Customer Service at SprintPCS

In article <[email protected]>,
Isaiah Beard <[email protected]> wrote:

> > we see Sprint owned stores fake repairs, refuse to do upgrades,
> > etc, etc. We see activatiopn fees increase. We see *4 charged for, we
> > see longer hold times calling Sprint, with advocates that hang up on
> > you, or at best transfer you to a colleague pretending its to a
> > supervisor......
>
> Now, can you document any of this?

Do you read the posts here or not. Its all been here. Many times. its a
long sad story, except to Sprint apologists.

---

› See More: Customer Service at SprintPCS

Everyone wants great customer service, and they fel that it is owed to
them. The better a rep is communicated withm the bestter service you
get, with any company. I realize that people have problems, but some of
the stories that I read here are outrageous.

I try to explain myself before I go to a store or call customer
service. When I went for my WD29 upgrade, I stated " I understand that
there is a new update for the A500, called WD29. I was hoping that you
could check to see if it was here." After checking they told me that
they did not have it. I then asked them to check to see when they would
have it and they told me that they never hear of it. I then asked to
use their phone to call the store on the other side of town and they
stated that they had it. I was told that I could bring it over and I
would not have to wait since I had to travel there. For most people, it
would have been like this: " I would like to have my phone upgreaded to
WD29." Rep: " we do not have that upgrade sir/ma'am." Customer: " What
are you talking about, I heard from a Sprint forum that you have it!"
Rep: " No sir/ma'am We do not have it." This could escalate into an
argument and making the customer feel that something is owed to them.

As far as CS via telephone. I try to make the rep feel like they are
doing their job by stating my problem correctly, ask them how their day
is and tell them that I value my service and that I am a loyal
customer. They know if ou are abusing the service. If my problem is not
handled to my liking, I thank them, hang up and call another rep until
it is handled. Most times, supervisors will not help. I offer to
reckognise the hard work of a rep by asking if I could tell anyone
(supervisor) how well they did. By doing this, I now have a few direct
extensions to call if I have a problem. As I stated Earlier, I do not
abuse this! If I have a serious enough problem, I get help, credits or
hardware. I have not been flagged for using vision as a modem either.

I feel you get out what you put into it!

--
Posted at SprintUsers.com - Your place for everything Sprint PCS
Free wireless access @ www.SprintUsers.com/wap

"Phillipe" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news[email protected]...
> In article <[email protected]>,
> Isaiah Beard <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > they don't
> > want to wait a minute or two on hold with *2.
>
> I have never seen it below 10 minutes in the last 3 months. Nice try.

Everytime I have called it has been less than, perhaps, 3 minutes.

Tom Veldhouse

tom ronson wrote:

> "Bob Smith" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:P3P%[email protected]...
>
>
>>And this has to do with SPCS how? One had just declared Chapter 11.
>
>
> re: local Sprint affils ---- Doesn't this remove subscribers from the Sprint
> totals? I mean if there's no deal there's no customers --- hence lower
> subscriber counts. Maybe Quest will bump this, but not until after later
> this year. It also hurts SPCS users directly in the area with closed local
> solutions and reduced capacity.

I think we're jumping the gun here. At the moment NO coverage has been
lost or reduced, and neither has capacity. The worst that's happening
is that Horizon is focusing more on handling their current customers and
not actively working to sign up new people until their finances are
straightened out. While stores are closing, no new custoemrs are being
turned away in the Horizon-owned PCS stores that are still open.


> It does make me wonder if SPCS is trying to break mom 'n pop so they can buy
> cheaply at the bankruptcy court -

It's possible. But then, horizon is not the only Sprint PCS partner out
there, and Sprint probably knows it would have quite a revolt on its hands.


> -- but I'd think Vzw would help keep it
> from being a route.

At the same time, I'm not sure VZW would be itnerested. They have a lot
of coverage to begin with.

>
>>About this alleged delay, this is just blather. I see people saying here
>>that they've been on hold for 20 minutes ... to speak with a rep, and it's
>>hasn't happened with yours truly for a couple of years now.
>
>
> It doesn't happen to you so it's blather? Interesting and insular position,
> Bob.

Quite a few of us actually, have low wait times on CS. My wait has
consisitently been under five minutes. Though, i haven't really kept
track of when I call. Who knows, I COULD be calling during lulls. *shrug*

> you call them "problems" whereas a normal person might call them errors.

