More T-Mobile USA Subscribers Flee

CommanderFrank

CommanderFrank

Cat Can't Scratch It
Joined
May 9, 2000
Messages
75,399
According to the 4th Quarter numbers, T-Mobile remained in the 4th place position, behind AT&T, Verizon Wireless and Sprint. While the top 3 carriers gained customers, T-Mobile lost 318,000 contract-based subscribers. The losses have not been well received at Deutsche Telekom AG, T-Mobile’s parent company.

T-Mobile said the decline was due to competition and to revised credit standards for customers.
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They dumped me because I moved out of their service area for 6 months and they didn't care that I told them repeatedly that I was only there 6 months. I had been with them since 2001 and never would have left.

they did that to a lot of people and now they are reaping the rewards for screwing over loyal customers in order to attract new business that jumps carriers every year or so. They used to have really great customer service, I hate ATT's customer service.
 
really not due to their crappy service? I had T-Mobile 4 years ago it was crappy then and still crappy now in the areas I am around. Not to mention they lie so bad on their commercials nationwide 4G my ass when they barely have 3G in many parts of Texas.
 
I dumped T-Mobile several years ago due to shitty CS. My phone had died and so I needed a new phone to continue using the service. The phone I wanted was $150 with a 2 year contract, although It could be found at Walmart or Target in pre-paid form for the exact same price or even $20 cheaper, allowing me to potentially buy a pre-paid version (with no contract) and switch out the sim card. Their CS and retention department refused to budge on the price of the phone upgrade, in spite of the fact that a pre-paid version was the same price as their "best offer" on the same phone with a 2 year contract. I bought the same model from ATT for free, switched my family over to ATT, and haven't looked back since. I have calls dropped with ATT, but no more noticeably than I did with T-Mobile.

I will never understand why companies create better incentives for new customers than current customers. I would think it would be cheaper to maintain an established relationship than to create a new one, but I digress.:rolleyes:
 
My wife and I have had t-mobile for 6 years. We've never had an issue with service and have been pleased. That is until this past summer. We recieved an offer to upgrade like we do everytime our plan needs renewed. We had both been looking into phones that support data. We were shopping one day and went into a t-mobile store. We picked out new phones and renewed our contract with the intent of adding data via the internet in the near future. We don't need to be connected at all times but it would be nice in some situations.
The issue we had was that the phones were free after rebate. We've never had an issue with this system in the past. This time however they denied our rebate. After trying 4 times to contact customer support via phone over an our each call and several emails going unanswered we've decided to leave them when our contact is up. I made copies of the rebates before i sent them, everything is correct. We had the manager of the store print them out and double check to make sure they were the correct forms and we qualified for it. We contacted the store and were told they can't help us with rebates, only billing issues.
The end of all of this is that for roughly $250 they lost two lines of service who were loyal and turned most of thier family to them. Now they are not only losing us, they are losing atleast 3 other lines from family. We all talk quite a bit and enjoy free mobile to mobile.
T-mobile has horrible customer service and is costing them.
 
This quarter ended in December so it makes since we are seeing all this new marketing from T-Mobile the last 2 months with their 4g adds.

T-Mobile should just buy Sprint since it's been rumored so much. Their Europe parent company is much larger than Sprint.
 
whrswoldo said:
I will never understand why companies create better incentives for new customers than current customers. I would think it would be cheaper to maintain an established relationship than to create a new one, but I digress.:rolleyes:
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Precisely. Comcast in my opinion is among the WORST offenders for this. Right now my folks are paying something like $150-$200 a month for basic digital cable + a couple extra channels my dad loves watching, internet and phone service. In the meantime new subscribers get all that for damn near half or better, if only for a short while. Even still, its the fact that they're getting it at all while my parents have had Comcast for a few years now and all they're getting is a slowly inflating bill over time. You'd think there'd be some kind of loyalty reward incentive. I mean, for cryin' out loud even BEST BUY has loyalty incentives!
 
whrswoldo said:
I dumped T-Mobile several years ago due to shitty CS. My phone had died and so I needed a new phone to continue using the service. The phone I wanted was $150 with a 2 year contract, although It could be found at Walmart or Target in pre-paid form for the exact same price or even $20 cheaper, allowing me to potentially buy a pre-paid version (with no contract) and switch out the sim card. Their CS and retention department refused to budge on the price of the phone upgrade, in spite of the fact that a pre-paid version was the same price as their "best offer" on the same phone with a 2 year contract.
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I hear arguments like this all the time and I don't see why people think they are entitled to a discount. They offer what they have for the prices they have. If you could go out and buy it for a cheaper price, why does T Mobile need to match a competitor's price in order for them to not be on your shit list?

As for the article, T Mobile services is probably fine but the name is ghetto as hell.
 
