T-Mobile is about to become unrecognizable, and you need to prepare accordingly
The "un-carrier" is about to become a company that you'll barely recognize, and you better start preparing for this newer, less friendly version of T-Mobile.
This article may contain personal views and opinion from the author.
Some time back, we received multiple reports from T-Mobile employees claiming that the carrier was about to start shutting down stores to force everyone into using the T-Life app. This grim future for T-Mobile seemed scary, and the company has only made decisions that reaffirm that it is headed down this path since then.
Now, another development has taken place. Yes: T-Mobile is closing stores, as leaked by another representative online. The end goal? A completely digital experience that eliminates the middle man. Which, in this case, are the store employees you’ve relied on for years.
For now, T-Mobile has allegedly only decided to start closing down third-party retailers. Though, I don’t think that it would be too farfetched to assume that corporate stores will follow suit sooner or later.
Apparently, third-party retailers have been getting “the call” from higher-ups over at the carrier. There are whispers about large subsets of employees being left without work during an already tough time. Given that this news follows Verizon’s layoffs of 13,000 employees, I imagine that tensions are running high at other carriers’ stores as well.
But why? Simple: T-Life
Many customers and employees alike hold severe dislike for T-Life. | Image credit — T-Mobile
Why is T-Mobile allegedly planning on closing down stores and laying off hundreds, if not thousands, of employees? The same reason that Verizon did pretty much the same thing recently: reducing costs by eliminating retail presence.
T-Mobile, according to the reports by its employees, wants to almost completely eliminate customer-facing roles. You think the insistence on using T-Life is bad now? Wait till we hit 2027, which is the year that T-Mobile has reportedly decided on as the deadline for 100 percent T-Life adoption. All operations will go through the app.
Will you leave T-Mobile if everything starts exclusively requiring T-Life?
Yes, in a heartbeat
20%
I'll heavily consider it
56%
No, it's still the best
24%
Once T-Life completely dominates the company’s operations, T-Mobile will — again, according to claims by employees — start making it worse and worse to work there. Workers will be pushed into a corner until they get fed up and resign by themselves.
This can be done via a myriad of ways: ending commissions on sales, reducing salaries, making store culture much stricter, etc. etc. The list can go on, but the bottom line is that T-Mobile’s current employees might not have a future at the company for long.
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So, what can you do?
Some people say that T-Mobile is no longer the “un-carrier”. | Image credit — Bloomberg
If all of this ends up happening, then T-Mobile will become more like an MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) than a “proper” standalone carrier. However, instead of relying on other networks, it will maintain an impressive 5G infrastructure across the country, alongside satellite connectivity as well.
But, all operations will go through the T-Life app. If you want to get a new phone through T-Mobile, you’ll need to use the app. Need to understand why your bill just went up? Better hope the app can help you understand. Oh, you want to refute something? Fiddle with the app for a few days first.
Honestly, this sounds like a nightmare. Less technologically-inclined users will be in even more trouble, and will also be exploited much more easily. So, how can you prepare?
You can’t. As much as it sucks to say, you can’t. When T-Life adoption hits 100 percent, you could decide to switch to another carrier, but if T-Mobile has the best coverage in your area, then you’re out of luck.
The best thing you can do for your future self is to start getting accustomed to how T-Life operates. At least then you’ll be able to handle your account by yourself when there’s no one left to do it for you.
There’s no slowing the paving of the road of “progress”, and it’s up to you whether you want to get steamrolled.
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Abdullah loves smartphones, Virtual Reality, and audio gear. Though he covers a wide range of news his favorite is always when he gets to talk about the newest VR venture or when Apple sets the industry ablaze with another phenomenal release.
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