Sprint Expands “Direct 2 You” House Call Service To Four More Cities

After launching a program that brings Sprint-trained experts to customers’ homes to help them with the switch to a new device in April, the company says it’s expanding the Direct 2 You service to four more cities: New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Denver.

At the time of the program’s launch in April in Kansas City, Sprint claimed its house call program would eventually amount to having 5,000 new stores around the country.

Originally offered only to existing Sprint customers, new customers ready to switch carriers can now use Direct 2 You as well.

Today’s expansion makes for 28 cities where customers can set up appointments with Sprint experts, the company says, with four more slated to join the list in early July: Detroit, Washington, D.C., Tampa and Dallas. The company says it has plans for a nationwide rollout in the future.

So what’s it actually like to have Sprint come to your house — or meet you at the beach, a soccer game or anywhere else you designate? CNET went on a ride-along with one Sprint expert making his rounds recently, and he says the reaction has been good.

“People have been surprised by how nice we are,” he said. “People are really loving it.”

One customer on his rounds certainly seemed pleased, after the Sprint pro helped her through the set-up process for her new phone — walking her through the process of signing into her accounts and making sure her key video apps were loaded onto the new device, something that was very important to her as she basically uses her phone as a TV these days.

When all was said and done and her new phone was activated, CNET said she “beamed” as she held up her new Galaxy S5.

“I am happy now,” she said. “I like that magic touch.”

Of course, not every house call will have a reporter along to watch the process, so as with any customer service situation, there are bound to be hiccups.

Sprint’s mission to fix its image, one house call at a time [CNET]