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I took two escalations today (in retention) where customer's accounts have been temporarily suspended b/c we have been unable to verify the identity of the Sprint Employee that referred them (must be able to provide first and last name along with the actual Sprint work email address). Once a customer is able to provide this information, the reps are being emailed and asked to also verify the information as they have "referred" these customers. According to the account notes, any customer that is unable to verify the info will be placed back on their previous plan and contract reverted back to the previous contract date.
EDIT: Before I freak everyone out, there has been nothing communicated that it is a full audit. These two cases could have been related to fraud cases or something else.
Scoot
11-08-2006, 10:38 PM
LOL this is gonna be interesting to say the least i wanna hear more about this
Jason Fate
11-08-2006, 10:44 PM
i wouldn't doubt this. i have heard something about SERO getting more strict. a new type of system, i think this is all coming soon
Wayne 1
11-08-2006, 10:48 PM
Go for it Sprint and watch the churn rate climb thru the stratosphere! ;) :haha:
alexp162002
11-08-2006, 10:49 PM
well that's not cool.... I mean i could get the needed information if i had to... but it would be a real pain.... meh... i'll just hope that this won't affect me....
Jason Fate
11-08-2006, 10:53 PM
Go for it Sprint and watch the churn rate climb thru the stratosphere! ;) :haha:
wow. so just because everyone doesnt know a sprint employee, and they get busted for basically fraud, sprint should be worried about churn? i seriously doubt every SERO having person will cancel, and if they do, theres that wonderful ETF.
acidbuZZ3
11-08-2006, 10:53 PM
I got a much better deal from talking to sprint then I could of ever got with sero... So I am not really worried
What do they do with people that sign up as new customers through sero and never has sprint before... what are they going to switch them to
Scoot
11-08-2006, 10:54 PM
i have 2 sero accounts and thinking about getting a couple more all of mine are legit though lol
but i know of alot that are not LOL
and the new sero is done in the store on iconnect i think that is what it is called
Wayne 1
11-08-2006, 11:03 PM
wow. so just because everyone doesnt know a sprint employee, and they get busted for basically fraud, sprint should be worried about churn? i seriously doubt every SERO having person will cancel, and if they do, theres that wonderful ETF.
My account is solid, by the book, thru the CORRECT dept, and I even had a supervisor place a note on the account at the time it was set up. :deal:
Dan
11-08-2006, 11:29 PM
I wonder if some employees have had a problem with customers asking for their business card to scam sero. Perhaps an employee knew they didnt refer anyone and asked that anyone who claimed to have gotten sero from them be flagged?
If you got sero legitimately, it shouldnt bother you........... if you scammed to get sero then you may find your account suspended untill you contact sprint. If your sero referal wasnt legit you would have to pick a plan you were entitled to or pay the ETF.
Wayne 1
11-08-2006, 11:37 PM
I wonder if some employees have had a problem with customers asking for their business card to scam sero. Perhaps an employee knew they didnt refer anyone and asked that anyone who claimed to have gotten sero from them be flagged?
If you got sero legitimately, it shouldnt bother you........... if you scammed to get sero then you may find your account suspended untill you contact sprint. If your sero referal wasnt legit you would have to pick a plan you were entitled to or pay the ETF.
The funny thing about Sero was........most of the time when one asked a store rep or even a supervisor about it.....they immediately referred the customer to CS. LOL
Wayne 1
11-09-2006, 12:08 AM
I took two escalations today (in retention) where customer's accounts have been temporarily suspended b/c we have been unable to verify the identity of the Sprint Employee that referred them (must be able to provide first and last name along with the actual Sprint work email address). Once a customer is able to provide this information, the reps are being emailed and asked to also verify the information as they have "referred" these customers. According to the account notes, any customer that is unable to verify the info will be placed back on their previous plan and contract reverted back to the previous contract date.
EDIT: Before I freak everyone out, there has been nothing communicated that it is a full audit. These two cases could have been related to fraud cases or something else.
Technically its more complex than you're outlining. That is if the people that run Sprint remember the procedures that were in place at the time. ;) If those procedures were used, the paper trail is already in place and no research (audit) is necessary. In other words it would be very simple to determine which customers really did it according to the book and would only take a minute to check.
tmidle8575
11-09-2006, 12:31 AM
What if you emailed eCare and asked for it and you received it? Is that considered scamming it or legit? That's how I did it, along with many others on here, and we were all given it. Hmmmm......
alexp162002
11-09-2006, 12:48 AM
ya... i don't consider what i did scamming it either... I called, inquired about it, and got it.... i had the needed email address, but it was never asked for..... so ya... hopefully i don't even have to worry about it....
thesonofgray
11-09-2006, 12:55 AM
ya... i don't consider what i did scamming it either... I called, inquired about it, and got it.... i had the needed email address, but it was never asked for..... so ya... hopefully i don't even have to worry about it....
Same here. I have all the "required" info and it's all legit. But when I was switched over, the CS rep didn't ask me for anything. I'm gonna be pissed if the cut my account off because a CS rep didn't ask for the right info from me.
Meh...does Sprint really have the time and the resources to go through all SERO accounts and verify they are legit? I doubt it.
autoprime
11-09-2006, 01:07 AM
they better leave mine alone :)
The SPCS Guy
11-09-2006, 01:38 AM
oOoOh!
olddog
11-09-2006, 02:17 AM
Doesnt sound legal, first you get people to sign up for a great plan( ok, maybe there are some gray areas) and then you try to boot them off. Sounds like a bait and switch to me.
Dan
11-09-2006, 03:19 AM
Doesnt sound legal, first you get people to sign up for a great plan( ok, maybe there are some gray areas) and then you try to boot them off. Sounds like a bait and switch to me.
If you got it from: retentions/CS
eCare
legit email address from a referring employee on SERO site
Then you should have no worries. If you got some generic email address and the site took it, don't be surprised if sprint comes back and inquires who the person is that referred you. If you cant tell them and say "i dunno, it was posted online" then I'd not be surprised if your invited to pick a plan you qualify for.
Matt
11-09-2006, 03:31 AM
Funny. If the SERO plan is legit no problem. but several here did scam the system.
:deal:
Dan
11-09-2006, 05:03 AM
Funny. If the SERO plan is legit no problem. but several here did scam the system.
:deal:
These people that scammed the system will be the 1st crying about needing to switch to a currently offered plan, or crying that without sero they are gonna cancel the line and expect to be released ETF free. :deal:
Those who play with fire may sometimes get burned. It may not happen every time, but sometimes your gonna wake up with a text saying "Please call sprint by pressing *2 on your handset or on a landline at 1-800-SPRINT-1. Your account has been locked due to possible fraud, so your reply is needed immediately" :lol:
:wavey:
typeshprelude98
11-09-2006, 08:59 AM
well this make me happy...all you fraudster will get what is comming to you...
hahahaha just playing... But seriously if this generates more churn then fine... it is the customers fault for committing fraud....
there is a point when a customer becomes more of a hassle than a profit making customer to a company... lets see...loose these customers or worry about churn???
but maybe my business sense is flawed... wouldnt be the 1st time....
