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Sprint's New Owner SoftBank Wants To Change 'Loser' Mentality

Sprint's new ownership by SoftBank hasn't born much fruit yet here early on, with Sprint continuing to flounder in most speed, latency and consumer satisfaction studies, while playing second fiddle to T-Mobile's recent bout of aggressive pricing promotions. But SoftBank boss Masayoshi Son has taken aggressive steps to shore up what the Japanese industry titan has declared is a "loser" mentality at the company.

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A Wall Street Journal Report is chock full of relatively funny (if you're not employed at Sprint) criticisms by Son of the way Sprint has historically done business:
quote:
For now at least, that leaves Mr. Son to fix what he calls a "loser" mentality at Sprint and complacency at the mobile carrier's headquarters in Overland Park, Kan., a person close to him says. "We need to change Sprint's culture," he told The Wall Street Journal after a news conference last month....In private, SoftBank's CEO has compared Sprint to the feudal lords of pre-modern Japan who wielded absolute power in their territories but little influence elsewhere. "Sprint is a daimyo in Kansas," said Mr. Son, according to one SoftBank official. "That's not enough."
To turn things around, Son is an almost constant presence on the back of Sprint executives, so annoyed with Sprint market, he recently demanded that Sprint executives fire absolutely all of their ad agencies (no more black and white Dan Hesse ads, I guess). He's also bringing over a significant number of SoftBank employees over to the United States to help rebuild the Sprint corporate culture, apparently figuring that he needs a wave of people he can trust before he starts trusting Sprint:
quote:
Mr. Son has established a shadow headquarters in San Carlos, Calif., a Silicon Valley city near Apple and Google. Sprint executives fly in each month for several days of meetings, where Mr. Son prods them on everything from the progress of network upgrades to sales figures. Engineers and sales employees are questioned several times a week in videoconferences, according to one Sprint executive. And he is bringing in about 1,000 SoftBank employees from Japan, who will try to help turn around the struggling mobile carrier and develop new services that SoftBank can use back at home.
Son has been relentless in his push to merge T-Mobile with Sprint, but it seems increasingly unlikely regulators are going to let him have his way on that front. It's growing pretty clear that Son is only now just starting to clean executive house, and if you're a Sprint customer looking for serious improvement, you may have another year or so to wait.
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amungus
Premium Member
join:2004-11-26
America

amungus

Premium Member

I hope it works

I've always wanted to like Sprint more (kind of like the Chiefs... they're the closest "home" pro team). They used to have a better reputation.
With some further upgrades, and a little more work, they could be a much better company.

coldmoon
Premium Member
join:2002-02-04
Fulton, NY

coldmoon

Premium Member

Something is happening...

Looks like someone has lit a fire under their tech support which I find encouraging. Had to call them today in fact and had the best customer experience I have ever had with them in the 10 years I have been a customer...

nyc33
@rr.com

nyc33

Anon

Re: Something is happening...

He just let go the network executives today. Last month he fired the marketing executives and the ad agencies.

whfsdude
Premium Member
join:2003-04-05
Washington, DC

whfsdude

Premium Member

Start With Deploying v6

Maybe Sprint should join the cool kids (VZW and T-Mo) and deploy IPv6 on their network.

Anano
@comcast.net

Anano

Anon

1k intl employees?

Does he really need to bring in 1k employees from another country.

How about you hire more US employees for the US company and just get rid of any over paid or under performing people. Plenty of people here that are willing to earn an honest wage to give quality work.

I understanding bringing a few maybe as you want to share ideas, tech etc. and use it globally but be reasonable. If you have 1k employees you can bring over from Japan that means you have too many employees probably with nothing to do and could save costs by getting rid of some and passing the savings to the customers or improving service more.
Rakeesh
join:2011-10-30
Phoenix, AZ

Rakeesh

Member

Re: 1k intl employees?

said by Anano :

Does he really need to bring in 1k employees from another country.

