Sprint ends the 'Cut Your Bill In Half' promo

[Cal Jeffrey]

In 2014, Sprint introduced its “Cut Your Bill In Half” promotion in an attempt to steal customers from its competitors and bolster its lagging sales. The marketing was aimed at AT&T and Verizon customers. According to Engadget, people who switched would only pay half of what they had been paying with the other two providers, so long as they kept their plan. The company was also offering to pay up to $350 in early termination fees for switching customers. This promotion came on the heels of a round of layoffs that put 2,000 employees out of work.

In January 2016, the Denver Post reported that Sprint would cut 2,000 more jobs in an effort to bring its cost down by $2.5 billion. Customer care centers were the hardest hit with reports of layoffs in Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. Despite continued layoffs, the mobile carrier continued the half your bill promotion.

Now the company is trying a new approach to keep from going under. Engadget reports that the “Cut Your Bill In Half” program is being replaced by a new “unlimited” plan structure. For $50 per month, single line customers will receive unlimited talk, text, and data. Two lines will cost $80, three will run $100, and a fourth line will bring it up to $120 per month.

According to Roger Solé, Sprint’s chief marketing officer, it is not that the promotion was not working, but rather that the demand for unlimited services was significantly higher. Approximately 90 percent of subscribers were choosing the unlimited plans over the promotion.

However, the move is also “almost assuredly a way to start recouping losses,” said the Wall Street Journal.

The half your bill promotion did well and increased Sprint’s customer base by nearly two million subscribers. The wireless provider feels that it can now squeeze a little more revenue from its base.

This may sound greedy, but considering the company’s struggles and that their rates are still lower than their closest competition, the move does not seem all that money hungry. After all a family of four can have all four lines covered under a Sprint unlimited plan and still pay less than two lines with AT&T. With two kids who are almost of the age where a cell phone is an option, I might switch myself. I would get two extra lines and still be paying $20 less than I'm currently paying.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/68841-sprint-ends-cut-bill-half-promo.html

 

[cartera]

I wish we had pricing structures like this over the pond in the UK.
You can get the same thing but it's not as easy to compare.

 

[oldikes]

Amazing pricing, terrible coverage and customer service.

I also freaking HATE how it says "promotional pricing shown above" - how long do people pay the promotional pricing then, before they jack up costs...?

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

Looking at the pricing of AT&T and Verizon's plans, I'm surprised they exist at all let alone being the biggest and most popular.

 

[Phr3d]

Can anyone comment on the Mobile Hot-spot aspect and their results? I need a fail-over for a SOHO and wonder if 10GB would suffice for standard telecommute office duties, and how well the VPN performs - Thanks in advance.

 

[Cal Jeffrey]

Amazing pricing, terrible coverage and customer service.

I also freaking HATE how it says "promotional pricing shown above" - how long do people pay the promotional pricing then, before they jack up costs...?

Customer service sux at most of them, and coverage for me would be a problem since I live in a big city. It would suck when I travel to family though since they live in a rural area, but even with AT&T, the coverage is not great there and I manage to get by. Not sure about the promotional length though. They would dare raise it too high. Their simply not in a position where they could do so without losing the customer base increases that they've been working so hard to gain.

 

[Cal Jeffrey]

... coverage for me would be a problem

*would NOT

 

[mctommy]

Looking at the pricing of AT&T and Verizon's plans, I'm surprised they exist at all let alone being the biggest and most popular.

Verizon is the biggest if you look at non-business customers. AT&T customer counts is like 40/60, 60% business customers, only 40% non-business.

 

[Trunkuza]

Not sure about the promotional length though. They would dare raise it too high. Their simply not in a position where they could do so without losing the customer base increases that they've been working so hard to gain.

Replying because it doesn't seem to have been answered in here, or directed to an answer.

As per the fine print on the image: Promotional pricing ends 6/30/18, then it becomes 60 for one line, an extra 40 for line 2, and an extra 30 (I think each) for lines three and four. Totals become: 60 for on line, 100 for two lines, 130 for three lines, 160 for four lines. However, the promotional pricing doesn't show their own price after auto pay discount or "other monthly charges"; doesn't show theirs, Verizon's, or AT&T's with taxes or fees; and T-Mobile, Verizon, and AT&T are shown after their own autopay discounts.