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

[jeffcarp]

I don't think it's the fact that they were called ghetto it's the setting in general. It's that a bunch of (what seem to be) middle class White people basically said that ghetto people use T-Mobile. It's like a bunch of rich people laughing at the poor. Condescension is common in attack ads but insulting the customers of another company because of their economic status is not very good marketing in my opinion. If anything this ad could've just insulted a large number of potential customers. It's good that it's down now.

No one said "ghetto people use T-Mobile." She said the T-Mobile service was ghetto. Big difference and big misinterpretations of that word based on where people live. It's still a dumb ad to run but the critics need to calm down.

[RedSpark]

No one said "ghetto people use T-Mobile." She said the T-Mobile service was ghetto. Big difference and big misinterpretations of that word based on where people live. It's still a dumb ad to run but the critics need to calm down.

 

Doesn't matter. Perception is everything, and Sprint had no business being anywhere close to this in terms of rhetoric.

 

Marcelo's marketing department and Chief of Staff let him down, plain and simple.

[Arysyn]

Someone else he trusted approved this video most likely. If we want to go all the way to the top, Roger Sole, Chief Marketing Officer might have had the final say on it for all we know.

 

The fact anyone at Sprint approved it, is a very bad sign. CEOs have resigned/been fired for much less in the past. What makes the video worse though, is that Marcelo himself is in the video. He could have defended Sprint's ethics right then and there towards those customer. They want to leave Sprint because the CEO of Sprint tells them off about what is the right things to do, then oh well. Marcelo should have said something to that customer, cancelled the meeting, then never ran the ad. He could have stopped it at the past, but didn't.

 

Also, while I'm glad the staff here have issued a warning about politics and asked for civility among the forums, why hasn't this been done in the past when there were issues with bullying and other hurtful things said here. One oif the staff here has bullied other members, bringing his politics into threads, yet that was okay? Hopefully that staff member was warned, and if so, good. Again, I'm glad to see some moderating action being taken here, and I hope more of it continues to stop bullying/harassment before it gets bad.

[EmeraldReporter]

[deleted by author]

Why did you back down?

 

You are correct. "Ghetto" means that a 'network' like T-Mobile's is inconsistent and lacking effort in punctuality, reliability, and expeditious.

Edited April 13, 2016 by EmeraldReporter

[greenbastard]

The fact anyone at Sprint approved it, is a very bad sign. CEOs have resigned/been fired for much less in the past. What makes the video worse though, is that Marcelo himself is in the video. He could have defended Sprint's ethics right then and there towards those customer. They want to leave Sprint because the CEO of Sprint tells them off about what is the right things to do, then oh well. Marcelo should have said something to that customer, cancelled the meeting, then never ran the ad. He could have stopped it at the past, but didn't.

 

Also, while I'm glad the staff here have issued a warning about politics and asked for civility among the forums, why hasn't this been done in the past when there were issues with bullying and other hurtful things said here. One oif the staff here has bullied other members, brining his politics into threads, yet that was okay? Hopefully that staff member was warned, and if so, good. Again, I'm glad to see some moderating action being taken here, and I hope more of it continues to stop bullying/harassment before it gets bad.

Bullying? I can't say I've seen it. I've seen disagreements in which egos get in the way of open discussions, but not bullying on this board.

[Arysyn]

Why did you back down?

 

You are correct. "Ghetto" means that a 'network' like T-Mobile's is inconsistent and lacking effort in punctuality, reliability, and snappiness.

 

Ghetto clearly is not a reference to the quality of a network. It has always been a reference to the type of customers the carrier attracts, which is a completely inappropriate term to use.

[Arysyn]

Bullying? I can't say I've seen it. I've seen disagreements in which egos get in the way of open discussions, but not bullying on this board.

 

It hasn't happened for a few weeks. Last time it did, was between a member and a staff, but there were instances of it a bit last year, which I called for a stop to quite a lot last year.

 

Generally S4GRU is a peaceful site, though I know there are instances when staff could have moderated more efficiently. This latest is an example of good moderating, which I appreciate the staff dealing with well this time.

