The author of the BuisnessWeek article “Sprint’s Wake-Up Call”, Spencer Ante, has posted his entire interview with Sprint’s new CEO, Dan “At Least I’m Not Gary Forsee” Hesse.

How important is customer service now at Sprint Nextel?
The most important economic driver is churn. Customer service plays such an enormous role in maximizing the customer life. It was very apparent it was the most singular issue. It was very apparent that job one was to improve customer service and reduce churn.

How long will it take to turnaround?
We are beginning to improve customer service already. There’s always a perception lag. We did have problems last summer. There will be a lag when it improves and when the world knows that Sprint’s customer service has improved. First call resolution and average speed of answer are measured. That’s improving right now.

How hard is it going to be?
The customer experience is much more than customer service. It’s retail. Network quality, ease of use of phone. Experience with care reps. There are a lot of things we are focusing on to improve customer service. You will see progress and regular progress. It is very doable. We have the right people in place. We will get it done. I am holding an all-employee Webcast to talk about this tomorrow.

Customer service is job one. This is the number one priority of the company.

More at Spencer’s blog.

Sprint CEO Dan Hesse Speaks About Customer Service [Creative Capital]
(AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, file)

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