Retention Howtos

[Tai]

For you unbelievers I am here to help.. LOL I find it strangely amusing you doubt anything but as a Canadian says Meh Eh!

On to business The system can be used to get what you want however.

1.Be Polite
2.Dont think you'll get everything in 1 shot. We look at what you have and what you want and you'll almost never get everything you want in one call.
3.Ask the agent if there from Rio Rancho if they say yes Hang up. They make outrageous offers and if you dont take it right then not likely any other site will give it. On top of that after you accept it call back and ensure everything was done cuz its likely a false promise.
4. Dont ask for supervisors of the rep your talking too call back and ask for a different rep. Supervisors are the ones that give permission to outrageous offers. We DO NOT have to honour them.
5. If Customer care promised it Retention may not honour it.
6.Be patient take some time inbetween calls wait month or 2 to call back for "freebies"
7. Sunday is our slowest day.
8. If you insult the rep be advised not to callback for a couple months its likely we flagged your acct for being rude and most reps wont deal with you.(Customer called in 47 times last sunday asked for a supervisor 47 times and had talked to every supervisor we had on numberous times. His acct is cancelled now that he insulted every Rep and Sup he had. He called back got a different site and his acct is still cancelled.

Ill add tips and answer other questions

[Dafluke24]

Argh my retention rep was from Rio Ranch lol hopefully everything I agreed to is there. So far everything looks ok when I checked my plan online. No outrageous offers given that I was aware of.

very good tips, Tai. This should be a sticky

[Sprint_Gold]

For you unbelievers I am here to help.. LOL I find it strangely amusing you doubt anything but as a Canadian says Meh Eh!

On to business The system can be used to get what you want however.

1.Be Polite
2.Dont think you'll get everything in 1 shot. We look at what you have and what you want and you'll almost never get everything you want in one call.
3.Ask the agent if there from Rio Rancho if they say yes Hang up. They make outrageous offers and if you dont take it right then not likely any other site will give it. On top of that after you accept it call back and ensure everything was done cuz its likely a false promise.
4. Dont ask for supervisors of the rep your talking too call back and ask for a different rep. Supervisors are the ones that give permission to outrageous offers. We DO NOT have to honour them.
5. If Customer care promised it Retention may not honour it.
6.Be patient take some time inbetween calls wait month or 2 to call back for "freebies"
7. Sunday is our slowest day.
8. If you insult the rep be advised not to callback for a couple months its likely we flagged your acct for being rude and most reps wont deal with you.(Customer called in 47 times last sunday asked for a supervisor 47 times and had talked to every supervisor we had on numberous times. His acct is cancelled now that he insulted every Rep and Sup he had. He called back got a different site and his acct is still cancelled.

Ill add tips and answer other questions

TAI;

Nothing really new in your post that has not been discussed many times before here. You may want to look in the "Tips and Tricks" section, that is where retention stuff is usually discussed.

[Tai]

Never said it was I gave my suggestions.

[coachpelkey]

Thank you Tai, I am new to this, and I appreciate your tips. I used *2 recently to upgrade my phones and plan and to be honest, I am semi-happy on the results. I wish I had vision and more minutes for the same price, but they would not budge. I was nice, and understanding.....since I have only been with Sprint since 04. However, I have noticed other people on here that have only been in their contract for like a year, and they are loaded up with a ton of perks....Its hard to see that, with a baby on the way....and I am just a teacher (my school is not on the 16,000 whatever discount list)....Not to cry, but any help is always welcome on how to save some dough. Thank you.

[rennyn]

TAI;

Nothing really new in your post that has not been discussed many times before here. You may want to look in the "Tips and Tricks" section, that is where retention stuff is usually discussed.

Except most of those threads are hugely bloated and unreadable. Its nice to have it all in one place.

[Frankie G]

This is a great thread...I found the most amazing retention rep today. I am so happy. I helped out a friend and everything worked out on only the fourth or fifth try! Now I am going to use this retention rep for myself!

