I have no association with SprintPCS and there is a greater than zero chance
there may be errors herein. I believe everything to be correct, but use the
information at your own risk.
What about retention deals? SprintPCS wisely would prefer that customers not
leave, its been reported it costs ~$365 to obtain a new customer in
advertising, support, and phone price subsidies, etc.; so it behooves SprintPCS
to try to retain customers by offering them a deal. However this is a murky,
semi-secret, here-to-fore not fully documented process.
Car Manufacturers often have a $1000 loyalty bonus for folks that buy a car
that is the same make as their existing one. Those plans are not secret.
Sprint could save a lot of grief and help themselves by switching to a single
predictable advertised retention plan. Bonus 5% extra minutes after first year
with Sprint and 2% more for each additional year might work. Some SprintPCS
employees will insult me, but SprintPCS does not keep secret the special deals
for new customers, why should it keep secret the deals it has to retain
customers? Ford doesn't. From what I have read in this newsgroup, I read about
customers SprintPCS has lost because the customer didn't know how to get or
wasn't offered a retention deal, that SprintPCS might have been happy to
offer.....IF IT HAD BEEN ASKED FOR....
FAQ on retention Deals from SprintPCS
Who should I contact?
Outside of a contract call CANCELLATION or go to a SprintPCS owned store and
talk to a manger and try to negotiate a deal. The variability of deals is truly
astounding, and while its been discussed, I'm not sure I or anyone else has a
good handle on how to get the best deal, other than its a matter of luck and
who you negotiate with, and how well you can negotiate, and your standing as a
SprintPCS customer. Such unpredictability is the reason for this FAQ.
CANCELLATION = 1-866-762-0468
How do I negotiate?
When buying a car, I always found the best negotiating tactic was:
"I don't think that’s the best deal you're allowed to offer me, let me go eat
lunch, and think on it.”
What works best in negotiating with Sprint?
So apparently with Sprint, you call Cancellation and say "I'm seriously
considering switching to XXXXXXX Carrier because.....; are there any deals you
could offer me to consider to stay with Sprint?"
In my case I said (and meant it) "I'm considering switching to Verizon as my
son now has Verizon, and with their deals on 1000 Free Verizon to Verizon
minutes, I'd come out ahead".
A former SprintPCS rep said (in this newsgroup) he could always tell who was
really getting ready to Cancel, and who was bluffing. If the Sprint rep says
"OK I can cancel you", you say, "I have 2 more weeks this billing period, let
me think about it, don't cancel me yet; when should I call back to cancel so as
not to be charged another month, if that’s what I decide?" Then hang-up, wait
30 seconds call Cancellation again, and try another rep. Always ask for
something extra when they make an offer. If they say: we can offer you xxx
minutes for only $yyy/month with unlimited nights and weekends. Say "That
sounds enticing, if you can also add unlimited PCS to PCS and we have a deal",
might work for you. or if you're a high dollar customer (over $70/month) also
ask for a credit on your account.
A Sprint employee in 9/2003 posted the following suggestions
(spelling corrected)::
They can't cancel you unless you tell them specifically to cancel, if you
say you're thinking of canceling, they won't cancel you.
How long have you been a customer? $97 per month for all 4 lines? I'm
assuming you have 3 add-a-phones.
Use what you know to your advantage. If your bill is always paid on
time and in full, say that. Also, do some shopping around at the
competitors first, if you see a better deal, write it down and who it is
with.
Stay calm, and be polite. If you don't get what you like, say 'thank
you' and call back a few minutes later.
Keep to your "I'm thinking of canceling soon" attitude. Think of
the reasons to cancel, if you're not in a contract, then you have more
ammunnition.
What retention deals are available?
Go to Google, select groups, select advanced group search, pick
alt.cellular.sprintpcs as newsgroup, and "Retention deal" as phrase
and search the last few months and see what people have gotten so you'll
know what you could reasonably expect, after examining the dozens posted here
recently. Some claim they have stopped offering unlimited Vision as a free
bonus.
Am I a good candidate for a good retention deal?
Apparently the longer you have been a Sprint customer, and if you've never been
late with a payment, and the more phones you have, and the more you pay per
month, the better chance you have to get a good retention deal. You also need
to be not on contract, or in the last month or so of a contract, although not
necessarily.
Are there any other ways to save?
Yes! If you work for a large company, it may have a deal negotiated with
SprintPCS that will also allow any employee to participate. These deals offer a
discount of 5 to 27% on monthly repeating charges, and discounts on new
equipment purchases. Further, business plans are never charged "Activation"
fees; and likely have a dedicated SprintPCS employee in the Sprint business
department to handle billing problems, etc. These discounts would be ON TOP OF
any promotional plan or retention plan, you would contact either your company's
Sprint representative or the Business # 1-888-788-4727
SprintPCS now allows any customer to get new customer deals on a new phone if
you have been using the same phone for 18 months. You get the discount by
rebate however.
=========
Oct. 31, 2003
This FAQ is based on my experiences and the reported experiences of others as
posted in this newsgroup. SprintPCS is free to change its policies at any time,
and I make no guarantee as to what will happen if one seeks a retention plan,
and cannot be held responsible for your results. I believe it would serve
SprintPCS better if it were not secretive about these plans, and view this
posting as helpful to Sprint. I welcome ===constructive=== criticism and
additions.
Personal insults addressed to the author will be ignored.
One former employee has the notion that availing oneself of these opportunities
is "Stealing" from SprintPCS. Hardly. You won't be holding a gun to their head,
just asking for deals that not everyone knows about. Sprint wouldn't give you a
retention deal if you weren't eligible and they didn't want you to have it. In
many cases they are adding Plan Minutes that they reasonably expect won't be
used anyway. But I like having extra minutes I don't use so I don't have to
carefully track my usage. If you're the type that insists on paying full
sticker price every time you buy a car, then maybe asking for a Retention plan
is not for you.
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