Are we arguing semantics now? A "problem" tends to be caused by
"error." How is calling it a "problem" whitewashing the situation?

> And
> how spiffy of SPCS, fixing something they'd screwed up to begin with. Yup,
> put the bar on the floor and SPCS will get over it every time.

Soooo, you'd rather they never fix anything they screw up?

>
> You ask for "cites" all the time, them throw a bunch of subjective crap on
> the wall as proof that SPCS is the greatest thing since sliced white bread.

Ont the other hand, you refuse to see anything positive, at all. Sprint
can't do right, and even when an effort is made to fix the problems...
oh, sorry, "errors," this still is unacceptable. Why are you still a
customer Tom? If Sprint can do no right, why continue to pay them?

In article <[email protected]>,
hhoffmeier <[email protected]> wrote:

> I try to explain myself before I go to a store or call customer
> service. When I went for my WD29 upgrade, I stated " I understand that
> there is a new update for the A500, called WD29. I was hoping that you
> could check to see if it was here." After checking they told me that
> they did not have it. I then asked them to check to see when they would
> have it and they told me that they never hear of it. I then asked to
> use their phone to call the store on the other side of town and they
> stated that they had it. I was told that I could bring it over and I
> would not have to wait since I had to travel there.

I think most of the rest of us would be upset we had to travel to a 2nd
store (many cities only have 1 store), and that the first did not check
to see if it would be more convienent for you for them to obtain the
upgrade from their sister store, and have you return the next day. I
thought CS was taught: "Never ask a customer to do something you can
more easily do for them".


> If my problem is not
> handled to my liking, I thank them, hang up and call another rep until
> it is handled.

BINGO. Why should you have to do that, let alone expect to? Why is it
now an acceptable way of doing business for you? Next to no one expects
perfection, but we shouldn't expect to have a rep not be able to handle
things correctly.

Some one else brought up the argument "Well, people have problems at
Verizon". As if because Verizon has poor Customer Service that makes it
OK for Sprint to also be bad?

I find it incredible that Sprint's CS is so low that you are now
accepting and blame it in part on yourself that maybe you weren't
friendly enough.

This post will only give my opinion of the whole Customer Service
issue....so please take it with a grain of salt.....I personally (and
please note I said personally) have not been bad....my hold times have
generally been less than 5 minutes.....the service I have received has
been quite good (very isolated problems).....my own opinion is that you
go where you feel comfortable.....personally I don't complain for
months on end about service from a company....it it is not up to my
standards I let them know with my wallet.....if Sprint works for
you....fine....if not then just cancel and move on......while a free
exchange of ideas is what this country is all about after posts from
the same users over the same issues day after day is (unfortunately)
expected......you should just move on if you are not
satisfied.......life is too short!

--
Posted at SprintUsers.com - Your place for everything Sprint PCS
Free wireless access @ www.SprintUsers.com/wap

Phillipe wrote:
>
> In article <[email protected]>,
> Isaiah Beard <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> > they don't
> > want to wait a minute or two on hold with *2.
>
> I have never seen it below 10 minutes in the last 3 months. Nice try.

That's funny. I've *NEVER had to hold for more than 5 minutes.

I just know how it works; with so many people expecting stellar service
and giving nothing but attitudes, not every rep is going to have a
smile on. Given that this is their job, CS is an attitude as well as a
job and since most of them are abused, the good ones quit. This happens
with all CS departments.

I am a recruiter and interview people everyday and it is amazing how
many people I meet that do not know how to invoke good interview
skills/ ettiquite, let aloneshow up on time if at all for the first day
of a job.

Sometimes you just have to know how to manipulate the system. I am
not trying to argue, but there are always people that dilute/ degrade
CS and shopping experiences.

-Hank

--
Posted at SprintUsers.com - Your place for everything Sprint PCS
Free wireless access @ www.SprintUsers.com/wap

"Isaiah Beard" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> I think we're jumping the gun here.

Perhaps, but Horizen is not the only affil that's going this route.

>The worst that's happening is that Horizon is focusing more on handling
>their current customers and not actively working to sign up new people
>until their finances are straightened out.

I suspect that the stockholders don't look at this is a minor issue.

>While stores are closing, no new customers are being
> turned away in the Horizon-owned PCS stores that are still open.

