Extraordinarily Poor Support From T-Mobile

[Ed Hansberry]

<a href="http://communitygrouptherapy.com/2007/06/18/customer-service-hell-t-mobilehot-spot-not/">http://communitygrouptherapy.com/2007/06/18/customer-service-hell-t-mobilehot-spot-not/</a><br /><br /><i>"A quick search online tells me I’m hardly alone in my frustration with T-Mobile, but I simply have to tell this story. A few weeks ago my phone (T-Mobile Dash pictured below) developed a problem. I’ve had this phone for several months, and was quickly a big fan of the features, form factor, even the battery life I thought was good. I’ve always been pretty neutral on the carrier - in the end, as long as I have quality coverage at a reasonable price, I don’t really care. T-Mobile changed that for me today…"</i><br /><br />Oh man, you have to read the reast of Sean's story. What is really sad is I too have T-Mobile and had the exact same issues, along with the inane "just replace your SIM card" advice. I think the real issue is T-Mobile has something fundamentally wrong with their network that is affecticing specific accounts. I've been with T-Mobile for 5 years and for the first time, I am considering switching. The problem is, the only alternative for me is AT&amp;T/Cingular, and they are far worse.

[PPCRules]

The carriers have been making far too much money far too easily for far too long, so they don't have to worry about providing good customer service. And I don't see any change coming until people stop dumping so much money their way by buying [what I consider] those outragously high plan prices.

ATT (the new one) will be [more] worthless once the iPhone comes out, as that will get all their attention.

[Rod3]

Horrible story! I think we've all been there with one tech thing or another. But I have to comment on your AT&amp;T/Cingular problems. Cingular is offered in my town through our phone company. That means I go to the phone company itself and talk to a real person to get things solved. My "real person" is wonderful. She calls the home company (wherever it is) and sweet talks other "real" people to get things done for me, and it's always a good experience. Perhaps if you can get to somebody at a Cingular store, you can get the same results. I never bother to call for support. I go to town instead. And as long as "my" person is there, I will never switch.

[ScottC]

What a terrible story.

And I'm not referring to what happened, I'm referring to the fact that I could barely read his course of events. He didn't even post exactly what his problem is (other than "it doesn't work").

His entire story could fit in 5 lines if he removed all the unnecessary crap, no wonder T-mobile reps had a hard time helping him.

If I understand it correctly he's the "Global Director Product Support Services and Community" for Microsoft?

Instead of complaining about T-mobile and their support he may want to take a look in his own kitchen. Have YOU ever tried to get support from Microsoft? Not to mention the fact that the problem he is having is on a Microsoft driven device :D


I really don't mean to offend him, but it seems like he's making a big problem out of a small issue. Explain the exact problem, if you feel the rep is unable to assist ask for someone who can assist. Of all the operators I've tried (and I have spoken to them all) T-mobile is without a doubt the best.

If T-mobile fails, try xda-developers, or this forum. There are ALWAYS people out there that can help you.

[adamz]

I don't understand what the original problem was either. Internet access not working?
Was he using a Dash with Windows Mobile 6 or 5? I've been using a couple Windows Mobile 6 devices on T-Mobile (heck they're not available on any other network yet), and they do tend to have an occasional issue with the internet access downloading email from my IMAP server sometimes. I think it's something to do with leaving WiFi on while the device is in suspend mode. If I put the SIM card back into my trusty HTC Artemis with Windows Mobile 5, then everything is fine. Windows Mobile 6 is very buggy with the Windows Live applications as well, so I'm leaning to believe that it's not T-Mobile that's the problem (especially since everything is flawless on WM 5).

[ricksfiona]

I've never had a technical problem with T-Mobile and have nothing but good things to say about their support. As with most other carriers, my only gripe is not getting the 'new customer' price on new devices.

I've only thought about switching over to ATT for their 3G network. After I found out that it would cost me an extra $40/month to tether my UMPC to the phone, I quickly gave up on that idea.

[T-Will]

Maybe he was using the unofficial $5.99 T-Zones proxy method and he didn't realize that T-Mo is tightening up that loophole...FYI it may or may not still work in the Sacramento, CA area. :wink:

I've been with T-Mo for about 5 years and luckily have NEVER had any long-term issues with service (my voicemail went out once, but somehow a setting had gotten messed up in the phone and it was fixed with one call).

The one part I could really relate to is the redundant "can we get your phone # and SSN?". There is one plus though, T-Mo support is still based out of the U.S...just imagine the experience when they begin outsourcing to places like Canada! :lol:

[ScottC]

The one part I could really relate to is the redundant "can we get your phone # and SSN?". There is one plus though, T-Mo support is still based out of the U.S...just imagine the experience when they begin outsourcing to places like Canada! :lol:

I've asked them this before, and they claim the reason is that the "self help" system first tries to help you (and needs to know who you are), and that not all call centers get the information relayed to them.

Sure, it is tacky, but not that much of an inconvenience.

[DaleReeck]

I use Cingular/AT&amp;T and I can't judge their support because I haven't had a need to call them yet. In the 1.5 years I've had them, I haven't had a single technical issue. I think they are greatly improved in stability and coverage and can give VZW a run for their money (at least in my area).

