Sprint Service - review (3 out of 10)

I have used SPRINT PCS for about 3 years now. I have never been
satisfied with the service but stuck with the plan for a number of
reasons (I'm not gonna elaborate here ... really, it's a long story).

But I am a "new" person now. I have quit the service. I have had
enough with Sprint. I deserve a better service.

With SPRINT, I have always had at least one major problem every year.
And of course, with a HUGE disappointment on the customer-end. And to
keep this email short, I will only elaborate two incidents that I had
with them most recently:

===========================================================================================================
1. 2004 (Jan-Oct)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have had a number of problems with the phone device since beginning
of this year:

1. A number of people who called me went straight to the
voicemail.
2. The "new msg" announcement went on even when all the Voice
messages have been erased
(so when I went to check the voicemail to listen, it will reply
"There are no new messages")
3. A "Charging error" msg appeared on the device's small window

I filed a complaint regarding this problem at the beginning of the
year. They told me that there was nothing they could do except for me
to bring the phone to a SPRINT store. So there I went. I didn't know
what the technicians did, but it worked for me for a couple of months
before the same exact problems occurred.

So I called SPRINT again and described the same old problem. Again,
they told me the same exact thing, they were sorry, nothing they could
do, except for me to bring it to a SPRINT store. This time, I told
them that I did not want to go back to the store every couple of
months just to fix the same problems
over and over again. So I asked them for the possibility of getting an
upgrade in terms of a new cell phone. As an old customer, I thought
this would not be a problem for them, especially given my history as a
long-standing customer and credit history.

Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a "loyal customer" to them.
They informed me that if I liked to
have a new phone, then I had to pay for the amount listed on the
website of my choice PLUS the
installation fee (as if I were a new customer). After I made this
phone call, I quit the service immediately.



===========================================================================================================
2. 2004 (Sept-Oct)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It happened after I received the bill from the mail. I opened the
letter and found out that my bill went up almost 2.5 folds than usual.
Naturally, I gave them a call to see what's going on and inquired them
about waving SOME of the charges to un-recongnized incoming calls.

FYI, they don't keep track of the phone numbers of any incoming calls.
The representative was very rude and said in a very accusing tone "How
do you know these incoming calls are not for you?" I said back,
"How can you be sure that those pcs-to-pcs calls were for me, when in
fact I was on a business trip out of the country during that month?"

Yes, the cell phone was with me the whole time, because I needed to
make sure I could call my friend to pick me up at the airport once I
reached home. I know from previous experience that a pcs-to-pcs call
made from the States cannot reach a SPRINT customer who is in
overseas.

**************************************************************************************
If you have not noticed yeat, mind you, When you have any service
inquiries (yes, you will experience LOTS of drop calls using their
service) or billing inquiries, they will never strive to solve the
customer problem.

At the end, they will ALWAYS come back to you with the same exact
answer EVERY SINGLE TIME (regardless the type of problem you have):

"We are sorry, Sir (or Mam). At this point, there is nothing we can
do."
**************************************************************************************

And to make long story short, this is the answer I got after waiting
for 45 minutes on the phone. Clearly, SPRINT does not treat their
customer well. We are NOT their number one priority, thus they do not
deserve customers like us either.

---

› See More: Sprint Service - review (3 out of 10)

In article <[email protected]>,=20
[email protected] says...
> If you have not noticed yeat, mind you, When you have any service
> inquiries (yes, you will experience LOTS of drop calls using their
> service) or billing inquiries, they will never strive to solve the
> customer problem.
>=20

Those "always" and "never" statements are unbelievable. Certainly, I=20
don't doubt that the two specific incidents happened. But there have=20
been too many posts here of satisfactory service for anyone with a=20
reasonable mind to pay attention to someone who makes blanket statements=20
such as yours.

Sorry you've experienced trouble. At the same time, a statement such as=20
I quote above suggests you approached it expecting trouble. That is,=20
generally, a self-fulfilling prophecy.

--=20
R=D8=DF
O/Siris
~+~
A thing moderately good is not so good as it ought to be.
Moderation in temper is always a virtue,
but moderation in principle is always a vice.
Thomas Paine, "The Rights of Man", 1792

O/Siris wrote:

> In article <[email protected]>,
> [email protected] says...
>> If you have not noticed yeat, mind you, When you have any service
>> inquiries (yes, you will experience LOTS of drop calls using their
>> service) or billing inquiries, they will never strive to solve the
>> customer problem.
>>
>
> Those "always" and "never" statements are unbelievable. Certainly, I
> don't doubt that the two specific incidents happened. But there have
> been too many posts here of satisfactory service for anyone with a
> reasonable mind to pay attention to someone who makes blanket statements
> such as yours.
>
> Sorry you've experienced trouble. At the same time, a statement such as
> I quote above suggests you approached it expecting trouble. That is,
> generally, a self-fulfilling prophecy.
>
I must agree....

I have been with Sprint for about 6 years in So Florida, and have
generally been pleased with the service. No more horror stories than
with every other carrier. Never had a problem traveling and connecting.

I have never had a problem with customer service over the years, with
the exception of an occasional rep who answered....who should have been
left in the cage in the back....rare, though.

