A Verizon representative shared insights into the company's practices.
We sat down with a Verizon employee who had a lot to say: some pretty positive, some not so much. All directly affecting the customer service you receive from the company.
A Verizon employee described the "Personal Shopper" AI as a frustrating tool that often suggests irrelevant products. For instance, it might suggest Netflix bundles to customers who don't want them, revealing the bot's random suggestions. The employee noted its only accurate recommendation is iPhones, which is obvious given customers' past purchases. The employee stated the AI is an intrusive nuisance in the sales process, frequently appearing when opening accounts or making sales, and potentially adding unwanted items to customer carts.
The pressure to meet strict sales quotas adds to the stress faced by Verizon employees. Sales goals are mandatory, pushing employees to sell unnecessary items to customers.
An anonymous Verizon employee stated, "We have numbers to hit as sales people, and it's not just sales... If I don't get all of that, I am not doing my job according to the company... Every phone that comes in, you need to get at least 60% of them to have insurance on them when they leave."
Even when employees convince customers to add extra features, the pressure doesn't end.
The employee explained, "If they disconnect it any time in the next two months, that counts as a deactivation... So what we end up doing... is if we update your plan... what we do is build in the insurance... When really we're adding a $15 protection plan and just kind of obfuscating it."
The number one thing to watch out for is new lines of service. Representatives may add new lines without clearly explaining it to customers. The employee admitted that they feel pressured to use dishonest tactics to meet goals.
"If you have one person who is paying attention to what you say, paying attention to the quote, they say no to everything. I now feel extra pressure to push something onto the next customer... It really is pressure."
Trainings emphasize selling "with integrity," but employees feel the only way to achieve targets is through sheer drive, even if it means adding items to accounts without the customer's full knowledge.
Careers are constantly on the line, with potential termination for missing goals.
"If you miss your goals one month... If you miss your goals two months in a row, you're put on what they'll refer to as an “action plan”... If that falls through, you can be put on like a final notice or even terminated."
The pressure leads to burnout for some representatives.
"I've seen some former representatives say that they just couldn't do it, they got burnt out. They couldn't keep pushing people to add new extras onto their bill. It's not for everybody, it really isn't."
Every customer is a potential target for add-on sales, regardless of their needs. Managers encourage adding new lines, even for customers who don't need them.
"The first question you'll always get asked... is, hey, is there any way we can get a new line on this? How do you justify a second phone line for like a 70-year-old woman who doesn't even have a husband anymore?"
Priority upgrades are offered to customers who show signs of leaving Verizon. The system identifies customers who may leave and offers them better deals to stay.
"Now we have a new system of priority upgrades... You'll get flagged as a priority upgrade, which is actually a good thing... it just means that Verizon is gonna offer you better deals to keep you."
The system that tracks these priority upgrades is flawed, causing issues for employees.
Despite these challenges, Verizon is generally a good place to work if quotas are met. The pay and benefits are competitive, leading some former employees to return.
"[...] they do genuinely give us a lot. They give us a ton of benefits, the pay is good if you could deal with the little bit of the shady stuff dragging on your soul. They'll take good care of you."
The employee stated that previous jobs with other carriers were disorganized and confusing.
The employee hopes to raise awareness among customers so they can make informed decisions and resist unwanted offers, potentially leading to a more honest sales system.
"[...] if there's a way to make more people aware to this kind of stuff, then the companies have to react in some way... It just becomes a little bit more of an honest system where I don't have to just try to get everything on every account because numbers."