I spent four days in Montana visiting Glacier and Yellowstone National Parks completely isolated from the world because T-mobile doesn't support my 2G RAZR in that state. When I returned, I took to twitter to complain and was invited to speak to customer service with the impression that they intended to make it right. However, when I got on with their representative, she was as warm and friendly as the Russians at Kursk. Consequently, I will not be upgrading my phone or changing carriers, but I will be dispensing with a cell phone period. I got along without a cell phone for years; in truth I only got one because my ex wife wanted to be able to keep tabs on me, and I'll be alright without one, not to mention nearly $700 richer EVERY SINGLE YEAR. What you are about to read is my conversation without censorship with the representative. I do this to illuminate the attitude of technology companies, to indemnify T-mobile, and to provide facts to a candid world.
When in the course of cellular communication it becomes necessary for one customer to divest themselves from a provider and dissolve the commercial bonds that have bound them to one another, a decent respect for the sentiments of the human race and their ability to rightly discern the true implications of their choices requires that said customer should declare the causes that impel them to that separation.
Unless I was within 1 mile of the Federal building in Bozeman MT, I had ZERO coverage and service in Montana 21-24 July 2016. As soon as we landed at BZN, I was completely without service in the state, but someone I know with an antiquated phone but who has Verizon had coverage. Explanation? Accommodation? Remuneration? 52m 50 minutes ago
T-Mobile Help Hey Douglas thanks for reaching out! Being without signal is always scary, but let's see if we can get to the bottom of this. It looks like Bozeman, MT is somewhere that doesn't have any T-Mobile towers, but we do have a roaming agreement for the general area. Depending on what frequencies your phone picks up and what frequencies they offer in that area, there can be spots without service. Do you know where else you were in Montana when you weren't getting any signal? *LorneP 42m 41 minutes ago
Douglas I drove from Bozeman to Glacier through Helena and back, then I drove down to Yellowstone and back, and I NEVER had signal except within 1 mile of the Federal Building in downtown Bozeman. Your roaming agreement is worth squat. 41m 40 minutes ago
T-Mobile Help Helena is an area that we certainly should have coverage in, not just a roaming agreement. However, looking at the phone number we have on file, that looks like a Motorola flip phone, was that the one you were using in that area? *LorneP 38m 36 minutes ago
Douglas Yes, that's the one. Why should the model make a difference if you "definitely have coverage"? 37m 35 minutes ago
T-Mobile Help Well, that's a good question. That phone is only capable of picking up 2g. We're always expanding our network, but most of the tower upgrades that are going up are putting out LTE or 4G, including those in Helena. While we do have coverage in those areas, it's not compatible with the phone you're on right now. *LorneP 34m 33 minutes ago
Douglas I understand that, but you continue to charge me full price every month. Why doesn't new technology still support old technology? I get better coverage in the wilderness in Nevada. As for not being compatible...my 1995 manual Saturn still works just fine on the road, my 2001 ibook still works fine on the internet, and my 1979 body still works fine at the gym. If you're trying to drive me to a new phone via "planned obsolescence" I call hogwash since, as aforementioned, someone on a "flip phone" that I know in Bozeman has coverage with Verizon and no problems. This sounds like a "it's your fault you don't have coverage because you're outdated" argument. 32m 30 minutes ago
T-Mobile Help Well, while we're upgrading everywhere, we're not going to be able to cover every area in the US, and every frequency isn't going to be available everywhere. *LorneP 28m 26 minutes ago
Douglas You realize that your argument's premise is the same as the plot to the 2005 movie "Robots" that "outmodes are garbage and that the way to be a real man is a shiny new upgrade"? Your nonchalance is going to cost you my business, not force me to upgrade my phone. I don't need a smartphone. Other people need me to have a cell phone because they don't know how to keep commitments or plan ahead, and smart phones enable that behavior. I got along in Montana, not because of you, but because I know how to read a map, follow directions, and talk to real people. You haven't even made a feeble attempt to make this right, which was the impression given by the invitation to communicate about my problems in Montana. Why should I stay with T-mobile?
