The times are truly changing at T-Mobile, and in the cellular world in general. T-Mobile used to be very different from the competition in that they built their reputation on pleasing the customer base; their customer service was second to none. A few years ago, they set a goal of becoming one of the highest rated service companies in America of ANY kind (not just the best cell provider, as customer service in general is universally very poorly regarded.) They achieved this goal, and were recognized as one of the top 25 service companies in the country.
However, the economic times and Philipp Humm appear to have changed that strategy. Many customer care locations have been shut down; more moved overseas, and it is no longer a priority for T-Mobile. They are not even rated consistently 1st in the industry anymore. In my tenure with the company (11 years,) I built my personal reputation on fairness, absolute honesty, never upselling and giving a customer something they didn't need, and finding them the most cost-effective way to get the services they needed. This built an extremely loyal customer base for me and my store.
However, T-Mobile has been encouraging and flat out telling it's employees that they need to have a higher revenue stream from their existing customer base. My store (and others where friends work) have been pointedly instructed by their managers NOT to proactively look for the best deal for their customers - a hallmark of my personal reputation, and main reason why so many customers were loyal to my store. Repeat business is one of the cores of a successful business, and T-Mobile has lost several million customers now since turning their back on good customer service. I was once very proud to serve my customers at a company that bucked the trend of taking advantage of customers and milking them, and served them instead. Now, T-Mobile's business strategy is very much aligned with that of the rest of the industry - to find a customer's limit on how much their willing to spend on cellular service, and extract as much as they possibly can. Though I used to recommend T-Mobile on a frequent basis to folks looking for something new for work, I can no longer do so with a clear conscience. Their values have slipped and become quite questionable, in my opinion; and their customer service is no longer a selling point. They are not the company that used to be, and that is not a good thing.
