Wait…is T-Mobile The Grinch? The beloved wireless firm that was once dead last out of the four major U.S. carriers started a major turnaround in September 2012 when it named John Legere CEO. Legere was unlike any other chief executive with his rock-star long hair, his daily wardrobe which was more Walmart than Wall Street, and his ability to go after rivals without stopping to filter his comments.
Legere started to implement services and features such as Netflix on US and
T-Mobile Tuesdays. He also got rid of two-year contracts, and blew up subsidized phone pricing, and with his consumer-first attitude,
T-Mobile became the fastest-growing and most innovative wireless provider in the country. And while
T-Mobile still reports strong numbers each quarter, things have not been the same since Legere’s departure in April 2020.
Forget that we’ve passed along several stories about
T-Mobile reps refusing to sell phones to customers unless accessories are added to the order (many times without the consent of the customer!).
Forget about the harsh metrics system that practically demands that
T-Mobile reps add new lines, phone cases, screen protectors, charging bricks, and insurance to orders without the consent or knowledge of the customer.
Is T-Mobile The Grinch? | Image credit-Gemini
No, this is even worse.
According to a post on social media,
T-Mobile took the joy of Christmas away from a young lad. The father of this child is a
T-Mobile subscriber who decided to buy his kid a new phone for Christmas. But the surprise was ruined as
T-Mobile let the cat out of the bag. The father was approached by his son who said that he knew what his Christmas gift was because
T-Mobile texted him and asked whether he wanted to purchase a case for his new phone.
While this mistake is not as egregious as other things that T-Mobile has been accused of doing, it does represent how bad things seem to occur when a company is more focused on making sales than on pleasing customers. Think about it. Because T-Mobile wanted to add an accessory to the purchase of a new phone, it gave away the father’s attempt to surprise his son with a new handset which would have been an amazing moment for both of them and one that both might have remembered for a long time.
For this father and son, T-Mobile stole Christmas. Ironically, we’re not the first to call T-Mobile The Grinch. In April 2021, DISH chairman Charles Ergen said that the carrier was The Grinch for shutting down Sprint’s older CDMA network.
