Verizon Wireless suffers stiff PR backlash for $2 ‘convenience’ fee
Customers who pay their bills online or over the phone will incur the charge. The move sparked outrage on social media and, 24 hours after it was unveiled, the wireless provider reversed its decision.
Obviously, Verizon Wireless didn’t read PR Daily’s list of the top blunders of 2011.
No. 3 on the list was Bank of America, which experienced a PR firestorm after it proposed monthly surcharges. The No. 1 blunder was Netflix; its PR meltdown began with a price hike.
And now Verizon is trying a “convenience fee” of its own.
On Thursday, the Engadget blog published a Verizon memo explaining that on Jan. 15 Verizon customers will have to pay a $2 “convenience fee” for paying their bills each month online or over the phone. Twitter flooded with negative tweets about Verizon; an online petition was started; bloggers opined. Even Time magazine voiced its disapproval.
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