Some T-Mobile reps lost their monthly cash bonus due to T-Life

Forcing its reps to reach monthly performance targets leads reps to do questionable things

Screenshot of the controversial T-Life app. | Image credit-PhoneArena

The DM who posted his plight on Reddit asked, “How are we supposed to explain to our Reps that because of a lack of usage of an app that barely worked on the sales end in July (and still barely now) they’re going to lose upwards of a couple hundred dollars with ZERO notice that this was a possibility??”

We’ve criticized the use of metrics before, and if you believe that none of this matters to you because the customer isn’t getting hurt, guess again. Some customers with a lost or stolen phone weren’t allowed to get a replacement phone since they couldn’t access T-Life with a broken device, and that led T-Mobile to make a change recently. 

To say that this is getting out of hand would be an understatement. One rep working at a third-party authorized retailer wrote that his store made it clear that T-Mobile metrics come before sales. That means meeting the month’s performance goals is more important than taking care of a customer unless you consider adding accessories and/or new lines to a customer’s order without consent to be “taking care of the customer.”

Some reps have been saying that they have the power, not management. One rep even suggested that T-Mobile salespeople engage in a walkout. This rep wrote, “All it takes is the threat of an organized walkout to get that pay back and an extra percentage on top of it. It would require 70% or higher to walk out to send a clear message that enough is enough. If 100% walked out, it would take less than 48 hours for them to concede and pay everyone what was rightfully theirs to begin with.”

T-Mobile is no longer driven by employee happiness, says 15-year T-Mobile veteran

Every current and former T-Mobile employee that I’ve had the pleasure to speak with tells me that they miss the days when John Legere was President and CEO of T-Mobile. His real customer-first style took T-Mobile from its position as a moribund last-place carrier and made it the Un-Carrier, the most innovative and fastest-growing wireless operator in the U.S. 

Another T-Mobile employee with 15 years of working for the company under his belt wrote, “I used to be super proud to work for T-Mobile, and I’d advocate for them inside and outside of work. I have 15 years of experience working for T-Mobile, even found work managing a TPR store after T-Mobile replaced my senior Trainer position with online AI learning. Idk what has taken me so long to realize that T-Mobile is no longer employee happiness driven.”

Writing to his fellow T-Mobile employees, he adds, “I appreciate the John Legere days, which are never coming back, so reality is, get out before you’re left out. T-Life should not be a metric until it’s fully functional, period.”