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New Sprint CEO Cleans House
Fires CFO in effort to right ship...
On the heels of news that Sprint would be firing 4,000 employees and closing 125 (8%) of their company-owned retail locations, the company today announced that they'd be letting go of several high-level executives, including CFO Paul Saleh. A Sprint press release says the company will be getting rid of their Chief Financial Officer, Chief Marketing Officer and President of Sales and Distribution. "I want to thank each of these individual leaders for their dedication and contributions to Sprint Nextel," says new Sprint CEO Dan Hesse. "I wish them all the best in their future endeavors."
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PolarBear03
The bear formerly known as aaron8301
Premium Member
join:2005-01-03

PolarBear03

Premium Member

Makes perfect sense

"My company's doing horrible, so I'll just keep firing people until it gets better." Makes perfect sense. Right.

Um, didn't Circuit City try something similar to this, only to have it come back and bite them in the ass and end up begging the employees to come back?

en102
Canadian, eh?
join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA

en102

Member

Re: Makes perfect sense

I think Sprint/Nextel has been trying to 'fix' their problem for a while now. Having 2 headquarters (Kansas and Reston, Va., didn't help).
Some fresh management couldn't hurt.

jgkolt
Premium Member
join:2004-02-21
Avon, OH

jgkolt to PolarBear03

Premium Member

to PolarBear03
well sprint had to do somehting. They did say there was massive fighting between nextel and sprint maybe this will help unify the company. somewhat.

danclan
join:2005-11-01
Midlothian, VA

danclan to PolarBear03

Member

to PolarBear03
said by PolarBear03:

"My company's doing horrible, so I'll just keep firing people until it gets better." Makes perfect sense. Right.

Um, didn't Circuit City try something similar to this, only to have it come back and bite them in the ass and end up begging the employees to come back?
You are incorrect on both observations.

1. He is letting the rank and file know that EVERYONE is being scrutinized and that it starts with the leadership of an organization and not just the rank and file. This cleaning of senior executives will lead to new leaders with new ideas and a fresh look at how things are operating. It says very clearly that things have to change and that new ideas are needed.

2. CC laid off their high salaried sales staff en mass then re hired them at lower hourly rates. This was a disaster. letting go of your most productive people to then rehire them at cheaper rates is a total moral killer and turns off the average joe. This sent the message that just cause you perform well and have earned a high rate of compensation and bring in the most revenue to the corp ...well that means nothing to us...

gbvsagbvsahsah
@comcast.net

gbvsagbvsahsah

Anon

Re: Makes perfect sense

that is not true. Circuit City laid off the most seasoned sales people and HIRED entry level teenager sales people for a fraction of the cost. These newbies had limited sales experience and that hurt them. Most companies keep the sesasoned people because that is what makes your company.

danclan
join:2005-11-01
Midlothian, VA

danclan

Member

Re: Makes perfect sense

said by gbvsagbvsahsah :

that is not true. Circuit City laid off the most seasoned sales people and HIRED entry level teenager sales people for a fraction of the cost. These newbies had limited sales experience and that hurt them. Most companies keep the sesasoned people because that is what makes your company.
not thats still incorrect the old employees were given the option to be rehired first at the lower hourly rate

tc1uscg
join:2005-03-09
Gulfport, MS

tc1uscg

Member

Re: Makes perfect sense

said by danclan:

said by gbvsagbvsahsah :

that is not true. Circuit City laid off the most seasoned sales people and HIRED entry level teenager sales people for a fraction of the cost. These newbies had limited sales experience and that hurt them. Most companies keep the sesasoned people because that is what makes your company.
not thats still incorrect the old employees were given the option to be rehired first at the lower hourly rate
Why don't you listen to what he said. How many of those "old" employees left then came back for much less? CC not only booted 3000 people, they shut down lots of stores. Then, they have the balls to brag about what they did, then brag about opening "65" new stores. Well, I let CC know that I can't shop at a place that would do that. I know others who feel this way but for me, last year, before they pulled that stunt, I spent over 2800.00 there for xmas. This year. I bought 1 DVD at 4.99. Best Buy and mostly online got my money this year and I passed out the word. NO CC GIFTCARDS (got 4 last year). Got ZERO this time around. Sprint is in DEFCON 2 mode and that's good. Fix whats going on inside the company (DUMP NEXTEL/IDEN) first then work on it's image with it's customers. I have 4 sprint phones and have no less then 12 family members who have Sprint in Mich, FL and KY. Nobody has ever complained. Billing seems to be the biggest problem they need to fix IMO.

