T-Mobile US announces “Team of Experts” customer service initiative
T-Mobile US CEO John Legere called it “the mother of all pain points,” and accused service providers AT&T, Verizon, Comcast and Charter of all being guilt of it—bad customer service.
Speaking at a T-Mo event in Charleston, S.C., carrier executives announced a new push on personalized, localized customer service that avoids artificial intelligence, automated phone systems and other sources of customer frustration, with a dedicated “Team of Experts.”
Standing in front of a background reading, “Customer service is broken,” Legere said the move is “way bigger than wireless. We’re not only going to fix it, we’re going to invite [competitors] to follow. We’re going to show them how to do it. Mostly we want everybody treated with dignity.”
Company Chief Operating Officer Mike Sievert painted a dismal picture of customer service being largely handed over to bots and artificial intelligence systems to deflect person-to-person calls. He noted airlines and banks extend personalized service to VIP customers, but said T-Mobile US wants to provide “rockstar treatment for every customer.” The service is available for postpaid customers and is being rolled out to business and public sector employees.
Callie Field, EVP of customer care, said employees with a comprehensive set of skill sets are co-located to provide rapid response to customer issues. “They all sit together,” she said. “If they need something, they just walk a few feet.” She said managers “own” a customer base and directly share customer care insights with upper management to continuously improve.
She said the company had worked to develop the program by testing it with small groups of customers who “freakin’ loved it. It’s a night and day difference.” Field said some 2.8 million Americans work in call centers and that it’s a tough job. But, at T-Mobile US, “Care is a career,” she said.
This nod to workforce development is aligned with some of the talking point T-Mo and Sprint executives are using with federal officials as they seek approval for a proposed merger.
