Are Sprint stores my only option?

I posted this in the SPH-I500 forum at pdaphonehome.com, but realized
it probably is better answered by the likes of O/Siris here.

I'm a fairly longtime Sprint user with excellent credit history and
nice bill rate. In other words, I'm not one of the customer's they're
trying to "ditch."

My contract has expired.

My StarTAC is nearly dead (ear-speaker doesn't work sometimes, and I
have to use headset). And I want a Palm/phone combo.

I called customer service months ago to chat, and was told that in my
case, wanting a new phone with a rebate applied towards it to sign a
new contract, my only option was to go to a Sprint store (and not one
of the limited service Express stores).

Then, I settled in for the wait for the i500 to be released, after I
went to the store and decided against the i330 or Treo 300 (also
checked out the Kyo 7135 at Verizon after it was released... too big;
data plans still too expensive).

Pardon my lengthy post, but here's (finally) the question. Is waiting
for the i500 to show up in the Sprint stores and going to the Sprint
store really my only option?

Or could I, in theory, work with the retention people at customer
service (presuming such people still exist... there have been hints at
reduction in retention activity)? Could those people simply give me a
"credit" or coupon towards a phone? And then I could just order the
phone from the Sprint website.

Thanks in advance for any info!

robo45h@aol.com (Robert Oliver) wrote in news:6b7eaece.0307271135.4b972125
@posting.google.com:

> Pardon my lengthy post, but here's (finally) the question. Is waiting
> for the i500 to show up in the Sprint stores and going to the Sprint
> store really my only option?

Waiting is what killed you.

> Or could I, in theory, work with the retention people at customer
> service (presuming such people still exist... there have been hints at
> reduction in retention activity)? Could those people simply give me a
> "credit" or coupon towards a phone? And then I could just order the
> phone from the Sprint website.

When retention gives a credit for a new phone, it is usually in the form of
a credit on your bill. For the sake of argument, we will say you have been
giving a $100 credit, and your MRC is $50. If you buy a phone that costs
$50, you may go anywhere to purchase this phone, and the money comes out of
your pocket. If you go to a Sprint store, if they are in a good mood, they
might charge it to your bill. If you order from TeleSales, it will most
likely be charged to your bill, depending on your credit. In this case,
you basically get a free phone and free month. If the phone you choose is
$100, you get a free phone. If the phone is $200, you get it for half off,
and so on. The main thing to remember though is the credit from retention
appears on your bill, and except in special cases, the money for the phone
comes out of your pocket.

However, recent word in this group is that retention has gotten stingy,
particularly in the area of dollar amount credits on your bill. On top of
that, the odds of the average consumer account getting the cost of an I500
charged to their bill are astronomical. TeleSales with credit card in hand
or store with credit card/cash in hand are pretty much your only options,
with any credit (IF any) from retention merely going towards your MRC and
other plan-related charges.

Howard

--
Minister of All Things Digital & Electronic, and Holder of Past Knowledge
stile99@email.com Cabal# 24601-fnord | Sleep is irrelevant.
I speak for no one but myself, and |Caffeine will be assimilated.
no one else speaks for me. O- | Decaf is futile.

Robert Oliver <robo45h@aol.com> wrote in message
news:6b7eaece.0307271135.4b972125@posting.google.c om...
> I posted this in the SPH-I500 forum at pdaphonehome.com, but realized
> it probably is better answered by the likes of O/Siris here.
>
> I'm a fairly longtime Sprint user with excellent credit history and
> nice bill rate. In other words, I'm not one of the customer's they're
> trying to "ditch."
>
> My contract has expired.
>
> My StarTAC is nearly dead (ear-speaker doesn't work sometimes, and I
> have to use headset). And I want a Palm/phone combo.
>
> I called customer service months ago to chat, and was told that in my
> case, wanting a new phone with a rebate applied towards it to sign a
> new contract, my only option was to go to a Sprint store (and not one
> of the limited service Express stores).
>
> Then, I settled in for the wait for the i500 to be released, after I
> went to the store and decided against the i330 or Treo 300 (also
> checked out the Kyo 7135 at Verizon after it was released... too big;
> data plans still too expensive).
>
> Pardon my lengthy post, but here's (finally) the question. Is waiting
> for the i500 to show up in the Sprint stores and going to the Sprint
> store really my only option?
>
> Or could I, in theory, work with the retention people at customer
> service (presuming such people still exist... there have been hints at
> reduction in retention activity)? Could those people simply give me a
> "credit" or coupon towards a phone? And then I could just order the
> phone from the Sprint website.
>
> Thanks in advance for any info!

My daughter's boy friend fought with Sprint the entire time he had his phone
service with them. Service in my town with Sprint was very poor, no service
most the time, poor signal the other times. When he finally got to the end
of his contract agreement he told them shut his phone off. He did not sign a
new contract with them and now they keep sending him bills for a service
that he canceled. They told him he renewed. And they keep tacking on late
charges to the monthly bills they send him. The store he got the phone plan
from is backing him up but Sprint still will not leave him alone. They have
no documentation to prove that he signed a new agreement but they still
won't let him be and keep sending him bills. I think Sprint service is very
poor,,,I'd like to say what I really think, very poor doesn't even come
close!