"We weren't talking about the customer when I first joined..."

WTF? I don't have a PHD in economics, but my basic understanding of our economic system is that in order to sell products and services, you need someone to buy them. I believe those persons or entities that buy things are commonly referred to as, "customers."

I went to a charity auction last night sponsored by Sprint (who is headquartered here in KC). They were raffling off a new Palm Centro phone as a door prize. As soon as everyone found out that you had to get a Sprint contract with it, though, everyone stopped submitting their raffle slips.

Well, here's hoping the new CEO fixes this. I used Sprint years ago and they were great back in the early days of digital cellular.

I have Sprint and love the terrible service I get. Of course I am not the smartest bird in the cage either. I just do not do well when picking what companies to do "biz" with. DirecTV, Vonage and Sprint all seemed like great ideas at the time. Just label me stupid I guess.

Although I've heard these horror stories for a while, I took the plunge last year on a SERO plan. I could not have made a better choice. Unlimited texts, unlimited data, 500 minutes, 6pm nights, insurance for under 40 a month. And all without a hiccup.

On the other hand, maybe I've just been lucky that nothing has broken, sending me into a hellish spiral with CS.

I know I go against the grain here, but I have no problem with sprint.

@bobblack555:

ha ha ha ha... and they say they changed...

I have a theory that Six Sigma and TQM programs -- basically the crap that states "you can't manage what you can't measure" -- have led to the downfall of customer service in this country.

It forsakes true immeasureable solutions (overall customer experience, true problem resolution and overall satisfaction) in favor of BS corporate versions of roto-league baseball -- how many calls can be flipped in an hour, how long a customer remains on hold, how much crap can be upsold, how many contracts can be extended, ad infiniteum.

And they are liars as well.
I have had service through them for more than 6 years, first with Nextel and now this beast as well...
Almost 2 years ago I brought my 2 daughters cell phones. One lost hers after ~6 months, and the other had hers dropped into bleach water by a 3 year old child a few weeks before Xmas.
I brought new phones for them and gave them to them as a Xmas present, AND ADDED the insurance with them.
In early January I then replaced my old Nextel with a new Sprint phone, and then had the girls added to my plan.
2 Days after that, someone stole my oldests' phone. I reported it and then asked how does the replacement option work?
I was told that I had no option as it was never added to the phones when I brought them!
When they transferred the girls account into mine they deleted the account they had previously! They now claim that they NEVER had service before the day my phone was activated!
Even though I gave them the account number that I had paid for more than a year when they had their own account!
They know they are at fault and done want to honor a $300 phone replacement.
The manager even claims the same thing.
So when I asked where the money I had paid to the account # blah blah has went for the last X months, they claim they have no idea.
Additionally my company qualifies for a corporate discount that frequently gets dropped off for no apparent reason. If you don't watch your bills, then you are likely to pay more money because they go in and remove it for no apparent reason... And then argue with you to get it reinstated and credited.
I see why people are up in arms with their lack of service. They go out of their way to make a DISHONEST buck.

People that stay with sprint fall into three categories
1. Stuck in a contract
2. Stuck in a continually extended contract due to all the calls they make
3. Dont have a clue an enjoy bending over to recieve crappy service and sup par reception

Sorry people but Sprint sucked the dockeys ass long ago so now it has no balls.
Drop them like a bad habit, now this may be hard if you are a sprint junky after all some people just cant let go of abusive relationships.

When I cancelled my Sprint contract, I took no small measure of delight in taunting the "customer retention specialist" whose script came very close to outright belittling the customer for leaving Sprint.

He quickly ran out of script, and started gasping like a fish out of water as I rained questions down upon him. It was petty, but dammit, I enjoyed.

But when it was all said and done, I didn't have a problem with the Sprint network itself - I'd even say it out performs my current provider. But the pricing structure and customer service department were so abysmal that I happily paid the ETF just to be gone.

Verizonwireless all the way Best customer service reps ever, best reception ever. I get 4 bars of signal 99% of the places I go and this included parking structures.
Now verizon added a unlimited calling for $99 bucks so if you make lots of calls jump on the cool train!!
I dont work for them I am just a loyal customer, they won me and the only way I will ever leave is if another carrier pays me a million bucks. and even then I will still have verizon on another phone. I love them!!!!

