All Not Bliss in FIOSLand

It looks like the world is not Verizon’s oyster. At least not down in Tampa right now. All sorts of operational issues are cropping up for the carrier.

Sam Miller came so close to tossing his Verizon cable TV box to the curb outside.

After signing up in November for Verizon’s $99 a month deal for FiOS cable TV, Internet and phone service, Verizon was still sending him bills for $130 or more. He called to complain each month, but eventually his bill was stacked with $265 in extra fees.

One time he called Verizon, “they told me we didn’t have an account. I told them they could pick up their stuff at the curb,” Miller said. By calling random phone numbers at Verizon, he eventually found a helpful marketing clerk in a branch office to untangle his bill. He still hasn’t gotten the free TV for signing up — that’s going to take months.

“The TV picture reception is noticeably better,” Miller said. “It just seems like they grew so fast they could not keep up with customer demands.”

Unfortunately for Verizon, Miller is not alone in having complaints.

As Verizon signs up thousands of new customers a month in the Tampa Bay area, company officials say they’re working to correct problems with customer service: firing some sales workers, retraining the rest, and restructuring how they deal with customer complaints.

Then there is this fella in in NY who seems none too entertained by his FIOS service. [Content warning ahead]

I find it interesting that NOW Verizon is having problems with FIOS. Much of this was test bedded in Keller, Tx two years ago with a great deal of success. The TBO article seems to allude to operational issues not technology. But tech issues are cropping up.

Linky.