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story category Sprint and Nextel Never Really Merged
Internal battles amongst employees of both companies
(old news - 03:01PM Sunday Nov 25 2007)
tags: business · wireless · trouble · Sprint Telecom · Sprint Mobile Broadband · Sprint Broadband Direct
Although the merger between Sprint and Nextel first began nearly three years ago, a Washington Post reporter says that the two companies never really merged. Sure, they began operating under the same shared name and streamlined jobs (by pitting employees from each company against one another to eliminate duplicated positions) but they never really merged the very different cultures that each company came to the merger with.

Employees from both companies say that a serious distrust of employees from the other company continues to pervade the workplace at Sprint Nextel to this day. There is hope that the recent resignation of Sprint’s Gary Foresee has made way for new leadership that can bring the companies together under more united managerial conditions. Acting CEO Paul Saleh has made some efforts to encourage that attitude amongst employees. But for now, the report says, the company remains divided.

Related:
  1. Sprint Xohm: No Contracts, No Termination Fees
  2. Sprint CEO Steps Down
  3. Wireless Carriers Struggle to Adapt to Changing Times
  4. Sprint Scraps Clearwire Partnership
  5. New Sprint CEO Cleans House
  6. 4 Companies That Could Disappear By Year’s End
  7. Sprint Takes a Beating
  8. Sprint Broadband Direct Goes Offline July 31
Forums » Sprint and Nextel Never Really Merged
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sprintuser

@pacbell.net

Aint that a fact

Try calling customer service from a "nextel" phone, the ic 502, which is a hybrid Sprint for voice/data, nextel for 2 way phone, u'll have someone answer in nextel, but say thanks for calling sprint. as soon as u say u have a billing issue, they instantly want to transfer you to sprint, but hey arnt you sprint, yes, but im on the nextel side. billing is on the sprint side.
fiberguy
My views are my own.
Premium
join:2005-05-20

Re: Aint that a fact

I agree.. and the bottom line is that Sprint treats Nextel customers as second class citizens.

IMHO, they should have "merged".. however, ran them as two separate companies, or "store fronts" keeping them separate. I would have taken a little more time to figure out how to migrate the two systems (customer service systems)together.

I have one phone on sprint, a broadband card, and two nextel phones and they all come on one bill.. that I like.. what I DON'T like, is that Nextel has always been a 'business service' with that mindset.. I don't like my business accounts being handled by the common every day CSR that treats me like nobody..

I will say this.. and I don't normally do this - but when they treat me like crap.. I throw it back 10 fold and make sure they know it.

I like the Nextel service and the billing choices/plans.. I hate their 'new' customer service and the endless transfers to get to someone that can help me.
--
"Complaining is the least path of resistance for the self-serving, the lazy, and I’m told it’s a woman’s prerogative..."

mindfrost82

join:2003-04-19
Cortland, IL

Re: Aint that a fact

I'm not sure about Nextel (before the merger), but I did business support for Sprint before the merger, and in all reality, it wasn't any different than the normal CSRs. We were treated the same, we handled many of the same calls (overflow from regular customer service), and people still had to get transferred.

I know people hate the transfers, and I think it has gotten worse, but that's part of the CSR job. They don't know EVERYTHING, so they have to transfer you to a department that should be able to help you. If you have a weird problem, then just forget it. I called in the other day because the local cell site is having issues with channel 375. I've been calling in over the past 2 weeks (since the problem started) and people will tell me things, but I'm never sure if it will get fixed. On Saturday I finally called in (for 2 hours), and was transferred about 4 times, but I THINK I finally got someone to help...atleast they seemed to know what they're talking about.
axus

join:2001-06-18
Washington, DC
·Verizon Online DSL
·Cox HSI

My support experience with Sprint/Nextel has been average. I got the Nextel phone right before they merged with Sprint. Setting it up was screwy right off the bat, but I've gotten through and been able to pay bills, change phone numbers, etc. without holding more than 15 minutes.
fiberguy
My views are my own.
Premium
join:2005-05-20

Re: Aint that a fact

I'll tell you one thing that Nextel DEFINITELY impressed me on. When I had issues using my phone inside my house, I registered a trouble ticket with them. The next day, I got a call from a tech at the tower asking me to verify signal and if I could use my phone service as before..