PolarBear03
The bear formerly known as aaron8301
Premium Member
join:2005-01-03

PolarBear03 to danclan

Premium Member

to danclan
said by danclan:

1. He is letting the rank and file know that EVERYONE is being scrutinized and that it starts with the leadership of an organization and not just the rank and file. This cleaning of senior executives will lead to new leaders with new ideas and a fresh look at how things are operating. It says very clearly that things have to change and that new ideas are needed.
Well he just got hired, so obviously he hasn't done much scrutinizing yet; he hasn't had a chance to. Although I do agree that new leaders with new ideas MAY help, I think he's jumping the gun.
said by danclan:

2. CC laid off their high salaried sales staff en mass then re hired them at lower hourly rates. This was a disaster. letting go of your most productive people to then rehire them at cheaper rates is a total moral killer and turns off the average joe. This sent the message that just cause you perform well and have earned a high rate of compensation and bring in the most revenue to the corp ...well that means nothing to us...
Um, that's pretty much what I said, I just said it much more briefly and less specific:
said by PolarBear03:

Um, didn't Circuit City try something similar to this, only to have it come back and bite them in the ass and end up begging the employees to come back?

Cheese
Premium Member
join:2003-10-26
Naples, FL

Cheese to danclan

Premium Member

to danclan
said by danclan:

said by PolarBear03:

"My company's doing horrible, so I'll just keep firing people until it gets better." Makes perfect sense. Right.

Um, didn't Circuit City try something similar to this, only to have it come back and bite them in the ass and end up begging the employees to come back?
You are incorrect on both observations.

1. He is letting the rank and file know that EVERYONE is being scrutinized and that it starts with the leadership of an organization and not just the rank and file. This cleaning of senior executives will lead to new leaders with new ideas and a fresh look at how things are operating. It says very clearly that things have to change and that new ideas are needed.

2. CC laid off their high salaried sales staff en mass then re hired them at lower hourly rates. This was a disaster. letting go of your most productive people to then rehire them at cheaper rates is a total moral killer and turns off the average joe. This sent the message that just cause you perform well and have earned a high rate of compensation and bring in the most revenue to the corp ...well that means nothing to us...
I heard CC laid off people due to BB cutting into their business, and was also told that they took away the commission due to this. I could be wrong but I heard this many years ago.

en102
Canadian, eh?
join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA

en102

Member

Re: Makes perfect sense

Typically new CEO's do a shakeup, regardless.

supergirl
join:2007-03-20
Pensacola, FL

1 recommendation

supergirl to PolarBear03

Member

to PolarBear03
said by PolarBear03:

"My company's doing horrible, so I'll just keep firing people until it gets better." Makes perfect sense. Right.

Um, didn't Circuit City try something similar to this, only to have it come back and bite them in the ass and end up begging the employees to come back?
I do think Circuit City did try and hire the stupidest geeks possible.

"How do I get the $100 rebate?"

"Umm, print it out from the website."

"Where on the website?"

"Rebates?"

"Can you print me out one?"

"Uhh, let me ask the manager. He'll be in tomorrow."

"Okay." (COMPLETE IDIOT! NOBODY IS THAT F-ING STUPID!)

So, I call the 800 number to CC.

"Where on your website do I find the rebate form for xxx?"

"Let me see. I'll have to put you on hold."

"Okay."

Music for 10 minutes. Hang-up and call back. I get somebody who actually has worked there more than 10 minutes and sends me the link through email! Gee, I was shocked they could do that (use email I mean)!

If you want a good laugh, hang around the cellphone place inside CC. You'll hear some of the most incredible BS ever. "Vz had rollover minutes." "That's actually an excellent phone (the free POS)." "Your phone has a memory card?" "The camera should take great pics at night (sure and I'm the Queen of England)."

The best one: "We only accept credit cards. (it was my debit card with a Visa logo." (IDIOT!)

The best one yet: "Vista is an excellent OS."

CC tells more lies than a politician caught in a hotel room snorting cocaine with a hooker by the cops. Or, one running for office.

PolarBear03
The bear formerly known as aaron8301
Premium Member
join:2005-01-03

PolarBear03

Premium Member

Re: Makes perfect sense

All I have to say is, LMAO!
patcat88
join:2002-04-05
Jamaica, NY

patcat88

Member

call centers

Investors have a revolution?

Maybe the house cleaning will spread down to the call centers.
Jonbo298
join:2004-01-12
Council Bluffs, IA

Jonbo298

Member

Re: call centers

Considering most of the call centers are overseas...clean out those places and bring the jobs back to the USA. That's the way you get people to like the company.

It's aggravating dealing with someone in India or Philippines with their mostly bad attempt at speaking english. Compounded more by the fact that you have to explain things over and over to get them to DO what you are calling for.

