[Aero]

Never threaten unless you are truly willing to follow it thru. If I worked in Retentions I would probably do that occassionally too with all of the "threats" they get daily on the phone and via email.

Well you would get fired fron retentions then.

You are missing the point. sprint has the highest churn rate in the industry. it is double that of verizon and the other major carriers. It is regularly cited in investment reporting/analysis.

...As lawilson2 said, you have to be ready to carry through with your threat if you call.

No thi e opposite is true. custemrs are supposed to say "I want to cancel." That is exactly the way the system is set up for getting discounts. You may not like it or not think sprint is correct in this system but you are mistaken not to think this is the qy callas are routed.

Retention reps are NOT supposed to give you the serious discounts unless you say you will cancel if you don't get them. This is what the retention (nee executive services) reps conistantly explain in places like sprint users.

say your company gets a 25% discount on verizon plans AND equipment. pay your bills on time.

[kdallen]

MORAL OF THE STORY.

Reps hear the standard "Gimme this or I'm leaving" entitlement crap all the time. Just be upfront and you will probably get what you want.

I have to agree. My 2 years was just re-set back in Sep and I'd only had my 650 since Dec, so they didn't owe me anything. I asked whether they would be willing to do anything to keep me from going to Verizon for a 700p and they lowered it from $649 to $349 and gave me a monthly discount on my bill.

[t2gungho]

Well you would get fired fron retentions then.

You are missing the point. sprint has the highest churn rate in the industry. it is double that of verizon and the other major carriers. It is regularly cited in investment reporting/analysis.

No thi e opposite is true. custemrs are supposed to say "I want to cancel." That is exactly the way the system is set up for getting discounts. You may not like it or not think sprint is correct in this system but you are mistaken not to think this is the qy callas are routed.

Retention reps are NOT supposed to give you the serious discounts unless you say you will cancel if you don't get them. This is what the retention (nee executive services) reps conistantly explain in places like sprint users.

say your company gets a 25% discount on verizon plans AND equipment. pay your bills on time.

What you posted sounds reasonable but I still think if you are going to threaten to leave, there has to be 'something' in the threat. Obviously someone in retentions didnt act as you suggested they should have so you can't assume everyone will follow the company policy when it comes to retentions.

[cha0s]

If you call retentions make sure the ball is in your court. I had been with Sprint 5 years now and went out of Contract twice. That is usually the time I call and ask "Are there any promotions going on, I am comparing competitve plans". That plus my credit is excellent with Sprint and my banks. I've always paid on time and my credit score is 820.
This is my plan:

2000 anytime mins - $85
unlimited n/w starting at 6pm -$0
line 2 - $0, line 3 w/ vision -$0, line 4-$10
unlimited text and power vision on primary line
sprint 2 sprint - $0
unlimited text messages
free roaming
24% business discount
20% loyalty discount
Just purchased the 700p for $400 without extending the contract.
My bill comes out to $90-100 but usually stays under $100, this after NY taxes which are like $40.

[pump142]

im not with sprint but this is interesting reading.
I would tend to think that if your normal monthly bill was higher (ie: you had 2 or 3 lines and or lots of extras) they might go farther to keep you? just a thot

[Bumble]

im not with sprint but this is interesting reading.
I would tend to think that if your normal monthly bill was higher (ie: you had 2 or 3 lines and or lots of extras) they might go farther to keep you? just a thot

Sprint in there system assigns people dollar signs showing there value. It is 1-5, and depending on your value to sprint depends on your offer. Like an average cust with $$ or $$$ wouldn't get as good as an offer as a $$$$$, but the more bonus you get and more discounts applied means your value goes down since your ARPU is lower.

EDIT: Please don't call in and ask what your rating is, they probably tell there is no rating, and if they admit it they def are not supposed to tell you it.

[coolbreeze78]

Sounds like Sprint is catching on to this strongarm tactic. Thankfully, I have successfully bluffed them 3 times in 6 yrs!

[VaccPalm]

They will always give customers who spend alot a deal. I had an uncle who was a reseller of Cell Phones and he told me he would give away the phones for nothing ( even $300 models ) . It was the service contract that was where the money was . Not on the phone. Its the Shaver example. The shaver companys lose money on the shavers but make it up in sales of the blades. Or video games. Sonys new Playstation 3 will cost them about $1000 a unit to produce but they will be selling them for $600 .
They make up the cost in assesories and games. Ever wonder why a controller cost $25 and games cost $50.

[jakerome]

If I ever threaten to cancel, I always start asking about number portability, and they remind me that I have to sign with a new carrier before cancelling in order to transfer the number. That gives me an easy out to avoid cancelling.

[Gaurav]

<moved>

[wbkm85]

lol, even i got offered $150 off this phone, and i've only been with sprint since dec. 05

you need to call back

[southbound747]

I guess if you're going to play the "game" with retentions you shouldn't immediately say you're going to cancel -- say that you are considering brand X instead.

I recently dealt with retentions...and I just said I was considering moving over to Verizon because my folks were there and they had their "IN" plan. I asked them what they could do to keep me as a customer because I love Sprint. When I put it that way, they wanted to HELP me stay with them.

I ended up getting a great deal because (as I was originally planning but didn't tell them) I brought my folks over to Sprint from Verizon and now we've got mobile to mobile which cuts down on MY minute usage!

I guess from my experience, what I would recommend is to put the retentions rep in a position that they feel they are helping you and that you want to stay. Put the ball in their court that it's up to them to "show you the money" in order for you to be really happy as a customer...

I have to agree you with you. i called rententions tonight to get powervision at a lower price with my new 700p. i told them i loved sprint but really felt $20 for power vision and $15 for sms was too much given that i have them free now included in my old plan where i get 2000 minutes for $100 with free vision and sms. so I got power vision for $10. and free sms for 2 years ($8 monthly after that). "you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar."