Sprint cutting up to 2,500 more employees from the payroll
By Chris Ziegler 
posted Nov 10th 2009 5:59AM
posted Nov 10th 2009 5:59AM
It's been a helluva couple years for Sprint -- new networks, new platforms, and new acquisitions have all been intermixed with a drawn-out recovery effort that's undoubtedly weighed heavy on the hearts and minds of staff at the company's dual headquarters in Kansas and Virginia. With more (albeit slower) subscriber losses in its most recent earning's report, it's still all but impossible to say whether they'll be able to survive in the long term as an independent operation, and we're not quite sure what to make of this latest move, either: a promise of 2,000 to 2,500 job cuts to be announced through the fourth quarter, many of which will be completed before the year's up. It gets a little weird here because Sprint's applying some hardcore spin in its press release, touting the fact that reduced calls to customer service -- ostensibly due to an improved experience -- have lessened the need for call center staff, but we're not really buying it; the business continues to shrink, and staff continue to be cut. The good news is that they're being cut at a much slower rate than before, so it's still entirely reasonable to believe that black ink is in sight -- particularly if they've got a killer 2010 lineup in store.
first
To be called an idiot and fade away...
no matter how much i still hate sprint and its crappy customer service, it's always sad to hear people losing jobs in this tough economic conditions...
I'm actually pretty pleased with Sprint's customer service. I've had to call them a few times and they've generally been fast and friendly. Guess wasn't around for the bad old days.... Coverage is also pretty good with a good phone selection and decent pricing; though I say this coming from the crapfest that is T-mobile. Hopefully the company will be in the black soon, cuz I'm fairly happy with them so far and will probably stick with them for a while.
Sprint is the only company I've ever been with. At first getting a signal was rough in many places. Their coverage was very "spotty". Now I can't tell when last I've had a poor signal and I travel alot more now. Their data network is also second to none. Unlimited tethering, faster network speeds, great selection of phones and cheaper plans. I really can't think of why they lose so many customers.
I'm pretty pleased with their customer service as well, If anything they might need better training and access to the company's knowledge base but they seem to get my questions answered pretty well.
I'm glad they are nice now, but I had a terrible experience with Sprint back when I had them from 03-06. One time, I had to travel overseas for a couple of months and they extended my contract without notifying me. I was about 1 year into my 2-year contract when I put my phone for vacation hold and when I came back they started whole new 2 year contract when I re-activated. I didn't find out until about a year later when my phone broke. I had to get a new phone, but the customer rep at the store said my contract wasn't over, and I had to pay the full price for a new phone! The customer reps both in-store and over the phone line were rude whenever I had to contact them for any issues, and plans weren't that cheap back then.
@wslcrew: you hate sprint, but you don't like seeing it's employees loosing jobs? sprint is the employees not some unrelated entity. Personally, I've had good experience with sprint. I would hate them go under, since it would mean going to to att of verizon. tmoblie is imporiving it's coverage, so that may be my next choice.
They have basically every (note: not every) phone Verizon has with substantially cheaper rates and free Sprint Nav and Sprint TV with one's data plan. There's really no reason not to switch to Sprint.
Everyone I know that has sprint or has had sprint seems to like it. Yet here and everywhere else everyone seems to hate it.
I'm lovin' my Hero and the service in my area seems to be awesome. Better than Verizon, which I had previously.
I don't get what's with everyone bashing Sprint all the time. Their service plans are pretty good deals. Navigation, unlimited roaming, SprinTV (I rarely use it because it's only got a few channels but it's a good way to kill time at the airport), etc. They've been quick to address any problems I've had (always phone hardware issues).
The issue may be poor coverage. I went to Yosemite park and I got 5 bars on my ATT phone while
my buddy's Sprint phone got out of service.
I know where I am, Central California, Sprint has a rather poor reputation for coverage from years ago, even though they have greatly improved. Also, Sprint had several affiliates running large areas of the country (Ubiquitel was Sprint here in Central California when I was with them) who were usually behind the curve on current phones and such, and didn't have the best stores. I believe they have bought up and taken over for nearly all of those affiliates, but Sprint is now fighting years of poor customer service, poor coverage, and less than stellar phones. It will take some time for them to shake their reputation of old.
I should have switched sooner and not fell into the hype and money pit that is AT&T and the Iphone.
sprint is still bleeding from nextel merger....the customer that are leaving are nextel customers.....
That's a little off base, i work at one of the few "nextel" call centers and we are actually ramping up in staffing
Yeah, probably the only thing left on nextel are government contracts. Well that and now all the boost mobile customers that are on the nextel network.
Yes. I would believe many Nextel customers are leaving.
Meanwhile, in this economy, Boost Mobile is thriving.
The Nextel network is bound to become entirely Boost Mobile's backbone in the next five years.
Maybe the reason that you guys are hiring at the Nextel call center is because of Boost? Just a thought.
I CAN'T WAIT until Sprint gets the iPhone and I'll be gone from AT&T so fast it'll make your head swim.
