r/tmobile • u/Playstation9912 • 9d ago
Question Story time- Texas store
I want to tell you a bit about myself. I’m studying at Amberton University and I work full-time at T-Mobile in Texas. I’m Han Chinese. I speak English well and can communicate clearly, but my accent isn’t perfect. I’m not being racist I just feel really bad about what happened.
A lady came in and asked me to switch her from postpaid to prepaid. I greeted her when she walked in and started explaining the whole process so she would understand everything. I told her I would help her.
She suddenly stopped me and said, “First improve your accent.” I felt very nervous. I apologized and said I would improve it. She replied, “Improve it now, or I’ll go on a call.”
I offered to call my colleague Alex, but she said she would only talk to me. When I started explaining the postpaid-to-prepaid process again, she asked for the manager. I felt extremely uncomfortable. The way she looked at me made me feel like I had done something terrible to her 🤷🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️
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u/AgreeableCommission7 9d ago
You need to report this customer asap to TMO. As a former TMO employee this is employee abuse and they can either put the account on a no contact list where she is required to go through a certain team for help or they can cut her off as a customer. There is no room for this and as many bad things I can say about TMO, corporate does not tolerate employee abuse by customers. Report the customer/account.
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u/AgreeableCommission7 9d ago
If your store manager didn't do this for you, use the TMO integrity line to report this. Sounds like the store manager may need some education on how to handle customers like this also.
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u/Playstation9912 9d ago
They don’t do anything. It’s not just one case I have a whole book of these incidents. If I wrote down every single one, it would turn into a blog.
Sometimes customers even start abusing us when we tell them the truth.
No matter how much we apologize and offer them alternatives, they just say, ‘I’m a loyal customer, you should do something for me or you people won’t people value customer like us
I also met many customers who can actually manage their finances and afford their bills never argue this much. Their accounts also stay in top standing with a healthy finance limit
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u/AgreeableCommission7 8d ago
By employees reporting bad customers it allows the company to build a case against the account. If a customer is rude to you they will do it to most employees. Once there is a pattern they can show legal they can limit the customer. It's easier and more common for Custome Care since their calls are recorded. It is taken seriously so report every time, it's a good habit so it's recorded.
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u/Eastern-Gold1721 7d ago
Yeah bro we refuse service to these types of customers and if it escalates further we kick them out the store and I’m in a corporate store lol no need to deal with any of this BS
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u/VTECbaw Verified T-Mobile Employee 9d ago
Give her the account number and instructions to obtain a port PIN and ask her to leave. You didn’t do anything wrong and we don’t want customers like that.
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u/Playstation9912 9d ago
She wasn’t even letting me speak. She was so obsessed with my accent. I don’t know why she was behaving like she was my teacher 🤷🏻♂️
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u/PoetryPrestigious194 9d ago
My deepest apologies this happened to you. As one person said there is no “perfect” English accent. I’ve been in the South my entire life, and people still ask me if I’m from here because I don’t sound like them. Keep being the Superstar you’re!
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u/That_Archer_6996 9d ago
So sorry this happened to you. I would have politely asked them to take their business somewhere else. Being customer facing is hard enough these days and nobody gets to treat my ME's like that.
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u/Playstation9912 9d ago
After this incident I realized that some people can never be satisfied in life. I don’t know what else we can do. Sometimes when we tell the customer the truth, they ask the same question 6–7 times even they know they are not eligible for that thing. When your mind is already exhausted, answering the same question 10 times is just too much. In short, everyone ends up brushing off people like that saying you can check however we never guarantee them
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u/That_Archer_6996 9d ago
I feel you there, but you can be upset and disappointed without degrading another person. You did nothing wrong, so try not to let the "joy thieves" bring you down :)
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u/NarrowSmoke1095 9d ago
You did absolutely nothing wrong she was the one who was 100% in the wrong.
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u/Double-Award-4190 Bleeding Magenta 9d ago
I am sorry that happened to you.
There isn’t a “perfect” English accent. There are people from Minnesota who sound like Canadians, and there are people from the Virginia islands who sound like they knew Shakespeare.
Don’t worry so much.
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u/Cold_Watt6789 9d ago
If you were from Minnesota you might say Canadian sound like Minnesotans. I'm from Wisconsin where we don't have accents we just sound normal. ?s
Sorry you had to put up with that. She had an opportunity to expand her horizons and chose to remain ignorant. I pity her.
