Verizon Got it Right

Three weeks ago I stumbled into an AT&T store in N.Ky to figure out how I could avoid some overage charges. Realizing I had ate up all of my allotted minutes, and most of my rollover minutes, I needed to avoid a hefty bill. Walking into the store a few details immediately caught my attention. There was no indicator to which counter, of three, I should approach to resolve my issue. Secondly, as I glanced at the 4-5 associates behind counters to uncover a friendly face I only found two associates helping customers and at least two associates looking at their own devices. I eventually stood behind another customer at one of the counters. More individuals entered the store and it became apparent that no one knew exactly where to form a line or who could help them. One woman asked where the line was and the associate pointed in my direction (with 3 or 4 individuals waiting for assistance near me) and responded "Over there I think. They have been waiting." Wow, customer relations failure. (as an aside I couldn't upgrade my plan to save me any money and had to take the overage charge).

So I had to get through all of that in order to frame how Verizon is getting it right.

This morning I stopped by a Verizon store in the Greater Cincinnati area to purchase a new Droid and port my number from AT&T. Although I greatly adore my iPhone, the Verizon product has come a long way for me, far enough to step away from my iPhone. My greatest complaint before was the inability of a user to purchase or find relevant and useful applications for their device. I would have to say that RIM led the change in this area with their App World product, but the addition of Android Market into the Verizon picture provided enough selection and versatility to make the switch.

When I arrived at the Verizon store this morning I had already made my purchase decision. I knew what I wanted and there was really nothing more to it. As I sat in my car, waiting for the doors to open, an associate came outside and took down my information so I could be helped promptly upon the store's opening. The same associate performed this action with other customers waiting in their cars for the door to open. This made my day, especially as I reflected on my AT&T experience. Verizon got their customer service right this morning, and in a big way. The Droid is a good product, and I am enjoying it, but that service defined the reasoning why I will use Verizon as my service provider.