People are becoming more aggressive in their opinion of when and how they should be compensated for mobile and internet outages, according to a new survey from Reviews.org.
In their recent survey, they found that 54% of respondents feel that outage credits should be automatic.
Trevor Wheelwright, who wrote the post describing the research, pointed to a $20 credit Verizon offered in January. There was a lot of responsibility put on customers for something that was not their fault.
“[A]s Fast Company reported, Verizon customers had to redeem this credit rather than have it applied automatically,” Wheelwright wrote. “That means customers had to be aware of the refund credit in the first place, then use the myVerizon app to apply the credit to their account. All of which puts the burden on the customer to ensure the bill is fair.”
Twenty-eight percent of customers want outage credits to begin after one hour and 26% after three hours. Seventy-one percent of survey respondents say that outages lasting one hour or more should qualify for the credits. Overall, 69% of customers feel that people deserve compensation in some form when their internet or wireless goes down.
How people perceive customer service and how they are treated by their service provider always has been a big issue. It’s likely to continue growing as competition increases and people have more options.
The outages survey included the views of 1,000 Americans. It was conducted on February 22, 2026.
Service providers are paying attention. For instance, in January 2025, AT&T announced AT&T Guarantee, which offered a service guarantee across its wireless and fiber networks, including automatic credits when an outage happens. The offer was aimed at the carrier’s consumer and small business customers.
Last November, Telecompetitor looked at the shift from a sole focus on feeds, speeds, and prices to a more nuanced approach which includes efforts to keep customers satisfied.
