8 Rants »

8 Rants this month

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1. I hope she was misinformed, but the sprint chat lady told me that when my defective M-1 gets replaced it will have to be considered a new phone and therefore will require a new 2 year contract. when I said if this turns out to be the case I will go to AT&T she hung up on me. I am so tired of this contract business…..

   Comment by Anonymous — February 6, 2008 @ 3:30 pm

2. So, as I sit on hold with Sprint, I was inspired to write a second post today…

   I have been a customer with Sprint since 1998. 10 years. For the first 9 of those years, it was sheer bliss. They had phones that I wanted, they had plans that fit my lifestyle. And they were constantly recognizing that I was a long-time customer and conceding deals that (at least I like to think) were not available to the public. Things like waived activation fees, shipping on new phones, etc.

   In addition, they have the cheapest unlimited data plan around. $15. What a deal for an internet addict such as myself!

   It was even a smooth transition when I added my wife to the mix. Very easy (in fact, my current plan included a free second line that I was not utilizing, so she came on almost completely free.)

   However, in August, I took a new job with Microsoft. It involves significantly more travel than I had done in the past, as well as the opportunity to work remotely from home. These two things resulted in some pretty amazing bills my first couple of months on the job.

   So I called my next available Sprint representative, and wanted to talk through my options for changing my plan to accomodate my newly found additional minutes. We found a plan that was desirable (1400 minutes a month, still including my wife’s phone for free), and cost the same as my old one (after applying a generous Microsoft discount.) I was in heaven. Until my first bill.

   It was supposed to be about $100. It was $190. This was clearly not solving my problem. So I called them. After about 30 minutes of trying to explain my situation (I had not gone over on my minutes, BTW). We finally determined that when the plan was changed, only MY phone was moved to the new plan, and, in fact, my wife’s phone was still rockin’ steady on the old plan. So all I’d really done was ADD a second plan to my account, not replace the old one. So she credited my account and assured me that the problem was corrected. Great! I can certainly appreciate a mistake, as long as it’s corrected.

   So all is well until the next bill comes. Same mistake. I call, and I get practically the same resolution. Now we’re alightly annoyed.

   Here comes December’s bill. Guess what? It’s still wrong. I’ve had enough. I call angrily. I finally get someone on the phone that knows what they are doing. He walks me through all of the steps he’s taking, and the problem is corrected. And come January, IT ACTUALLY IS! Woo hoo!

   But now my phone, the Treo 700wx is acting up. I have to take the battery out and replace it about twice a day, and about once a week, I’m forced to do a “hard reset” which erases everything from the phone, forcing me to start over. Thank God I pay the $7/month for the replacement warranty. Oh, except that warranty only assures me a refurbished version of the same phone I’m struggling with. Well, that’s not an option.

   So, infuriated, I call to change this policy. Those of you that know me well know that I live by a policy of “everything’s negotiable.” Surely, if they can give me a phone that costs $350 (the refurb), they can give me a “different” phone that costs $350. I am, of course, told that will not be possible. So I politely (as politely as I can) ask to cancel my account. This is apparently the magic word at Sprint: CANCEL. In fact, they have an entire department dedicated to making sure that I don’t cancel. My customer service agent immediately becomes my inside source. He starts to tell me all of the things that I need to do and say to get what I want from the “cancellation department.” So I am transferred to them. And I have a nice conversation. Almost everything I ask for happens. The phone I want was actually $550, and I am more than willing to pay the difference. $200. She obliges me. And I get the phone 3 days later, free of shipping charges, activation fees, or even taxes (don’t tell the IRS.)

   This is where it takes a turn for the worst. After a week with this new phone, the HTC Mogul, I start to realize that it’s just like the last phone I hated. It has a horrible one-handed experience (read: I can’t text while driving holding a Coke…thanks to Josh Holmes for that one). It requires me to touch the screen WAY more often than I really want to. Oh, and did I mention that I can’t use it with just one hand?

