Can SOMEBODY explain Sprint plans?

I just called up a Sprint store. I also went online. There are two
kinds of plans - Free & Clear and Fair & Flexible. I asked for the
difference. They told me that there is none except that the Free &
Flexible allows you to pay only $5 per every 100 minutes over your
plan. With the Free & Clear, you pay a lot more.

OK. Gotcha so far. So what would I get with Free & Clear that I don't
get with Fair & Flexible? I was told by the salesperson and her boss
"nothing, that is why 98% go with the Fair & Flexible."

Wait, not so fast. I asked him the same question I asked the junior
salesperson. Why would anyone ever go for the Clear if the Flexible is
the exact same but with better features if you go over your minutes?
He answers "some people don't go over their minutes and don't need
them." This is like an Abbot and Costello comedy. I tried to explain
yet again - why would anyone choose a plan that might cost them more
if it doesn't cost them anything to get a plan that will reduce the
amount of money it costs if they happen to go over their minutes?
After all, if it doesn't cost them anything, why agree to go with the
same plan except agree to pay more if you go over your alotted time?

Pause. He says "If you were offered last year's Lexus or this year's
brand new Lexus, you'd probably take the brand new Lexus and that's
why 98% of our customers choose the Fair & Flexible." I'm about to
have a cow. I asked him who the 2% might be who would choose an old
used car when the same money would get them a brand new one? He said
"well, that's the choice we give people to allow them the opportunity
to choose and the Free & Clear plan is the older plan that we will be
phasing out." So I asked the obvious follow up question... "Given that
both plans cost the same money... why bother even offering the Free &
Clear plan which isn't as good for your customers?"

Stupid question. He answers that many people are on the old plan so
they give customers the option to choose whichever plan they prefer.

Could this get any dumber? So who is to blame for this... the
salespeople in the store or the marketing genuises at Sprint?

---

› See More: Can SOMEBODY explain Sprint plans?

JSOUL dot com wrote:
> I just called up a Sprint store. I also went online. There are two
> kinds of plans - Free & Clear and Fair & Flexible. I asked for the
> difference. They told me that there is none except that the Free &
> Flexible allows you to pay only $5 per every 100 minutes over your
> plan. With the Free & Clear, you pay a lot more.
>
> OK. Gotcha so far. So what would I get with Free & Clear that I don't
> get with Fair & Flexible? I was told by the salesperson and her boss
> "nothing, that is why 98% go with the Fair & Flexible."

Well, here's the thing. They're almost identical. But if you go over by only a
couple minutes in any given month, you still pay the $5 on F&F. Not so on F&C.

> Pause. He says "If you were offered last year's Lexus or this year's
> brand new Lexus, you'd probably take the brand new Lexus and that's
> why 98% of our customers choose the Fair & Flexible."

Wow, that was stupid.

If you go over on a regular basis and the amount of minutes you go over varies
widely, you're best off using F&F. If you never go over, you're probably best
off using F&C if the plans are cheaper (I forget if they are or not).

> Could this get any dumber? So who is to blame for this... the
> salespeople in the store or the marketing genuises at Sprint?

Your sales rep was a flaming moron. Did my explanation help at all?

--
JustThe.net - Apple Valley, CA - http://JustThe.net/ - 888.480.4NET (4638)
Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / [email protected] / PGP: 0xE3AE35ED

"The wisdom of a fool won't set you free"
--New Order, "Bizarre Love Triangle"