StarmanDX
11-09-2006, 10:58 AM
Sprint still could not charge you the ETF even if they did decide to cancel your account because they feel you didn't "qualify" for this plan. If they choose to no longer offer you service, they can't legally charge you a fee for refusing to continue their contract with you when you've done nothing to stop performing your obligation under it. If Sprint wants to play hardball with people that are on SERO (and who, in general, are probably the most satisfied customers Sprint has given the deal they're getting,) then let them, God knows CSAT and churn aren't bad enough, gotta do something to make sure that Sprint stays the worst in those two areas!
Personally, I don't care, I had a valid referral, but I also don't get why half the people on this forum seem to have some deep personal dislike of people on SERO who always are so happy to post about things happening with the plan.
BrentD
11-09-2006, 11:04 AM
Personally, I don't care, I had a valid referral, but I also don't get why half the people on this forum seem to have some deep personal dislike of people on SERO who always are so happy to post about things happening with the plan.
I don't think it's a personal dislike for anyone just on SERO. I think it's a dislike and general disgust with people who get SERO (an already deeply discounted plan, to put it mildly) and then insist on asking for more and more free and discounted things in addition to that...and then especially the ones who complain when they don't get the extras on top of SERO. I don't disagree that anyone is entitled to a discount of some sort now and then, but when you get that big of one and then are ungrateful enough to keep asking for more there's a line you crossed in that process.
Jason Fate
11-09-2006, 11:12 AM
To me, it is the ones that say "I just got on SERO, how should I go about getting FFIM, or free unlimited text, or my company discount on top of sero" When they don't know anyone who works for sprint. If you got it through retentions, or e-care then dont count yourself in what I just said, you got it legit. Second, the new SERO, is the same SERO, the only thing done in store is the wireless advantage club. Good luck getting an employee to do that for you. It is financially tied to them. The rumblings I heard about SERO was a system quite like the advantage club, only in the subscribers name. It had to be done in store, by a manager, using the employees ID to get the plan. But none of this has been confirmed, or even seriously evaluated from what I know. There are a lot of people on here that got SERO legit. There are a lot on here that scammed it. The ones sitting back not caring are the ones that got it legit. The ones making phone calls every ten minutes to make sure their line isn't cut off are the ones who scammed it.
Wayne 1
11-09-2006, 11:20 AM
Same here. I have all the "required" info and it's all legit. But when I was switched over, the CS rep didn't ask me for anything. I'm gonna be pissed if the cut my account off because a CS rep didn't ask for the right info from me.
Meh...does Sprint really have the time and the resources to go through all SERO accounts and verify they are legit? I doubt it.
VERY GOOD points! This may be a slipperly slope for Sprint. Do you blame the customer for wanting to obtain a desirable plan or the cs that set them up with it WITHOUT going by the book.
Here's a little test for the class. How many of you remember the correct procedure Sprint had in place (may still be this way) at the time many people were signing up for Sero? And here's a clue, its not as simple as being given contact info and the "referral", by a Sprint employee. :)
Jason Fate
11-09-2006, 11:28 AM
VERY GOOD points! This may be a slipperly slope for Sprint. Do you blame the customer for wanting to obtain a desirable plan or the cs that set them up with it WITHOUT going by the book.
Here's a little test for the class. How many of you remember the correct procedure Sprint had in place (may still be this way) at the time many people were signing up for Sero? And here's a clue, its not as simple as being given contact info and the ok to use their name, by a Sprint employee. :)
no, there is a website. www.sprint.com/sero
the sad thing is, all you need is a sprint employees e-mail address. if you get a sprint employees card, 99% of the time, it is on there. it wasn't a hard system to cheat.
Wayne 1
11-09-2006, 11:40 AM
Second, the new SERO, is the same SERO, the only thing done in store is the wireless advantage club. Good luck getting an employee to do that for you. It is financially tied to them.
Acutually the way Sero was formerly set up was similiar to what you are describing. I'm not going to describe the exact procedure since I would like to see if anyone in here knows the correct procedure Sprint cs's WERE supposed to use to sign people up. ;)
Wayne 1
11-09-2006, 11:42 AM
no, there is a website. www.sprint.com/sero
the sad thing is, all you need is a sprint employees e-mail address. if you get a sprint employees card, 99% of the time, it is on there. it wasn't a hard system to cheat.
That is just one of the ways Sero was/is set up with in addition to..........? I know the answer on this, do you? :)
Jason Fate
11-09-2006, 12:36 PM
I was pre-merger Nextel, so this is the only way i was told sero worked. We gave the web address to our family/friends, and they used our employee email address, and if i remember correctly, it use to ask for the employee ID also.
GUILTYTIBURON
11-09-2006, 01:49 PM
I dont believe they are doing audits. And if they are, it wont work for long. Do you think they are going to lose the customers that switched over from another carrer to sero? And what about if you got your referral to sero over 6 months ago and forgot the guys name and email? What if you have the guys email and full name and he forgets about you????? These are some of the things that came to my mind. If they are doing audits they will go after the prople that have had sprint plans changed over to sero. And even then, they will have a hard time getting them off sero.
Jason Fate
11-09-2006, 02:04 PM
I dont believe they are doing audits. And if they are, it wont work for long. Do you think they are going to lose the customers that switched over from another carrer to sero? And what about if you got your referral to sero over 6 months ago and forgot the guys name and email? What if you have the guys email and full name and he forgets about you????? These are some of the things that came to my mind. If they are doing audits they will go after the prople that have had sprint plans changed over to sero. And even then, they will have a hard time getting them off sero.
SERO is supposed to be for FRIENDS and FAMILY of sprint employees, unless you have amnesia, i hope you would remember the name of the person who referred you
azman
11-09-2006, 02:17 PM
The sero website says...
Can I save up to 65% because I know a sprint employee? Yes you can.
What does know mean? I know the person who's email addy I used.
Very vague.
Jason Fate
11-09-2006, 02:35 PM
The sero website says...
Can I save up to 65% because I know a sprint employee? Yes you can.
What does know mean? I know the person who's email addy I used.
Very vague.
Because someone hands you their business card, you know them? Great! I know Donald Trump now, I have his real estate card. Now I get ALL the perks in New York when I go there!
Dzalumni
11-09-2006, 02:39 PM
I thought that there was a contest for Sprint employees to refer new customers to SERO. So wouldn't employees who want to win this contest claim that they refered all of those people?
Jason Fate
11-09-2006, 02:56 PM
a Contest? never heard of it.
there was a contest at one time, i'll admit that, but i still dont want people I didnt refer using my name. i referred two people. i wonder if there is a way to find out how many have been used and compare.
Wayne 1
11-09-2006, 03:00 PM
Here's some food for thought.....if Sero is such a mess that it may require auditing why is Sprint still offering it? And even out in the open too, on the web site........ :Popcorn2:
Jason Fate
11-09-2006, 03:02 PM
Here's some food for thought.....if Sero is such a mess that it may require auditing why is Sprint still offering it? And even out in the open too, on the web site........ :Popcorn2:
i totally agree...i've always wondered why a third party handles it. maybe all that will change.
azman
11-09-2006, 04:30 PM
Because someone hands you their business card, you know them? Great! I know Donald Trump now, I have his real estate card. Now I get ALL the perks in New York when I go there!
I know Donald Trump as well. I also know the girl at the local sprint store.
Sprint doesn't stipulate anything more.
I'm not worried.
specv
11-09-2006, 04:42 PM
Same here. I have all the "required" info and it's all legit. But when I was switched over, the CS rep didn't ask me for anything. I'm gonna be pissed if the cut my account off because a CS rep didn't ask for the right info from me.
