We've just received word from Sprint that starting tomorrow, July 8, folks will no longer be able to call into
telesales to order a
Pre over the cold comfort of the phone. We're told the move is being made so that the carrier "can focus inventory in sales channels where customers have the best opportunity to experience Ready Now, and we can deliver the best purchasing experience," which can be interpreted a couple of ways: either telesales are hurting Sprint's ability to properly stock local stores, they're not happy with the out-of-box experience new customers are getting without the in-store VIP treatment, or a combination of the two. Feel free to continue calling Sprint if you just want to chat or talk about how your barbecue went on the 4th, of course -- just don't expect to get a Pre out of it.
posted Jul 7th 2009 11:09PM
People still order by phone?
haha that was my first thought too! But seriously--stupid decisions like these are why Sprint is hemorrhaging customers...
to make room for tp2?
Seems to go right in line with Hesse's dynamic view of a sound business model.
Are they still allowed to order online?
Seriously, think of the poor lethargic mouth breathers that never leave the house and are frantically awaiting the release of the newest Harry Potter movie. What about them? They aren't leaving their house anytime soon to experience your "Now" they are more concerned with the next bag of Cheetos staring at them than going to a store. They would rather call and order the Pre than leave the comforts of their masturbatorium. (Sorry if you take offense to this; unfortunately I am sure it fits many people)
Way to go Hesse. Everyone else is on cruise control and you are still cleaning your carburetors. Good luck!
it means the telesales customers are not being upsold.
car charger, bluetooth, etc...
an in store experience would boost data attachment rates and increase accessory revenue. and accessories for any wireless carrier is where the bread and butter is!
Phone=best d(s)teals, always! :D Anyway, couldn't find a way on Sprint website either. Chaotic company. Why are crappy carriers like Sprint getting this thing exclusively. With Verizon, they could sell TONS more I would think, no??
Palm chose sprint not because they were almost dying, but because they have the fastest speeds in America, which is what was the needed for the palm webOS, verizons speeds were not what Palm was looking for. Sure if Verizon had the pre, they'd sell tons more but the WebOS wouldn't not be very sucessful.
@VZW_4_ever(in-drag): Unfortunately for you ... but fortunate for the concept of dignity and integrity ... You're full of shit where your claims of data throughput speed are concerned. Nor, is there 1 single shred of evidence that exists to support your insane claim (Gizmodo's ridiculous 3-city test means nothing to individuals outside of those 3 cities with the same handset they used for testing). See ya (much) later, Chris(in-drag).
@VZW_4_ever: Sprint probably committed to buying more handsets than Verizon did. If they can sell them all is up to Sprint
Even though I like Sprint, and think the Pre is an awesome phone, I have to wonder if this has anything to do with returns of defective units. It is a pain to return phones over telesales... And they really don't want you taking it to a store (tried it, they won't have it). If the returns are high enough, they may just shut down that branch of sale for the time being until the dust settles... Problem being, many price advantages can only occur over telesales... I wonder how that is going to affect business discounts and whatnot!
Wow, sounds like they have a great Marketing plan for a new Mobile.
How long has Spring been in business?
How long has Palm been in business?
I guess as soon as they work out the newbs at both companies, they'll get their
This is a large cluster! Sprint is really shooting themselves in the foot by only making this device available in stores (no online purchasing either). They are limiting the number of sales by making it available through one medium!
Upselling is a B.S. excuse as well! If I don't want a car charger or extra charger, I'm not going to get it regaurdless of how I purchase the device!
The pre should have never been sold anywhere but in store. There is a huge learning curve on the pre. It takes about 20 min at least just to set up the device including your palm profile email facebook twitter etc...and then you have to show all the different gestures and amazing features on the phone. Everyone who didnt go through this ready now training is not going to like there phone or appreciate how amazing it is. Thats why they took it off telesales and has never been available online.
The reason is because of the setup of the device. Customers really dont know how to use this phone without some sort of assistance. Once you learn the ins and outs of the device, you think its really easy to use, but when you go through first setup, its kinda wishy washy.