[EmeraldReporter]

Ghetto clearly is not a reference to the quality of a network. It has always been a reference to the type of customers the carrier attracts, which is a completely inappropriate term to use.

In your opinion. Not as fact.

 

Anyways, does anyone have any new information as to what LightSquared and Dish Network plan to do with their squatted spectrum?

 

Are they going to piggy back on Sprints towers and run their own network gear while technically, not being an MVNO?

 

Or will the relationship be that Sprint runs their network, and the gear, while Dish and LightSquard reap all the profits??

[greenbastard]

It hasn't happened for a few weeks. Last time it did, was between a member and a staff, but there were instances of it a bit last year, which I called for a stop to quite a lot last year.

 

Generally S4GRU is a peaceful site, though I know there are instances when staff could have moderated more efficiently. This latest is an example of good moderating, which I appreciate the staff dealing with well this time.

It's good moderating because the conversation was getting off topic. Other than that, there wasn't anything wrong with the discussions.

[Arysyn]

It's good moderating because the conversation was getting off topic. Other than that, there wasn't anything wrong with the discussions.

 

I didn't see anything wrong with them, other than the potential for there to be. However, I went offline after my last post in the early morning, so I didn't get to see what happened afterwards. Then when I went online almost an hour ago, I saw some more posts, followed by the moderation warnings, so I assumed from that perhaps it had become worse after I went offline, possibly with posts being removed, as nothing had got to that bad point yet when I went offline.

 

Again though, I could tell where things could have gone, which even if they hadn't, I'm glad for the moderation warnings by Tim and Robert. As I use to run several forums in the past, I know how important moderating is, and am glad to see it here. My opinion is that it could have been done more in the past to help resolve some other issues, but then again, good to see it now, nonetheless.

[S4GRU]

I flat out and equivocally refute that S4GRU bullies or harasses people. To vigorously disagree and debate opposing views is neither being a bully or considered harassment.

 

And that's the thing about terms like that. They can be leveled by the lowest common denominator in an argument, being completely relative terms. But I am certain that to the standard of a reasonable person, S4GRU is not a site of bullying and harassment. Especially when you consider how poisoned and vitriolic the internet at large has become.

 

If anything, we are the last bastion of civility. Especially in Wireless discussion. Which has become extremely polarized.

 

Sent from OnePlus 2 using Tapatalk

[Arysyn]

In your opinion. Not as fact.

 

Anyways, does anyone have any new information as to what LightSquared and Dish Network plan to do with their squatted spectrum?

 

Are they going to piggy back on Sprints towers and run their own network gear while technically, not being an MVNO?

 

Or will the relationship be that Sprint runs their network, and the gear, while Dish and LightSquard reap all the profits??

 

When I've been on other forums hearing the term used, even on a forum I ran, where people often discussed how to obtain certain medications out of the country, people have used the term to describe a "dangerous area". Certainly they didn't use it to describe dangerous weather patterns or lots of dangerous roads where sinkholes often occurred, you know those damned ghetto sinkholes that are occurring all around us lately, along with those ghetto tornados and hurricane zones. No, it always has been used to describe a lower-class group of people in that area, which is a bad thing to do.

 

This is why humanity is at such a problem in this society. It isn't even a political issue necessarily. It is a social issue. People regardless of what politics they have, should at least be decent people and not use such vulgar terms to describe other people and in "grouping" them into one or another. Its just wrong.

[WiWavelength]

Also, while I'm glad the staff here have issued a warning about politics and asked for civility among the forums, why hasn't this been done in the past when there were issues with bullying and other hurtful things said here. One oif the staff here has bullied other members, bringing his politics into threads, yet that was okay? Hopefully that staff member was warned, and if so, good.

 

Arysyn, I am curious.  Are you referring to me?  If so, please provide some citations.

 

I do not mince words.  I am a direct communicator.  I tell it like it is, then back it up with solid reasoning.  A few times, not all of the time, I have been critical of you -- criticism you have warranted.  That is not bullying.

 

But I cannot recall ever bringing politics into those discussions.  Civility is a different issue.  That is a judgment call.  Some people think that telling them they are wrong, that they should change their ways, etc., lacks civility.  I disagree.

