Massucci's Take: Verizon FiOS gets the picture, not the installation
Filed under: Company News, Technology, Columns, People, Investing, Media, Verizon
Having moved into a new neighborhood offering Verizon's (VZ) FiOS television service, I was eager to shed my cable company and try FiOS, which boasts a better picture at a cheaper price.After trying it for about a month, I find the picture quality to be superior to cable television. However, a big strike against FiOS is how long it takes to install. In my case, the installation took 16 hours, spread over two days.
To be fair, I'll point out that I elected to take the triple-play bundle, which consists of TV, internet and phone service. So Verizon had to install the wires and boxes for all three products. Still, 16 hours to get it right was excessive.
"It sounds to me it like it was an extraordinary installation," Verizon FiOS spokesman Eric Rabe said. "I hope we don't have too many more like it." Typically, it takes four to five hours to install all three services, he said. When FiOS was first sold in 2005, it took seven to eight hours to install, but Verizon has "done a number of things to shorten that time, including designing new equipment that is easier and quicker to install, and pre-programming equipment before we come out," Rabe said in a phone conversation.
During my installation, many issues popped up that turned it into a marathon. I had taken a Monday off to unpack from a recent move and babysit the FiOS installer, who arrived at 9:30 a.m. Having the wrong address and activating the service for the wrong apartment were the first two problems, and things mushroomed from there. Verizon also hadn't mentioned that many holes needed to be drilled to get wires to the TV and phone. After dealing with those problems among others, the installer finally left at 8:30 p.m.
"I've heard folks say it takes four, six, or eight hours to install the service," said Chandan Sarkar, telecom analyst at Auriga USA in New York. "I also heard that once it's in, people really like it, that is, until the bill comes."
My first bill has yet to arrive. When I stopped by the Verizon FiOS store to ask about the bill and be sure they had my correct address, they weren't able to check because the store's Verizon internet service was down.
In Verizon's defense, Rabe said folks expect it to take hours to get a room painted, but think installing TV, phone and Web services should take "a few minutes." He also pointed out FiOS-TV doesn't randomly shut down like cable or satellite television. A survey released last week by J.D. Power & Associates showed that Verizon customers were more pleased with Verizon's FiOS-TV service than DirecTV (DTV) or cable TV.
Installing high-speed fiber isn't like installing cable TV lines, said Edward Snyder, principal analyst covering telecom at Charter Equity Research in San Francisco. The installer has to make sure the link between the box and the television, for example, is seamless. "If any part of the link is lousy, it's basically useless," he explained. In my case, the service person did spend time checking the integrity of the connections.
The customer service experience with Verizon FiOS has proven to be more frustrating than the many times I dealt with Time Warner Cable in New York City over the past eight years. Calling Verizon's help line is as ponderous as calling most help lines. More frustrating was the lack of knowledge about Verizon's products by the folks I dealt with both at the store and on the phone. In hindsight, knowing what I know now, would I have gotten FiOS installed over cable? No. So why do FiOS customers put up with such headaches?
"Given how much people in America like their televisions, I think for a one-day investment, or in your case a two-day investment, most people would say it's worth it," Sarkar said in a phone interview. "Once FiOS is in, people really like it. Verizon has gotten smarter about the installations as it learns from its mistakes."
It's worth noting that the FiOS installer was one of the nicest service people I've met in years. He was apologetic when he had to come back because of a flawed box that died each time the TV was turned off. What he thought would be a quick fix turned into another mini-marathon service call. We became pals the way you might befriend someone you were stuck with in an elevator. He left me his cell number and offered to help troubleshoot future problems.
Unfortunately for FiOS, the hours it took to get the installation done, coupled with the bill, phone and Wi-Fi problems are large enough detractors to cancel out the benefits of improved TV picture clarity. About once a week, folks say they can't hear me well on my home phone. The internet service is spotty, especially late at night or early in the morning, when the connection is just plain slow.
In all, the TV service gets an A, the phone service a C and the Internet service a D. That's an average of C+. Enough that FiOS isn't a failure, but for customers who have yet to decide whether to buy it or not, I'd advise waiting until Verizon works out these problems and becomes more efficient with the installation.