I don't really see there ever being a CDMA iphone. I mean I should never say never, but if anything, it would come to Verizon. They have MUCH deeper pockets to fill Apple's wallet.
What they failed to mention was that those jobs are going to India for a substantial savings at the cost of the livelihoods of its former employees. But look on the bright side, those savings will be directly passed on to the consumer! (notice the subtle sarcasm)
Well I already get a great deal on my plan with Sprint. Better then what any other carrier is offering in fact. If the cost of my plan is why they're shipping some miserable center jobs to India, so be it. I've rarely ever had to call Sprint with an issue and the few times i have it's been a long drawn out clusterfuck no matter what country the rep is in. I guess if i had gotten great customer service and consistent answers from US call centers, then i might be upset, but that's not the case. I don't have a problem with Indian call centers either, some of them are excellent. What i have a problem with US companies that contract out the piss poor ones who can't speak a word of English clearly and speak 2 words a second.
Sprint is reeling from the lack of enthusiasm for the Palm Pre and all that money spent on advertising it and pushing promo spots on NBC's Heroes, which hasn't done much to curb the low ratings that Sprint's own customers have of the Pre.
If they had any smarts over there, they'd push Motorola to bring a WiMax phone to their network (Note: Motorola makes the WiMax home modems).
Oh, and they'd stop spending money to promote the Pre to instead spend it to promote their own Android devices.
Or at least make Pre ads that are less creepy...
Seriously why not Sprint ads for the Hero? I think Android has more general name recognition than the Pre now, Sprint should cash in on that. At least HTC is advertising the Hero themselves.
Yeah I agree they should make some Android ads. They can steal some of the thunder away from Verizon just like Verizon tried to do with the Pre launch. Sprint should just be like "Hey, we have Android too! And our plans won't rape your wallet every month like Verizon's!"
@krische
Spot on, I've seen Hero ads from HTC but there's no association with Sprint. I recently switched from Verizon to Sprint(after being a Verizon customer for over 8 years)just get the Hero and for a few more dollars a month I am getting LOADS more service. Not even the Droid would make me want to switch back to Verizon. I love my Hero, and so far I have zero complaints with Sprint. The few times I have had to call customer service(not because of a problem) they were quick, courteous and knowledgeable.
I wish I would have switched a long time ago.
well their stock jumped 18% on this news. estimating they will save $350 million....
Their press release doublespeak was laughable, the fact that people are losing their jobs isn't. It is a shame the top execs who are driving Sprint into the ground aren't losing their jobs.
If Sprint listened to their customers instead of trying to piss them off they could be growing their customer base like every major AND minor cell provider.
I get good coverage with Sprint because of free roaming to Verizon but their selection of cell phones really really sucks. If their network wasn't locked, HTC, Samsung, Toshiba and others might be willing to make more cutting edge phones that we could use on the network. I'd love to get the HD2 - I'd sign up for another 2 years today if I could get the HD2 or the TG01 or something other than the pixie crap and moment they are pushing. Now that HTC is advertising Sprint will consider more phones if they are endorsed by a scary orange haired chick.
Verizon unfortunately doesn't have the HD2 so I have no desire to move the them and coverage sucks for me with T-Mobile and ATT so until Verizon gets the HD2 or TG01 there is little reason for me to move but I do admit Sprint customer service and top management suck. Customer service may just be a lack of training. Bad management may just be a lack of intelligence.
I dunno i get tolerable service from Sprint when i need it...i mean let's face it they all suck at customer service. But i do get great coverage due to their own network and roaming with Verizon, and the same phones as Verzion (and some better) and they don't gimp them like Verizon does either. If your unhappy with Sprint i doubt you'll be thrilled with Verizon once your there. When it comes to cell carriers the choice isn't which is best but whose the lesser evil.
You may not call with the frequency I call. My computer clients have me support their phones and they hate calling Sprint so much that they pay me to call Sprint for them. I would say only one out of 2 new phones any of my clients gets is provisioned properly. I'd say I almost never have to call Verizon about it but I do call ATT on a regular basis as their BB's aren't provisioned properly a good deal of the time but it only takes one call with ATT to get that fixed. It usually takes about 30 minutes of call time per phone to call an average of 3 agents before you get one that knows how to provision a data phone for Sprint. As I say it could be poor training on the part of the reps, it could be that the Ensemble software package Sprint use isn't designed well (I've never seen it).
As for why the top execs suck so much I'm not sure. Their choices do seem quite idiotic but I'm sure they make many times what any of us make so maybe a smart person makes asinine decisions on the part of their company to make the big bucks.
God dammit! My comment was another failed engadget reply, this time around directed at Boe. I'm getting tired of misdirected replies and the fact i never remain logged in despite the "remember me" check box. Screw engadget! You suck...
Geez engadget, that's two for two on starting a new comment instead of posting a reply...
