[eye4ni]

Looking at the past couple of years, to me it seems that most subscribers are jumping ship to carriers with BETTER HANDSETS (iphone, Nexus 1, newer Berries, etc).

IMO Sprint has a great network, customer service has been great (at least for me), and they have the best plans HANDS DOWN..... so what is the problem?

They need some good smartphones! I know that recent studies show that smartphones are quickly becoming the cell phone of choice for many, and in the coming years, smartphone use to access the internet will surpass the use of a PC. We will need to sit in front of a computer less and less, we will instead be accessing the net for almost everything right from our phones (this is already the case for me as well as many of you I assume).

When is Sprint going to realize this? I bet they lost millions of subscribers to the iPhone alone, and as more and more awesome devices pop up on OTHER NETWORKS, it is only going to get worse.

Just a rant....

[RideMadone]

Sprint has the smallest number of cell sites of the big 3 carriers. Only about 55% as many as Verizon. People get tired of their phones not working so they jump ship.

And don't kill the messenger all you Sprint users. I am just reporting a fact, I am not bashing Sprint. If it works for you, stay with it and enjoy you inexpensive cell service. I wish Verizon had the same plans.

[bholston]

I would agree that Sprint is a great company. Their service, plans, and CS are great. I do believe that like you say that they are losing/not gaining customers because of handset choices. I would also like to mention that there is a perceived negative customer service issue regarding Sprint that is just not true. They really need to do some damage control with this to win back customers.

[dlnielse]

As an ex-Sprint customer I would respectfully disagree with the statements that Sprint is a great company with great customer service. My wife and I were with them for ~4 years, their cell coverage is lame and just about the only answers I got from their customer service was "hmm, no one else has that problem, you need to get a new phone." I'm not the only one, if you check reports from leading consumer groups Sprint rates at the bottom for customer service. Companies need to get a clue that if the don't provide good support they are going to lose customers.

[silx29]

I'm going to say its because of the phones they offer and because of their customer service. I've been with sprint for awhile now and 6-7 years ago they used to offer one of the better phone line up but not anymore. But I don't think majority of people don't really care about what phones they have as long as it works for them. Customer service is a different service though, its hit or miss with sprint. When you get a knowledgeable, or cs who has been with sprint for awhile I usually get a decent service. Once in awhile I get snotty, don't give a dang kind of cs. And I think its because of cs like these that most people jump ship to different carriers.

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[nilemann]

I would say that sprint is losing customers becaide they are the bargain carrier and like any bargain service, that have a higher percentage of bad credit / no credit customers. They're loss of customers are mainly the obed that don't pay bills or cost them too much money through roaming. They are mererly getting rid of dead weight.

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[King21]

There are several reasons why Sprint is still losing customers.

1.) Bad reputation for customer service
2.) Phone Lineup
3.) Nextel customers still leaving

Sprint's customer service has improved leaps and bounds above what it was 2-3 years ago but that still doesn't undo all negative press and it's not going to bring back all the people they made mad.

There phone lineup has gone through some substantial upgrades, however when a large group of customers leave your company and sign a 2 year contract with another carrier you have to expect that it will take at least 2 years for them to circle back IF they ever do. Also, they take slightly longer to release those new phones. The best part about Sprints phones is that they are now being released with substantially less flaws then there competitors' phones, hence the reason for the delay in launches.

Nextel customers are leaving and Sprint can't do anything to stop them. The Nextel network is very small and the average user has no need for DC with all the other communications tools available to the public.

I would not say that the network is a reason for a large amount of customers leaving Sprint. I travel all over the US for work and really only have a problem in GA, and northern FL. I've seen just as many phones from other networks have issues in places where Sprint works great. Fact is that not every phone works everywhere and the end user has to decide where he/she travels the most and what carrier provides them the best deal and coverage.