I have been without a contract for all those years and just negotiated a
really great program for my 2 phones....2 lines...one account, with all
the necessary features desired. Included 2 LG VI5225 phones at no
charge. We only want to talk and listen...no e-mail or surfing or
cameras. With the exception of an occasional call that goes to voice
mail first...and that only comes from one frequent caller on Nextel
service, I really can't complain. Even works in elevators, didn't with
old Touchpoint 2200 phones and works in our 14th floor apartment, which
was spotty before. Maybe the phones make a difference :-)

"duane" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I have used SPRINT PCS for about 3 years now. I have never been
> satisfied with the service but stuck with the plan for a number of
> reasons (I'm not gonna elaborate here ... really, it's a long story).
>

What does this have to do with email abuse/spam?

--
McWebber
"Richter points to the lack of legal action against his company as proof
that he's operating appropriately."
Information Week, November 10, 2003

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] (duane) writes:
> I have used SPRINT PCS for about 3 years now.
[snip]

Whoopie. I've been with SPCS for about twice as long and am
satisfied. The big question is this: Why did you cross-post your
rant to news.admin.net-abuse.email? What does your dissatisfaction
with SPCS have to do with email abuse? Answer: Nothing. Not a damn
thing. Which kind of gives one a clue as to where the problem
between you and SPCS might be.

Follow-ups set appropriately.

--
Jim Seymour | "Some of the lies are so strange it
WARNING: The "From:" address is a | makes you wonder about the spammer's
spam trap. DON'T USE IT! Use: | sanity."
[email protected] | - Ed Foster, "The Gripe Line" 6/24/02

burris wrote:

> old Touchpoint 2200 phones and works in our 14th floor apartment, which
> was spotty before. Maybe the phones make a difference :-)

Hell yeah, the phones make a difference. I love my Samsung VI660's features,
but it drops some calls in relatively weak areas where it shouldn't, where my
wife's Hitachi SPCS phone doesn't. Sanyos are supposed to be the best Sprint
phones as far as reception is concerned.

--
JustThe.net Internet & New Media Services, http://JustThe.net/
Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / 888.480.4NET (4638) / [email protected]
PGP Key available from your friendly local key server (0xE3AE35ED)
Apple Valley, California Nothing scares me anymore. I have three kids.

4 Year customer here and I too am basically satisfied with the
service. I usually find customer relations to be very on-the-ball
people and the service has a few glitches but no more than any other
service it seems. I have a customer who uses Suncom and if I leave
him a message he *might* get it two hrs later. I've been sticking
with the Sanyo phones for the reception and battery life and I'm often
suprised at the remote places I'm able to get service. On top of
that, now that I'm in the "customer retention" program, no other
company can match the minutes per $ that Sprint gives me.

It seems to me that when I call customer service that I'm now
automatically shuffled into "Customer Retention" so they might be
filtering customer calls via ID. Maybe your calls now get filtered
to the meanest help persons because of notes on your call history?
What you sow you reap...

Think you hit the nail right on the head bro !!!!!!


"John/Charleston" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>4 Year customer here and I too am basically satisfied with the
> service. I usually find customer relations to be very on-the-ball
> people and the service has a few glitches but no more than any other
> service it seems. I have a customer who uses Suncom and if I leave
> him a message he *might* get it two hrs later. I've been sticking
> with the Sanyo phones for the reception and battery life and I'm often
> suprised at the remote places I'm able to get service. On top of
> that, now that I'm in the "customer retention" program, no other
> company can match the minutes per $ that Sprint gives me.
>
> It seems to me that when I call customer service that I'm now
> automatically shuffled into "Customer Retention" so they might be
> filtering customer calls via ID. Maybe your calls now get filtered
> to the meanest help persons because of notes on your call history?
> What you sow you reap...

[email protected] (duane) wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> But I am a "new" person now. I have quit the service. I have had
> enough with Sprint. I deserve a better service.

Thank you! If more people took that attitude (and backed up their
attitude with action), we would enjoy far better customer service than
we do today.

I did the same (i.e. left Sprint PCS), and I haven't been sorry for a
second.

Don Doumakes
http://www.loganet.net/~doumakes/sprint.html

Don Doumakes wrote:
>
> [email protected] (duane) wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> > But I am a "new" person now. I have quit the service. I have had
> > enough with Sprint. I deserve a better service.
>
> Thank you! If more people took that attitude (and backed up their
> attitude with action), we would enjoy far better customer service than
> we do today.
>
> I did the same (i.e. left Sprint PCS), and I haven't been sorry for a
> second.

What carrier are you with, now?

Notan

Notan <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> > Thank you! If more people took that attitude (and backed up their
> > attitude with action), we would enjoy far better customer service than
> > we do today.
> >
> > I did the same (i.e. left Sprint PCS), and I haven't been sorry for a
> > second.
>
> What carrier are you with, now?

U.S. Cellular. They have good coverage in my area, bla bla bla, but
the thing that really made the deal was the excellent customer
service. The person who sold me the phone gave me her personal cell
number and instructed me to call her at any time day or night if there
was a problem.