Meh...does Sprint really have the time and the resources to go through all SERO accounts and verify they are legit? I doubt it.
im in the same boat i have a handful of friend that work for sprint. Ive gotten 6 or so accounts for my friends with their refferals. but when i switched to sero i just called up and they switched me back in january. they better not audit me and suspend me
thesonofgray
11-09-2006, 05:12 PM
Um, please tell me where is says that SERO is for "friends and family". Website? Nope. Terms and Conditions? Nope. (and anyways, does ANYONE have an exact definition of 'friend'?)
As far as I can tell, SERO is for young, dark-haired women who get a lot of enjoyment from holding and looking at a pink phone.
The fact that SERO stands for Sprint Employee Referral Offer doesn't even make since. Aren't Sprint employees supposed to refer customers to Sprint? Isn't that their job?
My point is this: there are many ways to restrict an offer like this to friends and family - for one, they could explicitly state it on the web site. Sprint decided to make it very general ("Do you know a Sprint employee?") and very easy to sign up. What in the heck did they expect??
I know the guy at Wendy's who takes my order every other day. His name is Junior and he has worked there for over 6 years. He has a wife and a daughter and he is VERY fast at taking orders.
Do I get a discount at Wendy's because I know Junior?
No.
Would I take advantage of a discount at Wendy's if the only requirement was "Do you know a Wendy's employee?"
Hell yeah.
If Sprint didn't want people to sign up for SERO then they shouldn't have started it in the first place. I know someone that works for Sprint, and I signed up for a SERO account, and I plan to keep it. I'd say if Sprint is having financial issues because of SERO signups, it's Sprint's own doing.
IMO :p
azman
11-09-2006, 06:01 PM
Um, please tell me where is says that SERO is for "friends and family". Website? Nope. Terms and Conditions? Nope. (and anyways, does ANYONE have an exact definition of 'friend'?)
As far as I can tell, SERO is for young, dark-haired women who get a lot of enjoyment from holding and looking at a pink phone.
The fact that SERO stands for Sprint Employee Referral Offer doesn't even make since. Aren't Sprint employees supposed to refer customers to Sprint? Isn't that their job?
My point is this: there are many ways to restrict an offer like this to friends and family - for one, they could explicitly state it on the web site. Sprint decided to make it very general ("Do you know a Sprint employee?") and very easy to sign up. What in the heck did they expect??
I know the guy at Wendy's who takes my order every other day. His name is Junior and he has worked there for over 6 years. He has a wife and a daughter and he is VERY fast at taking orders.
Do I get a discount at Wendy's because I know Junior?
No.
Would I take advantage of a discount at Wendy's if the only requirement was "Do you know a Wendy's employee?"
Hell yeah.
If Sprint didn't want people to sign up for SERO then they shouldn't have started it in the first place. I know someone that works for Sprint, and I signed up for a SERO account, and I plan to keep it. I'd say if Sprint is having financial issues because of SERO signups, it's Sprint's own doing.
IMO :p
Well said.
olddog
11-09-2006, 06:29 PM
Maybe instead of asking do you know a Sprint employee, they will ask "Hey are you a SprintUser?" lol
Boraxo
11-09-2006, 07:14 PM
Hilarious. I hope sprint audits all of the corporate discounts too once they are done with sero. And I seriously doubt they are worried much about churn on those $30/mo accounts, esp. with all the freebies thrown in.
Makes me feel very good about not porting my phones over to SERO even though it would have saved me a few bucks if any.
Wayne 1
11-09-2006, 08:22 PM
Hilarious. I hope sprint audits all of the corporate discounts too once they are done with sero. And I seriously doubt they are worried much about churn on those $30/mo accounts, esp. with all the freebies thrown in.
Can you say ZERO churn (lifetime accounts). :deal: :lol:
Sanyo7400
11-09-2006, 09:25 PM
sprint has never openly advertised these plans, websites like SU did from employees posting internal information. SERO plans are actually considered a part of an employees compensation package, so it is like saying, i met you walking down the street, want to get on my life insurance policy??
Scoot
11-09-2006, 09:28 PM
sprint has never openly advertised these plans, websites like SU did from employees posting internal information. SERO plans are actually considered a part of an employees compensation package, so it is like saying, i met you walking down the street, want to get on my life insurance policy??
i agree with you 100%
and its not so much employees posting internal info its ppl that got the plan or plans that spoiled it for all of us.
Wayne 1
11-09-2006, 09:33 PM
What's done is done........time can't be turned back. Looking back on it it makes sense so few of the Sprint employees knew about it outside of the employee accounts dept. which was officially set up to do these accounts. ;)
Also if Sprint management would have strictly enforced only the correct dept setting the accounts up by the book......there would not have been a "problem" for Sprint with these plans. :)
Scoot
11-09-2006, 09:35 PM
yeah the sprint store in my area didn't really know about it but they where alamosa but they know now ;)
c34webb
11-09-2006, 10:36 PM
This is a complete fallacy made up to upset all of the tagalongs. Don't let this discourage you but I do encourage you to not take extreme advantage of this example 2+lines on sero unless you are a legit sero customer.
rennyn
11-09-2006, 11:28 PM
It is too late to do audits, and they never will be able to.
What if the person who invited you is no longer working for Sprint? No way at all to verify.
GUILTYTIBURON
11-10-2006, 01:07 AM
Dont worry guys. there is no audit. Friends and family only? I dont see that anywhere in the terms and conditions either. This thread was created by a sero hater.
kulnet
11-10-2006, 01:10 AM
Until they kick me off of it I will enjoy every minute of it...
thesonofgray
11-10-2006, 01:22 AM
Until they kick me off of it I will enjoy every minute of it...
lol, that's the spirit! :p
Jason Fate
11-10-2006, 01:42 AM
Dont worry guys. there is no audit. Friends and family only? I dont see that anywhere in the terms and conditions either. This thread was created by a sero hater.
it says do you know a sprint employee....they mean KNOW...not hi "sprint employee" how are you -talk for a while- then you say "can I have your card so I can get back to you on this" and then use it for SERO purposes. This is deceitful. I hope SERO ends the current process, and starts something in store.
It is too late to do audits, and they never will be able to.
What if the person who invited you is no longer working for Sprint? No way at all to verify.
thats my deal, the guy whos addy i used doesnt work there anymore.
Dan
11-10-2006, 03:02 AM
If you did not get the plan legitimately, as in asked for someones card and sent to the SERO site to sign up, you were never referred for SERO. If you got it this way and sprint does decide to do an audit, you would have to pay the full value of the plan / switch to another plan. You would have gotten the plan through fraud, and if sprint wanted they could bill you for the full value of the plan from day 1.
More realistic is this. You work for sprint and have never referred anyone for SERO. As your a store rep, you gave your business card to some customers who wanted to make sure they talked to you when they came back to purchase. You actually refer a family member or a friend for a SERO plan and they are told "i'm sorry, he has used all his referrals."
In the above example, the employee could call someone and ask who all has used the referrals as he has never personally referred anyone for SERO. At that point, sprint might just let it go and add his actually referred friend on a plan, or may research who all has claimed to have been referred by the employee.
