A Verizon ad offered an iPhone at a deep discount. But her phone got cut off when she tried to take the offer — and that was only the first outrage

I know I am not alone in suffering excruciating customer service experiences. I do wonder, though, why I seem to have more than anyone else I know. My husband says it’s because I pay more attention.

For example, I am one of just 21% of people who balance their checkbooks, according to StatisticsBrain.com.

That said, I just endured a situation with Verizon Wireless that stole time from my life and caused me unnecessary angst. My husband tells me my time is too valuable and, to a point, I should just accept the overpayments or missing services I’m entitled to. I am just not wired that way.

My problems started one blistery February day when I got a marketing email from Verizon Wireless. It said I could buy a brand new iPhone 12 mini for $399.99, complete with “the A14 Bionic chip and Super Retina XDR display for fast downloads and high-quality streaming.” I had been using an older phone with a crappy camera and maybe four hours of daily battery life so the ad caught my eye.

The phone would cost $599.99 without the promotion, so saving $200 sealed the deal. The problem was that no one at Verizon was aware of the offer. For starters, when I called, I spent two hours on the phone and was disconnected three times. They had my number but not one rep who disconnected me called back. For a phone company, Verizon seems to have a huge dropped call problem.

When I finally did reach someone, he set it all up and when I verified the price, he said it was $599.99. He said I had to call a different phone number — the one on the email — to get the advertised price. So I called that number. After they couldn’t find it, either, I was asked to email the link to the marketing email I received. I did, but then was disconnected again.

» READ MORE: ‘Oops! That wasn’t supposed to happen.’ After Pennsylvania suit, Verizon coughs up promised goodies.

I was ultimately sent to Verizon Wireless Executive Relations. That rep tried to walk me through the steps to order the phone online, but, alas, she couldn’t find it. When I pointed out how difficult the process was for a customer, she repeatedly said that “this was an opportunity,” or a chance for Verizon to find its mistakes and fix them. She must have been thrilled with the many “opportunities” my case provided.

We achieved partial success — we found the phone but not the right price. But she sent me an email promising I’d get the advertised price. I was skeptical but I had it in writing. That success, however, was fleeting.

I got my phone and eagerly worked to set it up, but the setup failed. Because I have a line associated with a business — that’s another story; I’m not a business — it took quite a while to reach a human because it was Saturday. When I finally did, she spent close to an hour trying to connect my new phone. She had me switch out the SIM card with my old one, which wasn’t logical to me, but I was desperate to try anything.

So when she was unsuccessful and sent to me to super-duper-secret technical support, the highest level, I was told, the guy said both the old and new SIM cards were wrecked and my only option was to go a Verizon store to get a new SIM card. After an hour at the Verizon store, they couldn’t get either of my phones to work with my phone number.

Because I was traveling to New York the next day and needed a phone, they gave me a new phone number that would work on my old phone and assured me my real number would be working by the next day on the new phone. Fortunately, that did happen.

I asked the rep for some kind of credit to my account for the time and angst I experienced. She said no, that giving me a monetary credit wouldn’t make me a satisfied customer. She followed that up in writing: “As discussed, Verizon Wireless does not provide compensation based on your time. As a result, we respectfully decline your request for compensation regarding this matter.”

I was annoyed, but that wasn’t the end of it. I got an $85 bill for the new phone number they gave me, which I was assured wouldn’t happen. When I asked my executive relations rep for help having that bill reversed, she said no. Per her email: “While we appreciate your confidence in the executive office and we appreciate the opportunity to assist you, we must ensure that our resources are properly allocated and urgent matters receive the necessary due attention.”

But the problems were all related. I thought that her response was personal, that she just seemed ready to be done with me. I don’t believe I had given her cause. However frustrated, I had always been respectful.

Finally, after about two months, it seems the bills are correct. They charge me an amount that comes close to $599.99 over a 24 month term, and then deduct another amount that will, over 24 months, come close to a $200 discount. Creative accounting, at best. But in hindsight, I think my husband was right. The view wasn’t worth the climb.

Verizon declined to respond for this article.

I am clearly not alone in my disappointment with Verizon Wireless’s customer service. Verizon ranked in the bottom-third for overall satisfaction in the Consumer Reports 2020 Fall Survey, which included 19 cellular carriers of all sizes. That ranking was similar to the other two major carriers, T-Mobile and AT&T.

The most common problems that Consumer Reports members had were waiting a long time on hold, having to wade through multiple menus in the phone system to reach the right place, and getting an unhelpful solution to the problem, said Martin Lachter, senior research associate for the Consumer Reports National Research Center.

J.D. Power’s 2022 U.S. Wireless Carrier Satisfaction Platform Volume 1 ranks Verizon second out of the three major carriers in terms of total ownership experience and last in customer service, cost and promotions, and purchase process.

Ian Greenblatt, the Chicago-based managing director of technology, media, and telecom intelligence for J.D. Power, suggested that recent consumer dissatisfaction may be related to “the great resignation,” that many well-trained customer service reps have left the industry.

My resolution took two months and many phone calls and I never felt that the rep was truly on my side, that she valued my business as a customer for more than a quarter century, paying my bill in full every month.

Perhaps the most frustrating realization is that I don’t have many options. With five lines on my account, including parents and children, there are staggered end dates to locked in contracts, which are nearly impossible to unravel. Of course, Verizon knows that, too.