Verizon does damage control after massive outage angers customers

Verizon does damage control after massive outage angers customers

Patricia Battle

Sat, January 17, 2026 at 1:07 PM EST

7 min read

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Earlier this week, Verizon sparked outrage after a major service outage affected millions of its customers.

On Jan. 14, an estimated 2.3 million Verizon customers, according to Downdetector, across states such as New York, Texas, Georgia, and California, reported having no phone connection. Their phones automatically went into SOS-only mode, allowing them to make only 911 calls.

As Verizon scrambled to fix the outage, it apologized to customers on social media platform X, promising to “make this right.”

“Today, we let many of our customers down and for that, we are truly sorry,” said Verizon in a post on X (formerly Twitter). “They expect more from us.”

In response to the post, many Verizon customers expressed frustration with the outage and demanded compensation. Some even threatened to cut ties with the company, calling the outage the last straw.

“My business could not operate today. That's pretty awesome. I definitely better get some type of credit on my account,” wrote one Verizon customer on X.

“My phone bill goes up every single month and this is the f**king service I get? Heading to @TMobile in the morning for a swap. Long overdue,” wrote another customer.

“I've been a costumer (sic) for 32 years but after this experience today, which was clearly due to incompetence, on top of absolutely terrible service for several years since moving to GA, I'm taking the four phones on my account to Patriot Mobile. It wasn't enough to be left without service for 8 hours, while traveling, on top of that the lack of updates and information available concerning the failure was totally unacceptable. Not even a txt to explain NOTHING!!” stated another.

<em>Verizon is in hot water after a service outage impacted millions of customers.</em>Shutterstock — *Verizon is in hot water after a service outage impacted millions of customers.*Shutterstock · Shutterstock

Verizon finally rolls out compensation to frustrated customers

Shortly after resolving the outage, which lasted about 10 hours, Verizon granted the request of angry customers by promising a $20 credit to those affected, which can be redeemed through the myVerizon app.

“Yesterday, we did not meet the standard of excellence our customers expect and that we expect of ourselves,” said Verizon in a statement on its website on Jan. 15. “To help provide some relief to those affected, we will give them a $20 account credit that can be easily redeemed by logging into the myVerizon app to accept.”

Verizon said the $20 credit “covers multiple days of service” and that customers will receive a text message when it is ready to be redeemed in the app.

“This credit isn’t meant to make up for what happened,” said Verizon. “No credit really can. But it’s a way of acknowledging our customers' time and showing that this matters to us.”

Verizon also said that if customers are still experiencing network issues, they should restart their devices to regain connection.

The company has yet to reveal details of what caused the outage, but in a statement to USA Today, it said that it was due to a software issue and the company is in the process of "conducting a full review of what happened."

RTMNexus CEO Dominick Miserandino said in a statement to TheStreet that “transparency and communication” are levers Verizon should also pull to help ease customers who were impacted by the outage.

“Most of the talk I’ve seen online has been people feeling as if it (the $20 credit) just was not enough,” said Miserandino. “This was probably one of the biggest outages in cellular history and you have a consumer base who is concerned.”

Verizon is already struggling with retaining customers

The service outage comes during a vulnerable time for the company. Over the past year, Verizon has been bleeding customers after rolling out price increases and discount removals.

It has also battled tougher competition from rival phone carriers and cable giants, such as Comcast and Spectrum, which have all ramped up their deals and perks to lure new customers.

In Verizon’s latest earnings report, the company revealed that 7,000 of its postpaid phone customers cut their service during the third quarter of 2025, with its churn rate reaching 0.91%.

This drop in customers comes amid a growing trend in which more consumers nationwide are exploring affordable phone plans outside their current provider, especially as they face higher monthly bills, according to a recent Oxio survey.

Why U.S. consumers are considering switching phone providers:

Approximately 90% of consumers would consider alternatives to traditional carriers.
When selecting a mobile provider, 85% consider cost to be a primary factor.
Additionally, 46% of consumers rank a lower-priced plan as their main reason for switching providers, while 33% prioritize better network coverage. Source: Oxio

“The research shows that many consumers are looking for greater plan clarity and value — they want services that match what they actually use,” said Oxio CEO Nicolas Girard in a statement. “We’re seeing a strong interest in personalization, transparency and more control over mobile services.”

Verizon's new CEO aims to transform the company amid struggles

Amid changing consumer behavior, Dan Schulman, who became Verizon's CEO in October, admonished the company's previous price increases during an earnings call in October, claiming that they contributed to customers leaving in droves.

“For the past few years, our financial growth has relied too heavily on price increases, a strategic approach that relies too much on price without subscriber growth is not a sustainable strategy,” said Schulman.

“Every year, it gets harder to grow as we lap past price increases and experience higher churn. This cannot continue, and there is no question that meaningful change is needed.”

He stated that the company will aim “to build loyalty and drive significant improvements in retention” going forward.

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“You should expect bold execution powered by sophisticated and smart marketing, actions that strengthen loyalty and the elimination of practices and processes that detract from the customer experience,” said Schulman. “Raising rates without corresponding value rarely, if ever, delights customers.”

Schulman also vowed to “aggressively transform” Verizon’s culture and financial profile by being more “customer-centric and executing with financial discipline with a focus on shareholder value.”

Shortly after his comments, Verizon laid off over 13,000 employees in November to “simplify” the company’s operations and direct “energy and resources” to set it “on a path to success,” according to a memo he sent to employees that month.

“As a customer-first culture, we have to align our teams and resources to create new value for customers and build a faster, stronger and more proactive Verizon,” wrote Schulman in the memo. “To do that, we must simplify our operations to address the complexity and friction that slow us down and frustrate our customers.”

It is vital that Verizon focuses on customer retention, especially after a massive outage earlier this week, as a recent J.D. Power survey found that the phone carrier lags behind T-Mobile and MVNOs in consumer satisfaction.

Phone carrier consumer satisfaction rates for postpaid phone plans:

The average consumer satisfaction score for postpaid plans under traditional carriers is 593 (on a 1,000-point scale)
Specifically, T-Mobile ranks the highest in the segment with a satisfaction score of 636.
Verizon takes second place with a 583 score.
AT&T trails behind Verizon with a satisfaction score of 573.
MVNOs, however, have an average satisfaction score of 641. Source: J.D. Power

“The findings show that value is the most important driver of the overall experience, followed closely by service quality,” said Carl Lepper, senior director of technology, media and telecom at J.D. Power, in a press release.

“These two dimensions are central to our new model — and for good reason,” he added. “As the market expands with a wide variety of brands designed to meet diverse customer needs, expectations are rising — not just for strong network performance, but also for service plans that reflect individual preferences.”

This story was originally published by TheStreet on Jan 17, 2026, where it first appeared in the Retail section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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