Sprint CEO looks to improve Nextel unit

they only way they will reinvigorate the nextel brand is to do things the way nextel did it. Nextel was a thriving brand. the likelyhood that sprint will do things the nextel way,,, NILL

they have already cut their indirect distro channel to nothing which was Nextels largest generators of business

If Nextel was so great and thriving, why did it agree to merge with Sprint in the first place?

Sell it. The Nextel employees haven't done anything but whine since the day we merged. They're always insisting it was supposed to be a merger of equals with equal power, but when the chips are down and times get hard, all of a sudden they claim they were taken over by the big bad Sprint. But obviously, their beloved Tim Donahue thought the merger was a good idea. And then he suited up in his golden parachute and took off.

I can tell you right now before Sprint bought Nextel I had zero problems with my Nextel service. Now my phone hasn't worked the last 2 days (a supposed 'network' problem) and I get a different answer from every Sprint customer service rep that I talk to - fortunately I'm inside of the 30 day period for a new contract and will probably switch to another horrible cell phone provider.

Nextel was originally sold because the company was running out of frequencies. The idea behind the merger (from Nextels perepective) was to gain the extra frequencies for data. No that Sprint has successfully driven away all the high paying corprate customers the frequency issue is not *as big* of problem.

As far as Nextel folks being a bunch of whiners. It's funny, since day one after the merger all the companies problems have been blamed on the Nextel network. Then Telephia results come out and not only does the Nextel side have a lower dropped call rate (lowest tied with Verizon, compared to the highest for CDMA) the churn is also higher on the CDMA side.

Pre merger Nextel made just as much money as Sprint with 1/4 the amount of employees and half the customers. Tim Donahue is a great business man, he cashed out when it was hot, like most great business men do. Unfortunatly he threw most of the Nextel employees under the bus when he did that. I'd still rather work for him than Gary Forsee.

Nextel was originally sold because the company was running out of frequencies. The idea behind the merger (from Nextels perepective) was to gain the extra frequencies for data. Now that Sprint has successfully driven away all the high paying corprate customers the frequency issue is not *as big* of problem.

As far as Nextel folks being a bunch of whiners. It's funny, since day one after the merger all the companies problems have been blamed on the Nextel network. Then Telephia results come out and not only does the Nextel side have a lower dropped call rate (lowest tied with Verizon, compared to the highest for CDMA) the churn is also higher on the CDMA side.

Pre merger Nextel made just as much money as Sprint with 1/4 the amount of employees and half the customers. Tim Donahue is a great business man, he cashed out when it was hot, like most great business men do. Unfortunatly he threw most of the Nextel employees under the bus when he did that. I'd still rather work for him than Gary Forsee.

When Nextel needed to get something done, like a temporary cell site (COW), they would get it done, put up in a day or two.

When Sprint needs to do the same thing, have to submit paperwork to Kansas City, then it has to sit in four different offices for at least two weeks per office. Then half a dozen conference calls.

If it's not too late and the COW is still needed it can then be rolled out. Hopefully someone from Kansas City didn't cancel the T1 since it's been 8 weeks not with no activity.

The ONE good thing Sprint has going is the Nextel Direct Connect (on the iDEN network). Now that Verizon has rolled out their DC I'm sure Sprint will push the ill concieved Q-Chat out *seamlessly* to all it's customers and ruin that too.

I'm hearing from several business customers that have tried Verizon's PTT that it is lame and not anywhere near as good as Nextel Direct Connect.

The merger and continuing operations of Sprint Nextel are and will be the biggest bungle in wireless history.
Nextel - Highest ARPU in the industry, lowest churn.
Sprint - most unused frequencies, highest churn, worst customer service in the industry.
So the heads at Sprint got rid of the Nextel distribution channels, and employees. Now they're getting rid of those whiny customers.
Sprint needs to get better. The customer service being outsourced is a headache. These people aren't even trained the same way. They need to move forward with Nextel. Being a Nextel customer is like being in the club, they pay a premium for it.

