![]() From activation fees to early-termination fees, this is an industry that’s completely at peace reaching into customers’ pockets.īut a $3 fee for paying your bill in cash at a company store? That’s nothing but greed, pure and simple.ĭavid Lazarus’ column runs Tuesdays and Fridays.Pay Metro PCS by phone Find here information on how to pay Metro PCS by phone in the United States, how to pay Metro PCS bill online in the USA, Website and Social Networks to expand your information and more. “We have two brands that operate as separate business units,” he said.Ĭonsumers have grown accustomed to being nickel-and-dimed by wireless companies. Glenn Zaccara, a T-Mobile spokesman, said the two companies keep their distance from each other, policy-wise. ![]() MetroPCS merged last year with T-Mobile, yet T-Mobile hasn’t done anything about MetroPCS’ customer-unfriendly billing practice. You may be hit with a fee by these other guys for paying at an authorized dealer such as Radio Shack or for paying by phone - T-Mobile’s $5 phone charge is a slap in the face - but in-store payments are gratis. There’s no fee for paying your bill at an AT&T, Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile or Sprint store. MetroPCS is the only major wireless company that gouges customers in this way. But he did offer this: “MetroPCS works to educate its customers regarding the wide array of payment options available so they can select options that best fit their needs.” I guess Crowell saw no upside in defending an indefensible company practice. The saleswoman said I’d have to pony up $3 if I wanted to pay at the store with a credit card, a debit card or cash. She didn’t seem overburdened with corporate activities. The woman behind the counter was straightening things up. I stopped by a MetroPCS store at the corner of Main Street and Pico Boulevard near downtown Los Angeles. But apparently Crowell knew better than to make this argument. I had expected him at least to point out that receiving a bill payment represents use of a store worker’s valuable time. How does MetroPCS justify an extra fee for making an in-store bill payment?ĭrew Crowell, a MetroPCS spokesman, declined to answer that question. There’s no extra fee for signing up for service, no extra fee for buying a phone. The MetroPCS worker called it a service fee, as if receiving a customer’s payment represented a beyond-the-call-of-duty chore for a company employee. He said they’d be happy to take my money - for an extra $3.” “When I walked in,” Farrell recalled, “I told the guy I wanted to pay my bill. ![]() More to the point, how to account for MetroPCS charging $3 to pay your bill in person at a company-owned MetroPCS store? A 2009 study by Microsoft on automated phone systems found that “self-service tasks cost a business pennies.” MetroPCS probably outsources its call-center operations and there’s a cost to having a third party process payments, though nowhere close to $3 per transaction.Īnd if it costs $3 to pay by phone through a human being, how come MetroPCS charges $2 to pay by phone using its automated system? That’s only one-third less expensive for the company?įor the record, the answer to that last question is no. How long could this take? A minute? Two minutes?īut OK. A $3 charge for someone to take your call and enter your debit card number into a computer seems pretty ridiculous. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |