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In the past I have posted about my experiences with FIOS. and I stand by them, I am very happy with it and have had no problems with service, or during installation. However, very good friends of mine have, they got the bait and switch; and it reminded me of my entire experience trying to get the FIOS service.
I was lucky because the Verizon linemen worked right outside my window; so I was able to confirm that they were wiring up FIOS. however, when I initially checked online (and later called) it seemed FIOS was available, even though it actually wasn't. I was told that verizon high-speed service was available. after asking for more specifics, I got the salesperson to admit that he wasn't offering FIOS. this was made more confusing because the packages were virtually identical. to make matters worse there were follow-up emails and sales calls. but by then I knew to discuss only FIOS. I was lucky that one person checked for me, saying it was coming to my building in a matter weeks and gave me the number of a local verizon FIOS store/center. after that I went directly through the local number and everything worked out (as explained in earlier posts).
unfortunately, my friends did not have the same experience. after making the switch online, and getting an installation date w/out a specific time window, they waited all day (this past friday) only to find out after business hours that no one was coming. a promise was made for a saturday morning appointment. at this point they were without tv, internet and phone (the number had been disconnected). on saturday, someone came and installed the tv boxes, saying the rest would get done monday. my friends thought this was better than nothing, but were still unhappy. they also discovered that their Verizon 3G network didn't work from their house (the need hadn't arisen before - but that's another story). this morning verizon installers arrived, but installed DSL, not FIOS. and this is where my friends story stands. They are going back to Time Warner
I am posting this so that it doesn't happen to someone else as well. I believe that the folks running FIOS would like to distance themselves from the verizon reputation, which if you remember, was shit. I believe that Verizon makes the information for getting FIOS intrusive and confusing on purpose, so they can do just this. if you are considering switching, be very careful that you are talking about FIOS by name, and nothing else! I have been very happy with FIOS, but will never forget how much I hated verizon in the past, and can not urge caution strongly enough when making inquiries.
If you have ordered from Verizon, just know that FIOS comes through two fairly large utility boxes that must be mounted on a wall near an electrical outlet, and that all services come from these boxes via new, fiber optic cables that they install;. NOT... the existing coax that you have now. I hope this helps.
*edit: I want to clarify that the service appointment on saturday was Direct TV, not Verizon. Verizon never[b] came on saturday. and while this raised questions with me, I don't have FIOS TV, so was unable to speak intelligently and with certainty about that service.