As one of the whiny ones, Sprint has done nothing but lie, lie, and more lies. 1. Merger of equals - You could see it in the eyes of former Nextel management. Carry this tune or leave broke your choice. 2. iDen destroyed Sprint - iDen was totally neglected by Sprint for 8 months. Not until completely in the crapper and customers jumping ship did Sprint say/do anything about it. 3. Re-introduce Nextel - Dan H got on TV and praised Nextel Direct Connect in an effort to stop the bleeding. Behind the scenes, iDen infustructor, capacity, and access was cut. Q-chat was fast tracked and pushed out to the market where it is failing miserably. I actually over heard two regional sales execs say it was Nextel’s fault because they set the bar to high (laughable). Now we sit waiting to see how the biggest lie will play out. Sprints management is not conducting business they way they say they are. We now spend not just dollars but hundreds of dollars to save spare change. We don’t fix broken assets. We can’t even look for them unless it makes the evening news. Soon most of Sprint’s boots on the ground (techs and engineers) will be classified as contractors (supporting 2 management teams) costing even more money. Reminds me of that old joke where a guy hires a janitor. Then he hires 20 more people to manage the janitor. And when times get tough, he lays of the janitor. It will be interesting to see how it plays out. End of Rant….

Hey Dan - move over and let these whiners run the company. It doesn't matter who takes the reigns. These guys will always have something bad to say about Sprint. Yawn!!! Same old news. Nothing good to say about this company. How can a company being bought Nextel(15 million suscribers)and merge with a company with Sprint(35 million suscribers)be any better? Obviously, in the beginning Nextel was catering to the business crowd; not the general consumer. First of all the market was kind of saturated with many cellular carriers before the FCC allowed all this consolidation. Did you guys forget that? You probably don't care. Just dog the underdog - I guess??? Maybe this was not a great merger but Not all Sprint suscribers are complaining. A lot of them are satisfied with the service they are getting and the value of the service they are getting for their dollars. Like any company boss says if you are dissatisfied with your job - You can go elsewhere. Ay, Ay, Good bye. The high priced competitors will welcome you with open arms. They definately will put a strangle hold on your wallet or purse. Ask them, "Will you give me more bang for my buck like Sprint does?" Wait for the long pause and the laughter in the background that you won't hear.......

ATT: Sprint CEO Dan Hesse

Good morning Mr. Hesse, allow me to introduce myself. Joanie Taylor, CEO Magnific's Inc. I have a couple Great Ideas that would ultimately offer a few special options that would make your phones preferred by every one of the 52 million boomers over 40 years of age consumer, all 90 million seniors, the 62 million vision impaired, and most of the picture texting maniac generation X's that are occupying the surface of this glorious earth. I would love to share my patents with you and your new products department.
Thanks, I look forward to speaking with you when you get a chance.
Regards,
Joanie
www.thephonemonocle.com
magnificsinc@aol.com
818-248-2228

Sprint/Nextel has forgotten what customer service is or should be. When Nextel got bought off it when down hill in terms of service, customer service and it forgot how to talk to people. I have had three sets of friends drop their Nextel and I will soon be dropping it. They have not increased to service area to adequate, you still get dropped in the middle of conversations even on the direct connect. You renew a contract and you have to pay to buy new phones while other services given them to you for free. I shouldn't have to spend $75.00 up to $150.00 for basic phones to utilize their services that charge me a bunch. Now their screwing with your card so that you can't use your old ones and maintain your call list. Business doesn't seem to understand that you pay for their services and you expect some decency in return if not a better service. Nextel isn't their problem its their attitude of sucking you dry and giving little in return, that is on Sprint. Nextel didn't use to be this way. Its corporate greed. I don't want to contribute to it any longer at least not with Sprint.

Chris you are so great. Thanks for all your help. The ONLY Reason Im even considering staying with Sprint, is because I don't want your efforts to go unrecognized. That, and I don't want you to feel that you have wasted your time trying to keep me. You are greatly appreciated, and again the ONLY person whom has ever taken the time to listen to my complaints; with a willingness to correct the problem.

That being said, I Cant Stand sprint... The customer service is horrendous. I have been with the company for roughly 5 years if not longer. At one point I shared and account with someone else. Sprint USED to be great. No dropped calls. Friendly voices on the other end, and plans that were suitable for every person.

I have continually called customer service over the past 2-3 years, only to get some foreign person on the other end. They can't understand me, and I can't understand them. What is the logic in this? By the time the conversation has ended I cant tell who is more frustrated, me? Or the Representative? Not to mention, the call was doomed and pointless as soon as we herd one another's voice. Who is the idiot that wanted to save money choosing quantity, over quality?

I've been in every aspect of service industry, and customer service, in multiple businesses, since I was a child. Provided that I have run many different venus myself, I feel I have just cause; to state my opinion considering, I'm educated rather then ignorant. That being said, and my point; I would much rather pay more money, to fewer employees, whom are educated for the largest market I have buying my product. Thus resulting in, a higher percentage of customer satisfaction.

