Retention FAQ

This FAQ is in no way authored by Sprint Spectrum, Sprint or Sprint PCS
unless otherwise expressly noted. By reading on, you agree that you are
fully aware of this. I see many questions asked repeatedly about rate
plans, and thought an "Unofficial Retention FAQ" was in order. I have no
association (i.e. never been employed or received any remuneration from
them) with SprintPCS and there is a greater than zero chance there may
be errors herein. My only association with SprintPCS is as a current
customer interested in the vagarities of its policies. I believe
everything to be correct, but use the information at your own risk. This
FAQ comes not from SprintPCS, so it is unofficial, but apparently has
useful information some SprintPCS apologists are upset about being made
public, and one even threatened me with by forwarding this FAQ to
SprintPCS legal. Haven¹t heard a peep from them in after 7 months, cause
this FAQ is all true to the best of my knowledge.

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
new 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 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, maybe SprintPCS¹
policies that week, 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 recently reported as 1-866-207-7913,

How do I negotiate?

When buying a car, I always found the best negotiating tactic was:
"I don't think that¹s the best deal you're allowed to offer me, let me
go think on it.²

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?" or ³my cousin
just got a 750 Minute plan for $40/month, and I¹d like the same deal².

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 that¹s
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 (tech Geek) on 9/20/2003 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
ammunition.

Another Sprint employee (o/siris) on 8/7/2003 said: " Or walk into a
store and ask about the "Handset Upgrade Program." You may be
surprised."


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. Most commonly they offer you additional anytime minutes,
perhaps because it appears you wouldn¹t use them anyway. Sometimes you
may get a discount on purchasing a replacement phone. In the Spring of
2004, folks could get 750 Anytime minutes for $40/month with unlimited 8
PM nights and weekends and free PCS to PCS.


Am I a good candidate for a good retention deal?

Apparently the longer you have been a Sprint customer, and maybe 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 helps to be not on contract, or in the last
month or so of a contract, although not necessarily. Some have said
contract status seems not to count.


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 users 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.

Some folks swear by (although others swear at) bargains obtained on eBay
when purchasing a phone. Caveat emptor. Some folks insist one should
only buy their phones at Costco, or a large Department Store as their
³Satisfaction Guarantee² may cover you when a SprintPCS warrantee might
not (like with a busted screen).
=======
If you experience Dropped Calls, SprintPCS will give a credit each time
that happens. One dials *2, enters 1 (for English) and tells Claire
"Dropped Call Credit"; where upon with no human intervention you get a
50 cent credit on your account.
===========
If you have a friend that goes with Sprint because of your discussions
with them, SprintPCS will give you a referral credit of $20, limit one
per month.



=========

April 26, 2004
This FAQ is based on my experiences and opinions and the reported
experiences of others as posted in this newsgroup. Always go by the
latest dated FAQ and ignore all earlier ones. 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 or ³abusing² the system.
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 just 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.

==============

P.S. Earthlink does similar things, the group that gives credits or
discounts is called their "Saves" group.

rmarkoff@msn.com (Robert M.) wrote:
<<This FAQ comes not from SprintPCS, so it is unofficial, >>

so, in other words, take it with a grain of salt.

And with this, ole Phillipe has reached his 69th different ID ...

Bob::my kill filters are starting to bulge ... :