“I noticed the red light in the garage and the light was beeping and I looked and saw the light was discharged,” says Verizon customer Bob Gaertner.

The replace battery light on Gaertner’s FIOS control box means the backup battery is dead.

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Verizon says the backup battery is crucial:

“[Its] to provide up to 8-hours of backup power to provide voice service in case there is a commercial power outage at your house,” says Verizon’s Lee Gierczynski.

Bob called Verizon to get a replacement battery and was told he was solely responsible for the battery.

“[Verizon said] your battery is only warranted for one year. It’s up to you,” Gaertner says.

“It’s included with the first year of your service in the warranty period. After that, the customer is responsible for replacing the battery if they choose,” Gierczynski adds.

Verizon says its website states that customers are responsible for maintaining the battery.

“When customers get the service, they are told about the battery,” Gierczynski says.

Other customers were surprised to find out they’d be responsible for the battery.

Verizon says asking the company to pay for all battery replacements would be the same as asking Duquesne light to replace the batteries in your flashlight.

“The backup power is something that is really just a customer preference,” Gierczynski says.

At “Batteries Plus” on McKnight Road, they average about 10 customers wanting to replace their battery per day.

“Every time we see someone coming in with that battery, 98% of the time it’s FIOS,” a store clerk says.

Verizon’s replacement 7-amp battery costs about $44 before taxes.

The company tries to discourage customers from buying a battery from anyone other than Verizon.

According to the Verizon website:

“Use of a battery other than a 12-volt 7.2 ah sla sealed lead acid battery is not recommended.” 

“Verizon is not responsible for damages which result from use of an improper battery.”

In western Pennsylvania, Verizon FIOS is available to about 450,000 thousand households.

RELATED LINKS:
More Consumer News
More John Shumway Reports

Join the club. Probably everyone has orphaned, phased out and upgraded their electronic gadgets, meaning there are millions of tons of reclaimable, recyclable and reusable stuff waiting to be dealt with. Plenty of the material in discarded electronics should never find its way into the landfill. Better to recycle or dispose of it properly.

Saturday, April 21

Soroptimist International of Phoenix is hosting an Electronic Waste (E-Waste) Recycling Event from 8am to noon at First Institutional Baptist Church, 1141 East Jefferson St. in Phoenix. Publicity for the event says “We accept anything with a plug.” Fees apply to monitors dropped off without computers ($5) and old CRT televisions ($10). More information is available on a flyer at siphx.org.

You can also drop off electronics at the following locations:

Chandler
Batteries Plus, 3014 N Dobson Rd. 9am-6pm.
Basha High School, 5990 S. Val Vista Dr. 8am-12pm
Intel (document shredding), 5000 W. Chandler Blvd. 8am-12pm.
Intel, 4500 S. Dobson Rd. 8am-12pm.

Gilbert
Gilbert High School, 1101 E. Elliot Rd. 8am-12pm.
Batteries Plus, 29 N. Val Vista Dr #105. 9am-6pm.

Glendale
Batteries Plus, 6680 W. Bell Rd. 9am-6pm.

Mesa
Mesa High School, 1630 E. Southern Ave. 8am-12pm.
Batteries Plus, 1145 S. Power Rd. 9am-6pm.

Phoenix
Metro Tech High School, 1900 W. Thomas Rd. 8am-12pm.
Horses Help, 2601 E. Rose Garden Lane, 8am-12pm.
Batteries Plus, 3415 W Glendale Ave. 9am-6pm.
Batteries Plus, 2404 E. Bell Rd. 9am-6pm.
Batteries Plus, 3838 E. Thomas Rd. 9am-6pm.

Scottsdale
Batteries Plus, 14202 N. Scottsdale Rd. 9am-6pm.

Surprise
APS Service Center, 16800 N. Dysart Rd. 8am-12pm.

Tempe
Tempe High School, 1730 S. Mill Ave. 8am-12pm.

Saturday, April 28

Drop off electronics at Desert Ridge Marketplace, just south of Albertson’s near Wolfley’s Neighborhood Grill. Items will go to AZ StRUT (Students Recycling Used Technology), which teaches students to refurbish useable equipment, and WesTech Recyclers will recycle the rest.

