So I had been on Tmobile quite happily since April. then, this past Wednesday, my phone breaks. so I go in to ask what my options are, pricing on replacing broken phones, etc. I have no insurance (bad move, but nothing I can do about it now) so the only option is to buy a new phone for the full price. the only adequate replacements are $400 and $500. the contract termination fee is $200
(their max fee, btw). I found this odd; why structure the pricing so that customers find it more feasible to leave than stay? they could at least let people turn in a broken phone for a reduced price, then recycle the broken phone's working parts and reduce prices all around.
So after pointing out to several Tmo reps that they were giving me an incentive to leave, and them not doing anything, I Bought a Boost Mobile Android phone on a cheap black friday sale, and switched to Boost by Friday night. it turns out that, despite Boost mostly targeting the the ghetto, the phone is actually better than my old one.
However, there is still a phone on Tmobile I would consider an upgrade from it: the Mytouch 4g Slide ($500). I then noticed that there is a Best Buy online black friday weekend sale going on, which lets you buy almost any phone, including the Slide, for FREE, IF you sign up for a new 2 year contract. I was happy with Tmo's service, so I decide to sign up for a new contract and get the superphone. but the transaction kept screwing up, over and over and over. after getting ont he phone with Best Buy, then Tmo, then Boost, then Tmo again, a Tmo rep finally tells me me that when you cancel, you have a 90 day grace period where you can come back to the old contract, and they waive/refund the fee. but incredibly, they won't let you start up a new contract until after that, even if you've paid the termination fee and all that. and of course, to go back to your old contract, if you don't have a Tmo phone anymore (i.e. it's broken and not working) you have to pay the full cost of a new one.
In short, Tmobile gives happy customers an incentive to leave, and then makes sure they have an incentive to not come back.
(their max fee, btw). I found this odd; why structure the pricing so that customers find it more feasible to leave than stay? they could at least let people turn in a broken phone for a reduced price, then recycle the broken phone's working parts and reduce prices all around.
So after pointing out to several Tmo reps that they were giving me an incentive to leave, and them not doing anything, I Bought a Boost Mobile Android phone on a cheap black friday sale, and switched to Boost by Friday night. it turns out that, despite Boost mostly targeting the the ghetto, the phone is actually better than my old one.
However, there is still a phone on Tmobile I would consider an upgrade from it: the Mytouch 4g Slide ($500). I then noticed that there is a Best Buy online black friday weekend sale going on, which lets you buy almost any phone, including the Slide, for FREE, IF you sign up for a new 2 year contract. I was happy with Tmo's service, so I decide to sign up for a new contract and get the superphone. but the transaction kept screwing up, over and over and over. after getting ont he phone with Best Buy, then Tmo, then Boost, then Tmo again, a Tmo rep finally tells me me that when you cancel, you have a 90 day grace period where you can come back to the old contract, and they waive/refund the fee. but incredibly, they won't let you start up a new contract until after that, even if you've paid the termination fee and all that. and of course, to go back to your old contract, if you don't have a Tmo phone anymore (i.e. it's broken and not working) you have to pay the full cost of a new one.
In short, Tmobile gives happy customers an incentive to leave, and then makes sure they have an incentive to not come back.