Recently I switched service providers for my cell phone, because I was receiving horrible service from T-mobile. I am now blogging about this issue, because I am hoping to save anyone from having to go through the horrible mess I am currently going through.
I have been with T-mobile since June of 2006, and I have always recommended T-mobile to friends and family. Well not anymore... Not only is there cell service getting worse, but there customer service is something I never expected from what was once a wonderful company.
Lets begin...
About 9 months ago I decided I was ready for an Android phone, but I had just upgraded my phone and was not eligible for another discounted phone. After explaining to a representative that by allowing me to upgrade my phone again they would actually make an additional $30 a month for the data plan I would need, T-mobile offered me a slight discount of $250.00 on the Samsung Vibrant that retailed at $500.00, according to the representative I spoke with.
About 3 months ago I began having some issues with both my phone and the cell service. My phone would randomly freeze and the screen would turn a yellowish gray color. In order to fix this issue I would have to remove the battery, and then restrat the phone. I was also having trouble with the notification sound on this device. Sometimes when I received a phone call or message, the ringtone would not work even when the volume was turned completely up. I would have to restart my phone for this problem to be resolved.
The service for my phone was also a huge issue. I would hit the call button sometimes and it would just read "dialing" on the screen for minutes, then it would automatically end it, and go to the home screen. It would take me 10 minutes to dial out sometimes. I was constantly dropping calls once I was able to make them and I wasn't recieving calls either. My boyfriend used to call our neighbor to come check on me at home, because he would call and text for hours and I wouldn't respond. I didn't respond to him, because my phone never recieved any of those calls or texts. The text messages I sent were not being recieved by others for hours after I had originally sent them, I was not receiving text messages from others when they sent them to me, I had issues with the internet service that would continuosly send me to a screen that said the page I was trying to view was unavailable, I would log into facebook and it would tell me it was unable to load new content. My phone never seemed to work.
I called T-mobile over a period of a month between March and April 2011, had to talk to someone new everytime, complaining and explaining all the problems I was having with my phone and the service. The first thing they did was troubleshoot my phone. After troubleshooting didn't work they did a factory re-set on my phone. Which let me tell you is not fun! After you do a factory reset on a phone it is like the phone is brand new again, and it has to be re-programmed all over again. Finally after the third or fourth complaint a customer representative was sending me a replacement phone! ( I did pay monthly for the phone insurance, so I was not charged for this replacement.)
I receive my phone a few days laters, and now we are in the middle of May. After about a week with this new phone I am still having some issues with it. I am still having trouble connecting to the internet at times, my phone calls seem to be breaking up, but it doesn't seem as bad as it was. Boy was I wrong!
On Monday June 13th, 2011 I am once again calling T-mobiles customer service. This particular time I have hardly any service at all. It took me two hours before I was finally able to put a call through to customer service. My phone just had that screen up that would read "dialing" and then would just stop. I explain my situation to the representative on the other end of the phone, and he tells me it could be part of a network outage occuring in another part of the state. I continue to tell him that I have been experiencing problems with my service for over a month now, and he asks about the age of my sim card. After discussing that my sim card is about 5 years old he offers to send me a new one, because he believes that is the problem with my currently bad cell service. I am told it will be to my house in 5-7 business days.
I wait... Patiently.... Until the 23rd of June when I once again am calling T-Mobiles customer service. I speak to another representative who informs me that my sim card was shipped on the 13th, and instructs me to wait a couple more days for my sim card.
Again I wait... Patiently.... Until June 28th, and once again am on the phone with a customer service representative. I am now re-explaining my problem/situation to her. This is probably the 20th time I have had to explain from the beginning my situation. As I am talking to her my phone cuts out. I then call back using a landline, and the phone number I retrieved online to their customer service department. I then have to explain again my situation to a new representative. This one was fun, because this representative informs me that he would be more than happy to order me a new sim card but I would have to pick it up in a T-mobile store. He can not ship one to my house. I explained to him as I did to 3 other people that I did not have a way to get to a T-mobile store, and I was already told one would be shipped to my house. He apoligizes to me, but that is all he is authorized to do. I ask for a manager and I am told that his supervisor is currently busy. I hang up, call back customer service, but from my cell phone this time. I once again reach a new representative, explain my situation, and am transferred to an "account specialist". I explain again my situation, and she offers to send me another sim card overnight.
Again I wait.... Patiently. The next day goes by and no sim card. I call T-mobile yet again. Explain my situation to another representative yet again. I am told that they no longer have control over when it gets to my house, because it is now with UPS. It is no longer there problem, because they are not responsible for how long UPS takes. I am extremely frustrated by this point, and I now ask to speak to the highest supervisor possible.
The Supervisor... I explain my situation and tell her I can't handle T-Mobile anymore. I need a working phone for my job. If I am not getting reception, and can not do what I need to because the phone I have is not working then I will have to obtain a new cell phone provider that can provide me with what I need. She informs me that because I pay the monthly insurance I can continue to send my phone in as many times as I like with no charge to me. ( As if this is such a convienient option) Or she is willing to waive my 2 year wait and allow me to "purchase" (key word there) a new phone at the discounted price.
I explain to her that I don't believe the phone is the problem, but the actual service provider is. Sending me a new phone over and over again is a waste of my time, and is extremely annoying. I also inform her that I just spent 250 dollars on my less than a year old phone, I don't want to spend an additional amount of money on a new phone.
She apoligizes to me, and tells me those are the only options she can offer me. She also tells me that if I chose not to accept her offer to buy a new phone at a discounted price that will not be offered again. I again tell her these options are useless to me, these options do not fix my problem, and if they are not going to fix my problem I will leave and obtain a new service provider. I am then repeatedly given the same offers over and over, and to conclude her offers she threatens me that if I choose to leave that I am still under contract and I will be charged a deactivation fee. ( In my opinion, using my contract the way she did was a threat) After arguing with her for a short period I simply hung up the phone.
A couple days following that conversation I finally recieved my sim card from UPS. I called in and activated it, and hoped that that would be the end of my service issue. Sure enough withing days of having the new sim card I was having problems. I was texting a friend of mine, and I had asked him a question and received a response 7 hours later. I asked him why it took him so long to respond and he told me he had just got it! I was done! I reported T-Mobile to the Better Business Bureau, Federal Trade Commission, and another complait sight online. Then I headed over to Sprint and joined.
I have more stories about T-Mobiles HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE to come. Next Story is about the woman who called me to discuss my BBB complaint!
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