Marcelo Claure, Town Hall Meetings, New Family Share Pack Plan, Unlimited Individual Plan, Discussion Thread

[RedSpark]

Cool, I was planning my next vacation for Afghanistan!!! 

 

SoftBank definitely gave Sprint much more leverage and resources to set up these new International Roaming agreements (Numbers more than 110 countries at this point per the Announcement). Sprint is inching closer and closer to T-Mobile which states it has 140+ countries covered. Good stuff Sprint!

[RedSpark]

It really sucks. It's the "norm" of all the local Sprint stores (corp or not) in central Maryland. I have yet to find a good one.

 

When this happens, it shows the attachment requirement and incentive program needs a revamp. The store rep would rather get his "metrics" for attachment than an actual sale... 

[RedSpark]

Your excellent post...

 

Some good additional background here: As Sprint’s cost cutting rolls along, a T-Mobile merger is ‘not in the cards’

[spotmeterf64]

Makes sense. Gone are the $15/month promos (which cost carriers alot of money). My brother-in-law went to a Sprint store last night to get the iPhone Forever deal at $15/month...but he was told they required insurance for 90 days at $14/month, after 90 days he could cancel it. I know that insurance is NOT required, just a sales rep trying to get commission. But my brother-in-law just left and missed out.

 

 

This is exactly why I order all my phones online. The sales reps lie to get their commission. It's Sprint's fault for having such high expectations for TEP attachment rates.

 

I've gone into stores before just to get SIM cards before, and when I walk out TEP is on my line magically. The reps don't care that it's illegal to sign people up for insurance without consent.

 

Commission needs to die, or Sprint needs to stop having such high expectations on attachment rates for crap like TEP.

[JossMan]

I guess I am one of the lucky ones when I went into the Sprint store to take advantage of the 50% off deal and iPhone forever.  The rep was very friendly told everything to me straight and was upfront about it, he even estimated my bill within a few pennies.  He even went so far as to give me and my fiance free Otterbox Commuter cases for our iPhone 6S's.

 

Granted this was around the Christmas holiday season so maybe we was just trying to spread a little Christmas cheer but either way I left the Sprint store confidently knowing that I made the right decision switching from AT&T.   

[gusherb]

This is exactly why I order all my phones online. The sales reps lie to get their commission. It's Sprint's fault for having such high expectations for TEP attachment rates.

 

I've gone into stores before just to get SIM cards before, and when I walk out TEP is on my line magically. The reps don't care that it's illegal to sign people up for insurance without consent.

 

Commission needs to die, or Sprint needs to stop having such high expectations on attachment rates for crap like TEP.

Back on iPhone 6 release day I was halfway through a transaction when they tried to tell me TEP was mandatory after I noticed and confronted him about what he was trying to get me to blindly sign for (on an iPhone nonetheless). Then I confronted him about that and he said "you can just call customer service when you get home and have them remove it". I walked out before I turned into one of those irate customers that destroys everything in the store.

That's what started the train for me leaving 7 months later. So they ultimately lost two lines partly because of that. (It was a corporate store).

I'm sure many others have left for the same reason.

[xjr2amt]

Back on iPhone 6 release day I was halfway through a transaction when they tried to tell me TEP was mandatory after I noticed and confronted him about what he was trying to get me to blindly sign for (on an iPhone nonetheless). Then I confronted him about that and he said "you can just call customer service when you get home and have them remove it". I walked out before I turned into one of those irate customers that destroys everything in the store.

That's what started the train for me leaving 7 months later. So they ultimately lost two lines partly because of that. (It was a corporate store).

I'm sure many others have left for the same reason.

 

It's not even about commission Sprint pushes this metric so hard that a Sales Rep could lose their job over not adding it. . . You guys have a real biased skewed opinion of dealing with a store. . . It's just like any order sales job. If you don't do what they tell you then you're on the chopping block.

[clbowens]

Back on iPhone 6 release day I was halfway through a transaction when they tried to tell me TEP was mandatory after I noticed and confronted him about what he was trying to get me to blindly sign for (on an iPhone nonetheless). Then I confronted him about that and he said "you can just call customer service when you get home and have them remove it". I walked out before I turned into one of those irate customers that destroys everything in the store.