@PHX602: Very much agree - immeasurable service and out of the way actions often are the highlight of good customer service. And strangely enough, some of these measures don't cost anything so they couldn't be measured.

Here's what I found funny...the "Hotel California" analogy of being able to check in but not out was already used here recently: [www.nytimes.com]

"It's like the Hotel California," said Nipon Das, 34, a director at a biotechnology consulting firm in Manhattan, who tried unsuccessfully to delete his account this fall. "You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave."

In light of the Hillary/Obama plagiarism dustup, its interesting to see Nipon Das of Manhattan and Attorney General Lori Swanson of Minnesota stealing each others technology analogies.

Shocking how poor customer service (like what's described) can affect the entire company.

Basic common sense business rules apply. It's about the customers, not the org charg. Consumerist.com vindicated.

Spring never ceases to amaze at how horrible their customer service can be. Our family abandoned Spring a decade ago after they magically stopped picking up signals in our area...we were in the suburbs!

OT: Vonage, IMO, was always too good to be true. Make phone calls through the internet! Pay far less than you would normally! Yeah, but between downtime and unreliable equipment and the constant reminder that some VoIP companies could fold like a house of cards in a minute, I'll stick to "conventional" methods.

@shadow735: but they cripple their phones. I'm a computer programmer, if I buy a phone with all the bells and whistles, I want to be able to use the bells and whistles. I've been torn for about a year, loose my good reception, or keep my phone that claims to do everything but really just makes calls ( and yes, I know that's it's main duty, but I didn't know how verizon cripples phones when I bought it, and paid way too much, I could have got a phone that does the same thing for $1.00 with my contract.)

I have Sprint, and I look at cell phone service as a best-of-the-worst kind of decision. All of the cell companies stink in their own way. Sprint has mediocre service, but I absolutely love the plan I have, and could not get it elsewhere.

@PHX602: That's an interesting theory. I'd heard of Six Sigma before, but never really knew what it entailed. Now I understand why "metrics" have become so important in my office. Unfortunately, they are a useless time-waster. We track the metrics, but they provide no useful information. While a number of us share the same job title and are essentially doing the same tasks, there are wildly varying levels of difficulty in what it takes for each of us to create similar products.

Consider a company which creates engines. No two people make the same engine. While one person makes lawn mower engines, another makes engines for nuclear-powered subs. Is it fair or useful to judge how many of the former engines are created during the time it takes to create one submarine engine? Not really. The only thing the metrics are capable of telling you is how each individual performs against himself, over time. You can't compare the engine makers' speed in output to each other.

Trying to compare, limit, quantify or control something varying as wildly as the complaints of customers is similarly silly. Complaints differ in complexity. Trying to create an arbitrarily limited response ignores the obvious. The more complex the issue, the more angry that customer will be with that limited response.

Sprint is stupid just think about it, bad rep gets spread faster then good rep. Good rep about a company gets spread when the subject is brought up (as in people looking for new cell phones/service) but bad service and experiences are told to everyone regardless if the subject is brought up or not.

@K-Bo: what do you mean by cripple, I got the LG black chocolate (which I hate to death but its the phones fault not verizon) basically my phone randomly dials gets activated ect because its in my pocket and the buttons are hella sensitive, plus the phone is a sec or two slow when going thru each function.
I dont understand about disabling functions though, are you using a pda phone or something like that?

@shadow735: Phones often have features that are built in (meaning in the hardware of the phone) but are not actually accessible due to the phone companies. The Chocolate is a good example - it has a speakerphone, but the first model of the phone didn't allow you to use it. Mine broke, and when it was replaced, the phone had speakerphone on the menu but it was the same phone, Verizon just decided we were now worthy of it.

@Ditch1852: I see what you are saying
I have the version with the speaker phone, it would be a cool phone IF I could disable buttons and functions, when the phone goes to sleep (screen darkens) and I get another call for some reason I cant pick up the other call when I hit the button to wake it up and click the telephone icon it hangs up the incoming call and sometimes the call I was on, but the most annoying thing is the ranndom things the phone does due to its sensitive buttons while I am on calls, or if its in my pocket. and I have the sesitivity set to the lowest setting.

@shadow735: bluetooth does so much more than let you use one of those little ear pieces, but verizon blocks all other functionality. Many verizon phones that are sold by other carriers also have much better software on the other carriers, verizon makes all their phones have the same crappy software. Those are just 2 examples that bug the heck out of me.