"JSOUL dot com" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I just called up a Sprint store. I also went online. There are two
> kinds of plans - Free & Clear and Fair & Flexible. I asked for the
> difference. They told me that there is none except that the Free &
> Flexible allows you to pay only $5 per every 100 minutes over your
> plan. With the Free & Clear, you pay a lot more.
>
> OK. Gotcha so far. So what would I get with Free & Clear that I don't
> get with Fair & Flexible? I was told by the salesperson and her boss
> "nothing, that is why 98% go with the Fair & Flexible."
>
> Wait, not so fast. I asked him the same question I asked the junior
> salesperson. Why would anyone ever go for the Clear if the Flexible is
> the exact same but with better features if you go over your minutes?
> He answers "some people don't go over their minutes and don't need
> them." This is like an Abbot and Costello comedy. I tried to explain
> yet again - why would anyone choose a plan that might cost them more
> if it doesn't cost them anything to get a plan that will reduce the
> amount of money it costs if they happen to go over their minutes?
> After all, if it doesn't cost them anything, why agree to go with the
> same plan except agree to pay more if you go over your alotted time?
>
> Pause. He says "If you were offered last year's Lexus or this year's
> brand new Lexus, you'd probably take the brand new Lexus and that's
> why 98% of our customers choose the Fair & Flexible." I'm about to
> have a cow. I asked him who the 2% might be who would choose an old
> used car when the same money would get them a brand new one? He said
> "well, that's the choice we give people to allow them the opportunity
> to choose and the Free & Clear plan is the older plan that we will be
> phasing out." So I asked the obvious follow up question... "Given that
> both plans cost the same money... why bother even offering the Free &
> Clear plan which isn't as good for your customers?"
>
> Stupid question. He answers that many people are on the old plan so
> they give customers the option to choose whichever plan they prefer.
>
> Could this get any dumber? So who is to blame for this... the
> salespeople in the store or the marketing genuises at Sprint?

The person to blame is .... get ready for it .... YOU!. Did you even take
the time to look over the pricing differences between F & F and F & C? No
plan is right for everyone ... and SPCS offers different levels of plans per
what the individual or families needs. F & F plans require a 2 year
commitment. F & C plans require a 1 year commitment.

You made no mention what your needs, in terms of minutes are. Let's say you
need 700 minutes. With F & F, the cost would be $50 plus whatever other
options you wanted, plus T & S. In a F & C, the cost would be $50/mo, plus
options plus T & S for 600 minutes. If you find 700 AT minutes aren't
enough, you can get a F & C plan for $65 for 1100/mo. minutes. If you found
you needed 1100 AT minutes on the F & F plan, the cost would move up to $70.
These are SPCS corporate coverage area rates I'm listing here.

It's too bad that the salesmen did not tell you of the differences. It's
also too bad that you didn't read the differences yourself, either at the
store or from their website.

Bob

What Steve said plus. There is a third category. We are on the FFF
Fair Flexible Family plan with three phones. I doubt we will often go
over the 800 minutes. But the flexible is cheep enough that I am not
worried.

Bob Smith wrote:

> The person to blame is .... get ready for it .... YOU!

No, it isn't.

He was trying to get educated on the different plans, and it sounds like the
salesrep was a total goober.

--
JustThe.net - Apple Valley, CA - http://JustThe.net/ - 888.480.4NET (4638)
Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / [email protected] / PGP: 0xE3AE35ED

"The wisdom of a fool won't set you free"
--New Order, "Bizarre Love Triangle"

On Tue, 12 Apr 2005 00:51:08 GMT, "Bob Smith"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>
>"JSOUL dot com" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>> I just called up a Sprint store. I also went online. There are two
>> kinds of plans - Free & Clear and Fair & Flexible. I asked for the
>> difference. They told me that there is none except that the Free &
>> Flexible allows you to pay only $5 per every 100 minutes over your
>> plan. With the Free & Clear, you pay a lot more.
>>
>> OK. Gotcha so far. So what would I get with Free & Clear that I don't
>> get with Fair & Flexible? I was told by the salesperson and her boss
>> "nothing, that is why 98% go with the Fair & Flexible."
>>
>> Wait, not so fast. I asked him the same question I asked the junior
>> salesperson. Why would anyone ever go for the Clear if the Flexible is
>> the exact same but with better features if you go over your minutes?
>> He answers "some people don't go over their minutes and don't need
>> them." This is like an Abbot and Costello comedy. I tried to explain
>> yet again - why would anyone choose a plan that might cost them more
>> if it doesn't cost them anything to get a plan that will reduce the
>> amount of money it costs if they happen to go over their minutes?
>> After all, if it doesn't cost them anything, why agree to go with the
>> same plan except agree to pay more if you go over your alotted time?
>>
>> Pause. He says "If you were offered last year's Lexus or this year's
>> brand new Lexus, you'd probably take the brand new Lexus and that's
>> why 98% of our customers choose the Fair & Flexible." I'm about to
>> have a cow. I asked him who the 2% might be who would choose an old
>> used car when the same money would get them a brand new one? He said
>> "well, that's the choice we give people to allow them the opportunity
>> to choose and the Free & Clear plan is the older plan that we will be
>> phasing out." So I asked the obvious follow up question... "Given that
>> both plans cost the same money... why bother even offering the Free &
>> Clear plan which isn't as good for your customers?"
>>
>> Stupid question. He answers that many people are on the old plan so
>> they give customers the option to choose whichever plan they prefer.
>>
>> Could this get any dumber? So who is to blame for this... the
>> salespeople in the store or the marketing genuises at Sprint?
>
>The person to blame is .... get ready for it .... YOU!. Did you even take
>the time to look over the pricing differences between F & F and F & C? No
>plan is right for everyone ... and SPCS offers different levels of plans per
>what the individual or families needs. F & F plans require a 2 year
>commitment. F & C plans require a 1 year commitment.