How about you hire more US employees for the US company and just get rid of any over paid or under performing people. Plenty of people here that are willing to earn an honest wage to give quality work.

I understanding bringing a few maybe as you want to share ideas, tech etc. and use it globally but be reasonable. If you have 1k employees you can bring over from Japan that means you have too many employees probably with nothing to do and could save costs by getting rid of some and passing the savings to the customers or improving service more.

I know why they would do it: A lot of US workers have an entitlement mentality that they deserve "the best" while giving minimal effort. You don't find much of that in other countries; more people understand the value of work and don't assume that merely being a human being makes them important enough to automatically deserve a high wage.

Sprint employees definitely suffer from this problem. This is why Sprint is failing so horribly, and why he describes them as having the "loser" mentality.

High odds that these 1,000 employees are people that he already knows to be reliable and not narcissistic. So why would he go through all of the crap of finding new good ones from a sea of crappy ones when he already has established ones?
TBBroadband
join:2012-10-26
Fremont, OH

TBBroadband

Member

Re: 1k intl employees?

The rule is - you pay your employees like crap, you treat them like crap- you get crap in return.

graycorgi
Premium Member
join:2004-02-23

graycorgi

Premium Member

Re: 1k intl employees?

My friend works at Sprint and gets paid pretty well and treated pretty well for the work he does. Anecdotal evidence, but I don't think the problem here is the way Sprint pays and treats their employees.

w0g
o.O
join:2001-08-30
Springfield, OR

2 edits

2 recommendations

w0g to TBBroadband

Member

to TBBroadband
in America I am sure increasing pay would not do anything to improve the situation. I think our entire culture sucks, and it's basically run by fraudsters and mobsters. we have corrupt police, shitty corporate policies, shitty schools, shitty housing and health care system. everything is run by unions (the mobs) or intelligence communities like the NSA, FBI, CIA, DOD, and shit, or other special interests.

our country is fucking crap and cannot be fixed whatever we do, unless we scrap the whole system and begin to reprogram everyone into a new life without the old, hoping our kids aren't so affected..

number one problem for the kids, requires us to end consumerism and corporate advertisement of products, because it's programming our humans to grow up to be juvenile adults who only wish to eat, consume, and make messes of the world, with no respect for anything, no insights, no skills, and nothing worth having at all. they literally fight over money, to control and dominate others, and don't live in peace with anyone. another problem is censorship . .

people anymore live to consume Facebook, YouTube, pornography, text messaging / sexting, and Pizza Hut, and they can't get their minds off owning brands, and being lazy douches that don't seek to drive society for betterment.

atuarre
Here come the drums
Premium Member
join:2004-02-14
EC/SETX SWLA

1 recommendation

atuarre to Rakeesh

Premium Member

to Rakeesh
This --- ^^^

I would welcome him bringing in Japanese employees and cleaning out a lot of the Americans.

Davesworld
join:2007-10-30
Thermal, CA

Davesworld

Member

Re: 1k intl employees?

said by atuarre:

This --- ^^^

I would welcome him bringing in Japanese employees and cleaning out a lot of the Americans.

There is nothing about Japan that I want here. He can keep his Messiah complex and suicidal, racist culture to himself and leave his minions at home.

I really hope this clown does not succeed in getting T-mobile. This situation makes me question the value of being a public company.
Expand your moderator at work

KrK
Heavy Artillery For The Little Guy
Premium Member
join:2000-01-17
Tulsa, OK
Netgear WNDR3700v2
Zoom 5341J

2 recommendations

KrK to Rakeesh

Premium Member

to Rakeesh
Interesting that the USA worker is recognized as some of the most productive in the world. I agree, treat people like crap, pay them like crap, and they treat the customers like crap. The problems start at the top, and bad management always blames the worker.

coldmoon
Premium Member
join:2002-02-04
Fulton, NY

1 recommendation

coldmoon to Anano

Premium Member

to Anano
Well, if you are the new head coach, what is your first move? Yea, fire all the old, under-performing assistants and stack the deck with your own people that you have already trained. That is, hit the ground running rather than take too much time trying to beat the beast into shape Ala Yosemite Sam and the camel (ref: when I says whoa...I means whoa!).