BillRoland
Premium Member
join:2001-01-21
Ocala, FL

BillRoland

Premium Member

Re: call centers

Unless its changed in the last few weeks, NEXTEL call centers are based in the US/Canada. Every time I have had to call I get a native English speaker who is very pleasant.
neufuse
join:2006-12-06
James Creek, PA

neufuse

Member

Re: call centers

Haven't had to call the sprint side lately then havent you? every time i get some woman that sounds indian to me and very hard to understand

texans20
Premium Member
join:2002-09-28
Texas!

texans20 to Jonbo298

Premium Member

to Jonbo298
I know people who work for Sprint. There are no call centers in India. They do have some big ones in the Asia region, but by far most of the calls are routed to call centers in North America (Canada, US).
DarnellP
join:2004-10-12
Las Vegas, NV

1 edit

DarnellP to Jonbo298

Member

to Jonbo298
said by Jonbo298:

Considering most of the call centers are overseas...clean out those places and bring the jobs back to the USA. That's the way you get people to like the company.

It's aggravating dealing with someone in India or Philippines with their mostly bad attempt at speaking english. Compounded more by the fact that you have to explain things over and over to get them to DO what you are calling for.
This is false. Most of their call centers are NOT overseas, they are in fact, here in the USA/North America and they don't have any call centers in India.
hottboiinnc4
ME
join:2003-10-15
Cleveland, OH

hottboiinnc4

Member

Re: call centers

One of their call centers is in Cinci Ohio. The company Sprint outsources to is based there as well.

tc1uscg
join:2005-03-09
Gulfport, MS

tc1uscg to Jonbo298

Member

to Jonbo298
said by Jonbo298:

Considering most of the call centers are overseas...clean out those places and bring the jobs back to the USA. That's the way you get people to like the company.

It's aggravating dealing with someone in India or Philippines with their mostly bad attempt at speaking english. Compounded more by the fact that you have to explain things over and over to get them to DO what you are calling for.
Thats not true for Sprint. Yes, they have some rollover stuff but the MAJORITY are based in the U.S. I've always gotten america based CC's when I've called to ask a question. Where did you get your info? I would like to read it to change my mind..
hescominsoon
join:2003-02-18
Brunswick, MD

hescominsoon

Member

I hope they get customer service fixed

They still can't get callerid working right after 6 months. I've even called the executive office of the CEO and gotten them involved to no avail.

jester121
Premium Member
join:2003-08-09
Lake Zurich, IL

jester121

Premium Member

Re: I hope they get customer service fixed

You called the CEO over caller ID?

Wow.
pcnetworx1
join:2005-09-21
Bethel Park, PA

pcnetworx1

Member

Re: I hope they get customer service fixed

That comment says why the BBR opinion can frequent be of the farthest reactionary response on the spectrum

old_dawg
"I Know Noting..."
join:2001-09-22
Westminster, MD

old_dawg

Member

Out with the old, but in with what?

Well after multiple chops lower down the tree, finally heads rolling from on high!, current condition of the company due to the follies and foibles of upper management anyway. No worries mate, they'll float away on their golden parachutes while the poor rank and file scramble to find new employment. At least Bernie Ebbers got hard time behind bars!

DaveDude
No Fear
join:1999-09-01
New Jersey

DaveDude

Member

titantic wireless

Sprint never had a real chance, its the stepchild of wireless. It plays nice with Alltel, and Verizon. But unlike Dobson, and others. Refuses to copy them. Google just needs to buy them, convert them to LTE, and be done with it. Sprint is too unique for its own survival.
xenophon
join:2007-09-17

xenophon

Member

$40B Fortune 50s company

They are a $40B F50s company (bigger than Intel, Coco-Cola Apple, Disney) and will pull through. Even if they lost millions more customers, they'd still be an F100 company. Companies this big don't go away (see Chrysler) and have room/time to figure out how they must change.

It's the iDen/Nextel side losing major customers. The CDMA side has lower churn (1.6%) than ATT (1.7%). They have got to get rid of the iDen network ASAP.

WiMAX is their future differentiation and they need to make it happen.

colddeadhands
@verizon.net

colddeadhands

Anon

Re: $40B Fortune 50s company

said by xenophon:

They are a $40B F50s company (bigger than Intel, Coco-Cola Apple, Disney) and will pull through. Even if they lost millions more customers, they'd still be an F100 company. Companies this big don't go away (see Chrysler) and have room/time to figure out how they must change.

It's the iDen/Nextel side losing major customers. The CDMA side has lower churn (1.6%) than ATT (1.7%). They have got to get rid of the iDen network ASAP.