[Kep]

Thank you Tai, I am new to this, and I appreciate your tips. I used *2 recently to upgrade my phones and plan and to be honest, I am semi-happy on the results. I wish I had vision and more minutes for the same price, but they would not budge. I was nice, and understanding.....since I have only been with Sprint since 04. However, I have noticed other people on here that have only been in their contract for like a year, and they are loaded up with a ton of perks....Its hard to see that, with a baby on the way....and I am just a teacher (my school is not on the 16,000 whatever discount list)....Not to cry, but any help is always welcome on how to save some dough. Thank you.

Everything Tai says here is very true...but I'll take it a step further...

Be honest, be grateful and be charming.

The fact is that most of the telecom industry is dumped on ALL DAY LONG by really ****ty customers who are complete jerks. I spent a lot of time with a headset on when I was younger and I assure you, customers truly believe they are entitled and expect to be treated like it. It tends to piss off the guy just trying to do his job. On the other hand, if you call up, say "Hi, I'm hoping you can help me out...I'm on the road a lot and I could really use free Nights and Weekends starting at six" you'll be suprised how accomidating people can be.

If they say "it's $10 a month" or whatever, say "well, thanks, but I'm a paycheck-to-paycheck kind of guy, I was hoping I might be able to get it added on, but hey, thanks for your help." Amazingly, you'll be delighted how often you'll here "Boy, do I understand that...hold on, let me review you account." And suddenly, you have it. Now, that's not to say it works every time, it doesn't...but coming off humble and getting the rep on your side goes a MILLION MILES towards them helping you out because you are just like them...a regular Joe on a budget.

Also, if they say "Sorry I couldn't help you, but have a nice day anyway" you're probably safe to call back imediately because they didn't bother to annotate your account... why would they? You just called and asked for some information...and not only didn't you piss them off, you're probably the first non-jerk they've had in a while and they're already off talking to the next hot-head in the que.

Now, I do now advocate lying...mainly because so few people can do it convincingly, but also because there's a moral thing a lot of folks can't get around (good for you, you make the world work). Ask for what you need, not a bit more and you'll discover it works in your favor more often than not.

Honey, not vinegar.

Good luck!

[coachpelkey]

Amen to the honey part. I think its probably in my best interest to lay low and just enjoy what I have right now. If something else comes along in the next few months, new deals or whatnot, then maybe call back. It would be nice to have vision and some more minutes, but I probably shouldnt push my luck. I enjoy coming here, reading posts, and getting great ideas. The people here are fantastic, some are funny, and for the most part, they are really helpful and saving some dough.

[Tai]

Pushing luck
I had a customer who had everything we offer free and he wanted more. In the end he ended with only 1500ms for 49.99 and nothing else. And he didnt even get his new phone. Alot of reps will be working this way now as thats what Sprint wants us to do. Lay low wait a few months

[jumonjii]

Alot of reps will be working this way now as thats what Sprint wants us to do. Lay low wait a few months


I missed something.... Sprint wants you to do what?

[Percipio]

Hope this isn't off-topic for this thread.

I called retentions the other day looking for a deal on a PPC-6700 plus a better rate on my plans. I was very cordial and the rep I talked to was very nice. I didn't accept the offer because it wasn't quite what I was looking for price-wise.

How long should I wait before calling and trying again?

[coachpelkey]

yea i am going to lay low, thank you. I do enjoy reading the posts and getting tips. Plus its nice to meet new folks.....it is a pleasure to meet everyone.

[Wayne 1]

Lots of great tips in this thread including the OP and especially you Kep! Very good people! :clap:

[tnnm]

First off, great thread - I really appreciate you being so transparent to the rest of the community.

What I don't understand is how people continue to call back and "ask for more freebies" a couple of months after a retention offer is accepted and a new contract is signed? Why is it in Sprint's interest to continue to add more freebies like SMS, or Nights at 6PM at that point? Moreover, what justification does one have to be talking to retentions again - I mean to threaten to leave and pay a $150 or greater penalty is far greater than the savings you may stand to gain from a freebie that would otherwise cost $5/month extra each month and Sprint is obviously capable of doing that arithmetic.

Thanks in advance for the clarification.