Karl Bode
News Guy
join:2000-03-02

Karl Bode to Anano

News Guy

to Anano
I completely see the logic of surrounding yourself with people you know and trust. It will be a genius move if it works, and an idiot move if Sprint just continues to stumble.
xtachx
join:2005-11-19
canada

xtachx to Anano

Member

to Anano
said by Anano :

Does he really need to bring in 1k employees from another country.

Yes he does let me show you why:

How about you hire more US employees for the US company and just get rid of any over paid or under performing people.

I understanding bringing a few maybe as you want to share ideas, tech etc. and use it globally but be reasonable.

This is why. There is no need of "ideas" and "tech". US companies tend to have too many managers giving "ideas" and too few workers. The entitlement mentality has to go - no more "ideas", just work now.
tmc8080
join:2004-04-24
Brooklyn, NY

tmc8080

Member

eyes wide open, or buyer's remorse?

Softbank knew what kind of company they were spending their billions on..

Memo to SB, the loser mentality goes WAY beyond advertising & the car salesman job they did to get SB's money-- just to squander it with no meaningful market share increase. They knew Sprint was going to have to consolidate it's plethora of brands and drastically lower prices and increase investment to make inroads against AT&T, VERIZON and Tmobile.. yet NONE of that happened. Sprint's market position was never watertight..

»www.youtube.com/watch?v= ··· 42fv8pMU
Rakeesh
join:2011-10-30
Phoenix, AZ

1 recommendation

Rakeesh

Member

Re: eyes wide open, or buyer's remorse?

said by tmc8080:

Softbank knew what kind of company they were spending their billions on..

Memo to SB, the loser mentality goes WAY beyond advertising & the car salesman job they did to get SB's money-- just to squander it with no meaningful market share increase. They knew Sprint was going to have to consolidate it's plethora of brands and drastically lower prices and increase investment to make inroads against AT&T, VERIZON and Tmobile.. yet NONE of that happened. Sprint's market position was never watertight..

I really don't think SB wanted Sprint's crappy executives or worthless employees. (After having been a Sprint customer for 8 years, I can talk all day about how mentally fucking stupid Sprint's employees are.)

What he actually needed more than anything was spectrum and at least a half working established infrastructure, as well as existing contracts with major vendors and partners. Sprint has those, the rest of its assets are shit, including its human resources, which he's right in letting go.

Karl Bode
News Guy
join:2000-03-02

Karl Bode

News Guy

Re: eyes wide open, or buyer's remorse?

Yeah I'd agree. The spectrum, the brand, and the foothold on a new continent are what's important. The employees I doubt he gives a whit about looking at things from on high. I'm not sure from a purely logistical, non-humanist perspective, that he's at all wrong.

RadioDoc

join:2000-05-11
La Grange, IL

RadioDoc

Re: eyes wide open, or buyer's remorse?

Even from a humanist perspective he's right, because when it goes titsup, everyone is out of a job not just the ones he replaced. Gotta break some eggs...
TBBroadband
join:2012-10-26
Fremont, OH

TBBroadband to tmc8080

Member

to tmc8080
Buyers remorse for sure. He thought he was going to make a fast buck on that network and hasn't and won't until things change. Open devices up, bring in BYOD across the board with Sprint, lower prices- get rid of contracts. If TMO can do it- Sprint can do it.
sonicmerlin
join:2009-05-24
Cleveland, OH

2 recommendations

sonicmerlin

Member

Re: eyes wide open, or buyer's remorse?

Uh no. From the beginning he said a turnaround would te a couple years. Associating masayoshi with a "quick buck" shows how little you know.
tmc8080
join:2004-04-24
Brooklyn, NY

tmc8080

Member

Re: eyes wide open, or buyer's remorse?

