Verizon customers are waiting more than two hours in some stores as workers are pushed to pitch nearly every product on the shelf, employees say. The complaints point to a sales process that is adding time to routine visits and making the company’s in-store recovery effort feel slower, not faster.
One employee said the policy applies “with no regard for circumstances or customer needs,” and described a checklist that can run from a new line, tablet or watch to home internet, 4 perks, insurance on everything, high-priority account upgrades and home device protection. Workers also said they have to check in with managers between quotes for approval to make sure every item is offered, even when a customer comes in to cancel service. In some cases, the employee said, staff must ask three different ways whether a person owns a business or whether an employer might move the phone account.
The result, employees say, is a store visit that has become far more labor-intensive on both sides of the counter. Customers waiting to speak with a representative can spend more than two hours in line, while workers said every customer is submitted as a callback lead whether they buy or not. That turns a simple account change into a longer sales conversation and slows the flow of people through the store.
The complaints land at a sensitive moment for Verizon. Dan Schulman became chief executive in October 2025 and told investors on an earnings call that he planned to “aggressively transform” the company and “build a faster, stronger and more proactive Verizon.” He also said recent price hikes and friction in the customer experience were pushing customers away. Over the past three years, Verizon lost 2.25 million postpaid phone customers, then cut 13,000 jobs in November and later laid off hundreds more employees at its New Jersey headquarters in May.
Employees said the pressure has not eased with the changes. One worker said Verizon raised sales expectations and cut commissions, while another said the commission plan now makes “half the money for twice the work.” A November complaint on Reddit said the sales goal for November and December was the same as the goal in February, despite the busiest shopping period of the year. Other employees on the platform said they were dealing with the same store experience.
What remains unresolved is whether Verizon will respond publicly to the allegations or adjust the sales process that employees say is clogging stores. For now, the company is trying to improve customer experience and win back business, but the complaints suggest the current approach may be doing the opposite inside the stores where customers feel it first.
For investors watching whether Schulman can steady the business, even small signs of customer frustration matter. Verizon’s 5.82% yield means about $58 a year on a $1,000 investment, but the more urgent question is whether the company can make its stores quicker to navigate before the policy complaints harden into another drag on sales.