Yes - a tech actually responded to a report of constant dropped calls, they dispatched, and corrected the problem.

I've YET to ever have AT&T, or Sprint EVER respond to that level of service.
--
"Complaining is the least path of resistance for the self-serving, the lazy, and I’m told it’s a woman’s prerogative..."

mindfrost82

join:2003-04-19
Cortland, IL

Re: Aint that a fact

For the past 2 weeks one of my phones was having issues with dropped calls. On Saturday I actually got someone in "Advanced Tech Support" that seemed to know what they were doing.

I, of course, had to diagnose a lot of the problem. I figured out it affected any phone using channel 375. My phone was on channel 350 and it worked great in the same locations.

The tech said an engineer should be out in 24-36 hours to fix the problem.

Last night the problem *appears* to be fixed. I will be doing more testing today though.

Hall
Premium,MVM
join:2000-04-28
Dayton, OH

Surprised ?

You can't take two LARGE companies and wave a magic wand and blend them into one. No one, especially those who've seen or been part of a merger, will be surprised by this "news".

nixen
Rockin' the Boxen
Premium
join:2002-10-04
Alexandria, VA
·Cox HSI
·Speakeasy

Re: Surprised ?

said by Hall See Profile :

You can't take two LARGE companies and wave a magic wand and blend them into one. No one, especially those who've seen or been part of a merger, will be surprised by this "news".
Yeah, it sure never worked out for Verizon, that's for sure!
--
The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt. -- Bertrand Russell

tc1uscg

join:2005-03-09
Saint Clair Shores, MI
·Comcast
·WOW Internet and C..
·VoiceEclipse

Re: Surprised ?

said by nixen See Profile :

said by Hall See Profile :

You can't take two LARGE companies and wave a magic wand and blend them into one. No one, especially those who've seen or been part of a merger, will be surprised by this "news".
Yeah, it sure never worked out for Verizon, that's for sure!
It didn't.. but they didn't wait 3 years to let it be known. They started dumping CO techs way back. It took me 2 days to get a T1 turned up with them once and we had to use one of our 5E switch guys to walk them through the process. Guess they "laid off" all their 5E guys in the mich market before anyone figured it out. This was all transparent to the customer but not behind the lines. As far as the MCI/WC merger? They seem to have a difficult time knowing where their DS3 assignments are now days.. Seems they are always screwing up their DLR's much less know where all their eqp is. But then again, it's not like MCI/WC was a front runner of local/wireless and LD provider so who noticed?

nixen
Rockin' the Boxen
Premium
join:2002-10-04
Alexandria, VA
·Cox HSI
·Speakeasy

Re: Surprised ?

said by tc1uscg See Profile :

said by nixen See Profile :

said by Hall See Profile :

You can't take two LARGE companies and wave a magic wand and blend them into one. No one, especially those who've seen or been part of a merger, will be surprised by this "news".
Yeah, it sure never worked out for Verizon, that's for sure!
It didn't.. but they didn't wait 3 years to let it be known. They started dumping CO techs way back. It took me 2 days to get a T1 turned up with them once and we had to use one of our 5E switch guys to walk them through the process. Guess they "laid off" all their 5E guys in the mich market before anyone figured it out. This was all transparent to the customer but not behind the lines. As far as the MCI/WC merger? They seem to have a difficult time knowing where their DS3 assignments are now days.. Seems they are always screwing up their DLR's much less know where all their eqp is. But then again, it's not like MCI/WC was a front runner of local/wireless and LD provider so who noticed?
Given how much of a cluster-fuck Bell Atlantic was prior to buying out NYNEX and then merging with Genuity to form Verizon it would have been hard to notice a difference after the merger.

MCI/Worldcom was it's own special kind of disaster, as well. They bought company after company and failed to bother to integrate any of the pieces-parts into a real whole. Then Verizon comes along and says, "hey, lets buy this confederation of a company and try to sort the mess out". So, you have one rolling disaster buying another.

