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Verizon Wireless announced it has upgraded its network to support next generation technology for enhanced wireless voice capacity in parts of Metro New York and Northern New Jersey. Forgive our skepticism.
It took Verizon four weeks to install phones in the new Unstrung offices. First, they went to the wrong building, hoping, perhaps to install new phones in our previous offices. Then, we waited a week for another appointment. When the second crew arrived, they installed new jacks, and promptly left, explaining that more wiring would need to be done outside of the building. They’d be back in a week. They missed the Friday appointment (due no doubt to the impending darkness at 4:30) and came on Monday. Meanwhile, during that same week the company sent 3 separate crews to our floor to install lines for other businesses, refusing each time to even look at our situation. Finally, our crew arrived on Monday and was able to activate three of the lines we had ordered. The others remained dead for a week, until another technician was sent to activate them.
And this company wants to have 3G in New York by the end of the year? Now, we’re certainly not naïve enough to call a direct correlation between the company’s ability to install our phone lines and its ability to roll out new wireless networks. But both issues come down to customer service, something giant monopolies tend not to be good at.
Rather than spend money on the customer service side of the equation, (see Verizon strike, last year) most wireless companies have spent lavishly on brand-development (see Verizon SuperBowl ads this year). This is a strategy that has worked rather poorly (as we’ll discuss in our Insider report on MVNO’s next week), leaving churn rates absurdly high.
If companies like Verizon expect their customers to become dependent upon them for their email and other critical business data, they’ll have to expect to become something of an extension of the corporate IT department—and that means phone calls at all hours because data is trapped or can’t be accessed properly. These calls, it would seem, will need to be answered before four weeks are out.
The company anticipates 1XRTT-compatible wireless handsets will be available for customers to purchase from Verizon Wireless Communications Stores or online in the fourth quarter.
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