Following yesterday’s news (Wednesday 15 August) that T-Mobile USA is overhauling its customer care with a human-centered approach called ‘Team of Experts’, Tammy Parker, Senior Technology Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers her view:

“Promoting strong customer support as an Un-carrier feature hints at part of T-Mobile’s planned strategy for challenging the big players in the pay-TV arena. At the Un-carrier Next event, where T-Mobile rolled out ‘Team of Experts’, company CEO John Legere called out Comcast, whose reputation has been impacted by numerous customer relations gaffes over the years. It’s not surprising that Legere assailed the largest US cable operator, given that T-Mobile is preparing to expand beyond wireless and enter the pay-TV arena using the assets it gained via its acquisition of tiny Layer3 TV in January of this year.

“Layer3 TV already touts its efficient and readily available care team in an effort to set itself apart from much larger rivals such as Comcast. Likewise, T-Mobile is wise to target the frustrations people have with customer service issues as it continues battling larger wireless rivals and plots its pay-TV entry.

“However, strong customer service will not necessarily win new subscribers. In a well-run business, customers should have very little contact with customer support. Positive customer care experiences may help boost brand loyalty, but customers will always first consider price, service options and reliability when selecting a wireless carrier, or a pay-TV provider for that matter.”

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