Anthony Massucci is a senior writer and columnist for DailyFinance. You can find him on Twitter at hianthony.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-11-2009 @ 6:34PM
just me said...
When homeowners have garbage wiring in their homes, or no serviceable wiring at all, then I would expect installations like this. The average cheap homeowner does not upgrade their wiring(cable/phone) they expect someone else to. Quit complaining and go to walmart with the rest of the ebt whiners.
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10-11-2009 @ 10:29PM
kpargolf said...
I have had FIOS for over a year now and am glad I dumped Time Warner cable. Picture quality excellent,phone and internet work seamlessly. Verizon had outside contractor install our FIOS because of excess consumer demand.Our system was up and operational within 3 hours,although Verizon had previously installed the connections from street to house.
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10-12-2009 @ 1:23PM
j. said...
I wish I could get FIOS, it's not available in my neighborhood. I would love to have the NFL Channel, ESPNU, the BIG 10 Channel and all the other sports channels that aren't available on my cable network. Hell, I don't care if it took five days!
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10-12-2009 @ 2:51PM
Stevie J said...
I try to avoid verizon at all costs. my parents recenlty had FIOS installed and it took at least 8 hours. TWC is much better service
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10-12-2009 @ 5:02PM
mikemaj82 said...
I've had FIOS for a little over a year now and I think it's awesome. Never had any issues, even with the internet, It's always fast. The 2-in-1 modem/router is great too. Cablevision doesn't have that. They make YOU buy a wireless router. Installation was about 6 hours, but I had all day, so who cares.
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10-12-2009 @ 5:51PM
Eddie said...
I have TWC now in Queens, in NYC and was thinking of switching over to FIOS untill I was told the installation would cost nearly $ 400.00 bucks
I did notice at a friends house that the FIOS picture WAS sharper & clearer than my cable picture. Don't know about internet service or phone service yet.
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10-12-2009 @ 8:40PM
Al said...
I'm a big fan of spreading service risk as a whole. In other words I wouldn't buy an all in one scanner/printer/fax cause if one thing goes all of them go. The concept of the triple play never attracted me because in part I'm not a huge believer that one company can do it all and do it all well. I also believe, being an IT Service Provider myself the more complicated an order is for a service company the bigger the project and the more people involved. Unless your company can run like a well oiled machine and have you people managed to tackle your order in phases, it usually all gets done the day its installed, because that's the way the company probably handles most of their other services.. Ive built my own triple play between Verizon Fios, Vonage and Direct TV. I was one of the first on my block 3 years ago to get the Fios service, I called on a Monday and it was installed in a few hours (less than 3)by Thursday of the same week. My downtime for internet in the past 3 years as a customer has been a total of 5 minutes. My DirectTV hardly ever goes out maybe during a rainy night may go fuzzy once a year. As for Vonage, I have three phones and a fax line the call quality is fantastic and I'm saving over $100 a month over copper. Compared to Cable's triple play I'm spending 5 dollars more a month....but its worth it compared to the nightmares I have heard from either Verizon or Cables triple service. At least if any one service goes out it can be held accountable to one company as opposed to losing all three to the same company. Fios as an internet backbone is virtually the fastest internet you can buy fr a residential area. However relying on Verizons TV and Voice service to run over it may not be the best idea. I wouldn't buy a car from a company that makes TV's also. My advice is find a company that does one service really well and dont ask them to do anymore than that....you'll go farther in the end.
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10-13-2009 @ 1:40PM
FCM said...
TWC at the office, cablevision at home... both not the greatest, but I think I'll stick with what I have. Heard too many random stories about FIOS.
Great write-up!
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10-15-2009 @ 12:23AM
Chris said...
If your using a wireless phone try a regular handset for a week and see if your problem goes away ! Also the internet depending on what site and what time you get on it may seem slower at times . Use speed test at those times and you will see your speed is not slower the website you are visiting is or your antivirus is scanning or updating in the background . As for the TV fantastic ! no problems in 3 years myself . Call your tech we love coming out and resolving any issues you may have .
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