Sprint - Penny wise, pound foolish..

[Crimson]

Been a Sprint customer for like 13-14 years (Ever since they launched in my area MANY years ago). Tried to upgrade to 2 new EVO phones (being a Premier customer) and was told only ONE phone could be upgraded in the 12 month period since we are on a shared family plan (The $129.99 one, 1500 minutes, whatever it is.. ) Thats certainly not how they advertise the Premier program, but I'm sure its in the fine print somewhere. I asked the rep if she could do anything for me and she said we could upgrade one phone and wait for the 2nd (Well, THATS not doing something for ME, thats doing something for you).. and they proceeded to try to sell me accessories, mobile hotspot, data cards, etc...

I got pissed and politely told them no thank you and hung up.

Then I started thinking about it. Isn't the Premier program technically if you spent over $100/month OR been with them for 10+ years? It seems BOTH lines should be eligible for upgrades every 12 months. I'll have to call them again and find out about that. But it also seems pretty silly to me that Sprint wouldn't want to add $20 more per month (4G tax) for an additional $75 credit toward a phone. One phone is currently eligible for the full $150, the other only $75 (Since its been 12+ months but not 22). If I wait until the 22 months to upgrade the 2nd headset, they will have lost $100 in 4G taxes.

I dunno Sprint, it doesn't surprise me you are losing customers and not making a ton of money. You really need to think these things through a bit more.

Any Sprint reps here able to help me?

 

[boobie1292]

if you want the early upgrade talk to sprint i did and got two early upgrades tell them you been with them for over 10 years as have i and they will do it

 

[xorg]

You could go to Verizon or ATT, pay more and upgrade only every 2 years. At least Sprint you can upgrade at least 1 phone annually. Keep trying though, you'll like get both, unless one of those two were bought in the last year.

 

[Crimson]

Both phones were purchased 1+ years ago. Yeah I know its a bit of a roll the dice type of thing with reps. I'll keep trying, its good to hear others got them to budge on this.. As I said, I'm doing THEM more of a favor by upgrading than they are to me.. I'm not a heavy data user at all so the $20 4G tax is almost pure profit to them.

 

[Insp_Gadget]

Both phones were purchased 1+ years ago. Yeah I know its a bit of a roll the dice type of thing with reps. I'll keep trying, its good to hear others got them to budge on this.. As I said, I'm doing THEM more of a favor by upgrading than they are to me.. I'm not a heavy data user at all so the $20 4G tax is almost pure profit to them.

There are a few scenarios that seem to screw things up when it comes to upgrades.

I had a situation a while back where I had an account and my wife had an account. We got Sprint to turn my account into a family plan. My account already had Premier status. My wife's did not. A year later, when we were both looking to upgrade phones, I could on my line, but she could not, even though we were sharing the same plan.

Even though the overall account may qualify for Premier status, the system still keeps track of the individual lines on the account and only the phones that individually qualify are upgradable early. At least that's what happened to me and my wife a while back.

Not sure if something similar is happening in your case.

 

[Cory Streater]

Even though the overall account may qualify for Premier status, the system still keeps track of the individual lines on the account and only the phones that individually qualify are upgradable early. At least that's what happened to me and my wife a while back.

Exactly. Each phone has it's own contract date, with corresponding dates for upgrade discount eligibility.

 

[Insp_Gadget]

Exactly. Each phone has it's own contract date, with corresponding dates for upgrade discount eligibility.

Something else I learned about their system is that when they do an "upgrade" to a line on an account, the "clock" gets reset for a new two-year period on the contract.

Once, I was trying to get an upgrade early, and was willing to add the two years to my existing contract, but they couldn't process it (with the discount) because the system wasn't designed for that scenario.

As an example, let's say you are 8 months into an existing two year contract and you're willing to extend your contract an additional two years for a discount. They can't process it, because their system is designed to reset the clock on the contract when they do a renewal. So, instead of the system adding two years to the existing contract, it would knock off the remaining 14 months and replace them with the new 24-month contract date.

Evidently, for Premier customers they have set the system up so that it can work in 12-month update intervals, but anything less than 12 months and the system reverts to truncating the remaining time on the contract and resetting the clock as described above.

To me, that seems rather dumb. Essentially, the system limits total contract length to 36 months, tops: 12 months remaining, plus a new 24-month commitment. Anything longer than that and the system chops off the existing contract time, so they won't let reps do it.

Stupid.

 

[Crimson]

Spoke with a Sprint retention CSR (I went to the cancel option to try to get someone who could actually work with me). I did make it clear I was NOT cancelling however. I asked them if there was anything they could do. The rep was extremely nice but said they can't move the upgrade date more than 3 months. He even looked for other ways to offset the $75 additional charge but couldn't come up with anything.

He totally understood when I explained to him that for every month I do not upgrade to the EVO its $10 less per phone Sprint is getting from me, and if I wait the full 10 additional months its $100-$200 they didn't get in additional fees for an additional $75 credit. Not to mention re-upping for 2 years.

