The Litter Box

For the third time this month I had difficulty with email being delivered through my Verizon Fios Internet service. The first time was using Microsoft Outlook on my home computer. Incoming email was arriving, but there was an error connecting to the outgoing server. The Verizon Technical Support specialist told me that Outlook wasn’t officially supported by Verizon Fios (what!?!?) and that I should use Verizon’s webmail access. I told them that was outrageous and that Verizon’s webmail interface and interaction were awful. I know it’s awful because I use it when I’m not at home.

A couple weeks ago I was using Verizon’s webmail and found out that it was taking 11+ hours for emails to get delivered. Based on the email headers, it was clear that the problem was getting out of Verizon. I again called a Verizon support representative, but they didn’t seem to know what to do with the complaint. Yesterday the delivery delay happened again. This time I tried filling out Verizon’s web-based support submission form. Within an hour I received a response that they couldn’t help me, and that I should call Verizon Technical Support. I called the number in the response, but the Technical Support representative didn’t know how to handle the complaint because he needed a DSL or Dialup account number to get into the system (which I don’t have, because I am a Fios customer). Despite attempts to explain that the problem was with Verizon webmail, which can be accessed from anywhere, he said he couldn’t help me and that I needed to talk to Customer Service. He transferred me to Business Service, and I didn’t want to go down that rathole, so I hung up and dialed again. In the phone tree, I specifically asked for Customer Service, but when someone answered the phone they said “Technical Support”. I explained the situation to the representative, and he said there’s nothing they can do about it. I said that the email service Verizon was providing was unacceptable, and that I’d be investigating switching to another email service provider. I also said that the implications for Verizon were that I’d stop using their email, which would mean the Verizon brand would no longer be distributed with every email I sent. I also said that I wouldn’t be able to recommend Verizon service to anyone, and that I’d be sharing my experience with others. The support representative said he understood, but that there wasn’t anything Verizon could do.

So, here’s my little rant about my frustrations with Verizon service and how they don’t care about performance.