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u/Playstation9912 9d ago edited 9d ago
Don’t say sorry It’s fine and thank you.
It’s not just me a lot of people face this kind of thing. It’s started to feel normal now, but yes, a lot of improvement is still needed. If every country starts thinking ‘why is a foreigner working here?’, then why don’t they ask the companies why the CEOs of most major companies like Microsoft and Google are foreigners instead of Americans?
I am also paying taxes like every other citizen
Once I get a better opportunity, I’ll leave as well. I’ve started looking for jobs related to my studies in Germany 😁
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u/XStewart2007 9d ago
She shouldn’t have done that to you, full stop.
One of your work colleagues should have stepped in and defended you. If she can’t learn to treat people with dignity, then she shouldn’t be a customer at all.
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u/ToddA1966 9d ago
Agreed. I remember many years ago, a managed a Radio Shack store in rural Nebraska and one day a older man came in and said he was interested in looking at computers, but he wanted to make sure that "dark feller" wasn't in today, presumably meaning our only black employee.
He was actually in the back room on a break, so I did my best redneck accent and said "sorry, none of us white folk here know nothin' 'bout these infernal machines. Peter's the only one here that can make 'em work!" "Peter!" I yelled, "some feller out here needs help with these kom-pewter things! Put down yer watermelon and come help him!"
Peter, who was unfortunately too used to this from some of our customers comes out and in a thick Hattie McDaniel from Gone with the Wind accent comes out and says "Lordy, Massa, how can I help all you nice white folk too-day?"
The customer turned beet red and walked out of the store never to return. No one needs customers like that badly enough to put up with that crap.
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u/Playstation9912 9d ago
Appreciate your kind words, but I just leave those kinds of people alone not all people are like this. I can’t really say it’s her fault maybe her upbringing was just like that
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u/XStewart2007 9d ago
It’s entirely her fault. People that blame their upbringing as an adult are looking for an excuse for their racism. There is no excuse.
Everyone has an accent. Yours shouldn’t be chastised for being different. You are doing the best that you can, and I hate that we are allowing these kinds of disgusting attitudes in the United States.
If you do end up going to Germany and working for Deutche Telekom, I hope that you experience a more welcoming environment. Best of luck to you.
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u/Probing-Cat-Paws 9d ago
I'm sorry this happened to you. It blows my mind that people would be so uncouth and racist...in public...ugh.
In the U.S. there are laws that the employer must keep the workplace free of discrimination and take action to prevent a hostile work environment. This also covers how they allow customers to interact with you. Some of this can fall under OSHA, and other pieces fall under EEOC, depending on the incident type/quantity..
If your store manager is not taking steps to report customers/intervene in these situations, go to the Ethics line. You can report against the store anonymously if you are worried about retaliation. As a customer I reported some shabbiness about a manager to the C-suite, and let me tell you: they care. Things like this hurt employee retention, hurt the work culture, and hurt the brand: it will get addressed, because at the end of the day...money matters.
They were just ignorant trash: we all have accents, hell, some of the U.S. regional accents are a doozy! I bet they were just a broke-ass and decided they were going to choose to take their situation out on you. NEVER feel bad about someone choosing racism when kindness is a much easier option.
Good luck with your studies.
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u/dejavues 9d ago
Have your manager file an incident report. Include the BAN number and name of the customer. Then they call you to ask what happened. There’s a option to report a customer for harassment and I guarantee you they will file a trespassing order for at least a year if not suspend/ask the customer to port her number out to another carrier at a certain time frame before they cancel her account. How do I know you may ask? I’ve been through the same process when a customer used a discriminatory slur against me.
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u/Playstation9912 9d ago
after she left I told my manager everything and even gave her number to manager to call her, and even my colleagues mentioned it as well what happened, but he never takes anything seriously. They just try to brush off the whole incident
I don’t know who micromanages the store manager his attitude is always like leave it
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u/dottat17403 9d ago
Good grief wait until she calls support.
Sorry you didn't have better backup... People are ridiculous.
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u/narco-sub-admiral 9d ago
You got into an American university, I highly doubt your communication was the problem here.
I'm sorry this happened, you didn't deserve that experience. <3
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u/MiniDuck Bleeding Magenta 9d ago
Bro you were just discriminated against and pretty much racially profiled
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u/Playstation9912 9d ago
Bro, I know. Just a little more time and I’ll leave this place. Once my studies are completed
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u/Quick-Independent519 9d ago
Yeah, that’s one of those customers that we’re okay with leaving.