Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
Late last week, Verizon dropped the news that it is cutting 13,000 employees as it restructures the brand to weather its current storm. The same day, T-Mobile announced plans to change the way customers sign up for plans and receive devices. While T-Mobile did its best to spin what is really a cost-saving measure as a positive un-carrier move, it seems few are buying it. Understandably, many of Verizon’s and T-Mobile’s reps are up in arms about the shifting culture and other internal changes at the two respective carriers.
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A quick look at X or Reddit will find dozens of posts expressing frustration and even calling for action on the part of reps, customers, or both. In one case, Reddit user niiiicccceeee suggests Verizon employees call out sick on Black Friday. Several other former or current employees echoed a similar sentiment in the thread comments, though at least a few pointed out the reality of the concept.
“Is Black Friday really that crazy for you? I’ve been an employee for almost 5 years, and even our busiest Black Friday was only slightly busier than a busy Saturday,” as one user notes. Black Friday isn’t a one-day sales event for most retailers anymore, but that’s especially true for most cellular service providers. Others are calling for Verizon employees to unionize. One post even details how the situation is basically turning stores into ghost towns without enough employees, which in turn will only make customer service worse.
While T-Mobile might not be axing employees outright, T-Mobile reps are equally concerned about the changes announced. T-Mobile has already been slowly dwindling down the number of customer service reps it needs while using the T-Life app to replace many of the transactions, which in turn makes it even harder for employees to make enough commission to pay the bills.
All three major carriers have slowly eroded customer service as more people turn away from direct person-to-person interactions in favor of online support methods that companies find easier to replace with automation. Fixing this situation isn’t so simple, and it seems almost inevitable that this shift will continue across all three brands.
While the reps aren’t to blame for the situation, it’s no secret that many postpaid subscribers feel customer service has massively degraded in the US cellular industry. Call and wait times have increased, while getting an actual rep with the authority to help you has become increasingly harder. To make matters worse, the big three carriers have increased sales goals so high that, to meet the goal, some reps are unofficially resorting to shady practices designed to make the customers think they are getting a better deal than they really are. All of this results in a level of consumer trust that is arguably at an all-time low.
The truth is that the customer service situation will likely get worse, and there’s less likelihood it’ll turn around anytime soon. For the big networks, the lack of confidence in customer service sends the message to management that companies are better off axing customer service agents and restructuring than trying to repair their reputation. Even if the quality of service does recover to some degree as companies optimize for smaller staffing, it seems inevitable that AI will continue to play a large role in the system.
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