Verizon earns a lifetime customer after helping a woman reconnect a phone number dating back to 1978

Almost all telco users are obsessed with the highest download speeds, the best coverage, the most stable connection and the cheapest service. That's normal, as we want to get the most bang for our buck when comparing T-Mobile vs Verizon vs AT&T and their MVNOs.

But we often change carriers. We go to the best offer and that's that. We are not particularly loyal, but that's not bad—big corporation loyalty won't get you any medals.

Some subscribers, however, stay with their preferred carrier forever. Sure, some are too lazy (or too rich) to bother to switch, but some subs actually choose to stay with their telco.

And you want to know what it takes to do so?

More than a favor

Verizon's latest story of delight is about Julie O. and Nate Fletcher. Nate is a longtime Verizon representative who performed "a miracle" for Julie and now she says she won't switch and ditch Verizon.

This is a story about genuine relief and care. Mr. Fletcher managed to shatter Julie's expectations and preserve her father's family home phone number, which dated back to 1978.

"Nate performed a miracle! He spent an hour and twenty minutes on a call and got me the phone number back!", Julie says and adds: "I will always be a Verizon customer".

But why preserve that number?

The story is a little more emotional than your average carrier customer-service success story. Julie says her father died unexpectedly a few months ago, and while the family was dealing with the arrangements, they lost the landline number that had belonged to their home since 1978.

That number was the number associated with her childhood home and is, in a way, a small piece of her family's history. So when she called Verizon, she was hoping against hope that someone could help her get it back.

The right man for the job

That's where Fletcher came in. He stayed on the phone with Julie for roughly an hour and a half because he didn't want the number to be reassigned to someone else while they were trying to recover it. Eventually, he managed to get it back for her.

The result was clearly meaningful to Julie, who later called Fletcher to thank him and told him how much the gesture meant to her.

That's why we need humans

Yesterday I told you how T-Mobile is laying off more and more people these days. Coincidentally or not, more and more T-Mobile customers are getting more upset over the mass implementation of the T-Life app. T-Life may be great, but nothing beats human-to-human interaction. At least T-Mobile got this great Pixel 10 deal to compensate.

Six-month unlimited plan is now 57% off

$90

$210

$120 off (57%)

Mint Mobile is now allowing you to get whichever plan you like for either three, six, or 12 months for just $15/mo. If you go for the six-month unlimited service, for instance, you'll now have to pay just $90 upfront instead of $210.

Buy at Mint Mobile