verizon customers call up sales requesting the per KB rate for data transfer in Canada, then record and post the call if still getting misquoted at .002 cents/KB.
  
• Layeth the smacketh down!

quote:

Originally posted by oldschool420 LOL @ this post for sure. As for Lopi's quote, why didn't you just tell him what Annual meant. I think someone mentioned earlier that the word annual isn't used very much in the states. Equally as stupid for just being a smartass instead of just telling them what they were asking when they obviously didn't know.

It wasn't me that said that.
I just laughed at it.
I quoted DjSketchbag's post, from a thread he started about 4 months ago...
I thought it suited the thread quite well.

quote:

Originally posted by oldschool420 I think someone mentioned earlier that the word annual isn't used very much in the states.

quote:

Originally posted by lopi It wasn't me that said that. I just laughed at it. I quoted DjSketchbag's post, from a thread he started about 4 months ago... I thought it suited the thread quite well.

Yeah, it was RJ that stated that annual isnt used that frequently in the US, and he stated in the thread she's referring to that peter started some months back about "stupid americans"

you know TOTA is a wreck when ppl actually give a shit about this kind of stuff.

you worthless fucks.

I smell flamebait.

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