Sprint responds to NBC’s The Today Show re: Loyalty Credits

This went out to our care agents today, in response to a segment on the ‘Today’ show:

• A recent segment on NBC’sThe Today Show featured strategies for consumers wanting to save money on their wireless bill.
• The segment may have falsely created the impression that Sprint customers can receive a $100 “loyalty bonus” upon request.
• Sprint will only adjust a customer’s bill when Sprint has made an error.

Why you need to know it:

• Specialists can best serve our customers by making sure they’re on the right plan that meets their needs and reviewing what is/not included in their plan.
• Sprint does not issue cash bonuses, or bill credits upon request.
• The only way to prevent future overages and casual data charges ensure the customer is on the right plan.
• Giving a credit is only a temporary solution and will not prevent future callbacks and credit requests for overages.

What you need to do.

• Ask questions and listen closely to determine your customer’s primary concern.
• Be sensitive to your customer’s request and thank them for their loyalty but firmly explain that Sprint does not offer loyalty credits. Remind customers about the tremendous value in our unlimited plans.
• If there are issues with their bill begin researching and explaining the charge prior to considering or offering a credit or adjustment. Use CST Billing Research Flow to access the Billing Adjustment or Discretionary Creditflows.
• Reference the CST document Credit and Adjustment Approval Limits Grid for more information on billing research and adjustments

Customers experiencing issues in the Chicago market

What you need to know:

• To launch new Network Vision cell sites, Sprint is replacing the Local Technology Provider, which requires removing and replacing existing equipment in the Chicago Market.
• While the majority of customers are not affected, some customers are experiencing temporary issue with provisioning, dropped calls, and calls rolling to voicemail.
  • This is temporary and will stop after the cell site is fully tuned.
  • Do not send a customer to a retail store for any of these coverage issues.
  • Do not notate these issues as capacity or coverage problems.

Why you need to know it:

• A Network Event Board ticket opens for each cell site activated or upgraded. The ticket closes when Sprint certifies each cell site to be fully is optimized and functional.
• Optimization usually completes within a few days, but some may continue for a longer period.  We do not have a date for repair just yet, but Sprint is proactively monitoring and addressing these issues as quickly as possible.
• Vision Network Event Board tickets are coded in blue and are loaded to 90 days. This date should not be communicated to the customer. Giving customers a specific date may actually frustrate them more if that date changes.

What you need to do:

• Use this link for answers to frequently asked questions about New Cell Sites.
  • In CST enter Key Search words Vision Cell: New Vision Cell Sites FAQ.
• Allow your customer to vent their frustrations. Confidently explain that we are aware of the situation and are actively working to correct the issue. Your ability to confidently let them know you understand their situation will put them at ease.
• Make sure to use simple explanations when explaining how Sprint is working to solve their issue because customers can get confused by technical language.

Motorola Stature i9 Maintenance Release

 

 

A new software release, RB7.01.01, is available for Motorola® Stature™ i9 customers. Customers with access to a phone cable to connect to a computer and internet access can download this new software themselves. Customers can also go to an authorized Service and Repair center and have a technician update their phone to this new software version.

 

 

 

 

Issues that are fixed with the new software:

• Customers who text in Right to Left languages (RTL) can now make calls by selecting call back number hyperlink in the Unified Client Viewer (Short Messaging Service (SMS) and Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS)).
• Phone no longer locks up while in idle mode.
• Phone no longer will experience a reset when the deleting a profile while in Zoom mode.
• Phone no longer displays the SMS service center number on incoming messages.
• Calling and dispatch animation clears as soon as a call or dispatch is terminated.
• Users can now upload contacts to the Web server after they have added an SDGC talk group.
• Phone no longer resets when accessing messages with attached pictures that contain imbedded text.
• External backlight now turns off after disconnecting from a charger.
• Phones experiencing a Temporary Error Condition no longer suspends SMS messages.
• Unread Message icon now displays on the status bar when MMS is disabled.
• Ringtone assignment no longer changes with voice playback interaction.
• SMS messages with 765 characters no longer display as empty.

