Between the Lines

Larry Dignan, Andrew Nusca and Rachel King

Can a money-back guarantee lure you to Sprint?

By | March 31, 2010, 7:18am PDT

Sprint, which has made improving its customer service reputation a top priority, is putting its money where its wireless plans are.

The company said Wednesday that it will offer a full money-back guarantee if you aren’t satisfied with the carrier’s service before 30 days.

This move is the equivalent of an automaker offering a 100,000 mile, 10-year warranty after being dinged over quality concerns. Sprint CEO Dan Hesse every quarter mentions the carrier’s progress on the customer service front.

Dubbed the Sprint Free Guarantee, the wireless carrier will do the following if a customer isn’t satisfied in the first 30 days of service:

  • Reimburse you for the device purchase and activation fee;
  • Waive early termination fees;
  • Get a refund for monthly recurring charges;
  • Return taxes and Sprint surcharges;
  • And for good measure Sprint will waive the restocking fee.

As a consumer, that’s a nice deal even though you should check out the fine print. Will it get me to try Sprint? The money-back guarantee certainly doesn’t hurt. Sprint is removing one hurdle to at least trying another carrier.

Sprint plans to market its money-back guarantee heavily as it tries to get its subscriber base to grow again after multiple quarters of decline. The numbers have been moving in the right direction for Sprint, but haven’t gotten over the hump to post subscriber gains.

For instance, Sprint lost 69,000 net retail subscribers in the fourth quarter. That’s improvement over recent quarters. In the third quarter, Sprint lost 135,000 retail subscribers. The company ended the year with 48.1 million customers, down from 48.3 million in the third quarter. Verizon Wireless had 87.5 million retail customers in its fourth quarter with 85.1 million with AT&T.

It’s a lot like the unemployment figures. The job losses are “less worse” each month, but at some point that doesn’t cut it. Sprint needs to deliver subscriber gains.

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Larry Dignan is Editor in Chief of ZDNet and SmartPlanet as well as Editorial Director of ZDNet's sister site TechRepublic.

Disclosure

Larry Dignan

Larry Dignan has nothing to disclose. He doesn’t hold investments in the technology companies he covers.

Biography

Larry Dignan

Larry Dignan is Editor in Chief of ZDNet and SmartPlanet as well as Editorial Director of ZDNet's sister site TechRepublic. He was most recently Executive Editor of News and Blogs at ZDNet. Prior to that he was executive news editor at eWeek and news editor at Baseline. He also served as the East Coast news editor and finance editor at CNET News.com. Larry has covered the technology and financial services industry since 1995, publishing articles in WallStreetWeek.com, Inter@ctive Week, The New York Times, and Financial Planning magazine. He's a graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism and the University of Delaware.

For daily updates, follow Larry on Twitter.

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no different from stories I've heard
kevinrs1 Updated - 4th Apr 2010
from people about every existing carrier though. I've yet to see a bill that had a true billing error. It's almost always something that when it comes down to it, should be blamed on the customer.
The most recent charges that I have seen that even come close to being the carrier's fault, were due to a customer canceling(possibly they ported it out) the primary line on a family plan. This left the other lines with no minutes, and $.45 charges per minute. This wasn't even sprint.

The charges, as they vary by state, and integrating them into the plan would make the plans look higher than the competition, will never be integrated into the bill. The carrier has to pay state and local communications taxes(some cities charge an extra 10% utility tax on top of everything else) and they pay for 911 service, etc.

On coverage, at least sprint really has a coverage map, so you have a clue you might not be covered in an area. Verizon's coverage map has only one color, and constitutes a flat out lie. A location my sister was working, at a suburban/rural intersection, with a strip mall, library, restaurant, etc and a cell tower across the street, shows the same solid blue, with the nearest tiny white patch at least 5 miles away. Verizon, 0-1 bar, no calls or text possible, even outside. Sprint Max signal.
AT&T didn't check signal, but works fine there.
Verizon reps said there should be signal, offered phone upgrade, claiming it could be the phone, another rep stated the nearest tower showed as 4 miles away, a tech was supposed to check it out, eventually they admitted signal was marginal, and agreed to waive the termination fees.
0 Votes
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Maybe
dpanswers 31st Mar 2010
This might be just what I need to give them a try. We live right on the borderline of where their service map ends. I tried a laptop wireless broadband card about a year and a half ago and did not have a good enough signal to get it to connect so I took it back.