You were used to interfacing with one particular piece of one rolling disaster. Verizon changed the piece you interfaced with. What didn't really change was the overall "rolling disaster" nature of the giant mess of a company.
--
The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt. -- Bertrand Russell

Jim Gurd
Sorry Roger, you tiger now.
Premium
join:2000-07-08
Plymouth, MI
·Comcast

Re: Surprised ?

said by nixen See Profile :

Given how much of a cluster-fuck Bell Atlantic was prior to buying out NYNEX and then merging with Genuity to form Verizon
I think you mean GTE, not Genuity. GTE is the old General Telephone and Electronics. They were the largest non-RBOC in the country.

When NYNEX merged with GTE they chose Verizon as the new corporate name.
--
Vote for liberty, fiscal responsibility and to uphold the constitutionally limited government as originally intended by our founding fathers.

nixen
Rockin' the Boxen
Premium
join:2002-10-04
Alexandria, VA
·Cox HSI
·Speakeasy

Re: Surprised ?

said by Jim Gurd See Profile :

said by nixen See Profile :

Given how much of a cluster-fuck Bell Atlantic was prior to buying out NYNEX and then merging with Genuity to form Verizon
I think you mean GTE, not Genuity. GTE is the old General Telephone and Electronics. They were the largest non-RBOC in the country.

When NYNEX merged with GTE they chose Verizon as the new corporate name.
NYNEX was a non-entity unable to "chose Verizon". NYNEX had been purchased by Bell Atlantic a year or so prior to Verizon coming into existence. I was still working for Bell Atlantic's "Internet Solutions" division when Bell Atlantic completed the NYNEX acquisition.
--
The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt. -- Bertrand Russell

Jim Gurd
Sorry Roger, you tiger now.
Premium
join:2000-07-08
Plymouth, MI

Re: Surprised ?

Oops, my bad. Forgot about that.

major marco
Res Firma Mitescere Nescit
Premium
join:2003-02-13
Mission Viejo, CA
clubs:

said by Hall See Profile :

You can't take two LARGE companies and wave a magic wand and blend them into one. No one, especially those who've seen or been part of a merger, will be surprised by this "news".
That's for damn sure. I know that Sprint Boost Mobile as it's known on the west coast couldn't be anymore diametrically opposed to Nextel in terms of employee/office culture alone. The west coast office is the bastard, red headed stepchild, but as long as it keeps on generating revenue out the company's ass, HQ leaves them alone.
--
The Toll

Let's Go Flyers!

en102
Canadian, eh?

join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA
·RoadRunner Cable
·DSL EXTREME
·DSL EXTREME

Re: Surprised ?

As long as my Nexthell BlackBerry 7100i (work purchased ~4 months ago) works for at least another few years, I don't care.
Nexthell at least added iDEN sites onto its old CDMA sites a block from my house recently, so I have decent service.
Still, quality (audio) is far from that of my AT&T Motorola V3xx and old V505, and I can't receive emails while on a call. I typically do 3-5 hours of conference calls/day on this thing.
--
Canada = Hollywood North

Sr Tech
Premium
join:2003-01-19
New Fairfield, CT
·Charter Pipeline

Divided from Day 1

Just having to deal with the arrogance from Spring employees in thinking they were really in charge when it was suppose to be an equal effort is what used to tick me off.

Tim Donahue sold all of us out like cheap candy with out thinking of the consequences of what would happen to a company that people pured there heart and souls into building a company that once dominated the digital two way domain (direct connect). Sprint only bought Nextel in hoping that they could merge the existing customers into their system once Sprints "walkie talkie feature" was as good as Nextels. But soon realized that Nextel was a different animal than their system, plus with Sprint having a poor leader ship made it even worse.

