“The customer is always right.” I’ve seen that motto displayed in businesses and I suspect at least some businesses still try to live by the creed. Well, maybe not Sprint Nextel Corp. The wireless provider is coming under fire for its decision to drop 1,000 customers for making too many calls to customer service. Gee, don’t let the door hit you on the way out.

Now, in Sprint’s defense, the company says it carefully researched these customers, finding they were calling customer service 40 to 50 times a month. The customers were calling about the same problems, and Sprint felt those problems had been resolved. Sprint said some of the customers repeatedly called asking for other customers’ account information, which Sprint can’t give out.

You can read the full story here.

Granted, calling customer service 40 times a month is excessive. And Sprint certainly has the right to refuse service to anyone it wants. But, on the other hand, aren’t customers paying for customer service? What if other businesses begin to follow suit? Soon we’ll have to log our customer service calls to ensure we don’t hit some arbitrary threshold.

What do you think? Is Sprint simply making a good business decision or canning customers who were using a service they paid for?

Comments (5) >>

President
written by BJ Rodgers on September 02, 2008

You bet ya the customer is not only always right, they pay our bills!
Any issue can be taken care of. Don't let the lowest man on the totem handle the problem. They can sometimes take it personal. Let a "we'll take care of this" person do the job. They keep you in good standing. We practice what we preach here at my company! Shame on Sprint. I would find me a new team.

Beauty Consultant
written by Barb on January 03, 2008

If you pay for customer service...you should GET customer service! Simple as that!
Their dept needs to buck up and take it! Think of the 911 dispatchers have to go through every day!!!

I would not say the customer is always right..but if you want to keep that customer...treat them well. Kindness goes a long way!

If there is a problem that cannot be resolved...get another person involved to help!

No Big Loss
written by MarloQuinn on September 06, 2007

I used to have Nextel and their customer service was so bad, I can understand why people needed to call 40 times a month. They signed me up for the wrong plan, then charged me an arm and a leg. When I complained, they offered to fix MY mistake and change me to the plan I was suppose to have but ONLY if I extended my contract for another two years. Right! There was no way I was going to stay with a company that treats their customers like that. They were rude and totally unhelpful. Since they know they aren't going to fix your problem to your satisfaction, I suppose they figure they shouldn't bother wasting their time in the first place. Bad customer service vs. no customer service = it's a toss up.

service is on the decline
written by AmazeMeKeepMe on July 17, 2007

Never mind Sprint. Have you tried getting service / support from Circuit City, Budget car rental or other similarly "big names" lately? You get neverending phone menus, if anyone answers. I could go on but don't have time...the secret here is for the company that seeks to differentiate itself...your product may catch my interest, but your SERVICE will keep me. I'm a babyboomer. We're the biggest market segment out there. We grew up with the idea of Customer King. If you want our business, you better train your service people!
Unimpressed.

...
written by fenwrick on July 11, 2007

i used to have sprint, key word "used to", they reminded me of mcdonalds, they grew so big they forgot who helped them get there. eventhough some people are never satisfied, dropping them is not the answer.

Write comment

Name

Email

Website

Title

Comment

Write the displayed characters

Add Comment