Companies can only offer two of these three things:
1. Price
2. Customer Service
3. Quality

Sprint/Nextel seems to only offer quality reception/phones (which is arguable).

I WOULD NEVER USE SPRINT/NEXTEL EVER AGAIN.... TERRIBLE BILLING PROBLEMS AND WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE EVERRRRRRRR..

YOU'VE LOST ME FOR LIFEEEE.

@K-Bo: What does Verizon block in regards to BT? I can use it to sync data, use a headset, and sync to other phones? What else do you need for BT? If anything you should blame phone manufacturers for crippling there phones with crappy firmware (LG I'm looking at you).

I have Sprint, and I must say when I had to deal with a CSR it's been hit or miss, but generally I'd say the service is good (atleast where I've lived.) Plus the SERO plan rules.

They can do whatever they want, but the public perception is that they don't give half a shit about their customers, and that's a tough reputation to shake. But they're a cell phone carrier. They're the worst in an industry full of worsts.

@jinjin1080: It's nice to be able to transfer programs and files like pictures, movies, and ringtones in and out of the phone via bluetooth. Like with my current phone (with t-mobile) I can just bluetooth a neat picture I took to a friend without having to MMS it over and have it reduced, stripped, whatever -- and it's faster.

@Ditch1852: I noticed that too. I'm trying to remember the Hotel California reference I saw this week, it wasn't either of these. Must be the hot analogy this week.

I'm stuck with Sprint at the moment and am counting down days until I can rid myself of them in September. They have been so awful, I've committed myself to completely ridding myself of mobile phones, not just Sprint. I lost my phone somewhere in my house (we're moving) this week and I haven't missed it at all. I haven't been nearly as stressed as I usually am either. I hope it stays lost!

Sprint customer service has been terrible since way before the Nextel merger. Nextel wasn't so hot either. I've had both and I dont recommend either. The experience is just awful.

Sprint had good service in the LA area, great deals on phones, decent calling plans. but all that means nothing when you're getting the worst customer service EVER. as soon as my contract was up, i left. i don't know anyone who still uses Sprint.

As someone who used to work for MCI, which became Sprint, which ate Nextel, let me tell you it was the worst year of my life.
Customer Service and Retention for the "new Microsoft Network". Yeah. Remember that? Supposed to take down AOL with one fell swoop?

I'm lucky I didn't die of ulcers.

@AaronZ: Several people I know don't have any problems. But when I start to ask questions I often find that they've never moved, they don't look at their itemized charges, they don't use features, they don't travel much...

I'm not saying you don't, but ignorance truly is bliss sometimes.

I got out of a contract with Sprint in early 2000 because they falsely advertised they serviced ALL of the Houston Metro area. Nope. I lived in Zip Code 77018 (smack dab in middle of Harris County, and in Houston's inner loop) and tested with 2 other friends with sprint phones (and different makers) - NOBODY with sprint could place or receive a call in that area. I called and demanded a cell phone field or tower technician to talk to or call me back and they refused to get one. So I said "unless you can have a technician prove to me and show me getting or receiving a call on a Sprint phone in this zip code, I'm cancelling for cause. They declined the test, and no contract fee.

@jinjin1080: My phone (admittedly over 2 years old) only allows headset bluetooth profiles. It will see but not connect to any other profiles. Good when one of my idiot friends wants to beam me a picture of his butt, not so much the rest of the time.

I have no problem with Sprint either because I dont call them. As a former CSR I can tell you that we were offered bonuses for the most sales I thought it was currupt system because I would track my own sales and it never added up to what they said I had. If are calls were too long someone would come tell us to to wrap it up basically. We were timed on how long it took to take calls and told that we have to keep it under 7.5 minutes if not it dropped our numbers and didnt look good for our team.

Also I hated how the system was you got 2 15 minute breaks and so if you had to get up and use the bathroom that cut into our breaks.

It sucked ass working as a CSR for them.

@shadow735: There's also my category: Get significant discount through my employer, all my employer's company-issued phones are Sprint so I can have a low-minute plan and still take calls from coworkers, and I was smart enough to choose the plan I wanted at the outset and don't have to game the system and get a new phone every 3.25 months. I have a reliable phone, great reception, high-speed data and no significant complaints. I don't assume that my situation is representative of their customer base as a whole, and you might do well not to assume that everyone who doesn't think Sprint is the puppy-eating spawn of Satan is a moron.

