Home  ›  News  ›

Sprint Waiving Mail-In Rebates Indefinitely

Article Comments  

all discussions

show all 38 replies

Very Aggresive Move.

Slammer

Mar 25, 2011, 11:38 AM
Any company regardless of industry, makes 😡 money on MIRs. The initial payout of a product goes into an account to earn interest on the dollar.

By Sprint eliminating this practice, they are sacrificing a respectable amount of added income on handsets.

I hope individuals realize how much Sprint is sticking thier necks out to prove they are a worthy choice.

John B.
...
Xyroze

Mar 25, 2011, 11:46 AM
I wonder if the third party retailers (RadioShack, Best Buy, Walmart, et cetera) are going to suffer, as the primary benefit to going to them was the fact that they skipped the mail in rebates.

Well, I guess I'll let you know how it goes..
...
MossJac

Mar 25, 2011, 11:54 AM
Wal-Mart might. Historically, 98% of all corporate Sprint stores are known for their horrid customer service. As an RS associate for over 10 years, I've got customers who will go out of their way to go to a RadioShack over a Sprint store because A) They don't have to wait 45 minutes just to talk to someone and B) We'll actually take the time to go over things with them. Not saying corp stores don't but based on my own personal experience with Sprint stores, it's ridiculous. You couldn't pay me enough to step foot into my local Sprint store. I'm sure Best Buy's are the same as far as people wanting to go there instead of a Corp store. Just my opinion.
...
Jewbear

Mar 25, 2011, 11:56 AM
Well that is why they have online.
...
daxdcagain

Mar 25, 2011, 12:02 PM
MossJac said:
Historically, 98% of all corporate Sprint stores are known for their horrid customer service.


Made up statistics are fun!

....but based on my own personal experience with Sprint stores, it's ridiculous. You couldn't pay me enough to step foot into my local Sprint store.... Just my opinion.


Oh, ok. You finally revealed the problem. You are basing your personal experience, opinion and maybe some other people you might know; and applying it globally. For every customer that hates going to a corporate store, there is probably one that hates going to a third party or national chain.
...
moemoe26

Mar 25, 2011, 12:11 PM
i love it when RS reps dog us its great. 99.99% OF RS reps don't know there stuff and just flat out lie.
...
rarodrig26

Mar 25, 2011, 12:24 PM
Pretty much! Id have twice as much free time if I could eliminate the 50% of my week spent correcting the screw ups of Radio Shacks and Bestbuy's, and that's not even getting into the general misinformation and fraudulent stuff they do (i.e. giving everybody and their mom a 25% ibm discount).

See how much my stats differ from his smh.
...
island4prez

Mar 25, 2011, 3:48 PM
I dont think RS and BB employees are even smart enough to put discounts onto there account.
...
island4prez

Mar 25, 2011, 3:55 PM
their?
...
moemoe26

Mar 25, 2011, 8:33 PM
at my store we send them back to RS AND BB for act fee wavied, upgrade fee wavied, and Ready Now! when they say the phrase " i went to RS" WE SAY GREAT...now they can do this for you we can't since it wasn't done at a CORP STORE....esp when they need a NVP DISCOUNT added and act fee credit due to NVP...
...
Dollgrin

Mar 26, 2011, 5:45 PM
It's not about being "smart enough", it's about having access to the account to even add the NVP discounts. Maybe you should watch your statments since you made yourself sound fairly ignorant.
...
emphticomaha

Mar 25, 2011, 10:33 PM
rarodrig26 said:
Pretty much! Id have twice as much free time if I could eliminate the 50% of my week spent correcting the screw ups of Radio Shacks and Bestbuy's, and that's not even getting into the general misinformation and fraudulent stuff they do (i.e. giving everybody and their mom a 25% ibm discount).

See how much my stats differ from his smh.