Here’s a handy list of recyclables WesTech accepts.

It seems we talk, text, and email 24-7.

All that activity puts a big burden on the cell phone’s battery.

Not all the functions we use draw the same level of power.

WBZ-TV’s Paula Ebben reports

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“Some people have the Internet on their phone these days and that really drains the battery,” said Matt Beckham from Batteries Plus.

The first thing to do is learn how to shut down your Internet browser when it is not in use. Same with email. They’re power sponges.

There are now some Apps that can help close down programs not in use.

“The popular thing these days is small, thin phones. Battery companies want small, thin batteries,” said Beckham.

Thinner phones require smaller batteries which tend to have less capacity.

One option is to get an extended battery, but be prepared for a larger unit. They are about twice the size.

Motorola and other venders have come out with portable charging devices which are basically the equivalent of carrying an extra battery. You just plug it into your phone.

Old cell phone batteries had what they call “charging memory.” Recharging them wrong could cost the battery some of its life. Cell phones today run on lithium ion batteries.

“The ion battery doesn’t have a charging memory,” explained Beckham. “It doesn’t matter if you run it all the way down and charge it all the way up.”

It is important to know, however, that these batteries don’t last forever.

“Batteries only have a certain number of charge, discharge cycles which is when you charge it up and let it discharge. Usually lithium ion batteries have a charge-discharge cycle rate of about 300. After that, the batteries starts to weaken,” said Beckham.

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The Pirate Store
826 Valencia Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 642-5905
www.826valencia.org

Batteries Plus
7429 Amador Valley Blvd.
Dublin, CA 94568
(925) 829-7587
www.batteriesplus.com

Sheepskin Land
2593 N. Main Street
Walnut Creek, CA 94597
(510) 366-5146
www.sheepskinlands.com

True Sake
560 Hayes Street
San Francisco, CA
(415) 355-9555
www.truesake.com

The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen
1 S. Park Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94107
(415) 243-0107
www.theamericansf.com

The Flag House
620 National Avenue,
Mountain View, CA 94043
(408) 446-3087
www.flaghouseonline.com

Australian Products Company
3680 Stevens Creek Blvd.
San Jose, CA 95117
(408) 748-9999
www.aussieproducts.com

Lefty’s
Pier 39 @ 65-G (Fisherman’s Wharf)
San Francisco, CA 94133
(415) 956-9131
www.leftyslefthanded.com

Loved To Death
1681 Haight Street
San Francisco, CA
(415) 551-1036
www.lovedtodeath.net

Minamoto Kitchoan
(Japanese Candy)
648 Market Street
San Francisco, CA 94194
(415) 989-1645
www.kitchoan.com

California Office Machines / California Typewriter
2362 San Pablo Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94710
(510) 845-3780

The San Francisco Sock Exchange
Pier 39 (Fisherman’s Wharf)
San Francisco, CA 94133
(415) 927-7710
www.sockmarket.com

“But old batteries are hard to find!” they shout. Well, not anymore.

PQBattery.com prides themselves in a long list of easy-to-find (on their site at least) hard-to-find (e.g. in the world, anywhere, around the corner, online) batteries!

So next time your battery gives out – remember: PQBattery’s batteries are easy-to-purchase, the cheapest around and will last you way longer than that battery that came with your “sentimental” watch!

Enjoy the experience!

Fifteen months ago, I bought a display model, palm-held Samsung video recorder from Best Buy in Arlington Heights, Ill. Rather than try out my new video recorder right away, I stored it in a “safe place” so it wouldn’t get lost. When it was time to record my son’s basketball game, I’d forgotten the location of that “safe place.”