If sprint decided that the customers defrauded sprint, they could remove the SERO plan and make the customer pick a currently offered plan, they could charge for the full value of the SERO plan and switch the customer to a non-sero plan with full costs, they could disconnect the line and bill for the ETF.
Fraudulent activity would be "for good cause" in this paragraph from sprint.com
http://www.sprintpcs.com/common/popups/popLegalTermsPrivacy.html
Termination of Services. Consistent with this Agreement: (a) we may terminate Services at any time with notice to you and, in certain instances, without notice; and (b) you may terminate Services at any time with prior notice to us. Except as otherwise provided in this Agreement, IF YOU TERMINATE YOUR TERM SERVICE PLAN EARLY, OR WE DO SO FOR GOOD CAUSE, YOU WILL BE REQUIRED TO PAY THE APPLICABLE EARLY TERMINATION FEE ASSOCIATED WITH YOUR SERVICES. We will not charge an Early Termination Fee for deactivations consistent with our Return Policy or for service plans being provided on a month-to-month basis. If any Services are terminated before the end of your current invoicing cycle, we will not prorate charges to the date of termination, and you will not receive a credit or refund for any unused Services.
So, if you got your SERO legitimately you have no worries. If you didn't get your SERO legitimately..............
"This member is not a "SERO hater" but believes that customers have to abide by the terms and conditions. If you got SERO through some fraud, then save up the ETF "just in case!"
a gang of people took advantage of the sero plan (using Google to find a sprint email and then just sign up online with out even having an employee referral). More power to you if u lied to get the sero plan. Sprint is rippin us off, so I say "get what u can while the gettin' is still good" ..peace out.
a gang of people took advantage of the sero plan (using Google to find a sprint email and then just sign up online with out even having an employee referral). More power to you if u lied to get the sero plan. Sprint is rippin us off, so I say "get what u can while the gettin' is still good" ..peace out.
A cell phone is NOT a necessity of life. Sprint isn't ripping you off, they are providing a service to you at an agreed upon price. If you don't like the price, you are welcome to choose any carrier or choose not to have a cell phone.
Your not entitled to have a cell phone just because you live in the united states. If you are of a low income level or qualify for many other programs, you can get land-line "lifeline" service and some wireless companies even offer wireless "lifeline" service at a very discounted rate.
Back on the topic.................... if you have sero legitimately you have no worries. :)
klmsu19
11-10-2006, 07:16 AM
I think this is awesome. And as far as Churn...Sprint isnt making that much off these plans anyways so I say go for it Sprint! People shouldnt have taken advantage of the business card thing...haha Thanks to my boss my business card's e-mail is wrong. teehee. So no one can really use mine. Ive given two people my e-mail for SERO purposes.
You and whoever else said its ok to lose all the $30 plans, remember auditing takes manpower aka $$$$. Do realize it may cost more to pay people to sort through accounts than its worth to even do the audit. Not making money off $30 plans? How much do you think cell services actually cost Sprint? Texting costs like a penny, services are cheap, they are still profiting off sero plans, less than others, but still profiting. But no I highly doubt theyll go through the trouble of any kind of audit itll cost them more in the long run.
But i do agree with others in here. Sprint cant blame the customers if their reps stupidly added it. Blame the reps, figure out which reps added it from the account notes and repremand them. Why take it out on the customer? not everyone fully understood all the stipulations of the plan, called in to ask about it and had it added no questions asked. Why make people change a plan they were given legitly by CS referral email or not. Its their own employees faults for giving it away you cant hold the customer responsible by taking it away
krudl3r
11-10-2006, 07:17 AM
"This member is not a "SERO hater" but believes that customers have to abide by the terms and conditions. If you got SERO through some fraud, then save up the ETF "just in case!"
Any fraud would be on a Sprint employees part, not the customer... there is NO WAY an ETF would be applied any customer.
Let's face it, if Sprint wanted real control over this they could have required emails with special invitation codes or something... it was harder to get gmail a few years back than it was for anyone to get SERO.
:daisy:
klmsu19
11-10-2006, 07:22 AM
i agree how is this any customers fault? No guns were held to phone CS reps' heads to add this. Most of us had it added no questions asked even if we had the info ready, like myself. I was never asked an email or anything just ok its added. Sure i had a real referral but how would it be my fault if they didnt ask and the rep added it without asking any questions? I didnt defraud anyone, the employee messed up apparently, so if they suspended my account youre damn right ill be super pissed off-and you cannot possibly blame the customer for that at all
100% agree again if they really thought this was out of control theyd shut it down and control it somehow. They could use referral codes or emplyee ID's or something. Seriously IF they were going as far as to audit accounts and waste all that money and time theyd have that sero site locked up tight until they fixed the problem and could control it
Dzalumni
11-10-2006, 07:38 AM
Let's keep in mind that SERO Plans and details have shown up on all sorts of websites on the web, for example,Treo Central (http://discussion.treocentral.com/showthread.php?t=106778), WirelessAdvisor.com (http://forums.wirelessadvisor.com/sprint-pcs-users/13743-sprint-sero-plan-issues.html), MyTreo.net (http://mytreo.net/forum/index.php/topic,26421.0.html), BetterThanYourBoyfriend.com (http://www.betterthanyourboyfriend.com/how-to-get-the-best-cell-phone-plan-in-all-the-land.htm), FatWallet.com (http://www.fatwallet.com/t/18/559316/), SlickDeals.net (http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthread.php?sduid=0&t=278318%E2%80%9D)...just to name a few.
Some of the above mentioned sites aren't tech/wireless related sites. There could be hundreds of thousands of people taking advantage of SERO.
I'm not saying going on line and finding a rep's email is right, wrong or otherwise, but their are plenty of people out there who have found out about SERO through other resources and who are taking advantage of the program.
cliffr39
11-10-2006, 08:23 AM
Hilarious. I hope sprint audits all of the corporate discounts too once they are done with sero. And I seriously doubt they are worried much about churn on those $30/mo accounts, esp. with all the freebies thrown in.
Makes me feel very good about not porting my phones over to SERO even though it would have saved me a few bucks if any.
I don't think Sprint cares about churn period. Look at the last few months, haha even Tmobile is beating them lately
A cell phone is NOT a necessity of life...
I never liked this statement. Actually it is for many people. If you work for the government (not all agencies) you are required to have one and be contactable literally 24/7. Even when I take vacation I not only have to bring it with, but also give them the name, address and other numbers for that place. A landline and pager don't work so well these days, since this is a mobile lifestyle we live in these days (don't even know where to get a pager around here actually). No you won't "die" without it, but it is actually required for many jobs (military, and law enforcement)
But yes many people scammed the system, even many on here with SERO and corp. discounts. Now I'm all for getting stuff free, but seriously that is way too much some of these people got. Then they wonder why rates go up slightly for other things.
Jason Fate
11-10-2006, 09:38 AM
The easiest way, and it wouldn't take much manpower honestly, would be to go through the sero accounts, see the e-mail of the "referrer", e-mail the referring employee to verify. This wouldn't be hard, as it should all be in the notes on the account. It may take a while, but it would be a faster way to audit the system. Like stated a million times before, SERO wasn't meant to be be broadcast on the internet. It happens, and Sprint should have thought of this. To the people that got SERO legit, I think you deserve it. To the ones that kept trying randomname@sprint.com to get SERO, you will be liable for an ETF if you cancel. Sprnts only obligation is to provide you with wireless service. You defrauded the company first, you can't go and say "you're forcing me to change my plan" when you are on a plan you aren't supposed to be eligible for.