Duuuuuuude! Thank god someone understands my nightmare! I about flip each time a customer goes to the shack, the buy or walmart to GET the phone, comes to me " Can you transfer my numbers I have no Idea how to use this thing" Really? While im helping you the "poor" people waiting in line are new lines that I cant get because im helping someone elses cust...
(continues)
...
rarodrig26

Mar 25, 2011, 12:27 PM
"As an RS associate for over 10 years"

-If you were that good you should probably have been promoted by now.

See...asumptions are fun!!
...
moemoe26

Mar 25, 2011, 8:35 PM
99% OF RS EMPLOYEES wish they could work for CORP stores but since there "black listed" there f'ed in the A.....

10 years at the shack? come on unless your a MGR your stupid to work at the shack for that long...
...
Dollgrin

Mar 26, 2011, 5:48 PM
I'm only speaking for myself here, but at my RS location they're way more honest than the corp stores in my area. They also have better manners and don't go onto websites slamming other business. If you were that great of a sales person you wouldn't have to get on here talking about how 3rd party retail locations suck.
...
iDont Care

Mar 25, 2011, 3:23 PM
MossJac said:
Wal-Mart might. Historically, 98% of all corporate Sprint stores are known for their horrid customer service. As an RS associate for over 10 years, I've got customers who will go out of their way to go to a RadioShack over a Sprint store because A) They don't have to wait 45 minutes just to talk to someone and B) We'll actually take the time to go over things with them. Not saying corp stores don't but based on my own personal experience with Sprint stores, it's ridiculous. You couldn't pay me enough to step foot into my local Sprint store. I'm sure Best Buy's are the same as far as people wanting to go there instead of a Corp store. Just my opinion.
...
davidg4781

Mar 26, 2011, 1:28 AM
And I've gone out of my way, driving an hour to go BACK to a RS because I found out the clerk lied to me about my phone purchase just to get my sale. I had just signed up for Sprint service and asked the guy why RS's prices were higher than Sprint's.

His answer? Sprint sells refurbished phones, RS's are brand new. I knew he was talking out his ear, but I didn't care since I was in the area and needed the phone.

Once I got home, I didn't like that, and didn't think it was right. So I drove back the next day to cancel. It was interesting... they had me call Sprint on their wireless phone and tell them I had to cancel. I talked to 3 reps, and had to explain my whole store about how the RS employee lied to me. And, I did this all ...
(continues)
...
dj89

Mar 26, 2011, 10:21 AM
I think it also helps the fact that customers feel better if they go to a third party, because they feel that reps like you know about all the phones on other carriers, and your opinion will weigh more than someone paid by Sprint.
...
undergroundgilligan

Mar 25, 2011, 11:58 AM
Back when iPCS was around we were able to offer this exact same thing to our customers, and it helped, and since the buyout of iPCS, we had the ability to take away the MIR on data plans only. This helped out soooo much when competing against the national retailers such as best buy, RadioShack, Wal-Mart, ect.

but adding that to all plans is HUGE, and right now with the $50.00 or $125.00 port in credit, Sprint is finding more and more ways to draw new customers in.

Keep the train rolling Sprint!!!
...
HawkeyeOC

Mar 25, 2011, 12:45 PM
Slammer said:
Any company regardless of industry, makes 😡 money on MIRs. The initial payout of a product goes into an account to earn interest on the dollar.

By Sprint eliminating this practice, they are sacrificing a respectable amount of added income on handsets.

I hope individuals realize how much Sprint is sticking thier necks out to prove they are a worthy choice.

John B.


Interest earned on anything these days is less than it used to be. I wonder if that factored into their decision.
Still, there is a certain percentage of MIR's that aren't sent in or processed for various reasons. I am sure its a great money maker even now.

Whats to stop them from discounting their phones less or r...
(continues)
...
Cosmic Spiderman

Mar 25, 2011, 4:05 PM
I think they are hoping to make up the lost revenue in increased customers. Question is whether that is a smart decision with the money Clear is costing them and their low rate plans. At some point, they need to MAKE money so they can expand their network. As competition narrows (see AT&T's recent purchase) Companies will become more ruthless. Can you see Big Red not renewing roaming agreements with Sprint? Big hit to their network unless they learn to stand on their own.
...
rarodrig26

Mar 25, 2011, 4:36 PM
"Big hit to their network unless they learn to stand on their own."

