Sprint doesn't care about us - Page 3

indyalex · 01-26-2011, 12:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by monkeyboy

This is part of the problem right here... You think that it is "all about smartphones", and it seems that Sprint *wants* us to think that too, but the fact is that smartphones make up less than 25% of the US wireless market. There is still a whole 75% MAJORITY that *isn't* all about smartphones and data. This "mentality" clearly shows an ignoring of the majority of customers. Similarly, Sprint probably still has a majority of legacy plan holders, a huge number of existing customers on legacy plans and NOT using much data or smartphones, yet again, Sprint has systematically ignored and otherwise been unfriendly to its own customer base.

Of course there have been changes in the marketplace, but Sprint got to where it was with 55mil customers on the good customer relations of legacy customers that did not care about smartphones -- and many still don't. Other than the awful merger, you want a real reason why Sprint is "in trouble", its in ignoring its legacy customer base.

And it still puzzles me why Sprint decided to treat its Sero customers so well (with the gift of Sero-P) and yet continues to treat its legacy customers -- there must be at least 20-50 times more of them, so poorly. What's up with that?

Exactly,Smartphones create more revenue for Sprint.I'll ride the smartphone I have until it craps out,then revert to the smartest,highest I Q standard ph..I guess I'm just not impressed with that $10 mo. enhanced/premium data exper., that looks,feels & acts exactly like the same old sub par data exper.that I've always had.

You gotta love Sprint's Marketing though,they make it so easy to put it back on them,with their bs

EvilFerret · 01-26-2011, 05:41 AM

I had the Instinct. From there I went to the Samsung Reclaim, because it was free with my upgrade and I couldn't afford anything better. From there I just went to the BlackBerry Style.

I've had the Simply Everything plan since it came out. I got it primarily because I talk for thousands and thousands of minutes a month on the phone. I didn't originally get it for data. But I sure enjoyed not having to worry about overages as I used the data more and more.

Going from the Instinct to the Reclaim to the Style, I can say with all seriousness that it is worth $10 a month for me to have a smartphone. Last week my hard drive died, and I had to use my Style as a computer. I has web-browsing, using an SSH/Telnet client on it, using it for sending resumes, for four email addresses... That alone was worth far more than a $10 charge. I'm glad I won't have to pay it until I get a new phone somewhere down the line, but I certainly would, because it is worth it. Even when I'm not needing it for a computer stand-in, I am constantly using it to access all sorts of data services. Can a dumbphone do a lot of these things? Sure they can, though often slowly, painfully, with a lot of work-arounds and hunting Getjar and Snaptu and other such places just to find some tweak that will get the phone to do something that seems so bloody simple but isn't on a dumbphone.

Do I like the extra $10? Heck no. Do I understand why it is being added? Heck yes, and though I don't like the extra $10, I'm pretty apathetic about it. To me, it translates into better coverage, tower improvements, etc. When it comes my time to get a new phone, I will get a new smartphone and pay that extra $10 without a qualm. I can't get the same experience from a dumbphone, I am willing to pay more to support my experience, and I never want to go back to the dumbphone experience.

I'll touch on the Premiere issue too. A lot of people love to upgrade to a new phone every year. But a lot more don't. I would say we don't hear a lot from them because hey, we care enough about phones and the Sprint experience to be on a forum about phones and Sprint. Most people don't care that much. A lot of people keep the same phone until it keels over and dies. For many people, that is two years or more. Even many smartphone users, people on plans that will get them Premiere perks, a lot of them don't care about getting a new phone every year. A lot of them can wait more than six months for the "latest and greatest". So, the tiered system makes sense.

Personally, if I could choose a perk, it would be to only be directed to customer service in the USA with reps that share my native tongue. If I'm calling with an issue, the last thing I want to be doing is struggling with a language barrier too.

**Duffman** · 01-26-2011, 07:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EvilFerret

Personally, if I could choose a perk, it would be to only be directed to customer service in the USA with reps that share my native tongue. If I'm calling with an issue, the last thing I want to be doing is struggling with a language barrier too.