That's what started the train for me leaving 7 months later. So they ultimately lost two lines partly because of that. (It was a corporate store).

I'm sure many others have left for the same reason.

 

I recently (in December) leased a GS6, and I was told the same thing.  I had to have the TEP on there.  And she told me to call to get it removed.  She said they would ask a lot of questions of why I wanted it removed when I called. 

 

I just went home and removed it online.   No big deal to me.

 

Also, I traded in my old phone (GS5), which they said was worth about $95.  They wouldn't let me put the whole amount back on my account as credit.  I had to spend at least half of it in the store right then.  So I got a case and screen protector for the phone.

[MacinJosh]

I recently (in December) leased a GS6, and I was told the same thing. I had to have the TEP on there. And she told me to call to get it removed. She said they would ask a lot of questions of why I wanted it removed when I called.

 

I just went home and removed it online. No big deal to me.

When my friend upgraded both of her lines to iPhone 6s a couple weeks ago, the sales rep didn't talk is into TEP. She recommended it, but did try to talk us into accessories. We found a cheaper place to get them, so we didn't buy them in store.

 

 

Sent from my Gold iPhone 6s Plus 128GB using Tapatalk

[JonnygATL]

I recently (in December) leased a GS6, and I was told the same thing.  I had to have the TEP on there.  And she told me to call to get it removed.  She said they would ask a lot of questions of why I wanted it removed when I called. 

 

I just went home and removed it online.   No big deal to me.

Why would you not want TEP? Especially on a leased phone.

[Calvin200]

Why would you not want TEP? Especially on a leased phone.

A different plan from someplace else?  

[JonnygATL]

A different plan from someplace else?

 

I didn't know that was even a possibility. Thanks for the info. I do have TEP on my leased S6 Edge but, for future devices on down the line, I may consider other options.

[clbowens]

Why would you not want TEP? Especially on a leased phone.

 

I have never had any phone that I have owned lost or stolen.  I'm pretty good at maintaining my phone and the case and screen protector that I have one it should cover any little accidents.

[RedSpark]

Sprint Posted a couple new videos on its Yellow Fan Studios YouTube Channel:

 

 

and

 

The Harrison Wiley Show with Güenther Ottendorfer

 

I found it quite entertaining actually. "LTE Plus vs. 5G" actually came up. An improvement over the "Talking Hamster" for Framily if you ask me... 

[joshuam]

I didn't know that was even a possibility. Thanks for the info. I do have TEP on my leased S6 Edge but, for future devices on down the line, I may consider other options.

 

Plus if you have Apple devices, you can just go to an Apple store for a replacement. It'll cost around $200...but water damage, cracked screen...they can fix in an Apple store...I've never had to yet, but it would be a lot less than paying for TEP every month and then their deductible.

[irev210]

Why would you not want TEP? Especially on a leased phone.

 

 

Because TEP is the biggest ripoff ever.

 

There are other warranties out there (squaretrade, applecare) that are much better/cheaper.

 

I as well have been hit with the TEP "requirement" from store reps as well.  I've also been told they can't sell a phone without a contract.

 

It just leaves a really sour feeling every time I leave the sprint store and have to login to manually remove the TEP option.

[nexgencpu]

Because TEP is the biggest ripoff ever.

 

There are other warranties out there (squaretrade, applecare) that are much better/cheaper.

 

I as well have been hit with the TEP "requirement" from store reps as well.  I've also been told they can't sell a phone without a contract.

 

It just leaves a really sour feeling every time I leave the sprint store and have to login to manually remove the TEP option.

I wouldn't go as far as to say its a rip off, its probably not worth the expense with an inexpensive device. In certain instances where you have a phone worth over six hundred dollars, it does make some sense. Especially if you lose your phone, most third party insurances do not cover lost or stolen phones.

[Ascertion]

Because TEP is the biggest ripoff ever.

