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 secret
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 former
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 9 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 (I believe) 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, didn't
know about 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 complete 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.

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 deal,
please."

In my case I said (in 2003) (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". (unlimited ³IN"
minutes in 2004). So I now have 300 minutes for $30 and bonus minutes on
top of that.

A Sprint employee (Tech Geek) on 9/20/2003 posted the following
suggestions
(*****ing 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?

Until ~ June 2003 they offered unlimited Vision as a free bonus.
Until May 2004 free Mobile to Mobile minutes went with a 2 year contract,
now it's has to be requested. I just got free 7PM nights and free "PCS
to PCS" with a new contract. Actually they charge for the 7 PM nights,
and then give me a credit back for it.

In 2003 commonly they offered bonus anytime minutes,
perhaps because it appears you wouldn¹t use them anyway. Sometimes you
may get a discount on purchasing a replacement phone. As of May 4, 2004
it was reported, the following is being offered:

$40/750 Anytime Minutes 8pm n/w
$50/1000 8pm n/w
$60/1200 8pm n/w
$75/1500 8pm n/w
$100/1800 8pm n/w
$100/2500 8pm n/w

Used to be they offered "Bonus" minutes on top of advertised plans. No
longer apparently.

Bob Smith, a frequent poster posted on 5/26/2004:

"I was on a 2000 min. plan, with 2 add-a-phones, Vision, F&CA, N & W @
9:00 PM and my monthly expense was $135 including taxes and surcharges.
I was able to get a 1200 min. plan, with 2 add-a-phones, Vision, F&CA,
and N&W starting @ 7:00 PM for $70 inc. T & S for the 1st 2 months, then
$95 inc. T & S, when the cost for Vision for 2 phones kicked in."


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. It 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, if you're willing to start a new two
year contract.


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, check at http://www.sprintrebates.com
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 (like Mays)
as their ³Satisfaction Guarantee may cover you when a SprintPCS
warrantee might not (like with a bleeding 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. Apparently SprintPCS currently allows
upto 20 such credits per # per month.
===========
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. Only in the first 2 months of the new account. Dial #REF; the
person with the new number gets a $10 credit
=========

July 30, 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.

Someone has the notion that availing oneself of these
opportunities is "Stealing" from SprintPCS or ³Abusing 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. Someone
about to switch to Cingular cause their advertised plans might seem
cheaper than Sprints, might well stay with a retention plan. 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.

---

› See More: Retention FAQ

I had a $80 for 2000 minutes plan. Upgraded to $130 for unlimited
minutes. My wife has the $40 for 750 minutes. I want to move her phone
under my unlimited plan (they are both in my name) but thet want
$100/month to do it. I call about once a month to ask... sometimes the
ofeer great deals if you time it right.

R Cleemons wrote:

> 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 secret
> 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 former
> 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 9 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 (I believe) 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, didn't
> know about 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 complete 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.
>
> 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 deal,
> please."
>
> In my case I said (in 2003) (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". (unlimited ³IN"
> minutes in 2004). So I now have 300 minutes for $30 and bonus minutes on
> top of that.
>
> A Sprint employee (Tech Geek) on 9/20/2003 posted the following
> suggestions
> (*****ing 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?
>
> Until ~ June 2003 they offered unlimited Vision as a free bonus.
> Until May 2004 free Mobile to Mobile minutes went with a 2 year contract,
> now it's has to be requested. I just got free 7PM nights and free "PCS
> to PCS" with a new contract. Actually they charge for the 7 PM nights,
> and then give me a credit back for it.
>
> In 2003 commonly they offered bonus anytime minutes,
> perhaps because it appears you wouldn¹t use them anyway. Sometimes you
> may get a discount on purchasing a replacement phone. As of May 4, 2004
> it was reported, the following is being offered:
>
> $40/750 Anytime Minutes 8pm n/w
> $50/1000 8pm n/w
> $60/1200 8pm n/w
> $75/1500 8pm n/w
> $100/1800 8pm n/w
> $100/2500 8pm n/w
>
> Used to be they offered "Bonus" minutes on top of advertised plans. No
> longer apparently.
>
> Bob Smith, a frequent poster posted on 5/26/2004:
>
> "I was on a 2000 min. plan, with 2 add-a-phones, Vision, F&CA, N & W @
> 9:00 PM and my monthly expense was $135 including taxes and surcharges.
> I was able to get a 1200 min. plan, with 2 add-a-phones, Vision, F&CA,
> and N&W starting @ 7:00 PM for $70 inc. T & S for the 1st 2 months, then
> $95 inc. T & S, when the cost for Vision for 2 phones kicked in."
>
>
> 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. It 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, if you're willing to start a new two
> year contract.
>
>
> 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, check at http://www.sprintrebates.com
> 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 (like Mays)
> as their ³Satisfaction Guarantee may cover you when a SprintPCS
> warrantee might not (like with a bleeding 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. Apparently SprintPCS currently allows
> upto 20 such credits per # per month.
> ===========
> 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. Only in the first 2 months of the new account. Dial #REF; the
> person with the new number gets a $10 credit
> =========
>
> July 30, 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.
>
> Someone has the notion that availing oneself of these
> opportunities is "Stealing" from SprintPCS or ³Abusing 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. Someone
> about to switch to Cingular cause their advertised plans might seem
> cheaper than Sprints, might well stay with a retention plan. 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.

R Cleemons wrote:

<lots deleted>

Sprint's prices are based on the flinch system?

Their network makes me laugh, so I guess its fair...

JS