Verizon CEO Positively Shocked That People Want Service!

from the what-will-they-think-of-next? dept

Mon, Apr 18th 2005 12:28am — Mike Masnick

When you're CEO of a company, you often end up making statements designed to support that company's position, even if the arguments may be a little bit disingenuous. However, when you go so far beyond reasonable that just about everyone scoffs at you, it might be time to look for a new job. We thought maybe we'd seen the best example of this when an executive from 3 in the UK claimed that customers must be "nuts" to want to access the full internet on their phones. However, it appears that Ivan Seidenberg, Verizon's CEO, has easily topped that statement. I actually saw this article in the newsprint copy early Saturday morning and thought Seidenberg must have been misquoted as the quotes seem so ridiculous. However, it's tough to figure out under what context these statements could possibly make sense. What's clear, however, is that he believes that us lowly commoners are a real pain in the ass for actually wanting any kind of "service" at all -- whether it's wireless broadband or mobile phone service. The initial part, trashing muni-WiFi isn't a surprise. He's done that before, though calling it "one of the dumbest ideas I've ever heard," is a bit extreme. The reason cities are looking to offer muni-WiFi is because they don't feel adequately served by companies like Verizon. However, Seidenberg's complete lack of interest in what customers actually want becomes abundantly clear a bit later when he says: "Why in the world would you think your (cell) phone would work in your house? The customer has come to expect so much. They want it to work in the elevator; they want it to work in the basement." This from the CEO of the company who's own subsidiary has been running a national mobile phone service ad campaign with the slogan "Can You Hear Me Now?" telling everyone that they should expect their mobile phones to work everywhere.

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22 Comments

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J M Fath, 7 May 2005 @ 6:40am

Seidenberg's comments
I worked for Verizon for 34 years and never once heard Ivan referred to as "the sharpest knife in the drawer"
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Steve Portigal, 9 May 2005 @ 10:23am

Folllowup to Verizon CEO
The Verizon CEOs comments in the SF Chronicle were widely blogged, but there's a letter to the editor from this past weekend that is an intersting followup http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/05/08/BUGP9CKRD71.DTL Basically a regional president is now backpedalling on some of the more outrageous claims in the original interview?
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jon johnston, 16 May 2005 @ 11:46am

Muni WI FI
I don't think the reason that muni's are interesting in wi-fi has anything to do with 'service'. They're more interested in growing their budget, their fiefdom. They are just like private industry with the exception that they cannot go bankrupt due to market forces. (They can go bankrupt from mismanagement).
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Houftie, 6 Dec 2005 @ 2:00pm

Doesn't surprise me
This doesn't surprise me at all. I've had so much trouble with this company, mainly due to incompetent staff. Worst experience ever. That's why I made this site about Verizon so everyone can learn that this company is really full of it.
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Flinger, 23 Mar 2006 @ 12:30pm

2nd or 3rd Quarter 2007
It's an unbreakable circle. Right now Verizon is the biggest target like AT&T had been before. You can note at&t's current humility by the small case characters in their new logo. By the 2nd or 3rd Quarter of 2007 the new at&t (BELLSOUTH, AMERITECH, Southwestern Bell, PACIFIC TELESIS, AT&T) will be the telecommunications super power we will all be talking trash about.
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thomas edwards, 23 Mar 2006 @ 2:09pm

Re: Folllowup to Verizon CEO
i left your company after 47 years, because of phone tree and poor customer service. i have spend over 2 hours on the phone tree trying o get my refund that you owe me..
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thomas edwards, 23 Mar 2006 @ 2:09pm

Re: Folllowup to Verizon CEO
i left your company after 47 years, because of phone tree and poor customer service. i have spend over 2 hours on the phone tree trying o get my refund that you owe me..
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thomas edwards, 23 Mar 2006 @ 2:09pm

Re: Folllowup to Verizon CEO
i left your company after 47 years, because of phone tree and poor customer service. i have spend over 2 hours on the phone tree trying o get my refund that you owe me..
[ link to this | view in thread ]
thomas edwards, 23 Mar 2006 @ 2:09pm

Re: Folllowup to Verizon CEO
i left your company after 47 years, because of phone tree and poor customer service. i have spend over 2 hours on the phone tree trying o get my refund that you owe me..
[ link to this | view in thread ]
thomas edwards, 23 Mar 2006 @ 2:09pm

