Great Sprint PCS Customer Service

[ComicalMoodyDan]

I know I've not been the biggest Sprint fan on this board but I have to say I just called there Kingsport, TN office inquiring on coverage at my house for my grandmother since her ALLTEL phone is doing very poorly lately and is considering switching providers. The guy that took my call was very friendly, he manged to tell me that they can plug in an address and show if there is coverage there or not. Apparently my area was shown as being covered. Although he was nice to inform me that its not always 100% accurate and if I would come by the main office with a credit card I could take a demo phone home with me for the day and see if it works here and bring it back to the office later on. My call was immediately answered and the guy was knowledable and extremely friendly. Kudo's to Sprint PCS [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

[larry]

See that. Maybe there's hope for them after all. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

[ComicalMoodyDan]

Maybe, I also called Verizon Wireless too Larry. Ugh and I can't say the same good thing for them I was put on hold for 10-15 minutes then when my call was answered the person was not very helpful, rude, and hung up on me. I was pleasently surprised at how good Sprint PCS was, talking to my grandmother too it looks like she might go over there one day and try out a demo phone of theres to see if it works where she needs it too.

[Frito]

Hold on one second here guys. FIrst of all saying Verizon has bad customer service is NOT true. You cant JUDGE The Largest wirless provider in this country based on one roten apple ( the rude CS person). Theres going to be good ones and bad ones just as there is in all companies. I recently called SPCS to update my sisters PRL and the first lady i got was very nice and helpfull however the third time i called back that day the guy i got was terrible rude and totolay unhelpfull. So as u see it just depends to whom ur call goes. Id say that all cell comapnies are lacking in Customer Service. But then again it just dpepends to whom ur CS call goes, if its to a nice skilled helpfull individual or someone who dosent care to be there dosent care to help you.

[Jack]

Good point

Jack

[ComicalMoodyDan]

Frito, I'm just saying what happend to me that's all I'm not judging the whole company based on one phone call and I totally agree with what you just said.

[roamer1]

In general, SPCS stores are good -- it's the call centers that are so troublesome (long hold times, right hands not knowing what left hands are doing, etc.; it seems that SPCS is trying to cut CS costs much more than any other carrier...)

You can get rude/arrogant/mean/etc. reps with any carrier (I've had run-ins with Verizon, believe it or not. Fortunately I know a very good Verizon sales rep that can get me around a lot of the CS people...)

-SC

[ComicalMoodyDan]

Larry, since you are the big Sprint PCS man on the board I wanna ask you something. I never really asked the person I talked to at Sprint PCS exactly what a demo phone is. I mean how long do you get to keep it out? and How many minutes you can use is basically what I am wanting to know. I'm assuming there is some sort of restriction like 24 hours only and xxx amount of minutes. Any info would be helpful [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

[larry]

Dan,
I'm not exactly sure how it works. I've only heard of this demo phone thing a couple of times.

[Jack]

Dan

Basically they take some of your info and a credit card (just in case you dont return the phone) and you can have it for 1-XXX days. depending on what sprint in your area will allow. Most dont have restrictions on how many minutes you can use they want you to test out the service so they want you to TALK

Jack

[ComicalMoodyDan]

Thanks, Jack thats a nice thing and it seems as though Sprint PCS is the only company to let you do that. I may get her a demo phone later this week and see how it works [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

[IdiOTeQnoLogY]

i randomly call spcs customer service just to see how long i have to stay on hold before a rep says hello after i get through claire and the last few weeks its been very good most times a 1-2 minute wait the rest all under 4 min. hopefully its a sign of a permanent change

[Jack]

Sometimes other companies will do loaner phones as well. If not directly through the provider then a reseller

Jack

Hey guys. In keeping with the theme of this thread, I thought you might appreciate this. It's from RCR Wireless News May 20. Once Sprint works out their "churn" issues--and improved customer service is the best way to do that--they will be a force to be reckoned with...Nextel too.


HEADLINE: Telus surprises, Sprint PCS and Nextel lead in bank's metrics

Sprint PCS walked away the top ranking in Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.'s quarterly metric ranking.

Deutsche Bank measures the five carriers it tracks on several fronts, including subscriber growth based on penetration gain, average revenue per user, customer churn, cost of acquisition and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization per subscriber.

With the lowest overall score, 35, Sprint PCS showed strong results in subscriber growth, where it reported the third-highest penetration gain for the quarter, fourth place in ARPU and a sixth-place finish in cost of acquisition. The only below-average showing for the carrier was a 14th-place finish in customer churn. Nextel Communications Inc. ranked second on the Deutsche Bank list with 38 points thanks to a first-place finish in ARPU; a third-place finish in EBITDA per subscriber; and fifth place in customer churn.

Deutsche Bank attributed these strong showings to the carrier's differentiated service offerings highlighted by its Direct Connect service.

''As usual, Nextel benefited from having the only differentiated services in the segment,'' the report said. ''(Direct Connect) has allowed Nexel to consistently report some of the best ARPU and churn metrics in the sector and (this quarter) was no different.''

Nextel's second-place finish came even with its last-place showing in cost of acquisition, which the carrier has attributed to its predominately high-quality business subscriber base.

Canadian operator Telus took a surprising third place in the carrier rankings with 42 points, after its sixth-place ranking in the previous quarter's metrics and an average 11th place ranking prior to that. Telus turned in a second-place finish in customer churn, fifth place in cost of acquisition and sixth in penetration gain for the quarter.

''We continue to view Telus, via its acquisition of Clearnet, as having some of the best management within the wireless sector in Canada,'' the report said.

Rounding out the top five were Sprint PCS affiliate AirGate PCS and AT&T Wireless Services Inc. affiliate Triton PCS, which both finished with 44 points.