--
Got HAM, KE1MG
hottboiinnc
Kyle

join:2003-10-15
Toledo, OH
·buckeye cable
·Time Warner VOIP
·1and1

Re: Divided from Day 1

Sprint also wanted all those nice Corp. Accounts that Nextel has because of the DirectConnect. Several companies around my area including First Energy signed up with them just because of that. My company ; Lowe's has Nextel just because of the direct connect for interacting with contractor customers. Its easier to call someone on that than to worry about dialing the damn number. Especially in a construction enviroment.
fiberguy
My views are my own.
Premium
join:2005-05-20

Re: Divided from Day 1

Additionally, Sprint is getting the Comcast nationwide account as well... In the MN system, nextel is gone and the new PDA-Filed computers run on Sprint's network. (Lost the two way service too.. so techs have to 'call' techs.. and so on, it's a joke)

They didn't even attempt to build a two way feature in dual mode into these new devices... shows you where Sprint's heart is... gutting Nextel and taking the customer base.
--
"Complaining is the least path of resistance for the self-serving, the lazy, and I’m told it’s a woman’s prerogative..."

codee
Premium
join:2001-10-01
Minneapolis, MN
·Sprint Mobile Broa..

Re: Divided from Day 1

said by fiberguy See Profile :

Additionally, Sprint is getting the Comcast nationwide account as well... In the MN system, nextel is gone and the new PDA-Filed computers run on Sprint's network. (Lost the two way service too.. so techs have to 'call' techs.. and so on, it's a joke)

There should be no speaking of anything Symbol related on this forum...I am annoyed with the damn thing on my hip every day lol. Literally everyday, techs mention how they want the Nextels back and would rather have paper work orders if it was possible. Sprint service does suck though, and thats why I use my personal Nextel for all calls and use the symbol just for the stuff I need to do in the browser. I have that "Take 3" option with Nextel, so I picked Dispatch, The Trunk line, and some other personal number then for my 3. I can make everycall I need to besides to the IVR and other techs without using a min of airtime.

ANYWAYS,

Nextel service has always been superior to Sprint, aside from data services. At first, Sprint thought they would rebrand everything from Nextel to sprint including accessories, phones, even that message that says "Please hold while the Nextel subscriber you're trying to reach is located" changed to "Please hold while the Sprint subscriber you're trying to reach is located". That got changed back in about 2 days (I think that REALLY upset people). They also changed iDen phones and acessories back to Nextel | ,as they realized Nextel customers didn't like the change one bit. They changed the term "Direct Connect" to "Walkie Talkie" for awhile also, and now they changed that back to "direct connect" aswell. I think that Sprint is FINALLY getting it, Nextel customes are very loyal and unique. I know plenty of people and forums dedicated to nothing other then modding nextel phones with extra status lights, case mods, etc. Nextel also enjoyed having the highest ARPU in the industry when they were on their own - I don't see any other carrier that has a customer base so diverse where they need phones that meet military specifications (810F), Intrinsically Safe (IS), AND having limited edition high-end phones such as baby phat, phat farm, Russel Simmons, Ferrari Pininfarina, as well as some other limited editions sold exclusively at Bloomigdales...Now that is a very diverse customer base with money to spend.

Nextel had/has a "Key Corporate Accounts" division where you can get ahold of a rep 24/7 without any menus or prompts and a person ALWAYS answers after 1 ring at the most. For a short awhile Sprint did away with that and that number rolled over to regular Sprint customer service - you better believe that got changed back to the Nextel side real quick. To this day, if you get somebody on the Sprint side, they are just generally not nearly as good as a rep from the Nextel side. I've sat on hold for around 90mins caling sprint for a family member...that never happes when I call into the Nextel side for something. Legacy Nextel employees can't be beat.

I keep hoping Nextel will splint again and go with NHI (Nextel holdings international) or some form of a Nextel Partners Group or something, but now that Sprint is Sitching all their customers from their P2K billing system to Nextels Ensemble, it seems pretty unlikely.......

Sprint irritates me.
fiberguy
My views are my own.
Premium
join:2005-05-20


edit:
November 25th, @08:43PM

Re: Divided from Day 1

said by codee See Profile :

said by fiberguy See Profile :

Additionally, Sprint is getting the Comcast nationwide account as well... In the MN system, nextel is gone and the new PDA-Filed computers run on Sprint's network. (Lost the two way service too.. so techs have to 'call' techs.. and so on, it's a joke)

There should be no speaking of anything Symbol related on this forum...I am annoyed with the damn thing on my hip every day lol.
..... yes sir.... lol

One thing I wanted to add, too, about Nextel users.. ever notice that people don't call their Nextel phones a "cell phone?" .. as they usually call them their "Nextels"... VERY rarely have I ever heard a Nextel called a "cell phone"..
--
"Complaining is the least path of resistance for the self-serving, the lazy, and I’m told it’s a woman’s prerogative..."

codee
Premium
join:2001-10-01
Minneapolis, MN
·Sprint Mobile Broa..