   So I called my friends at Sprint tonight to talk through my return options (ones I was assured “wouldn’t be a problem” when I purchased the phone). I’ve determined that based on the extremely limited phone options Sprint offers, the only one that is really going to meet my needs is the Moto Q 9c. I’d really like to make an exchange of sorts. The Moto Q 9c has everything I want in a phone. Good form factor, built-in GPS, WM6, the list goes on. And a ONE-HANDED keyboard. After spending 55 minutes on the phone with a customer service rep, here’s what my options were:

   1) Return the HTC Mogul, and receive the Moto Q 9c, but get no refund of the difference in price ($100).

   2) Return the HTC Mogul for a full refund, and go back to using the battered and broken Palm Treo 700wx.

   3) Talk to the cancellation department again (I’m starting to see a pattern) and try and get the “fair” deal I am looking for.

   As you can guess, I chose option #3. So the rep told me he would be transferring me. But before he transferred me, he started to give me advice, just like last time. Tell them this…make sure you tell them you want to cancel…just make your demands known…etc. And then I got HUNG UP ON. No transfer, no nothing. Just a busy signal.

   After a little yelling at the room I’m sitting in, I redial Sprint. I don’t have another hour to burn. It’s already 11:00 PM, and I just drove two hours to Cleveland. So when their voice recognition software kicks in, I say the magic words. “Cancellation.” I am immediately transferred to the Cancellation Department, and I got to talk with a new rep. For the rest of the story, we’ll call her “The Rep That Likes Customers To Leave For The Competition.” Or TR for short.

   So I tell TR my issues, and she is sympathetic, just like I’m sure the script told her to be. I’m very friendly, and she’s receptive to my needs. All I’m asking for really, is to return one phone, and get a phone that is $100 cheaper. Oh, and to be refunded the $100 difference. I guess I don’t think that I am being difficult.

   Instead, she reviews how I got the Mogul at such a discounted rate. She tells me that she’s not even sure how someone could have given me the price that I was given. She then proceeds to tell me that not only can I not get that $100 returned to me, the Moto Q 9c will actually cost me $50 MORE! I kindly ask her to remind me what it’s going to cost to cancel my account and move to another provider. She is very quick to let me know that it will be $200 per phone (me and my wife, remember), plus tax. THERE’S TAX ON A CANCELLATION FEE? UNBELIEVABLE! My account is now clearly flagged as “LET HIM GO, ALREADY.” Before we end the call, she asks me if there’s anything else she can help me with tonight (from the script), and I politely respond with “Clearly, there isn’t anything you can help me with.” Click.

   Tomorrow, I will be talking with AT&T and Verizon to see how we can start a new relationship together. I’m looking forward to a world where new phones are available when then come out, not 6-12 months later. A world where each and every move I make doesn’t start a new 24 month contract. A world where customer service is exactly that. Service. Not an opportunity to upsell me again. Goodbye Sprint. It’s been a fun 10 years of loyalty and defending your honor to my mocking colleagues and friends, but I think it’s about time we start seeing other service providers.

   Comment by Jeff Blankenburg — February 12, 2008 @ 11:14 am

3. We have an issue with Sprint billing us for services we cancelled. We have talked to Sprint people at every level from the local Sprint store to the corporate office about items on our bill with absolutely no satisfaction. In order to stop the flood of billings we have paid for services we didn’t want and didn’t receive. We have paid for items even Sprint couldn’t identify. We have paid to cancel the account. We have paid to reactivate the account so that we could cancel it. And we have paid the account to zero. And now Sprint invoices us again. This account rises up from the dead like a vampire! Is there any way to turn these people off?