What you need to do:

• When a customer reports an issue with their Motorola Stature i9 device, first verify the software version of the phone is RB7.01.01.
  1. From the idle screen, press #, *, Menu, the Right Key (Next To OK) in rapid succession. The Trace Mode menu displays.
  2. Scroll down to Unit Info, Press OK.
  3. Scroll down to access Software, Press OK. The software version should be listed as RB7.01.01.
• If the customer is not on the latest software version, tell them if they have access to a phone cable to connect to a computer and internet access, they can download this new software themselves or they can go to an authorized Service and Repair center and have a technician update their phone to this new software version.
• Customer downloading instructions:
  • 1. Have the customer confirm that their PC matches the following requirements before selecting the correct utility on the Web site:
       • Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher installed on your computer
       • If using a USB Data Cable computer operating system should be: Windows 98 SE™, 2000™, ME™, and XP™
       • If using an RS232 Data Cable computer operating system should be: Windows 98™, NT 4.0, 2000™, ME™ and XP™
    2. Go to the Motorola Web site at: http://idenphones.motorola.com/iden/support/software/html/firmware_utility.html and download the software to the phone.
    3. Power on the iDEN phone.
    4. Select the utility that matches the phone model.
    5. Connect the iDEN phone to the PC with a Data Cable.
    6. When the utility starts, follow the onscreen instructions provided.

Customer Care no longer taking payments over the phone

New this week – if you call into Customer Care (*2) to pay your bill, be prepared to be transferred to the interactive phone system to complete your payment.  In an effort to reduce inbound calls to care centers, and to increase the awareness of self-service options, the policy went into effect at most centers this week. 

If you call for other reasons, the agents have been instructed to resolve any issues first, and inform you that after those are all taken care of you will be transferred to the *3 payment system to complete your payment. While I don’t agree with the change, I do see (if only a tiny bit) why it was implemented. It’s a step backwards from the personal touch and the ‘be the reason’ approach, because in all likely hood most customers know they can either pay online at sprint.com or over the phone by dialing *2 – so if they’re already on the phone with an agent, and their payment method is already on file, it literally takes 30 seconds to process a payment and all is done. With this new system, not only do I think that some CSAT scores will drop, but it also increases the transfers for each agent – yet another metric that stands between them and a pink slip.

What’s your thoughts? If you’re arleady on the phone, or willing to wait for an agent, should you be transferred to an automated payment system to complete your payment?

An Open Letter to my fellow Sprint Agents

An Open Letter to my fellow Sprint Agents, Worldwide:

I realize that you have an ever decreasing and limited amount of time to interact with each customer, and the fact that it’s a phone conversation make it no less challenging; I’m well aware. However if you are going to make a promise to a customer, please… please… please… for the sake of my sanity, and your own job security (or soon to be lack-thereof), please follow through on  your promise. I personally do not care if it takes you the rest of the day or your supervisor’s lunch hour. If you promise, you need to have to deliver.  Do not promise the customer something, notate the account accordingly, then end the call and assume your job is complete because you want to lower your call handle time, or it’s time for your next break. It is NOT done until you have followed through on whatever (probably too extravagent) promise you made, and most likely even do a callback to confirm with the customer that the resolution is complete. 

 

What you may, or may not, know – is that each and every time you document a promise to a customer in their account, and that customer calls back to find out why we haven’t lived up to their expections, two things happen: (1)We have to live up to that promise, often at a considerable cost to the company, and our own team/bonus bottom line; and (2)Your lovely name and ID number along with the promise you failed to live up to, AND the dollor amout it cost the company to make good on, all get forwarded to a back office team that spend their day dealing with customers and unfulfilled promises (among many other things). And while it’s not an instantaneous thing, your information is logged into the database and then on the (daily?weekly?monthly?) report that gets sent to your site manager your name is made prominent on the list list of issues to be ‘dealt with’.

Yep, you did notice that one of the security guards was not at post when you came down the elevator to have your smoke break, right? You guessed it, that’d because they’re busy awaiting your return to your cube so that you can be walked out (the long way around, I might add; a short parade, of sorts) of the building and escorted to your car. I do hope you enjoy your extended vacation, of sorts, just as much as I will enjoy cleaning up your messes that have yet to surface.

In closing, PLEASE deliver on your promises. If you’re telling a customer something just to get them off your phone, then I personally will assist that customer in telling you something, and the only thing that will be getting off anything will be you getting off the bus at the unemployment line, it’s that simple, and we take it that seriously. In the past week I’ve had no less than five promises made to customers (and documented in their accounts, I might add) that no sane person would have ever made, and nor did their curcumstances warrant such crazy promised. If it was customer satisfaction scores you were seeking, then you were successful, because anyone would be thrilled with some of the offers and discounts you promised, and I’m sure at the time they were surveyed they were still overjoyed at the thought of their newfound ‘friendly’ rep with a pockful of gold at the end of the rainbow. You may have gotten your CSAT scores from them, and they may have gotten what you promised, but was your job really worth it? This IS Sprint, you know your actions are all logged. So quit being stupid before you’re caught, and save your job, and me some headaches.

 

–From Somewhere deep within Sprint Customer Care.