-Where does everybody get this misconception from? Verizon coverage area is slightly better than Sprints admittedly, but not drastically. And there are plenty of places where Sprint is stronger. In reality Verizon would have just as many holes if they could not roam off of Sprint, they lean on eachother pretty equally.
...
Cosmic Spiderman

Mar 25, 2011, 5:20 PM
Go take a look at the prepaid maps of all the carriers from their own websites. That is their latent footprint. Sprint is no where close. They may be better in some areas, but as a whole Verizon has more coverage in more areas.
...
davidg4781

Mar 26, 2011, 1:34 AM
I love this. I know if I wasn't able to get the instant rebate from Best Buy, I would have really considered my decision to switch to Sprint or to upgrade my phone.

Right now, I've been going to Sprint to look at the phones, ask questions, and get answers. Then, hop on over to Best Buy and get the phone with the instant rebate and add some points to my reward card. This is going to be a lot easier for me and others that didn't like the MIR.
...
xyz

Mar 26, 2011, 1:45 PM
davidg4781 said:
I love this. I know if I wasn't able to get the instant rebate from Best Buy, I would have really considered my decision to switch to Sprint or to upgrade my phone.

Right now, I've been going to Sprint to look at the phones, ask questions, and get answers. Then, hop on over to Best Buy and get the phone with the instant rebate and add some points to my reward card. This is going to be a lot easier for me and others that didn't like the MIR.



So nice of you to waste the time of the Sprint salesperson by looking at their phones, asking questions and getting answers, which of course can't be done at rs or bb.
...
davidg4781

Mar 26, 2011, 1:55 PM
It can be done at BB or RS, but I usually have to wait in line to do that. Normally though, I either know the same or more than the Sprint sales person, so I don't bother asking them any questions. I'll just go in, tell the girl at the counter (who almost always never answers then phone when I've called) I'm there to look.

When I do bother the sales people, it's usually when it's slow and they come up to me.

Remember though, I'm a Sprint customer, so I'm paying a monthly bill to help pay for customer service. I'm not 100% the stores are self sufficient, but, you know, as a customer, I don't care. I just see them as a local B&M shop I can go to if needed.

My guess is they are self sufficient and are aware of it, and get upset whe...
(continues)
...
xyz

Mar 26, 2011, 2:09 PM
No store in any industry makes money when someone doesn't buy anything. If every customer had the same attitude as you, your local Sprint store would disappear. The non bb or rs has a tremendous amount of overhead including rent, demo phones (so you can play with them before you go to bb to spend your money) staff, utilities etc. None of these costs are paid for unless customers actually subscribe at that location. Being a customer of Sprint does nothing for the location that you continue to bother and buy nothing.
...
davidg4781

Mar 26, 2011, 2:14 PM
So you're telling me that there is absolutely no money that gets funneled to a corporate owned Sprint store from any outside sources, either rebates from manufacturers or even from Sprint itself?

Either way, the average customer doesn't care. They see Sprint on their bill they pay each month and a big Sprint sign outside this store. They expect to be helped, assisted, and serviced by them.

Again, maybe that's why their customer service ranks so low, because workers at Sprint stores don't have that service mentality. They just want to see $$. Whenever people talk about Sprint's customer service, I always tell them my experiences are almost always great, but I hardly ever go into a retail store, instead I call up for customer support...
(continues)
...
xyz

Mar 26, 2011, 2:25 PM
Yes, I'm telling you there is absolutely no money that gets funneled to a corporate store, or 3rd party store from any outside sources, either rebates from manufacturers or even Sprint itself. It is quite the opposite. If the location doesn't contribute profit to Sprint, it will be eliminated. This is true for every industry. All I am saying is that this is America and one can purchase whatever one wants to anywhere they want to, but common courtesy would dictate that if you are going to buy at bb, you should not waste the time of other people trying to make a living by selling to legitimate customers.
...
davidg4781

Mar 26, 2011, 2:33 PM
This is the exact mentality I'm talking about. Don't get so excited about the money and help the customers.