 

There are other warranties out there (squaretrade, applecare) that are much better/cheaper.

 

I as well have been hit with the TEP "requirement" from store reps as well. I've also been told they can't sell a phone without a contract.

 

It just leaves a really sour feeling every time I leave the sprint store and have to login to manually remove the TEP option.

I get very annoyed when I decline TEP during an in-store upgrade and find that TEP and Outlook Premium has been added to my line. I guarantee that they do not get my business again when they do that (per store basis, that is.) Luckily, a new "Sprint-Shack" that has opened near me has honest employees so I've been going there since it opened for my Sprint needs.

[spotmeterf64]

Why would you not want TEP? Especially on a leased phone.

 

 

I can insure a computer that costs 2-3x as much as a phone through my homeowner's for less, and with a cheaper deductible. That's with accidental damage, theft, all the same stuff TEP covers.

 

Carrier-provided phone insurance is not a good deal unless you have no other insurance policies that you can add a rider on to and don't know about Swappa.

 

I don't insure my phones because I'd just buy a $25-50 BlackBerry or something on Swappa to do me until my next upgrade if I didn't already have a spare phone on hand.

[Ascertion]

I can insure a computer that costs 2-3x as much as a phone through my homeowner's for less, and with a cheaper deductible. That's with accidental damage, theft, all the same stuff TEP covers.

 

Carrier-provided phone insurance is not a good deal unless you have no other insurance policies that you can add a rider on to and don't know about Swappa.

 

I don't insure my phones because I'd just buy a $25-50 BlackBerry or something on Swappa to do me until my next upgrade if I didn't already have a spare phone on hand.

The deductible is what really kills it for me.  BestBuy used to have the $10 accidental protection plan and it was awesome because there was no deductible.  Supposedly, this caused a lot of customers to not handle their phones with care and BestBuy discontinued it I think when the galaxy S4 came out.  If you smash your screen, you're going to be out $200 whether you pay for TEP or not.  TEP is only worth it if you have your phone stolen in the first few months, otherwise the cost per month doesn't justify the protection.

[RedSpark]

Interesting article on the timing of and notification requirements for Sprint's upcoming layoffs:

 

When are the Sprint layoffs coming?

[utiz4321]

TEP, insurance or protection is one of the last value adds the carrier have to sell and sales reps are pressured tremendously to sell it. I believe this is the case among all carriers but is certainly true with ATT. The goal reps are given can not be meet if the old rule about extended warranties on electronics hold true (i.e. 1/3 will always take it, 1/3 will never and 1/3 are somewhere in between). The carriers insistence on holding reps accountable for goals that require something like an 80 percent attach rate is the cause of the problem.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[spotmeterf64]

TEP, insurance or protection is one of the last value adds the carrier have to sell and sales reps are pressured tremendously to sell it. I believe this is the case among all carriers but is certainly true with ATT. The goal reps are given can not be meet if the old rule about extended warranties on electronics hold true (i.e. 1/3 will always take it, 1/3 will never and 1/3 are somewhere in between). The carriers insistence on holding reps accountable for goals that require something like an 80 percent attach rate is the cause of the problem.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

 

The $11 they charge pads the ARPU (which looks good to shareholders), and a good portion of that $11 is pure profit. Some is sent to Asurion to manage the program, but a good portion is funneled right into the carrier's coffers. Running a network the way Sprint and T-Mobile have been for the past few years isn't all that profitable, and paying off people's ETFs and cutting their bills in half don't make any money, so they have to get it somewhere.

 

And now $11 isn't enough, so they're registering people for TEP Plus with "Antivirus" for even more. This also includes iPhones, where the antivirus app can't do jack squat because all apps are sandboxed.

[jroepcke51]

Cool, I was planning my next vacation for Afghanistan!!! 

I see your joke but if you have family in the military this is actually a brilliant move on Sprint's part. 

[RedSpark]

I see your joke but if you have family in the military this is actually a brilliant move on Sprint's part. 

 

I don't think Global Roaming was meant for extended deployments. However, Sprint has a pretty good Unlocking Policy for Military Personnel.