Without lower prices, and higher value.. the growth in wirless pre or post paid is plateauing.. and all carriers realize it (or should by now). The foolish handset makers are taking a bath on $600+ phones which people don't want based on the higher total cost between handsets & service. Even Apple is taking a bath on $100 iphones (with no contract)-- so $600+ will not see strong demand.
Jim_in_VA (banned)
join:2004-07-11
Cobbs Creek, VA

Jim_in_VA (banned)

Member

Remember

that old Sprint commercial "So clear you can hear a pin drop" ... yeah right
tmc8080
join:2004-04-24
Brooklyn, NY

tmc8080

Member

Re: Remember

digital to analog conversion from the LD telco wars were mainly hype.. most people didn't buy a HQ telephone to realize it's quality and were subject to the RBOC's copper last mile.

Anywho... Softbank would have been better served by putting their money behind Tmobile instead of Sprint. It's possible that SB's money behind Sprint is what put a fire under Tmobile lately to go after AT&T.. with ETF buyouts.
CJ777
join:2004-10-05
Los Angeles, CA

1 recommendation

CJ777 to Jim_in_VA

Member

to Jim_in_VA
said by Jim_in_VA:

that old Sprint commercial "So clear you can hear a pin drop" ... yeah right

That applied to Sprint Long Distance using fiber optics. Wayyyyy before wireless came out. And yes the quality was excellent. AT&T and others were still routing long distance calls over copper back then and it sounded like shit.

RadioDoc

join:2000-05-11
La Grange, IL

RadioDoc

Re: Remember

Prior to fiber LD networks it was coaxial and microwave and both of those had audible noise floors. The switch to fiber lowered that by an order of magnitude or two and was very noticeable even on a standard desk phone. That Sprint and this Sprint have little to do with each other except for the name.
bcltoys
join:2008-07-21

bcltoys

Member

Eastern shore.

Maryland's eastern shore is case and point all tower's where to be upgraded to 4g in 2012 most have not,they say it's a backhaul problem bullshit..
Jim_in_VA (banned)
join:2004-07-11
Cobbs Creek, VA

Jim_in_VA (banned)

Member

Re: Eastern shore.

it is bullshit...Sprint installed NV on the local tower six months ago .. still no 4G ...meanwhile Verizon installed LTE on the exact same tower two months later and I had 4G/LTE within 30 days. Sprint is just a incompetent company. SoftBank should fire the entire board including Hesse.

Muffmonster
@comcast.net

Muffmonster

Anon

Re: Eastern shore.

If the hardware is installed and there is no LTE, it's either because you're in a Samsung cluster that needs to be 3G accepted first or there is no backhaul yet. It's easier for verizon because they provide their own backhaul. That's not bullshit, that's fact. It sucks, sure, but that's how it works.

I'm in fresno, ca. We have no NV hardware installed yet, either because of contractor incompetency (which occurred in Sacramento) or there is bureaucratic nonsense going on regarding the permitting process. I am obviously thrilled, but I'm also being practical about the situation.

It also bears mentioning that verizon probably already had fiber to the site(s) you're referring to. This is how t-mob deployed their LTE so quickly. Sprint should not have neglected their sites the way they did, no question.

swintec
Premium Member
join:2003-12-19
Alfred, ME

2 recommendations

swintec to Jim_in_VA

Premium Member

to Jim_in_VA
said by Jim_in_VA:

it is bullshit...Sprint installed NV on the local tower six months ago .. still no 4G .

How do you know you would get LTE just by having NV installed? Is the tower a GMO (ground mount only) tower? If so, you would not see LTE. As far as i know, very few GMO sites have LTE. GMO sites receive LTE after NV is completed and they go back to revisit these sites.
said by Jim_in_VA:

Sprint is just a incompetent company.

it isnt so much that they are incompetent, but more that people who dont know what they are talking about (your post for example) posting misinformation for others that ends up snow balling.