 

If you are not referring to me, mea culpa.

 

Anyway, I digress.  Sort of to steer things back on topic, I will write a post on the etymology of the word "ghetto."  Give it a few minutes...

 

AJ

[Arysyn]

I flat out and equivocally refute that S4GRU bullies or harasses people. To vigorously disagree and debate opposing views is neither being a bully or considered harassment.

 

And that's the thing about terms like that. They can be leveled by the lowest common denominator in an argument, being completely relative terms. But I am certain that to the standard of a reasonable person, S4GRU is not a site of bullying and harassment. Especially when you consider how poisoned and vitriolic the internet at large has become.

 

If anything, we are the last bastion of civility. Especially in Wireless discussion. Which has become extremely polarized.

 

Sent from OnePlus 2 using Tapatalk

 

Robert,

 

For the most part, you are correct,  particularly when compared with much of the internet, S4GRU generally is a peaceful place. But even in peaceful sites there always are elements of bullying, which the degree of varies. Bullying doesn't have to mean threatening, or things around that which are at the worst points of bullying. Simple arguing when one asks the other to leave them alone can be bullying. Sadly, there are examples of that on the site, though admittedly they are minimal. My pointing that out is in no way a criticism of S4GRU, and again as I acknowledge all sites are going to have that element. It is encouraging though to see S4GRU moderating here what could have become a bad situation. From Tim's post, it sounded to me that it had, although I already went offline after my last post well prior to his warning.

 

Anyways, it still is refreshing to see something being done, even it is was just a preventative measure.

[bigsnake49]

In your opinion. Not as fact.

 

Anyways, does anyone have any new information as to what LightSquared and Dish Network plan to do with their squatted spectrum?

 

Are they going to piggy back on Sprints towers and run their own network gear while technically, not being an MVNO?

 

Or will the relationship be that Sprint runs their network, and the gear, while Dish and LightSquard reap all the profits??

 

 

Lightsquared wants to use their spectrum for smart grid purposes. Dish just keeps accumulating spectrum thinking that somebody will buy it from them for a very healthy profit. Except nobody is biting. T-Mobile still has not refarmed their PCS spectrum, AT&T has not refarmed their cellular spectrum and they are just now starting to use WCS, Verizon keeps on insisting that they are only using 50% of their spectrum and Sprint has gobs of band 41 left. Dish will not develop their own network, they may have Sprint host it for them. The disagreement with Sprint lies in that Dish wants to pay Sprint back with capacity and Sprint wants cash. Maybe T-Mobile can do it for capacity.

Looking back on it, SoftBank acquiring Sprint might not have been the best option. I have yet to see a benefit. Maybe they should have let Dish have it.

[S4GRU]

I don't believe we are a peaceful site. I don't think it would be enjoyable if it was. We would have to moderate a lot of meaningful and relative discussion in order to make the tone peaceful. But we will moderate bullying and harassment.

 

Sent from OnePlus 2 using Tapatalk

[Arysyn]

Arysyn, I am curious.  Are you referring to me?  If so, please provide some citations.

 

I do not mince words.  I am a direct communicator.  I tell it like it is, then back it up with solid reasoning.  A few times, not all of the time, I have been critical of you -- criticism you have warranted.  That is not bullying.

 

But I cannot recall ever bringing politics into those discussions.  Civility is a different issue.  That is a judgment call.  Some people think that telling them they are wrong, that they should change their ways, etc., lacks civility.  I disagree.

 

If you are not referring to me, mea culpa.

 

Anyway, I digress.  Sort of to steer things back on topic, I will write a post on the etymology of the word "ghetto."  Give it a few minutes...

 

AJ

 

Hopefully your view of the word "ghetto" will be more appropriate than what I've heard others use the term as. I've been surprised by how it has been used in the past, and even still.

[Arysyn]

I don't believe we are a peaceful site. I don't think it would be enjoyable if it was. We would have to moderate a lot of meaningful and relative discussion in order to make the tone peaceful. But we will moderate bullying and harassment.

 

Sent from OnePlus 2 using Tapatalk

 

That sounds fair...

