"Are you guys stupid, or something?" asked T-Mobile CEO John Legere as a follow up to another question: If you were to take T-Mobile's service on a test drive, and it turns out to be the best and most amazing experience you've had, would you switch?
The crowd at T-Mobile's event at the Paramount Theater in Seattle remained mostly silent.
Sure, it's a leading question, but it also begs another question - why wouldn't anyone switch?
T-Mobile announced a new service called Test Drive that allows potential customers to rent an iPhone 5S for seven days to test out T-Mobile's 4G network. If the carrier, or "Uncarrier," offers excellent network coverage in speeds where you spend the most time, there are some incentives to switch.
What if the service in your area sucks, or it's practically non-existent? No need to worry, because the Test Drive period is free. You'll just have to return the iPhone at the end of the trial, unless you want your credit card charged $699 along with additional fees.
Legere and crew feel confident that with everything it has on the table - no contracts, simple plan pricing, unlimited data packages - that a test drive of its network is the last straw to make you switch.
Music 'til your ears go deaf
But to sweeten the deal even more, the bombastic Legere and his crew announced another sweet deal - unlimited music streaming.
It's no surprise that Legere is a huge fan of music, especially Macklemore, and he has the same concerns as everyone else. With limited data buckets from AT&T and Verizon, music streaming would eat through your allotted data every month like a skinny kid destined for fatness when presented with cakes.
T-Mobile has decided to offer every single one of its customers unlimited, high-speed music streaming from most of the big names in the business, like Spotify, Slacker, Pandora and more. This means that if you're on a 2GB data plan and you're throttled after going over that limit, your music streaming won't be affected.
It would be impossible for other carriers to offer a similar package, according to Legere, because their networks either can't handle it, or they're just too greedy (his words, not ours).
Let's now take a quick look over what T-Mobile is offering. First, it will pay for your termination fee if you decide to switch over from your current carrier. Then, you'll have wireless plan options that won't lock you into a contract, which also gives you the power to upgrade phones whenever you want with certain restrictions.
If that isn't enough to hook you, T-Mobile is also offering greatly reduced rates for its international texting and data plans. And now, you'll get to test drive the T-Mobile network on the latest iPhone at no cost to you, along with unlimited music streaming.
Rhapsody Unradio for the Uncarrier
Oh, and let's not forget the sweet Rhapsody "Unradio" deal, where it's only $5/month for non-T-Mobile customers, $4/month for T-Mobile plans with limited data buckets and it's free for T-Mobile customers on the Simple Choice Unlimited plan.
With Rhapsody Unradio, you get unlimited song skipping and no ads, along with offline features. You don't get the on-demand and playlist features that you'd get from Spotify or Rdio, but it's still a great app and service given T-Mobile's pricing scheme.
So when all of the pain points are gone, as Legere calls them, when it comes to buying and using your smartphone and service plans, what's left? If it doesn't cost you anything to switch, the network performance is excellent and music streaming is always free and unlimited, what's keeping you?
Well, during the press Q&A at the end of the night in Seattle, one member of the media asked about the Sprint buyout rumors. Legere jokingly said the Q&A was over and that there wasn't time for additional questions, but quickly remarked that it's just a rumor, as the question implied.
However, it might cause some concern for potential customers who might think they're getting lured into joining a wireless service provider whose perks could disappear at any moment.
For now, however, I couldn't think of a sweeter deal. As much as I'd want to avoid sounding like a public relations horn for T-Mobile, it's really hard to argue any of its incentives for switching. Honestly, what's the worst that can happen?