This is my pet peeve, too. The money that save from having call centers in the Philippines does not make up for the poor experience customers receive. I even suggested that Premiere customers get routed to a corporate-owned call center. Not a word back on that suggestion as of yet.

I will tell you that corporate liable accounts go to BWTS, which is covered by US reps. Get a corporation, get local service.

***BASHBRO*** · 01-26-2011, 07:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DuffMan

This is my pet peeve, too. The money that save from having call centers in the Philippines does not make up for the poor experience customers receive. I even suggested that Premiere customers get routed to a corporate-owned call center. Not a word back on that suggestion as of yet.

I will tell you that corporate liable accounts go to BWTS, which is covered by US reps. Get a corporation, get local service.

Yeah, gets very old. A few months ago I had to deal with an issue with my x-box and could not for the life of me get someone that I could understand. Microsoft *fartsound*

I hate when I have to transfer a customer to a dept. when I know theres a 90% chance they will have to deal with that.

EvilFerret · 01-26-2011, 08:07 AM

Way back in the day (late 1990s) when I worked for Sprint Long Distance customer service, they had two tiers of residential LD customers. and they were handled in different ways in the call center. The lower of the two tiers was the standard customers and the global phonecard (non-gold) tier. This Global tier was handled by newer reps, and were a lower priority overall for a lot of things. Longer wait times, less available retention and credit and offers to make up for billing/service issues. The gold tier got the premium service. Their calls were handled by different reps (usually), reps who had more seniority and had experience with conflict resolution. They were routed differently, and if their wait time was too long, they got funneled in to the Global lines and went pretty much to the front of the line. These were the customers we bent over backwards to help. These were the customers who would get multiple promotions, multiple credits. It's not that the other customers were treated badly or weren't a concern, but honestly, it wasn't much worth it to give a $25-$50 credit to someone who spent $5-$15/month to begin with and had only been with Sprint 3 years. Going to MCI? Sorry to hear that. Hope your experience is a good one. It was the Gold customers, with their $100+ bills per month, the customers who had been with us 10+ years, those sorts of customers, who were important to keep. These were the customers who brought in far more money than they took to maintain, and these customers were where the profit was.

I pay $99/month for my single line, and I've been with Sprint for 12 years. I should get higher priority than my friend who's been with them 4 years and pays $35/month.

And I shouldn't have to need a translator to get my needs dealt with, ever.

**Duffman** · 01-26-2011, 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EvilFerret

I pay $99/month for my single line, and I've been with Sprint for 12 years. I should get higher priority than my friend who's been with them 4 years and pays $35/month.

And I shouldn't have to need a translator to get my needs dealt with, ever.

I agree completely. All customers should be treated professionally. You are not going to get that from an outsourced call center, especially when they are paid PER CALL and have no incentive other than getting you off the phone.

We get paid the same every hour and our job security is determined by resolving issues.

**Nyckxd** · 01-26-2011, 11:58 AM

I'd also like to point out that while some people are getting great rates on wireless service, Sprint isn't just about wireless. They are actually more expensive than AT&T for MPLS service even at my companies contracted price. It's the exact same service.

Sprint will pick and choose it's battles. It seems that they don't mind some customers scamming a $20 savings if they are still making more on their T1 lines.