This contrasts sharply with my Sprint PCS experience, in which you
never talk to the same person twice and they seem to take extra steps
to prevent you from reaching them on the phone
(http://www.loganet.net/~doumakes/sprint.html).


Don Doumakes
Email replies to doumakes at loganet dot net. Don't email
[email protected].

"Don Doumakes" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Notan <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> > > Thank you! If more people took that attitude (and backed up their
> > > attitude with action), we would enjoy far better customer service than
> > > we do today.
> > >
> > > I did the same (i.e. left Sprint PCS), and I haven't been sorry for a
> > > second.
> >
> > What carrier are you with, now?
>
> U.S. Cellular. They have good coverage in my area, bla bla bla, but
> the thing that really made the deal was the excellent customer
> service. The person who sold me the phone gave me her personal cell
> number and instructed me to call her at any time day or night if there
> was a problem.
>
> This contrasts sharply with my Sprint PCS experience, in which you
> never talk to the same person twice and they seem to take extra steps
> to prevent you from reaching them on the phone
> (http://www.loganet.net/~doumakes/sprint.html).
>
>
> Don Doumakes
> Email replies to doumakes at loganet dot net. Don't email
> [email protected].

You do know Don, that last year, the president of Sprint & SPCS, made huge
changes to the CS dept, and that it's way different than your experience of
2+ years ago ... ? Methinks that whether those complaints were valid then,
they aren't now.

Bob

"Bob Smith" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> You do know Don, that last year, the president of Sprint & SPCS, made huge
> changes to the CS dept, and that it's way different than your experience of
> 2+ years ago ... ? Methinks that whether those complaints were valid then,
> they aren't now.

I have had enough experience with large organizations to be very
skeptical when someone tells me the corporate culture of Sprint has
been radically changed in as short a time as one year. It's just not
realistic.

And that's assuming, optimistically, that Sprint executives suddenly
got religion last year and decided to stop ripping people off. I
don't believe that either. We're talking the same Sprint that paid a
multi-million-dollar settlement THIS year for deceptive business
practices in Florida.

Don Doumakes http://www.loganet.net/~doumakes/sprint.html
Email: doumakes at loganet dot net
Do not reply to [email protected]

"Don Doumakes" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> "Bob Smith" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> > You do know Don, that last year, the president of Sprint & SPCS, made
huge
> > changes to the CS dept, and that it's way different than your experience
of
> > 2+ years ago ... ? Methinks that whether those complaints were valid
then,
> > they aren't now.
>
> I have had enough experience with large organizations to be very
> skeptical when someone tells me the corporate culture of Sprint has
> been radically changed in as short a time as one year. It's just not
> realistic.

Sure it is, has happened.
>
> And that's assuming, optimistically, that Sprint executives suddenly
> got religion last year and decided to stop ripping people off. I
> don't believe that either. We're talking the same Sprint that paid a
> multi-million-dollar settlement THIS year for deceptive business
> practices in Florida.

And that lawsuit was for what time period? Per the following link,
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/sprint_slam.html , the investigation
started long before they made changes to the customer service side. What's
more, that lawsuit was on the LD division, and not the cellular side, so
don't start spouting off, unless you know what you are talking about.

Bob

"Bob Smith" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> "Don Doumakes" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> > I have had enough experience with large organizations to be very
> > skeptical when someone tells me the corporate culture of Sprint has
> > been radically changed in as short a time as one year. It's just not
> > realistic.
>
> Sure it is, has happened.

Reasonable people apparently disagree on this point. I've seen
several complaints on this newsgroup regarding Sprint PCS customer
service. I've had perhaps a dozen people email me in response to my
web page, mostly to say they've recently had similar experiences to
mine.

I don't have any direct experience with them recently; all I said was
that I'm skeptical that a large organization, ANY large organization,
can change its culture quickly.

> > And that's assuming, optimistically, that Sprint executives suddenly
> > got religion last year and decided to stop ripping people off. I
> > don't believe that either. We're talking the same Sprint that paid a
> > multi-million-dollar settlement THIS year for deceptive business
> > practices in Florida.
>
> And that lawsuit was for what time period? Per the following link,
> http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/sprint_slam.html , the investigation
> started long before they made changes to the customer service side.

Yes, and Sprint did nothing to redress the problem until they settled
the charges this spring. If I were at the helm of an organization
that I found out had been involved in criminal behavior, I'd get
started right away at making amends to all the people who got hurt. I
wouldn't wait for the cops to arrive and then settle up. The fact
that the State of Florida had to intervene on behalf of consumers
tells us all we need to know about Sprint's willingness to take
responsibility.

> What's
> more, that lawsuit was on the LD division, and not the cellular side...

Sprint is Sprint. It's all one organization. If the long distance
division of Sprint is ripping people off, it's because the top-level
management approve of doing business that way---or they don't care to
know about it, which amounts to the same moral position.

> so
> don't start spouting off, unless you know what you are talking about.

Perhaps you'd like everyone who disagrees with you to shut up?


Don Doumakes
Email doumakes at loganet dot net, do not mail [email protected]
http://www.loganet.net/~doumakes/sprint.html