Mike Sievert, chief marketing officer, T-Mobile, said the telecom operator has more than doubled the number of business customers in the past two years.
T-Mobile US, which competes with AT&T, Verizon Wireless and Sprint, had a strong Q1 2017 from business customers as well. T-Mobile has already announced that it added more than 1 million new customers. Verizon lost customers during the first quarter.
Small businesses like Banzai Sushi in Seattle, Jetscape in Fort Lauderdale, Felix’s Famous Cookies in Chicago and King Courier and Bloomlife, both in San Francisco are joining the T-Mobile network in the US.
T-Mobile has added mid-sized companies such as Liberty Yellow Cab in New York, 50 State Security in Miami and Mobile Creative Technologies in Long Island. Some of the large business customers of T-Mobile include MGM Resorts International and Capgemini, and charitable organizations like Easterseals Southern California.
A survey of over 600 US small business owners by research firm F’inn Group on the state of wireless reveals that some operators advertise one thing to consumers and then give businesses the short end of the stick.
More than 40 percent of small business owners said they’ve been hit with overages in the past year.
With Verizon, for example, not all business plans are eligible for their “Safety Mode” that’s supposed to protect you from them.
Laura Castillo, the cofounder of Felix’s Famous Cookies, told T-Mobile about her experiences before switching her business to T-Mobile. “I remember being charged $800 one month in overage fees—and I was livid,” Laura said. “Overages like that could put me out of business, because you just don’t budget for that as a small business owner.”
Nearly 60 percent of small businesses said they wish they didn’t have to haggle to get a good price on their wireless plan.
AT&T’s business pricing is confusing, according to T-Mobile. AT&T offers “Organization Negotiated Discounts” when you try to shop for business service.
Nearly 70 percent of small business owners said they feel their wireless carrier doesn’t reward them for their long-term business.
Nearly half of small business customers aren’t satisfied with their wireless customer service in the US. If you don’t have enough lines to qualify, you don’t get 24/7 business support.
T-Mobile claims that AT&T even requires a special login to access “Premier Business Support”. On the other hand, T-Mobile offers 24/7 business care support to all enterprise customers.