GUILTYTIBURON
11-10-2006, 10:13 AM
^You cant do that^
What happens to the customer, lets say, if a woman meets a man at a party. They have a "relationship" for a month or so and the man dosent want anything to do with her anymore. But he got her on sero when he was hanging around with her. Customer service contacts the man in regards of the womans sero account and he denies the whole thing. Is that fair to the woman?????????
cliffr39
11-10-2006, 11:27 AM
thats pretty far-fetched though
autoprime
11-10-2006, 11:29 AM
so is sprint auditing everyone ;)
even the OP has stated this was only for a few people. get over it people... you're fine.
krudl3r
11-10-2006, 11:55 AM
...you will be liable for an ETF if you cancel...
I agree with that... but I don't think they would charge an ETF if they force you to cancel due to apparent "fraud".
Jason Fate
11-10-2006, 11:59 AM
To give my honest opinion, someone in sprint probably tried to refer a friend/family member to SERO. They were then told they had used all their allocated SERO plans, but they had not used them all. They then probably went through the accounts tied to that e mail address of the employee, and found the ones he/she did not approve. This is more likely than a full audit, though I'd rather see a full audit personally. Again, this brings up the chance that the employee changed their mind about wanting that person to have SERO. This is just a chance that people on SERO have to take.
Jason Fate
11-10-2006, 12:03 PM
I agree with that... but I don't think they would charge an ETF if they force you to cancel due to apparent "fraud".
they arent going to force you to cancel they are going to give you the option to switch to a different plan, or if you choose to cancel, then you are choosing to pay the ETF
Matt
11-10-2006, 12:04 PM
You have made many great points that agree with juh aye sun.
Jason Fate
11-10-2006, 12:15 PM
You have made many great points that agree with juh aye sun.
thanks. i just want to help here, and not seem like a hostile employee, lol. i know audits have began, and its not SERO only. good luck to everyone, and to the ones with true sero referrals, you have no worries!
krudl3r
11-10-2006, 12:16 PM
they arent going to force you to cancel they are going to give you the option to switch to a different plan, or if you choose to cancel, then you are choosing to pay the ETF
Yes, I was agreeing with you, and disagreeing with some earlier posts that implied anyone with an "illegal" SERO was going to have service cancelled and an ETF charged. Just trying to throw a little water on the fire before it got out of hand.
:circle:
Jason Fate
11-10-2006, 12:18 PM
Yes, I was agreeing with you, and disagreeing with some earlier posts that implied anyone with an "illegal" SERO was going to have service cancelled and an ETF charged. Just trying to throw a little water on the fire before it got out of hand.
:circle:
ahh, if it was taken that way, thats not how it was meant. i meant if you chose not to go with a regular sprint plan, and cancel, you would be charged an ETF. sorry for the confusion. :)
Maja
11-10-2006, 12:52 PM
^You cant do that^
What happens to the customer, lets say, if a woman meets a man at a party. They have a "relationship" for a month or so and the man dosent want anything to do with her anymore. But he got her on sero when he was hanging around with her. Customer service contacts the man in regards of the womans sero account and he denies the whole thing. Is that fair to the woman?????????
If it actually came down to that, and the employee made that decision, then it is fair because he made the choice to not correspond with that person. In other words, how do they know each other now? The point of SERO is to offer friends the option of a discount. Obviously friends can be taken in a multitude of ways, but let's think of it in terms of a character reference on an application/resume. You are using that person as your reference, thus I would expect that you actually know that person. If you used a reference because you got it from someone else, or, lets be honest in that it doesn't take much to determine a person's email address at Sprint, then you have committed fraud. While it doesn't specifically list that the person needs to be a blood-relative or best friend, there are expectations, given that employees are limited to a number of referrals, that you actually correspond with the person and can vouch.
I agree with juh aye sun; an audit would be rather easy and would not take vast amounts of money, as some people seem to think. The results of the audit would not be to punish those who aren't tied to an employee, rather to provide you with an option to validate whom you know and make the appropriate corrections. If you knew someone that worked at Sprint, and that person is no longer there, then honestly SERO doesn't still apply. It shouldn't be a "once you are in you are set" approach. Perhaps the policy should be to validate the contract each time it is due for renewal. Is it punishing those that had CS add it? No. You took advantage of the perks for this long, so why is it punishment if what was not rightfully yours was taken back? You would be given the option to change to an existing plan, and possibly work out a deal with some perks, but you can't cry pity too much if you knowingly signed up for it and didn't have an employee referral, regardless of whether you got away with it until now. Ignorance is not bliss, nor an excuse.
Who knows. Chances are they won't do anything, although sounds like juh aye sun knows a little more then the rest of us. I'm in IT, we know nothing.
olddog
11-10-2006, 01:02 PM
Sprint chose to have this program, SERO, which it could discontinue at any time. Then again, Sprint chose to extend the program till the end of the year, when it was supposed to have stopped the end of June. Which means almost every SERO customers plan expires in less than 2 years. At that time Sprint could refuse to renew that contract. Of course most people will then keep the plan by just choosing not to renew. And of course a bulk of the SERO people will not be able to get new phone upgrades of $150 as the plan of $30 is below what is needed for a phone upgrade, so then some people may choose to switch plans. If Sprint wants or wanted to stem the flow of false SERO accounts why didn't they stop the program in June or even today for that matter?
Nagual
11-10-2006, 01:13 PM
How absurd.
What is the purpose of a program like SERO other than to rapidly expand their subscriber base? Sprint would be terminally dumb if they didn't realize they have been badly behind the other carriers for a LONG time.
SERO has netted them a lot of business that very likely would have gone to other carriers, and if they wanted to be more stringent about who was eligible for it they shouldn't have made it so easy for so many people to get SERO, which in the end makes Sprint money anyhow because their growth has been so pathetic recently.
I got my SERO legitimately, but if Sprint wants to risk damaging their business yet further by alienating people who are making them money, they can do their worst.
I like the service they provide but they are shooting themselves in both feet so many times I simply have to be astonished.
autoprime
11-10-2006, 01:18 PM
has anyone actually reported losing their sero account(minus extreme cases)?
pretty sure the answer is no. this isnt the first time people have screamed "AUDIT!!" and nothing has happened...
cliffr39
11-10-2006, 01:21 PM
they could even try to impliment an extra (say $10) monthly service fee for those on SERO without a contract
Steve B
11-10-2006, 01:22 PM
How absurd.
What is the purpose of a program like SERO other than to rapidly expand their subscriber base? Sprint would be terminally dumb if they didn't realize they have been badly behind the other carriers for a LONG time. SERO has netted them a lot of business that very likely would have gone to other carriers, and if they wanted to be more stringent about who was eligible for it they shouldn't have made it so easy for so many people to 'cheat' the system, which in the end makes Sprint money anyhow because their growth has been so pathetic recently.
I got my SERO legitimately and if Sprint wants to risk damaging their business yet further, more power to them. I like the service they provide but they are shooting themselves in both feet so many times I simply have to be astonished.