Re: Folllowup to Verizon CEO
i left your company after 47 years, because of phone tree and poor customer service. i have spend over 2 hours on the phone tree trying o get my refund that you owe me..
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Robert Collins, 12 Jun 2006 @ 6:48am

Verizon's Lack of Service
We own a small constructionncompany. We pay our bills when we get paid at the end of a mjob. Verizon disconnected all three of our lines with no notice. We hads been assured that paying the bill in full by mid-month would be "fine". Not so. It was disconnected on the 6th. We borrowed the money to pay the bill. It was paid onn the 9th. We were assured the phones would be back on within anfew hours, 24 hours max. It is now the 12th, and they are still not rtestored, and we're getting nothing but attitude.
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ed, 18 Jul 2006 @ 4:34pm

Customer Service
My telephone hasn't worked since 7/3/06. I thought about writing the CEO but after finding this site not sure thats a good idea.
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HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE!, 5 Mar 2007 @ 8:04pm

I am so DISGUSTED by verizon right now I could spit nails. I would UNLOAD them in a nano second if I could. Sometimes living rural sucks as we have no other choice but to use them.
SIX DAYS OF RUNAROUND AND NO LANDLINE SERVICES FROM THEM BUT YOU CAN BET THEY WANT THE BILL PAID FOR NO SERVICES.

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW VERIZON?? Signs WILL be up all over my property and ya'll can stick it.
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Reggie Wrigght, 17 Apr 2007 @ 9:43pm

Verizon Repair Service - SUCKS!
Subject:
Verizon poor repair service response

Body:
And I thought I was the only one who got crappy service!! I live in Upper Marlboro, Maryland and last Tuesday for some unknown reason our house phone list the dialtone. Knowing a little about Telecom and networks I went out to the NID and plugged in a POTS phone, sure enough no tone. I relayed this to thier repair center who advised that the earliest a service tech could be dispatched was the followng MONDAY! I was forced to have my house calls forwarded to my cellphone! When the tech arrived SIX DAYS LATER on Monday around 10am he came to the same conclusion that the problem existed in the lines outside or our home. The next day AT 6:35PM EST. A second tech stopped by and was finally able to resolve the problem. What I think is going on is that Verizon is cutting back on service to refrain from incurring on overtime costs so that they can stay within budget as they deploy FIOS! I think this simply sucks! If this is the way they treat longtime customers (+5yrs) then to H*LL with them. I was seiously looking a FIOS to replace my Comast cable service but now I think I'll wait for ClearWire service to get to my area, Make my Cellphone my primary phone drop the internet service from Comcast and tell Verizon to KISS MY A**!
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sherry, 2 Jul 2007 @ 10:03am

It's NOT customer service when you can't get a res
I've been trying to deal with one of Verizon's customer service reps since I purchased my new cell in mid May 2007. Gary Leob promised that since I was completely unable to purchase the plan and phone online (for reasons that I am still very unclear about), that Verizon would not charge me for the activation fee (a benefit of online purchasing). Here I am on 7/2/07 and have still to receive credit for the $75 fee that he PROMISED to email himself to have it removed from my bill! I have tried to call him over a half dozen times. None of my phone messages or emails have been responded to. I even tried calling his supervisor and had the same results - no response. I talked with nother customer service rep about the situation. He said he wasn't authorized to do anything about the activation fee, but said he'd send an email to Gary asking him to contact me. Still nothing after three weeks. I guess the only thing left for me to do is to dispute the charges. If anyone out there has a way to get results, Please let me know! Thanks and if you can, AVOID VERIZON WIRELESS!
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sherry, 2 Jul 2007 @ 10:05am

It's NOT customer service when you can't get a res
I've been trying to deal with one of Verizon's customer service reps since I purchased my new cell in mid May 2007. Gary Leob promised that since I was completely unable to purchase the plan and phone online (for reasons that I am still very unclear about), that Verizon would not charge me for the activation fee (a benefit of online purchasing). Here I am on 7/2/07 and have still to receive credit for the $75 fee that he PROMISED to email himself to have it removed from my bill! I have tried to call him over a half dozen times. None of my phone messages or emails have been responded to. I even tried calling his supervisor and had the same results - no response. I talked with nother customer service rep about the situation. He said he wasn't authorized to do anything about the activation fee, but said he'd send an email to Gary asking him to contact me. Still nothing after three weeks. I guess the only thing left for me to do is to dispute the charges. If anyone out there has a way to get results, Please let me know! Thanks and if you can, AVOID VERIZON WIRELESS!
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Virginia Verizon User, 10 Sep 2007 @ 9:26am

Atrocious Customer Service by Verizon
This is the WORST customer service EVER!