[rennyn]

tnnm,

I think because Sprint has realized that a lot of people ask for Freebies just to get them. For every one person who uses their boatloads of freebies plus a great retention plan, I'm sure there's at least 5 other people with similar freebies and plans who use a handful of text messages and maybe a couple hundred minutes a month.

It doesn't benefit them so much, but it doesn't really hurt them as much as many people think.

[tnnm]

rennyn,

So you argue that it is just good customer service and since their marginal cost of providing it is near zero, then keeping their customers happy will probably have a more meaningful impact in the long run? That sounds like a reasonable argument to me. Especially since Sprint probably realizes that just because they are not willing to give it to me for free, I'm not anymore likely to say "Oh well, shucks - please add it and I guess I'm now willing to pay for it." If anything I simply won't consume the extra feature and will likely just be an unhappy customer.

I'd be interested in hearing others' thoughts. Why? Because one of the best negotiating strategies one can have is understanding the other side's motivations and logic.

What a great community we have here!

[Wayne 1]

First off, great thread - I really appreciate you being so transparent to the rest of the community.

What I don't understand is how people continue to call back and "ask for more freebies" a couple of months after a retention offer is accepted and a new contract is signed? Why is it in Sprint's interest to continue to add more freebies like SMS, or Nights at 6PM at that point? Moreover, what justification does one have to be talking to retentions again - I mean to threaten to leave and pay a $150 or greater penalty is far greater than the savings you may stand to gain from a freebie that would otherwise cost $5/month extra each month and Sprint is obviously capable of doing that arithmetic.

Thanks in advance for the clarification.


First I don't think the stragety of threatening to leave is necessary at all. Simply speaking to retentions when contract renewal time comes around has always worked well for me. Keeping the verbal communications open in a pleasant way works wonders most of the time. Keep in mind Sprint is in more of a bargaining mood now than they were just a couple of years ago based on my first hand experiences.

For me it is much easier to get the extra goodies now including free phones and other perks using basically the same procedures (outlined in other posts in this thread) as in years before. Plus I think Sero is a wonderful idea as it increases interest in Sprint services.

It seems the powers that be that run Sprint....believe it behoves the company to allow employees to give extra goodies to apease the masses. I believe this boosts the bottom line for Sprint and increases their market share. Indeed customers tell their friends and familes about Sprint. You can't beat word of mouth advertising!

[Frankie G]

I think basically the majority of Sprint customers know nothing about these freebies. I mean I was a customer since 2001 and only discovered this 2 weeks ago. I was always happy with my service...but I am 10 times happier now that I am paying half the price for my same plan and getting phones for dirt cheap. Got the a900 for 79.99; the a920 for 74.99, and the treo 700p for ($300) $150 after returning my a920 (which I only paid $74.99 for). It annoys me though that this wasn't offered originally to me, being that I am and always was a high paying loyal customer. It became a part time job to even get these perks. Originally I paid FULL PRICE for my a900 and a920! Thank God for this forum!

[belleater]

is there a certain time of day thats best for calling retention?

[rennyn]

is there a certain time of day thats best for calling retention?

I'm not sure of Retentions hours.. but for CS, usually just before closing is good, or probably their slow days (Sunday) as Tia has said.

[Wayne 1]

It became a part time job to even get these perks.

Indeed it does





Belleater,

I concur with the calling on the weekend suggestion. I've received some of my best deals on the weekends!

[sde780]

umm.. im not sure if this relates to the topic but...


i currently have the fair and flexible family plan at 59.99 a month with 550 minutes. i called retention to switch to a sero plan, they gave me 20% off instead. idk what the discount is for, but i called customer service and they agreed to switch me over to sero on july 26,2006,

iam wondering if the 20% discount transferrs over to the sero plans?

btw iam getting a sero plan for each of my two lines



thanks in advance

[Tai]

If it was me you'd lose the 205 but if you do you still get a sweet ass plan.

[sde780]

If it was me you'd lose the 205 but if you do you still get a sweet ass plan.



i called customer service like 20 times, and i got mixed answers

some said it would carry over, and some said it wouldnt

two of them said that i didnt even have a 20% discount


i told the lady who said it transferrs over to make a note of that in my acount. idk if thats gonna help though

[Gunnerdawg]

Well people the days for Canada Retention Spec. are numbered. The are known for giving away the farm but not much longer this web site is also read by retention spec. and Sprint corp. Sprint is giving all retention issues to corporate specialist not third party any longer so they will be more strict. So good luck

[dfwtxpatrick]

Okay,

Tai has posted some good info here. And Tai has taken a very risky chance here as well.