I just finished watching Battlestar Galactica: The Plan. Right about now, Sprint and Palm remind me of the two bickering Cavils that are about to be blown out the airlock.
i used to live near the kansas center and knew people that worked there. all i've ever heard from them is layoffs and the fear of being fired, for what seems like years. it must be a hard company to want to keep working at.
I've rarely heard anyone who works in a US call center go on about how they enjoy working there... it's a thankless job and you get it from both ends. Managements never satisfied and neither are the customers.
where did my other comments go? sigh, i hope this doesn't show up three times.
but what i said was that the kansas center isn't just a call center, but one of sprints main business headquarters that handles a lot of operations. it's built like a campus, so they handle things like the call center there, so everything is all together.
Since no one menttioned SERO I mention it now.
http://www.petitiononline.com/SERO/petition.html
and yes Sprint could be loved again if they allow SERO on new phones
SERO causes them to lose money man- that's like saying if that chick would just put out to anyone for free then people would love her.
Shut the hell up. SERO is dead.
No it's not dead. I am paying only $30 for my winmo phone, and I get unlimited data, unlimited text, nights and weekends start at 7, free roaming with America's largest network, and did I mention it's all for $30 only*.
I think you're Jealouuus, I think you're Jealouuus,
* taxes approximating $3 apply.
How about the community forum(http://community.sprint.com/baw/index.jspa) of sprint. I feel its really cool. What do you guys think?
I thought the BAW community was a great idea, however since no policy makers at Sprint actually act upon any of the suggestions on that site no matter how many people agree, it is unfortunately of little value. If the top execs had read it and actually acted upon the most common suggestions Sprint might not be such a joke and the execs might not be considered criminally negligent.
The lazy nature of the Sprint brass in implementing even ONE idea of the more than 20 good suggestions I've seen on that site indicate their lack of concern for their companies spiral towards non existence.
FYI...India has more people that speak English than we have in the United States. I read it on a Snapple cap. Now they just need to screen them in the hiring process so the ones we can't understand through their thick accents don't get the CSR jobs answering our calls.
Sprint is going to crash, with all the money wasted on Clearwire and WiMax, its useless, LTE will become the standard.
The 100 million dollars I heard they spent on the Instinct ads has to take the cake. That thing isn't even a smartphone. What they need to do in their commercials is start showing some features of the phones in action like they do with the iPhone.
Sprint wasn't losing money on Sero - the costs for the plans was far above the monthly charges. Many of the Sero plans were more expensive than Tmobile regular plans. All killing SERO did was kill off Sprint's ability to gain new clients. Just another idea by Hesse to wipe out their client base so they can get approved for takeover and he can use his stock options to make another windfall at the expense of the company (as he's done in previous positions - just read up on his illustrious career).
If Sprint turns things around, you can expect more from Verizon and AT&T.
It would be ashamed to see Sprint fall. Basically, they have introduced many features that Verizon and AT&T were forced to adopt afterwards. Like,
Nationwide calling:
I remember in 2000 going to Las Vegas, and getting a call on my phone, with no "Roaming" icon. Felt like I was getting away with something. My friends on other carriers would not use their phones there. Out of fear of fees.
Later, AT&T, Singular, and other carriers, adopted this same model...
Free GPS:
I am not sure, but I know Verizon customers used to pay for it, but based on their Droid commercials, it is free now. (at least they use the word "free" in their commercial.)
Unlimited Texting:
Once again, I think it is now included with Verizon too.
No quotas on internet usage:
Think everyone offers this now.
Nights and Weekends starting at 7pm instead of 9pm.
This is easily worth 400 minutes on other plans. Hopefully everyone picks it up.
Unlimited Mobile Calling:
This easily saves 100s of minutes too. Again, hopefully, everyone picks it up.
A new phone every year:
It used to be two years with most carriers, I am not sure about whether everyone has this or not.
I hope Sprint goes bankrupt. I remember those years when they treated customers like crap. Well, now customers are treating them like crap and fleeing in mass. And they have felt and will continue to feel the pain for some time.
When the iPhone came out, there was even more customer mass exodus from Sprint to ATT.
The problem that they have now is their selection of phones. The selection is very mediocre. This maybe a decision made by some Sprint executive to cater to customers who like inexpensive and plain phones.
Sprint will one day be a case study for business students to learn as to what not to do.
What years did they NOT treat customers like crap? I'll admit it is starting to feel worse. In the beginning I felt like they were treating me like gerbil crap - now I feel more like they are treating me like a steaming pile o' crap.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703363704574503051842382862.html http://www.tcmagazine.com/comments.php?id=24212&catid=6&highlight=sprint http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/31/AR2009033100836.html
I used to have tmobile and att and I would tell you that sprint has the best signal in my area and the fastest I had the iphone with att I like the phone but not the plans way to expensive sprint for 7o you get unlimited text messeges unlimited web browing 450 mibutes and unlimited weekends and nights tmobile is fine but their speed is slow and they don't have a huge selection of phones I have the pre and I like it used to have the iphone and they both have their advantages and disavantages but sprint in my opinio is good