I dumped my T-Mobile last June for Sprint and it was the best thing I have done for phone in 10 years... With Sprint they are not going to nickel & dime you to death like T-Mobile does, everything is up front...
 
As a T-Mobile customer, I can tell you why a lot of people leave. Other carriers off free new smart phones. I'm eligible for an upgrade, but the G2 still costs $200 for me. While my cousin easily got the Droid 2 from Verizon, for free. Both him and his girlfriend.

New customers get more free goodies then older customers. I've had no complaints on the signal, but it's the ability to upgrade phones that bothers me. I'm still stuck with my G1, and probably plan to keep using it until the G2 drops significantly in price. I would actually just switch carriers, but disconnecting the 5 lines in my family plan would cost $150 each line. So, I gotta wait another year to leave T-Mobile.
 
Staples said:
I hear arguments like this all the time and I don't see why people think they are entitled to a discount. They offer what they have for the prices they have. If you could go out and buy it for a cheaper price, why does T Mobile need to match a competitor's price in order for them to not be on your shit list?
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Cause then people leave T-Mobile for better deals? Just as the article points out?
As for the article, T Mobile services is probably fine but the name is ghetto as hell.
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So the name bothers you?
 
Tmobile is fast if you're in one of their fast areas, but the problem is their coverage is so much less than say Verizon or even Sprint, wide swaths of area that are still GPRS if they get a signal at all.

If you want the latest and greatest you're probably going AT&T or Verizon right now. If you want cheaper you go prepaid. (Virgin Mobile has terrible customer support but if you don't have any problems you can get unlimited data/texting for $25 a month for example with Android phones like the LG Optimus which shares the same GPU as the EVO.)
 
I wonder what percentage of the customers who left have switched to pre-paid options? The last time I checked into it (last year), T-Mobile had the best prepaid in terms of price. 10 cents a minute if you buy the $100 card was unbeatable at the time.

Although there are a lot of us out there that would like some fancy plan with a sweet smartphone we just don't need it, even though we could afford it. I know I'm not alone.
 
Sucks for T-mobile I actually love my t-mobile service (I'm in Los Angeles county) there phone selection sucks but the price can't be beat :p
 
im still on an original iphone with tmobile and their no-contract plan. when i started it a year ago, it was the cheapest plan i could find at $30/month, and i get to use my iphone which i love. also dont have to commit to 2 years. i dont have data or texting since i can just use email to text or data over wifi in most places i am. its not worth doubling my bill to get to text and use limited data while im driving or while im at the beach or whatever.
 
I'm so sick of the whole cell phone thing it's not even funny. 2 year contracts, $80 to $110 a month for most people etc etc. I'm done with it. Straight Talk is supposed to be releasing new phones in March. Can't wait to do the $30 dollar 1000 min plan.
 
timta2 said:
I wonder what percentage of the customers who left have switched to pre-paid options? The last time I checked into it (last year), T-Mobile had the best prepaid in terms of price. 10 cents a minute if you buy the $100 card was unbeatable at the time.

Although there are a lot of us out there that would like some fancy plan with a sweet smartphone we just don't need it, even though we could afford it. I know I'm not alone.
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Then it would still count as users, if they stuck with TMO. Sprint would have lost users as well if it wasn't for prepaid users flocking to Boost and Virgin.
 
horrible company with OK service, I'm not suprised at all by any of this. Had their service while stationed in germany, wont be making that mistake again ... jesus!
 
Stupac said:
This quarter ended in December so it makes since we are seeing all this new marketing from T-Mobile the last 2 months with their 4g adds.

T-Mobile should just buy Sprint since it's been rumored so much. Their Europe parent company is much larger than Sprint.
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If that deal goes thru, I'll be sure to drop Sprint.
 
T-mobile has the worst coverage. They need to build more towers so that they improve their coverage. I use the Optimus V with virgin mobile and I get better coverage than T-mobile users. Virgin uses spring networks which is 2nd best to Verizon. I user a prepaid becuase its cheaper and if I lose my job I can just cancel without penalties.
 
I have 3 cell lines that were on ATT for years. Mine had 600 minutes, 7pm nights (unlimited night/weekend), 200 text, smartphone "unlimited" data all grandfathered in from an old ATT/Cingular kinda plan. Another had 950 minutes and nothing else, the last had 600 minutes and nothing else. All together, the monthly bill was $240-260.

I recently transitioned to T-mobile. Now, all 3 lines have unlimited everything - voice minutes,smartphone data, SMS and MMS etc.. ALL without a contract on my EvenMore PLUS plans - basically its an unlimited everything family plan with add a line. The bill is like $170 and no-contract is gravy. Coverage seems fine in my location. We didn't get any new phones since we didn't need them, but I like how most of the Android phones and my Maemo/MeeGo N900 now run at 3G to "faux" 4G speeds because they use the Euro/Asia and TMobile data band instead of the ATT one.

