Interesting:
Hundreds of cell phone customers are being given the boot, accused of being too high maintenance.
Sprint-Nextel is disconnecting more than 1,000 subscribers on grounds the clients call customer service too often and make "unreasonable requests."
The 1,200 people getting dropped will have to find a new carrier by the end of the month.
A Sprint representative said the average customer calls customer service less than once a month, but the 1,200 clients getting the boot call 40-50 times as often.
Sprint said whatever the complaint, it has worked to resolve it but due to the volume of calls it's obvious customers involved are not happy.
In a statement, the company said: "Rather than continue to operate in a situation that was unsatisfactory for Sprint and our subscribers, we chose to terminate our relationship with those customers to allow them to pursue other options."
In my work, I do get plenty of time to deal with customers who, to say the least, have unrealistic expectations - people who want things which are impossible and/or who get amazingly rude when not instantly given what they demand. More than once I've wished I could just say, "ok, I've had it; I've closed your account, we don't want your business, please go annoy some other company".
On the flip side, companies can also be more reasonable - I've often wished I could just forgive something in an account because it was a one-time thing, or the customer was in a jam and just needed a kindness...I guess my plea is for everyone to just remember that we're all people on each end of the line, and all of us can use a break from time to time.
Posted by Mark Noonan at July 11, 2007 09:56 AM
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I have a friend who used to work in a call center for a cell phone insurance company. One of the first calls she got"
-What happened to your phone?
-I dropped it.
-What were you doing when you dropped it?
-I was in the shower...
Strangely enough, the person was covered... The moral is: People are quite stupid a lot of the time. I saw it in food service; I see it in government, and I see it walking down the street.
A company has a right to deal with whom they want, but refusing to deal with stupid people might be bad for the bottom line...
Posted by:
Rana Quijotesca at July 11, 2007 10:43 AM
Not necessarily Rana.
When you look at the economies of scale, customer service dollars etc., more often than not, the bottom line is less affected by "turning loose" those demanding customers and focusing on a "quality" customer base. Returns in the retail industry are the "kiss of death" and customer service dollars are better spent strengthening relationships with the more loyal, satisfied customer since there will always be "dissatisfied customers".
Posted by: navydad at July 11, 2007 11:21 AM
Well - nobody has a right to a mobile phone account with Sprint/Nextel. That's the beauty of deregulation and privatization. If their business is worth having, somebody will take it - at the appropriate price.
Let the market sort it out.
Posted by: extramedium at July 11, 2007 12:19 PM
I hate to say that I agree with Navydad on this. (I am gaging as I type!!)
My wife is a senior executive with Sprint and it is more cost efficent for them to purge themselves of "problem" customers than it is to spend money trying to satisfy the unsatisfyable. This is true for all service industries, not just phone companies.
Posted by: kennscht mi noch? at July 11, 2007 12:40 PM
Well, in the case of a phone company... the costs of having a person pick up a phone and deal with stupid people are less than the costs of losing $50 per month.
Posted by:
Rana Quijotesca at July 11, 2007 01:11 PM
kennscht mi noch?
It's good to see you laugh though...I hope?
Posted by: navydad at July 11, 2007 01:26 PM
Well, in the case of a phone company... the costs of having a person pick up a phone and deal with stupid people are less than the costs of losing $50 per month.
Maybe with the average person, who, as Mark notes, calls less than once a month. The problem people (stupid people) are calling 40-50 times per month. I don't blame Sprint one bit. I'll bet the morale in their call center went up dramatically after this decision.
I've been a manufacturer's rep ever since I retired from the Navy spook community in 1989. It's been a rare occurrence when I've dropped a customer -- usually because of poor payment history, but on a couple occasions, simply because they were a pain in the ass to deal with. But, as a self-employed person working out of my house, I have a great deal more flexibility in this regard than a company like Sprint.
Posted by: Retired Spook at July 11, 2007 01:34 PM
It’s Bush’s fault! // Sarcasm off //
Posted by: DM at July 11, 2007 01:34 PM
I just wish that when the automated computer voice lady hear STFU! or GTH! it would recognize that as a signal to stop talking and connect to a real (preferably english speaking) person.
http://www.illwillpress.com/tech42.html
If you like it, click on "toons" for more
Posted by: Kahn at July 12, 2007 12:27 AM
Order Matt and Mark's book on Amazon or Barnes and Noble
I have a friend who used to work in a call center for a cell phone insurance company. One of the first calls she got"
Strangely enough, the person was covered... The moral is: People are quite stupid a lot of the time. I saw it in food service; I see it in government, and I see it walking down the street.
A company has a right to deal with whom they want, but refusing to deal with stupid people might be bad for the bottom line...
Not necessarily Rana.
When you look at the economies of scale, customer service dollars etc., more often than not, the bottom line is less affected by "turning loose" those demanding customers and focusing on a "quality" customer base. Returns in the retail industry are the "kiss of death" and customer service dollars are better spent strengthening relationships with the more loyal, satisfied customer since there will always be "dissatisfied customers".
Well - nobody has a right to a mobile phone account with Sprint/Nextel. That's the beauty of deregulation and privatization. If their business is worth having, somebody will take it - at the appropriate price.
Let the market sort it out.
I hate to say that I agree with Navydad on this. (I am gaging as I type!!)
My wife is a senior executive with Sprint and it is more cost efficent for them to purge themselves of "problem" customers than it is to spend money trying to satisfy the unsatisfyable. This is true for all service industries, not just phone companies.
Well, in the case of a phone company... the costs of having a person pick up a phone and deal with stupid people are less than the costs of losing $50 per month.
kennscht mi noch?
It's good to see you laugh though...I hope?
Well, in the case of a phone company... the costs of having a person pick up a phone and deal with stupid people are less than the costs of losing $50 per month.
Maybe with the average person, who, as Mark notes, calls less than once a month. The problem people (stupid people) are calling 40-50 times per month. I don't blame Sprint one bit. I'll bet the morale in their call center went up dramatically after this decision.
I've been a manufacturer's rep ever since I retired from the Navy spook community in 1989. It's been a rare occurrence when I've dropped a customer -- usually because of poor payment history, but on a couple occasions, simply because they were a pain in the ass to deal with. But, as a self-employed person working out of my house, I have a great deal more flexibility in this regard than a company like Sprint.
It’s Bush’s fault! // Sarcasm off //
I just wish that when the automated computer voice lady hear STFU! or GTH! it would recognize that as a signal to stop talking and connect to a real (preferably english speaking) person.
http://www.illwillpress.com/tech42.html
If you like it, click on "toons" for more