A great experience with a mobile carriers customer service? You bet!

At the end of last week on Friday, I decided that I wanted to contact T-Mobile and request an unlock code for my device. For those that don't know, when you purchase a new phone from any carrier (T-Mobile, AT&T, etc), that phone is 'Locked' so that it can only be used on that particular network provider. When the phone is 'Unlocked', you can put any carrier SIM card in it and as long as the phone has the required frequency bands that your provider needs, it should work flawlessly. Anyone can contact costumer support for their network and request an unlock code, however there are certain requirements before they'll give that to you. They are all different so I suggest looking on their website if you are interested.

Now, I have heard horror stories about AT&T taking weeks to give unlock codes to people. On T-Mobile's website, it even stated that it could be 2-3 business days, so I was not expecting anything to happen overnight. However, that is exactly what happened. The woman I talked to was extremely nice and at the end of our conversation stated that I would be getting an email with unlocking instructions in the next few days. The very next day, I received an email with an unlock code and instructions on how to use it. I could not be happier with how easy and hassle free T-Mobile made it to unlock my G2. The Un-Carrier is easily continuing to make strides in the mobile world.

T-Mobile ending company discounts?!

(T-Mobile CEO John Legere)

In the past year, T-Mobile CEO John Legere has been making huge strides to shake up the wireless industry and to once again make T-Mobile a very serious wireless contender. It first started with him ending the two year contract. Don't like the service they provide? Feel free to leave whenever you want with no early termination fee (if you financed a phone however, there will still be a balance you'll need to pay). They also set lose the early upgrade feature where you can upgrade your device every six months if you want (they changed it to once the device is half paid you can upgrade). 

All these changes have been great for the customer. It seemed that finally a wireless provider was listening to their customers wants and not just deciding what they were. Then came news a few days ago, that they were going to do away with company discounts. This meant, that if your work had a deal with T-Mobile that offered a discount off of your monthly bill, that would no longer be in affect. What they would offer instead was a $25 discount when buying a new phone. Why make this change you ask? 

"The old programs were designed to help big carriers close big corporate contracts, with employees as bargaining chips.  We aren’t playing that game anymore.  This change is about simplifying wireless for everyone … including employees of small and large companies alike." -John Legere

This was the first time that a T-Mobile change did not sit well with me; but it wasn't just me. The internet was abuzz with people on Twitter and Facebook saying that they would leave T-Mobile if they were to do this. Luckily, T-Mobile is one of the few companies that actually listen to their customers. In an updated blog post, John Legere announced that "Everyone enrolled in the Advantage Program or who applied to enroll before April 1st will be able to keep a rate plan discount as long as they work at a participating employer and remain on a qualifying plan." Once again they listened to their customers and decided not to go through with it. However, new customers will no longer get the employee discount, but will get the $25 discount on a new phone.