Considering that I called the Sprint store to ask about the plans and
their own representatives told me there was no difference (including
the toll free number at Sprint for the third opinion), perhaps you
should cut the newcomer some slack here. Unfortunately it's not clear
at all.

>You made no mention what your needs, in terms of minutes are. Let's say you
>need 700 minutes. With F & F, the cost would be $50 plus whatever other
>options you wanted, plus T & S. In a F & C, the cost would be $50/mo, plus
>options plus T & S for 600 minutes. If you find 700 AT minutes aren't
>enough, you can get a F & C plan for $65 for 1100/mo. minutes. If you found
>you needed 1100 AT minutes on the F & F plan, the cost would move up to $70.
>These are SPCS corporate coverage area rates I'm listing here.

Ah. OK. I see. Most of them are so hell bent on selling the F & F plan
that they don't hear what they are saying. In fact, they shove that
F&F plan everywhere (probably because of the 2 year commitment so they
can convince it's a way better plan and worth it to make the
commitment.)

>It's too bad that the salesmen did not tell you of the differences. It's
>also too bad that you didn't read the differences yourself, either at the
>store or from their website.

Nothing is written clearly. There is so much F & F and no real
comparison it's hard to tell. Considering that someone tells you that
98% opt for F & F and that the F & C is the "old" plan it's difficult
to perceive the difference. In fact on the web site the F & F is the
recommended plan. You have to be incredibly well versed to know the
subtlies. Jeez. Glad I asked HERE and not any further at any Sprint
location...

On Tue, 12 Apr 2005 00:51:08 GMT, "Bob Smith"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>
>"JSOUL dot com" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>> I just called up a Sprint store. I also went online. There are two
>> kinds of plans - Free & Clear and Fair & Flexible. I asked for the
>> difference. They told me that there is none except that the Free &
>> Flexible allows you to pay only $5 per every 100 minutes over your
>> plan. With the Free & Clear, you pay a lot more.
>>
>> OK. Gotcha so far. So what would I get with Free & Clear that I don't
>> get with Fair & Flexible? I was told by the salesperson and her boss
>> "nothing, that is why 98% go with the Fair & Flexible."
>>
>> Wait, not so fast. I asked him the same question I asked the junior
>> salesperson. Why would anyone ever go for the Clear if the Flexible is
>> the exact same but with better features if you go over your minutes?
>> He answers "some people don't go over their minutes and don't need
>> them." This is like an Abbot and Costello comedy. I tried to explain
>> yet again - why would anyone choose a plan that might cost them more
>> if it doesn't cost them anything to get a plan that will reduce the
>> amount of money it costs if they happen to go over their minutes?
>> After all, if it doesn't cost them anything, why agree to go with the
>> same plan except agree to pay more if you go over your alotted time?
>>
>> Pause. He says "If you were offered last year's Lexus or this year's
>> brand new Lexus, you'd probably take the brand new Lexus and that's
>> why 98% of our customers choose the Fair & Flexible." I'm about to
>> have a cow. I asked him who the 2% might be who would choose an old
>> used car when the same money would get them a brand new one? He said
>> "well, that's the choice we give people to allow them the opportunity
>> to choose and the Free & Clear plan is the older plan that we will be
>> phasing out." So I asked the obvious follow up question... "Given that
>> both plans cost the same money... why bother even offering the Free &
>> Clear plan which isn't as good for your customers?"
>>
>> Stupid question. He answers that many people are on the old plan so
>> they give customers the option to choose whichever plan they prefer.
>>
>> Could this get any dumber? So who is to blame for this... the
>> salespeople in the store or the marketing genuises at Sprint?
>
>The person to blame is .... get ready for it .... YOU!. Did you even take
>the time to look over the pricing differences between F & F and F & C? No
>plan is right for everyone ... and SPCS offers different levels of plans per
>what the individual or families needs. F & F plans require a 2 year
>commitment. F & C plans require a 1 year commitment.