Behind Sprint PCS' first-place finish and Nextel's second-place showing, AT&T Wireless was the next highest placed nationwide carrier in sixth place with 48 points, followed by Verizon Wireless Inc. in 11th place with 53 points, VoiceStream Wireless Corp. in 14th with 58 points and Cingular Wireless L.L.C. in 17th with 60 points.

The poorest performing carriers according to the Deutsche Bank rankings, included UbiquiTel Inc., which finished with 72 points due to last-place finishes in customer churn and EBITDA per subscriber; Canadian operator Microcell with 65 points, including a first place in cost of acquisition and a last-place finish in ARPU; and Western Wireless Corp., with 62 points and a last-place finish in penetration gain due to its reported loss of customers during the quarter.TextTelus surprises, Sprint PCS and Nextel lead in bank's metrics

[PCSfreak]

Sorry, that was me.

[ComicalMoodyDan]

Well guys my granny just got a loaner phone, its the SamSung 8500 and we have it out until Monday and there is no minute restriction on it apparently you can even make long distance calls on it and use the wireless web.

[ComicalMoodyDan]

Oops, sorry got the model number wrong its the SamSung SPH-N200

[Jack]

tell us how she likes it and what you think. Did the give her the silver or the blue version

That is a Very popular phone with sprint pcs

Jack

[ComicalMoodyDan]

Blue, I've never seen a silver one before.

[Gman]

If anyone is interested-

Regarding the last place finish that Ubiquitel (a Sprint PCS affiliate) got in the Deutsche Bank article that was posted- Their overall churn was high due to their acquisition of Via Wireless in central California. Via offered unlimited local calling plans similar to Cricket and when Ubiq. acquired them many people on those plans churned away. They also were hit hard when Sprint offered no deposit no credit check plans. The high credit risk clientele created a large churn last quarter. They now feel that they are over that particular problem and are attracting more tier 1 credit class individuals.

Btw, they claim that an independent company rated their network (through a driving survey) in central California as better than any other including Verizon, ATT etc.

G.

[larry]

Yes and Via Wireless was not considered a full Sprint network partner until Ubiquitel bought them out. Ubiquitel has added about 30+ new sites in the Central valley to improve the service in the past year.

[ComicalMoodyDan]

Just to do a little update on here both me and my granny has been using the Sprint PCS phone the past couple of days. Ehh... Sprint PCS isn't too good around here yet either. Outside the phone does fine while traveling on the interstate, near the major shopping centers, and etc.. coverage was fine.

Up in Johnson City, TN from what I seen the phone worked fine indoors and out. However the phone doesn't work too well in my mom's house most of the time its at no service and the same goes for my house. Oddly though outside at both it works fine.

One thing I have noticed is the phone seems to jump around in signal. Outside I can be talking on it and it will be at 4 bars, then drops to 2 all of the sudden. At my mom's it was even more strange the phone could be at 4 bars, then suddently it would go to 2 bars, then no service and when going indoors forget it the signal was gone. Sprint PCS did fine inside the JC Mall, Target, and Book-A-Million in Johnson City and did fine in a grocery store while in Kingsport.

Customer service was very good when going to get a demo phone with them. I found the woman to help us to be extremely friendly, honest, and knowledable so I will give Sprint credit there. Right now though it looks like my grandmother is going to stay with ALLTEL or maybe switch to SunCom though. Sprint PCS just doesn't have enough coverage around here yet to be a good choice.

[Jack]

Dan

Keep us informed

ITs too bad that it will not work inside the 2 houses for her

Jack

[ComicalMoodyDan]

Yes, it is Jack and I don't understand how the phone can jump around in signal so much. This doesn't seem to happen while on the road or while in the shopping centers but for some reason at both of the house's it does. 4, 2, gone. The phone has the latest PRL update and Software, it was updated just before we got it.

Too bad it doesn't work better the calls I've made and received are clear and I like the Voice Dialing and other features of the phone.

[larry]

Too bad. Residential areas are either hit or miss. The signal jumping around that much is a little strange but not the first time I've heard of this.

[ComicalMoodyDan]

Yeah well Larry, Sprint PCS's coverage just isn't as good around here as other carriers yet. Although I can't really blame them they have only been here since late 2000. The phone wouldnt work at all in K-Mart today where my granny's ALLTEL and my SunCom phone do fine.

Outdoors though it was good I was even able to make and hold a call while in Gate City, VA which is a hard area to cover by carriers since its smaller and the terrain is more mountainess. Sprint seems to be good outdoors from what I have seen so far but indoors its hit or miss.

[larry]

It's also an affiliate area. Sometimes it takes Sprint affiliates a little longer to build coverage because they don't have as much $$ to work with. Sprint has been here where I live in Orange County, CA since 1997 and I can get a good signal anyhere. Wait a year and try them again and I bet you will see improvements.

[ComicalMoodyDan]

Yeah, Larry I think I am gonna do that next year I might try a demo phone again and see if coverage is better then. I just got back me and my grandmother just took the demo phone back. They was really nice and didn't pressure us to buy with them just stated there sorry the phone didnt work well for us and to try them out sometime later down the line.

Sprint told me that SamSung isn't the best phone for signals either she admitted to me that the phone does have a tendacy to jump around in signal and in a few weeks they should be getting a new 3G demo phone. Apparenly from what I was told at Sprint the Kyocera 2255 is suppose to pick up the best signal. Also the woman that helped us out did admit coverage in Kingsport isn't up to par yet. I'll give Sprint this they are very honest and helpful from what I have seen so far.

[larry]

I have heard more complaints about Samsung then with Sanyo or Kyocera.

[Jack]

Dan

If she lets you I would consider taking a 3g phone once they hit. That could make a big difference with coverage

Jack