Outspoken T-Mobile Chief Uses "Rated R Vocabulary" To Discuss Amazon Fire Phone And AT&T Exclusivity
T-Mobile considers itself the "Un-carrier" in the wireless industry, part of which entails shooting it straight. That's something T-Mobile chief John Legere has no problem doing, and though sometimes his words could benefit from a filter, he gets his point across. With that in mind, you can bet he had some things to say about Amazon's newly introduced Fire Phone and the exclusivity agreement the company struck with AT&T.
In an interview with CNET, Legere was asked if he was afraid of burning any bridges by speaking his mind, particularly when he called Amazon's unveiling a "boring show." His response? "Fudge them!," only he didn't say "Fudge." To borrow from A Christmas Story, Legere said THE word, the big one, the queen-mother of dirty words, the 'F-dash-dash-dash' word!
Okay, let's not get carried away here, dropping an F-bomb isn't that big of a deal these days, though you generally want to refrain from directing it at potential partners. Whatever, it wasn't the worst thing Legere said. At T-Mobile's Un-carrier event, he told the audience that other carriers were "raping" its customers, an analogy that even Legere admitted went a bit out of bounds.
"I know I have a Rated R vocabulary, but even I can go too far. Sincere apologies to anyone offended last night," Legere posted on Twitter.
Legere chose his words a bit more carefully when speaking with CNET, though he still managed to get his point across.
"I am disappointed a bit that a company like Amazon that has transformed the way I do business in purchasing things came out with such an archaic short-term model of an exclusive, subsidized arrangement," he said.
Legere then went on to knock the Fire Phone for having a high price and lack of benefits for Prime customers, noting that he's "underwhelmed" with the handset. Nevertheless, he doesn't think the exclusive deal with AT&T will last long, and also believes that T-Mobile customers will eventually get their shot at owning a Fire Phone, if they want it.
In an interview with CNET, Legere was asked if he was afraid of burning any bridges by speaking his mind, particularly when he called Amazon's unveiling a "boring show." His response? "Fudge them!," only he didn't say "Fudge." To borrow from A Christmas Story, Legere said THE word, the big one, the queen-mother of dirty words, the 'F-dash-dash-dash' word!
Okay, let's not get carried away here, dropping an F-bomb isn't that big of a deal these days, though you generally want to refrain from directing it at potential partners. Whatever, it wasn't the worst thing Legere said. At T-Mobile's Un-carrier event, he told the audience that other carriers were "raping" its customers, an analogy that even Legere admitted went a bit out of bounds.
"I know I have a Rated R vocabulary, but even I can go too far. Sincere apologies to anyone offended last night," Legere posted on Twitter.
Legere chose his words a bit more carefully when speaking with CNET, though he still managed to get his point across.
"I am disappointed a bit that a company like Amazon that has transformed the way I do business in purchasing things came out with such an archaic short-term model of an exclusive, subsidized arrangement," he said.
Exclusivity sucks for customers. Exclusivity on @ATT sucks for the industry. #justsayin
— John Legere (@JohnLegere) June 17, 2014
Legere then went on to knock the Fire Phone for having a high price and lack of benefits for Prime customers, noting that he's "underwhelmed" with the handset. Nevertheless, he doesn't think the exclusive deal with AT&T will last long, and also believes that T-Mobile customers will eventually get their shot at owning a Fire Phone, if they want it.