To go along w/ Tai's info, I'll post some of mine as well.

1) Compliment the reps your talking to. A small compliment goes ALONG way to making someone's day. If the rep your talking to is nice, polite,ect. Make a simple compliment like "Hey! I Really enjoy talking to you, you're treating me Very nice and that's not something I've been getting lately from SPCS!"

2) Make sure you KNOW what you want. No matter what, if you don't know what you want or need, the rep can't help you. Not to mention that the rep is trying to get you to settle for the least things to keep you a SPCS customer as well.

3) KNOW the competitors! Simply knowing what prices VZ, Cingular, Tmobile, ect are charging for their phones, services is going to go along way to helping you convince the rep you HAVE done your homework and know what you can get w/ them is going to help you get what you want. Saying "I heard Cingular is giving customers a free phone every 12 months, so why can't I get one?" is just going to show the rep you have no clue what is available, will talk you out of what is availible and you'll get what THEY want to give you.

4) Prepare what you want to say before you call. Be firm, polite and insistant. Also, be ready for their comebacks or statements. Retentions job is to get you to take what THEY want you to have. And the less you ****er, the better it is for them.

5) Be REALISTIC! I can't tell you how many people have emailed me and there is basically nothing I can do because they have already used their free pass. If you just started your acct w/ SPCS 4 months ago, got a SERO w/ a New A920 for Rock bottom or nearly so, then you ask to have help in getting a FREE Treo 700P cause you just want one, NOTHING is going to happen.

6) Be ready to simply say "Thank you for your time! I don't think this is what I want. I will continue to see what my options are and decide if I need to go with some one else." That statement can show the rep you are not going to be easily swayed and could possibly provide them w/ enough incentive to go ahead and work w/ you to get what YOU want.

7) Some very simple things to say are as follows:
A)"I've been checking my options w/ other carriers and am considering taking their offer.
B)"Your offer is tempting, but from what I've been told by VZ/Cingular (you choose) I can get it for $5, 10, 15 cheaper (make sure you've got your facts straight!)."
C)"I KNOW that Cingular is offering that phone for less than SPCS as a NEW customer, And since I was able to prove that I've been w/ SPCS for 3,4,5 yrs, have a good account w/ them. They are offering me that phone for Free,$49.99,$69.99,ect if I PORT my number over to them.
D)"I have been given an offer from Cing/VZ that if I PORT my number over to them, they will give me a NON standard plan of (make up a realistic plan) and it seems very worthwhile to me to take it if SPCS can't match it."
E)"I really enjoy having SPCS, but I have to do what is best for me. Even if it means swapping carriers. Now I don't want to do that, but w/ the offer I got from Cing/VZ makes it hard if SPCS can't match or come close to it."
F)"SPCS really works for me, but after the offers I got from VZ/Cingular, I have to wonder why SPCS can't give me the same offers to keep me as a customer?"
G)"While I have been a customer for 2,3,4,5 yrs, once my contract expires, I AM A NEW CUSTOMER! You need to provide me w/ a REASON to stay w/ SPCS instead of walking. Can you do that?"
F)"Can I ask why SPCS is making me feel like an unworthy subclass person?" "YES, with what you're telling me, that is how I feel!" "Have I done something to SPCS to make you feel like I'm not worth your time?" "Well, that's how I feel after what you've told me."


This is just a bit of what I say when things are not going well with the retentions rep. But you can use it if you want.

Give it your best, see what happens.

JUST ALWAYS be nice, polite, thank them for their time and if you don't like the way it's going, simply hang up and call back. Sometimes, it would be best to wait a day or two if possible. That way they can tell you've had time to think about it.

Go Get em Tiger!

