IP: A visit to a Verizon Wireless store -- or do they get it at all

[David Farber <dave@farber.net>]

Yesterday I visiting the local Verizonwireless stores in Delaware. I was 
attempting to get their Express Network offering - in particular I wanted 
to get a pccard for my laptop to use their "high speed" data offering. What 
transpired is maybe a statement on sales training or maybe a statement on 
the whole corporate approach to the data market.

First I asked what service plans were  available for the Express Network. I 
was told that only the plans that allowed a certain number of megabits per 
month were available. When I asked about their flat rate plan I was told no 
such plan existed. When I insisted it did they loudly denied that until I 
aimed them at their own web site.

Then I asked about the description of the $99/month all you can eat plan. 
It talked about  caller id, three way calling etc. I asked if voice was 
included via the data service and got a very confused answer that boiled 
down to you need to also purchase a voice cellular plan in order to use the 
$99 plan. So I naturally asked if I could just add the Express network to 
my normal phone service with Verizon and was told he would try. The system 
accepted the add on BUT the salesman insisted that my current plan could 
not be used but that I would have to buy a new phone and get a new plan and 
a new phone number. I assume , and left the store at this point in the 
visit, that if I had pursued it further I would have been charged a 
cancellation fee for my old account, had a useless C60 phone and to top it 
off be changed a $30 activation fee.

I had a similar set of interactions down in DC earlier in the week.

I find it amazing that no one seems to know at the retail level what is 
going on; if what they tell me is true then no one at Corporate understands 
the data market (I hope I am wrong here but I wait to be proven wrong).

Dave

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