Kind of frustrating. I sent an email to Dan Hesse @ Sprint to see if his office could do anything for me - Probably won't get a response but I did get an automated one saying I would. Sprint.. help me help you! LOL

 

[estebancam]

Ok, let me try to explain differently.

There is really no reason why there should be a scenario that makes anyone upset with Sprint Premier.

Sprint premier is not a contractual agreement, meaning that it is not in your contract. Sprint Premier and early upgrades are only a perk, so they are not in any way guaranteed by you or Sprint.

They advertise the upgrade program as the PRIMARY line on the account ONLY. Think about it logically:

A phone like the EVo probably costs Sprint about $500. Maybe less. You have to pay around $79 per month for service, minus any discounts. Lets take me for example. I pay around $65 per month for one line. In order for Sprint to make up the money they lost by selling me the phone for $200, they have to keep me as a paying customer for approximately 5-6 months before even starting to make any money. Then, I am going to upgrade to another Evo-like phone in only 1 year. This means that Sprint basically is making only 6 months of profit from me, the consumer. Moral of the story is that they would lose money if they offered one year upgrades for all the lines in your account.

If people have succeeded in trying to do what you are trying to do, you have already done the correct thing in contacting dan@sprint.com. They will contact you soon, and trust me, they are very helpful. I emailed them about 3G in my area, explained to them why it would be a good investment, and then they called me a few days later. One month later: BAM. 3G.

Anyway, Sprint Premier is not in your contract. It is a perk. Remember that. I am thankful for it every day I have Sprint. One year upgrades rock, even if it is just for the primary line.

 

[gabbott]

To me, that seems rather dumb. Essentially, the system limits total contract length to 36 months, tops: 12 months remaining, plus a new 24-month commitment. Anything longer than that and the system chops off the existing contract time, so they won't let reps do it.

Stupid.

Sprint doesn't extend contracts it renews them. So as of June 4th this year by contract was through June 2011. When I bought the EVO and got a new 2-year contract it didnt extend it to 2013, it replaced my current contract so it is through 2012.


EDIT: ah, yeah reading that further, you mentioned just what I explained. nevermind

 

[Crimson]

Ok, let me try to explain differently.

There is really no reason why there should be a scenario that makes anyone upset with Sprint Premier.

Sprint premier is not a contractual agreement, meaning that it is not in your contract. Sprint Premier and early upgrades are only a perk, so they are not in any way guaranteed by you or Sprint.

They advertise the upgrade program as the PRIMARY line on the account ONLY. Think about it logically:

A phone like the EVo probably costs Sprint about $500. Maybe less. You have to pay around $79 per month for service, minus any discounts. Lets take me for example. I pay around $65 per month for one line. In order for Sprint to make up the money they lost by selling me the phone for $200, they have to keep me as a paying customer for approximately 5-6 months before even starting to make any money. Then, I am going to upgrade to another Evo-like phone in only 1 year. This means that Sprint basically is making only 6 months of profit from me, the consumer. Moral of the story is that they would lose money if they offered one year upgrades for all the lines in your account.

If people have succeeded in trying to do what you are trying to do, you have already done the correct thing in contacting dan@sprint.com. They will contact you soon, and trust me, they are very helpful. I emailed them about 3G in my area, explained to them why it would be a good investment, and then they called me a few days later. One month later: BAM. 3G.

Anyway, Sprint Premier is not in your contract. It is a perk. Remember that. I am thankful for it every day I have Sprint. One year upgrades rock, even if it is just for the primary line.

I guess the cost of the phone is something I didn't totally consider.. Good point. Although as I stated they are getting an additional $240 a year by upgrading me. I'm not 'pissed' at Sprint by any means. I'm just asking them to do something I think would make financial sense for them as well as keeping a customer since 1997 happy. I've literally been a Sprint PCS customer since they lauched PCS service in my area. I've NEVER had a personal cell phone from another carrier. My phone # is still one of the original exchanges they used.. back when EVERYONE who was on Sprint in my area had the same first 6 digits on their phone #.

Anyways, we'll see what they do. If anything.

 

[MissJennell#IM]

And if they don't do anything but let you upgrade the primary line then you shouldn't be upset or unhappy by any means. They don't have to. It states very clearly as a sprint premier member it is only the primary line that can upgrade at 12 months. The other line or lines have to wait the 22 months.

 

[Crimson]

A lady from Dan Hesse's office called (I doubt she really was, but whatever).. was very nice. Explained the situation with the Premier program, gave me the explanation.. 12 vs 22.. blah blah blah. They are the only carrier who does that.. I agreed and thanked her for the callback, and just expressed concern that phone technology is moving so fast now that even 12 months is sometimes considered a long time.

So, my choice is to pay it or wait. I'll probably pay it.