Mystery shopper: T-Mobile customer service, Christmas shopping – The best PAYG phones
Our mystery shopper turns to the mobile networks for help when choosing a Christmas present for a teenage relative.
For more details on our mystery shopping series, including the questions we ask, the dream response to our customer service query, and a run down of how T-Mobile compared to the competition, head over to our summary page.
It took a little while to get through T-Mobile’s automated system and hold music but once did I was greeted by a lovely lady who seemed delighted to hear from me and was very eager to help.
I explained the situation and she asked me if I was after PAYG or contract deal and checked what my budget was. Armed with my answers she called up a list of suitable phones and then asked me if there were any particular features I was after.
I said ideally I was looking for a touchscreen phone and she said she would have a look.
Building a rapport
She came back with the T-Mobile Rapport saying it was one of the most popular devices at that price range. It had a touchscreen and ran on the Android operating system, meaning it would be able to download apps.
She went through the features and explained the benefits of Android well, before telling me that the Rapport was available for a budget-friendly £60.
She next picked out the Samsung Galaxy Mini, after she’d first warned me that it was a little out of my price range but was still worth considering. This cost £100 but was apparently very good value, and was better quality than the cheaper handset.
More suggestions
She then gave me some further options, starting with the Samsung Monte Slider. This was more basic than the Galaxy Mini and was available for the bargain basement price of £50.
Next up was the Samsung Ch@t 335. This cost £70 and was a good choice ‘because it looks like a BlackBerry’. She said she liked the look of the Ch@t and pointed out that the full Qwerty keyboard would make it easier to type out text messages but I wasn’t convinced.
With lots to consider I said I’d have to have a think about it and she gracefully let me go without any attempts to close a sale saying ‘any questions, don’t hesitate to give us a call back’.
T-Mobile summary
A great performance from the rep from T-Mobile. She was friendly, asked pertinent questions, provided a lot of alternative phones and didn’t get bogged down trying to close the deal.
She not only understood my situation and tried to help, but she was pleasant in the process.
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Steve
I have been with t mobile since September 2010 it started well but when there was a problem with my phone the fun started. I took my phone battery and back into the shop in Manchester and when repair came back it was without battery and back. It turns out that the member of staff should not have taken the battery and back but t mobile customer service was very poor and not willing to sort the problem out at all wanting me to buy the missing parts. I have just this week received a letter wanting to increase my bill when it is due to end in August this year anyway again this does not look like good business sense I thought when you sign a 24 month contract it should stay the same and any increase should be when you come to upgrade.
Matthew Bonner
I’ve found the T-Mobile shops (which aren’t in fact T-Mobile but a company paid by T-Mobile to represent them) provide a very poor user experience. They annoy the hell out of me, charge me for items that T-Mobile then reimburses me for in my bill and it is always the same in the T-Mobile shops up and down the country.
Yet you phone T-Mobile, and after wrestling with the “press 1 for” system (which you used to be able to skip by pressing 0 three times but this trick no longer works), a friendly customer services person answers the phone, is very well trained, knowledgeable, listens to you and even in some cases I’ve found us breaking into a conversation and telling jokes.
So verdict, the shops are very poor, the call centres are the best I’ve ever had to deal with.