Did you know Mrs. Claus works for Verizon?
Find out how to track Santa and where Mrs. Claus is from.
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Though storms continue to batter the East Coast of the U.S., our network impact has been minimal. Up To Speed is here to keep you in the know as we monitor the impact. On today’s live episode:
- Barbie boxes arrive in our Work Forward Hubs
- Mrs. Claus has a side hustle
- NORAD tracks Santa (with a little help from Verizon)
- Last-minute holiday deals and steals
- Keeping the world connected with Global Choice
- Demoing our tech on the Mcity Test Track
- The gift of network upgrades in four states
- The VLC opens their holiday toolkit
- Holiday Shout-Outs (and drawing winners!)
- Sweet holiday rewards on the Verizon Visa
V Teamers strike a Barbie pose in support of our newest myPlan perk [00:30]
V Teamers at our Work Forward Hubs (and at Basking Ridge) are thinking pink… Barbie pink, that is. It’s hard to resist snapping a selfie when there’s a life-sized Barbie box in all of our hub locations! What brought the iconic pink box to our Verizon offices? Our new myPlan perk offer: Max and Netflix (with ads) bundle for just $10. Barbie will be there (on Max), and so can you!
Get more info: Verizon myPlan on the web.
Mrs. Claus’ secret Verizon side hustle [01:14]
Mild-mannered and infinitely-delightful Angela Stripling – a V Teamer from Irving, Texas – works on Verizon’s Learning and Development team by day. But by night, she transforms into Mrs. Claus to help spread the magic of the holiday season around Texas!
Verizon helps NORAD keep tabs on the other ‘big red’ for excited kids worldwide [03:28]
Speaking of the big guy himself – of course we’re talking about Santa Claus – there’s only one question kids want to know on Christmas Eve: When will Santa get to my house? For the last 65 years, NORAD (yes, that one– the North American Aerospace Defense Command) has been helping kids answer that question.
Verizon helps NORAD’s yearly Santa mission: Find out how.
Verizon’s holiday steals and deals for everyone [05:13]
No need to panic if you haven’t finished your holiday shopping! We have great Verizon deals on accessories, Verizon Home Internet and so much more.
Get great gifts: Holiday Media Hub
Market Communications’ Team Holiday Road Show hits the local airways [07:09]
This month, our entire Market Communications Team hit the road with their Holiday Road Show! They traveled from New York to Los Angeles, appearing on local newscasts to amplify Verizon products, services and promotions for the holiday season.
Big thanks to our communications teams in our Atlantic North, Atlantic South, Coastal Plains, Great Lakes, Mountain and Pacific Markets for spreading the word and driving customers to our stores!
See everything the team had to offer: Visit the Holiday Hub.
Not feeling so jolly? Help is a click away. [7:09]
Family. Travel. Bills. The holidays can be challenging for anyone, so it’s a good time to check in with yourself and others to find out if everything is okay. We have resources available to help during times of need. Our Employee Assistance Program is here to support you and provide you with those resources. Here’s how to get in touch:
- Learn more about the EAP and the resources offered
- Check out the Anthem EAP website - U.S. Domestic | Anthem EAP website - International Support
- Give them a call at 888-441-8674 (open 24/7)
Keep in touch, no matter how far with Global Choice [07:36]
When you have friends and family scattered around the world, it can be difficult to stay in touch, but it gets easier with Verizon’s Global Choice, an International Long Distance Calling plan helping you, your friends, and family stay connected. It's a personalized plan that puts you in the driver’s seat: just pick a country and get up to 300 minutes* to call that country for just $5 per month with the Verizon employee discount.
Learn more: Verizon Global Choice
Revving up for the 5G Automotive Association’s annual meeting at the Mcity Test Track [08:19]
TJ Fox, SVP of Industrial IoT and Automotive for Verizon Business and board member for the 5G Automotive Association gave a unique demonstration - at the University of Michigan's Mcity test track. Verizon is a founding member of the Mcity track, where TJ demoed a number of automotive technologies. In fact, all of the demos – including those from other members –ran on Verizon 5G and MEC infrastructure installed at Mcity.
Deck the states with better networks, fa la la la la … [08:53]
Now turning to network news, customers in Western Pennsylvania, Indiana and Ohio just got a big boost to their mobile service. We turned on new cell sites, expanding 4G and 5G coverage in various communities to offer “more bars” along with faster speeds and better network performance.
??? Holiday Surprise: Comment below to win a $50 gift certificate! ???