Re: Divided from Day 1

said by fiberguy See Profile :

One thing I wanted to add, too, about Nextel users.. ever notice that people don't call their Nextel phones a "cell phone?" .. as they usually call them their "Nextels"... VERY rarely have I ever heard a Nextel called a "cell phone"..
Very true, and another indicator of how strong the Nextel Brand Is (Was?) If you have a Nextel, and your friend has a Nextel, you don't just say "Call me later" you usually say something in the form of "Hit me on the 2-way later" or "DC Me Later"....Or if you are a 80-year old grandma with Boost(Nextel prepaid) on the west coast, you say "Where You At" There is even proper Nextel "Etiquette" - You NEVER alert somebody without doing a courtesy chirp or 2 ahead of time, not do you ever just start yelling into the 2-way.

I've had Nextel since Oct of 2001, and I've tried all the major carriers in my area side-by-side from time to time, and nobody beats Nextel for signal strength, call quality, dropped calls, and building penetration (could be considered signal strength one might argue)

tc1uscg

join:2005-03-09
Saint Clair Shores, MI
·Comcast
·WOW Internet and C..
·VoiceEclipse


edit:
November 26th, @08:09AM

said by fiberguy See Profile :

said by codee See Profile :

said by fiberguy See Profile :

Additionally, Sprint is getting the Comcast nationwide account as well... In the MN system, nextel is gone and the new PDA-Filed computers run on Sprint's network. (Lost the two way service too.. so techs have to 'call' techs.. and so on, it's a joke)

There should be no speaking of anything Symbol related on this forum...I am annoyed with the damn thing on my hip every day lol.
..... yes sir.... lol

One thing I wanted to add, too, about Nextel users.. ever notice that people don't call their Nextel phones a "cell phone?" .. as they usually call them their "Nextels"... VERY rarely have I ever heard a Nextel called a "cell phone"..
That's because they were NEVER marketed as a CELL phone. Call it a spare tire long enough and everyone else will call it that to.
fiberguy
My views are my own.
Premium
join:2005-05-20

Re: Divided from Day 1

..and people are stupid and don't know that a "nextel" is a cell phone. The two way has always distinguished the nextel from a cell phone. " "
--
"Complaining is the least path of resistance for the self-serving, the lazy, and I’m told it’s a woman’s prerogative..."

tc1uscg

join:2005-03-09
Saint Clair Shores, MI
·Comcast
·WOW Internet and C..
·VoiceEclipse

Re: Divided from Day 1

thats right. It's like having a GRS radio and phone all in one, but with greater range.. Having used PTT and readylink, I found it useless and I didn't like having to charge my phone every other day vs every 8 days.
fiberguy
My views are my own.
Premium
join:2005-05-20

Re: Divided from Day 1

So we've gone from the topic of what users see their phone's as to how often you have to charge your phone. Are you kidding me with this? Are you that lazy, or that it's too much trouble to toss your phone on the charger at the end of the day? WOW!

YOU have found it useless, the PTT, but I guess that shows you aren't a business user so that's par for the course. Nextel was never pushed to the retail market anyway until before Sprint. The people that have and use Nextel DO like their phones, DO like the 2-way, and it IS useful to them in business.

