Watch out Philip! ;)

Charming, eh?

I wonder if they'll fire us as customers if we complain about waiting an hour to get a phone question answered at a company store, or for not signing up for another two year contract if all we intended to do was increase our services?

You'd think with all the problems they have had digesting Nextel, they'd be on a veritable charm offensive right about now, and not emulating the Nixon White House.

So Sprint/Nextel employees can't do this from home either?

If all the asshattery is true, I find it hilarious that they have 'internet adroit sleuths' waiting to pounce, or even an 'executive service team' monitoring for potentially bad PR. Want to know how to squash bad PR? PROVIDE EXEMPLARY SERVICE! Seriously, a kick in the face is in order here.

Sprint also offers employee's a $10.00 unlimited plan as part of the service agreement it becomes a "business asset" and as such they have the ability to monitor usage, text messaging, and inbound and outbound telephone numbers. Corporate security has compiled information on employees several times that led to disciplinary action.

jig's up! you're busted!

IANAL, but doesn't this conflict with whistleblower laws somewhere?

This is just plain fudging rediculous.

Ben, can you link to or provide some tips on how people can easily anonymize themselves online? Such as with the TOR network, proxies, tips for managing aliases, etc?

@jblake1

Please tell me you made that up.
That's some scary shit.

Maybe we could defeat this by pretending to be Sprint employees, causing them to waste their time and money tracking us down. It's sort of the "I am Spartacus!" defense. Of course, I'd hate for someone to be misidentified and fired.

As for jblake1's assertions, I think it works like this:

1. Declare that pesky little things like "freedom of speech" only apply to government, not corporations.
2. Privatize everything.
3. Profit!

I wish I was joking but I'm not. I know some people who have had their text messages read back to them by corporate security.

Ooh, looks like Mr. CEO isn't interested in "engaging in dialog" after all. If I worked at Sprint, I'd keep a Cingular pay-as-you-go phone in my pocket.

This kind of thing does wonders for employee morale. Excellent business decision.

Can someone explain to me how shorting a stock works, again?

Yeah, heaven forbid anyone learns how badly Sprint/Nextel really sucks from somebody on the inside. So much that silly "freedom of speech" thingy outlined in that wacky Constitution.

So, if you're a Sprint/Nextel employee, and you borrow your friend's Verizon phone, does the chip in your head report that back to corporate?

I SO believe you jblake1...

I used to work for a telecom company offering landline, mobile and isp services (+ many more)... and I know that employees taking sick days, but with a cell phone signal tracked in another city, or "moving" all day long were disciplined. Others were "spied" on (landline and cell phone records) to prove that they had unwanted "liaisons" (i.e. boss with subordinate).

BAH... I am so glad I am not working there anymore, because these stories are just the tip of the iceberg.

Almost makes me wanna get a job with Sprint just so I can leak stuff.

(There, that'll keep 'em busy for a while.)

The really SAD thing is that Sprint isn't even unique or uniquely assholic in this regard. Almost any employment contract these days contains a "Termination with Cause" bit related to "Disclosure of Confidential Information". What's confidential? Pretty much everything, really. It's not paranoia if they're really out to get you!

Being a former Sprint employee terminated by corporate security I can tell you they're nasty. I was violating company policy and brought in on a moments'notice to meet with them, I never even saw it coming.

They basically bring you into a private room and interogate the shit out of you like you were picked up on a homicide charger. The interogation last for anywhere from 2-8 hours, it's brutal. I was then terminated 2 days later with almost no explanation. Sprint ruined Nextel and I can't wait until Verizon consumes Sprint and fires all the scumbags like Gary Forsee.

I can only imagine how Sprint reacts when an employee declines the $10/month Sprint-provided cell phone service, thereby making it harder to track their activities.

That's exactly what I would do -- decline their "generous offer," get cell service with another company, and just tell Sprint that I don't own a cell phone.

Email I just received from a Sprint-Nextel employee friend of mine:

"I never received that communication and neither did anybody else I know including the lawyer sitting right next to me! I'm guessing this might be some sort of hoax, especially looking that collection of assorted conspiracy nuts that responded to that post!"

thenewpr, check out any of the numerous proxies online, including 2pointthis.com. These sites will help cover your tracks while surfing, and they also help you reach sites that the corporate fear mongers want you to stay away from. These types of sites are growing in popularity as organizations more tightly control employee web-surfing habits. The rub is that using these sites increases their exposure, risking them of being blocked as well.

I seriously am surprised that anyone is surprised by this assuming it's true. It's actually a really common thing in employment contracts in the brokerage industry pretty much banishing us from posting anything on sites or blogs without prior approval from your compliance departments. (whoops) Now with the securities industry, there actually is a liability issue when it comes to posting any information even vaguely relating to your industry, company, or clients. Your employer could be on the hook for anything you say. Technically, I'm on the hook for something that one of my direct reports do even if I didn't know about it.

Still, most people ignore it and blog away with the knowledge we may get called into a meeting with an HR rep, a compliance officer, and a legal rep. I've seen it happen.