If they could just do something about the ETF's I have with Verizon it would be a no-brainer.
0 Votes
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This might be just what I need to give them a try. We live right on the borderline of where their service map ends. I tried a laptop wireless broadband card about a year and a half ago and did not have a good enough signal to get it to connect so I took it back.

If they could just do something about the ETF's I have with Verizon it would be a no-brainer.
0 Votes
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This might also be just the incentive and opportunity needed for the thousands who are members of the group "Just Say No to Verizon Wireless Mandatory Data Plans" at
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=257808747739 to leave Verizon due to their frustration of being forced to subscribe to a data plan in order to purchase the desirable wireless devices.
0 Votes
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Don't you believe it
Beat a Dead Horse 31st Mar 2010
Sprint has the exact same mandatory data plans.
0 Votes
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Funny, how clueless people are
wackoae 31st Mar 2010
NT
0 Votes
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couldn't be more wrong
kevinrs1 4th Apr 2010
The problem data plans are the ones required for blackberry/android/smartphone. These plans, on Verizon and AT&T, are $30 per month on top of a plan for minutes and $20 for unlimited texting. That's $50 on top of the minutes for both.
Sprint plans basically break down as $10 for the messaging and $20 for the internet. The base minute plans are identical in price and minutes, except the sprint nights start at 7, and the sprint data includes navigation, TV, music, and unlimited mobile to mobile to any wireless phone in the US.
0 Votes
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NOPE (NT)
Black Label Society 31st Mar 2010
NT
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Yes!
JimLT 31st Mar 2010
I'm already going, not only are they the cheapest provider but they have better/faster coverage than At&T and now with the Evo coming out..no brainer for me.
0 Votes
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And don't forget
Beat a Dead Horse 31st Mar 2010
Sprint recently added a $5.00 per month charge for subscribers who don't have an automatic payment plan.
0 Votes
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He** No
jsnett@... 31st Mar 2010
"Sprint lost 69,000 net retail subscribers in the fourth quarter. That?s improvement over recent quarters. In the third quarter, Sprint lost 135,000 retail subscribers."

Wow, they only lost 70k subscribers compared to 135K. How did they do in the 1st and 2nd quarter??

They seem to be closing the barndoor after the horses are out. I won't just pick on Sprint either, they all suck. Fees, taxes, Universal surcharges, etc. When $79.00 "plans" cost 79 bucks (not $130)anyone one of them could take majority marketshare.

All customer service is nothing but a trip into insanity and it's gotten even worse now that they bundle and subcontract out products they know nothing about.

As long as we are hooked on them (love the term, crackberry) the don't have to care, they ARE the 21st century "Ma Bell".
0 Votes
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Nope
Too Old For IT 31st Mar 2010
I used to sit 250 ft from a Sprint Tower and my Sprint Crackberry would have no signal.
0 Votes
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Then if you travel, even to the town next to yours, chances are you will have no signal.
If they really want to attract customers they will add
that the early termination fee is what your phone cost is
and that cost will be pro-rated over the life of your
phone and you can pay it off when you quit - even 3/4 of
the way through the contract.

Those phone contracts are nothing more then a rip-off on
consumers. I refuse to deal with'em. I prefer pre-paid.
0 Votes
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Amen
jsnett@... 31st Mar 2010
Consumer rip off is being kind.