[cheech73]

I agree with King21

[papped]

The 3 reasons listed above +:
-poor marketing
-lack of anything worthwhile being exclusive. The Pre/Pixi exclusivity ended up doing more harm than good.
-slow to adopt for some platforms compared to GSM. VZ technically has the same problem, except they get exclusives that Sprint doesn't....

[Rhoq]

I would also like to mention that there is a perceived negative customer service issue regarding Sprint that is just not true.

It used to be true.

[coolguy78240]

Ive been with sprint for over 10 years now. Its been the same the whole time, they are the last to get anything considered cool by the mobile industry, ie nexus one etc. But for me its all about the rate plans the coverage, im never so far out of range that i cant make a call, and i drive through the rockies twice a year and never loose signal. Sure the phones arent as cool as vzw or att, but i can deal with that cause of the rates. And coverage.

[Jo_795]

They need some good smartphones! I know that recent studies show that smartphones are quickly becoming the cell phone of choice for many, and in the coming years, smartphone use to access the internet will surpass the use of a PC. We will need to sit in front of a computer less and less, we will instead be accessing the net for almost everything right from our phones (this is already the case for me as well as many of you I assume).

When is Sprint going to realize this? I bet they lost millions of subscribers to the iPhone alone, and as more and more awesome devices pop up on OTHER NETWORKS, it is only going to get worse.

Just a rant....

thats the only part i dont agree I'm a gamer / builder of my own pc.. unless a cell phone can ever run crysis on my phone then just maybe* i would consider but Pc will always stay

[papped]

thats the only part i dont agree I'm a gamer / builder of my own pc.. unless a cell phone can ever run crysis on my phone then just maybe* i would consider but Pc will always stay

Pretty much already exists with crap like OnLive. They just run it on a server and push images to whatever display.

But that doesn't replace local machines because those types of setups always have drawbacks (like latency, datacenter locations and crappy NA broadband networks).

[eye4ni]

Well okay, smartphones may never replace a pc, but you get my drift. No need to go to the pc to check email, facebook, twitter, look up a phone number/driving directions, etc..

5 or 6 years ago a cool phone was nothing more than a form-factor. The capabilities were pretty much all the same: phone/sms/mms, maybe MP3 player if you're lucky... Today, what your smartphone can do is everything.

[emmam_83]

Personally, i left Sprint like 5 years ago because the service was horrible in my area. The phones were "old school" but OK, the main reason was just horrible service as in recpetion, always dropping calls or unable to connect.

[NewYorkChic]

I have to agree with most..I've been with sprint for many years and it looks to me customers are leaving because the lack of phones they come out with me...I can never complain about the service in my area or my monthly..both are reasonable

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[King21]

The 3 reasons listed above +:
-poor marketing
-lack of anything worthwhile being exclusive. The Pre/Pixi exclusivity ended up doing more harm than good.
-slow to adopt for some platforms compared to GSM. VZ technically has the same problem, except they get exclusives that Sprint doesn't....

You're right about the poor marketing part! Sometimes I think they have 5th graders coming up with these campaigns.

[Mystic205]

no.. lets kill the messenger..

the fabled "Its the network" is over-rated marketing hype.. but it has worked... Perception IS reality in marketing.

i have travelled VERY extensively.. 12yrs on business across the USA and the last two years cruising around with a g/f who has verizon.. in the 2yrs (no flights) and over 5000 miles travelling around the usa our conclusion?.. there is zip difference across the areas we travelled.. but always ymmv

What has killed sprint was the &%^$% awful customer service inherited from the nextel acquisition and a poor range of handsets... the former has largely been fixed but the latter is here to stay.. (and it is ludicrous to think that sprint either dont know or dont care about that)

Sprint has the smallest number of cell sites of the big 3 carriers. Only about 55% as many as Verizon. People get tired of their phones not working so they jump ship.

And don't kill the messenger all you Sprint users. I am just reporting a fact, I am not bashing Sprint. If it works for you, stay with it and enjoy you inexpensive cell service. I wish Verizon had the same plans.