   Comment by Jim Chaput — February 18, 2008 @ 9:57 am

4. I have had the service since 2003. My company required I carry a Treo phone, so I got hooked up with Sprint so that I could get email. Well, I can not get service in my own house. This is unbelieveable since I live in the city and just 1 mile from a major highway. I added my wife and daught to a family plan so I thought we would all be happy. Well, now I am paying twice what I was with AT&T. I even brought in my bill before I moved my wife and daughter over so that I could stay in the same price range. So, now after 3 years, I called to get my wife and daughter off of the plan and was told that when I called and added minutes 1 1/2 years ago, they re-contracted me for 2 years. They will not let me out for the two add on phones unless I pay $200 each. I gave them the choice to let me out of piss me off. They choose piss me off!! I can promise I will tell everyone I know!!!

   Comment by Anonymous — February 18, 2008 @ 6:08 pm

5. I don’t understand how these people stay in business. Oh, wait… they “lock you in” for another 2 years everytime you upgrade a handset.

   I bought a new LG Rumor on line, received it on Monday, called to get it activated, and was told Sprint is “migrating” their accounts, and my account can’t be changed until that migration is complete.

   Excuse me, but ?!

   In this day and age, to have any computer based service “unavailable” for any length of time is completely unacceptable. And this is SPRINT PCS we’re talking about. Do you mean to tell me, that the thousands, maybe 10’s of thousands of people who, over the past week, have bought a new phone and tried to get it activated are being told they’ll have to wait? I’d switch service providers, but I’m locked in for another year.

   On Monday, I was told Wednesday. On Tuesday, I was told Thursday. Today, Thursday, I’m being told Monday next week. Meanwhile, I’ve got this brand new phone sitting here, that is useless to me. I bought the thing for the new features, but what’s the point if I can’t get it activated.

   Sure, you’re going to say “well then, just wait until they get their migration done.” Well, if you haven’t dealt with Sprint before, this sort of thing goes on ALL THE TIME with them. Maybe I’m just displaying my childlike frustration with having a new toy I can’t play with, but Sprint has some SERIOUS customer service issues. I’ve left a complaint with the BBB, and the number of complaints filed against Sprint startles even them.

   I just want my phone activated on my account, so I can effectively use the service I’m paying for. My old Nokia is held together with tape, at this point, and the backlight on the display doesn’t work.

   Chip Tredo
   972-679-6976 (a FREE call, if you’re on Sprint, and can get a signal. Don’t get me started on the overwhelming number of places in the D/FW area that the signal drops out predictably.)

   Comment by Chip Tredo — February 21, 2008 @ 10:46 am

6. hey there people, well i am a customer service rep for a sprint call in center…I’ve read some of these blogs..and its kinda sad…someone said if you call in yelling and screaming that he wouldnt give you a credit…well i wouldnt either unless it was a truelly valid credit…sprint is just like any other buisness…if you go to mcdonalds and you asked for no pickles and you got a pickle on your burger…you get mad and go through the line again and you ask again for no pickle and they still give you a pickle…well…every buisness makes mistakes….maybe someone in the line didnt want to take the pickle off because you were yelling and screaming…we at sprint do our jobs like the average american or what not, we care about customers…we get bonuses that are nice if we have happy customers…we dont try to make you made but if you realy dont understands what we say to you, then just ask for a supervisor and have them explain it to you…we get scored on our calls..they listen to our calls almost every day and we do not ever know when someone will be listening to our calls…so if we are being rude or lieing to the customer….well…were fired or written up and the next time it happens..were gone…..and we do not scam anyone…it is not our fault that you are being charged for something that you never notcied on your bill…we offer online bills, paper bills, and damn, you can call us and we will explain the bill to you every month…but it is the customer that is lazy and when you notice a 9.99 charge on your bill one month that you have never noticed because you are truely lazy and do not look at your bills that we send you every month…then you yell at us for a ringtone or screen saver that your kid purchased…listen…your kids are not angels ok…kids do what kids do..they will lie to you and say they didnt know it because you will hit them or spank them or put them in time out……..i like haveing a nice talk with a customer because its gets to the point where its basicly…1. hello 2. whats the problem. 3. i fixed it. 4. thank you good bye….i hate it when its like that……talk to me..be socialable…i am human too..seriously…..damn….how owuld you like it if i was cussing at you and yelling at the top of my lungs and you couldnt say anything realy back but sorry you feel that way sir…its not our rules, its sprints rules, and we abid by them because they pay good and we need a job…im a white american male 20 yrs old…its a great job….i want a sprint customer to be in my shoes for one day and see what we realy go through…please apply for a customer care position…and see how muchyou like it…and truely see that there are no scamms..all the problems realy orriginate from the customer not knowing what they have in there plan and what they can and cannot do…..ask a rep..look at your bill…go to a sprint store..go to sprint.com..call the auto system to check your mins and balance…*2 *3 *4 *5..auto system …were busy all the time because of simple phone calls that you can resolved by the auto system or sprint.com…do your research before you waite for 15 mins…..and half the time we have a grand mother calling in for a $.20 charge.for a text message or a $0.03 per kilobyte charge for accidentaly accessing the internet…people wait on hold for 10-15 mins for a $0.03 cent credit….i mean damn…get over..what is 3 cents….

