stupid sprint story

x-no-archive: yes

i stay with sprint because i assume all cell phone companies have lousy
customer service.

last week i called up to renew my 2 year contract. the guy put the contract
into effect and said go to the sprint store and pick out a phone and tell
them about the $150 discount.

i got to the store and they said i should've gotten the phone the other day
when i called. they said they only give out free phones when you sign a
contract in the store. they said it was ok to sign a second contract, it
would just replace the other one. i wasn't going to be suckered into
signing 2 contracts. they also said i had to pay the bullshit $18 upgrade
fee. i thought sprint waived the $18 fee for everybody signing a 2 year
contract, but that was an "internet only" deal. i asked if i could cancel
the contract, and they said yea for $200. i got pissed and walked out.

i called sprint and spoke to the "i want to cancel" department. they asked
several times if i was going to leave sprint and take my business else ware.
i said the contract was my business, and i wanted them to fulfill it. the
guy was nice, he didn't give me any shit about a $200 cancellation fee or an
$18 upgrade fee. he said he'd mail the phone right away

BTW what kind of dumb fuck pays an $18 fee when they're signing a 2 year
contract ? .... and how much does a "free" $150 phone really cost them ? ...
If i had to guess, i'd say it costs $65 parts and labor to make, and sprint
gets the phone for $80 which equals 2 months of your contract @ $40/month

"777" <888> wrote in message
news:a5ad$47533aa9$ce941c2f$28388@DIALUPUSA.NET...
> BTW what kind of dumb fuck pays an $18 fee when they're signing a 2 year
> contract ?

The $18 fee is absolutely a "junk" fee (it doesn't reflect any real
significant costs incurred by Sprint), but the reason many consumer willingly
pay it even when they know that fact is because a one-time $18 junk fee is
nothing compared to a monthly plan that's anywhere from $40-$100 for most
people.

> .... and how much does a "free" $150 phone really cost them ? ...

A lot, actually -- it could very likely be more than $150. Sprint's (last)
CEO spoke out about how this model ("give away" the phone and then get the
customer to "pay" for it through their monthly subscription) is hurting the
industry. This is true, but of course the reason it persists is that many
consumers are now used to "free" phones and even without a contract would
(initially) balk at paying $150 for a low-end phone.

> If i had to guess, i'd say it costs $65 parts and labor to make, and sprint
> gets the phone for $80 which equals 2 months of your contract @ $40/month

You think that $40/month just goes into Sprint's pockets? Deploying and
maintaining cell phone networks costs *hundreds of millions of dollars*! A
substantial part of you subscription really does go into paying for Sprint's
infrastructure and maintenance. I sympathize with you, but realize at the end
of the day the reason Sprint exists is to make money -- you don't really want,
e.g., the government running cell phone service, do you?

---Joel