And, I'll charge my phone EVERY SINGLE DAY just for the ability to talk in areas that your 8 day phone can't! I can be in an elevator, in side the middle of a Wal-Mart, 2 basements below, between two buildings.. and you? (Don't lie)

I fail to see your cute explanation but I assume it worked for your purpose.

jgkolt
Premium
join:2004-02-21
Lakewood, OH
clubs:


edit:
November 25th, @03:30PM

go figure

they don't care about their employees and their employees dont care about the customer. Looks like they need to take care of it from the top. They needed to push all the customers over to sprints network and disband nextels tech as soon as possible. And in the meantime they needed to beef up the sprint network. They need to find what nextel did to attract and keep business customers and adopt that methodology in their network. They took too long and they are still bleeding from the merger.Oh and they needed to make sure the sprint coverage at least covered nextels existing network.
--
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DoRight

join:2007-07-20
Mechanicsburg, PA
·Comcast
·Sprint Mobile Broa..
·Verizon FIOS

Re: go figure

All I have to say is I am glad I was laid off after the merger because I am much better off now... Went from a $40,000 job to double that and I love selling a better product now.. Thank u Sprint/Nextel....

jgkolt
Premium
join:2004-02-21
Lakewood, OH
clubs:

Re: go figure

so where do u work now that is such an improvement?
DoRight

join:2007-07-20
Mechanicsburg, PA

Re: go figure

It's all about the name.. Look closely and you can see... V

tc1uscg

join:2005-03-09
Saint Clair Shores, MI
·Comcast
·WOW Internet and C..
·VoiceEclipse

Re: go figure

said by DoRight See Profile :

It's all about the name.. Look closely and you can see... V
Think he means Verizon. You know, the company that requires about 100 plus people to follow you around to make sure your phone works. So..do you get free Fios service? Free phones? Low cost broadband service (air card). Not talking about job related, I mean services you use for your family/friends?

homenode
Premium
join:2007-11-18
Bullhead City, AZ

And the difference in the CSRs...

...is MAJOR. I've been moving from NEXTEL to SPRINT on my accounts to prepare for the WiMAX release (which now might not happen), and have been fortunate enough to get CSRs and supervisors that are former NEXTEL rather than SPRINT. Every one of the NEXTEL/SPRINT folks has busted tail to get my issues resolved, staying on the line with me listening in while they battle SPRINT peers to get things fixed.

I've been with NEXTEL for over 10 years because it worked, and when there was a problem (billing and activation were less than smooth in the early, early days) the staff kept on it until I was satisfied. I'm still with both services, and, until AT&T cleans up their act, will probably stay there.

BTW, the in-fighting is to be expected, as in the REAL world it was NEXTEL that "bought" SPRINT. The biggest problem (other than the staffing issues): getting the billers re-integrated and the order-generation system. That's the biggest issue for the CSRs trying to get information cross-linked.

What's really sad is that the last two orders I placed have gone through flawlessly. It seems like they have the major issues worked out...but they go and change out top management anyway. Simply to cut costs and drive up the stock value. No good will come of this - fortunately Craig McCaw has Clearwire going forward with WiMax roll-out. Maybe I'll end up there...
budone

join:2002-09-07
Traverse City, MI

Re: And the difference in the CSRs...

There will always be infighting UNTIL all aspects of the company is handled one way.

With Sprint still having two distinctly different products, two marketing schemes, along with two types of billing systems all with everything else that has to be different due to having two different products, there will always be this infighting.

I have been through 4 acquisitions, (the company now is a fortune 500 company) the differences between the two companies in all these acquisitions were they were merged together anywhere between 6 months and one year. At that point if you have not bought into the new model, you had better been keeping your resume' up to date.

wesm
Wyvern.Org
Premium
join:1999-07-29
Saskatoon, SK
clubs:
Sprint Corporation bought out NEXTEL Communications, even though the transaction was billed as a "merger." You're probably thinking of "at&t," which was the former SBC Communications that purchased AT&T Corp.

Steve Mehs
Go Sabres

join:2005-07-16

Merger = Good, Right?

Going back to my other passion, Satellite Radio, how much of an idiot do you have to be to think a merger is actually a good thing? I was against the Sprint Nextel so called merger of equals, and now look what happened. Sprint now not only got all the corporate accounts that relied on Nextel, but also the advertising. Nextel was heavily into NASCAR and the NFL.

The Nextel iDen network is supurb for what it's supposed to be. Nextel's vision of a wireless company was different then Sprint, Verizon and whatever companies make up AT&T Wireless now. I do not like what I see Sprint turning Nextel into. Their halfassed hybrid phones suck, QChat is nothing but Sprint reviving their own Ready Link but under the more familiar Direct Connect branding.

