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1. Comment - Sprint Hangs Up on Problem Customers

   (Jul 8, 2007 - 6:16 AM)

   A couple points:
   
   1. Sprint/Nextel has a 30 day return policy. Don't like it after 18 days? You still got plenty of time to cancel. If the store you got it from won't help you, call in and talk to Account Services. There's even a new policy (still trying to get this clarified at work) that you can return your phone to any Sprint store, not just the one you got it at.
   
   2. I heard once that it costs, on average, several hundred dollars to get a customer (counting all the advertising, promotions, account creation and resource provisioning, the price cut on equipment, etc), but only like $7.00 to keep a customer. So, it's in our best interest to keep our customers happy.

2. Comment - Sprint Hangs Up on Problem Customers

   (Jul 8, 2007 - 6:08 AM)

   I think you're referring to Sprint switching from the Nextel iden network to the Sprint CDMA network. The official word is that the current phones are going to continue to work and be supported for several more years. The unofficial rumor going around is that Sprint is moving to the Powersource (hybrid) phones that use both iden and cdma. By the time any such change happens, though, any of the phones out now probably won't be in operation anyway.

3. Comment - Sprint Hangs Up on Problem Customers

   (Jul 8, 2007 - 6:04 AM)

   I wish it was only a couple times a week. There are customers who call us dozens of times a day. It gets to a point where we're talking on our breaks going "Did you talk to Mr. Smith today?" "Oh yeah, he's asking for the same 'courtesy credit' he always asks for. He's bouncing around the call center today." You can literally stand up and see someone a few rows over indicating they're talking to him now.

4. Comment - Sprint Hangs Up on Problem Customers

   (Jul 8, 2007 - 5:54 AM)

   I want to give a 2nd AMEN on that one.
   
   A quick example. I had a customer call in and say "I've been a long time customer (he had just started service earlier in the day), what (benefits) can you do for me?" I felt like telling him that we have customers who've been with us for over a decade who haven't had any "benefits" (like he was thinking of them) and haven't called in to ask for them.
   
   I've also had a customer ask me "I have a 400 minute rate plan. How many minutes is that?" Really, there are some calls that are just wasting time (ours and theirs) and resources.

5. Comment - Sprint Hangs Up on Problem Customers

   (Jul 8, 2007 - 5:47 AM)

   I currently work at a vendor call center for the Nextel side. I don't want to divulge my identity or location.
   
   First, I want to say that Sprint is not going to cancel accounts for no reason. Nor are they going to cancel people who complain when they have a valid issue. The ones Sprint is interested in are people who constantly call in, but refuse to cooperate in resolving their issues. This is only going to be a fraction of a percent of customers.
   
   Some customers call in with, for example, a technical problem. Let's say the fix would be both on our end (a network problem), but also an equipment issue (a firmware upgrade from a sprint store). Some customers will call in, do their network ticket, then never do their part of the fix. Then maybe a month down the road, call in to say their issue is not fixed.
   
   I know there are reported incidents of customer care hanging up on customers. I don't pretend to speak for Sprint, but I for one have never done it. It's a deplorable practice. But for a corporation that has 1000+ (several thousand? I can't remember the exact figure), more than a few bad apples are giving us responsible ones a bad name.
   
   Yes, I work at a vendor call center. Sprint has several vendors, as well as their own call centers. Where I work, we are told NEVER to refuse an escalation and NEVER say that a supervisor is unavailable. Sometimes that means waiting a while while one is tracked down, but they are more than willing to take the call. I have seen supervisors run (almost literally) screaming because they just spoke to their 15th upset customer of the day. Sometimes, we agents may try to offer to resolve the issue before getting a manager. Most of the time, the customer's issue can be easily resolved by the rep taking the call. I've had customers who wanted to speak to a supervisor just to have his bill explained to him. Of course, I'm going to assure the customer that, having worked there for numerous years, I can explain his bill to him.
   
   As for "having anyone off the streets," it's not very reasonable to expect people with PhD diplomas taking 60 calls a day, making much less than they can in a PhD level career. Most of the calls are common but minor issues: swapping equipment, resetting voicemail passwords, explaining the bill. There really isn't any customer service degrees. Some call centers (in general, not just Sprint) require previous experience.
   
   I know I'm just one rep, but I try to do my part to improve things. When another department connects to me, I try to educate them so they don't give out the same wrong information they've been giving to customers for the umpteenth time.
   
   Lastly, I wanted to mention some of the bad customers out there. Again, it's a very small fraction of a percent, but there are a number of people who call only to abuse customer care, or frankly, to break the law. In my first year working there (long before the Sprint/Nextel merger), a supervisor of mine was given a bomb threat from the caller. A girl who sits next to me, just the other day, wished someone in her (the rep's) family were to die. I have had a customer swearing at me at the top of his voice because I wouldn't send a repair truck out to fix his landline service (he couldn't comprehend that his cell phone company wasn't his landline company). A few months ago, there was a caller who kept calling being sexually explicit to all reps, male or female. So yes, a small number of our calls are frivolous, threatening, obscene, or just outright violent. I believe these to be the customers that Sprint is after. If I'm right, then I don't exactly blame them.