During the first few months of this year, Verizon (VZ) suffered a surprising loss after implementing a series of price increases for older phone plans, which have frustrated loyal customers.
Verizon saw about 289,000 total postpaid phone customers cut the cord on service during the first quarter of this year. New Street Research analysts flagged that the loss in customers is Verizon’s “worst result on record.”
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During an earnings call in April, Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg mostly blamed the company’s recent customer loss on its recent price hikes. However, despite losing customers, the company doesn’t regret this decision.
Related: Verizon’s move to slow down fleeing customers raises alarm bells
“We made a decision to price up certain cohorts in December and January, and they were the right trade-offs to make,” said Verizon Consumer Group CEO Sowmyanarayan Sampath during the call. “It helped us lock the revenue for the rest of the year, and it was the right thing to do.”
Verizon is rethinking its customer service approach.
Image source: Mordant/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Verizon customers receive a surprising email
Amid this alarming consumer trend, Verizon has recently taken a giant step in repairing its strained relationship with customers.
In a recent email sent to customers, Sampath said that Verizon would be “raising the bar” on how it supports them.
“Across the industry, customer service hasn’t evolved the way it should,” said Sampath in the email.
He vowed that Verizon will make its customer service “faster, easier, smarter,” by providing 24/7 access to customer service representatives, “new seamless digital onboarding,” a new app, and “a new next-gen AI assistant for instant, accurate answers.”
Related: T-Mobile announces wild new offer to keep customers from leaving
“You’re not a customer number or a case file,” said Sampath in the email. “You’re the reason we’re here.”
He also boldly added his email address to the bottom of the message, encouraging customers to notify him directly if they aren’t satisfied with their service.
“We’re building an experience that will earn your trust, every single day,” said Sampath. “If we ever fall short — I want to hear about it, so we can get better.”
Last month, Sampath said in an interview with CNET that customers have emailed him “every day” about their experiences with customer service, and “they’re not pretty.” While 80% of the time customers get their issue resolved on the first call, 15% have to call again.
“The last 5% go into a doom loop, and they are the most dissatisfied,” said Sampath. “It’s a very rough journey for them. We see it, and it’s not fair on them.”
Verizon has recently ramped up deals to win back customers
As Verizon focuses on fixing its customer service issues, it has also recently been rolling out generous offers to attract and retain customers who may have been put off by recent price increases.
Last month, Verizon reportedly began contacting select customers to offer them a new phone line on its Unlimited Welcome plan that will be free for 36 months via monthly account credits.
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It also recently announced a new bundle for new and existing customers on a myPlan mobile account that allows them to obtain a smartphone, tablet, and smartwatch when they trade in an eligible phone.
Just last week, Verizon even began offering significant deals on new Samsung devices. Customers who join the company’s Unlimited Ultimate plan can get $1,100 off a Galaxy Z Fold7.
The company also introduced a buy one, get one free deal where customers who buy a Galaxy Z Flip7 or Z Fold7 and add a new line on an Ultimate or Unlimited Plus plan can get a Galaxy Z Flip7 for free.