On the latter, it is duly noted that Sprint has such a KIND nature as to hire, an over seas foreign man so he can practice his dialect. Then again, I suppose getting 'quantity' for 10 dollars an hour rather then 18 dollars an hour is what Sprint is going for, right? Do your customers a favor, and make the 'test' your bi-lingual employees have to pass, a bit harder. If thats too much to ask, can we please get an 'option' at the prompt of my call..... How bout ... ''Please press 1 for a Sprint Representative that you can communicate clearly with''

I would like to note, my comments have nothing to do with race. My intention is not to offend anyone. I'm merely trying to point out what can not be taught, Common Sense.

I currently have 3 cell phone lines with sprint. Why? One for personal, one for business. The third one was acquired because, I could not understand the lady on the other end representing, Sprint's Customer Service. What I thought was a plan for more minutes, and an up graded free phone for my 'loyalty' was exactly that. More minutes, a free phone, AND a third line, a second plan and a bill that was 300 dollars a month!

So in order to fix this, I then had to put the third line on a seasonal plan. Move my first 2 lines on to the second plan, I got for more minutes. Get rid of my fair and flexible plan. Pay to keep the third line off! and pay 9.99 extra every month to have all 3 phones on one plan. OTHERWISE, I would have to pay 200 dollars per phone to get out of my, I forgot to mention, 'CONTRACT' that I also acquired with this wonderful new plan. (Yes thats sarcasm)

Shortly after, a lady calls asking if I would like to renew my contract for 2 more years. BECAUSE I WAS SUCH A LOYAL CUSTOMER, they would give me 10% off my bill every month if I agreed. Conveniently, this lady spoke great english. Matter of fact, she had me fooled, 20 bucks says she is from America. Needless to say, that was a year ago and I have seen NOTHING.
Of course I called customer service to inquire, as always it ended in me hanging up because the representative and I had a hard time 'communicating'. Go figure.

Shortly after that, with normal wear and tear my phone decides its had enough. At the time I was broke, and activated an old phone that was given to me by a friend. Conveniently, I had a free upgrade on my plan but was never told until a month later when I called asking about it. I was then told that because I activated another, older phone, that happened to work, I could no longer get my upgrade!

Now a year and a half later, in present day.... Remember that handy free phone I got? After normal wear and tear, this one chooses to break. No, not from being dropped, thrown, etc. After plugging in my charger everyday, the adapting piece that gives a charging connection breaks inside. How is this in my control? Yet, after paying full insurance, every month, might I mention ; I pay for all coverage's, lost, stolen, water, everything! I still have to pay 50 dollars for a REFURBISHED PHONE! Are you kidding me?

It gets better. The refurbished phone that comes in, is broken! Apparently the phone will not get a connecting charge, and keeps turning on and off. Sound familiar? I am then told I now have to wait a few more days for ANOTHER refurbished phone. I then ask...

''You have just given me a phone that was already broken, which is clearly still broken. I now have to wait, for someone else's broken phone to come in the mail? Cross my fingers that, that one isn't broken, and hope that 3 months down the road it wont break again?''

I don't know why I expected anything more then, the blank stare that was given from the store representative. I was obviously too realistic for him to comprehend a response of honesty, saying, 'Yep your pretty much right.' At least then I would have been happy to know, I was being understood.

So thank you Chris for coming to my rescue. You immediately were playing damage control. As insistent as I was, and am, about still leaving Sprint your efforts have yet to cease. Will you ask your boss what took him so long to hire you? You are too good to work for sprint, however it is blatantly obvious you are an asset to the company. If Sprint ever looses you, serves them right, Karma is a Bitch.

One last thing, although it has no comparison to the above complaints... I get more dropped calls then anyone I know. Always in the same spots, random spots, but all the time is the point. I cant stand that.

Im going to leave here and get ready for my second job. Ill be in tomorrow to see how much we can correct. Thank you again and feel free to contact me at any time if you have any other questions.

Julie

> Julie,
>
> This is what I found about your account, the 1489 line is out of
> contract, the 1714 contract expires 2/7/2010, and the 2782 line
> expires 8/24/2009. Ok, hit me will all the complaint stuff so that I
> can get it too port-out prevention. Also like i mentioned yesterday I
> will be wanting to change your plan, it will not extend your contracts
> or anything. Tell me what your last couple of bills have been, you
> should be able to pull it off their website. If you have not logged on
> before you can stop in here and I will set it up and figure out which
> plan will be the best for you at the best price, plus I will be
> working on that discount for you too. Understand that I will do what
> ever I can to keep you from going to another provider. So get back
> with me on all the complaint stuff asap.
>
> Respectfully,
>
> Christopher S. Cotton
>
> ps. Be carefull out there.
>