Looking again at the page I looked at there is no mention of a 2 year
commitment for the F & F plan. I found that requirement on another
page when I was browsing and realized it only because you mentioned
it. Thanks.

"Steve Sobol" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> Bob Smith wrote:
>
>> The person to blame is .... get ready for it .... YOU!
>
> No, it isn't.
>
> He was trying to get educated on the different plans, and it sounds like the
> salesrep was a total goober.

That's a case of misplaced trust.
I'd trust the written plans (on the website or in a SprintPCS brochure)
much more than I'd trust the spoken word of a sales person.

--
John Richards

"Steve Sobol" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Bob Smith wrote:
>
> > The person to blame is .... get ready for it .... YOU!
>
> No, it isn't.
>
> He was trying to get educated on the different plans, and it sounds like
the
> salesrep was a total goober.

Steve, he didn't even go to the store. He said he called the store. All the
information was listed on the site, and he apparently knew that there were
two sets of plans, and they are fairly easy to understand. The OP should
have dug a little deeper in the web site, as it appears all his questions
could be answered there.

As for the fault, I didn't discount the sales force not telling the OP the
differences. We don't know squat about what salesman, or the length of time
the salesman has been out of training whether the salesman was even taught
about the F & C plans. He could have instructed in his training to push F &
F, as SPCS may be phasing out those other plans.

Bob

is it possible to get the $5 'no roaming charges' on the F&F plan??
"Jerome Zelinske" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
What Steve said plus. There is a third category. We are on the FFF
Fair Flexible Family plan with three phones. I doubt we will often go
over the 800 minutes. But the flexible is cheep enough that I am not
worried.

"stevie" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
> is it possible to get the $5 'no roaming charges' on the F&F plan??
> "Jerome Zelinske" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> What Steve said plus. There is a third category. We are on the FFF
> Fair Flexible Family plan with three phones. I doubt we will often go
> over the 800 minutes. But the flexible is cheep enough that I am not
> worried.

I don't see why not, as long as your account is in a SPCS corporate coverage
area or an affiliate that offers the $5 option. It's listed as an option for
F & F plans for Charlotte.

Bob

On Tue, 12 Apr 2005 04:19:58 GMT, "John Richards"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>"Steve Sobol" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
>> Bob Smith wrote:
>>
>>> The person to blame is .... get ready for it .... YOU!
>>
>> No, it isn't.
>>
>> He was trying to get educated on the different plans, and it sounds like the
>> salesrep was a total goober.
>
>That's a case of misplaced trust.
>I'd trust the written plans (on the website or in a SprintPCS brochure)
>much more than I'd trust the spoken word of a sales person.

Even those are inconsistent unfortunately. Bless the marketing people.
TM.

On Tue, 12 Apr 2005 12:21:49 GMT, "Bob Smith"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>
>"Steve Sobol" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>> Bob Smith wrote:
>>
>> > The person to blame is .... get ready for it .... YOU!
>>
>> No, it isn't.
>>
>> He was trying to get educated on the different plans, and it sounds like
>the
>> salesrep was a total goober.
>
>Steve, he didn't even go to the store. He said he called the store. All the
>information was listed on the site, and he apparently knew that there were
>two sets of plans, and they are fairly easy to understand. The OP should
>have dug a little deeper in the web site, as it appears all his questions
>could be answered there.

