TMobile Fails in Customer Care

Domek,

I'm sorry to hear of your problems with TM customer care. Most people (including myself) don't have the bad experiences you are having, but I do know they occur.

Regarding your general customer care comments, I don't find the wait times long at all. Granted, I call care infrequently, but I don't wait more than a minute or two. I have waited while a rep talks to a supervisor. I have better luck (Shorter wait times) calling in the morning, east coast time.

I don't travel inernationally, but I have read on various forums issues similar to yours when with billing and voicemail. As I understand it, this is how it may work (I'm not sure this is exactly what you are seeing).

You are in Europe. Someone calls your US number. Your phone does not have to be on, but at some time it registered overseas, so T-Mobile thinks your phone is over there. TM forwards your call overseas to try and deliver it to you. For whatever reason (your phone is off, you don't answer, etc.) your incoming call gets forwarded to your voicemail, which is back in the US. Even though you haven't answered the call, the call has made a trip from the US to Europe and back to the US. One or both of these may incur a roaming charge, even though you never answered the phone.

That's how I understand it. The best thing to do is to call T-Mobile before you leave and cancel all call forwarding on your account, and turn it back on when you return. I don't think changing those settings on your phone will help.

Good luck.

 

Considering that T-Mobile just came out #1 (again) in the JD Powers CC survey bi-annual survey. And that this is the 3rd time in a row at #1 (1.5 years worth).

Your experience seems to be an isolated one. That doesn't make it any more palatable.

Luck.

 

I think the wording of the VM in your bill is a matter of semantics. The issue, AFAIK, is a network one. The TM system tries to find your phone, if it is in Europe it forwards the call to that network. If you don't answer, have your phone off, etc., the call gets forwarded back to TM in the US for a dump to voicemail. Your callers don't actually have to hear your VM to pick up for that to happen. The system is designed to do what it is doing, so that callers to your US number can reach you (or leave you a message) while you are traveling. It's not an "issue" in the sense that it is a problem - it is working as TM designed their interaction with other carriers. It works the same as you were roaming in the US - the difference is in the fact that you get billed for roaming internationally. Most people don't roam internationally, so most reps rarely come across the topic. Does that mean you shouldn't be able to find someone at TM to help you? Of course not. Perhaps a request to speak with technical support (as opposed to regular customer care) may help - ask them how to check to make sure this forwarding is disabled when your roam.

I would suggest the T-Mobile forum at http://www.howardforums.com and do a search there. There are numerous international roamers over there who do what you need to do.

 

The most I've waited to speak to someone in Customer Care, was 5 minutes. The longest I've waited for an e-mail response from T-Mobile, one month.

 

Actually, except for the rep who initially activated my service, the reps who answer customer care e-mails and the sales representatives at the local kiosk, I have not been impressed with representatives at T-Mobile customer care or tech support. I've called them, maybe, 12-15 times regarding issues with my phone and/or account and not one of the representatives I spoke with took the time to actually help me. I basically had to figure it out on my own, which is no biggie to me, MOTOhooligan, but for someone not as obsessed with wireless phones, I'm sure it would be frustrating.

I know that I would never treat anyone who called me that way, yet, for some unknown reason, T-Mobile keeps winning the JD Power and Associates awards for customer service. Maybe I'm just talking to the wrong reps?

 

Domek,

Training reps in any industry is always a challenge because of the turnover. I don't work for TM, so I have no insights on their practices other than those I experience when I call them. You're right though, billing items should be marked as to what is being charged.

 

I was on the phone with customer service today for 45 minutes about the same issue as above. I was in Belgium for 5 days, and I was charged for roaming for 23 calls I never took - anywhere from $0.99 to $5 each, depending on the length of the message left. The callers had just left a voicemail, and as I was told by customer service as well as her supervisor, you are charged whenever somebody calls if they leave a message, even if you don't listen to the voicemail or take the call.

The problem is that this charge was displayed as Vm Retireval on the statements until this month - that's why I think I had never questioned it so far, I just thought I had called to check my voicemail. On this month's statement it shows as an "International Call" to number 805-637-7249, which is T-Mobile's voicemail number (the agent called this the backdoor to their voicemail), which apparently my phone automatically forwards to, whenever I don't take a call.