They'll fix it? Whatever...SHOW ME, and I might believe it.

I used to have Sprint up until they tried to charge my husband and I a $125 fee for the two of us to get a joint account, despite the fact that we both had seperate Sprint accounts in good standing. They said it was because "We show you're not in good standing" and refused to give more details. This was after we had both had accounts for over 3 years each and had paid on time every month. When I told them that was ridiculous and we could walk next door to the Cingular store, the CSR said "You're welcome to do so." So uh, we did. And as much as I dislike AT&T, it sure beats being treated the way Sprint treated me.

@PHX602: "how many calls can be flipped in an hour, how long a customer remains on hold, how much crap can be upsold, how many contracts can be extended, ad infiniteum"

Upselling a customer and extending contracts should count as negatives in your metrics -- things which have to be offset by positive customer experiences in order to be keeping your head above water, customer service wise.

All these companies that shortchange their customers with customer service (giving time limits to call, making it difficult to talk to a person, etc.) will realize in the long run, it's bad for business.

One company I worked at figured that every minute a customer sat on hold it cost that company $1,000. Not sure how they figured this, but it's one of the main drivers in monitoring call times.

I can understand CSR Time tracking for training, but I can't think of a single company that has benefited from moving away from First Call Resolve to Call Time tracking as official performance measurements.

If your main objective is tracking the time of your agents, then they are more likely to hang up people, transfer them to departments (aka punting the customer), or other tactics that result in a service loss that your customer bears.

Stuff like this is unfair for the representative, and it's unfair for the customer. Your company doesn't save any money, because your customers have to keep calling back in to get their problem fixed. They still wait in queue, and it's still costing the company money.

Bravo for being mentioned in the same issue of BusinessWeek as a Consumer Vigilante.

OK, have we determined yet which is the "best" cell phone company? Any time there's a post here about a cell phone company, whether it be CS problems, getting out of contracts, whatever, people bash whatever company is being discussed. I've had Sprint for nearly 6 years, and have had 1 minor billing problem- which was quickly fixed- and no other issues. Despite that, I've strongly considered ditching them when my plan is up b/c of of all the horror stories I've read here. I have no idea who I'd switch to, though, since every provider seems to have their detractors.

@GearheadGeek: Okay then there are 4 categories of people still with sprint

4. Lucky customers that have not had any issues or problems with Sprint.

:Fixed:

@ARP: Peter Lynch, the genius of business quotes says, "The sole purpose of a business is to create a customer." With no customers, no reason to be a business. Course, once they're customers, it's up to you how you treat em.

A small technical point: "Churn" is the rate of drops, not of retained customers. You manage your churn rate by retaining more customers (through good service or shady means if you're Sprint/Nextel). Technically, a measure of retention, but only through deduction. The use of Churn above should be "retention rate" not Churn.

@GearheadGeek: I'm in the same boat, except I don't even work at the company anymore. Nobody has ever asked for verification, so I just keep on taking my discount and not making a fuss :)

Makes me wonder if the majority of their customers are corporate accounts who just don't care enough to cancel.

@PHX602: Disagree about TQM/Six Sigma. There are some really great applications, and you could even apply TQM to customer service in a useful way. Six Sigma, maybe not, but if you like your big screen plasma/lcd TV, believe it or don't, that comes from a Six Sigma process by 3M (they have like 90% of the market share in the technology to etch the screens... I'm gonna stop pretending I understand the technical processes behind a modern TV here... just that 3M is behind it and they are a Six Sigma company top to bottom).

Worked on an initiative to bring TQM to St. Louis schools. It can be customer friendly.

Think of these like tools. A Hammer can be used to build houses, it can be used to bash heads in. The hammer doesn't have a moral value. The user does. TQM/Six Sigma can be used for good or for avarice. Clearly, the management at Sprint/Nextel is not using it for good in customer service.

I was with the old Sprint, love their vision plan with unlimited everything except for minutes. But when it came time to leave, they wouldn't let go of my number for some reason, so I had to carry two phones for a few days. A year after I left Sprint they somehow gave my number to someone else, and had to nerve to call and say I had to give up my number (one that I've had for years) to their new customer. I was not amused, their new customer got a new number.