It’s generally accepted in the business world that getting rid of bad/resource-intensive customers is a smart move. Sure, from the consumer standpoint it seems like we’re just being bullied, but we have the right to change companies if we’re not satisfied with our current one, so why can’t a business do the same?
Say that Sprint is making $40/month off a customer that is occupying a customer service rep for 1-2 hours per month. For argument’s sake, say that said rep makes $10/hour. That’s $10-20 per month lost on that customer’s bill. That’s 25-50% of their revenue! Of course they’re going to fire that customer! If they can replace the customer with one that checks their account balance online, making no calls to the customer service center, Sprint has increased their revenue from that customer slot drastically.
One customer quoted in the article says that she only called because of billing mistakes. If this is the case then I agree that Sprint is a crappy company and deserves to fade away as they are. If not, this is perfectly acceptable practice.
Next time you sign a service contract, ask if you can insert your own cancellation fee clause at the end.
36 responses so far ↓
1 Mark@CreditCards // Jul 7, 2007 at 2:52 am
It makes sense to get rid of unprofitable customers, but not if you have them locked in a contract. If sprint wants to let people out of their contracts, power to them.
2 kevin // Jul 8, 2007 at 2:28 pm
I am mixed on this, I have worked in the cell phone industry on the technical end and understand that some customers are a total waste of time.
But how much of this is self inflicted? For every customer I had that was a pain or too lazy to read an instruction manual I would at least ten more that were calling because someone in the store screwed something up or they never had their problem taken care of from the last time they called in.
3 Cade@BusinessOpportunity // Jul 9, 2007 at 12:39 am
I have to say that this is silly. I understand the mentality, but if they are in a contract then you are breaching it. Sprint I am sure is making sure there are no legal loopholes.
4 Comfy - Educational toys // Jul 9, 2007 at 10:31 am
of course companies can choose there clients, but it is not good for business to discard a client because he will talk badly about them and they will get a bad rep
5 Adam // Jul 9, 2007 at 10:35 am
Obviously there are trade offs either way. Some bad PR is unavoidable and still worthwhile.
6 MisterSteve // Jul 10, 2007 at 11:59 pm
I could start a new blog about how often Sprint, Verizon and, more recently, T-Mobile has simply flat out lied to me to get a sale. The reps in the stores must be commission based, or something. Blaming the customers for your God awful service is a cop out. If McDonald’s can put a HOT Coffee warning on cups to keep retards from scalding themselves, then Sprint can take the time to produce easy to understand contracts, instructions and manuals. My two cents.
BTW, if there was a HOT COFFEE label on the cup, would the lady in the lawsuit NOT have spilled her coffee? I mean, I’m assuming the spilled coffee was accidental. It’s not as if I look at a soda and say, ”Well, it’s not boiling hot coffee, so I will pour this into my lap.” Beverages go in your head, not your crotch.
7 Concerned Sprint Customer // Jul 11, 2007 at 3:07 pm
Well the way I look at it now that they have fired these customer, maybe customer’s like me that need to speak to someone won’t have to wait as long now to speak to someone.
THANK YOU SPRINT
8 Elizabeth Jackson // Aug 16, 2007 at 5:26 pm
haha, good point MisterSteve! That is funny…
But I do also think it really just comes down to the individual situation. Obviously some problems are caused by mistakes of the employees, while others are caused by the pure stupidity of a customer. Some customers can be more trouble than they are worth.
9 Derek // Sep 8, 2007 at 11:33 pm
I cant believe that a cell phone company would actuall do this…
I am under a sprint contract and I do not want to stay with sprint any longer,
I think I should start complaning to them.
10 Basement Ideas // Feb 3, 2008 at 12:23 pm
I had a bad experience with Sprint so I fired them before they could fire me!
11 L Pedigree // Feb 26, 2008 at 7:43 pm
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12 Luca Govoni // May 28, 2008 at 9:01 am
When it comes to bad companies have to know that they are no good to the community. This is a good point taken up.
13 Monavie // Jun 5, 2008 at 7:02 pm
Firing Customers!? Wow. I agree with Mark@Creditcards - don’t get rid of someone you have in a contract! Just try to get to the root of the problem in a more fast and efficient way. PS mistersteve, your comment cracked me up!
