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Link to JR's writing on operator services (internal link)
Verizon customer service problems
The writer doesn't state which option he is pressing on *228. After keying the digits the user has two options: pressing 1 to reprogram the phone, or pressing 2 to update its roaming capabilities.
Option 1 usually programs the phone with a changed telephone number.
Option 2 updates the PRL. As Mark van der Hoek has said previously, *228 updates the mobile's PRL, the Preferred Roaming List. That's a list of what channels and what operators the phone can use, and affects your ability to roam. If the PRL isn't right, you can have problems. Telling a customer to do a *228 has become a shortcut way for customer service to get you off the line.
I think I know what started the *228 craze. A CSR probably listened in on a call with Tier 1 Technical Support, heard about this solution, and somehow it spread like wildfire throughout VZW's call centers. Now everyone in customer service thinks *228 is a cure all.
It would be fair to say that most Customer Service Reps are pretty clueless. End users, too, are also often clueless as how to even articulate a simple problem. These are the people you first get when you dial Verizon's 611 or 800 number. They are not Tier 1 anything, not Technical Support anyway. Their objective is to get you off the line so they can sell, sell, sell.
There are only three centers in three cities that are truly technical support for VZW. Tier 1 is in Tucson and Tier 2 is in Folsom and Houston (who also answer overflow Tier 1 calls).The easiest way to bypass the runaround a CSR is going to give you on any problem, because they've been "trained" (ha! ha! ha!) to solve all problems, is mention that you have a problem that freaks them out. Like say: "I'm having trouble with my Mobile Web" and they'll say something stupid like "well it's on there." Yeah, it's on the billing record and in their minds they think that means it's programed.
No, it merely means it's in the billing system and doesn't necessarily mean the phone itself is programmed, it's in the uplink and been forced through. There are a number of features that fall in this category.
Most CSR's will just transfer you to Tucson right but if they think they're a technical genius just say "I've tried that (or been told that) and it's still not working." This is a golden opportunity for a CSR to get that gem of a short call time and direct transfer you. Once there, most problems can be solved by the real Tier 1 and if they can't solve the problem they will almost always galdly transfer the end user to Tier 2 because it gets them off the line and off the hook. Or mention something like "Palm Pilot" or "Get It Now" (BREW). Often a Tier 1 rep will figure out in the first 3-5 minutes that the feature is not programmed, the customer is in and"extended area",and so on.
A generic VZW problem, by the way, can often be solved by:
1. removing the battery while the phone is on (which makes some people cringe), replacing the battery, restarting the phone.
2. when the phone is fully powered back up the end users keys # 832 (send) and waits for "your test call has been succesful"
3.then *228 (send) and pressing option 1 and wait for "your phone has been programmed" and it will restart.
4. Then *228 (send) and pressing option 2 to update the PRL and wait for "your phone has been updated" and wait for a restart. Of course if may correct the problem and the end user repeats the same user error as before and it happens all over again and it's "the stupid phone."
TIP: a common error made by end users and CSRs is doing this when the end user is not in his home area. That'll teach 'em!
J.R., A cynical former VZW tech support rep Link to JR's writing on operator services (internal link)
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