Verizon is generally on a hiding to nothing when it comes to customer experience. The US telco brand’s 143+ million customers typically only get in touch when they have a complaint. And, no matter how well Verizon deals with it, most articles typically ask, why is Verizon customer service so poor?
Even when the brand tries to do something exciting and mysterious, that luggage still hangs around its corporate neck.
So, when teasing Project 624 via LinkedIn as, “All about the customer. Coming soon.” With next to no information or routes to find insight, people will naturally default to thinking the worst.
Taking a stab in the dark, the project could be the rollout of Verizon’s AI-powered customer support system, as hinted at by 15gift’s Humara CS telco AI recent reveal.
What is Verizon’s Project 624?
Since no one really knows, plenty of stories dive into Verizon’s history to fill in the blanks.
The key lesson is that brands, especially major ones, should never be mysterious. Unless their fans or loyal customers are in on the act.
Apple stopped being mysterious decades ago, in part thanks to all the leaks. But mostly because every human alive knows the drill, from the “lightest, most powerful…” to the bizarre affiliation with trail runners and rock climbers.
The same goes for food and beverage, pretending to offer yet another revolutionary flavoured alcohol or yet another food with salted caramel. The reality is, while we all love a dose of surprise and delight, companies trying too hard to start a media frenzy end up looking needy at best.
Any hype is not sustainable, as interest will wane in minutes, if not seconds, for 99% of the audience. And in the case of a technology or service company, whatever the product is, with no emotion to attach to it, any lingering attachment will fall fast.
We’ll see what Verizon has under the black handkerchief in short order, but don’t expect miracles or anything amazing!