I also asked for a source where I can see that this is the pricing policy for international use of voicemail, and customer service said there was no source where they could show that, but "it has always been that way".

Checking T-Mobile's website later, I see that it clearly states:
"If you check voice mail from your phone while roaming, you will be charged for roaming and long distance" It doesn't say if you get a voice mail, it says "if you check".

Why is T-Mobile not clearly explaining on its website how it is charging for voice mail? Why do I have to pay for calls I am not taking and not even listening to the message while abroad?

 

I'm certainly not defending T-Mobile's policy, but it has been this way for as long as I can remember, and I've been a customer for 7 years. I think their position is that since they have to forward the call overseas, they charge you a minute roaming just to send the call overseas and back to voicemail even if you don't answer or the phone is off. I think you can have them shut off all forwarding so that doesn't happen, but it's only a temporary solution and I think T-Mobile's systems will turn it back on eventually.

 

Same here and it is the same with Cingular too as well as VZW and the rest. Any way here is the link for the T mo info: http://www.t-mobile.com/templates/faq.aspx?PAsset=Inl_Pop_FAQ#whattoexpectinbill and here is the text for that particular issue (which is part of the Q&A):

What should I expect in my T-Mobile bill?
T-Mobile is committed to providing all the features you depend on, whether you’re traveling overseas or making calls to family and colleagues abroad. International long distance calls made from the US are billed at per-minute rates depending on the country you’re calling; see the rate menu on the International Long Distance Overview page.
Please note these important points about international roaming:

Unless you switch your device off or activate Unconditional Call Forwarding on your device, you will be billed for calls delivered to your voice mail box while you are roaming internationally.
Operator-assisted calls to "0" are billed at the international roaming rate for the country you are in. Calls made from outside the US are covered under roaming rates.
Checking your e-mail or voice mail while roaming incurs charges just as calling does.
Customer Care calls are free from your T-Mobile device, but they incur applicable long distance fees from any other phone.
When you’re roaming, your friends and family can dial you as they normally would and it does not cost them extra to call you. However, Mobile to Mobile minutes are only available on the T-Mobile USA network.
With GPRS-enabled devices, data transmissions, including e-mail and Internet surfing, are billed by volume: $0.01 per KB / $10.24 per MB in Canada, $0.015 per KB / $15.36 per MB in other countries.
E-mails range widely in size; attachments such as photos and documents can be very large, even over 2 MB each. Check the file properties for size before you send the file.
Outgoing text messages are billed at $0.35 per message; incoming messages pull from your feature bucket or are billed at $0.10 each.
If you activated international roaming on your account before November 5, 2001, and do not have WorldClass International Service, you may be on a variable rate plan. Please see the international roaming page for more information.

 

<<N00b Alert>>

I've been nothing but impressed with their CS. I get an answer within a couple of minutes every time I call and I always get a satisfactory answer or resolution. Thus far, they haven't farmed-out their CS where I have to struggle to understand (or be understood by) the rep.

Most notably, the last guy who answered my call regarding my contract status and smartphone comparison was one of the best CS reps I've dealt with in any field.

 

Ah, but our goal is to reduce frustration. I have encountered this issue while traveling internationally but I never really understood it until I read Matt's explanation. As you have found, the 'amateurs' on this board (some of whom are telecom professionals ) are polite, have a desire to help and are smarter than the average bear. It's not surprising at all that a mod on this board can understand and explain an issue better than an average provider CSR.

Yes. Different industries have different standards of customer service. You may remember the old Lilly Tomlin line from the (original) AT&T days. Not as true as it was, but still...

In various rants on this board I have complained about the same sort of robotic behavior and lack of knowledge you have encountered (not with TMo, as it happens). It all comes down to:

money - for what these reps are being paid, it's rare that you will get the intelligence and attention to detail that you expect in your employees.

rules - they have very little flexibility. If they just read off a script it's because they don't have the authority to do more.

training and turnover - as Matt said

company attitude - Some companies see service as a differentiator, some don't. They put a certain amount of effort and resources into customer service, but only if it benefits them. Obviously if they paid their people more, gave them more training and authority, you would be happier. But there is a diminishing cost/benefit (if they double the money they spend, they won't have twice as many happy customers and they will be less profitable). Each company responds to this tradeoff in its own way.

