During my call with Verizon today, an employee made a deceptive claim that is all too common. The account person insisted that a 300Mbps connection would not suffice for streaming in my home, and I would need their 1Gbps speed. He warned of a "quality" problem with streaming at such a low speed, a claim he purportedly "sees every day" with customers without a 1Gbps plan. This misleading sales tactic by Verizon, which I have documented since 2015, is a clear example of deceptive practices that should be illegal. See: https://lnkd.in/eaXHWSJQ
Non-tech people and older individuals would likely upgrade when they hear this pitch, even though it is 100% false. June data for Netflix's ISP Speed Index, their monthly update on which ISP provides the best prime-time Netflix streaming experience, shows Netflix streaming averaging 3Mbps on Verizon. For my testing of Super Bowl streaming and other live events, it’s not uncommon for me to have ten streams going simultaneously without any ISP issues.
No matter when you call Verizon or use the website, the technical problems always continue. During the call, the rep told me that they couldn't access my account due to a "system problem," which is the same thing I was told last week when I called in. When I tried to access my account online, I got an error page saying, "That page has been moved," with a link back to the home page. Today's call wait time said it would be 7 minutes, but it was 23 minutes. I got a recording after I put in my zip code saying that a storm is due in my area in the next 24 hours that could disrupt service, and it’s best to charge all my devices, even though the weather for my area shows party sunny for the next three days.
I called Verizon because my triple play bill went up, saying I was no longer on a contract with Verizon, even though contracts are no longer offered. Verizon’s account person simply told me my bill had gone up since my contract expired three years ago. In reality, the price went up because Verizon raised the price of their TV plan and RSN costs, nothing to do with a contract. This type of poor customer service by Verizon is precisely why consumers don’t like nor trust ISPs. Bait and switch tactics aren't the way to win or keep customers. Last quarter, Verizon Fios lost 280,000 pay TV subs to fall to 2.88 million and gained 53,000 Fios internet subscribers.
I need the pay TV service to track things in the industry regarding latency, apps, and set-top box functions, and I am stuck with Verizon. When I tried moving to Optimum they installed the service only to take it out a few days later after they couldn't get the TV service to work and said it should never have been sold in my area, to begin with, due to "technical problems" they are working to resolve. It's no wonder all the ISPs keep telling Wall Street they are working to "improve our operations and financial performance."