To see what these VLC leaders have in their “Holiday Toolkits:” scroll up to watch the replay and go to [09:21]. Afterward, click here to leave a comment and let us know what’s in YOUR Holiday Toolkit. We’ll pick a winner at random to win a $50 gift certificate to the brand shop to gear your toolkit up!
Your Holiday Shout-Outs … Plus our first drawing winners! [09:47]
We asked you to send your Holiday Shout-Outs via the Inside Verizon App (available for Apple and Android) and in the #Inside Verizon App, and you came through with some great ones. These are a few of our favorites:
- Alexander Holzinger, an Engineering Specialist in Network Operations from Bloomington, Michigan, sent a shout-out via Slack to Matthew Salvatore, a Senior Engineering Specialist, also in Network Operations in Bloomington:
“Matthew is the finest baseband splitter in all of GP. His skills with scripts and vast technical knowledge allowed us to modify 5G basebands and ease network congestion.”
- Nancy Petshot, an Instructional Design Manager in Pittsburgh, sent a Holiday Shout-Out via Slack to everyone on the project team that created the Uniting Integrity Training:
“In 2023, this core team came together to develop training that helps folks who report time on projects know how to accurately record capex and opex on the project timesheets. We came away with new friends and reliable business partners.”
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Project Manager Brian Adamek, sent a shout-out from the Inside Verizon App to the UNITED ERG cabinet for the amazing work in volunteerism and support of the Verizon community. He said:
“Thank you for a great 2023, and I can’t wait to see what we do in 2024!”
Congratulations to this week’s random drawing winners who will each receive a $30 gift certificate to the Verizon Brand Shop. From Slack: Nina Hudson, Alexander Holzinger, Angela Daurio; from the Inside Verizon App: Randall Jones and Vicki Kropf.
Stay tuned for the End of Year episodes
Tune in all next week for our End of Year episodes, plus our annual tradition – our Bloopers Episode next Friday.
We are back live on Wednesday, January 3 at 11:30 AM ET for our 2024 Kickoff.
Earn the most wherever you spend the most.
While Verizon can help you save on the gifts you love, the Verizon Visa Card can help you earn even more on the gifts you buy. All season long. ^
The Verizon Visa® Card lets you earn up to 4% in Verizon Dollars on everyday purchases and you can redeem those earnings to save on your Verizon bill, use them towards the perfect Verizon gift, for gift cards, or on travel to visit loved ones during the holidays.*
But the holidays just got sweeter, for a limited time, when you open a new Verizon Visa Card you can earn 5 % in rewards on up to $2000 in purchases by 3/31/24. (some exclusions do apply). You heard that right… 5%!!!**
And the best part? The Verizon Visa Card is offered to qualifying Verizon Wireless customers including V Teamers.
Disclaimer Information
^Application required. Subject to credit approval. To apply, a Verizon Wireless Account Owner or Account Manager must be on an account with up to 12 phone lines max (depending on plan).
*Earn 4% on grocery store and gas purchases; 3% on dining purchases, including takeout; 2% on Verizon purchases; and 1% on all other purchases. Purchases are subject to credit approval. See the Verizon Visa® Credit Card Rewards Program Terms & Conditions in the application for details and restrictions.
**Subject to credit approval. To apply, you must be a Verizon wireless Account Owner or Account Manager on an account with up to 12 phone lines max (depending on plan). To qualify for this offer you must: (i) apply and be approved for an account between 11/2/23-1/31/24 and (ii) Cardholders will earn a total of 5% in Verizon Dollars on up to $2,000 in purchases made on their new account by 3/31/24. Verizon Dollars earned will be posted to your credit card billing statement as follows:
1)Standard percentages, depending on purchase category, will be posted pursuant to the Verizon Visa Credit Card Rewards Program Terms & Conditions (Rewards Terms). These standard percentages equal 1% on gas or grocery store purchases, 3% on dining, 2% on Verizon purchases (excludes Verizon bill payment), and 1% on all other purchases.
2)Applicable percentages will be added to each purchase category to total 5% in Verizon Dollars and will be posted as Bonus Dollars within 2-3 billing cycles after (a) $2,000 in purchases are made on your new account or (b) 3/31/24, whichever occurs first. These applicable percentages equal 1% on gas or grocery store purchases, 2% on dining, 3% on Verizon purchases (excluding Verizon bill payment) and 4% on all other purchases.
Once $2,000 in purchases are made on your new account or after 3/31/24, whichever occurs first, the percentages of Verizon Dollars available to be earned will revert to the standard percentage pursuant to the Rewards Terms. Account must remain open and in good standing at the time the Verizon Dollars are posted to your account. See the Rewards Terms for details and restrictions. We reserve the right to discontinue or alter the terms of this offer at any time.