[Cybrid]

http://communitygrouptherapy.com/2007/06/18/customer-service-hell-t-mobilehot-spot-not/

"A quick search online tells me I’m hardly alone in my frustration with T-Mobile, but I simply have to tell this story. A few weeks ago my phone (T-Mobile Dash pictured below) developed a problem. I’ve had this phone for several months, and was quickly a big fan of the features, form factor, even the battery life I thought was good. I’ve always been pretty neutral on the carrier - in the end, as long as I have quality coverage at a reasonable price, I don’t really care. T-Mobile changed that for me today…"
Having once interviewed for Telus. I have to say, Sean isn't being entirely fair. Imagine cubicle hell with no way of internally communicating with other reps other than by phone. So you put the customer on hold, ring "tech support" and wait for the guy to come on. You quickly brief him and transfer the call. You're being metered. Avg length of call X Hours = target. If your # is low, you get the "performance enhancement" spiel.
Tech support takes the call but due to easy, scripted, prompt by prompt software needs to verify you again. CS could provide the data but that could lead to customer on hold + lower metering for both (They're on the phone to each other). Also potential privacy breaches. Tech begins to troubleshoot for Sean whereas CS just transferred Jane.

Where he's spot on is the real lack of technical know-how.
My amusing story;
A Telus tech support guy, when I asked for additional info on the phone, couldn't get the phone emulator/flowchart to work. He ended up running to their real IT dept. where he borrowed their test bed device to troubleshoot with me.
# of phone models past and present x # of CS reps=!possible.
You'd have to rely on emulators, manuals,etc...which is no substitute for hands-on experience but can solve the 90% of calls like "how do I email the internet?" and "how do I look up my own cellphone #?"

seanod@ M$.com should be smart enough to do some basic troubleshooting on his own. With some verifiable results...and patience, he'd get further.

[Eriq Cook]

I never call T-Mobile support unless it's a network service/outage issue. After calling support twice during first year of service (3 years ago), I've determined they're useless. Which brings me to the point that if I can't figure it out; T-Mobile can't either.

[virain]

Instead of complaining about T-mobile and their support he may want to take a look in his own kitchen. Have YOU ever tried to get support from Microsoft? Not to mention the fact that the problem he is having is on a Microsoft driven device :D

Yes I did. Many times, with WindowsXP trobleshooting, MS Wi-Fi Router, Office, Money, even VoiceCommand for PPC just to name a few. I can't said anything bad about it. In fact I was very surprised that someone actualy listen to a problem, tries to undestand it, and solve. And if they can't, they will explain it why. Sometimes they will call you back to follow up, even if a problem was solved, and same engeneer who helped you with that calls, not CS for the reason of taking a poll.

I've been T-Mobile customer since 2001 (VoiceStream then) They always have excelent customer support for their services and products (can't say the same about their phones, they should upgrade their product line for sure). Sometimes you come across CS rep. who is too eager, overconfident or doesn't want to deal with a problem. So all you have to do call back and talk to another one. After all CS reps are humans too. :wink:

P.S. CS from hell: Verizon, Dell, some smaller soft and hard ware producers.

[bkerrins]

I've been with Cingular for many years now. I used to have terrible coverage and support...Every year they improve. They put in better coverage, the hardware has been working better, I almost never have to call them now. I'm not saying it's the best by any means, but for me, they have been going in the right direction.

[Tierran]

I was really annoyed while reading his issues. Not at TMo...but with this guy. I've had my own problem with TMo when they failed to add unlimited texting to my plan and wouldn't reverse the $100 in charges I racked up. I finally got it fixed after a fight and help from The Consumerist blog.

But seriously...TMo called this guy back! Several times! His reasoning for not talking to support was he was fed up with them after two phone calls where their only mistake at this point was a failure to figure out what seems to have have either been a complicated problem or something of his own doing (Who knows...he doesn't give us any details on that)

And then when the support people offered him a solution to get around whatever hangup the guy on the other end had he went off the handle. The ONLY reason this guy's problem isn't resolved is because he's being self-righteous.

[joelevi]

Maybe he was using the unofficial $5.99 T-Zones proxy method and he didn't realize that T-Mo is tightening up that loophole...FYI it may or may not still work in the Sacramento, CA area.

For those of you interested, here are the proxy settings for T-Zones. You should be aware that other than Exchange Syncing (no POP or SMTP), and web surfing, there's not much else you can do (not even Instant Messaging or AGPS updating for those with GPS in their WinMoPro w/GPS devices).
http://www.joelevi.com/blog/index.php/2007/05/11/t-mobile-t-zones-proxy/

Also, his problem may have overlapped with a Western US service interruption recently experienced: http://digg.com/tech_news/BREAKING_T_Mobile_T_Zones_Down_in_Western_USA

This just in: according to a Verison rep. who visited our company today, they will soon be offering GSM! Wahoo! Er... well maybe not wahoo... You'll need a hybrid phone, one that supports CDMA and has a GSM SIM slot for all your "roaming" needs.

They did this, again, according to the rep., to improve their over-seas coverage (I think they are starting to feel the pinch of not being on a global standard).

The question this brings up, can one get a Verison SIM and a "no roaming charges" plan, then pop their SIM in an unlocked phone and use T-Mo or "AT&amp;C"? Thoughts?

[MovableBeast]

Strange. I've been a T-Mobile customer since 2002 and have loved the experience. I made the mistake of switching to Cingular last year at one point so I could get one of the "latest &amp; greatest" devices, and that experience was horrible. The sad thing is, I'm about to get an AT&amp;T account for an iPhone so I'll probably go through the customer service hell thing with them again.

My original reason for leaving AT&amp;T back in 2002 was that I had received one of the original Pocket PC Phones at Mobius 2002 and needed to get a GSM SIM to use it on their network. They told me in no uncertain terms that unless I bought the device from them, there was no way I was going to use it on their network. I walked across the street to a T-Mobile store, walked out with a SIM for the phone 15 minutes later, and promptly walked back to the AT&amp;T (pre-Cingular) store to cancel my account.