Well, I am trying to be upfront and honest with you. We can't provide every frequency to every part of the country. And if you have a phone that's working well for you where you live, there is no reason to upgrade or to look into other phones. And we do support 2g in a vast majority of our areas. But, there will be areas out there where 2g doesn't exist. There are areas in the US where we have no coverage whatsoever, and although our network is always expanding, the US is a very big place, no carrier will be able to cover every inch. *LorneP 20h 19 hours ago
Douglas So basically, you don't value me as a customer to even give me a token gesture of goodwill to keep my business. Amazing. Over ten years as a loyal T-mobile customer and this is the thanks I get. You haven't even argued that I should stay. I guess you guys make so much money you just don't give a flying pinwheel. Good to know. 32m
T-Mobile Help There is no doubt that we value you as a customer and would hate to see you leave! I can understand wanting to stay with a device that has worked for you for so long. We are working on expanding our network all the time, and the focus is on the newer technologies. I only suggest upgrading so that you can take full advantage of the what the network has to offer. Regardless of whether you upgrade, the plan still has a lot to offer with things such as no overages and T-Mobile Tuesday. *AdrenaB
I understand that you feel that your company values me as a customer. The previous representative denotes that I have no expectation of service because I have an old phone but that you have every expectation of payment for services I cannot get. The impression is that the onus is on me. Talk is cheap. Back it up with some evidence. Instead, Lorne made me feel like I'm the problem. That's pretty piss-poor customer service. She didn't even really try to empathize and she certainly didn't make an offer to make it right. Upgrading isn't going to save me money; it will increase the amount of money I pay. I know you're focusing on new technology, I really do. New does not mean superior. By that logic, T-mobile should fire people who "have worked there too long" because they are "outdated" and "new employees are by definition superior". Pretzel logic doesn't appeal to me. 3h 3 hours ago
T-Mobile Help When I took over the conversation, I reviewed your previous interaction with Lorne. I do sincerely apologize that she made you feel like you are the problem. I have already passed on this experience for review since it is not the kind that we want to have for you. I am very glad that I did have the opportunity to take over and work with you. The 2g is a very solid service, which is why we still have it on the network. If you don't mind me using your analogy, because it really is a good one, we are not firing the old employees, but we are expanding by hiring new ones that are trained in the new technologies and systems that are in demand. You are more than welcome to stay with your current phone, but you will not be able to take full advantage of any network with it. For an entry level smart phone, it would be less than $6/month to finance. I know that you are not looking to increase your bill, but I would like to put this out there so that you can find more value in your service here. *AdrenaB 2h 2 hours ago
Douglas Walton I appreciate the change in tone that accompanies your communiques. Your messages are however still simply informative and not persuasive. The issue is not whether I can afford to upgrade but whether I desire to. The issue is one of expectations. You require me to pay my bill on time every month or your cut off service, and I expect that when I pay my bill on time each month I will have service when I need it. That is quite simply no longer the case. You seem reticent to offer any kind of olive branch to assuage my concerns besides the clarion call "upgrade or languish", and I am pretty sure I can expect nothing from T-mobile besides the nonchalance of a company with so many customers that it can abide the loss of one. Thank you for passing on my prior conversation and for attempting to upsell me on a new product. You still haven't persuaded me that by T-mobile logic older employees shouldn't have their support suspended, because it sounds like that's company policy when it comes to devices. I still don't feel appreciated or valued, but thanks for trying.
In the end, Adrena offered me a token bone in which I was not interested and we left off speaking, and I made a decision.
I had three major problems with the conversation, besides the fact that they were cold and unfriendly. First off, I found the conversation patronizing and pedestrian. They talked down to me as if I wasn't aware of how cell phones work, what the networks provide, etc., assuming that if I dont' have a smart phone I must be too stupid to use one. Likely they have some script or training that they follow, but I felt condescended to as if they were better, smarter, and superior because they use technology I eschew. Secondly, their arguments were informative but not persuasive. They made no real effort to convince me to stay with T-mobile or give me any incentive to stay. I was looking for some token I valued like $5 off my bill for my inconvenience or a free flip phone that's 4g, but they didn't offer me anything until the end, and then they offered me things I didn't value at all. I'm not a fool, but they lost a customer. Businesses need to understand that we can survive without them in many cases but all too often they cannot survive without us. Finally, the arguments were predicated on the notion that I need a cell phone and that technology MUST move inexorably forward. I do not personally agree with that conclusion that new technology is better. I hate upgrading windows at work and Firefox wherever I am, because the interfaces might be user friendly to the authors but they are infuriatingly unfriendly to me. Actually cell phones engender poor manners, as people will use them as a crutch in order to excuse themselves for tardiness and absence. KNowing that they can change plans on the fly, most people I know make plans they don't intend to actually keep only to bow out last minute when I'm already waiting in the parking lot. Like I told her, I don't need a cell phone. Other people need me to have a cell phone because they don't know how to make plans or keep commitments. As you can see, nobody ever made the argument that I should stay or made a token gesture to incentivize me to stay. Lorne attempted to blackmail me essentially into staying with "change or you'll eventually lose coverage". I'm going to call their bluff and dump my cell phone. At the end of this billing cycle, I will no longer have a cell phone. I survived until 2002 without one; I'll survive now. Like I said, I don't need one; other people have bad habits that mean they need me to have one. The impression the representative gave me was that they just don't care enough to do anything, because my bill is so insignificant among the total they receive that it's not worth their effort to keep me.
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