14 Ann French // Aug 31, 2008 at 12:15 pm
Sprint has to pay the customer service rep anyway so what is the big deal?
15 lista de cumparaturi // Oct 24, 2008 at 9:25 am
Indeed, a crappy company with some crappy rules. Firing customers? I mean… c’mon
16 Rick L // Nov 11, 2008 at 2:25 pm
Two words: That’s retarted!
I mean give me a break, firing customers!? Wow.
17 Brian // Jan 12, 2009 at 3:37 pm
I am surprised how many people think this is wrong.
If they need to talk to cs every month for 6 months or more there is nothing wrong with getting rid of this customer.
18 goller // Jan 20, 2009 at 6:08 pm
It is always annoying bad customers..
19 Acai // Feb 6, 2009 at 12:18 am
I’ve heard of other companies that do the same thing. I definitely dont agree with what they do, but it does happen.
20 Birkenstock Clogs // Feb 10, 2009 at 4:15 am
I understand the mentality, but if they are in a contract then you are breaching it. Sprint I am sure is making sure there are no legal loopholes.
21 surveillance // Feb 21, 2009 at 1:49 am
i like your points and tips they are really practical and easy to implement.
22 Scrapbooking Ideas // Mar 11, 2009 at 7:43 am
Sprint is definitely a crappy company, which is one of the reasons why other entities like Verizon and T-Mobile are gaining market share while they lose out on it. A company that is relevant, leading-edge, and customer-savvy will survive when in competition with one that is not. Sprint doesn’t have near the level of technology in their devices or the level of customer service in their call centers (I know, I used to work for a company that outsourced Sprint’s customer care reps).
23 Xbox // Mar 19, 2009 at 4:33 pm
Of course it makes sense, however sprint should disregard any calls made due to ‘technical’ problems imo.
24 Valerie Bertinelli // Apr 2, 2009 at 4:41 am
Same thing that best buy did a while back! I really don’t see a problem with the strategy though.
25 car bulbs // Jun 15, 2009 at 1:02 pm
It seems a bit harsh to me. When in business you have to take the rough with the smooth. Some customers will be better than others but surely they are entitled to ring customers services if things are not right?
26 najem hiše // Jul 1, 2009 at 10:19 am
The problem with that point of view is that you don’t know how much power does the person have, maybe he can diss you in the big media if you ‘fire’ him/her. There are moral dillemmas also, at least I think so.
27 googlehomebusiness // Aug 3, 2009 at 11:18 am
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28 Cool Springs Galleria // Aug 28, 2009 at 6:24 am
I dont like Sprint, ATT or Verizon. They changed the download limit to 5 mb now, very shady.
29 perdeci // Sep 16, 2009 at 11:35 am
good articles keep going on..
30 BusinessThinking // Sep 30, 2009 at 6:48 am
Heh, I would use that idea of a cancellation fee if I ever signed up for services requiring a long term commitment. I like providers to know THEY are replaceable. For my own customers, I rely on delivering good ole fashioned satisfaction.
In this kind of economy, let them ditch customers. I’ll be glad to take that revenue off their hands!
31 solar systems power // Nov 19, 2009 at 3:56 pm
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32 cyanoacrylate // Nov 30, 2009 at 2:06 pm
Wow! I can’t believe they’d do that! That’s not cool.
33 PayPal Money // Dec 4, 2009 at 8:33 pm
That is definitely not cool, but it’s all for the market.
34 Wii Points // Dec 4, 2009 at 8:35 pm
I never was a fan of Sprint and their marketing tactics.
35 Coach Hire // Dec 21, 2009 at 2:14 am
The kind of job I do, consultant for coach hire, minibus hire, and limo hire, I meet people from all over the world here in London UK, be it local residents or expatriates traveling to the UK, for travel and tourism and families, parties, business meetings and so on, sometime some customers do not behave well.
But I must say, the company I work with is very good, and our managing directors are good People, as they have managed a department to deal with such customers :D…So I am safe.
36 Karen Adams // Mar 3, 2010 at 1:08 am
This is silly. I understand the mentality, but if they are in a contract then you are breaching it. Sprint I am sure is making sure there are no legal loopholes.
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