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01-26-2011, 05:41 AM	#32
EvilFerret Telegraph User Join Date: Jan 8, '10 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 40 Phone: BlackberryStyle Thanks: 5 Thanked 15 Times in 7 Posts SU$: 657	I had the Instinct. From there I went to the Samsung Reclaim, because it was free with my upgrade and I couldn't afford anything better. From there I just went to the BlackBerry Style. I've had the Simply Everything plan since it came out. I got it primarily because I talk for thousands and thousands of minutes a month on the phone. I didn't originally get it for data. But I sure enjoyed not having to worry about overages as I used the data more and more. Going from the Instinct to the Reclaim to the Style, I can say with all seriousness that it is worth $10 a month for me to have a smartphone. Last week my hard drive died, and I had to use my Style as a computer. I has web-browsing, using an SSH/Telnet client on it, using it for sending resumes, for four email addresses... That alone was worth far more than a $10 charge. I'm glad I won't have to pay it until I get a new phone somewhere down the line, but I certainly would, because it is worth it. Even when I'm not needing it for a computer stand-in, I am constantly using it to access all sorts of data services. Can a dumbphone do a lot of these things? Sure they can, though often slowly, painfully, with a lot of work-arounds and hunting Getjar and Snaptu and other such places just to find some tweak that will get the phone to do something that seems so bloody simple but isn't on a dumbphone. Do I like the extra $10? Heck no. Do I understand why it is being added? Heck yes, and though I don't like the extra $10, I'm pretty apathetic about it. To me, it translates into better coverage, tower improvements, etc. When it comes my time to get a new phone, I will get a new smartphone and pay that extra $10 without a qualm. I can't get the same experience from a dumbphone, I am willing to pay more to support my experience, and I never want to go back to the dumbphone experience. I'll touch on the Premiere issue too. A lot of people love to upgrade to a new phone every year. But a lot more don't. I would say we don't hear a lot from them because hey, we care enough about phones and the Sprint experience to be on a forum about phones and Sprint. Most people don't care that much. A lot of people keep the same phone until it keels over and dies. For many people, that is two years or more. Even many smartphone users, people on plans that will get them Premiere perks, a lot of them don't care about getting a new phone every year. A lot of them can wait more than six months for the "latest and greatest". So, the tiered system makes sense. Personally, if I could choose a perk, it would be to only be directed to customer service in the USA with reps that share my native tongue. If I'm calling with an issue, the last thing I want to be doing is struggling with a language barrier too.

01-26-2011, 08:07 AM	#35
EvilFerret Telegraph User Join Date: Jan 8, '10 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 40 Phone: BlackberryStyle Thanks: 5 Thanked 15 Times in 7 Posts SU$: 657	Way back in the day (late 1990s) when I worked for Sprint Long Distance customer service, they had two tiers of residential LD customers. and they were handled in different ways in the call center. The lower of the two tiers was the standard customers and the global phonecard (non-gold) tier. This Global tier was handled by newer reps, and were a lower priority overall for a lot of things. Longer wait times, less available retention and credit and offers to make up for billing/service issues. The gold tier got the premium service. Their calls were handled by different reps (usually), reps who had more seniority and had experience with conflict resolution. They were routed differently, and if their wait time was too long, they got funneled in to the Global lines and went pretty much to the front of the line. These were the customers we bent over backwards to help. These were the customers who would get multiple promotions, multiple credits. It's not that the other customers were treated badly or weren't a concern, but honestly, it wasn't much worth it to give a $25-$50 credit to someone who spent $5-$15/month to begin with and had only been with Sprint 3 years. Going to MCI? Sorry to hear that. Hope your experience is a good one. It was the Gold customers, with their $100+ bills per month, the customers who had been with us 10+ years, those sorts of customers, who were important to keep. These were the customers who brought in far more money than they took to maintain, and these customers were where the profit was. I pay $99/month for my single line, and I've been with Sprint for 12 years. I should get higher priority than my friend who's been with them 4 years and pays $35/month. And I shouldn't have to need a translator to get my needs dealt with, ever.

01-26-2011, 11:58 AM	#37
Nyckxd Network Ninja Join Date: May 8, '09 Location: Florida Posts: 264 Phone: iPhone 4s Thanks: 13 Thanked 18 Times in 14 Posts SU$: 3,750	I'd also like to point out that while some people are getting great rates on wireless service, Sprint isn't just about wireless. They are actually more expensive than AT&T for MPLS service even at my companies contracted price. It's the exact same service. Sprint will pick and choose it's battles. It seems that they don't mind some customers scamming a $20 savings if they are still making more on their T1 lines.