Forum Discussion
What happened to customer service???
I've been a T-Mobile customer for years. At one point, in response to an issue I had when my account was inadvertently changed by a store representative, I was given some sort of status where whenever I called in for support, I was routed to a higher level of support. Notice past-tense.
Over the years, I received outstanding tech support whenever I required it. In the last few months, suddenly, every tech support request (mostly for the same issue that never gets resolved), I been sent over to a call center in the Philippines. Before anyone accuses me of xenophobia, I was born in the Philippines and I speak the language fluently and I spend about 6 months of the year in Manila. I'm intimately aware of how things work in the Philippines.
The biggest problem is comprehension. As I do when I'm in the Philippines and ask a question at a mall or store for example, whether in English or Tagalog, it always takes two or more tries to get the person that I'm speaking to to understand what I need. When the issue is of a technical nature and there are no Tagalog equivalent words and it gets even more complicated. Compounding this are the inherent Filipino traits that they are super polite and genuinely don't want to disappoint you. Filipinos feel that saying "I don't know" means that they're not helping you. In their eagerness to help, the original message gets confused. This is a cultural thing that most Americans don't understand. To be sure, if Filipinos were to be routed to a call center in the United States, I'm certain that they would have the same issues as Americans calling Filipino call centers.
For example, in July (2018) I purchased two Apple Watches from a local store in San Diego. I discovered when I received my bill that my plan was changed and increased by $20 per month (apart from the increases due to the Apple Watches), and "free" Netflix was added. I called back to find out why, and I was told that I had requested the plan change. I didn't. It didn't make any sense to pay an additional $20 for something worth $10. The CSR, part of my "team" was at a call center in the Philippines. I was told that they would correct the problem revert back to the correct plan. The next time I got my bill, it wasn't changed. So I called again. I got the same "I will resolve your issues to you satisfaction, I guarantee it", but the next bill came around and it still didn't get corrected. So I called again. Still no resolution. Each call lasted more than 20 minutes. Upon arrival in San Diego a few days ago, I went to a store where they attempted to fix the problem. Still no resolution. So I called support again from San Diego and again I got a call center in the Philippines. I asked to get the call escalated, and I got... another person in the Philippine call center. The person I spoke to after being escalated had excellent command of English, and actually sounded American. However, she still had some issues understanding what I wanted and would ask me questions for which I'd already provided answers. Still waiting for resolution.
If it takes 4 or more tries to get resolution on an issue at a foreign call center and once at an American call center, I'm not sure that the cost savings involved in a foreign call center are worth it. Add to that the intangible cost of unhappy customers. Is it possible the T-Mobile bean counters don't take this into consideration?
I have problem with My downloard my Pdf summery Billing
I thought I was the only one complaining about their newer offshore customer service. I am having issues not receiving voicemails and messages, which are delayed by 12 hours or more sometimes.
I didn't realize it was the Phillipines that they outsourced to. I didn't know what country but all I knew is it wasn't the same customer service they used to have in Bellevue WA and other places around the States.
I will agree that understanding English and "American" slang is not easy, however it's like these folks are trained to literally repeat everything you say 3-4 times, then they repeat "what they are going to do" for you 3-4 times before they actually go do it. In between those repeated lines, they give you a huge word salad of other platitudes like "i'm so sorry, this is important to me, this is my job so we take it seriously, I know this must be so frustrating for you blah blah blah " and just a whole lot of time wasting goes on before they actually do what they say they will do for you which is usually a credit and send you to tech support.
It's infuriating that each time I call, it takes at least 30 minutes plus to get to the end of the call. Are these CSA people just stretching out each and every call so they don't have to take as many calls on the switchboard? Certainly they aren't getting paid by the number of calls they take so it seems like they're overdoing it and just stalling so they don't have to take as many infuriated customers in their daily job? All this does is piss off the customer even more.
This last phone call was literally 30+ minutes, all for them to email me some trouble shooting tips and give me a $50 credit.
Spend less time on stupid T-Mobile Tuesdays “discounts” that you can get through any other rewards program like Perks for Work or AAA or even AARP, and get some AMERICAN customer service agents who understand the importance of accurate communication and quick resolution to issues.
We are on the verge of switching to Mint as T-Mobile has not resolved a problem that has been ongoing for over a month. We have spoken to customer service and tech support several times… given contradictory information and even went to an official T-Mobile store in hopes of resolving the issue. Not only were they not able to resolve our issue the woman asked us not to give her a bad review when we receive the txt survey after departing! Yes, they offer excellent international rates but they sell Samsung phones which are all regionally locked. One arm not communicating with the other. We now have a new Samsung phone that won't allow us to access data in the United States. If we purchased one here it wouldn't work there, Why would they sell Samsung phones when they cause problems for their customers who love one of their best services? Meanwhile we are looking at best options: avoid Samsung phones, buy something unlocked with global access such as Pixel, Sony or Apple and try other contract plans such as consumer cellular or Mint. The only power we have today is how we choose to spend our $$. If I am going to pay for customer service I expect our problems to be solved- otherwise I might as well use a provider that costs half as much and doesn't give us the runaround.
Mr Legere,
The company is charging me $1200.00 for a phone that was damaged that i returned. i have proof of returned and it was received, after speaking with several customer services people they keep telling me they need to verify and thats why the charge. why the customer is being punished for something your company did? . They claimed not to receive my old damaged cell phone I sent back to them during a claim. your costumer service has declined in the last few months, hiring incompetent people or least the training given is not enough. i have also being charged for more than 7 months for an apple watch line that i disconnected a while back. also at a store in Pines blvd and th expressway i was misstreated by Frank, didnt care about my issue and he just told me, you should have done that at the store not online. all I get is “ i am working on that “ my apologies. but nothing is getting done. i have been with Tmobile for over 20 years and spent about $78K in phone and lines. is this how you care about your customers?
this has to be resolved.
DO NOT GET T-MOBILE
My wife and I went to Greece last year and I had absolutely no access to my phone service 95 percent of the time even with purchasing the "international pass" for a month . We are now in the Bahamas and experiencing the same exact problem . I have a job that requires access to my phone at all times for patients with acute disorders . They WILL charge you every penny even without being able to use your phone . Attached are photos showing proof of having no access at all . Please keep in mind we have already been here two days and when we were in Greece it was for a month ! HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE WITH NO SOLUTIONS .
T-Mobile is a money grab my bill changes every month & the reps lie. So you can make a payment only for your phone to be turned off and added on fees. Going to metro I never used to have this problem with hidden fees. Trash customer service!
