Michael says T-Mobile stuck him with a costly pre-paid “flex” account because he had poor credit. He agreed with the assurance that if he paid his bills on time for a year he’d be able to switch his service to a more reasonable plan. But when the time came, the tele-CSRs denied him. Just when Michael was about to lose his cool, he went into a T-Mobile store for some face time. And the move paid off.

He writes:

I was flabbergasted. Irritated. And completely done with T-Mobile. I started looking that day at other companies. Unfortunately with my credit I had no success, unless I wanted to pay out the butt.

A few weeks ago, I went into my local T-Mobile store, just to pay my cell bill and figured I’d ask about phone upgrades for a flex account. Jeremy looked up my account, and instantly looked back at me and asked “Um, is there a reason you’re still on a flex pay account?” Of course I answered “well, because you guys told me I couldn’t switch over?”

He told me whoever said that was wrong, and looked up what it would cost to upgrade my phone, and switch over the account. I ended up walking out of the store with a brand new MyTouch Android phone, 3G data coverage and unlimited texting all for about twenty bucks more than I was planning on spending for my phone bill. And, my bill is about thirty dollars less than I was paying previously. AND, Jeremy was so kind as to give me the student discount, and set my bill so that I wouldn’t have to pay for a month and a half. So essentially I got two and a half months of cell service.

The beauty of face time is it makes it tougher for companies to mistreat you. How has the technique ever worked in your favor?

How to fix dwindling loyalty in a company, or brand. [10 Cents Worth]

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.