Sprint, lagging AT&T and Verizon, tries a new hook: Get delivery, phone setup at your house

A new customer strategy for Sprint: Phone setup in your house.

Overland Park, Kansas-based Sprint Corp. has been trying to draw subscribers from its bigger rivals, Verizon and AT&T. Meanwhile, the No. 4 carrier, T-Mobile, is winning customers through discounts and other programs.

Sprint's home service starts Monday in Kansas City for customers who are eligible for an upgrade, and will expand to Chicago and Miami next week. More cities are expected.

How it works: A Sprint rep will bring a new phone or tablet to a customer's house, transfer over data from an old device and offer advice on how to use it.

Sprint is still investing in stores, though. It's building mini-shops in many of the remaining stores of bankrupt electronics chain RadioShack.