I have to agree. Sprint has been behind other carriers and unless they get their act together they will continue to do so. I remember Sprint not doing credit checks for a while to get customers. Not everyone has the $30 SERO plan as people in the forums seem to think. Other people get the higher price ones as well. It also depends on how much you use. If you don't use so much, your technical value goes up. Sprint isn't really loosing money in those situations. Most people tend to get plans that allow for way more than what they would use anyway. You would still be a valuable customer. If Sprint truly goes ahead with this, they are only hurting themselves. At this time they need all the customers they can get and money for that matter. The other carriers and leaping past them in different ways including customer numbers. This is going to be interesting.
krudl3r
11-10-2006, 01:28 PM
The point of SERO is to offer friends the option of a discount.
Really? I thought the point of SERO was to add customers before FON completely tanked. :)
autoprime
11-10-2006, 01:30 PM
I have to agree. Sprint has been behind other carriers and unless they get their act together they will continue to do so. I remember Sprint not doing credit checks for a while to get customers. Not everyone has the $30 SERO plan as people in the forums seem to think. Other people get the higher price ones as well. It also depends on how much you use. If you don't use so much, your technical value goes up. Sprint isn't really loosing money in those situations. Most people tend to get plans that allow for way more than what they would use anyway. You would still be a valuable customer. If Sprint truly goes ahead with this, they are only hurting themselves. At this time they need all the customers they can get and money for that matter. The other carriers and leaping past them in different ways including customer numbers. This is going to be interesting.
exactly
i have the $30 sero plan... i use maybe 80minutes tops. i have the 1000 sms plan.. i use maybe 400. i use google once in awhile. theres my usage... theres no way possible this SERO user is hurting Sprint.
Jason Fate
11-10-2006, 01:35 PM
How about we all call a truce, and let this die until someone in the forum loses their SERO. We can all argue till we're blue in the face, and no one is getting anywhere. Both sides make good points, but until there is proof of someone losing SERO, there is no point in arguing. We have been a very civil online community, no need to change that over audits. Let's just sit back and see what happens. Maybe this thread should be closed by a mod, and IF someone loses their SERO, they can start a new thread, or contact a mod to re-open this thread for discussion.
krudl3r
11-10-2006, 01:49 PM
How about we all call a truce
:OT: :joke:
:behappy:
Yeah, I just re-discovered the "More" button!
:lol:
Sounds good to me juh aye sun.
Jason Fate
11-10-2006, 01:52 PM
:OT: :joke:
:behappy:
Yeah, I just re-discovered the "More" button!
:lol:
Sounds good to me juh aye sun.
great. lets just see what happens
cliffr39
11-10-2006, 02:08 PM
lol but thats boring, we need excitement... someone throw something hahaha
Maja
11-10-2006, 02:24 PM
lol but thats boring, we need excitement... someone throw something hahaha
Funny enough I think that is why the thread continues, because people want something to get excited/excitable about.
I enjoy a good discussion and respect people's views. But agreed that some people have difficulty in providing them without attacking others. Nothing is going to happen, much like nothing would happen should someone start talking about them auditing all the free credits people receive.
krudl3r
11-10-2006, 02:56 PM
lol but thats boring, we need excitement... someone throw something hahaha
:Poke:
Wayne 1
11-10-2006, 03:53 PM
Formerly, other than the web site, there WAS a somewhat stringent process to go thru to obtain Sero. Apparently many, many csr's ignored that (and most probably didn't know anyway) and signed people up. Based on what the majority are posting on SU, this is the case. ONLY the employee accounts dept. was set up to sign people up for Sero and it took far more than just a "referral" along with contact info from a Sprint employee, to set up the account.
You would have thought Sprint would have been able to somehow lockout other depts from being able to code customers accounts for Sero. In other words that would have effectively restricted the accounts (other than the web site) to being set up ONLY than thru the employee accounts dept.
I still haven't seen anyone post exactly what was required. Anyone know? I do and I would hazzard a guess very few went thru that procedure since the majority of csr's didn't/dont's know either. Based on my research only some of the store reps knew (they were at the start of the process) and even then didn't give out CORRECT info. ;)
The bottom line is (IMO) training of Sprint employees was sparse (other than in employee accounts) and half hearted to say the least when it came to Sero info. Management dropped the ball on this one and then didn't do anything about it when accounts were set up by the thousands, incorrectly. :)
Nagual
11-10-2006, 04:20 PM
Wayne 1, but they set up the signup website to make the process as easy as possible.
Now you have to ask yourself--unless Sprint are extemely dumb, which I don't think they are--WHY would they do that unless they WANTED as many new subscribers under the SERO plan as possible?
I think the answer is really obvious. Getting subscribers, and preferably happy subscribers, is the ONLY thing that counts in the market. If you're not making the money, some other cell phone co. will and what's more, that's money out of your coffers that won't come back. So Sprint have done this promotion and will make thousands of dollars a year from me as a result, and millions from others.
So, why bother with the remorse bit on their part? Either they take the program away or they should just leave it alone.
Wayne 1
11-10-2006, 04:25 PM
Nagual,
You are correct! The addition of the web site signup made the process much more simple and essentially enlightened the masses of customers and what-a-be customers a deal was/is to be had. :lol:
Maja
11-10-2006, 04:38 PM
I think the answer is really obvious. Getting subscribers, and preferably happy subscribers, is the ONLY thing that counts in the market.
For the most part I agree with your statement. The one caveat to that statement is that you want subscribers that generate revenue. The one thing that people seem to overlook, in their statements of doom for Sprint, is that the ARPU is higher then some of the other providers, as well as the data revenue per user being a lot higher then other carriers. Adding a ton of subscribers is great, but if they don't bill over a specific amount per month, it becomes a wash.
I don't have all the details to know how SERO impacts the bottom dollar. Obviously they are making some, but it doesn't take much to figure they aren't making as much as they could.
Nagual
11-10-2006, 04:47 PM
For the most part I agree with your statement. The one caveat to that statement is that you want subscribers that generate revenue.
Yes, but what Sprint must do is look at a subscriber in the long term.
And I believe they are smart enough to use incentives like SERO to do that.
In other words, you get a subscriber with a plan, but as your tech and services develop--and Sprint is excellent and forward-thinking in this area, if no other--you do get your profit in the long term as they become more dependent on you for all their communications needs.
You see, I was very struck by something another forum member said when discussing the upcoming 4G/Wimax world Sprint will introduce--eventually voice is going to become only a small part of the overall data picture.
Sprint needs to get its foot in the door now with customers--now, not later.
If they can get smart, informed customers through a program like SERO, they can build brand loyalty and something priceless--great word of mouth. Your customers are your best advertisers and develop your market for you.
Sprint would be foolish to turn its back on any customer, but SERO customers are the kind that I would guess are the most discriminating.
Since getting SERO, my whole approach to data and communications have changed. My cell phone has become indispensable.
That means Sprint could have me for a long, long time.
So I ask you--is Sprint going to be more intelligent than we give them credit for and develop a loyal customer base?
Or are they going to tick off what could be their most valuable, long-term customers and lose revenue which will be near-impossible to get back?
You decide.
ssaifull
11-10-2006, 06:13 PM
Nobody worry, Sprint isn't gonna do anything, this is just some type of scare-tactic propaganda.
Jason Fate
11-10-2006, 08:05 PM
you guys are funny. :D
+1
The message you have entered is too short. Please lengthen your message to at least 3 characters.
