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I emailed the CEO of T-Mobile and he killed my contract

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Re: I emailed the CEO of T-Mobile and he killed my contract

#71

Post by rickyc091 »

gkoberger wrote: post #8

The title seemed negative to me (I thought he complained and the CEO said "we're done with you!"). But really, the T-Mobile CEO was helping -- the author wanted out of his contract (well, out of the $200 fee). (EDIT: The original title was "I emailed the CEO of T-Mobile and he killed my contract, no joke")

I had the same thought with the title. I've actually had a pretty bad experience T-Mobile's customer service and I felt like an asshole about it. I ordered two prepaid t-mobile sim cards for $2.16, but I was unable to receive it so it got sent back to the sender. I left it alone for several months thinking once it got returned they would promptly send me a refund like Amazon. Nope, that didn't happen. After a month, I emailed them about it, no response. Another month passed by, I called them up and after three transfers I was directed to a guy who said he would process my refund and I should see it on my credit card in the next few days. This guy was a bit irritated that I was calling in regards for $2.16, then again I don't blame him, I felt like an asshole calling about it.

In all honestly, I wasn't trying to be cheap, I was just trying to get to the bottom of why it should take me several months to finally get a refund... this was two bucks, but what if had been two hundred and sixteen instead? Well, long story short. I never saw the refund, so I ended up filing a complaint with my credit card and sure enough, less than a day later, I received several automated emails saying a refund of $0.00 was processed, primarily cause I had already received the money from my credit card company.

Re: I emailed the CEO of T-Mobile and he killed my contract

#73

Post by SilasX »

Steko wrote: post #45
mherdeg wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, it's pretty funny that 90%+ of "contracts" in the US mobile phone marketplace are things the buyer would be much happier not to have.

I'm sure for 100% of mortgages people would love to just make a down payment and get the deed and not have to make any other payments for 15+ years but there's nothing ironic about the need to fulfill contractual obligations that aren't awesome for you.

Yeah, but if you buy a house with cash upfront, you don't have to keep paying interest to a bank.

In contrast, if you do the analogous thing with a cell phone plan -- buy the phone upfront -- you still have to pay the implicit "interest" in the higher monthly fee. There's no option to take a lower monthly fee in return for paying upfront.

Some marketers noticed they can make people buy more if they stretch out the phone payment over 18 months and add it to the phone bill -- good!

They denied everyone else the option to save money over the long term -- not good.

Re: I emailed the CEO of T-Mobile and he killed my contract

#74

Post by wpietri »

I've got a theory that this can all be explained by cost of communication.

For a long time, word of mouth was what determined what people thought of businesses. Plus, high cost of communication kept most businesses small.

Newer communication technologies made very large companies practical, but the tech was expensive enough that it was most effectively used by those large companies both internally and externally). This a) meant a large company could override word of mouth with enough advertising, and b) encouraged the rise of professional managers, who spent very little time in contact with customers and mainly knew what their underlings told them.

But now, with the Internet, the pendulum swings back. Things like email, Facebook, and Twitter have brought low-cost one-to-one and one-to-many communication to the masses. Advertising doesn't work as well, and one person with a good or bad experience can tell hundreds, thousands, millions. If a CEO wants to know what people are saying, a simple Twitter search will tell them, with no underlings to soften or filter.

So smarter companies are recognizing that they can get a competitive advantage by acting like a small-town business has all along: the person in charge opens themselves up for unfiltered feedback, using that to fix their organization and get great word of mouth in the process.

What I really wonder is where the new equilibrium point is. Advertising has less manipulative power, but it's not gone. And large companies will try to control new media just like they tried to control what turns up in the press.

Re: I emailed the CEO of T-Mobile and he killed my contract

#75

Post by byoung2 »

chimeracoder wrote: post #59
phaus wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The title did seem negative, and I was surprised to find that someone actually had a positive experience with T-Mobile. I was a T-Mobile customer off and on for about 7 years total. For the last contract I had signed with them, I made sure that I would be able to get out of my contract if I A: moved due to a military PCS, or B: Moved due to getting out of the military. The T-Mobile rep at the store assured me that I…

> The title did seem negative, and I was surprised to find that someone actually had a positive experience with T-Mobile. When was this? I was a long-time T-Mobile customer until a few years ago, and I always had excellent customer service experiences with them. The only reason I switched was because I moved to NYC, and they had terrible reception here at the time - I couldn't place calls in my own bedroom. Even then…

I have been with T-Mobile for 2 years and I love their customer support. Always friendly and knowledgeable. I am impressed that they have repeatedly offered to lower my bill without my asking (twice they have informed me of new plan offerings that lowered my bill with no contract extension). I must have good luck.

