New York Customers - Do not go to the Verizon Wireless on 57th and 6th Avenue in Manhattan!!

Question

Hi, everyone.  I am a Verizon Wireless subscriber for years now and am extremely knowledgeable in terms of Wireless Technology, CDMA/GSM networks, ESN numbers, etc. Basically, everything that a Verizon Wireless employee should know.  In any case, I did not know where to complain about a specific VZW store, so I decided to do it here and hopefully help some people avoid problems at this store if they are in the area.  I have been to the 57th Street and 6th Avenue store on several occassions, whether it was for an upgrade, inquiries, swapping phones with a friend, tech support, or just browsing.  Whenever I enter the store, there is usually an employee there to "greet" you; although their greet is nothing more than "Can I help you?" with a less than enthusiastic tone.  I will give below just a few examples of why I hate this store:
1) I went there a few weeks ago because I had a upgrade on 1 of my 5 Family Plan lines.  So, I walked in and was taken over to a computer by the Manager.  He asked me what kind of phone was I looking for.  I told him that I wanted the iPhone 4.  He told me, "Well you know that the iPhone 4s is coming out soon, right?"  I said, yes I knew that but for now i wanted the iPhone 4.  I asked him about the return policy on the phone (which I already knew thoroughly), but just to make sure, and he explained that a customer has 14 days to either return or exchange the phone without penalty, aside from paying the $30-something restocking fee.  So I said, ok, great I will take the iPhone 4, and if for some reason I choose to exchange it for the iPhone 4s within those 14 days I will do it.  Then he tells me, "well, no, in fact, we don't want you to do that.  That's why I am asking you now.  If you return it or exchange it, that's money that comes out of my paycheck."  I couldn't believe he said that.  For one, I don't understand how exchanging comes out of his paycheck, perhaps returning it, but either way, that's not my issue.  Verizon Wireless has created a return policy for a reason and I should be able to do whatever I want without comment from a snotty employee regardless, as long as I am within the polcy's limit.  To sum that up, I basically made it seem that I wasn't going to change it and that I just wanted the iPhone 4.
2) In regards to the above story, I eventually ended up returning the device, all while avoiding this nasty manager I dealt with, and picked up a iPhone 4S at another Verizon Wireless Store.  This brings me to my next ridiculous story.  So, one of my other lines had an iPhone 4, which I then upgraded to an iPhone 4s.  Now, I had an extra iPhone 4 so I decided to sell it online.  I finally found someone who was interested in purchasing from me, and asked to meet me at my nearest VZW store, which happens to be the one down the block that I spoke of above.  He wanted to meet there in order to ensure that the ESN was clean.  So, we meet there, walk in, and we are "greeted" and asked what we wanted.  He says he would like to check the ESn of the iPhone to make sure that it is clean (not on the lost/stolen list) and can be activated withour a problem.  She looks at him as if he had 6 heads and asked again what exactly he wanted.  He repeated "I would like to check if the ESN on this phone is clean so it can be activated."  She continues to stare at him as if he's crazy then says "Oh, I see, you mean like if its stolen or something?"  He said yes and she replied fairly nastily "Oh, well, we don't have that information here, (which is a lie) you gotta call Customer Care on one of these phones."  So he says "Uh, ok, thanks."  She goes to get the number to VZW Customer Service which, I already know by heart, although I told the guy, just call 611 from one of the handsets.  In any case, it ended up being clean (obviously) after speaking with a rep on the phone, and we went on our way.  
These might seem like trivial issues, but remember that these are only 2 specific examples.  Almost every person in that store has an attitude.  Also, the story is fairly busy, so you will more often than not, be spending a fair amount of time there, waiting and waiting, even though there will be 20 employees on the floor, but only 5 working.  I have been a VZ Wireless subscrtiber for a long time and have never had a complaint about service or even the telephone Customer Support Center.  But when I walk into a store, I feel as if they should be working for "me" and other customers and should at least have basic knowledge of Verizon Wireless policies, phones, plans, etc.  And I know, you all may think, well just go to another store, but for me it is conveniently located and I shouldn't "have to" go out of my way just to get basic things done.  There have been times when I've walked in there, that I really don't want to deal with VZW anymore and just take my business elsewhere.

Answer 1

bnjr86 wrote:  There have been times when I've walked in there, that I really don't want to deal with VZW anymore and just take my business elsewhere.
I  wonder if another provider would really be much different?  Read some of the other carrier forums - seems to be the same story everywhere.
I'm not disagreeing with you - I've found that I am usually more informed about Verizon policies and procedures than some of the reps in our local store.