Sprint not sorry it dumped customers

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Sprint Nextel isn't apologizing for its decision to ax customers it determined were calling customer service too often.

The nation's third-largest wireless provider sent letters to about 1,000 subscribers June 29, saying its records showed they had made frequent calls for help with questions about billing and other account information.

"While we have worked to resolve your issues and questions to the best of our ability, the number of inquiries you have made to us during this time had led us to determine that we are unable to meet your current wireless needs," the letters said.

The customers were told their service agreements were being terminated, they wouldn't owe anything on their final bill and the company would waive early-termination fees.

They also were told to switch to another wireless provider by July 30 if they want to keep their phone number.

In debate on the Internet, Sprint's move has attracted criticism that the company is penalizing consumers for trying to get what they paid for, or that the frequent calls are more a reflection of poor customer service by Sprint itself.

But Sprint officials said Monday this wasn't a case of someone being flagged by a computer program, and that an internal review lasting up to a year focused on the types of problems that callers had and what information they had sought.

"These accounts have been researched very carefully," Sprint spokeswoman Roni Singleton said. "We feel strongly that the decisions we made, we stand by them."

Singleton said the targeted subscribers each made an average 40 to 50 calls a month to customer service.

Singleton said the review found subscribers often called about the same problems over and over after Sprint believed the issue was resolved.

She said some callers repeatedly asked for information from other customers' accounts, which the workers aren't allowed to divulge.

"If the average person is calling less than once per month and these people are calling 40 or 50 times more, that takes away from customer service," Singleton said.

Officials at competitors AT&T Wireless and Verizon Wireless said that while they may terminate customers who are abusive toward employees or violate other terms of their service agreements, they don't terminate customers because of customer-service calls.

CIBC World Markets analyst Tim Horan said in a research note he saw nothing alarming with Sprint's decision.

"Sprint has taken a number of steps to improve the 'quality' of its customer base, and we view this measure in the same light," Horan wrote.

Sprint has about 54 million subscribers.