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By Eliminating Bullshit, T-Mobile has Won Loyalty and $$$

Posted by Matt Birchler
— 2 min read

T-Mobile added 2.2 million new customers in the first quarter of 2016 and increased revenue by over 10%. Not a bad start to the year for the company, and CEO John Legere is characteristically excited about it.

“I can’t think of a better way to start off 2016 than by capturing all of the industry’s postpaid phone growth – again!” said John Legere, President and CEO of T-Mobile. “Our model is working and the business momentum is accelerating across the board. Customers are joining the Un-carrier revolution and that is producing incredible financial results. A winning formula for customers and TMUS shareholders!”

T-Mobile has been pitching themselves as the "Un-carrier" for a few years now, and Legere's bravado aside, the company does seem to be reaping the rewards of their aggressive campaign.

I originally jumped on board with T-Mobile a few years ago as a way to save some money and upgrade my phone faster than Verizon allowed. After a few years with them, I can say that I'm still quite happy with the move and am not looking to switch carriers any time soon. As far as pricing goes, I don't think I'm saving much money by being on T-Mobile compared to what I would be investing in Verizon, AT&T, or Sprint if I moved to one of them.

Where I do see a big advantage with T-Mobile, and I'm sure John Legere would appreciate this part, is the lack of bullshit I feel like I'm getting from T-Mobile whenever I deal with them. I feel like I understand the terms of my agreement (not a contract, they'd like me to make clear) with them, which is something I've never really had with the other carriers I've used.

I know what each part of my bill is for.

I know when I can upgrade my phone and how much it will cost.

I know what features are available to me and how much they will cost.

I know how to change the details of my plan at any time, and don't get push back from them when I try to switch to a slightly cheaper plan1.

Finally, I know they really mean unlimited when you get the unlimited data plan. I used over 20GB per month most of last year and never got throttled or received any warning messages from them saying I should slow down.

With all that said, I'm not surprised that T-Mobile is seeing continued growth, I think they deserve it. Legere can be a little bit of a handful sometimes and I do wish my coverage was a little more reliable outside in some areas, but as it stands now, the lack of bullshit I'm getting from T-Mobile makes me pretty confident I'm going to continue being a customer for the foreseeable future.


  1. I recently switched from unlimited data to 6GB/month, saving $10 and they never said "ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO DO THAT?"