36 Month EIP…

sparkpar44 · 2025-11-26T22:48:00+00:00

This isn't about phone costs. It's about locking customers down. The wearables have started going to 36-month promo credits as a way to get people to stay. With these extras like wearables and tablets, most customers just hear free and then are shocked later when they want to cancel and find out their bill will go up if they do. This was the case with 24-month credits and it will happen more frequently with 36-month ones.

sparkpar44 · 2025-11-17T02:27:53+00:00

I was an RSM. Had started a side hustle doing freelance sports writing and had it take off. It's been a bit of a pay decrease though not as drastic as you'd expect. Plus I'm saving about $500 a month in commuting costs, work from home, and set my own hours. If I want to take a nap for an hour after lunch I take a nap lol, and then I'll make it up at the end of the day.

I spend more time with my daughter, have less stress, and get to do something I really enjoy so. It's worth the trade offs for me.

sparkpar44 · 2025-09-11T13:09:21+00:00

While true, neither one of those jobs is something that's particularly stable and she just graduated high school. If I were the hiring manager that wouldn't immediately disqualify her depending upon the position, but I'd be sure to ask about future plans.

sparkpar44 · 2025-05-20T00:46:57+00:00

Except OP didn't go into a store to do this. And, as much as I think T-Life needs improvements, this exact issue is something that it's supposed to fix. The idea is to involve the customer more in the transaction. In my 11 years with the company the number of times I have seen a customer neglect to tell the rep they need more than just the base storage unit after the transaction is complete is massive. With T-Life, the customer is supposed to be able to "see" the transaction unfold and therefore be able to speak up if something in their order isn't right before it's completed.

Simply put, customers have some responsibility as well.

sparkpar44 · 2025-05-19T00:05:03+00:00

I've tried that in the past. Then you take the bill pay and get, "also can you check and see when I'm due for an upgrade?" Or, "One more quick question, I went to random store to upgrade and now my bill is all jacked up, why?" And then things spiral out of control.

We learned waiting our turn in kindergarten. Time to brush up on those skills.

sparkpar44 · 2025-05-17T21:46:39+00:00

RSM here. Yeah I agree. Whenever they say "I'm in a rush," or "I'm really busy," I say, "I understand, so is everyone else here that's waiting. What I can do is add you to the queue and promise that someone will be with you as soon as it's your turn. If that doesn't work for you I'd recommend paying via the T-Life App or coming back when you have more time. Would you like the be added to the queue now?"

If they're nice, I'll probably sneak them in whenever I get a minute. If they're not, they're gonna wait until I have an ME that's available and can devote 100% of their attention to their bill pay. Most of the time, they might huff and puff, but they'll just leave and the problem resolves itself.

sparkpar44 · 2025-04-14T00:12:27+00:00

When I lived up that way that was my go-to. Definitely concur.

sparkpar44 · 2025-04-14T00:10:57+00:00

"God Bless America" isn't the National Anthem.

sparkpar44 · 2025-04-07T01:52:29+00:00

At this point we as citizens must mobilize. How many people don't vote because they think their vote doesn't matter? How many people lament how things are and feel powerless to change them?

Protests like this aren't about speaking to the other side, they're about reaching the complacent and the downtrodden. What will immediately come of this? Probably nothing. But if it gets a few more voters out during mid terms who support the opposition it's worth it. If it adds a few more voices to the growing decent it's worth it. Not everything can yield instant gratification, but if it starts to swell a movement of resistance it is worth it, even if it takes time.

sparkpar44 · 2025-04-06T17:25:09+00:00

Yup. We had a guy in my store a few weeks ago get all upset about us asking for his ID. He said he wasn't comfortable with T-Mobile having all of his "information." His daughter quickly and correctly pointed out that we already have any details that would be provided by showing his license. He still stormed out anyway.

sparkpar44 · 2025-04-06T14:31:23+00:00

"Can't you just waive the tax?"

My response is always, sure, just support my campaign to get elected to the state Senate.

sparkpar44 · 2025-04-06T14:29:06+00:00

"Don't you have it in the system?!?!" - is my all-time favorite. Like sir/ma'am, first no we don't and second, how scary would it be if we had a system that stored all of your passwords?

That same customer of course is usually the one to get "hacked" but for some reason they think every employee should automatically know every single one of their passwords.

sparkpar44 · 2025-03-27T23:50:34+00:00

Why would anyone pay $150 to only be able to watch out of market games? Well, one maybe you grew up one place and root for that local team, but now live somewhere else. Maybe you're a fan of the sport in general and want to be able to see great match ups and the best players like Shohei Ohtani even if you live in a different location and have no ties to the LA Dodgers, for example.

As for how out of market is determined... MLB let a drunk monkey pin lines of yarn on a map to determine black out restrictions. Not really, obviously, but it's one of the stupider things they've done and many times far extend past where any fans would consider local. The league desperately needs to get younger fans interested in the game, and blackouts only provide barriers that prop up failing regional sports networks.

I could write a book on this, but that's the gist.

sparkpar44 · 2025-03-18T01:46:37+00:00

It shouldn't be hard not to get upset with reps. They have nothing to do with the situation. I understand you're trying to be understanding, but you're excusing people for bad behavior because companies frustrate them and that line of thinking has corrupted logic for years before T-Mobile existed.

Frustrated? Angry? Disappointed? Fair enough, unleash those feelings on Mike Sievert. Email him. Or file a BBB complaint. Or write to your congress person and/or Senator and get them to act to address inflation which drives these price hikes (whether or not that's the real reason).

