What has happened to T-Mobile? The wireless provider that used to attack Verizon and AT&T by calling them “Dumb and Dumber” is now part of a major problem affecting the U.S. wireless industry. And it all started once John Legere, named the best U.S. wireless CEO in the U.S. for five consecutive years by Glassdoor, left the company. All Legere did was take T-Mobile from a dreadful fourth place among the top four U.S. wireless providers and turn it into the fastest-growing and most innovative U.S. carrier.
By the time Legere left to ride off in the sunset after closing on the $26 billion acquisition of Sprint, T-Mobile trailed only Verizon among the top U.S. providers. Legere handed over the CEO office to his longtime right hand man Mike Sievert and the expectations were that he would run T-Mobile much as Legere had from September 2012 to early April 2020. But in conversations I’ve had online with verified T-Mobile employees this past week, it appears that something changed when Sievert replaced Legere.
“I was a 3 year customer. Never late on bill. I lost my iPhone in a river and needed a new one. 3 different T-Mobile stores told me they “only had one iPhone left” and “we can’t sell you one without a phone case, screen protector, charger, and 360 protection”.
How the hell does T-Mobile get away with this? I don’t need any of that overpriced garbage. I left and went to a different carrier. I asked an employee wtf when I went to T-Mobile to pay off my lost phone and he explained “we get written up if we sell a phone without that stuff. It’s our corporate overlords”. Absolutely wild that I was told no when trying to buy a phone at a phone store.”-Former T-Mobile customer
The focus of the company, which was squarely on customers and eliminating their pain points under Legere, has shifted to putting pressure on reps to squeeze every possible dime out of customers to keep revenue growing which in turn helps to keep the stock rising. The pressure on these reps to meet certain sales and performance metrics has led some of them to resort to shady tactics in order for them to earn a living.
Some reps are adding new lines to customers’ accounts that were never requested, or adding insurance coverage on new and existing phones that the customer did not ask for. Back in December, we told you about a T-Mobile rep who wouldn’t sell a customer a new phone unless he purchased accessories for that phone.
Things like this are not isolated examples, nor have they stopped. A social media post from a consumer mentioned how he left T-Mobile after three years after paying every bill on time. Looking to replace his iPhone, which ended up in a lake, he went to three T-Mobile stores and each one said to him that they only had one iPhone left. The rep at each store told the customer that they would not sell him that one remaining iPhone unless he bundled it by purchasing a case, screen protector, 360 protection (p360), and a charger.
“Yea i just recently started getting talked to hard core about not doing naked upgrades. He wanted me to tell the customer yesterday that someone sold the phone I thought we had and have him leave. They don’t like when I help customers and call care for them. Or help with apps/showing them how to use them etc. Like I create repeat customers who add lines and come see me for things they need to buy because I’m good with customer service. I’m not adding shit to their plans and not tell them. I was at over 40 VAF last month and only 38 percent p360. My co worker dropped drastically because he added p360 without telling people.”-Reddit user Aggressive-Gur9501
The response from T-Mobile reps on the same platform said it all. One stated that he just sold a pair of phones to a customer who did not add any accessories. He pointed out that his commission on the transaction would amount to $10 and that money would not put a dent into the damage the transaction would do to his metric numbers. He added that T-Mobile reps are punished for customers who won’t add accessories to their new phone purchase.
Another T-Mobile rep, this one in the Midwest, said that every time a customer leaves the store with a new phone and doesn’t add an accessory, a call must be placed to the District Manager of the region to explain why such a thing happened.
As we stated before, this would be the perfect time for T-Mobile to revamp its system by lowering the pressure on its reps that forces some to commit shady acts in order to meet their metrics. Make it the next Un-Carrier move by T-Mobile. Remember, this is the carrier that brought so many firsts to the industry and single-handedly ended the practice of offering consumers two-year contracts in return for subsidized phones. Something needs to be done to bring trust back not just to T-Mobile but to the industry as a whole.
