The time has come for T-Mobile to fix the issue that is ripping off wireless customers
For years, under the John Legere regime, T-Mobile was known to relieve customers' pain points by making a big change, often announced at an Un-carrier event. These changes would put T-Mobile ahead of the rest of the industry. For example, in 2013 T-Mobile literally changed the way the major carriers sold phones by introducing the Equipment Installment Plan (EIP) and ending the use of subsidized phone purchases via two-year contracts.
T-Mobile needs to take a stand against a compensation system that rewards reps for ripping off customers
Folks, the time has come for T-Mobile to be the brash Un-carrier it once really was and change the industry for the better once again. What is currently taking place in the wireless industry hurts consumers and gives wireless firms a bad reputation and that even goes for T-Mobile.
Current T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert on the left, the man he replaced, John Legere, is on the right
The problem is that too many new and existing T-Mobile customers are finding unauthorized recurring charges on their invoices for things like accessories, new lines, and equipment insurance. Just yesterday, another Redditor complained about getting billed by T-Mobile for items he didn't order. When he opened an account over the phone with a Costco-T-Mobile rep, he emphatically declined all of the offers for "protection/accessories/hardcase" and even said, "I am only interested in the lines, please no accessories or extra protection, warranty, or services."
So of course, when he received his phones, the package included a $19.99 Samsung charger he didn't order, and he also discovered that he was on the hook for insurance he didn't order for his four devices costing him an additional $19 per line per month. Again, these are items that he made it clear he didn't want at the time he placed the order.
This is happening to customers at other wireless firms too and it is time for T-Mobile to do what it used to do; stand up and make a change that will reverberate throughout the industry. Here is what is happening. First, wireless firms are giving reps certain metrics they must meet in order to keep their jobs. While I don't know the actual figures, from the many complaints I've seen and heard from wireless reps, these metrics are unrealistic and practically force many of them to add certain items to a customer's order without the customer's consent.
Not only is this done to improve the rep's metrics, it is also done to improve the size of his paycheck. You see, simply selling a customer that new phone he wants is not going to put food on the table and pay the bills. The reps are financially rewarded for selling additional items such as insurance, accessories, cases, chargers, and more. Between the pressure to keep their jobs by meeting the unrealistic metric targets placed on them by headquarters, and the pressure to make a living, reps are likely to add bogus items to a customer's order and hope that the customer simply doesn't notice, or they collect the extra commission while the carrier slowly investigates the customer's complaint.
Wireless reps are now less trustworthy than used car salesmen
While I reiterate that this is happening to all major wireless firms and not just T-Mobile, it is time for T-Mobile to take a stand like it used to and change how the industry pays the reps who are, after all, the first employees of a wireless firm to interact with customers. I don't pretend to know exactly how to shake up the current system but wireless employees should not be so worried about not making enough money to live on that they are willing to take actions that damage their customers.
People who otherwise live by the letter of the law should not be forced to consider helping hackers obtain a SIM card that will help them break into someone's phone and wipe out their bank account in return for a few hundred dollars. Several T-Mobile subscribers have recently threatened to switch carriers as it becomes increasingly apparent that the current system is broken.
What T-Mobile needs to do is something it has done before. Blow up the compensation system and replace it with one that doesn't force employees to cheat their customers. Hold an Un-carrier event to announce the new system and watch as the other carriers fall into line. As it stands right now, wireless reps are considered less trustworthy than used car salesmen.
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