 

I admit I use the term "peaceful" too much. Generally what I mean by it, is a matter of being polite and courteous, though peaceful can also mean things of a more utopian nature, which certainly isn't anywhere I've seen. Perhaps civil is a better term for this.

[Houston_Texas]

 

 

Anyway, I digress. Sort of to steer things back on topic, I will write a post on the etymology of the word "ghetto." Give it a few minutes...

 

AJ

At this point, I think it's best to move on from that word. The ad has been pulled and topic has been discussed. No need to rehash.

 

Sent from my SM-N910 using Tapatalk

[NYC126]

The listening tour lost its credibility when he decided to carry a TV crew to record the whole thing. If you wanted to listen to customers  you could had done that while your assistant takes notes. 

 

You didn't need to prove the whole industry that you are traveling around America's top notch cities listening to customers from every carrier about what they want from their carrier. 

 

Most wireless customers except the tiny minority that is part of the magentan cult simple want their service to work to make phone calls, text and data anytime they need it  regardless where they are.  In a simple terms just be the dumb pipe. Customers want that, and be treated with respect from their carrier that's all. 

 

Ever since Legere started throwing candy around many especially tech blogs are treating wireless service as something different. Seems the used car salesman techniques have worked on the sheep. 

[richy]

The fact anyone at Sprint approved it, is a very bad sign. CEOs have resigned/been fired for much less in the past. What makes the video worse though, is that Marcelo himself is in the video. He could have defended Sprint's ethics right then and there towards those customer. They want to leave Sprint because the CEO of Sprint tells them off about what is the right things to do, then oh well. Marcelo should have said something to that customer, cancelled the meeting, then never ran the ad. He could have stopped it at the past, but didn't.

 

Also, while I'm glad the staff here have issued a warning about politics and asked for civility among the forums, why hasn't this been done in the past when there were issues with bullying and other hurtful things said here. One oif the staff here has bullied other members, bringing his politics into threads, yet that was okay? Hopefully that staff member was warned, and if so, good. Again, I'm glad to see some moderating action being taken here, and I hope more of it continues to stop bullying/harassment before it gets bad.

 

I have been on this forum for a reasonable amount of time. I have had some interesting and robust conversations with people in here but I have never seen anything that would come close to bullying. This place is extremely tame, absolutely nothing compared to an ops or revmax meeting at work, those are genuinely fun but very enthusiastic. Now if the resident Tmobile troll doesn't feel harassed or bullied even after many enthusiastic interactions with senior members of the board then maybe a period of introspection would be beneficial. Ask AJ about discussing net neutrality with me

 

You are going to meet all kinds of personalities in life, some of them are going to be confident and assertive, thats a good thing, life needs those people. Some of these people will have lower tolerances. Thats just life, please don't mistake testing other peoples patience as being bullied or harassed. S4gru is a haven of sanity and tranquility on the internet.

[laqn1283]

Yes I agree the listening tour is a joke. If Marcelo Claure want to know why customers leaving sprint just go to sprint's Facebook and compare to T-Mobile att and Verizon. There is a huge difference in the amount of unhappy customers compared to the other 3 carriers. I don't use sprint service so cannot tell how much improved they are compared to 2 years ago. But my receptionist has sprint and once in a while she has voice and data issues. At least she does not have to walk to the back of the office to get reception like 2 years ago. I has never encountered those problems with att. Yes sprint improves but not enough for people to switch since their service is still not up to par compared to other 3 carriers in metro areas.

[Arysyn]

I have been on this forum for a reasonable amount of time. I have had some interesting and robust conversations with people in here but I have never seen anything that would come close to bullying. This place is extremely tame, absolutely nothing compared to an ops or revmax meeting at work, those are genuinely fun but very enthusiastic. Now if the resident Tmobile troll doesn't feel harassed or bullied even after many enthusiastic interactions with senior members of the board then maybe a period of introspection would be beneficial. Ask AJ about discussing net neutrality with me

 

You are going to meet all kinds of personalities in life, some of them are going to be confident and assertive, thats a good thing, life needs those people. Some of these people will have lower tolerances. Thats just life, please don't mistake testing other peoples patience as being bullied or harassed. S4gru is a haven of sanity and tranquility on the internet.

