The T-Mobile marketing machine spewed out its latest new offers yesterday – including T-Mobile KickBack, which offers customers a credit on their phone bill of up to $10 a month per line if they used 2 gigabytes (GB) of data or less in the previous month.
The ‘Un-carrier’ also announced that it would include all taxes and fees in the monthly rates it quotes for its T-Mobile ONE unlimited service, which now will be the only postpaid service the company will offer. Additionally, T-Mobile said it would lock in T-Mobile ONE pricing for customers until customers decide to change it – an offering the company calls the “Un-contract.”
Finally, T-Mobile said that for a limited time, it would pay $150 per line for every line consumers switch from other service providers to T-Mobile ONE (up to 12 lines).
T-Mobile KickBack and T-Mobile ONE
Although some other carriers have allowed customers to bank unused monthly data for use in future months, T-Mobile KickBack may represent the first time a traditional carrier has offered a monetary credit to light-use customers. Google’s Project Fi wireless service offers a similar feature.
The idea of including taxes and fees in the basic price for monthly service also appears to be a unique one – and T-Mobile appears to have implemented the offering in a manner that actually amounts to a price reduction on the T-Mobile ONE offering.
T-Mobile launched its T-Mobile ONE unlimited offering back in August at a price of $40 a month per line for a family of four if the customer signs up for auto pay. The first line is $70 a month, the second is $50 a month and additional lines are $20 apiece. The “All In” price with taxes and fees For T-Mobile ONE that T-Mobile quoted in yesterday’s press release was also $40 a line for a family of four, provided that customers also sign up for auto pay.
“Carrier customers are subjected to a steady barrage of ads for wireless deals – only to face bill shock and wonder what the hell happened when their Verizon or AT&T bill arrives,” observes T-Mobile in the press release. “Suddenly, that $110 family plan Verizon advertises on their web site has exploded to $210.70 for a family of four on average.”
Building on this idea, T-Mobile also introduced a promotion dubbed #FeeFace to promote the new “All In” pricing. The company invited customers to post their #FeeFace – “a selfie of their reaction to their inflated wireless bill” – on Facebook, Instagram and/or Twitter. Every day the company plans to enter its favorite faces in a daily #FeeFace off, with winners gaining a smartphone of their choice, a free year of T-Mobile ONE and a pair of Beats headphones. Winners also get a chance at a grand prize of a trip to Las Vegas.