I went to them because they not only beat ATT in price, but I could still use my GSM phones and they offered zero contract plans that actually had better monthly rates. Tmo recently took the EvenMore Plus contract-free plans/rates off their website and just left the standard ones up there, I guess to get more contracts, but if you go to a store you can get the Plus plans. So far, it is superior to ATT in every way, especially with ATT's new data restrictions. The only thing I don't like about T-mobile is that their "unlimited" data is actually a 5gb transfer before you get throttled down to 56k speeds, but at least there are no overage or roaming charges.

My other option was going to be Sprint (who I hear just removed all data caps), but I didn't want to have to get a 2 year contract and all new CDMA phones. So far T-Mobile is the only national carrier with a decent 3.75G GSM-based network, no contract plans that are cheaper, and less draconian policies than ATT and Verizon. I can only hope that Sprint's "no data cap" plan will prompt Tmo to do the same.

Also, I think its criminal that Tmobile cannot roam on all ATT GSM towers - those ATT towers were built with American taxpayer's subsidized funds! I still think the only way we will have true choice and service in communication infrastructure is to nationalize all the hardware, so that a new entry to the market doesn't have to build an entirely redundant network of their own because the heavy hitters refused to "share" despite the fact they built the network mostly on our dollar! Fucking telecoms make me sick.
 
I'm leaving t-mobile (cancelling contracts) due to no signal in many buildings and my apartment complex. If it were not for my BlackBerry and being able to UMA with my wi-fi, I would have left the minute I got to this city. Their signal is greatly affected when going between 3g and edge networks and many times results in dropped calls. I stuck with them for so long because they offered cheap plans but now Sprint and Verizon (company I work for Discount) kill them at it.

Verizon and Sprint have the best signal where I currently live and work and to me that is the most important thing. Back in Houston, T-Mobile signal was awesome but sadly not here :/
 
Bambi005 said:
Verizon and Sprint have the best signal where I currently live and work and to me that is the most important thing. Back in Houston, T-Mobile signal was awesome but sadly not here :/
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When I had T-Mobile in houston it wasnt all that great that was 4 years ago, and I have since moved to a place where T-Mobile can't even get 3G. I tested Sprint, AT&T and Verizon last summer and Verizon won out, although more expensive at least I can use the damn service.
 
I just left t-mobile after about 10 years.

I have 4 phones + flex plan on puretalkusa (they use AT&T network) for $25-$55/month.

T-mobile was ~ $130/month
 
Don't know how/why anyone could possibly think that some budget provider can offer the exact same thing as Verizon / AT&T for a fraction of the cost and not have some corner somewhere being cut.

"Puretalkusa", ahahhaaha.
 
T-mobile started off as a budget provider but they no longer are. Budget providers are those such as boost, cricket, etc etc.
 
mdameron said:
Don't know how/why anyone could possibly think that some budget provider can offer the exact same thing as Verizon / AT&T for a fraction of the cost and not have some corner somewhere being cut.

"Puretalkusa", ahahhaaha.
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You laugh, but it was as simple as:

Order sim cards for my unlocked phones, online. Arrived in 3 business days.
Call them up & talk to them - each number on family plan ported in less than 10 minutes.

That was it!
 
Robstar said:
You laugh, but it was as simple as:

Order sim cards for my unlocked phones, online. Arrived in 3 business days.
Call them up & talk to them - each number on family plan ported in less than 10 minutes.

That was it!
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Well the price certainly is right, I hope it works out for you. Just screams "too good to be true", to me.
 
mdameron said:
Well the price certainly is right, I hope it works out for you. Just screams "too good to be true", to me.
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It's no contract. At worst you are out maybe $20 to give it a shot by ordering a sim card. If you don't want to replace your main phone until you are sure it works, sign up for a minimal plan & they'll send you a phone for $5 (very basic I'd imagine....)
 
I've had Tmobile for about 8 yrs havent and am very happy with them, I left att because of a cs rep who disconnected me and suspended my line after I asked to speak to a manager because they were giving me attitude and being rude... Really Tmo is the most affordable of all the companies they offer unlim data and tethering/ hotspot for 20 a month , besides that if I were to get a similar family plan it'd prob cost me about 80 more. Hope the company does better next year
 
Staples said:
I hear arguments like this all the time and I don't see why people think they are entitled to a discount. They offer what they have for the prices they have. If you could go out and buy it for a cheaper price, why does T Mobile need to match a competitor's price in order for them to not be on your shit list?.
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Uhm... Assuming an average cellphone bill works out to 720$ in revenue per customer per year - that's why. It has nothing to do with being on a "shit list"...
 
mdameron said:
Don't know how/why anyone could possibly think that some budget provider can offer the exact same thing as Verizon / AT&T for a fraction of the cost and not have some corner somewhere being cut.
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True they are a budget provider however I'd like to think the savings are in their licensing deals. Notice they do not sell T Mobile contracts at Best Buy and stores of the like. I am sure Best Buy makes a lot of money off signing up contracts for Verizon/ATT/Sprint. I want to find the provider that does not do this crap revenue share thing with stores which passes on the savings however has the same quality service as and of the three major carriers.

