fl7614
join:2012-02-22
Port Richey, FL | FIOS Install Disaster I had FIOS TV, Internet, and phone installed about a month ago. Very happy with picture, internet speed, etc. I have a small theater room with a ceiling mounted front projector that I don't use too often. Last Thursday I went to use the room to to play a blu-ray and no picture, no sound. No picture, no sound on any component, except the FIOS TV box which works fine....looking at the components the Verizon installer ripped out all the wires from a component cable switching AV receiver....12 component video cables (3cables x4 connections)all disconnected, and he connected the projector directly to the FIOS box...!No reason to do so as the Brighthouse box was hooked up the same way and I had already disconnected it, so all he had to do was hook up the wires...
So I started this Verizon tech support odyssey...Long story short, 16 phone calls in 6 days, 4 no shows by Verizon, they finally showed up yesterday at 3pm (after coming at 9am when no one was home...we had a 3pm appt) looked at the box for 30 seconds, said everything was fine and left (i wasn't home, my wife was) didn't fix anything. Called last night, after a half hour on the phone was promised some one would call me tomorrow to set an appointment to fix it. Someone just showed up at the house at 1pm when no one was home...called them again and was told this time that it wasn't their responsibility to fix and everyone else including 2 supervisors I spoke to promising a resolution was mistaken....
Any advice for someone I can contact to get this rectified...and the reason I want this fixed by Verizon and don't just do it myself...the room was built as the AV components were installed...the wires go through a wall and the way the components fit in a cabinet recessed into a wall make it *close* to impossible to get to....you have to use a mirror and a flashlight to see anything and I don't think I should have to spend 5 hours of my time on a Sunday fixing what Verizon ruined...especially when there was no reason for them to do so...
Thanks for taking the time to read this! |
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kes601
join:2007-04-14
Virginia Beach, VA
kudos:2 | I understand he should not have done this, and I would be ticked off too, but wouldn't it just be easier to reconnect the cables yourself? |
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fl7614
join:2012-02-22
Port Richey, FL | I guess after all the time I spent on the phone and the missed appointments, but it really will take hours...I did it once before, using the mirror is a pain because it's all backwards, can't pull the components out far enough because the wires are too short...
Just don't think I should have to... |
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kes601
join:2007-04-14
Virginia Beach, VA
kudos:2 | Ahh, gotcha. And, I agree, you shouldn't have to, just figured it might save you some grief.... |
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 JeepMattC'mon the UPremium
join:2001-12-28
Wilmington, DE
kudos:2 | reply to fl7614
I'm still in shock you'd leave a company that has over 180 HD channels... maybe it's karma? 
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"ONE team - ONE city - ONE dream!!" |
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fl7614
join:2012-02-22
Port Richey, FL | reply to fl7614
Brighthouse could only give me a consistent 3mbps on a 20mbps line....no problem with the HD channels |
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And you'd prefer a guy who knows nothing about your system come and look at the backward lettering and figure out what is what? |
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fl7614
join:2012-02-22
Port Richey, FL | reply to fl7614
Again, you're right...I'm sure if they actually kept one of the appointments when I was there, I'd have to do most of it anyway...
Very disappointing.... |
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 birdfeedrPremium,MVM
join:2001-08-11
Warwick, RI
kudos:8 | reply to fl7614
said by fl7614: the reason I want this fixed by Verizon and don't just do it myself...the room was built as the AV components were installed...the wires go through a wall and the way the components fit in a cabinet recessed into a wall make it *close* to impossible to get to....you have to use a mirror and a flashlight to see anything
Poor design. You always want slack on the wires so you can pull the component out without fishing. Now I know why you don't want to do it. Never mind that the VZ installer probably didn't have clear instructions on the custom setup.
I'm not slinging mud anywhere, just saying that you may get a FiOS installer who's top notch on A/V systems, and then you can also get a guy who's good at wiring an ONT and hooking up a STB, and that's the extent of his experience.
If it was my complicated setup, I'd work very hard to be there during install. Well, actually, I do that during *every* install at my house. Besides, I like talking to the techs. They're nice people. |
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fl7614
join:2012-02-22
Port Richey, FL | reply to fl7614
And again, I appreciate what you're saying...unfortunately I work 6 days a week, only off on Sunday and they don't do installations on Sunday, nor do they do it after 6 pm which is when I get home.
This was NOT a complicated install...connecting the only cables that are lying within an empty shelf to a different brand of digital box is idiot proof (almost...) there is plenty of slack within all the component racks EXCEPT the AV tuner that is also a switcher...it should never have been needed to gain access to this...my "poor design" is really not at fault...it only became an issue when somene went completely off the reservation hooking it up..
I guess I still fail to understand why Verizon seems utterly disinterested in making this right...forgetting the poor design of my AV system, over the next 2 years I will pay somewhere around $4500 for the privilege of having Verizon...shouldn't it warrant some legitimate effort on their part to satisfy me? |
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| Verizon techs have no training on these type of systems. It's not always as "idiot proof" as you think it is for some. The biggest mistake you made was not leaving the existing cable box there. This would have made it easy as he could have seen what you had connected. You're most likely not going to get a tech out there and you would be better off doing it yourself since you know what it is supposed to be. You're just going to continue frustrating yourself if you don't. |
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PJL
join:2008-07-24
Long Beach, CA
kudos:2 | reply to fl7614
To the OP: have you considered adding short jumpers to each cable to make re-installation easier? |
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Zen6
join:2011-06-04
Saratoga Springs, NY | reply to fl7614
I dont think you will get any installer who knows the set up as well as you. May be less aggravation to just fix it. |
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Hmm...my installer actually unhooked everything from my Time Warner setup and re-hooked it up exactly as it was-- including hooking up my eSata drive to the DVR over a year before it would even work!!! |
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birdfeedrPremium,MVM
join:2001-08-11
Warwick, RI
kudos:8 | reply to fl7614
I can see both sides of the coin, so it's a toss-up who gets to spend the time connecting things back up. Don't call in VZ, though. They'd want to punch holes in the wall to pull the wires out. 
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fl7614
join:2012-02-22
Port Richey, FL | reply to fl7614
Adding short jumpers to the component cables might work, but again I'm reworking what already worked fine due to Verizon....
In any event, I really hoped someone could give me a phone # or email to contact someone that could help...while I agree in the end I could fix it myself, would you repair your transmission after a shop screwed it up and you paid for it, even if you had the knowledge to do so or would you expect the company to stand behind it?
Verizon's overseas customer service that's barely understandable, conflicting stories, missed appointments, and overall lack of concern are, to me at least, unacceptable. |
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kes601
join:2007-04-14
Virginia Beach, VA
kudos:2 | Verizon's FiOS customer service is in the U.S. Not sure who you've been talking to. |
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fl7614
join:2012-02-22
Port Richey, FL | reply to fl7614
Not a chance...last 5 phone calls were *definitely* not native english speakers...seriously, last one was barely understandable.... |
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kes601
join:2007-04-14
Virginia Beach, VA
kudos:2 | I've never called in and gotten a non-native English speaker.
Anyway, to answer your question, search the forum for executive relations or something liken at and you'll find a number to call. |
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lijacobs
join:2010-07-30
Lawrence, NY
kudos:1 Reviews:
 ·Verizon FiOS
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said by fl7614:In any event, I really hoped someone could give me a phone # or email to contact someone that could help Please, I'm not trying to get you more upset than you already are, but I would be extremely suprised I if VZ would do anything to correct your problem, even if you threaten to terminate service. You could try the president's hotline at 212-321-8700,but, as I said, I think that will only serve to get you more angry. |
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