[Wayne 1]

Solid tips dfwtxpatrick, I printed those off to add to my Sprint file! Alot of those work well when dealing with other companies in general too. :)

[dfwtxpatrick]

Solid tips dfwtxpatrick, I printed those off to add to my Sprint (http:///#) file! Alot of those work well when dealing with other companies in general too. :)

The info I posted is INDEED usable w/ other companies.

I used the same thing to take my home phone service (#) and DSL (#) from $120 a month after taxes to about $50 a month after taxes.

Not to mention I bought a 36" tv (#) from Best Buys that was listed at $850 before taxes for just $643 after taxes. So I can make it work for ALOT of stuff.

Got a new car that was going for $24k for $17k. (WORKED VERY HARD FOR THAT!) Once I was done, The guy who purchased the car paid me $500 for helping, and the Car Dealer gave me $150 as a bird dog fee. So, getting paid $650 for 4.5 hours of work netted me $144.44 per hour.

As you can see. Once I get things lined up, (my brochure for sale, my book I'm working on), I expect to get paid for my services. And PAID BIG!

I had a guy contact me to be a Purchaser for a company, but the pay wasn't in the range I expect someone who can save a company $100,000.00 on 1 deal to be.

If there is someone out there looking to pay someone w/ my capabilities a fairly sizable income, I could be swayed to change jobs.

I don't have a degree in finance, psychology, business or anything. I don't need one! I have experience and that will trump a degree anytime.

My fellow SU'rs, I enjoy helping you all out the best I can. So I will keep it real here on SU for you guys.

Anyway!

Have fun!

[Tai]

Well people the days for Canada Retention Spec. are numbered. The are known for giving away the farm but not much longer this web site is also read by retention spec. and Sprint corp. Sprint is giving all retention issues to corporate specialist not third party any longer so they will be more strict. So good luck\

Thats why we opened a new retentions site in the last 3 months. Reason my site is number in Sprint Ranking. Nothing we give out is outside the Sprint rules they gave us. We have background codes we give instead of money so you get the same thing for less. Also Sprint will never yank there Sprint Sites in Canada as we designed the background program they are using for estimates and plan changes. Sprints going give us more contracts not less. My sites everage save rate is 60% over 6 months. We do wont thing and some stupid rep screws it up in Finance or CS

[Wayne 1]

\

Thats why we opened a new retentions site in the last 3 months. Reason my site is number in Sprint Ranking. Nothing we give out is outside the Sprint rules they gave us. We have background codes we give instead of money so you get the same thing for less. Also Sprint will never yank there Sprint Sites in Canada as we designed the background program they are using for estimates and plan changes. Sprints going give us more contracts not less. My sites everage save rate is 60% over 6 months. We do wont thing and some stupid rep screws it up in Finance or CS

Tai,

Please tell us more about the background codes? :Popcorn2:

[Nemo]

Thanks to Tai and Patrick. I have learned to learn from the experience of others and these two are definitely paragons of pedagoguery in that regard. As long as you two keep teaching , I will be a willing student. :clap:

[ophdeheezy]

I know theres a $40 1000m retention plan. Is there a retention plan for F&F Family plan?

[Tai]

Background codes just as Service credits , Headset rebates and Loyality rebates. Now were out of Treo 650s I assume in the next month or so Treo700sps will be given cheaper. maybe 300ish? and if you qualify for that price we got 150 headset credit and 150 service credit=free

[Tai]

Family Loyality plans=suck. Your better off getting a discount ie 5-7-10-15-20% off the price of your plan

We got a nice 1500 FF plan for 49.99 for individual accts

[travelntravler]

We got a nice 1500 FF plan for 49.99 for individual accts

what else does it have?

[vanessa416]

yes..can someone answer this question i have...im new to this program...can you please email me with the address of how to contact sprint ecare? my email address is Torykah08@aol.com

thank you

[Dan]

yes..can someone answer this question i have...im new to this program...can you please email me with the address of how to contact sprint ecare? my email address is Torykah08@aol.com

thank you


sprint.com > sign in > contact us at the top of the page > email us > post the inquiry quickly and to the point. > see the confirmation message that the inquiry was sent > look for confirmation email within 1 hour generally > look for reply within 24 hours generally.

[yo_B]

lmao 47 supervisors.

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