T-Mobile loses "Even More" customers in Q3

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Here at BGR we love the underdog, so we are a little disappointed to have to tell you about the latest figures coming out of the T-Mobile camp. T-Mobile released their Q3 numbers today and suffered a net loss of 77,000 subscribers, with 140,000 customers packing up their number and shacking up with another carrier. Compare the loss with the 325,000 subscribers it gained in Q2 of this year or the 670,000 it gained in Q3 of last year, and, well ouch; it would appear as though T-Mo’s momentum might be slowing. The profits also shrunk a bit, in Q2 T-Mo posted a $425 million profit while in Q3 that number shrank to $417 million. So, will the new “Even More” plans, Android handsets, and new BlackBerry smartphones be enough to get T-Mobile back on track for Q4? Or will the comparatively meek holiday lineup make for a flat Q4? We’ll find out.Read

85 Comments
  • Daniel Banks

    When i have a problem with t-mobile ill leave them, until then im staying…i live in L.A. and i have no problem whats so ever…
    alright fuc#e%s hahaha

  • Da Troof

    Well people should catch on eventually: 2nd grade network and coverage + expensive handsets + insignificant differnce in pricing = Bye Bye T-Mobile and hello Sprint Verizon and ATT

  • Ashish Agarwal

    I think I know the answer. The reason is that T-mobile aren’t really negotiating these days. I have been a customer of T-mobile for past 5 years now. I love T-mobile because it is better than AT&T. AT&T has several problems – calls get dropped mysteriously, plans are expensive with very little anytime minutes. In metro cities, every other service provider is present while in rural or semi-urban areas, both AT&T and T-mobile seem to be absent.

    During my 5 years of loyalty, I had several occasions where I could have switched service providers every year but I did not as I just enjoyed my $39.99 – 1000 minutes promo plan. I have got free phones (decent enough) every year when they were not giving for existing customers. Now irrespective of whether I will leave or not, they will just not bring down the phone price even though I am ready to settle with a 2-yr contract. They should thing more in terms of cash flow from a good paying customer rather than a new customer where attrition rate will be higher.

  • Pamela

    Hey everyone I just read an article on here the other day that Sprint maybe taking over TMobile. So we all will see how this goes. And just a few months ago, I was reading TMobile wanted to take over Sprint but they changed their mind.

    • ItsMichaelNotMike

      It’s the other way around, T-Mobile may take over Sprint. That’s the rumor that’s been floating around.

      The issue is that Sprint is going bust and needs a savior. But the rumor and gossip mill also say that T-Mobile is not interested in Sprint, then they are, then back to they are not.

      So who knows.

  • Amy

    I agree with Ashish Agarwal, T-Mobile does not care if their customers leave. My sidekick has been a nightmare so I purchased a new one 3 months ago at their advice. Now the new one is also a nightmare, and my only options were to get ANOTHER crappy sidekick or to purchase a G1/Cliq/Touch or other phone for $200 more out of pocket. They would NOT BUDGE. My sidekick deleted photos, drops called, won’t make calls, turns off, and deletes contacts whenever it feels like it. My only free option (other than some crappy flip phone) was another Sidekick. I got the discounted rate for a new phone but they would not give it for free, despite the fact that I only used the new Sidekick for 3 months and I got it to “solve” some problems with my old one.

    The rep literally told me “we wish you luck with whichever provider you choose”.

    I ended up biting the bullet and getting the Cliq, because my monthly plan with T-Mobile is half of what it would be with Verizon. Still, I can’t help but feel cheated.

    • ItsMichaelNotMike

      Well that seems an odd response by a T-Mobile rep because I have always had them make attempts to stop my leaving when I threaten to do so.

      But I am considered a big paying customer ($30,000 in payments, all made on time). If you have a lousy payment history with them and/or don’t spend much (most Sidekick users are teens or college “kids”) they are known to not give a rip about your business.

      Plus it sounds like the rep knew, for whatever reason, that you were “easy,” that in the end you would just buy another phone rather than leave T-Mobile. Turns out he was right.

      Also, if the phones were defective why didn’t you make a warranty claim? Seems odd you would not do that.

  • http://www.t-mobilemorons.com Unhappy in T-mobile Land

    I’ve been a T-mobile Sidekick user for years, but that’s about to change. The Sidekick has had serious security flaws and this recent outage was the result of incompetence at Danger/Microsoft/T-mobile. Now it turns out that there was a data theft at T-mobile and customers’ private data was sold in black market transactions.
    They frustrated me to the point that I created a website called t-mobilemorons.com . While all the CSRs I spoke to there are “nice” they seem to be either not able or not allowed to fix any problem that they don’t have a script for.
    The mangement and excutives at T-mobile need to be held up to public scorn and ridicule. Then maybe they’ll get their act together.

