When product management goes bad - T-mobile come on down!

Okay you're sat in Starbucks wanting to access the internet. You know they have a T-mobile wireless hotspot but what you don't know is that T-mobile have developed a cunning process to make it almost impossible to buy their product without upsetting customers.  Read on for a rant with a few lessons hidden inside.

You know they have a T-mobile wireless hotspot and last time you were there you gave them £5 for instant access to the net for an hour. It was all done via the computer by credit card in a minute.

Now they have a very tempting offer of a monthly subscription at £23.50 for unlimited wi-fi access at any of their hotspots. How hard can it be to buy? Well you go through a similar process and put in Direct Debit details and also credit card to pay for the first month. You hit buy and wait.....and wait. Then it tells you that a SIM card will be delivered to your home in 2 days. A SIM card!

So by now I was panicking and wondering what the hell I had ordered but after checking for 10 minutes I then phoned T-Mobile and asked what was going on. First, their voice mail system has no option for wi-fi. Next it loops around a few times selecting options for itself.

Eventually you speak to a customer service person. They are tremendously helpful before telling you the SIM card will arrive in 24 - 48 hours. Why do I need a SIM card? Well apparently they issue a 'dummy' mobile number to you as a customer so that they can recognise your account if you ring in!! So can I connect now (like I could when I paid the £5 for an hour's access). Well sir, in 24 - 48 hours a SIM card will be............. you get the idea.

So I purchase an hour's access as I can't actually use the monthly subscription I've just paid for. Then when I am online I read my email and there are my account number and password to use with my new monthly account. Except you can't get to them unless you can get on the net......and you can't get on the net until the bloody SIM card arrives or you are somewhere else with Internet access.

So, to summarise, the process is designed around their internal needs.

• What a daft idea to send a bloody SIM card. Why not reference accounts off my name, address, inside leg measurement or any of the other bits of information they got off me
• Why can’t they authorise a £23.50 payment instantly and give me instant access like they can when I pay £5!  I might fail the credit check for the subscription but they have the first month’s money so why not let me on there and then
• Why send the authorisation information to somewhere that can’t be accessed unless I am on the net (which would mean I wouldn’t need their service there and then).

Poorly thought out and a real pain when the offer itself is so good.  Now I have to moan to get that £5 back that I needn’t have spent in the first place if………. Oh sod it – rant over.

I’ll leave you to draw your own lessons from this debacle.