WiMAX is their future differentiation and they need to make it happen.
If they want customers off the iden p2talk, they're gonna have to give customers free phones and not lock them into a 2 year contract to get there.. otherwise Verizon is the clear winner & beneficiary of Sprint's customer loss.

DaveDude
No Fear
join:1999-09-01
New Jersey

DaveDude to xenophon

Member

to xenophon
Sprint needs to end Cdma, Iden , and Wimax. And concentrate on LTE. Then push for the most cutting edge phones, and price undercuts. Otherwise Google might have come in a do it. When LTE rolls in ATT Verizon, Tmobile will have cellphone providers making phones at volume discounts. Sprint will have a properity mess.

en102
Canadian, eh?
join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA

1 edit

en102 to xenophon

Member

to xenophon
said by xenophon:

It's the iDen/Nextel side losing major customers.
Better get some more customers on iDEN then

AT&T's churn in q4 was pretty good
quote:
2.7 million net gain in wireless subscribers, best-ever quarterly increase by any U.S. wireless company; 70.1 million wireless subscribers at year's end.

Strong Gross Adds, Reduced Churn. AT&T also delivered the industry's best-ever quarterly gross wireless subscriber additions, which totaled 6.0 million, up 9.6 percent versus the year-earlier fourth quarter. Total average monthly subscriber churn was 1.7 percent, down 10 basis points versus the year-earlier quarter, and postpaid churn was 1.2 percent, down 30 basis points from the fourth quarter of 2006.
fiberguy2
My views are my own.
Premium Member
join:2005-05-20

fiberguy2 to xenophon

Premium Member

to xenophon
The iDen side, (why can't people just say Nextel?) was the lucrative side of the business. It had a niche' market, a long standing customer base, low churn and a very low bad debt burden. It was the merger that sent the Nextel Customer base running for other options.

The merger, in my opinion, was a complete and total mistake on Sprint's part.
cmarin
join:2004-01-13
Boynton Beach, FL

cmarin

Member

New opp for da Hook!

Hey, I think they're prepping the red carpet for Lisa Hook... I'm sure she can turn 'em around real good.

sawman
Premium Member
join:2002-04-25
BC KS

sawman

Premium Member

Re: New opp for da Hook!

The new CEO has to dump the CFO and CMO and the rest so he can get his half a billion bail out when the company tanks.
Lets Go
join:2005-03-05
Homer, NY

Lets Go

Member

NASCAR Sponsorship

I think they should re visit the NASCAR sponsorship. This costs them millions of dollars a year and I wonder what their return on investment is?

fancydancer
Perception is just your reality
Premium Member
join:2002-08-28
Springfield, IL

fancydancer

Premium Member

Work on website while they are at it

When i go to sprint.com and enter my zip code (62702) to search for phones it only shows me Nextel phones?! Its hard to find what you are looking for and is not user friendly. A major revamping of their web site is in order.

Greg_Z
Premium Member
join:2001-08-08
Springfield, IL

1 edit

Greg_Z

Premium Member

Re: Work on website while they are at it

Click for full size
I was able to see both Sprint & Nextel stores. Try it again, due to you may not of seen the fine print.
Sprint: »sprintstore.sprint.com/i ··· ip=62702
Nextel: »nextelonline.nextel.com/ ··· nes_link

fancydancer
Perception is just your reality
Premium Member
join:2002-08-28
Springfield, IL

fancydancer

Premium Member

Re: Work on website while they are at it

Thanks, I was able to see the Sprint phones from your link.

T_Flight
join:2007-12-30

T_Flight

Member

May Be Plus Actually

This is a good thing. Most people complain about Sprint Tech Support and Billing...well, they are taking out the problems, gonna save money, and in the future will hire new folks on who will do the job and not screw it up. Most of those positions are high level high paid positions, and the problems usualy start at the top. So, they get rid of those problems and then create a new top, and the whole scene changes, becasue with the new pecking order people won't be able to get by with it anymore.

That's the way it works even if that ain't the case. When there are reports of two mnay screwups, guess who gets the blame? Yep, the ones at the top, and if they dn't clean it up, someone will clean them out and replace them with somebody who will.

This could very well be a good thing. Try to find the positives in things. The only negative is if "you" are the ons they are firing.
gower23528
join:2005-06-08
Weston, WV

gower23528

Member

contract

Wonder how many people they lost to their T&C change this past month. I know I was one of them!

Drex
Beer...The other white meat.
Premium Member
join:2000-02-24
Not There

Drex

Premium Member

Severance

I wonder what kind of severance package these people got.