Verizon Wireless

Deception, big timeI. After I studied various options open to an existing Verizon wireless customer to upgrade to an iPhone from a flip phone, I went to their store on Union Square. This was 3 days before Christmas when there were a lot of great offers flying about. After a lengthy discussion with the employee who served me, I decided to purchase the iPhone 6 outright for about $ 200 and sign up for a 2 year contract. He gave me a free kit with a screen protector, a wall charger and an option between a 2^nd wall charger and a car charger, as well of a choice of colors within a certain Otterbox case. I got the credit card slip to sign for the phone and some papers for the contract, which I signed admittedly without verifying that they exactly matched our discussion.
When I got my credit card bill at the end of January, there was the charge at the Verizon store.
But I start getting billed by Verizon for a equipment charge monthly of $ 23 which means that I will have paid $ 550 for the phone, plus $ 157 for the accessories. When I called customer service they said they couldn’t do anything about this because I had signed the papers. By the way, my 2 year thing was not a «contract» but (lucky me) an «agreement» that I could buy out of by forking over the balance remaining on the $ 550.
So a word of warning, do NOT patronize this Verizon store and and wherever you do
go, triple check that the paperwork matches the verbal deal you think you agreed to.

FRAUD
My father was charged fraudulently at this location for over $ 420. Verizon central customer service launched a massive internal investigation because of it.
Would not recommend this store.

Employees were very kind until I paid and walked out, at which point I was no longer treated like a customer. My issues and concerns were met with being turned away in-​store, being told they were busy and that I would be called back (which I never was) before being hung up on, and a couple unanswered voicemails. Needless to say, the whole experience became more frustrating and time consuming than necessary. The level of customer service I received once I finally contacted Stay Connected Wireless through their website was worlds apart from what I got from the reps at this location — faith in humanity restored! Still, it’s that stark contrast in attentiveness, compassion, and communication throughout the whole process that’s all the more reason for me to give this location 1 star.

Call customer service, call customer service, all they know is to ask you to call customer service once they get you on board as their client! Questions on billing, questions on terminating contract seemed none of their business. What’s the point of having this retailer???

Never, never, never go here. Trust me. Easily the worst retail experience I’ve had in 12 years of living in NYC. I had gotten a new phone from my insurance company because my old phone screen cracked. So I went in with my cracked phone and my brand new, unopened phone, knowing that I was eligible for an upgrade. They charged me $ 150, gave me my upgrade, never informed Verizon that I had gotten a new phone, and never mailed back my brand new phone from the insurance company. Oh and they also stole my new phone box with the charger and earbuds inside. I don’t know how much this is ultimately gonna cost me (maybe as much as $ 950) but I do know an actual Verizon store told me this was 100% the fault of Russell Cellular. Never go here.

The Ben character mentioned in other reviews is still around and just as smarmy as ever.
Walked in because I finally decided it’s time to upgrade from my iphone 4, asked him a simple question: with whatever free upgrade I have, what’s the price difference between a 6 and a 6s?
Cue a launch into verbal diarrhea five sentences long that in no way, shape, or form answered my question.
And sorry dude, but your «$ 40 phone case for free» does not impress me. That case took a small Mongolian child 30 seconds to slap together. The total cost to make it, including the adorable little labor, is less than I spend on my morning coffee. Don’t pretend it’s a deal.

I wish there was a way to click zero stars. These guys are a nightmare — I am about to spend evening number two trying to get my iPhone up and running after they supposedly «transferred everything for me» in the store. Don’t believe anything they say and please — for your own sanity — pick another verizon store.

Most knowledgeable and helpful. All my problems were resolved immediately, and everyone in the family enjoys the best and most suitable phone and service. Thank you!

Came in to activate my phone. The reps, Ben and Min, are helpful and knowledgeable about my phone.

Awesome service, fast and effective! These guys know their stuff.
Plus they fix iPhone screens!

Went here with a friend when she took it in to repair the screen on her iphone after dropping it. We took it in Friday morning and it was ready the next day on Saturday. The only problem was they were only open Saturday from 6−8pm. The guy behind the desk was helpful and let me charge my iphone at one of the iphone displays while I waited.
It did seem a little disorganized. He had to call someone else to ask about where my friends phone was and had to sort though several other phones before he found it. Then when we were checking out, my friend mentioned the protective glass cover she purchased and then he put it on. We almost left without the extra screen cover. However, we got the phone and it was repaired in one day, that’s pretty fast all things considered. The perks of living in NYC.

