T-Mobile

My wife has had a T-​Mobile Prepaid account for over a year. She’s never had any issues with the account and gets good coverage, etc. Until recently, my mobile plan was through my employer, but after I was laid-​off, I decided to go with T-​Mobile as well.
Last week we decided to combine our plans into a Regular No-​Credit Family Plan. As far as that goes, the staff at this T-​Mobile store delivered, but not without considerable provocation. The staff looked at us like second-​class citizens when we said that we wanted to the no-​credit option; that we didn’t even want a soft credit check; and that, yes, we were willing to pay a flat deposit. We both have have paid-​in-​full, unlocked iPhones. We will continue to buy our phones unsubsidized, so we weren’t interested in the sales-​pitch that we could set up payment plans for future devices if we took the credit-​based plan.
When the staff-​member helping us told us that we would get the deposit back in one years time, another staff-​member rudely piped in, «Yeah, well,» rolling his eyes, «But, you can’t even be a day late on the payment or you have to wait another year.» They said everything and anything they could to dissuade us from taking the no-​credit option. When it was clear that we weren’t budging, the staff-​member helping us said that because of the way that a prepaid number has to be transferred to a no-​credit plan, it might take 24 hours. «Are you okay with having a temporary number that may become permanent? These transfers rarely work.» Another staff-​member agreed, «Yeah, you probably won’t get to keep your number. 90% chance you won’t.»
We said fine, still go ahead with the no-​credit plan. After this, several other staff-​members looked kind of disgusted (eyebrows raised, smirking, shaking their heads) about the whole affair. We left feeling like we’d just had to pull teeth to get a widely advertised service. We had our phones and temporary, maybe permanent, numbers; but we didn’t know whether we should tell people we had temporary numbers now or just assume we’d be unreachable for a couple of days, whether we’d have to alert all our contacts to the number change later. Of course, we were told that a number transfer request had been submitted and that if we didn’t get a notification in 24 hours it hadn’t worked.
48 hours later I called T-​Mobile Support. The support person told me that no such transfer had been submitted; that there was no special request that had to be made for prepaid to no-​credit; and that a number transfer should only ever take two hours maximum, but it usually happens immediately. He did it for both my wife and I within the space of ten minutes over the phone, something the staff at this location were totally equipped to do.
I’m pissed. I was misled, whether deliberately or through ignorance. IThey tried to pressure and shame us into submitting to a credit check, when T-​Mobile markets the hell out of their no-​credit plans! Is that just to appease the masses who’d like to think T-Mobile’s a forward –thinking, customer-​oriented company? 90% chance it won’t work? Yeah, because you either didn’t submit a request and never intended to; or you have no idea what your doing. I was unreachable for two days and it was entirely unnecessary. What a bunch of bull.
Both my wife and I were please with T-Mobile’s telephone support, but we will never darken the doorway of this particular T-​Mobile location again. Let’s hope the locations at Lehigh Valley Mall and South Mall treat their customers better or we may be moving to another service.
Here’s an idea. If your customers come in knowing exactly what they want, just give them what they want. If you need to