A company handing out freebies can attract a large customer base momentarily, which may look excellent on Verizon’s earnings call, but Chief Executive Officer Dan Schulman no longer believes that this approach leads to increased retention. In fact, the CEO has altered his stance on where the carrier giant is lacking, and that’s in customer service, stating that if feedback was taken seriously and acted upon, costs could have been reduced substantially and profits could have risen. Fortunately, Verizon appears to have a solution to this.
One problem that Verizon has tackled is providing customers with wireless extenders called femtocells to boost signals, potentially reducing one-third of the cost
During Verizon’s Q1 2026 financial results, Schulman said that ‘our turnaround is not only progressing, it is gaining momentum. We are beginning to reclaim our market leadership by putting the customer at the center of everything we do.’ On the conference call, Schulman mentioned that Verizon’s improved results were due to its service-based offerings and boosted customer experience.
However, one area that Verizon is focusing on is replacing some customer perks, such as offering free phones. In exchange, subscribers will be offered better service and network connections, as Schulman buries older beliefs that freebies will lure customers. Instead, Verizon’s head honcho says the company can become more profitable by actually listening to customers rather than handing them a free device.
“Not every retention is going to be a free handset. I think our industry has been too dependent on free handsets being the solution for everything, and I think all of us — and I know, for sure, Verizon — can be more-profitable when we start to micro segment and really listen to what a customer wants and not just give them a free handset for everything.”
To address the service problem, Verizon is handing out 4G and 5G network extenders called femtocells, which boost the available signals in houses and office buildings where connectivity is choppy or subpar. Schulman says that ‘if we had listened and sent a femtocell to be installed at the house, we could have done that at one-third the cost and made the customer happy.’
A lot of emphasis is being placed on subscribers, as Schulman previously stated that people need to be treated like humans and not just another account. For customers who need to troubleshoot connectivity problems quickly, Verizon is leveraging AI to double down on quick and accurate results. The U.S. carrier is also working closely with developers Anthropic and Google to explore ways to improve network performance and boost customer satisfaction.
About the author: Omar Sohail is a reporter and analyst for Wccftech's mobile section, specializing in the technology and business of the mobile industry. His expertise lies in the intricate hardware supply chain, covering developments in semiconductor manufacturing, chip lithography, and camera sensor technology.
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