Great service, no lines, very helpful staff. I would recommend this store over a larger Verizon store to get in and out quickly. Staff was very friendly and called me to tell me when my phone arrived, as well as after to make sure I did not have any issues with the phone.

I was beyond impressed with this store. service personnel knowledge. My I fone 4 broke and I was frantic calling all over. I called this store and they told me to come right over. I literally ran from my office. Ben said are you the person on the phone. He was fabulous. He took over helped me (as I am not the most technical to say the least!!) sold me a fabulous new IFONE and patiently explained everything I needed to know. downloaded for me. I am so happy I don’t even need to go to the APPLE store. I highly recommend this store to EVERYONE. Ellie

GO SOMEWHERE ELSE IF YOU CAN. This review is about tthe Verizon Wireless store at University Place in Manhattan. Would give them zero stars if I could. They will tell you everything you want to hear (and yes, they are good, they know what you want) to sell another iPhone with Verizon account. They do not care to tell you things that are not true as they figure (correctly in my case) that you’ll only find out much later. They convinced me to enter into a longer contract than I would normally have done (as I didnot know whether I would be staying 1 year or longer in the US) by saying that there was no fine in case you leave the US and return to your home country. They also said the phone would then be sim lock free right away and could subsequently be used in my home country. Well, none of this is true. I got a huge fine for early termination, I am stuck with a not sim lock free phone that I cannot use in my home country as it (verizon) doesn’t do GSM. I had AT&T before and wished I hadn’t changed. AT&T’s internet is much faster and, apart from where I was at the time, the reception is generally better too.

They take the upsell and BS to new levels here, with a remarkable level of condescension for people working at a knockoff ‘Stay Connected Wireless’ offshoot of a major wireless carrier. I put one particularly smug employee, Ben, in his place regarding the facts of the wireless carrier and device landscape, and he grabbed their demo phone out of my hands and asked me to leave. Sweet.
Sammy and Omar are a bit more reasonable, but I’d actually opt to pay more from a reputable merchant online than take a chance here.

The employee I’ve dealt with at this location is only good at making obnoxious attempts to sell you more junk. Considering there are an endless number of Verizon Wireless locations in the city, just avoid this one, unless you like awful euro house music blasting over the intercom, and staff who are patently indifferent to customers.

Avoid this place. These guys will rip you off. Bought a 40 $ pair of headphones and it was absolutely the worst sound quality I’ve ever heard. They wouldn’t accept a return even though I had just came in minutes earlier. These guys are money grubbing schisters. Went to radio shack and paid $ 20 for great headphones WITH a guarantee.

DON’T LET THESE CROOKS RIP YOU OFF!!!
Recently, I started having trouble with the 4G connection on my Verizon smart phone. Yesterday, I decided to save myself a trip to the Verizon corporate store at 581 Broadway in SoHo (where I originally purchased the phone, last year) and head over to the Verizon premium retailer at 101 University Place in Union Square (since I was already in the area).
When I walked in, I told the guy at the counter what the problem was and he promptly took my phone and walked into a back room. He told me it would be a few minutes to scan my phone for problems, and in the meantime, tried to convince me to get rid of the insurance on my phone and buy the plan his store was offering instead.
Afterwards, he returned my phone from the back room and proceeded to tell me that I needed a new SIM card and a new SD card (which is hilarious because my phone doesn’t even have nor require an SD card!!!). He then told me that the insurance on my phone doesn’t cover the replacement costs for these items. He said that the new SIM card would cost $ 39.99 and the new SD card would cost $ 69.99. When I said I could not afford those costs, the manager jumped in and said that he would give me both cards for just the price of the SD card ($ 69.99). It was at this point that I knew these guys were full of it, declined the offer and left.
After leaving the store, I quickly headed to 581 Broadway in SoHo. There, a very polite Verizon employee checked my phone, identified the problem, explained exactly what the problem was (along with some additional helpful information) and replaced my SIM card FREE OF CHARGE. She then proceeded to tell me that any sort of problems with SIM cards are always fixed for free. She also said that I should stay away from authorized retailers and go directly to a Verizon corporate store anytime I’m having issues with my phone. Needless to say, I will NEVER step foot into the Verizon premium retailer at 101 University Place ever again.

Not an official verizon store. Will upsell you on anything possible. Very rude and not worth your time.

These guys make deals! That’s what I was told by a friend and that’s why I went. They will give you your upgrade early, switch upgrades with someone in your family plan, even get on the phone with your confused and annoyed mother. They sell iPhones for ten bucks under the price too.