Think twice about calling Sprint customer service
…because it might just be one call too many. Reports have been creeping up that Sprint subscribers who have been too much of a drain on customer service resources are getting The Boot™. Sprint’s willing to put offending customers’ balance to zero, and give them until the end of the month to find a new carrier and transfer their phone number, but after that the number’s gone. The carrier’s been throwing a euthanasiast “it’s for your own good” angle on the issue.
“We have to be able to quickly and efficiently serve customers,” said Roni Singleton, a Sprint spokeswoman. “And when we are unable to consistently solve our customers’ problems it results in a lot of frustration and longer waits for other customers. So after looking through our records, we were able to determine that there were customers who we could couldn’t meet their current needs.”
From a business perspective, I could see how culling the weak could could help them streamline their call centre resources more effectively, but this seriously estranges their existing client base. Come on, the call-in customer service experience is arduous enough without the threat of service termination, why would you want to make it any worse? Hey Sprint, why not work on providing better service to avoid those calls in the first place instead of punishing paying customers for your mistakes?
Posted by Simon Sage in News
Comments [37 Responses]
July 6th, 2007 at 8:52 am
Hey, it’s a great way to get out of your contract - just call sprint 10 times a day, and you’re done - with no early termination fees!
July 6th, 2007 at 9:09 am
[...] Think twice about calling Sprint customer service - Today, 09:08 AM I usually do not post article links but this really caught my eye, especially as many of the subscribers on this site have purchased new devices recently and may be dealing with their carrier’s tech support more than ususal. Think twice about calling Sprint customer service | BlackBerry Cool [...]
July 6th, 2007 at 9:14 am
Kudos to Sprint. If you have a customer that’s really that unhappy, letting them out of their contract is the thing to do. I wish I could have had that experience with Verizon. I had to pay the $175 penalty to switch to a more reliable service provider. If Sprint is willing to let you out without paying, that’s the ultimate customer service. If you are unhappy why should you have to pay to switch.
July 8th, 2007 at 5:04 pm
I’m glad I’m not with Sprint. Hey Sprint customers, do you have that warm fuzzy feeling now? Seriously, Sprint is big enough to afford to be “picky” about who they want to keep as a customer, but this doesn’t really say much about their customer service and need to help out their clients. Put fear into your customers with acts such as the one posted here. It’s ridiculous.
July 9th, 2007 at 9:26 am
That’s one way to lower churn! The issue is this gives lowly CARE reps and supervisors super powers over small business who have legitimate complaints. For example, a confused customer makes several calls into Sprint trying to understand and take care of their issue. The get booted for trying to manage their account. Great…There’s always Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T.
July 9th, 2007 at 12:57 pm
Although this sounds like customers getting screwed over, what was happening is alot of these customers (not all, mind you) were calling repeatedly for credits and discounts that they were not due. How do I know this? Because I worked in the Accounts Services Dept. (Retention)
It’s a long story but what was happening is that over and over again, these people (the offenders were all from Brooklyn, NY) were calling to say that they didn’t like their phones, didn’t like their plans, etc. All legitimate complaints, right? Negative. What they were doing is, we’d send them a new phone at a reduced cost and they were supposed to send the old one back. Instead, they’d turn around and sell the old phone to someone else. They’d also call and demand credits for things they weren’t due and somehow manage to get all sorts of discounts they weren’t supposed to have. I saw one account where the guy hadn’t paid his bill in over a year. Now I like getting a deal as much as next person but this was down and out fraud.
I actually left the company because some employees and managers were allowing this to happen (because they make commission for “saving” customers) and when I spoke up about it, I got passed over for multiple promotions that I was well qualified for.
July 9th, 2007 at 1:26 pm
these customers were calling hundreds of times a month, over the course of 12 - 18 months. some were calling 30+ times a day. good luck to the wireless company they switch to.
July 9th, 2007 at 3:38 pm
I would bet the terminations are related to people who constantly call Sprint customer care asking for “perks” aka free stuff. We’re talking bill credits, free equipment, 6pm nights for free, free text packages, free internet, etc. They call many times back to back until they get a rep who gives them something. google “sprint perks” and you’ll find loads of forums that explain every single perk available along with user’s experiences. People spending hours on the phone for a $5 credit.
July 9th, 2007 at 8:54 pm
How can I get one of these letters???? I would love to get out of my rotten contact with Sprint. Their service is awful. After HOURS AND HOURS of time with customer service…they finally sent me a new phone with all the issues I had with my previous phone. Maybe I will start calling again, every day, a few times a day…maybe I will get one of these letters in my mailbox. One can always hope!!! Say a lil prayer for me that I can get booted!
July 10th, 2007 at 7:18 am
So let’s do the math, so what percent is 1,200 out of approximately 55 million? Oh gee, wow, that’s a whopping less than one percent. The key point, is not those who call care or tech support once, twice, or several times, but those few who call over and over and over and over and over month after month after month after month after month. Get the picture? If you owned a business would you give the service away for free? That’s what was happening. Look at the data and facts people. Just look at the facts.
July 10th, 2007 at 10:48 am
I have been a loyal and paying customer to sprint for 6+ years…All I wanted was to order a new phone and service.
A total of 6 hours on the phone to get a phone ordered and shipped. Everyperson keeps saying I’m sorry and giving me credits…Sprint now is paying me!
SOMEONE PLEASE BUY OUT SPRINT!
July 12th, 2007 at 8:57 am
I have been a sprint customer for 7 + years..I call to order a new phone and renew my contract for two more years..Never called, Never had a problem..Until they sent me the wrong phone..I called to get a label to send it back so they could send me the right one..It took me from 9:00am to almost 3:00 pm to get that label to fix their mistake..all they keept saying I can not help you I will tranfer you to someone that will..and kept me on hold for 40 minutes to later repeat the process over and over…two weeks after my phone got cancel and I was charged $200.oo termination fee..when call customer service to find out why? they did not know..at this point I am looking foward for my contract to be over and change to another wireless company..one that could offer a good customer service
July 16th, 2007 at 12:32 pm
[...] you thought Sprint’s customers were bad for calling in 40 times a month, you should check out some AT&T customers who are participating in a class-action lawsuit [...]