[bbtrek]

What's killing sprint is lack of advertising and marketing. Also they need to branch out to new consumer groups. I live in the chicago burbs and the service here is fantastic with sprint. US cellular and verizon arnt bad and tmobile blows. But I constantly see advertising for all the other big companies and even the small like us cellular but barely ever see adverts for sprint and the ones I see are dull and boring. Sprint is the Kia of phone companies and its sad to say but some people don't want to be seen driving a Kia or other economic brand even though it meets all their needs and is good quality.

Sprint needs to show its face in the public eye more and flash its great prices more.

Also stores service is patchy. The store closest to me is great and probably the best run cell phone store I've ever been in and is constantly packed with customers but if you go about 8 miles down the road to the 2nd closest store.... Well let's just say a dead squirrel on the side of the road would be more informative about phones than them, its also never busy.

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[cheech73]

i like there new 69.99 commercial. it puts the smack down on the other 2 bigger carriers, lol.

[EspoMan]

What's killing sprint is lack of advertising and marketing. Also they need to branch out to new consumer groups. I live in the chicago burbs and the service here is fantastic with sprint. US cellular and verizon arnt bad and tmobile blows. But I constantly see advertising for all the other big companies and even the small like us cellular but barely ever see adverts for sprint and the ones I see are dull and boring. Sprint is the Kia of phone companies and its sad to say but some people don't want to be seen driving a Kia or other economic brand even though it meets all their needs and is good quality.

Sprint needs to show its face in the public eye more and flash its great prices more.

Also stores service is patchy. The store closest to me is great and probably the best run cell phone store I've ever been in and is constantly packed with customers but if you go about 8 miles down the road to the 2nd closest store.... Well let's just say a dead squirrel on the side of the road would be more informative about phones than them, its also never busy.

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I agree 100 percent with all of this. People think of Sprint as the poor mans cell phone company. When I tell people at work or friends I have Sprint they make fun of me or look at me as if I got sprint because I can't afford better. I have had no problems with Sprints service or network but when my contract is up I'm leaving sprint because I am tired of the ****ty ****ty phone line up. That's my only pet peeve. I could care less what people think, but I want cooler phones.

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[CapnCrunchBerry]

Every poster here has made a good point. Especially this one:

I agree 100 percent with all of this. People think of Sprint as the poor mans cell phone company. When I tell people at work or friends I have Sprint they make fun of me or look at me as if I got sprint because I can't afford better. I have had no problems with Sprints service or network but when my contract is up I'm leaving sprint because I am tired of the ****ty ****ty phone line up. That's my only pet peeve. I could care less what people think, but I want cooler phones.

Yes, it's about the phones mostly. People like flash, a device they can show off. You gotta think about who most phones are aimed at. The youth. My jaw drops when I hear about 10 year olds running around with Blackberrys and the like (wth do you need a phone like that for at your age?) but everything is about status with young people. Never underestimate the power of lemmings in large groups.

[Jo_795]

Pretty much already exists with crap like OnLive. They just run it on a server and push images to whatever display.

But that doesn't replace local machines because those types of setups always have drawbacks (like latency, datacenter locations and crappy NA broadband networks).

playing quake is nowhere the same thing as crysiis....
so no phones wont replace my gaming machine sorry. not even a duo core processor on a phone

[Nucleartx]

Sprint/Clear still outnumber all on cell sites.

dailywireless.org � LTE Migration White Paper

[tyler.james09]

As a Sprint customer for 10 years, I can def. see where people are coming from when they say thatSprit is losing customers due to the service. I have had my fair share of service reps that we're no help at all and made me want to go elsewhere, but even with that, I have also found that Sprint will usually do anything to keep a customer (whether is be getting a new replacement phone or letting you upgrade early). Sprint has it's downfalls which they have taken alot of crap for, but I also think that they do not get enough credit for the good things they do. So basically, the reson I think customer are getting out of Sprint are:

a) poor customer service (at times)
b) VERY poor phone line-up.

SPRINT! GET BETTER PHONES!