T-Mobile needs to take a stand against a compensation system that rewards reps for ripping off customers
Folks, the time has come for T-Mobile to be the brash Un-carrier it once really was and change the industry for the better once again. What is currently taking place in the wireless industry hurts consumers and gives wireless firms a bad reputation and that even goes for T-Mobile.
Current T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert on the left, the man he replaced, John Legere, is on the right
So of course, when he received his phones, the package included a $19.99 Samsung charger he didn’t order, and he also discovered that he was on the hook for insurance he didn’t order for his four devices costing him an additional $19 per line per month. Again, these are items that he made it clear he didn’t want at the time he placed the order.
Not only is this done to improve the rep’s metrics, it is also done to improve the size of his paycheck. You see, simply selling a customer that new phone he wants is not going to put food on the table and pay the bills. The reps are financially rewarded for selling additional items such as insurance, accessories, cases, chargers, and more. Between the pressure to keep their jobs by meeting the unrealistic metric targets placed on them by headquarters, and the pressure to make a living, reps are likely to add bogus items to a customer’s order and hope that the customer simply doesn’t notice, or they collect the extra commission while the carrier slowly investigates the customer’s complaint.
Wireless reps are now less trustworthy than used car salesmen
While I reiterate that this is happening to all major wireless firms and not just T-Mobile, it is time for T-Mobile to take a stand like it used to and change how the industry pays the reps who are, after all, the first employees of a wireless firm to interact with customers. I don’t pretend to know exactly how to shake up the current system but wireless employees should not be so worried about not making enough money to live on that they are willing to take actions that damage their customers.
What T-Mobile needs to do is something it has done before. Blow up the compensation system and replace it with one that doesn’t force employees to cheat their customers. Hold an Un-carrier event to announce the new system and watch as the other carriers fall into line. As it stands right now, wireless reps are considered less trustworthy than used car salesmen.
