Everything was fine until you came along...
June 21, 2010 7:41 PM   Subscribe

Verizon Fios installation today. Technician crashed my computer. Said they will pay to have it fixed or replaced! Have any of you dealt with this before? What was your outcome?
posted by MayNicholas to Computers & Internet (13 answers total)
 
Did you get anything in writing on this? Like a claim number? Does your receipt for the FiOS install make note of the computer crash? Otherwise, if all you have is the tech's say-so, your claim may well fall on deaf ears.
posted by Thorzdad at 7:53 PM on June 21, 2010


Crashed your computer? When someone says their computer crashed, to me that means Windows blue screened and you had to restart it. What did they do? Knock it off your desk?

(When I had FIOS installed, they didn't touch my computer.)
posted by Brian Puccio at 7:59 PM on June 21, 2010 [1 favorite]


What do you mean "crashed" your computer?
posted by xmutex at 10:13 PM on June 21, 2010


I know someone else the exact same thing happened to. Sorry, I don't know the outcome!
posted by Lylo at 11:41 PM on June 21, 2010


Response by poster: He was trying to install something in my computer and he locked it up so that when you turn it on you get the blue screen and it says unbootable. He said his supervisor or a verizon rep would be calling me soon to arrange repair or if it is unrepairable, then a replacement. I will be calling them my self everyday until this is resolved.
posted by MayNicholas at 4:27 AM on June 22, 2010


Speaking as a professional technician, I gotta say that's some effed-up install package if it renders your computer unbootable. It's entirely possible that the BSOD episode is a coincidence, but I am wondering how often this has to happen if the installing tech knew the "When customer's computer is hosed up" procedure by heart.

I have been going into people's houses and working on their computers 3-5 times a week for going on six years. I've had many computers that went to the blue-screen at boot before they called me, but I can't say a computer stopped booting AFTER I started working on it more than once or twice in that time. That's maybe 2 episodes out of 700+ machines. Which is why I am inclined to say you should find out how often this sort of thing happens for Fios, because taking your computer down is an unacceptable outcome, even once out of 100 installs.

Personally, if I was you, I'd force them to pay for the reinstall of your Operating System that will likely fix the BSOD, and ensure they are recovering any data you have on the PC first, and then tell them to dangle, because it's clear they have not properly tested the PC software they're foisting on you.
posted by BigLankyBastard at 6:25 AM on June 22, 2010


Response by poster: I spoke to some one today and they said that it happened after he ran his tech wizard. Some one else is coming out tomorrow to try to fix it. I will keep you updated...
posted by MayNicholas at 6:32 PM on June 22, 2010


Response by poster: New tech came out and said he didn't know why they sent him, there was honestly nothing he could do. He gave me his supervisors name and number to call directly. He said that Verizon techs are required to install stuff on your computer to provide you with a welcome to Verizon package. If they don't they are tracked and get in trouble. He said to lead with that- the fact that I never gave them permission to install andthing on my actual laptop. I spoke to the supervisor and he said it would take up to 2 weeks to generate payment and I said that wasn't acceptable because whatever the tech installed was what killed my computer. I noted that I saw it up and running fine when he first turned it on and he even had it online- that it wasn't untill he brought out his computer and started putting something on my computer that it crashed. The supervisor said he would call me back in a few minutes after he reaches out to the the toher guys supervisor.
posted by MayNicholas at 6:25 AM on June 23, 2010


Response by poster: Still working on getting this resolved. I is the bane of my existance right now. Verizon sucks. Grrr...
posted by MayNicholas at 8:15 PM on June 24, 2010


Response by poster: The Verizon guy I have been dealing with is giving me the run around. I am starting to get so mad!
posted by MayNicholas at 5:25 AM on June 26, 2010


Response by poster: P.S. Still haven't had this resolved.
posted by MayNicholas at 4:34 AM on July 23, 2010


Response by poster: Now dealing with the supervisor's supervisor... Hopefully this will get resolved soon.
posted by MayNicholas at 4:23 AM on August 3, 2010


Have they reimbursed you for the damage they caused?
posted by johnlvs2run at 5:50 PM on November 26, 2010


« Older Vote for Sandra - Chains we can believe in.   |   Pretty calendar/schedul software? Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.