By the time I found my video recorder, the one year warranty was over. The Geek Squad at Best Buy referred me to Batteries Plus where Glen sold me the difficult-to-find rechargeable battery. Batteries Plus sells every kind of battery imagineable. When it comes to batteries, they’ve got the answers! Check them out at www.batteriesplus.com

Compatible with each and every VersaPak tool, this 3.6-Volt gold battery provides 60 percent more run-time per charge than Black & Decker’s silver VersaPak batteries,

Black & Decker’s VersaPak tools, everything from the ScumBuster to power screwdrivers, are boons to the busy person, saving both time and effort. We know they get a lot of use, so we’re glad to see Black & Decker offering single replacement Gold batteries to keep everything running smoothly. The VersaPak line of tools all use this battery, and their main advantage is freedom from “memory,” which keeps you from getting a full recharge. But the Gold version lasts half again as long as the standard batteries, meaning longer use and longer battery life in the long run. Black & Decker tells us that these batteries will take 300 charges, but we’ve heard of them lasting long past that. If you’ve got VersaPak tools, granted, you don’t have a choice of batteries, but even if you did, we’d still recommend these Gold batteries for great power, reliability and long battery life.–Kris Jensen-Van Heste

What’s in the Box
Black & Decker VP110 3.6-volt VersaPak Gold Battery

Compatible with each and every VersaPak tool, this 3.6-Volt gold battery provides 60 percent more run-time per charge than Black & Decker’s silver VersaPak batteries, so it’s ready to go when you are. Supplying up to 300 recharges, and boasting the reliable power of nickel cadmium construction, the VP110 can help ensure that your household projects and clean-ups run smoothly. It also boasts “zero memory” technology–so you get the full the benefit of every recharge–and comes with a 2-year home-use warranty.

Single-minded with strong customer service focus – the Brand’s differentiator, and a true believer in the power of advertising. Barry tells the brand story in small space newspaper ads that remind existing customers and persuades new customers to stop in for all their battery needs.

Do you have a favorite store in Birmingham? Tell us who and why…

I am incredibly loyal to a great number of brands, particularly Starbucks, PF Changs and Plaza Cleaners. All three of these share one quality: My personal experience with their brands has been extraordinary. What makes them extraordinary is their people – the people who greet me and make me feel as though I belong. At my neighborhood Starbucks (Renaissance Center in Durham, NC), they make me feel welcome every morning. The baristas know my name and my drink preference. They even know that my weekend drink is different from my weekday drink. And when I’m gone for a few days traveling on business, they ask me where I’ve been and how my trip went. It’s at this very local, personal level that I’ve developed my brand loyalty; and it is in large part due to people like Matt, Rachel and Eric (and many before them) who make it a pleasure every morning.

PF Changs is another of my favorite brands. When my wife and I visit PF Changs, we love to eat at the bar where we have the full attention of the bartenders. Their bartenders stay with them for a very long time and are very good at what they do. The crew at the PF Changs near our home is exceptional. Ryan, Taylor, June, and Derek (to name a few) always recognize us and treat us like old friends. There’s so much equity in that recognition. It opens the door to a feeling of belonging – of being part of a community. And again, it is the people who make the difference. However, it is clear that both Starbucks and PF Changs have placed the customer experience high on their list of values and priorities. They’ve created an environment and the expectations that foster these incredible experiences.

My final example is Plaza Cleaners in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. They have been my dry cleaners for more than 15 years. I don’t even know what they charge for dry cleaning a suit or washing and pressing a shirt, and I don’t care. They enhance my life, so I’m not going to sweat the little things. When they see my car pull up they will immediately have one of the employees get my clothes ready. Everyone in the place knows me by name and I know most of them as well. They send me a bill once a month, rather than make me settle up each time I stop in. By doing that, they make my life a little simpler (one of my values) and every meeting isn’t about a financial transaction. When something goes wrong – and things do occasionally go wrong – they call me at my office to notify me and then they handle the problem. They don’t make it my problem. End of story.

These are all examples of companies that in some important way have their values aligned with mine. Whether it is simplicity, a desire to belong or to be a part of a community, or to be appreciated as a customer, they have found ways to connect with me. And because of that, I am a brand advocate for each of them. Are they perfect? No way. But my connection to their brands helps me get past those imperfect moments when they arise.