Nextel was stronger on their own and unfortunately, after seeing Compaq destroyed, Nextel destroyed, I'll be seeing both XM and Sirius get destroyed, and some asshats actually think thats a good idea.

--
Time Warner Cable Subscriber
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pcdebb
Buttercup sees you
Premium
join:2000-12-03
Tampa, FL
clubs:

Re: Merger = Good, Right?

yea right. I dealt with them for the last time last year. was with sprint for 5 years, when they "merged" i went to nextel for a year. somehow my sprint bill stayed with sprint and i started with a nextel bill, and they put the sprint one in collections. so when I try to switch back i was told I had to pay the "old" bill, pay $250 because it was a collections account, THEN pay full price for a phone, even tho I still had my old sprint phone. i gave them the one finger salute and went pink.

neither side could never explain how they are one company called sprint, but still had two different billing systems. TOTALLY different. one side cant see the other. if you put in nextel.com it goes to sprint. there are no nextel stores anywhere in town here.
--
a time for change... | 1st & 10 | Ham is good

CylonRed
Premium,MVM
join:2000-07-06
Bloom County
·Speakeasy

If Sirius and XM stayed separate then it would only be a matter of a shorter time till at least one failed. the have done nothing but lose huge amounts of money due to the nature of the business and the payout to Stern who then saw the writing on the wall and got the OK to sell his stock early.

Their only chance now is to share the costs and raise prices to make it profitable. Hopefully costs won't move up to fast to lose people.
wildcat man

join:2007-11-03
Kansas City, MO
·Sprint Mobile Broa..
·RoadRunner Cable

The two HQ story is very old news...

And quite bizarre, given the story in the WSJ that prior to leaving Mr Forsee asked to have a Board vote to relocate the HQ to Kansas. I work for Sprint and my boss is HQ in Reston. While difficult at first, it is not a big deal now. Thanks to the mgmt team for ripping the scab off this wound. There are some bright spots in the company, with Boost Mobile (unlimited) and the cable VoIP business growing and generating profits. Affiliate integrations (many mergers within S-N) didn't help either. One of my co-workers recently commented "I would trade my entire Christmas list for a stable and consistent senior management team." We missed Thanksgiving, but hopefully our "leak crazy" (esp to WSJ) Board can get it done in time for an early Holiday present - for all Sprint employees.
kcir

join:2005-07-30
Butner, NC

Why should I care ?

.

cccp_telco

@verizon.net

corporate cultures..

time warner and aol hasn't worked either... on paper it makes the lawyers and a few insiders boat loads of money UPFRONT, what ultimately becomes of the acquired partner isn't as important to the dominant corporation. we will see this again with at&t / bellsouth = the 'new' at&t... i'm sure the new bellsouth 'at&t' employees are really happy that their reasonably paid union jobs with cwa or ibew aren't as secure now... to say nothing of what will become of the wireless higher paid jobs..
Gilitar

join:2000-11-20
Mobile, AL
·AT&T Southeast


edit:
November 25th, @05:59PM

It's true

I was part of this company and I can tell you that what the Washington Post says is completely true. It is like two companies fighting each other for job security. The company is already dead for all intents and purposes. It is just a matter of time before the Sprint name ceases to exist.

tc1uscg

join:2005-03-09
Saint Clair Shores, MI
·Comcast
·WOW Internet and C..
·VoiceEclipse

Re: It's true

said by Gilitar See Profile :

I was part of this company and I can tell you that what the Washington Post says is completely true. It is like two companies fighting each other for job security. The company is already dead for all intents and purposes. It is just a matter of time before the Sprint name ceases to exist.
Agree. Nextel can't accept the fact they were dying. They still don't accept it and till the brand is wiped from the face of the earth, there will be people hanging on till the last chirp. Sprint needs to get some balls, kill the brand and move on. This ping pong match is or has killed the company but no one inside the brands will admit it.

cork1958
Cork

join:2000-02-26
Fruitport, MI
·Charter Pipeline

When did they do that?