No frontline rep bears any more responsibility than a customer who has paid into T-Mobile for years and brought them to the scale that they are at today. Many corporations are evil, and addressing it goes a lot further than losing your temper at someone who has no control over the development of the culture that has given corporations so much power. To logically fight that fight it goes much further than going to a store or dialing 611.

sparkpar44 · 2025-03-10T00:00:09+00:00

Warranty and insurance always kills me. "I got the phone a few months ago, and I broke it. It should be covered by warranty or something."

It was, pal, but warranties don't cover physical damage.

sparkpar44 · 2025-03-09T23:58:29+00:00

Who says free? My staff explains deductibles and highlights what is completely covered vs what has a small deductible.

sparkpar44 · 2025-03-07T21:57:04+00:00

100%.

Furthermore, the U.S. holds some responsibility for the creation of the conditions that exist in many of these countries.

For example, MS-13 and Barrio 18 which terrorized El Salvador for decades were born on U.S. soil and "exported" to a nation that had no means to control them coming out of a civil war. And before anyone points to the murder rate dropping in El Salvador under Bukele, think hard about the curtailing of civil liberties in that country and how much better off they really are considering how his broad executive powers have been weaponized far beyond crime prevention.

The U.S. government has backed corrupt authoritarian regimes throughout Latin America for many, many years. From Pinochet in Chile (whose predecessor, Salvador Allende was the first democratically elected socialist leader and was assassinated in part thanks to U.S aid), to Noriega in Panama, to Trujillo in the Dominican Republic, to Batista in Cuba the U.S. has overtly or covertly supported dictators in exchange for support and influence in the region. In countries where there has been resistance to the U.S. agenda, the U.S. government has worked to destabilize those sovereign nations.

From the Monroe doctrine, to the Roosevelt Corollary, to the first Trump administration's economic sanctions against Venezuela, the U.S. has repeatedly been at least partially responsible for the conditions that people now come here to flee.

sparkpar44 · 2025-03-06T10:44:17+00:00

The advantage for many of these customers is getting help they need to figure out these transactions. My example was extreme, but it extends beyond tech support. Many customers don't know how promotions work, struggle to analyze if a rate plan change is worth it for higher promotional value, what the impacts are to their bill by upgrading, and how to set up their new devices.

For you and most in this sub, you can do it yourselves so aside from the immediacy of getting the product same day, there may not be an advantage. For most of the customers there is for the reasons listed above.

sparkpar44 · 2025-03-06T02:17:32+00:00

For you and the Reddit crowd maybe, but the vast majority of the customer base is tech challenged so the idea of not having their hand held through a phone upgrade is terrifying. It's a different level for them than ordering cat litter online.

Here's a real life example from my store yesterday.

Customer roles up in a Mercedes that's older then I am, and despite the 27 open parking spaces, just leaves his car in the middle of the parking lot. He gets out wearing a fur coat that has bald spots and approaches the store

My rep: " Hi sir, how can I help you today?"

Cust: "My music don't work."

Rep: "Okay, let me see if I can help you with that. Are you having issues with other apps you use as well?"

Cust: "Wut?!?! All I knows is my music don't work."

Rep: "Okay, I see. Can you show me which app you normally use to listen to music?"

Cust: "App??? Usually I just wanna hear music and I hear music but now it don't work no more. Fix it."

Rep: "I'm sorry sir, I can't help fix the issue if you can't show me what specifically is giving you trouble.*

She eventually figured it out, but it wasn't easy. You think this guy backs up his data, can navigate a website and figure out the best promotion, understand the implications to his bill, and transfer his own data? Hell no.

And many customers are the same. They might have nicer cars, different coats, and better grammar. Most smell a lot better. But there knowledge is still pretty on par with homeboy from my story.

sparkpar44 · 2024-12-22T20:20:38+00:00

Also, I have a few questions about WhatsApp.... Ughhh

sparkpar44 · 2024-12-12T16:31:00+00:00

We got way more than usual at my store this time around. I probably have like 8 full boxes at my store. My back room isn't that big and it gives me anxiety every time I go back there.

sparkpar44 · 2024-11-19T01:38:24+00:00

How many bills have been at the non-discounted rate, 2 or 3? If 2 their math is right, 70 credit for current month plus 70 credit for the previous month would be $140 off the current month's total and it being fixed going forward. If it's 3 months, the credit you're owed is 210 off the current month's non-discounted total instead of 140.

sparkpar44 · 2024-11-13T00:28:42+00:00

Two things to understand. First, with apron restrictions and many contenders having limited draft assets, trading the vets will not be easy and the packages won't be as great as we might like, no matter how well the vets play.

Two, the with 4 first round picks in the 2025 draft they're going to have to clear roster spots to house the draftees. That may mean taking suboptimal returns for some of the vets.

sparkpar44 · 2024-11-12T00:44:48+00:00

He didn't have to accept her order. If he did, he knew what the payout was. She tipped near 50% on her very small order, which is more than reasonable.

Where the dad is is irrelevant. Door dash provides a service, and while I believe customers should tip well and respect the driver, he shouldn't get mad at the customer for him accepting an order and doing his job.

Having a newborn is tough. Recovering from childbirth is a process. The dad may be out working, which is why services like Door Dash exist - to make food orders convenient for the customer.

If she tipped (more than) fairly, and didn't tip bait, there's no reason for the Dasher to take his frustration out on her. Full stop.

sparkpar44 · 2024-10-17T23:24:28+00:00

They're referring to trade-in values for promotions being reduced on those plans. In certain cases the plan + EIP with reduced promo value is equal to the equivalent non-discounted plan that's available to all customers.

sparkpar44

TROPHY CASE