I called the tech support people over the weekend, not too bad. They told me to call billing on Monday.

I have just finished my second long and inefficient call to Verizon "billing" office as requested (in India, as it turns out).

First call today was 19 minutes long before the call was dropped and everything we had done was totally lost. No call back.

The second call just ended after 32 minutes of frustrating inefficiency and difficulty in simple communication. It took until the 20th minute or so before they could locate my account for a "DSL dry-loop" connection. (Dry loop means is it DSL internet only, without the simultaneous Verizon land-line telephone service.) After the 31st minute, I was told by Muqtadir that the "billing" department could not help me at all, and I would have to call "technical support." De ja vu. Wow. These guys need to get their act together.

The computer voice-activated processing that occurred at the front of each of those two calls, and took about 5 to 8 minutes to navigate, is horrible also. I still don't have anyone who is even starting to deal with my problem. Very frustrating.

In short, Verizon seems to know how to collect my monthly $$$, but not how to service their accounts.

Two thumbs down. Way down.
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Jaron, 29 Feb 2008 @ 8:59am

What service?
What is he complaining about? I'm a customer and he is saying we complaining, well of course we are when I'm have to keep asking whom ever I talk to if they can hear me now... Verizon maybe the biggest target, but it's sure as hell has crappy service just about everywhere even the city that I'm registered in I still get dropped calls because of my service... I was in a horrible car accident and I grab for my phone hoping I had service... nope I had nothing Good thing my friend had cellar... or I would of died
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Arlene Metrione, 16 May 2008 @ 12:22pm

Verizon
This article finally explains why Verizon doesn't care that my 90 year old mother consently is out of service on her verizon phone which is hooked into a help line for emergencies. No one seems to care! They are sympathetic but they keep sending out someone to patch the job and all we need is a day of rain and her service goes out. Then they want someone home all day to wait for them to come so they can tell us it's a problem on the box on the telephone pole near her house and someone else will have to fix that. So they patch her line up until the next bad weather! How would "they" feel if it was their mother? Would they care if something tragic happened to my mother because she didn't have service? I personally am having chest pains over the entire issue! HElp!
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ashley foreman, 31 May 2008 @ 4:29pm

electrical shock
DEAR MR SEIDENBURG, I THOUGHT I SHOULD TAKE TIME TO INFORM YOU OF A SHOCK OF A DIFFERENT TYPE MY MOTHER, A WIDOW WITH 4 CHILDREN,GOT A SHOCK AT WORK AND APPRECIATES THE COMPANYS CONCERN.BECAUSE OF HER COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENTS SHE CANNOT TYPE AT THIS POINT. WOULD YOU PLEASE INFORM US OF ANY THING SHE CAN DO TO CONTINUE BEING OF ASSISTANCE TO THE COMPANY.THANK YOU FOR YOUR DEVOTED CONCERN ABOUT OUR SITUATION.SHE WOULD BE HONORED TO HEAR FROM YOU. WITH SINCERE RESPECT,HER CHILDREN
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Mr. S, 20 Jan 2009 @ 9:46am

Re: Doesn't surprise me
You are 100% correct Verizon Is the worst company to do buisness with. The staff are very poorly trained In the Internet department,thelandline Is about the same. Complainte go unanswered. Letters to the Local office of the president go unreturned. Letters to the BBB go unresponded. Letters to the CPUC do not even get a response.

They do not care if you don't get your service restored corectly or not. I dumped them.
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Mr Johnson, 23 Jun 2009 @ 2:21pm

Verizon Poor customer service
Today I called 4th time to NJ Branch of Verizon's Customer Service. Initially i placed an order for service 3 weeks ago., today i found out that my shipment went to PA, so now after transferring to 3 different departments and hearing sorry sar multiple times, and being on hold for more then 40 minutes i got no where ., they have been transferring from one dep to next talking something about not my fold ., it was...I don't care who's fold it was ...you employees you hire them and you deal with them....i need service... which i am not able to get.....company suck, would never suggest to anyone to sign up wuth them ...or invest...they are going down
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