I believe that a budget carrier can do it as long as all their savings are in direct sign contracts rather than third party ones. If there are any, I'd like to know who they are because I think the price of cellular phone service is ridiculous and I'd love to pay less.
 
I just think it's silly that telcos think they can get away with charging extra for you to have the ability to "tether/wifi hotspot" with your phone. What bullshit, you can do that for free and they wouldn't know the difference.

I was almost debating going to T-Mobile, considering how absolutely craptastic my HSPA speeds are in this area with AT&T, but it looks like more than half of this thread is prompting me against this idea.

@ Robstar: It would be great if PureTalkUSA offered some kind of data, looks like they don't.

I barely make phone calls, and I wish someone would make a plan around people who need like 100-200 minutes, but unlimited texting/data.
 
Do not go by what people say in this thread when it comes to finding what works for you. You have to go by what works best in your city of living and work.
 
Staples said:
I hear arguments like this all the time and I don't see why people think they are entitled to a discount. They offer what they have for the prices they have. If you could go out and buy it for a cheaper price, why does T Mobile need to match a competitor's price in order for them to not be on your shit list?

As for the article, T Mobile services is probably fine but the name is ghetto as hell.
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The article talks about T-Mobile losing subscribers at a higher rate than other providers. Other providers offer better discounts on devices. If the services are comparable in quality and price (they are), what incentive is there for me to stick around, other than the minor hassle of switching service?

I don't think I am entitled to a discount because I am special or loyal or anything else, but if they want to offer "what they have for prices they have" they they shouldn't be surprised when their subscribers run off to greener pastures.
 
whrswoldo said:
I dumped T-Mobile several years ago due to shitty CS. My phone had died and so I needed a new phone to continue using the service. The phone I wanted was $150 with a 2 year contract, although It could be found at Walmart or Target in pre-paid form for the exact same price or even $20 cheaper, allowing me to potentially buy a pre-paid version (with no contract) and switch out the sim card. Their CS and retention department refused to budge on the price of the phone upgrade, in spite of the fact that a pre-paid version was the same price as their "best offer" on the same phone with a 2 year contract. I bought the same model from ATT for free, switched my family over to ATT, and haven't looked back since. I have calls dropped with ATT, but no more noticeably than I did with T-Mobile.

I will never understand why companies create better incentives for new customers than current customers. I would think it would be cheaper to maintain an established relationship than to create a new one, but I digress.:rolleyes:
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And why didn't you just buy the pre-paid phone at the cheaper price; put your sim card in it; and *not* get locked into a 2 year contract? When you can avoid an upgrade; imo; you always should to avoid the contract lock in. If you were looking at a smart phone w/ data; you could have then jumped to the "EvenMorePlus" plan on TMo (whenever your current contract is up, which it sounded like it was) and dropped another 15 to 30 off your monthly bill.
 
whrswoldo said:
The article talks about T-Mobile losing subscribers at a higher rate than other providers. Other providers offer better discounts on devices. If the services are comparable in quality and price (they are), what incentive is there for me to stick around, other than the minor hassle of switching service?

I don't think I am entitled to a discount because I am special or loyal or anything else, but if they want to offer "what they have for prices they have" they they shouldn't be surprised when their subscribers run off to greener pastures.
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I always thought Tmo, at least recently had the best policy on devices. Unlike the CDMA carriers, you can bring any phone you want. They'll even unlock their own phones if you're not on a contract. I think the savings from having a cheaper monthly plan without a contract is MUCH better than saving $200 or so and being locked into a 2-yr contract. However, T-Mobile does have one advantage I've not seen anywhere else, but you have to ask for it...

Lets say you want a new phone on TMobile but you don't want a contract. If you're on an EvenMore Plus setup, you can buy any phone from them at a Tmobile store (ONLY here, this doesn't work at big boxes or online to my knowledge) and pay the full retail cost of the phone in installments. For instance a new Nexus S or whatnot may cost $500, but without any interest you can have them add an additional $20 or $50 to your monthly bill until the phone is paid off! Its a great deal to pay in installments without a contract, but of course if you terminate service before you're paid off you have to pay the rest on the phone.
 
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