In today’s jam-packed episode of Up To Speed Live, hosts Raquel Wilson and Jen Marin gave us some important news around the business, our NFL Draft recap, plus a walkthrough of the new features in the My Verizon app and the ways we’re keeping customers secure.
AAPI Month
May is Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. PACE, our Pan Asian employee resource group, is hosting a month-long celebration with many activities and events under the theme “Making a Splash.” This theme reflects how the AAPI community continues to make an impact on American culture – from the transcontinental railroad, laid by a majority of Chinese immigrant workers, to today, when we celebrate Asian American contributions to entertainment, healthcare, technology and policy making.
My Verizon app
The My Verizon App just got a major upgrade, unifying home and mobile in one place and introducing the new V Team Toolkit, a place for V Teamers to provide their feedback. Michelle Miller, VP of VCG Customer Experience, joined the Up To Speed crew to walk us through these new developments.
The V Team toolkit can be accessed by going to the My Verizon app, and clicking “more” on the bottom right of the screen. Next, select “V Team Toolkit”. You’ll be able to access two new features:
- “Report a digital experience issue” – to report a bug or defect you found; and
- “Ambassador Care” – which allows you to submit an issue on behalf of a friend or family member. Note that due to privacy restrictions, you may not see full details on the customer’s issue.
Once you select either of these options, you’ll be asked to submit a form, and you’ll receive a response within three days. Anyone participating in the Employee Phone Program can utilize these features, and while it’s completely voluntary, the feedback and input you provide are invaluable.
Authentication and Security
Customer security is a top priority, and Liz Reti, Director of Account Experiences in the OMNI CS organization, spoke about our authentication experience and how we’re creating a simplified, seamless and secure experience. Liz described how Verizon needs to verify customers’ identities, which has traditionally been done through methods like usernames and passwords. Liz said that while there is “no silver bullet when it comes to an omnichannel experience,” we’re finding new ways to identify customers through mobile devices, back-end checks and more. As scammers become increasingly smarter, Liz reminded us of the importance of remaining vigilant when it comes to security.
Bill Redesign
Every month, our number one interaction with customers is their bill. Over 34 million customers on the consumer side receive our bills monthly, and we recently launched a redesigned bill, which we celebrated during our recent VCG action tour. Michelle Miller gave a shout out to the GTS, design teams and everyone who played a role. Be sure to check out the new bill when you get a chance.
Take Your Child to Work Day
Last Thursday was “Take Your Child to Work Day,” and our junior V Teamers made quite the first impression in Verizon campuses around the country. Raquel and Jen played clips from the Basking Ridge event, where they got to chat with a number of children and learn more about what they want to be when they grow up. Some of the kids even took a stab at describing what their parents do here at Verizon–with mixed success.
Be on the lookout for a survey from our DE&I team about your experience.
Mother’s Day
Mother’s Day is next Sunday, May 14, but you’ve still got time to get your mom a special gift.
Head over to verizon.com/deals for options your mom will enjoy. You can get an iPhone 14 Pro. Plus, Apple Watch SE & iPad – all on us. If you’re shopping online, get 25% off Elizabeth James Cases & Case Mate Wristlets.
Historic rainfall
Corcoran, CA, recently experienced historic rainfalls, which caused levees to break and resulted in the flooding of a lake that’s been dry for over 100 years. Unfortunately, the flooding left one of our cell sites, serving the local community, five feet under water.
Luckily, V Teamers Carlos Rodriguez and Kyle Kinney – an engineer who happens to be a retired deep sea diver in the US Navy – leapt into action to respond to the flooding. With water still knee-deep inside the cell site building, Kyle and Carlos ventured in to assess the damage and begin the recovery and service restoration efforts.
The work is ongoing, but our team in California is committed to providing connectivity for residents and first responders in the moments when communication is needed the most.
VZPulse+
Our VZPulse+ survey is back, and this quarter, the survey will go more in-depth on topics like engagement, inclusion, performance management and more. The survey will only take about 10 minutes to complete. Look for an email from our partner Gallup, or check your “to-dos” on VZWeb or text messages sent to your work device to access the survey.
The survey is open now through Monday, May 15.
NFL Draft a win for Verizon
We continued to be our customers’ top pick at this year’s NFL Draft in Kansas City. And as promised, we’ve got even more ways we kept the party going in Kansas City and beyond.
With football on fans’ minds, former Philadelphia Eagles star Brian Westbrook appeared on “Good Morning America” Wednesday to help surprise a Philadelphia-area children’s book store with the gift of game-changing technology. The owners of the independent bookstore, Children’s Book World, were given the gift of Verizon internet services and Google Pixel products to help them continue to thrive and empower children in the community. The feel-good story aired the day before the kickoff of Verizon’s Small Business Days.
Back at our Barrytowne retail store in Kansas City, we served as presenting sponsor for “The Pat McAfee Show Draft Spectacular,” for which the sportscaster on Wednesday interviewed Bijan Robinson, whom the Atlanta Falcons would select eighth overall in the NFL Draft the next day. Additionally, Bijan hung out with local fans who stopped by the Barrytowne store activation, where they posed for photos, stepped up to a mock NFL Draft podium, and learned more about what Verizon has to offer, and even got a chance to meet other NFL stars later in the week.
We also hyped up the weeklong festivities in style Wednesday night with the NFL Draft Eve Party, sponsored by Verizon. Throughout the Draft, fans raced against the clock to “Plug, Play and Win” at our 5G Escape Room Experience in Union Station. NFL superfans from all over the country got to see how easy it is to set up our Verizon Home Internet, save on subscriptions through Verizon +play, and snag a $10 NFL Shop gift card just for playing.
Citizen Verizon news
Last week, we sponsored a STEM-focused Verizon Family Day at the KID Museum in Bethesda, Maryland, where Verizon offered free admission to students, families and staff from six Washington, D.C.-area schools
Students had a chance to interact with the technology that’s being incorporated into our Verizon Innovative Learning curricula, including a 3D printing fabrication lab and drone flights. Plus, families got a chance to learn about the Affordable Connectivity Program, helping eligible households connect to jobs, healthcare, virtual classrooms and more.
Verizon recently also gave back to the Philadelphia community with a $26,000 donation to the Harrisburg-based Bridge Educational Foundation, which provides scholarships to the families of Bucks County.
Volunteer Month Recap
Last month, Our Citizen Verizon Volunteer Team committed to a goal of 60,000 volunteer hours for the month of April – and knocked it out of the park.
For the month of April, we had over 21,000 V Team volunteers, participating in over 708 events for a total commitment of more than 61 thousand hours towards moving the world forward for all.
Verizon Business News
The Verizon Business team has been hitting the road over the past few weeks telling our Verizon 5G and innovation story.
The team has traveled to Hannover (Messy) in Germany, Europe’s leading manufacturing show, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Show in Las Vegas.
Additionally, the team went to the HiMSS Global Health Conference in Chicago – the most influential health information technology event of the year, the RSA Security Conference in San Francisco and the FDIC International in Indianapolis, where the Verizon Frontline Team showcased why Frontline is the premier choice for connectivity for the First Responder community.
The team also recently kicked off the 5G Innovation Session series in Chicago at the legendary Soldier Field, home of the NFL’s Chicago Bears. Executives from Verizon Business, Ericsson, UC Davis Health, IBM and more spoke of the transformative benefits of 5G, the power of partnership and how businesses can think big and start small on their 5G journey.
The next 5G Innovation Session stop is in New York City on Wednesday, June 7 at ASPIRE, located on the 102nd floor of One World Trade Center.
If you have any questions, email them to live@verizon.com.
