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It’s important for companies to take time to understand how their employees work. It’s why the show Undercover Boss was so popular. There is a clear separation between upper management and ground-level workers, and that separation can lead to making decisions that aren’t in the company’s best interests.
Lately, customers have been voicing their frustrations when it comes to the forced use of T-Life, especially in retail stores. There are now even signs up at T-Mobile store entrances informing customers to open their app and sign-in, and the entire visit customers are guided to make their transactions on their phones.
It’s rubbed many people the wrong way, and understandably so. Why visit a store when you have to order via the app anyway?
Well, there are signs that T-Mobile is responding to frustrations, at least somewhat, as now top-level executives are being informed they need to spend time in retail to understand whats going on.
Spend time in-store, or lose your bonus
According to multiple tips, district-level employees and higher, which potentially includes over 7,000 employees, will now be required to spend at least two days at a retail store or call center (likely per year) to understand the day-to-day operations that the company goes through.
It appears the “requirement” is technically optional, but apparently the employee’s bonus/stock grants are contingent on them actually participating with this new rule.
It’s a pretty good move, because it makes sure that everyone high up in the company understands how things operate at the lower level. Store reps and call center employees will have the chance to show where things work well and where things need improvement.
T-Life and retail store issues persist
There have been many reports from customers voicing frustration with both the T-Life app and interactions at retail stores.
Many users can’t seem to get T-Life to work at all with their accounts, which effectively prevents them from making any transactions at all without having to contact support.
Sometimes customers face issues with promotions, too. I myself have seen an issue where a promo didn’t show up during the ordering process, but worked correctly at checkout. I’m in a position to know what to look out for, so it doesn’t necessarily affect me as much, but the average customer could easily be misled into thinking a promo will work when it won’t, or vice-versa.
Meanwhile, other customers have faced issues with retail stores refusing to do certain tasks that don’t earn them money. It’s no secret that T-Mobile reps make a good chunk of their income based on commissions, and some actions simply don’t make them any money.
For example, if a customer orders a new phone upgrade via T-Life on their own (something T-Mobile is clearly encouraging customers to do), they will often have a device that they want to trade in for a promotion. The app gives the option of turning that trade-in device in at a retail store instead of shipping it, but often customers visit a store only to be told “we can’t take your trade, you’ll need to mail it in”.
This isn’t actually true, though. The reality is the employee would be spending time processing that trade-in device and earn no commission on it, all while losing potential sales from other customers visiting the store to another employee.
Clearly, the employees should be doing their job. But because of the way T-Mobile rewards certain transactions over others, employees are going to do what they can to make the most money. Honestly, I don’t necessarily blame them here.
That’s just one example of issues at retail stores. There are also stories of customers being signed up for extra lines without permission, being sold accessories for “free” only to then be charged monthly for them, etc. Often times these issues are more prevalent at third-party T-Mobile stores, but not always.
Having executives be in-store during these types of transactions may not fix every problem, but it gives them the chance to understand how T-Mobile’s rules and processes end up being carried out by employees. If they’re in-store and see that roughly half of customers entering the store are frustrated by having to use T-Life, perhaps it could lead to a change.
T-Mobile could be backing down a bit regarding T-Life
This entire move may seem odd given T-Mobile’s actions over the past few years. Why bother working on retail at all when you’re trying to get customers to self-service anyway?
Well, rumor is that T-Mobile is realizing how the push for T-Life is affecting customers, and might be doing something about it.
One source claims that T-Mobile is not only re-focusing on retail, but also customer care. Apparently, the company is bringing support back stateside more now, and reducing their “global care”, AKA outsourced support.
There are also claims that T-Mobile is trying to reduce their third-party store count and open more corporate-owned locations moving forward.
Of course, these are not confirmed reports, so take them with a grain of salt. Still, it would be a smart move in my opinion, because I feel like T-Mobile has gone a bit too far with this all-digital push.
Hopefully the company gets back to making moves that benefit the customer, because we all miss the golden era of Un-Carrier.
