Getting an iPhone meant I’d be leaving tmobile after four years of service, and I re-upped my contract last year for a blackberry pearl, so unfortunately that also meant I’d get hit with a $200 contract charge. Today I called to cancel and I knew it might be painful so I decided to record it. The total call was 12 minutes long, about half of that spent with a retention specialist. The best part of the call was both the first support rep and the retention guy saying “you got an iPhone! how is it?” and sounding genuinely interested.
Here’s the part of the recording where the retention guy comes on (he starts with a bit of iPhone FUD, then gives offers):
[mp3]http://images.metafilter.com/iphone.mp3[/mp3]
He gives me the following offers:
- $299 for a Tmobile Wing (“more compatible, more features than the iPhone”)
- 1 month of free service
- transfer phone to someone else
- monthly service reduced from $59/mo to $20/mo
A Whole Lotta Nothing 
“Monthly service reduced from $59/mo to $20/mo.”
Wow, where did that come from? The other offers are just not-even-trying silly, then they offer nearly $500/year in savings? I wonder if they’d discount your current rate plan or switch you to some stripped-down minimal plan.
I don’t have an iPhone, but I might have to try convincing them that I do.
LikeLike
I’m trying to work out the subset of people who bought an iPhone on the weekend of its release, knowing that it would mean changing providers and paying the contract extortion fee, and who’d change their minds on cancelling because it takes a couple of presses to make a call.
“Oh, you know I just laid out $600 and signed a fat two-year contract with AT&T, but three presses to make a call is a deal-breaker.”
(I just had a fun half-hour with CingulAT&T, after finding out that an earlier sales rep flat-out lied to me and that everyone at the end of the line disclaimed any responsibility for their colleagues. Oh, for T-Mob to operate in this state.)
LikeLike
“Would you be interested in continuing service if we did ___?”
“No.”
“Was that a yes?”
“No.”
Wow.
LikeLike
Hilarious. I’m totally going to try and get my monthly t-mo rate reduced. Thanks!
LikeLike
I wonder if they’d discount your current rate plan or switch you to some stripped-down minimal plan.
I’m guessing it was a no-data plan, which would be kind of pointless for a blackberry.
LikeLike
You’ve got to hand it to the guy, though–he never lost his cool, and even after you had finalized the cancellation he was nice enough to pretend to be American (e.g., “The nye Mets are my favorite squadron!”). And I’m with shoepal–it sounds like it’s time to look into a significant discount on my t-mobile service.
LikeLike
That actually sounded way easier than I would have expected. He was persistent, but I guess that’s his job.
Isn’t there a service out there that will match people looking to get out of their contract with people willing to take it over? I’m blanking on the name.
LikeLike
Matt, just activating your iPhone should have canceled your T-Mo account, unless you didn’t port but got a new number?
LikeLike
What kind of plan were they offering you for $20 a month?
LikeLike
I really enjoyed listening to this.
LikeLike
This reminds me of my only regret about switching from T-Mobile to Cingular a couple of years ago, the customer service was always outstanding. Even when I was leaving they were nothing but nice and courteous. Unfortunately they never had any good phones.
LikeLike
Would taking the $20/month and running out the life of your account been cheaper than the cancellation fee?
LikeLike