Re: I emailed the CEO of T-Mobile and he killed my contract

#76

Post by phaus »

chimeracoder wrote: post #59
phaus wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The title did seem negative, and I was surprised to find that someone actually had a positive experience with T-Mobile. I was a T-Mobile customer off and on for about 7 years total. For the last contract I had signed with them, I made sure that I would be able to get out of my contract if I A: moved due to a military PCS, or B: Moved due to getting out of the military. The T-Mobile rep at the store assured me that I…

> The title did seem negative, and I was surprised to find that someone actually had a positive experience with T-Mobile. When was this? I was a long-time T-Mobile customer until a few years ago, and I always had excellent customer service experiences with them. The only reason I switched was because I moved to NYC, and they had terrible reception here at the time - I couldn't place calls in my own bedroom. Even then…

It was early-mid 2012. It was in the middle of the mass exodus of customers from T-Mobile, and before they rolled out the new anti-contract strategy.

If you read the contract, even if you move to an area with zero phone or data coverage, you still have to pay an ETF. My case should have been excluded, because I clearly fell within the clause about military personnel, and I had on multiple occasions been told by their employees and management that everything was good to go.

To be fair, I worked as a telecommunications technician for a decade, and the entire industry is really shitty. None of the companies seem genuinely interested in providing value to their customers, and new plans often end up being more expensive for most people. When I dumped T-Mobile, I ended up using a pre-paid plan through Straight Talk. I get the same level of service at half the price, and I don't have to worry about getting fucked by a greedy, unethical corporation if I feel like cancelling my service.

Re: I emailed the CEO of T-Mobile and he killed my contract

#77

Post by lancewiggs »

phaus wrote: post #55
gkoberger wrote: post #8

The title seemed negative to me (I thought he complained and the CEO said "we're done with you!"). But really, the T-Mobile CEO was helping -- the author wanted out of his contract (well, out of the $200 fee). (EDIT: The original title was "I emailed the CEO of T-Mobile and he killed my contract, no joke")

The title did seem negative, and I was surprised to find that someone actually had a positive experience with T-Mobile. I was a T-Mobile customer off and on for about 7 years total. For the last contract I had signed with them, I made sure that I would be able to get out of my contract if I A: moved due to a military PCS, or B: Moved due to getting out of the military. The T-Mobile rep at the store assured me that I…

Did you read the contract? Few do, but the contract you sign is the only evidence that you have of the deal. A person in a store or at the end of the phone can't change the contract, so buyer beware.

Re: I emailed the CEO of T-Mobile and he killed my contract

#78

Post by lancewiggs »

dsr_ wrote: post #54

It's terrible customer service. The CEO should not have to get involved. Status as a journalist should not be required. The first doesn't scale, and the second, if true, is hopelessly corrupt. Every customer support supervisor ought to be able to make an exception based on reasonable circumstances. The article should have ended with "and anyone else in my situation, or a similar one, should contact T-Mobile customer…

The CEO is modelling behaviour for everyone else at the company. He should not have to do this for every customer as by now the word should be spreading internally that if the CEO can do it, then so can you/

Re: I emailed the CEO of T-Mobile and he killed my contract

#79

Post by some_guy_there »

SilasX wrote: post #73
Steko wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sure for 100% of mortgages people would love to just make a down payment and get the deed and not have to make any other payments for 15+ years but there's nothing ironic about the need to fulfill contractual obligations that aren't awesome for you.

Yeah, but if you buy a house with cash upfront, you don't have to keep paying interest to a bank. In contrast, if you do the analogous thing with a cell phone plan -- buy the phone upfront -- you still have to pay the implicit "interest" in the higher monthly fee. There's no option to take a lower monthly fee in return for paying upfront. Some marketers noticed they can make people buy more if they stretch out the ph…

You can always choose an MVNO if you want to. They run on same network as the big 4, although they might lack some roaming options. (and access to LTE, if that is important to you)

Re: I emailed the CEO of T-Mobile and he killed my contract

#80

Post by geophile »

A similar technique worked for me. I had an IOmega Jaz drive, which accomodated 1GB cartridges. (The same company produced the better known Zip drive.)

The cartridges kept getting stuck, and any attempt to remove the drive seemed to completely destroy the hardware. After several replacements, I got fed up and asked for a refund. They weren't going for it. I finally called the CEO, and received a refund pretty quickly.

I suspect that it's cheaper to just refund a few bucks and make the irritant go away, rather than deal with it at that level.

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