eli@pws.bull.com (Steve Elias) (02/23/90)
Is everyone talking about the same thing with regard to Sprint Plus? I'm not aware of any rebates or credits which are available under the program. Sprint Plus gives the subscriber a minimum bill of $8.00 per month, but it gives them nighttime rates starting at 5PM, skipping evening rates completely. It's a good deal for long distance fiends who don't like to call people after 11PM on weeknights... I just signed up for it this week. I'll keep everyone informed as to the inevitable billing fiascos this causes. At best, it will cause me to get two bills in one month... ; Steve Elias ; work phone: 508 671 7556 ; email: eli@pws.bull.com , eli@spdcc.com ; voice mail: 617 932 5598
carols@husc6.harvard.edu (Carol Springs) (02/26/90)
In article <4305@accuvax.nwu.edu> eli@pws.bull.com (Steve Elias) writes: >Is everyone talking about the same thing with regard to Sprint Plus? >I'm not aware of any rebates or credits which are available under the >program. Apparently the $25 rebate was a one-shot available to people who subscribed last year. Someone also mentioned the separate program of frequent-caller points that Sprint just started offering. This program has the unfortunate name "Callers' Plus." >Sprint Plus gives the subscriber a minimum bill of $8.00 per month, >but it gives them nighttime rates starting at 5PM, skipping evening >rates completely. It's a good deal for long distance fiends who don't >like to call people after 11PM on weeknights... I just signed up for >it this week. Me too. I'd seen Sprint Plus referred to occasionally in fine-print sections of Sprint's literature, but I never knew what the program was until reading about it in this group. And this confuses me. I read Sprint's little promotional brochures that come with the bill each month. Sprint Plus sounds like an opportunity I'd've jumped at if only I'd seen it advertised. Exactly when was the program instituted? Any other Sprint subscribers out there, who scan their mailings reasonably carefully, who nevertheless did *not know* about Sprint Plus until recently? Carol Springs carols@drilex.dri.mgh.com
carols@husc6.harvard.edu (Carol Springs) (03/05/90)
I asked how well-publicized Sprint Plus had been to existing subscribers. I've received no responses, but I have my own speculations. Sprint Plus is clearly a response to AT&T's Reach Out America option--or is it vice versa? I think Reach Out America was first, although the television ad saturation is just now hitting. (I've seen no corresponding Sprint Plus TV ads.) Both companies are offering night/ weekend rates after 5:00 p.m. to subscribers in exchange for customers' paying a minimum every month. Judging from the fine print on the bottom of the TV screen, AT&T offers these rates from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.; Sprint offers them during the 10:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. period also (I think). Sprint Plus's minimum monthly charge is $8 and I don't know what AT&T's is. MCI probably offers a similar service. To the extent that Sprint Plus has been advertised, I suspect the campaign has been geared to those who aren't yet subscribers. There is no advantage to Sprint if a customer like me, who already makes lots of evening calls, switches to Sprint Plus--unless, of course, I start making many more evening calls than I did in the past. They're not likely to gain new revenue from my switching. I can see Sprint also targeting customers whose billing history reflects lots of, say, weekend calls and few evening calls, on the assumption that these people will start calling more friends during the evenings if it's cheaper. So I'll ask the people who heard about Sprint Plus from Sprint itself: Were you already a Sprint customer? If so, was the option described in a brochure with your regular monthly mailing, or what? Anyone know if AT&T is sending out Reach Out America brochures directly to its customers? (Not that it needs to, given the massive ad campaign...)