Hesse has a flair when it comes to analogies

When I [interviewed](/bus-news/article.php/3771416/Dan+Hesse+In+the+Captains+Chair+at+Sprint.htm) Dan Hesse, Sprint’s CEO, a few months back for a [profile](/bus-news/article.php/3771416/Dan+Hesse+In+the+Captains+Chair+at+Sprint.htm) on Sprint’s take-charge leader, I was impressed with his openness and his forth right responses.

After all Sprint is in third place and it’s not looking like AT&T or Verizon Wireless want to give up an inch.

So I wasn’t surprised that he was as open with investors yesterday during the Goldman Sachs conference where he spoke about what Sprint is doing, where Sprint has come from and put things in a easy-to- understand perspective.

Hesse, obviously playing up Sprint’s new NFL service where fans can listen and watch live action, said Sprint’s focused on playing a good game.

“What we were killing ourselves with were stupid penalties.. dropping the ball.. no matter how well you perform, if you turn over the ball and have penalties you’re not going to win,” Hesse said.

He also alluded to Sprint’s ‘house’ now being clean enough to have company over.

“We haven’t done the final house cleaning, but we feel good enough to invite people in,” said the CEO alluding to pulling in new customers and intense customer service efforts put in place.

One such customer service effort, called Ready Now, is pretty neat and could end up being a strong competitive market aspect.

Sprint trained each and every employee at its 1,000+ retail stores on how to use every phone and very application.

Sprint customers can stop in, or make an appointment, to have a maximum of 20 features set up and customized –users can actually leave the store knowing how to access email, use the Web, forward messages.

As Hesse shared, smartphone and cell phones were the top returned item after last year’s holiday season. The main reason was people didn’t know how to use the devices.

That customer service level is hard to beat, and while other carriers and handset makers offer up some sort of support, nothing comes close at this point.

Time will tell if it’s enough to push Sprint forward.