Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
Although the three main carriers have significantly increased costs over the past few years, until recently, they still stood out from prepaid services in several major ways. As I pointed out in another recent feature, that’s less true in 2025. Not only have perks and extras worsened, but recent moves have also undermined one of the biggest advantages postpaid carriers previously held: the presence of physical stores.
Personally, I’ve been shopping without in-store support for decades, but that’s because I’m a nerd and have always found it easier to handle things on my own. For an elderly grandparent or someone who just isn’t into tech or research? In-store support can be an excellent way to learn about new devices and plans, or to receive in-person troubleshooting, or at least it used to be.
According to the J.D. Power 2025 US Wireless Customer Care Service Survey, overall customer care satisfaction across all US carriers has fallen for the first time in two years. The areas seeing the steepest declines were website experience and in-store experience, dropping by 10 and 8 points, respectively. Keep in mind that this survey also factors in several prepaid brands, but the majority of in-store experiences still come from the Big Three carriers.
It doesn’t take much digging to find regular complaints from actual Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T customers in online communities, which I’ll cite a few times throughout this article. So, what exactly has led to this customer service decline, especially in-store? Honestly, there are several factors broadly affecting all three major carriers.
Employee cuts across all three networks As costs have increased, all three carriers have implemented aggressive employee cuts, impacting both call centers and in-store staffing. Here are some of the most significant cuts from the past few years: AT&T eliminated 9,500 jobs in 2024 alone . Many of these cuts specifically targeted customer service roles, resulting in a much leaner staff of approximately 141,000 employees in 2025. For perspective, in 2018, the company had around 230,000 employees.
. Many of these cuts specifically targeted customer service roles, resulting in a much leaner staff of approximately 141,000 employees in 2025. For perspective, in 2018, the company had around 230,000 employees. Verizon announced plans to cut 4,800 jobs in 2024. Verizon now employs fewer than 100,000 people in total, marking a drop of about 20,000 employees over the past three years.
Verizon now employs fewer than 100,000 people in total, marking a drop of about 20,000 employees over the past three years. T-Mobile laid off roughly 600 employees in 2023. Most of the employees were management, which still affects operational efficiency. Although T-Mobile hasn’t seen layoffs as substantial as the other two carriers in recent years, it started out leaner to begin with. Since 2020, T-Mobile has cut about 5,000 jobs in total.
Changes to in-store experiences and internal systems
Joe Maring / Android Authority
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