Am I just paranoid? re: Verizon

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Meghan MacMillan

Meghan MacMillan

SGF, Supreme Grumble Framer
Joined
Nov 22, 1999
Posts
2,017
Loc
Baltimore, MD
Every 4 to 6 weeks a group of 3 or 4 people tromp into my shop saying they're from Verizon and are here to make sure I'm getting the best rate. All they need is to see my latest bill. I always turn them away. As politely as I can, but still.

Is there even a remote chance that these folks are actually from Verizon? Have I just become jaded in my old age?

And if I'm correct, and it's a scam, how are they making money?
 
I think they are like to door - to -door people selling magazine subscriptions. Although you can buy Time or Readers Digest or the like, they don't actually work for those magazines.

I think these folks are the same sort of thing. Of course like the theme song on "Monk" says: "I could be wrong, but I don't think so!"
 
They are likely private contractors that are selling the Verizon service.
Down here they march in and tell you they're from Bellsouth.

I won't show them my bill either.
 
They're most likely aggregators. Sometimes they call, other times they come in.

They'll get defensive, usually, if you question their claim that they ARE Verizon :) They may even say "Im WITH Verizon" or "Im working FOR/WITH Verizon" or "Im contacting you on behalf of Verizon".

They're from another company and are probably an authorized reseller of Verizon service. If you sign a contract, they'll take over your account and lower your bill by about 10%. In some cases they will bill you with their own bill, in other cases its the last time you'll see them and they just get a monthly commission check on behalf of your account (from Verizon). Be careful what you sign, because often there's a several year comittment with termination fees.

If your local cable company offers business internet telephone service, this is usually a better way to go for the best price.

It's also possible that it's really your inside sales rep from Verizon. If so they should have a Verizon employee badge and business card.

As far as their yellow pages company, they sold it last year. "IDEARC" now owns the product, and I notice it has shrunk considerably in our market. (They came last week)

Mike
 
Up here in Wisconsin they are AT&T. Take it from one who's husband fell for it just run screaming into the back room it is no deal. You never get the $75 gift card and by the time you get a real bill you are paying more then you were in in the first place.

Jill
 
I HATE my current phone service provider, but their prices are the best I have found and the phone works all the time.... so from a purely business standoint, I gotta stick with'em

Had verizon and they have tried to get me back a bunch of times, but as much as I dislike the company I have now, I won't go back to verizon I don't care who is selling it.

won't be in that dinosaur of a yellow pages next year either..... but that's another thread all together....

They are getting very sneaky though.....
 
Whaddya Want?

Harry FKA Harry said:
I HATE my current phone service provider, but their prices are the best I have found and the phone works all the time.... so from a purely business standoint, I gotta stick with'em
Click to expand...

Yeah Harry, sounds like a rotten company....best prices, 100% functional...I'd drop em like a bad tortilla.
 
I had one of those guys in last month, he looked at my bill, and wouldn't you know it, my new bill's long distance provider was changed!!!!
I called Verizon and had a fit! They switched me back, told me what to do about the other "company" who told me they had a voice recording with my permission and would send it to me in 4 to 6 weeks...I have yet to see this!
NO ONE is ever looking at my bill again... I don't care what name tag he has....if they're really from Verizon, they should already have a copy of my bill....well, I learn the hard way....thank goodness the bill was only like $5.00 before I caught it.
 
My favorite story about long distance hustlers (which I have no doubt told before) was an AT&T one.

Salesman on phone: We'd like to talk to you about your AT&T long distance.

Roger: We don't have AT&T long distance.

SoP: Yes, you do.

R: No, we don't.

SoP: Indeed you do.

R: Indeed, I do not.

SoP: You are so stupid you don't know who your long distance carrier is.

Roger called AT&T to complain. He was told that the SoPs were contract workers and that they had no control over them. We have never used AT&T again. Ever. Period.
 
Meghan,

They call and come in to me all the time too. I had one last week. I tell them if you work for Verizon go on line and check my bill. They say they can't do that without customer permission. My answer to that is, "You have my permission - now go away"

Someone came in a couple of weeks ago and said, "Show me your merchant account statements" - “Go Away”.

Dunn & Bradstreet called me yesterday. Or at least, that’s who they said they were. Her foreign accent was so thick I could barely understand her.

What do you do? You have to answer the telephone; it might be a million dollar customer.;) You have to talk to people who walk in; it might be a million dollar customer.;)

If they walk in they always get free candy and a business card before I throw them out (politely). You just never know what might come of it.

Clive.
 
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