 

richy,

 

You and I have had disagreements, all which have been very civil, as I've had disagreements with others on various issues which also have been civil. Other terms I could use are polite and respectful. The best term actually which I think all conversations and debates on any forum ought to be at least respectful. Certain critical statements are fine, but it is important that when people are typing messages to each other on the internet they think carefully about how their words can be interpreted on the other end. I admit I take this quite seriously, sometimes even a bit too seriously, but its also because I've been online for so long, much of that time counseling people in very bad situations.

 

Certainly, people on S4GRU are not presenting the same kind of needs I'm accustomed to from others I've talked with on sites where proper wording is such a must, but the same level of respect towards others still ought to apply here as with anywhere on the internet. Thank goodness though S4GRU is a much more positive site than others, but even still there are occasions where words have got out of line here. It really hasn't happened too often, and I certainly respect the site for that, along with all the good this site presents. Yet, it is important to note when things can improve in tone, along with respecting the need for moderation when those times do occur.

 

btw, isn't maximus gone from here?

[WiWavelength]

My paid job is in continuing education -- at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.  By no means am I a professor.  But I work with my students on establishing neutral, critical thinking skills.  Then, content skills can follow.

 

And this "ghetto" discussion fits right in my wheelhouse, as I am educated in geography.  By itself, "ghetto" is not an offensive word.  It means only a largely ethnic neighborhood.

 

Understand history.  To illustrate, the Warsaw Ghetto.  During World War II and the German invasion of Poland, Jews were confined to a certain segment of Warsaw.  By coincidence, I also studied film in college.  See "Schindler's List," "Jakob the Liar," and "The Pianist."

 

Now, the negative connotations associated with "ghetto" probably started with the Holocaust.  Understandably so.  That was a horrible time of confinement and persecution.  But "ghetto" also got transferred to the US to other ethnicities -- mainly, Blacks and Hispanics.  For two common examples, Harlem and Compton.

 

Then, in part because of the Elvis song "In the Ghetto," the term became part of pop culture.  Throughout, though, "ghetto" remained a noun -- specifically, a place, typically, a lower socioeconomic area.  Only more recently in Generation X or Millenial culture has "ghetto" colloquially become an adjective, as in, "She is so 'ghetto.'"

 

My understanding is that last etymology of the word -- as it is used in the controversial Sprint clip -- is the issue.  The adjective, "ghetto."

 

What was the speaker thinking?  T-Mobile service is "ghetto," as nationally the least reliable of the big four operators?  Okay.  RootMetrics objective testing backs that up.  But T-Mobile service is "ghetto" because of its type of subs or coverage locations?  Maybe.  But, no, that shoe does not necessarily fit.  MetroPCS aside, T-Mobile is expanding its demographic reach in customer base.

 

To conclude, I have not seen the Sprint clip.  I do not plan to track down the now removed clip.  I do not wish to read the articles and comments.  Online commenters, even actual writers, like to spew utter shit these days, and I have enough strife in my life as it is.  Sprint did not make the off color comment.  However, Sprint made a misstep by running the clip in the first place.

 

AJ

[Arysyn]

Yes I agree the listening tour is a joke. If Marcelo Claure want to know why customers leaving sprint just go to sprint's Facebook and compare to T-Mobile att and Verizon. There is a huge difference in the amount of unhappy customers compared to the other 3 carriers. I don't use sprint service so cannot tell how much improved they are compared to 2 years ago. But my receptionist has sprint and once in a while she has voice and data issues. At least she does not have to walk to the back of the office to get reception like 2 years ago. I has never encountered those problems with att. Yes sprint improves but not enough for people to switch since their service is still not up to par compared to other 3 carriers in metro areas.

 

Great post!

 

Again all respect to Sprint for the network improvements and such. However, and while I'll admit not all of the Facebook posts seem proper or even genuine, a great deal of them likely are. Many of which are complaints regarding in-store service, which in my opinion, is horrendous. I'll need to hear a great deal of improvement reports regarding Sprint store customer service, before I ever go back into one of their stores.