Then they won't leave pissed and go to AT&T or Verizon.

By the way, where I work, we do have to send a portion of our sales back up to corporate, so it's not like I'm not aware of it. Problem is, I could care less. If a customer comes in and needs help with something, we help them, even if they have no intention of spending any more. It's called customer service, and if you're dealing with people you have to have it.
...
analyst422

Mar 26, 2011, 2:47 PM
I work at a retail store for AT&T and my job is to be there to help whomever comes in my store, no matter if they spend money or not. In my opinion, good customer service and a good reputation is built through friendliness and common courtesy of actually giving customers (or questioners) the time of day. My time isn't wasted if I can help someone get the answers they were looking for, and their time wasn't wasted by coming to me and having me be a douche bag and telling them to get their answers online or at a Radio Shack. Any retail rep who says their wasting time by talking with people who just want to ask questions shouldn't be working in the retail business, because they're wasting the time and money of the company that they represent. A...
(continues)
...
cellboothmgr

Mar 26, 2011, 5:32 PM
A good sales rep makes money first. A good customer service rep answers dumb questions from dumb customers. If you don't close the sale the first time a customer is in, you might as well kiss that $ good bye. If you want to answer questions and feel warm and fuzzy inside, don't call yourself a sales rep.
...
Dollgrin

Mar 26, 2011, 5:56 PM
Here's the issue - these companies (including Sprint, I've worked in a corporate store) expect you to be BOTH the customer service rep and a sales rep. That's why you have "red carpet service" and all of that Jazz.
...
davidg4781

Mar 27, 2011, 12:17 AM
If I go in interested in upgrading, and I start asking questions, I expect honest and accurate answers. If I see they're either lying or don't know what they're talking about, and then they start moving on when I tell them I'm not sure about which I want, I take my business elsewhere.

That's one of the reasons I've done all my upgrades in the past 3 years at Best Buy. They're helpful, I don't have to deal with MIR, and I get Reward Points.

And, here's something cool... If the price of the phone goes down within a few weeks, I get the difference back. If they decide to bundle that phone with a memory card or something, I can go back and get one free.
...
Joby

Mar 27, 2011, 11:05 AM
I have heard nothing but excellent reviews about Best Buy Mobile, and this post sold me on it. Next time I'm in the market for a phone, I'm going there first.
...
cellboothmgr

Mar 29, 2011, 8:30 AM
if you go to bb or rs to buy a phone, great. dont go to a corp or 3rd party store when you have problems then. if rs and bb are so great, then they should salivate over fixing your issues they caused.
...
Versed

Mar 26, 2011, 3:28 PM
david, to be honest its individuals and this isn't only Sprint, holds for all other carriers. I understand that people in these stores work on some formula on commission, BUT, these corporate stores are there as well to service customers and help. Even if I bought the device elsewhere. A person pays these carriers every months and deserves help.

BTW, I do prefer buying from corporates stores then resellers.
...
cellboothmgr

Mar 26, 2011, 5:37 PM
Sprints customer service is ranked the highest of all wireless carriers. If you think sprint is bad, try going to an ATTerrible store.
...
Versed

Mar 26, 2011, 9:59 AM
Best Buy includes the rebate already into the price. But nevertheless this is a great idea for Sprint to do.
...

This forum is closed.

Please log in to report a message to the moderator.

This forum is closed.


all discussions

Subscribe to Phone Scoop News with RSS Follow @phonescoop on Threads Follow @phonescoop on Mastodon Phone Scoop on Facebook Follow on Instagram

 

Playwire

All content Copyright 2001-2024 Phone Factor, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Content on this site may not be copied or republished without formal permission.