They merged? When? You're kidding, right?

You NEVER hear them mentioned together in the commercials around here. Right down the road from me, in a mini mall type strip, the 2 stores are right next to each other, in separate sections of the strip!
--
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michigandave

join:2007-05-16
Fenton, MI
·AT&T Midwest
·Charter Pipeline

Re: When did they do that?

said by cork1958 See Profile :

They merged? When? You're kidding, right?

You NEVER hear them mentioned together in the commercials around here. Right down the road from me, in a mini mall type strip, the 2 stores are right next to each other, in separate sections of the strip!
Wasn't sure if that was meant tongue-in-cheek.

Sprint finally took over as the sole name of the Sprint-Nextel comglomeration. Along with that, this is why the NASCAR Nextel Cup will be known as NASCAR Sprint Cup starting in '08. It was all done in sync to change over brand names around the same time - sponsorships, advertising, store marquees and whatnot.
FrankO
Best Day Ever
Premium
join:2007-08-16
Toledo, OH

Chad who...

Perhaps Chad does have the better deal?

BillRoland
McCain 2008
Premium
join:2001-01-21
Ocala, FL
clubs:
·Cox HSI

We all know this

Anybody who has had to deal with either of them know this is true. The most frustrating thing in the world is calling them and having to be transferred to "the other side" and explain the whole deal to them again, just to have to be transferred back to the other side. Both groups (PCS and iDEN) will freely admit that they know nothing about how the other half lives (like the BlackBerry guy wanting my ESN for an iDEN BB7520...we use SIM/IMEI), and until recently the billing systems were completely different and if you ended up in the wrong area, they would just tell you they couldn't help you. I understand stuff happens, and I understand everything was vastly different, but years into a merger, that should not be happening.
--
"Don't steal. The government hates competition."

Fred Thompson For President 2008 »www.fred08.com

WWWIMRANTV

@bellsouth.net

Sprint Scum of the Universe finally dying a miserable death

A company built on false advertising, pathetic customer service, and deceptive practices is finally dying a miserable death. As an ex-customer I am delighted.

I did not think much of Nextel -- but compared to Sprint they look like innocent angels. I also find it annoying to see Nextel customers on their walkie-talkies squawking their conversations for all to hear with no privacy. With so many cell phone plans with free in-calling, family plans, five-faves, etc. I'd never want to be caught dead using a Nextel handheld or even worse a despicable Sprint phone.

Imran
fiberguy
My views are my own.
Premium
join:2005-05-20

Re: Sprint Scum of the Universe finally dying a miserable death

said by WWWIMRANTV :

I also find it annoying to see Nextel customers on their walkie-talkies squawking their conversations for all to hear with no privacy.
The same can be said to people 'yappin' on their cell phones at the top of their lungs.. But, I agree, I hate when people, in most public places, won't put their Nextel into group private.. Maybe people know they can, but you can use the Nextel like a regular phone while still having to press the two way to communicate.. I do that all the time in public.

I WILL admit, however, when some low life is screaming at the top of their lungs on a cell phone call about nothing, I want to pull a Stewie Griffin a crack them over the head..

With so many cell phone plans with free in-calling, family plans, five-faves, etc. I'd never want to be caught dead using a Nextel handheld ....
Ummmm... er.. uhh.. umm... Really? Nextel pretty much was the one who came out, and still has, the free incoming service plan. Nextel also has family plans, and the take 3 circle calling.

Nextel was never built on the personal end user.. it was designed for business from the get-go.

One final thing I can say.. its easy to look out that glass house and see other people's things that annoy you - have you ever stood away from the incoming stone being thrown at you about what you do that annoys others?
--
"Complaining is the least path of resistance for the self-serving, the lazy, and I’m told it’s a woman’s prerogative..."
DarnellP

join:2004-10-12
Las Vegas, NV

Re: Sprint Scum of the Universe finally dying a miserable death

said by fiberguy See Profile :

Really? Nextel pretty much was the one who came out, and still has, the free incoming service plan.
I'm pretty sure he meant free in-network calling (AKA mobile-to-mobile) not free incoming calls...