Dan
11-10-2006, 08:19 PM
I don't believe anyone, especially me, suggested that sprint would cancel your service and immediately charge an ETF. Sprint would be within their rights though to have you choose a plan your qualified for if you didn't get sero "legitimately" or charge you the full value of the services included in the sero plan.
If a customer was audited, they would be asked to pick a new plan with whatever features they wanted to pay for. If the customer left the plan alone, sprint would have the option of continuing service on a similar plan while charging for all additional services like the free vision / power-vision service.
The only way an ETF would be charged would be to a customer who refused to change plans and decided that they were still getting the sero plan or they were terminating service. As such, the decision to terminate would be that of the customer, not sprints.
I quoted from the T&C's listed on sprint's website the conditions that an account can be terminated with an ETF charged. Sprint technically claims the right to terminate an account deemed to be established under fraudulent terms. Obviously sprint would rather keep the customers, paying the correct rate, than terminate the service.
As some of you know, I try to be helpful in assisting members with negotiating a new plan when their contracts are close to being up or when sprint has a major issue that has caused the customer undue aggravation. If retentions offered you a SERO plan with a 25% business discount, 20% loyalty discount, free unlimited text messaging and free 6pm nights then good for you!
:)
olddog
11-10-2006, 08:32 PM
What if Sprint audited your account and the rep who's name you used is no longer working for Sprint? And the cannot find or contact them? Should you lose your account? I dont think so, but there can be quite a few different circumstances that could affect the start of the SERO account.
Maja
11-10-2006, 09:09 PM
A good well out post, but to save space I won't quote it.
I can't argue with your thoughts, as I think they have a lot of merit. For the most part, the impact is minimal and, if nothing else, adds the the attraction people find with the services. There does need to be some means to fight the overall abuse of the policy, but I don't know that I'd review those that are already in the door. Rather I'd prefer them review the overall policy and perhaps change the overall entrance criteria.
Jason Fate
11-10-2006, 09:14 PM
What if Sprint audited your account and the rep who's name you used is no longer working for Sprint? And the cannot find or contact them? Should you lose your account? I dont think so, but there can be quite a few different circumstances that could affect the start of the SERO account.
This is a sticky situation, but in this case, sprint should have to trust the person in contract and honor it. My only point is, if i get an email asking if i referred joe blow, and i didnt, im going to say i didnt. I dont see sprint e-mailing its employees about SERO plans being impossible, as some people on this board think, ESPECIALLY since all billing is being moved from P2K to ensemble anyway. They are already looking at every account as it is moved from one billing systm to another, to make sure there are no billing errors. Don't understimate sprints ability and willingness to do this.
Maja
11-10-2006, 09:16 PM
since all billing is being moved from P2K to ensemble anyway.
UBP....isn't it fun???
Jason Fate
11-10-2006, 09:18 PM
UBP....isn't it fun???
other than losing activations to accounts that are "in flight" i'm glad its going to one billing system
Wayne 1
11-10-2006, 10:50 PM
How in the world would they ever determine who to kick out of Sero? For one thing they had csr's all over the place signing people up WITHOUT following the correct procedures. This goes way, way beyond a Sprint employees "referral" and contact info. I would bet only a small amount of the people on Sero were correctly signed up thru employee accounts and that process was much more complex. Other than people that signed up correctly thru the web site which should be fine, of course they had to buy a phone at the listed price...... :lol:
SprintIA
11-10-2006, 11:09 PM
I really have a hard time understanding why anyone here really cares how people obtain a SERO plan. It has no effect on your wellbeing and it is not hurting you. Why is it so bad for someone to receive a well discounted cellular plan? Who care if they try stacking corporate discounts? It seems to me that anyone that is complaining or making up the fact that an audit is occurring would be someone who is probably a retail or CSR that is making sh*t money and hoping to reflect the "bad boy" image they all try to be. I wish you could understand that your job as a sprint retail person is nothing to be proud of...and being able to claim people are committing fraud is horrendous. You may need to learn the definitions of fraud before you claim people are committing it. Also ... firsthand knowledge there is not an audit and Sprint does not give a care how many people have SERO plans. IA= Internal Audit.... anyone from retail or CS have no idea what they are speaking of. They only wish that they could be a part of the corporate world of Sprint. :wavey: :clap:
Jason Fate
11-10-2006, 11:37 PM
How in the world would they ever determine who to kick out of Sero? For one thing they had csr's all over the place signing people up WITHOUT following the correct procedures. This goes way, way beyond a Sprint employees "referral" and contact info. I would bet only a small amount of the people on Sero were correctly signed up thru employee accounts and that process was much more complex. Other than people that signed up correctly thru the web site which should be fine, of course they had to buy a phone at the listed price...... :lol:
it should be in the customer notes why they received the plan. if not, then the plan may be taken away. just because sprint csrs messed up in the past, doesnt mean sprint will let it continue and wont go back and try to fix it. especially in a time when they are already looking at accounts on a one by one basis to change billing platforms.
Maja
11-11-2006, 12:43 AM
It seems to me that anyone that is complaining or making up the fact that an audit is occurring would be someone who is probably a retail or CSR that is making sh*t money and hoping to reflect the "bad boy" image they all try to be. I wish you could understand that your job as a sprint retail person is nothing to be proud of...and being able to claim people are committing fraud is horrendous.
They only wish that they could be a part of the corporate world of Sprint. :wavey: :clap:
It seems to me, based on those two statements alone that you are completely full of it. People have made some valid points as to why to be concerned or why there may be research into the issue. You make not one valid point and actually resort to doing nothing more then trying "to put people in their place". The last line alone tells me you aren't part of "the corporate world of sprint" because, frankly, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that if you give everything away, or discount it to death, you make zero money. From a stockholders perspective, that is the most important thing. From an employee perspective, who are probably stockholders, regardless of their role, that matters as well.
It was a civil thread and should continue to be.
klmsu19
11-11-2006, 01:34 AM
you must not be a rocket scientist either then because say a few thousand people tops have SERO. You honestly think thats seriously hurting Sprint, and theyre making zero money? You do realize theres like 49 million+ other subscribers they are still billing right? Guess what SERO isnt whats killing them, CS giving away freebie options IS and a lot more so put them blame where it should be not the few thousand SERO customers.
I think both of you two need to stop arguing when you both arent making any sense
Dan
11-11-2006, 01:43 AM
reminder of the guidelines...... play nice!
http://www.sprintusers.com/guidelines
agree to disagree, but dont flame because you dont agree :)
rennyn
11-11-2006, 01:46 AM
If a customer was audited, they would be asked to pick a new plan with whatever features they wanted to pay for. If the customer left the plan alone, sprint would have the option of continuing service on a similar plan while charging for all additional services like the free vision / power-vision service.
Not entirely true. PowerVision on a normal plan is an addon. This is not the case with a SERO plan. PowerVision is not a $0 add-on with SERO, it is actually part of - and listed in - the plan itself.
Maja
11-11-2006, 02:50 AM
you must not be a rocket scientist either then because say a few thousand people tops have SERO. You honestly think thats seriously hurting Sprint, and theyre making zero money? You do realize theres like 49 million+ other subscribers they are still billing right? Guess what SERO isnt whats killing them, CS giving away freebie options IS and a lot more so put them blame where it should be not the few thousand SERO customers.
I think both of you two need to stop arguing when you both arent making any sense
We seem to have a hard time making a point without taking personal jabs, but regardless that part isn't worth it.
