I have no Internet access at my house because the subcontractors that Verizon is using to replace union labor (note: I have no love for unions) never actually did the work that they were hired to do for Verizon. They were supposed to bring the fiber optic lines across the street from the eight port hub that is in my neighbor's yard, install whatever hardware is needed on my side in a neat little hole and finish up getting my lot ready to receive FiOS; during the summer when they were being paid to build out this infrastructure.
All I have in my yard is a hole that is neatly lined with gravel and plastic with a nice, green lid over it. I found that out when the Verizon tech went slack-jawed and mutter the unabbreviated version of "WTF" when he popped the lid to begin his work on Wednesday of last week.
So now Verizon will have to schedule more work to be done, lose more money in the process, to repeat work God only knows when to get our house hooked up.
This is what happens when you hire fly-by-night subcontractors whose workers look like they just finished drying their clothes off from a dip in the Rio Grande...
All I have in my yard is a hole that is neatly lined with gravel and plastic with a nice, green lid over it. I found that out when the Verizon tech went slack-jawed and mutter the unabbreviated version of "WTF" when he popped the lid to begin his work on Wednesday of last week.
So now Verizon will have to schedule more work to be done, lose more money in the process, to repeat work God only knows when to get our house hooked up.
This is what happens when you hire fly-by-night subcontractors whose workers look like they just finished drying their clothes off from a dip in the Rio Grande...
To be fair, it's also what happens if you hire someone to do something and pay them without verifying that they in fact did the work. Good luck getting your FiOS soon: I have friends who love it. Sadly, in DC, the plan is that it'll be available in my neighborhood sometime around 2018. (not kidding)
Our HOA has also had that problem with fake-work thievery.
I don't think the problem you related is a function of the cost Verizon paid for the service. I have had the same problem getting my car fixed at dealerships, paying the highest cost around for that particular service. I also has a house built a few years ago and selecteds the builder based on his reputation for using high quality subs. After the deal was signed, he showed up with Mexicans to do the work. They uniformly acted like it was the first house they had ever built and were learning OJT. Of course that same year, all of the local subs were in Louisianna doing post Katrina rebuilding at higher rates.
The solution is careful supervision and a pay schedule based on completed work, with a healthy sized final payment reserved.
I also have FIOS and like it.
The tech who showed up to complete the installation remarked that this sort of thing is common. While shoddy, inexperienced work is common from them, he added that blatantly ***not doing the work at all*** and still charging for it is also a common problem that Verizon has faced with the likes of them.
Same problem at Ford. I needed 6 spark plugs replaced in my 95 Ford Windstar. the sideways mounted engine had 3 plugs in front and three in back. The back ones were hard to get to so I paid the Ford guys to do it instead of doing it myself. A year later the head blew and I had to rebuild it. The back plugs were original factory equipment at 68K miles. Evidently, it was too hard for Ford to do, too. But not too hard for them to charge me for doing it.