• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

Pentagon accuses Alibaba, Baidu and BYD, three of China's biggest companies, of supporting the Chinese military

2

'We are rapidly running out of time': Watchdog sounds Social Security alarm after 22% cut confirmed for 2032

3

Costco CEO Ron Vachris rose from forklift driver to the C-suite without a college degree: ‘Don’t chase a title’ is the career advice that got him there

1

Pentagon accuses Alibaba, Baidu and BYD, three of China's biggest companies, of supporting the Chinese military

2

'We are rapidly running out of time': Watchdog sounds Social Security alarm after 22% cut confirmed for 2032

3

Costco CEO Ron Vachris rose from forklift driver to the C-suite without a college degree: ‘Don’t chase a title’ is the career advice that got him there
TechData Sheet

Can this software help Sprint win back core customers?

By
Heather Clancy
Heather Clancy
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Heather Clancy
Heather Clancy
Down Arrow Button Icon
August 7, 2015, 11:20 AM ET
052214_Soccer_Stadium
052214_Soccer_StadiumPhotograph by Jorge R. Perez

Call Sprint customer support any given evening after hours, and CEO Marcelo Claure may be listening.

“One of my most important imperatives is to transform the customer care experience,” he told Fortune, two days after the carrier disclosed its game-changing Q1 financials.

That’s understandable. Sprint is now officially fourth biggest wireless company, after AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon. While it’s taking many of the steps required to inspire a turnaround, average revenue per subscriber is shrinking. But the number that Claure loves to talk up is customer churn, which now stands at 1.56%. That’s the lowest level in the company’s history, down from around 2.3% just one year ago, and it reflects Claure’s acute attention to this issue since joining last August. “This is a radical change,” he said.

One of the first things Claure scrutinized closely in his first 90 days was Sprint’s 35,000-person call center operation. Agents recited dozens of rigid scripts for incident calls, whether or not they were relevant to the conversation. Why would someone try to sell a tablet computer to someone calling to report dropped calls, he mused. “We didn’t have a uniform process to handle similar calls.”

Within weeks, Claure mandated simpler, more unified processes and took a personal interest in selecting the technology to run them. Ultimately, the project was entrusted to Pegasystems, the same software company overhauling customer engagement at American Express, HSBC, JPMorgan Chase, and United Health Group.

The company, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is on pace to generate $653 million in revenue this year. It doesn’t disclose its total number of customer accounts, but Pegasystems is working with six of the top 10 global communications companies, eight of the top 10 credit-card companies, and eight of the top 10 global banks.

“Pega has the brains to help an agent deliver the right treatment to the right customer at the right time,” Claure said. “That is very different from traditional telecommunications care.”

What’s unique? The Pegasystems technology correlates data from existing marketing, sales, and support systems. Whenever a call arrives, an agent is presented with an omnichannel view of the history so he or she receives a heads-up into what the call might be about. That in itself isn’t so new, but the software also uses predictive analytics to suggest solutions proactively. In Sprint’s case, agents are presented with several different scenarios of how to handle a call.

“Everyone has something legacy that is insinuated into their organization. We’re able to provide a mashup of the existing systems,” Pegasystems founder and CEO Alan Trefler told Fortune during a recent briefing about the technology. Too many CRM systems emphasize records over relationships, he said.

Many Pegasystems deployments are handled in a relatively speedy three months. Sprint’s experience bears this out.

At this point, it seems appropriate to pause and mention how unusual it is for a CEO to offer what amounts to a customer reference for a software application. Claure actually got his own recommendation from another CEO. He is pleased with the initial results emerging with 1,000 agents dedicated to dealing with some of Sprint’s most disenfranchised customers, who have been using the platform for several months. “We’re seeing more than double the acceptance of retention offers. That is a big deal.”

Another 5,000 Sprint agents are being trained on the technology, and the entire rollout should be completed within 12 months, Claure said.

Is that quick enough to help Sprint climb back into the top three when it comes to national wireless subscribers, while increasing the amount of business it generates from each one? Time will tell.

Sign up for Data Sheet, Fortune’s daily morning newsletter about the business of technology.

About the Author
By Heather Clancy
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • Pinterest icon

Latest in Tech

goldman
Investingprivate equity
‘The circulatory system isn’t working.’ Goldman on what’s really wrong with private markets
By Nick LichtenbergJune 10, 2026
8 minutes ago
Exclusive: Mastercard launches protocol to let AI agents pay each other, send micropayments
BankingMastercard
Exclusive: Mastercard launches protocol to let AI agents pay each other, send micropayments
By Ben WeissJune 10, 2026
8 minutes ago
Geoffrey von Maltzahn and Kimberly Powell on stage at Fortune Brainstorm Tech
AITerm Sheet
AI drug discovery leaders warn U.S. health funding cuts risk falling behind global rivals
By Lily Mae LazarusJune 10, 2026
2 hours ago
Kevin O'Leary wears a silver and black suit with a chain of basketball cards around his neck.
AIData centers
From the Trump administration to Kevin O’Leary, there’s a new narrative that China is to blame for plummeting data center popularity
By Sasha RogelbergJune 10, 2026
3 hours ago
JB Straubel, co-founder of Tesla and founder and CEO of Redwood Materials, speaking at Fortune Brainstorm Tech 2026 in Aspen, Colorado. (Photo: Michael Faas/Fortune)
NewslettersFortune Tech
Why China is outpacing the U.S. power grid
By Andrew NuscaJune 10, 2026
4 hours ago
A $7 billion horse race: Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley battle for ‘lead left’ position ahead of OpenAI and Anthropic IPOs
Startups & VentureFinance
A $7 billion horse race: Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley battle for ‘lead left’ position ahead of OpenAI and Anthropic IPOs
By Shawn TullyJune 10, 2026
5 hours ago

Most Popular

Pentagon accuses Alibaba, Baidu and BYD, three of China's biggest companies, of supporting the Chinese military
Asia
Pentagon accuses Alibaba, Baidu and BYD, three of China's biggest companies, of supporting the Chinese military
By Kate O'Keeffe and BloombergJune 8, 2026
2 days ago
'We are rapidly running out of time': Watchdog sounds Social Security alarm after 22% cut confirmed for 2032
Economy
'We are rapidly running out of time': Watchdog sounds Social Security alarm after 22% cut confirmed for 2032
By Nick LichtenbergJune 9, 2026
19 hours ago
Costco CEO Ron Vachris rose from forklift driver to the C-suite without a college degree: ‘Don’t chase a title’ is the career advice that got him there
Success
Costco CEO Ron Vachris rose from forklift driver to the C-suite without a college degree: ‘Don’t chase a title’ is the career advice that got him there
By Preston ForeJune 8, 2026
2 days ago
Current price of oil as of June 9, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of oil as of June 9, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 9, 2026
23 hours ago
Trump, who has repeatedly called climate change fake, is now threatening Brazil with tariffs over the deforestation of the Amazon
Environment
Trump, who has repeatedly called climate change fake, is now threatening Brazil with tariffs over the deforestation of the Amazon
By Sasha RogelbergJune 8, 2026
2 days ago
Current price of silver as of Tuesday, June 9, 2026
Personal Finance
Current price of silver as of Tuesday, June 9, 2026
By Joseph HostetlerJune 9, 2026
23 hours ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.