How to Negotiate with Sprint PCS During a Contract
The attached recording demonstrates one method of negotiating lower rates with Sprint PCS – even while you are under a contract. I’ve heard anecdotal stories from others that similar tactics work with the other major US cellular carriers as well as cable providers, but I’m not aware of anyone else having actually recorded and supplied a methodology.
The reason for my call is obvious if you listen, but basically we were paying around $135 per month on average for two phones and we aren’t even heavy users. I saw lower cost rates online that include even more, so I called just to get my rates reduced.
There are a few general things to note and listen for during this recording (which has been slightly edited from the original to remove personal details and blank space).
- Note that right off the bat I asked for cancellations. These will automatically go to the “save” desk. This is both good and bad. Good – these folks are empowered to do things for you. Bad – they are exceptionally well trained to do the very minimum possible and extract the maximum from you simultaneously.
- Try to make a note of how many different ways the agent attempts to get something from me.
- Take notice of the “golden silence” during the call. There are times when I will stop talking and force the agent to say something before I go on. He is trying to do the same to me but I just wait him out. This practice forces the other person to reveal more information while allowing you to listen and gather intel.
- I had already researched plans and rates online before calling.
- Don’t let my slow talking style fool you. And don’t assume this style would work in other negotiations. I would not use this approach on a car purchase, or a $$multi-million business transaction, but it was appropriate for this situation as the results demonstrate.
Here are some very specific ways the agent tried to get more out of me:
- When it came time to make the rate plan change he started out by telling me it would not go into effect until the next billing cycle. I had to stay on him to ensure that the new rate went into effect immediately.
- He tried multiple times to get me to commit to an additional 2 year agreement. Even going so far as to offer a 10% monthly discount plus $5 per month off in order to take the deal.
- Although he had several options available, he did not reveal them until I restated what I heard him say, sought his agreement, and then asked additional questions.
In the end I did not commit to anything new, I received service credits, my new rate was backdated to the beginning of the current month, and my payments decreased by about $30 per month. Not bad for 25 minutes work. Please note that this is an excellent employee. I would hire him to work for me! It is the system that is the problem, not the people doing the grunt work.
Oh, and one last thing – about midway through the call a strange buzzing noise begins. It was not present when I was on the call, but showed up in the recording. Also, there were a couple of times that another caller tried to beep in.. sorry about that.
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This stuff works!!!!! I have sprint and comcast and vonage . I negotiate better rates all the time. One key is dont get discouraged if you dont get what you want with one phone call. I do this all the time. Especially comcast. They are easy but it takes a couple phone calls and patience. If I dont get a good deal I respectfully hang up and call back right away and in a matter of minutes have a good deal for 6 months or a year that saves me big money. just depends who you talk to and when , timimg!!! I have internet and cable service through them and have done this for 6 years now!!! rarely do I pay full price. Sprint is a little harder but they will deal especially if you talk to retention. But note this mark down who you talk to!! They are horrible about what they say to you and promise you. they have an employee ID number. I negotiated a great deal becasue I have 4 phones on the acoount.But midway through the deal they changed it and it can be changed by them!!! I called and got a huge credit becasue I said it was not right. Although it took some work. Vonage is easy to just talk to retentions . I simply said I have comcast and might switch to their triple play and boom they gave me a great rate for a one year price!! Remember the key is dont get discouraged. be nice and joke around with them. With comcast when they say how are you I say good but want to feel comcastic today!!!! great ice breaker. Comcast has a lot of unadvertised specials you might have to call at different times of the month. (A comcast employee told me this) So all this may help you but take it from me I have all these services and pay a lot less than advertised!! May not work everytime or every day but does work. results may vary becasue of your market or even who you talk to. But b all my bills I have comcast high speed internet ,cable with hbo starz and showtime and digital preferred 2 HD boxes, vonyage with all the bells and whistles and sprint with 1500 shared minutes with 4 phones and unlimited texting, and I pay around $160.00 a month for all this. I share my phone with my mom and dad and sister do they pay 3/4 of the phone is 70.00 so I pay $17.50. good luck!! being a good negotiator can be rewarding. and they will bargain believe me escpecially in this type of economy! Remeber they don’t want to lose market share and want to retain you especially if you pay your bills on time and you are a long time customer!!! you have more leverage than you think!!!!!
Why did you tell them you had invested so much in Sprint-only gear? That gives him a bargaining chip.
Oh, and if you need to get out of the contract here is a helpful little guide on how to do it without penalties.
Remaining calm and staying focused… it was very obvious you were doing both of those during your call. Good job!
Re. the ad. I believe Google Geo-targets ads for me being from the UK, but I think it was just coincidence it happened to be a company down the road. In fact, I’m quite sure it was, because my connection comes from London (London is the city which is outputted when a whois on my IP is performed) and London is a good five hour drive from me. :)
KP – You should have recorded it so I could put it up here too! :-)
Jamie,
Believe me, I don’t want to be on that call either, and I don’t think anyone feels comfortable or relaxed. But that’s OK. The two most important things under your control in any negotiation are:
I’ve had many, many training programs for this sort of thing including the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School. Also, don’t forget I was a Vice President of Sales for several years, so one might say that I have a great deal of practice. :-)
Thanks for clicking on the Ad. ;-) That is quite interesting that it happened to be a company nearby. I wonder if that is because Google was able to Geo-target the ad to your specific location?
John
Thanks Oneman… This works! I just tried a similiar approach with Comcast (my cable provider) and saved $50 a month.
Umm… that was strange.
I just clicked a Google Ad on this page and it turns out it was for a company just down the road from me. It’s a small world. :)
Geez, John. I don’t know how you have the patience.
All I want to do when I’m on the phone to a provider like Sprint is get off the phone as soon as possible. It’s very rare I’ll feel comfortable and relaxed in a situation like that.
Who’s your training and how much does he cost? :D