In the end, the lesson remains the same: In a retail environment, a bad experience is an opportunity to win a customer over and convert him into a brand ambassador. To turn the customer into an adversaries doesn’t benefit anyone.

So, as a consumer, I will exercise my right to not give this particular Batteries Plus franchise my business. I’m not writing off the whole chain in large part because they were so good about responding to my concerns. Now its time to put this whole matter behind me and move on to more important marketing and branding conversations.

Yesterday I received a thoughtful email reply from Paul Klatt, the product support manager at Batteries Plus. I was impressed with both the speed and the tone of the response. Importantly, the response was not automated; it was written by a real person in response to my specific complaints and comments. Paul let me know that my complaint would be logged at the corporate office and forwarded to the franchise owner. Interestingly, he mentioned that the person I met with at the Batteries Plus location, the gentleman who represented himself as the owner, was most likely not the owner. He was going to follow-up directly with the owner via email and cell phone.

In Paul’s email he also made sure to check with us to confirm that the warranty was honored and we were treated fairly from a financial perspective. We were. This entire exchange was about poor customer service and being quick to blame the customer rather than assume something might be wrong with the failed product. By the way, the battery that failed after 23 months was a Werker battery. I believe that is their house brand

That’s the latest on the Batteries Plus saga. I’ll let you know what happens next.

My wife and I purchased a car battery from Batteries Plus that was still under warranty. The battery died over the weekend, so we took the car in today to get it replaced and have the warranty honored. From the start, the salesperson made this our problem – not that a dead battery isn’t problem enough! He told us that he would guarantee us that the battery was not dead; rather, in his words, we had just run down the battery and it needed to be charged. He suggested that we drive the car for two hours straight and then return it to be tested. When I told him that his suggestion was ridiculous, he then let us know that they could charge the battery there and then test it. After a fairly hostile exchange, where we pointed out that we are the customers and he should give us the benefit of the doubt, he charged the battery and found that it was indeed dead! Some vindication.

Later in the day we returned to Batteries Plus, the location on Highway 54 in Durham, North Carolina, to pick up our vehicle and handle any paperwork. The owner was minding the store and had no time for us. When we tried to talk to him about our experience at his store, he just walked away from us. He told us that he had other customers waiting to have batteries put in their cars and didn’t have time for us. The last thing I saw was the back of his head as he walked away.

The lesson: This was an opportunity to win a customer for life. A missed opportunity. He turned brand advocates (we had made several purchases at this store) into brand adversaries. And, as I told the CEO in my email, we are adversaries with a voice. How many people will hear this story and wonder if Batteries Plus stands behind its products? And I’m left to wonder if this is indicative of the service given at all of their locations. What kind of customer service training program does Batteries Plus have for its franchise owners? Perhaps the franchise is growing too fast and they can’t keep up with quality. I believe that this franchisee runs three stores in North Carolina. The other two stores are in Raleigh: Atlantic Avenue and S. Wilmington Street.

So rather than treat a valued customer well, this operator chose to make the customer his adversary; not a good way to run a business, particularly in this day of social media, citizen journalism and user-generated content. It will be interesting to see how the folks at Batteries Plus respond to my direct complaint about my experience. I’ll be sure to write about it in my blog!

MobSav has mobile coupons for 4 Batteries Plus locations (Naperville, Aurora, Glen Ellyn, Villa Park). Get $5.00 Off Any Purchase of $25 or more. Have a laptop? Get $10.00 Off Laptop Batteries. Get $15.00 Off Rayovak Laptop Batteries until September 30^th. Use your MobSav mobile coupons today for Batteries Plus. Any Battery. Any Bulb. For Anything. Like Always show’em your MobSav.

BATTERIES PLUS

The local Batteries Plus store here recycles dry cell batteries for $1 per pound. Collect all your single use batteries and find a location near you and drop them off for recycling.

http://batteriesplus.com

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH AND SAFETY ONLINE

This is a good article about battery recycling from Environmental Health and Safety Online. Check here first to understand all the different types of batteries and how they can be reused or recycled.

http://ehso.com/ehshome/batteries.php