On carrier forum, Sprint Nextel exec details customer-service plans

A Sprint Nextel Corp. executive offered a glimpse into a few of the carrier’s current customer-service projects during a visit to Sprint Nextel’s newly created online user forum, www.buzzaboutwireless.com. Sprint Nextel’s Jerry Adriano, VP of its Customer Experience operations, said the carrier is working on reducing hold times on calls to its customer service center, and that it is trialing a service that would send customers an e-mail confirmation of changes to their account.
The question-and-answer session on Sprint Nextel’s Internet site is the first such interaction between the carrier’s executives and visitors to the forum. The carrier hinted that it will conduct similar sessions in the future.
In his responses to various questions, Adriano admitted that some customers have experienced “longer hold times in the past few months, but you will begin to see improvement in the next couple of months.” He said the carrier is hiring additional staff for its call centers, but did not provide specific numbers.
Interestingly, Adriano also addressed the issue of call-center outsourcing, explaining that a “small percentage” of the carrier’s customer-service representatives are based outside of North America. He said Sprint Nextel would reconsider “the mix of offshore to North America” next year.
Separately, Adriano said Sprint Nextel is trialing a service that would send customers an e-mail confirmation when changes are made to their account. Adriano said that the carrier plans to eventually roll out the service to all of its customers, but did not provide a specific timeline.
Finally, Adriano said there’s a “project in process” that will allow customers to move their phone number across various handsets via a Web site. Adriano described the service as “Treo for the week, Upstage for the weekend,” but declined to say when the service would be available. He did say however that it is “a high priority.”
Such a service would put Sprint Nextel alongside GSM carriers such as AT&T Mobility and T-Mobile USA Inc., which rely on SIM cards to recognize subscribers. Since SIM cards are removable, GSM subscribers are generally able to move their service among a variety of cellphones.