Not there yet but getting closer and closer. Also who really needs to be connected 24/7??
0 Votes
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Verizon and AT&T = The Most Expensive Wireless Calling Plans in America

Wireless Profit Margins:

Verizon Wireless = 45 percent

AT&T = 39 percent

Sprint = 18.2 percent

Now we know where Verizon and AT&T get all that money to run commercials 24x7, pay out huge executive bonuses and hire armies of lawyers and lobbyists -- the American consumer.

Not all pricing claims are the same. The advantages consumers get with Sprint?s $69.99 Everything Data plan include nationwide unlimited text and picture messaging, unlimited Web, unlimited GPS navigation and unlimited calling to any mobile in America, compared to AT&T and Verizon?s $69.99 pricing plans, which are good for unlimited talk only. And Sprint?s $69.99 plans are available with any phone while AT&T and Verizon?s are limited to lower-end phones.

AT&T and Verizon have attempted to confuse the marketplace by lowering their pricing to $69.99, but theirs are for calling only. In today?s economic environment customers are interested in more than just voice pricing. They also want the best value for all the other things they rely on their wireless phone for and Sprint delivers. Sprint's Everything Data plans start at $69.99 per month and include Any Mobile, Anytime for unlimited calling with any U.S. wireless user, plus unlimited text, picture and video messaging, e-mail, Web browsing, social networking and more.

4G wireless--which operates at speeds up to 10 times greater than today's 3G networks--could become a reality for many businesses and consumers over the coming year. Sprint, the current 4G leader, says it will introduce its first 4G smartphone before mid-year.

Sprint?s fourth-generation phone -- the HTC EVO 4G -- will be available this summer and run Google's Android software.

The phone also will be able to act as a mobile hotspot, allowing customers to connect up to eight Wi-Fi enabled devices. As a result, people could use the phone for their Internet connection for a laptop or desktop computer.

Where 4G isn't available, the phone will use Sprint's 3G network. It will be available through all the usual Sprint channels and RadioShack, Best Buy and Wal-Mart.
0 Votes
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This is like asking me to trust a dog that bites. We were with Sprint for eight years. The last few years, the service wasn't just bad, it was terrible. Between the confused, and poorly trained service rep's, the misleading contracts, and poor coverage, I can truly say that Sprint couldn't offer any deal that could get my business. Their final bad service experience pushed me to try a different flavor of crap. While I don't think any of the carriers provide good service, Sprint's model of cheap prices guarantee that they won't be able to sustain any level of quality, or technology upgrades in the future. It's great that Sprint is trying to recover the business, but my move away from them was a good decision last year and I would still make the same choice today. I'm sure my war story isn't very different than other former Sprint customers.
0 Votes
+ -
no different from stories I've heard
kevinrs1 Updated - 4th Apr 2010
from people about every existing carrier though. I've yet to see a bill that had a true billing error. It's almost always something that when it comes down to it, should be blamed on the customer.
The most recent charges that I have seen that even come close to being the carrier's fault, were due to a customer canceling(possibly they ported it out) the primary line on a family plan. This left the other lines with no minutes, and $.45 charges per minute. This wasn't even sprint.

The charges, as they vary by state, and integrating them into the plan would make the plans look higher than the competition, will never be integrated into the bill. The carrier has to pay state and local communications taxes(some cities charge an extra 10% utility tax on top of everything else) and they pay for 911 service, etc.

On coverage, at least sprint really has a coverage map, so you have a clue you might not be covered in an area. Verizon's coverage map has only one color, and constitutes a flat out lie. A location my sister was working, at a suburban/rural intersection, with a strip mall, library, restaurant, etc and a cell tower across the street, shows the same solid blue, with the nearest tiny white patch at least 5 miles away. Verizon, 0-1 bar, no calls or text possible, even outside. Sprint Max signal.
AT&T didn't check signal, but works fine there.
Verizon reps said there should be signal, offered phone upgrade, claiming it could be the phone, another rep stated the nearest tower showed as 4 miles away, a tech was supposed to check it out, eventually they admitted signal was marginal, and agreed to waive the termination fees.

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