Does verizon service VA for land line? I wonder how long they have to wait for backhaul from themselves to get up and running?
Jim_in_VA (banned)
join:2004-07-11
Cobbs Creek, VA

Jim_in_VA (banned)

Member

Re: Eastern shore.

my area is Alcatel- Lucent for upgrades. The Verizon backhaul is via microwave , not fiber. The NV is not GMO. its all up there on the tower. Yes, I know what I'm talking about. Stop being a ass that thinks he has all the answers

swintec
Premium Member
join:2003-12-19
Alfred, ME

swintec

Premium Member

Re: Eastern shore.

said by Jim_in_VA:

Yes, I know what I'm talking about.

Whats the SID?
swintec

swintec to Jim_in_VA

Premium Member

to Jim_in_VA
said by Jim_in_VA:

it is bullshit...Sprint installed NV on the local tower six months ago .. still no 4G

I suppose you mean the only Sprint tower in Cobbs Creek? The one on Buckley Hall Road?

That shows as no work being completed, or accepted by Sprint yet. Not even marked as "In Progress" for waiting on anything. In fact, all sprint towers surrounding it to the edge of Chesapeake Bay to Mobjack bay have the same status. Really, the only site that has had accepted work, and it is very little as it is simply marked as in progress meaning they probably hit snags, is the one off Dutton Rd / Route 198.
Jim_in_VA (banned)
join:2004-07-11
Cobbs Creek, VA

Jim_in_VA (banned)

Member

Re: Eastern shore.

five Sprint towers in the county. I watched them raise the gear to the monopole. Its up there, but no change. It is still 3G with no speed improvement
dsds
join:2014-02-10
Leavenworth, KS

dsds

Member

Tired of them

I'm dumping Sprint 1.5 years into my contract, this coming week.

Can't wait.

They won't unlock my iPhone for domestic TMo/AT&T use (even tho the phone supports those GSM bands just fine).

This policy is ridiculous.

So T-Mobile is going to get my business next.

TAZ
join:2014-01-03
Tucson, AZ

TAZ

Member

Re: Tired of them

Yeah, same.

I'm on my family's plan with an iPhone 5, still under contract for like 9 months. I just wanted to check T-Mobile's LTE network here (because Sprint still doesn't have LTE at my location, even though every other carrier does) but Sprint wouldn't unlock it for domestic use. I get that it's technically on-contract so I can't really bitch about that, but they won't do it even off-contract.

So I bought an unlocked 5s and a T-Mobile SIM, and now I will pay the Sprint ETF and Sprint will not make as much money as they would have from the contract being completed. And I would have done that, seeing as I'm not the one that pays the Sprint bill. :P Their shortsightedness and stupidity lost them money.

(Paying the ETF won't change anything and they still won't unlock the 5, but whatever. If it was my own account I'd sue Sprint. But it's not, and I don't think my dad wants to pursue the matter, so I'll just leave it at that.)

toomuchtv
@charter.com

toomuchtv to dsds

Anon

to dsds
Have fun. They are pouring the cool aid in TV and people are rising into their small footprint only to realize that once you get off a highway you lose your service. They are hyped too much at this point. 1.5 years ago they were dogs but some more ads and gimmicks then they walk on water.
asdfdfdfdfdf
Premium Member
join:2012-05-09

asdfdfdfdfdf

Premium Member

Softbank is dumping a lot of money into coverage expansion...

and it appears to be bearing fruit in some areas. In the midwest 4g coverage is, indeed, moving beyond the big cities and highway corridors.

If anyone can make sprint into a serious competitor it is Son and softbank, but he did say it would take a few years to get the network where they want it and, presumably, management as well. It's good to see someone with a vision beyond the next quarter.

n2jtx
join:2001-01-13
Glen Head, NY

1 edit

n2jtx

Member

Good Luck Son

I am beginning to think that Son got "taken" and is only now realizing how screwed up Sprint really is. I too am stuck with a locked iPhone 4S that Sprint refuses to unlock even though it has been off contract five months now. It is still not their policy to remove domestic GSM locks on their phones.

