levin@bbn.com (Joel B. Levin) (12/07/90)
I actually had an informative conversation with an MCI salesperson last week. Some background: they had earlier called to push their Reach Out America clone. My wife, who hates solicitation calls, got them off the phone by agreeing to receive some information by mail and a return call later. I got the mail (out of the blue, I thought it was an ordinary promotional mailing) and also answered the return call. I am a Sprint customer, though I usually use AT&T for credit card calls. When I told the salesperson that I didn't want their ROA clone, she asked why. When queried she said she really wanted to know. I explained that my Sprint Plus plan is a discount on actual calls (subject to a monthly minimum) while their plan, like ROA, is a distance independent flat-rate-per-minute plan (subject to a monthly minimum). Further, most of our calls are 40 miles or less over a single state line (southern NH to Boston area). She not only took my point right away, but told me that in response to a similar comment from another prospect she had analyzed his calls and the tariffs. She had determined that the breakeven was around 900 miles; in other words, only for calls greater than 900 miles is their per-minute rate cheaper than the Sprint Plus discounted rate. She then agreed that sticking to Sprint Plus was my best option and we terminated the call pleasantly. I don't remember asking, but it seems clear to me I was probably talking to an actual MCI person and not an employee of one of those third party telemarketers. JBL nets: levin@bbn.com BBN Communications or: ...!bbn!levin M/S 20/7A POTS: +1 617 873 3463 150 Cambridge Park Drive or: +1 603 880 1611 Cambridge, MA 02140