In Addition to Pre, How is Sprint Righting the Ship? 23
Dan Hesse, the captain and CEO of the Sprint Nextel ship, has taken the helm amidst a troubled economic sea, but just as Sprint has bled away another 1.3 million customers last quarter, Mr. Hesse bleeds optimism about his company's future. Ryan Kim of SFGate.com had an opportunity to interview with Mr. Hesse and get some insight as to how Sprint will recover in troubled times.
In efforts to make Sprint more seaworthy, Mr. Hesse describes their focus on customer service and matching "action with our rhetoric." Retail employees are incentivized to assist customers with their concerns in the store, whether it's about finding the right phone or fixing a problem with their bill. He has made headway in making sure that stores have the tools and systems they need to create a better customer experience, focusing on "measuring customer satisfaction in the store experience" versus a focus on sales only.
It's just about impossible, though, to talk about Sprint Nextel improving their service and sales and ignore the 800 pound gorilla in the room - Sprint's retail exclusivity on the Palm Pre. When asked about the importance of the Pre to Sprint and the competitive edge it may give Sprint in the smartphone market, Mr. Hesse replied:
In today's market, iconic devices, no question, they move the needle, they grab attention. And we're very excited about the Palm Pre. I will give (BlackBerry manufacturer) Research In Motion credit for creating a great business phone and the iPhone, I give it credit for being a great consumer device. This is the first one I belive that really crosses both. It's an outstanding business device and it's also a whole life consumer device. It's a combination of a superb touch screen with a physical keypad, which is, for a heavy e-mailer and texter, a must. We think it's going to be a very successful device.
We also believe that the Palm Pre is going to make huge waves for Sprint, and hopefully for them, those waves will be just what they need, along with their improved customer experience, to move their ship full steam ahead. For all you Sprint customers out there, do you agree with an improved customer experience? How successful do you think the Pre will be for Sprint?
23 Comments
Sprint does not recognize time spent as a Nextel customer prior to the merger. Because of this, I do not qualify for "Premier customer" status. My email on this issue was returned with a canned phone message as to why I don't qualify. I have over 10 years combined with Nextel/Sprint, but not 10 years with Sprint. My monthly bill for my 3 lines is under the $99.00 cap. It is unfortunate to me, when a new program like this comes out, but manages to piss off long term customers like me. Yes, I very badly want a new Pre to replace my 755p, but if I really have to wait inline until after the "premier customers" get theirs, I may just wait longer until another carrier has it. Dan Hesse can talk all he wants about customer service, but he has really pissed me off with this one. Note: I am not currently under contract.
I live in a major metro area on the west coast, and Sprint has fairly decent coverage (now). With the roaming plan for another $5 bucks, it's damn near perfect for 95% of the traveling I do. Some of that roaming is on Verizon towers.
I'm apparently a "Premier" customer, from the descriptions provided. Qualify on both counts.
Sprint's major failing over the years has been customer service. In the 10+ years I've endured them, I've endured:
1) A multiple thousand dollar "mistake" by their warehouse that resulted in a surprise call from their credit collection department threatening to shut down all my phones the next day if I didn't pony up $2000.00 (I did not owe them) that instant.
2) Promises made of certain rates and discounts when I signed up for "Agreements," which have always turned out to have problems (in Sprint's favor) that take months or years to fix.
3) They will NEVER put their "Agreement" into writing, except summarized in a very generic and vague sense (on your bills). Even when they sincerely "promise" to email it, and/or even put the details into the notes - they won't. You will spend the next two years with other Sprint reps swearing up and down about the plan details that were agreed to, and they'll threaten to bill you $200 per phone if you don't keep YOUR end of the agreement. Mysteriously, the "notes" and "email" the salesdweeb promised are nowhere to be found, and reps will call you a liar (between the lines) and tell you that you are "lucky" to have such a plan with them.
4) Everyone from duck pond through escalations will use Sprint's errors and omissions within the plan you are on to upsell you into a more expensive contract with less features. Had you known that Sprint would screw up so badly that you'd be investing well over 40 actual hours AFTER the agreement was "signed" to get them to honor it, you might have been better off with a more expensive plan. But, once you've been screwed that badly, I make it my personal mission to ensure Sprint will get as little extra money as possible out of me - they've already stolen my time.
Under Hesse, they seem to at least be giving Customer Service lip service, but many of the problems I've had with Sprint have *still* been happening in the past year. I do give their local store credit for FINALLY stocking replacement phones so I don't have to wait a week for the insurance replacement.
They seem to be jacking up their rates in the meantime, and I'm really beginning to wonder if the Pre offers much else of importance that I can't get with my well stocked (and paid for) Treo 755, and maybe takes away too much (removable flash, battery life, etc.).
I gotta say... I was close to dropping Sprint too... until my most recent experience in one of their stores. I was in the market for a new smartphone. Ultimately, I tried 3 of them and wasn't thrilled with any of them. (...And I'm glad I wasn't, since just a few days later, I heard about the Pre.) Anyway... The reps were very helpful. They swapped phones, helped me out, answered a ton of questions, and were really friendly to me as I was shopping, and even after I returned the last phone and went back to my old phone. And, when I had questions on my plan, I called their customer service, and the person was very helpful and got me into a plan similar to what I had before, but for a less money. I was really happy.
On top of all that, with all the research that I did on smartphone data/voice plans, Sprint hands-down has the best options for less $$$ than any of the other guys. As far as plans and service go, they're definitely my first choice. I think the Pre will do a significant job in helping others feel the same way.
Absolutely, the stores have been getting a fire lit under their a**es. One need only visit the lunacy farm that is AT&T's store to understand why Sprint has an advantage.
I've actually experienced Tmobile's customer service to be the best (both consumer as well as corporate), however, their cell service is absolutely terrible in my area of the States compared to Sprint. Walk inside a building in the middle of a major metro area and you can't make or receive a call. Great company if you visit countries where they're tier 1 providers.
Actually, Sprint has done significant improvement to it lately, especially addressing this new word of "security" that someone over there finally figured out was important. Their previous software apparently exposed your Social Security number and all other ID theft data to any schlub at Sprint who might have need for supplemental income from his Russian friends.
Sprint has a bad rep, well deserved by past CS and network issues.
Now, they have done a great job fixing them. I've been with Sprint for almost 2 years and have been impressed with the coverage. My Treo 700p and billing have been problem free (knock on wood).
What Sprint needs to do for its TV ads is get regular Sprint customers and have them talk about their quality experience with CS or the network.
Public perception is the key thing and if Sprint could show average customers it would be more effective advertising than a bunch of roadies, firefighters or the CEO.
Agreed that coverage area is totally dependent on location. On the west coast I have no complaints, but visit Cambridge with Sprint and you might as well just set your phone to "roaming only."
Though it seems that with the v1.08 "update" my 755 is dropping calls a little more frequently than it did. Hardware seems to be a major wildcard regarding coverage quality.
I think they say that has something to do with their local contracts or some other ridiculous reason. Zip codes are pretty easy to do a lookup, seems a better company would not make their prospective customers do so much work to try giving them money...