Do wireless companies care about contract customers?

Being what some would call a phone fanatic--I have multiple lines with multiple carriers--I never thought cell phone companies cared much about old customers. Most ads and gimmicks are geared toward drawing in new business, such as free phones and special plans for new lines of service. Since I'm a longtime customer, I didn't see where any of that applied to me.

Having to wait until my contract is up to negotiate a better plan or newer phone is always draining and time consuming; I wanted to know if there was anything out there for existing contract customers.

That in mind, I recently received a black square-shaped envelope from Sprint with a sticker sealing it closed that read "unveil your rewards." Inside, it had some nonslip strips (stickers that you place on the back of your phone so it doesn't slide) and a note that said I am a "Sprint Premier Customer." Attached was also a card with a quick breakdown of the Sprint Premier Customer benefits and a book covering the rewards. The benefits listed were as follows: One new phone upgrade on my primary line of service every year ($150 off), discounts on accessories, and free downloads. The Right Plan Promise allows me to switch to another plan at any time without extending or renewing my contract in addition to the receipt of one special gift per account on my anniversary date.

I dug a little deeper and found some information that wasn't listed. The program started August 17, 2007. The way you're considered for this service can be a combination of things: Payment history, lines of service, customer service calls (and the reasons for calling), and of course, your length of time with Sprint--you have to be a customer for at least one year to be considered.

Also, when members call Sprint from their primary line, they won't go into the general waiting pool and stay on hold as long as they may have in the past. Since they're now what Sprint calls the "White Glove Customer," a more qualified representative is there to help with whatever queries they may have.

So if you believe you're a loyal Sprint customer, be on the lookout for that little black envelope in the mail. It's filled with plenty of surprises that prove some wireless companies do in-fact care about contract customers.

[alenas]

Nice - AT&T definitely needs to learn something from Spring

[vvvlad81]

Congrats on falling for it! Since Sprint is bleeding customers like nothing else of course they had to "FINALLY" do something to retain some of their customers. All the funky marketing labels are there to make you feel important, while the sticky non slip pads cost less than a penny to make somewhere in China.

They let you switch plans without extending the contract? FINALLY! Everybody else was doing that for some time now...

As for the more responsive customer support calls don't fool yourself. It's not because they value you as a customer, it's because they realized the "primary line" is that sprint cell phone for most of the people and having you wait on the line for half an hour just means they lost 30 minutes of airtime revenue, and they want to reduce that as much as possible. The rest is just spin.

Although allowing you to switch the phone every year as opposed to at the end of the 2 year contract is something to be applauded. Will that be enough to prevent them from loosing another million customers next month? My hunch is not...

[llanos5000]

this is ridiculous. sprint is known for having terrible customer service. they are also known for extending customers' contracts when they change anything on their plan. i know people who have been in contract for half a decade with no new phone. they just needed more minutes and different times. maybe rollover would help.

also, sprint blows.

[patjanks]

It's funny because with Alltel I can go into the store at any time and say, "Hey is there anything I can change to keep nearly the same amount of minutes and features for cheaper?" They'll look at what I've been doing for the last few months and go, "Actually yes you can because we have a new plan out with a cheaper price that is practically the same thing, etc. I'll change it now and it'll start next month without extending your contract or anything." Shouldn't all customer service be like that?

For instance, one day I went in saying, "I'm going to get text messaging but I'm not sure how much I'll use monthly, so, I figure I should probably get unlimited the first month and change it down from that to see how many I need. Can I do that?"

They said, "Actually what I'll do for you is give you a month free of unlimited texting and you can go from there. How's that sound?" Duh! Customer service gets you loyal customers!

[carguy622]

I've always found AT&T to have excellent customer service when I call. I've had AT&T for about ten years now, back before they were Cingular, and then back to AT&T. I was not using all my minutes on the $39 plan and they put me on a $29 plan that they only offer to long time customers.

[benjaminstraight]

Cell phones are now a lifestyle requirement.