Are stores closing good for growth, or servicing the installed base?


> At the same time, I'm not sure VZW would be itnerested. They have a lot
> of coverage to begin with.

Don't underestimate the power of exclusionary marketing --- if you don't
give
that practice much credit look up the American terminal (terminal "C") at
RDU.

> Quite a few of us actually, have low wait times on CS. My wait has
> consisitently been under five minutes. Though, i haven't really kept
> track of when I call. Who knows, I COULD be calling during lulls.
*shrug*

In my personal belief 5 minutes is not at all acceptable. Not even close. 1
minute or less to get someone with a clue before my attitude starts to
adjust itself.

> Are we arguing semantics now? A "problem" tends to be caused by
> "error." How is calling it a "problem" whitewashing the situation?

Geez man, maybe they are semantics, but Bob is the one who told the story of
how SPCS screwed up the coding of his account and how he _had_ to get them
to fix it, and that it took more than one call. Ah, my potion is they
screwed it up and it shouldn't have taken more than one call to get it
fixed. A "quality control" call afterwards wouldn't matter a **** one to me
because every step after the screw up was a wasted step by SPCS and their
customer Bob.

And that's giving them the benefit of the doubt that it wasn't done
intentional to put more profit on the bottom line --- which is a possibility
you can't ignore by the near constant chirps of "my bill was not correct,
something changed on Sprint's end that....."

> Soooo, you'd rather they never fix anything they screw up?

No, Id rather not see the systemic problems that allow the screw ups in the
first place.

> Ont the other hand, you refuse to see anything positive, at all.

Really? I pointed out the 4900 makes a good flashlight, in a pinch. That's
positive, isn't it?

I do see lots of positive about SPCS, but I also see enough warnings on MY
radar screen to know that something has happened internally within the past
three months to take the much needed course correction from the past few
year off track. This crap about the WLNP moving around on my monthly invoice
is one thing. Circuits at capacity are another. Data connections that fail
frequently are another. Then, what really gets my critical eye pointed in
Sprint's direction is the oft PR stated "we're trying" mantra --- all at a
time when that's what they were doing to begin with.

It took the clowns at SPCS 2.5 days to answer an email (24 hour promise
respnce time) to ecare with the answer of call *2 to have a problem
diagnosed. Then, when I did that, they tell me the tower is at capacity but
that I can get a credit by calling *2 and saying "dropped call". I don't
want a credit, I want the ****ing phone to not drop out in the middle of a
****ing conversation when it shows 5 bars on the display.

Not too much to ask from a cell phone provider, or is it?

>>If Sprint can do no right, why continue to pay them?

Why? Because the deal I've got for the minutes that I've got makes it worth
hanging onto --- for now. But I also know that by keeping the pointed stick
in their side that maybe, just maybe, they'll not slam into a pole, now that
they've broken traction and have started to skid. If it doesn't get better
then ya, I'll bolt. In a heartbeat.

The idea of a service is to provide a solution, not a layer of aggravation
to a life that's got plenty of real things to offer me.

And to you Bob --- let me google up your quality control note from a few
weeks back --- and if you can tell me that wasn't written while on your
knees I'll get off of it. But my philosophic differences between what I
think is fair and proper service I suspect is totally different than what
you
think. The wlnp not being a rate increase is probably a perfect example of
that.

And for those who pooh-poohed my thots on the PR / news angle of wlnp and
how VZW has SPCS and Nextel, in particular, by the throat I suggest you read
the AP story listed on this board, which says in part,
Sprint stood firm in asserting it has already spent "hundreds of millions of
dollars" to prepare for number portability. That figure contrasts sharply
with public estimates from Verizon, which has irked its rivals by breaking
ranks with the industry's long-standing opposition to wireless number
portability.

Verizon says it has spent about $60 million on preparations, and estimated
its ongoing costs to facilitate number portability at 10 or 15 cents per
subscriber per month.

With 34.6 million subscribers, Verizon's estimate suggests that it expects
monthly portability expenses of up to $5.2 million, or less than half the
amount Sprint will be collecting per month.

----- THAT's why I worry about Sprint --- they can't see the forest for the
trees. Who are they kidding that they spent "hundreds of millions" ---
christ Ray Charles can see what's going on with this deal.