In the meantime, it is stories like this one that make me wonder why the heck Sprint should be allowed to take over T-Mobile. We can already see what a clusterf__k Sprint is and having them take over T-Mobile seems to likely be the path to ruin for T-Mobile. As the old saying goes; if you put a drop of wine into a barrel of sewage you have sewage. If you put a drop of sewage into a barrel of wine you have sewage. T-Mobile will be turned to sewage.

Metatron2008
You're it
Premium Member
join:2008-09-02
united state

Metatron2008

Premium Member

Re: Good Luck Son

He only got taken if you want to make a quick buck. Sprint has tons of spectrum (Thru most of that is 2500 mhz). It has a really good future if you build.

spewak
R.I.P Dadkins
Premium Member
join:2001-08-07
Elk Grove, CA
·Consolidated Com..

spewak

Premium Member

Second that

I also wish Son good luck in his ownership of shitty Sprint. I am a subscriber, why, I don't know. The thing about Sprint is, instead of getting on the 4g/LTE train, they keep taking side trips with Spark (?), with improving 3g speed, again, (?) and dealing with Clearwire. They keep saying they are improving speeds, yet I can't even watch a youtube video in HQ.

grapkoski
Premium Member
join:2004-05-28
Washington, DC

grapkoski

Premium Member

Re: Second that

They are on the 4G/LTE train? Spark is just the brand name (marketing is awful) of their triband LTE service. Clearwire's acquisition provides them the high level spectrum (aka capacity for urban areas), so that is why they are 'dealing' with them. Your city is just beginning NV rollout, so it will get better (but may get worse in the short run, yes it is possible).

dcurrey
Premium Member
join:2004-06-29
Mason, OH

dcurrey

Premium Member

Sprint canceled my account!

Seem they finally canceled my airave account with them last Thursday no notice or warning.

I had moved my phones over to Ting last year, they still worked with airave so I left it active with sprint. After a couple months they just started billing me the bogus fees they charge to all accounts $2.54. Since this was much cheaper than paying for new airave I just paid the bill and went on.

Guess they didn't want my money any more.

Never could get a straight answer from Sprint on if I have to return the airave or if I could just keep it and port it over to Ting.

••••

atuarre
Here come the drums
Premium Member
join:2004-02-14
EC/SETX SWLA

atuarre

Premium Member

RE

I will say this, and I used to be one of the strongest Sprint supporters; I don't know what the deal is with their 4G. When the first launched it, it was super fast and now it is slow as molasses. I don't think it is so much the amount of people that are using it, because there are some spots of town, that can be as empty as a ghost town and the data still moves at a snails pace.

You can be right beside a tower, with five bars and the data is still slow.

So, this is what I think is going on (just thoughts):

Either the spectrum is crap, the way their networking is setup is crap, or those towers either do not actually have enough backhaul (either they lied when they said they were upgrading towers to fiber or microwave (supposedly network vision requires towers be upgraded to fiber before they go live for 4G). They supposedly went from having two to three separate base stations to one base station that broadcasts on all the frequencies. Well...the speed of 3G should be improved as well.

4G is slow as a snail and 3G is moving at about the pace it takes water to erode away rock.

I don't think the towers actually got fiber and that they went the cheap route and upgraded the towers from maybe 3 T1s to 3 T3s or some bullshit like that. There is no damn way those towers have fiber backhaul with the speeds that 4G is crawling at and it is not just here, it's everywhere people are complaining. There is one tower, in this city, where there are no speed issues. All the other towers have issues.

So what is really going on? Either its something to do with the 1900mhz spectrum, imo, the backhaul, or however they setup the networking between the tower and their network is crap. Being right by the tower with a strong signal and you get below 1mb on 4G; there are some serious issues.

I got out of one of my contracts and I'll give them a "little" more time and if they don't improve I'm gone. I've been with them since before they were the whole Sprint when they were a Sprint affiliate. It's just my luck that I have service with the other carriers as well.

•••