Unfortunately. just because T-Mobile wins awards in comparison to its competition, doesn't mean it will live up to your standards of customer service.

Of course, you should eventually be able to speak to someone who both thinks and who has authority. One tactic that has worked for me is to keep repeating "I'm sorry you have not solved my problem because ..(insert reason here). I need to speak to someone who can." They will keep switching you up the ladder.

The reps are measured on whether (and how quickly) they resolve an issue - not whether you are satisfied. If they give you the answer that's in their script - even if you don't like it - they can mark it as resolved. However, if you say the problem is not resolved and have a reason, they can't just hang up on you. They have to put you through to the next level of support. Just don't expect the kind of thoughtful service you get here.



SW

 

i have never waited for a rep!!!!!

I LOVE T-MOBILE!!!!!!! THEY ARE MY ONE TRUE LOVE!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I love TMobile also, but I would like to see them improve their coverage a little more in PA. As far as their customer service goes, I think they already have an A+ in that department.

 

It really is a crap-shoot as to whether someone will experience problems with CS or not. I have never had any issues with Verizon, T-Mobile, or even Nextel CS, but Cingular has been another story. Yet there are plenty of Cingular customers on this board who've never had any problems with their CS.

No company will be perfect, after all, humans are involved, and wherever you have humans, you have problems...

In the occasional calls I have made to T-Mobile, I've always gotten very friendly, knowledgeable people. If they didn't know the answer, they would either place me on hold to find out or send my to a higher tier-level rep.

Sorry for the problems you've had.

 

yeah coverage can be a problem but its good to know that their are people who genuinely care........or act like they care at the bare minimum.......

yeah........Boost CS sucked like you have n idea......T-Mobile CS was incredible.........Sprint CS........well........they are just really blah and neutral.......and with the few dealings i have had with VZW CS.............it was very good

 

And this is the main point that needs to be remembered by people, yes the CSR's need to be trained on what to do & have the tools available to do their jobs, but as humans we all have bad days, issues, ect... that can effect the call to any one of us at any time.

 

They WIN in my book.

I was just on the phone with Customer Care earlier and waited no more than 20 seconds to speak to someone.

 

That they do. I never wait that long for CS...although the time they take to do research usually takes a lot longer. :browani:

 

All one has to do is look at the AT&T reference in my signature to understand my dealings with Cingular. Even when I called Cingular to finally cancel the service, the CS rep actually thought he could offer me a better deal than the unadvertised $10.99 rate plan I was on. :lmao:

 

T-Mobile wins in all my books......haha..........:lmao:

i love tmobile.......every aspect was very good except the coverage sometimes but when i was at home coverage was fine.......never had to worry about it......

 

According to your profile, you have Sprint...​

So, for the benefit of others reading this thread, I called T-Mobile Customer Care, again this morning, to inquire about a certain business rate plan, the representative indicated that she doesn't get to check information about business plans all that often and sounded very eager and happy to help. She then checked the information and was able to answer my question.

Total wait time to speak to her this morning: 10 seconds.

 

yeah i got Sprint cuz of the SERO plan but T-Mobile was just as good in value as Sprint is........i love T-Mobile better though cuz they had nicer CS......Sprints is kinda zombieish

 

I can tell you that I have encountered more than one rude customer service representative at Verizon Wireless over these past several months.

Since becoming a customer in 2004, everyone I have spoken with at T-Mobile, including twice this week, have been very pleasant and courteous to me.

 

yeah.............i havent talked to a VZW rep in a while..........but T-Mobile has just been great.........

 

Do you have TMobile SmAr?

 

Well, his profile displays that his only carrier is Sprint.

 

i had T-Mobile for a year and a half and i loved it.........but i switched to Boost in hope that i would save money........but spending money on prepaid was too addicting after having a plan for 1 1/2 years.............so i ended up switching to Sprint in November 2006

i didnt switch back to T-Mobile because i was gonna wait for them to complete UMTS rollout and Sprint had SERO and Sprint has better coverage than T-Mobile right now as it is............but i still love T-Mobile because they have much better value than any other carrier and working with a CSR was very easy