Have you seen the site? The Fair and Friendly or whatever it is called
is "the recommended" and doesn't have all the information you provided
to me in certain areas. They have some really nice graphics but leave
out even the small print. It's difficult to tell what the real
difference is when you want 700 minutes and they cost the same. The
cost is not so different either.

>As for the fault, I didn't discount the sales force not telling the OP the
>differences. We don't know squat about what salesman, or the length of time
>the salesman has been out of training whether the salesman was even taught
>about the F & C plans. He could have instructed in his training to push F &
>F, as SPCS may be phasing out those other plans.

Ah, so I guess actually speaking to people whose jobs it is to explain
the difference between the plans clearly is also the fault of the
customer. I spoke to the salesperson and the store manager.

But wait - if they were instructed to push the F&F plan and phase out
the other one, then maybe they were deliberately trying to push me in
one direction regardless of logic? And I guess that's the fault of the
customer for seeing some of the inconsistency in the message?

"JSOUL dot com" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Tue, 12 Apr 2005 12:21:49 GMT, "Bob Smith"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >
> >"Steve Sobol" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> >news:[email protected]...
> >> Bob Smith wrote:
> >>
> >> > The person to blame is .... get ready for it .... YOU!
> >>
> >> No, it isn't.
> >>
> >> He was trying to get educated on the different plans, and it sounds
like
> >the
> >> salesrep was a total goober.
> >
> >Steve, he didn't even go to the store. He said he called the store. All
the
> >information was listed on the site, and he apparently knew that there
were
> >two sets of plans, and they are fairly easy to understand. The OP should
> >have dug a little deeper in the web site, as it appears all his questions
> >could be answered there.
>
> Have you seen the site? The Fair and Friendly or whatever it is called
> is "the recommended" and doesn't have all the information you provided
> to me in certain areas. They have some really nice graphics but leave
> out even the small print. It's difficult to tell what the real
> difference is when you want 700 minutes and they cost the same. The
> cost is not so different either.

Sure I've seen it. I plugged in a zip code, and all the details came up.
Something that a prospective customer would do, to see what's available
where they live.

>
> >As for the fault, I didn't discount the sales force not telling the OP
the
> >differences. We don't know squat about what salesman, or the length of
time
> >the salesman has been out of training whether the salesman was even
taught
> >about the F & C plans. He could have instructed in his training to push F
&
> >F, as SPCS may be phasing out those other plans.
>
> Ah, so I guess actually speaking to people whose jobs it is to explain
> the difference between the plans clearly is also the fault of the
> customer. I spoke to the salesperson and the store manager.
>

No, I didn't say that at all. Go back to my original reply to you and read
the last paragraph ... again.

> But wait - if they were instructed to push the F&F plan and phase out
> the other one, then maybe they were deliberately trying to push me in
> one direction regardless of logic? And I guess that's the fault of the
> customer for seeing some of the inconsistency in the message?
>
I didn't say that either ... In saying that, were you pushed in the wrong
direction with what your perceived calling needs are? Do you know what your
actual needs are in terms of estimated minutes to use in a month, whether
you do most of your calling during weekdays during the day (AT minutes), or
evenings and weekends. Did you mention how many AT minutes were needed? Did
you even mention what you wanted to cover your calling needs, during your
conversation with the SPCS reps?

Something is missing here.

Bob

"JSOUL dot com" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
>
> Ah, so I guess actually speaking to people whose jobs it is to explain
> the difference between the plans clearly is also the fault of the
> customer. I spoke to the salesperson and the store manager.
>
> But wait - if they were instructed to push the F&F plan and phase out
> the other one, then maybe they were deliberately trying to push me in
> one direction regardless of logic? And I guess that's the fault of the
> customer for seeing some of the inconsistency in the message?

No, but at some point it becomes naive to believe that a salesman or
sales manager will tell you the *whole* story, unslanted by their
ulterior motives.

--
John Richards