T-Mobile mentions PhoneArena article in leaked memo; certain actions by reps 'need to stop'

After we spoke exclusively to an anonymous T-Mobile Mobile Expert (ME) last week who passed along insights on the carrier's recent issues, we followed that up Saturday with a story about a T-Mobile customer who allegedly was told by a rep that he couldn't sell him a new phone without also ringing up a case, a screen protector, insurance, and a charger. We've been hearing from T-Mobile reps that the commission they make on a new phone is so low ($5 to $10 according to posts) they need to turn a new phone sale into a bundle to make money.

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Several reps responded in our comments section validating the article.  T-Mobile reps are under enormous pressure to reach certain sales and performance metrics placed on them by their managers and the executive suite in Bellevue. Multiple T-Mobile customers mentioned how when they went into a T-Mobile store to buy a specific phone, they were told only one unit remained and that it couldn't be sold without the purchase of accessories. This sounds more like a scheme to get consumers to buy more than just a new phone.

We could be seeing some changes taking place at T-Mobilefollowing an internal email sent to the carrier's reps that was partially leaked on social media. The missive references our article from Saturday and the social media posts from T-Mobile reps posted on Reddit   .

The email states that withholding products or restricting phone sales unless accessories are also purchased goes against company values. The T-Mobile executive behind the email writes, "I'm not here to point fingers, but I'm here to tell you that if this is happening in the market, it needs to stop!" The email goes on to implore T-Mobile reps who see such things happening to report such incidents to managers.

As we said, the email was leaked on social media, and reps who responded were skeptical that there will be any changes coming. "But come on, now. Report it to your RMM and SrMgr? OKAY - but they’re the ones pushing these tactics," one wrote. It is also hard to believe that T-Mobile executives have no idea that these things are taking place.

Nonetheless, we hope that by addressing this issue, T-Mobile and its reps can come to an understanding that will allow the reps to earn a living without having to resort to unsavory sales tactics.