In regards to the numbers, do you really think it is in the area of "a few thousand people"? Look around, do some research, and just extrapolate that past the people that actually talk about having it. How about freebies? What do you think SERO is? Essentially you are paying for a discounted plan, so let's take a limited voice plan and throw in some freebies like data, text messaging, etc...
In the end, I could care. I work for the company, thus every freebie hurts the bottom line in one aspect. On the flip side, a freebie here and there makes the customer happy. Giving away $15 here and there to generate $100 seems like a nice trade. Top it off, I don't even pay for my service, which I suppose hurts the bottom line as well. My reason for posting is discussion; I like a good discussion when so many people have an opinion.
Dan
11-11-2006, 03:37 AM
Not entirely true. PowerVision on a normal plan is an addon. This is not the case with a SERO plan. PowerVision is not a $0 add-on with SERO, it is actually part of - and listed in - the plan itself.
My point was sprint could transition you to a "similar" plan and either leave the vision service on but charge you for it OR remove the vision service. The vision service was provided free as you qualified for the plan, if you no longer qualify it would be no different than people having grandfathered vision removed upon a plan change.
The likely-hood of one person having their SERO plan audited for how they got it is low. I'm mearly stating what sprint could choose to do if they found the plan was received thru fraud. People in the "official SERO" thread are posting how they got email addresses from google and are admitting they dont have a valid referral. People who knew they are getting SERO thru fraud may have the plan stripped.
This is really not a lot different than sprint seeing how many people have a discount for working for Boeing that don't actually work for them. You may get away with it, but if your caught you technically could have to pay back the discount you got thru fraud plus interest.
Yeah, it's a low chance of one person getting caught.... but their is still a chance.
:wavey:
klmsu19
11-11-2006, 05:19 AM
We seem to have a hard time making a point without taking personal jabs, but regardless that part isn't worth it.
In regards to the numbers, do you really think it is in the area of "a few thousand people"? Look around, do some research, and just extrapolate that past the people that actually talk about having it. How about freebies? What do you think SERO is? Essentially you are paying for a discounted plan, so let's take a limited voice plan and throw in some freebies like data, text messaging, etc...
In the end, I could care. I work for the company, thus every freebie hurts the bottom line in one aspect. On the flip side, a freebie here and there makes the customer happy. Giving away $15 here and there to generate $100 seems like a nice trade. Top it off, I don't even pay for my service, which I suppose hurts the bottom line as well. My reason for posting is discussion; I like a good discussion when so many people have an opinion.
No there was no personal jab at you per say, but I think its ironic you keep mentionng keep the thread civil and bringing up personal jabs in the same post where you call the guy you responded to "full of it" and brought up the "rocket scientist" analogy. But my whole point here is I did not add SERO or freebies, put blame where it needs to be put reps giving stuff away needlessly.
And fine even if theres tens of thousands of SERO plans like you claim, thats still a VERY small percentage of th 49-50 million subscribers Sprint collects bills from. Dude they figured this, each employee of Sprint gets 5 referrals, they were planning for a TON of SERO plans anyways or else they would have never offered it. Like you said you give a $5 freebie and keep a paying customer at $30-50 a month you still made out instead of them cancelling and Sprint recieving $0 a month from that customer. Now sure i agree people with 3-4 freebies taking advantage of the situation are a different story but the avg person with say 7pm n/w free or 500 texts, a $5 option, isnt breaking Sprint's bank to save the customer. Money is money and $10 profit off each of 10,000 people on highly discounted plans is still better/more money than $0 off 0 people if they leave Sprint
Your stock goes down being an employee? Blame your co-workers who take the calls who are giving the extras away free like water and adding SERO without asking for verification. The people (us) just call in for a long shot sometimes or to complain about a situation and the reps throw free stuff at us, this is not the customers fault or any reason to put blame on us. The reps physically give and add these plans and features. Reps are to blame as it takes 2 to tango and reps should know better than a customer always
Wayne 1
11-11-2006, 10:57 AM
Blame your co-workers who take the calls who are giving the extras away free like water and adding SERO without asking for verification. The people (us) just call in for a long shot sometimes or to complain about a situation and the reps throw free stuff at us, this is not the customers fault or any reason to put blame on us. The reps physically give and add these plans and features. Reps are to blame as it takes 2 to tango and reps should know better than a customer always
Good points........The burden is first on Sprint employees and the people that train them for their jobs. Blaming customers for wanting to get a good deal is not entirely fair. The employees that screwed up by NOT following policy are primarly to blame and should be punished for giving out Sero plans.
ONLY employee accounts WAS authorized (Sero is a "employee" plan) to sign people up over the "phone" for Sero, not ecare, business accounts, retentions, or regular cs. Also where in the h*ll were the supervisors watching the csr's signing people up AND their bosses too. Get real Sprint! :irked:
Maja
11-11-2006, 11:15 AM
Blame your co-workers who take the calls who are giving the extras away free like water and adding SERO without asking for verification. The people (us) just call in for a long shot sometimes or to complain about a situation and the reps throw free stuff at us, this is not the customers fault or any reason to put blame on us. The reps physically give and add these plans and features. Reps are to blame as it takes 2 to tango and reps should know better than a customer always
Ok, I can agree with that statement. We can all agree that there is an issue with how the CSRs are giving our SERO plans without verification. Or how the system in general requires nothing more then knowing an email address. If you know a person's name, you know their email address. Are you to blame, no? But, that is not to say that it is not the right of the company to go back and resolve the situation, however that is deemed. That is the point trying to be conveyed. Is it worth it? Probably not. Chances are, in the original case, that it was a requested audit by an employee rather then the beginning of something bigger.
mripguru
11-12-2006, 01:25 PM
i totally agree...i've always wondered why a third party handles it. maybe all that will change.
Inphonic paid Sprint handsomely for the right to handle the SERO program on the PCS side (Nextel SERO is handled by corporate).
internetaffairs
11-13-2006, 12:13 AM
LOL...so I ordered SERO through Inphonics.
Thing is that I ordered by phone. The lady didn't even ask for the email address. LOL
So what can Sprint do now?hahahhaha
Dan
11-13-2006, 02:43 AM
LOL...so I ordered SERO through Inphonics.
Thing is that I ordered by phone. The lady didn't even ask for the email address. LOL
So what can Sprint do now?hahahhaha
contact you for the address............
This reason is why sprint should have handled it in house.
:wavey:
thesonofgray
11-13-2006, 03:16 AM
When I worked at Best Buy, a nice lady came up to me with the latest and greatest laptop and asked if I could ring her up and give her a 65% discount.
I initially wondered how she got the laptop since they are locked up and sold only in the computer department. But I didn't worry about it.
Then, in response to her request, I said "sure, I can do that for you. I'll take $1300 off the price so you will only have to pay $700 for a $2000 laptop. Is that ok?"
She accepted and was on her way. Three months later I came into work and saw the lady with Best Buy's loss prevention people and my manager. All I could see was them prying her wallet from her hands while filling out the "customer fraud" paperwork.
I didn't worry about it and just went back to helping all the nice ladies with laptops.
;)
Dan
11-13-2006, 06:42 AM
As this thread seems to be going the way of a SERO arguement thread with the sides clearly divided, I suggest that future posts be placed in the "offical SERO thread" found here:
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