   Comment by andy — February 28, 2008 @ 6:56 am

7. also why do people %&!@# about 2 yr contracts..what cell phone company does not have one besides metro and pre pays?…if a cell you you want is $200 we give you a instant savings of $150 and a $50 mail in rebate…150 +50= $200….free phone…we give you $200…how much does it cost to get out of a contract? $200!!!!!!
   we give you a free phone…6 mnths later you loose it , break it, it gets stolen, or whatver…its not sprints fault..its yours…take the blaim…most sprint customers want us to give you another phone for free…no…its not our fault..your an adult…pay for another phone or use insurance if you bought it…now with insurance there is a $50 deductable to have it fully replaced…alot of people get mad when you tell them that…well i tell them its just like care insurance…if your car gets stolen are they going to replace the whole car for free? what insurance does that? with no cost what so ever? get real…there is a deductable….and they are not going to get you a brand new car…they are not!!!!! pay the deductable…its insurance…im not mad but fristrated because its simple to know…me i have a sprint phone and like i said earlier, i work for sprint…i will not buy insurance for $7 a month or $4…think about it..if you take care of your phone and not be stupid with breaking it or what have you..you dont need insurance…if you have a pda or smart phone..get the insurance…its smart…$50 to have it replaced instead of $500……

   Comment by andy — February 28, 2008 @ 8:03 am

8. I agree, completely, with that Andy fellow. I’m a Sprint representative, as well, in the customer care department. I’ve come to one conclusion after reading these well thought out rants: consumers = morons. The only reason people have a tendency to get upset at Sprint is because they don’t understand Sprint’s policies. Whether it’s proration, the insurance deal, or different promotions that Sprint’s constantly releasing. Everything’s in the fine print, people.

   Understandable, nobody reads the fine print. But you can’t get pissed off at a company because of your neglect and/or incompetence to follow through with your responsibilities as a customer. We provide you with all of the information that’s needed to know what and whatnot to do. No, you may not get the info from the sales rep who you’re dealing, but the info is still there to obtain. Try going to Sprint.com and searching for the Terms & Conditions. It tells you in black and white that we have the RIGHT to fuck you over and it’ll explain (in detail) how we’re going to fuck you over. No lube, damn it. You signed the contract, intialed that sumbitch AT LEAST 3 times. So yah!

   Like every company that handles a mass amount of employees, there are going to be mistakes. There’s no stopping it. It’s inevitable. It’s Michalel Myers in a business suit, keeps coming. Deal with it. Screaming, yelling, and bitching like a 5 year old kid simply amuses the hell out of us. I sympathize with the frustration y’all are experiencing, but creating a website solely for the purpose of bitching about Sprint…..sad. Truly sad.

   Comment by B-rad From Flawda — February 28, 2008 @ 8:11 am

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