Just two short years ago, shares of Sprint traded around $27 a share, giving it a market cap of nearly $75 billion by my calculation (and today's share counts). That's not too much smaller than the current market cap of Verizon (approx $100 billion). In those two years, Sprint has lost nearly 75% of its value. Why might that be, you ask? While the seemingly failed merger with Nextel was certainly part of it, Sprint has also lost a ton of customers due to poor customer service.
From Wikipedia:
In April 2007, Sprint "topped" MSN Money's Customer Service Hall of Shame. Sprint was given a "poor" rating by 40% of those poll respondents who had an opinion about the company. Customer Service continues to be a very sore spot for the carrier as it has struggled with multiple complaints in this area. Complaints ranging from consumers spending extensive time on hold to false advertising for products and services continue to plague the company.
Sound familiar?
I may only be one lost customer, but I certainly believe that where there's smoke, there's fire. If Verizon doesn't clean up it's act, it could suffer the same fate as Sprint. That would make them take notice.
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