  • Thinks the T is Doomed

    50% of the coverage T-Mobile uses for phone service is roaming. The 3G is worse than ATT. The sidekick and its sidekick services is very much out dated. The cash flow of the company is very tight taking out more and more loans to try to make a showing of 3G while DT is starting to demand dividend or capital contribution. And these new rate plan offers are in most ways more expensive. Glad I’m not with them anymore as a customer. Wouldn’t invest or work for them either– if you do sell your DT stock and start looking for another job before 3Q 2010. For all others, good luck!

  • Bill Berry

    Does anybody know who T-Mobile talked to in “America” about these new plans? It was called Project Dark; yes? My family and I have been with T-Mobile 12 years and up to just a couple of months ago, we had exemplary customer service, outstanding technical support and today; I’m redirected overseas and it takes an act of God to get them to re-direct me back to technical support and anybody who speaks in clear English and isn’t feeding me a line of crap. That said, I think T-Mobile has the most to gain with it’s data service and if it can deliver on the speeds their promising, they might have last laugh. Okay; moving on to their plans…MyFaves was a good gig; why they gave it up, I don’t know. It doesn’t matter if you’re VW, AT&T or TM; the game has zero to do with voice plans; it’s data, data, data and Unlimited isn’t unlimited and for those of us who have grandfathered plans; what on earth could they offer us to make us give up $2.99 and $5.99 T-Mobile Web? What would possess me to pay $19 more a month each on 5 lines? I have MyFaves Family 1800, Unlimited Text for Family and T-Mobile Web; again what would possess me to give that up? I save $95 a month on my plan and let’s be real, it’s either Even More or Even More Plus; either contract or no contract and what pisses me off about what they’ve done is how the brain trust at TM and DC think we’re stupid enough to fall for it and how they implemented it; on the fly. Information via Customer Service didn’t jive with their website; and worse, their employees were not prepared to tell us the truth about the pros and cons of the new plans. Finally, my pet peeve with them is this notion that if we buy a smart phone from them, we must mandatory select not the data plan I have now, T-Mobile Web but Unlimited Smart Phone Web and they both are the same. Yet, there is no mention anywhere on their website or in their Terms & Conditions defining what makes Unlimited Web different than Unlimited T-Zones aka T-Mobile Web once the proxy was no longer required for customers who had the good sense to jump on board early and saw where TM and other providers we’re going; data! That’s where the money is and for the life of me why can’t they simply level with us and be up front with us about their service. When did 5GB become unlimited data use? My favorite question; is that 5 gigabytes or gigabits or does it really matter! Personally, Unlimited minutes; whoop dee do! It didn’t occur to them I could wait until 9 pm local time or the weekend to accomplish the same task or better, use Skype and Wi-Fi or tether my cell to my computer; oh that’s right, we can’t anymore, but it’s okay to charge us $19 more a month for the internet and why? 3G, 4G, HSDPA+…faster speeds means more data usage, if for no other reason than its faster; right? I’m reminded how often really smart people don’t know anything about common sense. Project Dark! Yep! Mostly between their ears!

  • T Mobile needs Better Phones

    I’ve been reading, and I’ve come to believe what T Mobile’s greatest problem is the fact that they treat existing customers worse than they do new ones. A clear example of that problem originates from their horrible choice of phones of existing customers compared to the selection of phones for new customers. Just recently while I extending my contract and updating a new phone, I looked at what they had for the “existing” customers and then for what they had for the new customers. The same phone $100+ for existing customers was completely FREE for new customers, no difference just FREE. FREE, I don’t know why such difference exists when in reality, it should be opposite. Now I do understand that they might need to have some nice offers to lure new customers, but should they not have equal deals for customers already loyal to them??? From merely phones, existing customers can decide to leave T Mobile for maybe At&t that already has a better phone selection for new and existing customers, not just only new ones.

    • Cranky

      I so agree “TMobile needs Better Phones”..It seems TMobile is behind when it comes to new,nicer phones than the other companys..they trying with the My Touch and the Blackberry but still the other companies have the upper hand…And YES!!! Tmobile sucks in that they give these GREAT offers for new customers but for us existing costumers we get NOTHING!We get crappy offers, & I love TMobile I’ve been with them 10+ yrs but I wish they would consider their loyal customer more when it comes to up-grading our phones.

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