1.6.08

STUPID BLOGGER WON'T UPLOAD PIC TONIGHT....and now it does.

It was asked of me as i scanned today's entry. "Are you scanning your cell phone?" As though scanning my cell phone is silly.... Why is that silly? I did pepperoni.

Anyway, today's thoughts are about Customer Service... particularly Sprint's Customer Service... or the lack thereof. It almost makes me laugh as I write this, because Sprint is having major customer retention currently... In fact they have the highest churn rate (ratio of customers coming vs. customers leaving)... What is even more interesting is that Sprint has a fine product. Their data/voice services are excellent... But, this isn't about their high points... this is about their lack of customer service.

This past month, i convinced a friend to switch to Sprint... it was a no-brainer, because he is with T-Mobile... and they just suck! Anyway, We started this process before Christmas and he just got his phone activated today. This has only happened after yelling, screaming to about 20 people, having various mysterious charges on a credit card, and being told "you can hang up now." You would think that their newest customers would be important to them... not so much.

Like a lot of companies, Sprint outsources their customer service overseas and as such it comes with many problems.... Their representatives are almost always too difficult to understand, they can never understand the problem and you get transferred at least 3 times per phone call.

The moral of the story is.... for consumers: if you are looking for a cell phone company to be at your beckon call... Sprint is not for you. However, if you are looking for high quality voice/data services, Sprint is an excellent choice (I, for one, have been very satisfied). For Sprint: They better do something quick or they will continue to lose customers to other companies.

SIDE (semi-interesting) NOTE: Sprint is #3 in total customers, after AT&TWireless/Cingular/AT&T and Verizon Wireless.