Verizon Wireless threatening, bullying, manipulative, dishonest Tallahassee Florida

July 3 , 2014

Tallahassee, FL 32308

To whom it may concern:

Yesterday, I went into the Verizon store on Appalachee Pkwy. because I felt that pertinent plan information had been omitted from the sales pitch I initially received. I simply wanted answers.

 With me, I had printouts of information on your website as well as a printout from an online conversation I had with one of your representatives. All I asked for was answers; answers to questions like, "why does it say my plan is $140 on your website with edge if the plan is actually $204 BEFORE taxes (which is highway robbery, by the way).  And why, if my bill is actually $204 why have I been paying almost $300 for the past three months? What I got was treated like an idiot for having questions about charges on my bill and questions regarding the ethics of your company’s employees- questions it is my right as a consumer to ask.

 About 3 months ago, when the gentleman named Anthony that pitched us the Edge plan, he NEVER (and I mean not even a little bit) mentioned that the phone charges are added to each month's bill- he said an it would be an extra two dollars per month for each phone... which equals $4.00. And we (my fiancé and I) asked him right then and there, "What are the hidden costs? What’s the catch?" He said over and over again that there was no catch so we made the deal… the old bait-n-switch deal, apparently. So naturally when our bills came in at almost $300/month- we were alarmed and upset. This is not the deal we were promised. And this is not the deal we agreed to.

But, I digress... with all my paperwork in hand I showed up to the store yesterday to get my answers and find out what I'm being charged for. Anthony lied to my face and acted like he had no idea what I was talking about. I asked him point blank why he didn't tell us about the phone charges up front, to which he had no answer. I asked to see all the charges; they (both he and his African American female manager) REFUSED to show me the computer screen so I could see what I was being charged for. All they did was mumble back and forth to one another without ever actually answering me. He then said, “You can't go by what the corporate website advertises.”... Are you kidding me??? That's exactly what you're supposed to go by. That may as well be the definition of false advertisement.

THEN- an employee (a female of Indian descent) who was across the store assisting another customer screamed at me to, "Read the fine print! (in an extremely intimidating tone)" And when I asked her to kindly attend to her customer and remove herself from the conversation that she had no business being involved in- she screamed AGAIN, "YOU'RE IN MY STORE AND YOU NEED TO LEARN TO READ THE FINE PRINT!” …threateningly. Tell me; in what universe is it acceptable to bully a customer in-store in front of other customers while admitting to using unethical business practices???

I was blatantly lied to, humiliated, accused of dishonesty, bullied and verbally as well as emotionally abused by three Verizon employees in-store.

Below is an excerpt from Verizon’s “Code of Conduct.” Please read carefully.

“The Verizon commitment is to put our customers first by providing excellent service and great communications experiences. This is what we do and this is why we exist. By focusing on our customers and being responsible members of our communities, we will produce a solid return for our shareholders, create meaningful work for ourselves and provide something of lasting value for society. As a result, Verizon will be recognized as a great company.

In order to keep this commitment, we need to always honor our core values:

• Integrity- Integrity is at the heart of everything we do. We are honest, ethical and upfront because trust is at the foundation of our relationships with our customers, our communities, our stakeholders and each other.
• Respect- We know it is critical that we respect everyone at every level of our business. We champion diversity, embrace individuality and listen carefully when others speak.
• Performance Excellence- We hold ourselves to a very high standard of performance. We prize innovative ideas and the teamwork it takes to make them realities. We never stop asking ourselves how we can make the customer experience better, and every day we find an answer.
• Accountability- We take responsibility for our actions as individuals, as team members, and as an organization. We work together; support one another and never the customer-or our coworkers- down.

Great companies are judged by what they do, not what they say. To be the best, we’re going to keep pushing ourselves in new and exciting directions. These values will guide our every action.”

If this is the standard that you have set for yourselves and if Verizon wants to continue to make these claims; someone needs to make this right… immediately.

Sincerely,

Austin

P.S.  I apologize for not knowing the names of the other associates involved. I only had one. I can assure you that racial insensitivity is the furthest thing from my intention.