SprintNextel Says "You're Fired!"
By now you most likely have heard that SprintNextel has fired a few thorny customers. In a letter to about 1,000 of its 53 million customers the company "terminated" these subscribers, who apparenlty had SprintNextel customer service on speed dial. The customers called the SN contact center an average of 25 times a month, a rate 40 times higher than average customers, according to published reports. I think it's a great move, but let's not overstate it. Yes, it's an interesting entry into the "do you fire customers?" debate. But, this is only 1,000 customers. If SN were really going to cut into its "below zero" customers, I'm sure 1,000 is a negligable amount. Also, it's very interesting to me that AT&T, which is in the middle of iPhone hell, used the occasion of SprintNextel's move to essentially say "hey, we would never do that."
SprintNextel is on the right track here. I just think they could have gone further if they expect this strategy to be truly impactful.