<< I have never seen it below 10 minutes in the last 3 months. Nice try.
>>

Odd, since I have *never* had to wait more than five minutes during peak
hours, and no more than two minutes during late night hours since the
noticeable change in CS occured. And I am not on one of the higher end
plans, so that can be ruled out as an excuse for shorter hold times.

While the results from the person you speak with at Customer Care still
varies for me, the hold times have never been a problem for me in the
past few months.

Eric

In article <[email protected]>,
DONBO <[email protected]> wrote:

>
> This post will only give my opinion of the whole Customer Service
> issue....so please take it with a grain of salt.....I personally (and
> please note I said personally) have not been bad....my hold times have
> generally been less than 5 minutes.....the service I have received has
> been quite good (very isolated problems).....my own opinion is that you
> go where you feel comfortable.....personally I don't complain for
> months on end about service from a company....it it is not up to my
> standards I let them know with my wallet.....if Sprint works for
> you....fine....if not then just cancel and move on......while a free
> exchange of ideas is what this country is all about after posts from
> the same users over the same issues day after day is (unfortunately)
> expected......you should just move on if you are not
> satisfied.......life is too short!

The flip side of that is that when all different users post all manner
of different problems, Sprint apologists tell these users how its the
user's fault. That gets even older, quicker.

<<It's good you are so loyal to Sprint, but I have seen no one post here
who has experienced improved Service. The horror stories continue. We
have seen affiliates go belly up, we have seen hidden price increases
disquised as Cost recovery fees, we have seen Executive Services
blocked, we see Sprint owned stores fake repairs, refuse to do upgrades,
etc, etc. We see activatiopn fees increase. We see *4 charged for, we
see longer hold times calling Sprint, with advocates that hang up on
you, or at best transfer you to a colleague pretending its to a
supervisor......>>

If you are so anti-Sprint. why don't you cancel? I am sure you could
find some excuse to get out of an ETF. It sounds like you would be a
lot happier elsewhere.

<<In my personal belief 5 minutes is not at all acceptable. Not even
close. 1 minute or less to get someone with a clue before my attitude
starts to adjust itself. >>

I think about a 3-5 minute hold time with any large corporation is very
good... as long as you get a good result when you call. Expecting to
have a call answered in under a minute during peak hours (say lunchtime
on a Monday) is just expecting too much -- it doesn't matter how busy
you think you are or how important you think you are... lol, I bet I
don't even get a call answered or transferred that quickly when I call
the hospital or doctor's office.

<<I don't want a credit, I want the ****ing phone to not drop out in the
middle of a ****ing conversation when it shows 5 bars on the display.>>

This is actually more common on Sanyo phones I have found, since they
tend to "over read" signal strength. But it also happened on a friend's
LG VX-3100 on Verizon -- call dropped with supposedly strong signal
strength. This may happen in random cases with most providers.

"tom ronson" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
<snipped>
> Geez man, maybe they are semantics, but Bob is the one who told the story
of
> how SPCS screwed up the coding of his account and how he _had_ to get them
> to fix it, and that it took more than one call. Ah, my potion is they
> screwed it up and it shouldn't have taken more than one call to get it
> fixed. A "quality control" call afterwards wouldn't matter a **** one to
me
> because every step after the screw up was a wasted step by SPCS and their
> customer Bob.

<snipped again>

> And to you Bob --- let me google up your quality control note from a few
> weeks back --- and if you can tell me that wasn't written while on your
> knees I'll get off of it. But my philosophic differences between what I
> think is fair and proper service I suspect is totally different than what
> you
> think. The wlnp not being a rate increase is probably a perfect example of
> that.

Tom, you must have a hard on for me and my posts. First you say that all I
do is ever ending praise SPCS, then provide one and only quote where I said
I had a problem, then say I'm on my knees to SPCS ...

I think it's time for you to either up your meds or go see your shrink to
get the medication changed ...

Bob

In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] (Eric) wrote:

> << I have never seen it below 10 minutes in the last 3 months. Nice try.
> >>
>
> Odd, since I have *never* had to wait more than five minutes during peak
> hours, and no more than two minutes during late night hours since the
> noticeable change in CS occured. And I am not on one of the higher end
> plans, so that can be ruled out as an excuse for shorter hold times.
>
> While the results from the person you speak with at Customer Care still
> varies for me, the hold times have never been a problem for me in the
> past few months.
>
> Eric

Has it come to that? Five minute hold times are acceptable?