Sprint is rolling out a new service that blends the convenience of home delivery with the experience of store-based customer care.
Called Direct 2 You, the program involves a Sprint rep delivering a phone upgrade to your home – or to any location of your choice, for that matter – where they’ll help you activate the device, transfer all data from your old handset to the new one, and show you how to get the most out of your new piece of kit.
The free offering kicks off on Monday in Kansas City – home to Sprint’s headquarters – before launching in Miami and Chicago on April 20. The service is expected to arrive in all major metropolitan areas by the end of the year, with 5,000 Sprint-branded vehicles ready to hit the road.
For now it’s aimed at current customers of the wireless carrier who’ve ordered a phone upgrade, though once the scheme is firmly established, new Sprint customers will be included, too.
Those eligible for the highly personalized service will be informed via email, the company said. Sprint has partnered with another company to operate the scheme, with all the reps undergoing special training given by the carrier.
“With our new Sprint Direct 2 You fleet of cars, it’s as if we are adding 5,000 additional stores,” Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure said. “However, these mobile stores will be continuously on the move based on customer demand.”
Claure added that many users underestimate the complexity of switching between different handsets.
“By bringing the in-store experience directly to customers, we can make that change painless, worry-free and do it in the comfort of a location where the customer wants it,” the CEO said.
Sprint will be hoping the move proves popular enough to win it new customers in the long run, and stops it from slipping behind T-Mobile, which is currently the fourth biggest carrier in the U.S.
In another move designed to expand its customer base, Sprint recently increased its retail efforts across the country by taking control of more than 1,000 RadioShack stores. The carrier is expected to take up around 30 percent of the floorspace in each location, where it’ll sell mainly mobile devices and wireless plans.
[Source: Sprint]
