Sprint Stinks
Posted on January 27, 2006 25 Comments
From their supposedly good deals on phones which I’ve determined simply don’t exist, to a circular maze of customer service numbers to sales offers that unequivically exclude existing customers, Sprint-Nextel is a company that makes me want to tear my expensive, highly manicured hair out!
As many of you know, I don’t own a land line. I use my Sprint PCS phone for all my calls and save a pretty penny because most of my friends and family also use the company. This means we talk for free most of the time, without paying extra for long distance. (I actually convinced several people to change to Sprint for that very reason – we all wanted to be on the same network.) I’ve used Sprint for more than two years now, and never had a problem…until now. I’m trying to renew my plan and get a new phone. Sounds simple, right? Wrong!
Brian and I are always trying to get the best deal – phones included. So we did a ton of research before we called Sprint to find the models we wanted at the right price. (Here it is.) We called the customer service line to get the phones, and after several discussions, were told that we have to get our phones from a Sprint store.
We tried three Sprint stores in our area, all which had different inventory, none which had the phones we want. Most stocked high end phones from very cheap brands, like LG, which I refuse to buy because I’ve had a few and they’re all pieces of junk, or phones that are out of our price range. The Nextel store we visited (had a Sprint logo but was previously owned by Nextel) only had four or five Sprint phones in the whole store! We were told that we couldn’t purchase ANY of the Nextel phones because they weren’t wired for the Sprint network.
At another Sprint store (on Lake Street in Oak Park) Brian actually had a saleswoman tell her manager she was off the clock when he ordered her to answer Brian’s questions…right in front of Brian! Talk about unprofessional.
We were clearly done with Sprint stores, Sprint-Nextel stores or any other version of said stores. We took our cause back to the customer service line, who again told us to visit a store for the phone we want.
“But we can see it on your Web site,” we pleaded, “can’t we just order it from you?”
No, says the agent named Sam or some other anglo-friendly name who had a suspiciously Indian accent (and by suspiciously, I mean his real name likely wasn’t anglo-friendly, which is cool, but dude why pretend you’re from the US? The jig is up. We know you’re foreign. If only you’d tell us, we’d love you for your crazy chic accent. Perhaps we’d just hang up on you, which in America is actually a sign of love. I hang up on my mom all the time, for instance.).
Why don’t you try ordering from Sprint’s web site?, recommends not-Sam.
Fine. The only reason we didn’t do it in the first place was because we wanted to actually see the phones, hold them, before we purchased them. But at this point, we’re settle for a screen ogle. So off to the internet we go.
We actually found a few more cool phones, one in particular I remember that was red (red!). I went through all the steps to buy my awesome red phone, only to find that my $150 rebate, instantaneous for new customers, is not as prompt for existing customers. I’d have to purchase the phones on my credit card, float the $150 charge for up to FOUR WEEKS, and then do the reimbursement thing.
We called customer service back and they told us there is no possible way to give an existing customer an instantaneous rebate. Whu the? We grew more frustrated by the minute.
We tried several other options desperately hoping to keep our Sprint service, even considered me picking up our two lines under my name (they’re currently listed as Brian’s) to get the instantaneous rebate, then cancelling the lines we have, but there’s no guarantee we’d be able to keep our numbers.
I looked into US Cellular but we’d have to get a more expensive plan due to all the free Sprint-to-Sprint minutes we’d lose. (I also considered going back to Verizon, which I used years ago, but remembered how awful their customer service was as well and quickly squashed that thought.)
So what’s our final decision? Well, as soon as I get all my work checks back and my accounts settled (should be mid-February), I’ll have to float the darn money on my card until the rebate comes. Brian’s phone started malfunctioning in October, there’s no telling when it’s going to expire. My phone still works but is clearly on its last leg and doesn’t really do text messages, which all my girls insist on sending. It’s obvious that we need the new phones soon (I constantly worry that Brian won’t get an emergency call if I’m ever in trouble).
I’ll stick with Sprint, but I hate it. HATE IT. And as soon as I can convince all my friends and family to go somewhere else, we will. Until then…rasberries! (she says with disdain, shaking her fist). I’ll just deal and whine about it.
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January 27th, 2006 @ 8:08 am
When I broke my phone, I wanted a cheap phone and the Sprint customer service guy said I could get a $150 rebate on a particular phone (a really pathetic one). Turned out that my plan didn’t qualify for the rebate, which of course the sales guy failed to mention! I sent Sprint a nasty email and they ended up crediting my account the full amount of the rebate. I used the whole “I’m going to switch to a different service…I’ve been a loyal customer for X amount of years…” lines and it worked.
So keep at it and good luck!
January 27th, 2006 @ 8:20 am
I used to be a Nextel customer but recently switched to Verizon Wireless. Verizon offers great service and coverage (I get 200 more minutes with Verizon than Nextel, plus free calls within the Verizon network). I recently spilled water on my phone, which caused the display to go bad, but Verizon replaced the phone AND transferred my whole phone book over for absolutely NOTHING (aka nada, zilch, $0.00). After dealing with Verizon, I HIGHLY recommend them.
January 27th, 2006 @ 2:14 pm
Referring to nate’s comment:
Verizon has a really bad record when it comes to their employees. I’d avoid them if at all possible. Cingular is a much more responsible company.
My two cents
January 27th, 2006 @ 2:50 pm
Ugh. Sprint, Verizon, Cingular. All of the phone companies suck. We have Verizon and Cingular, and are unhappy with the service. Good luck on getting the phone you want!
January 27th, 2006 @ 2:52 pm
I feel sorry for you. I wish you get a good phone and also a good customer service in future.
And I also have a question for you – What’s wrong with a foreign guy having a Indian accent telling his name as Sam…. His name could have been ‘samiyappan palaniappan’ (there is such a name btw) or ‘sampath kumar’ for all we know. would you be able to call him using his real name? I think he was helping others by keeping such a short name so it’s easy to call. i don’t see any pretence here.
January 27th, 2006 @ 3:03 pm
I wanted a Treo 650 but I had to wait until I had been in my contract for 18 months before I could get the $150 rebate. I bought the phone in May, using some Mother’s day special. Guess when I got the rebate? I’ll give you a hint, the month starts with an ‘S’. And this was only after I shot an eMail at them in August with tons of corporate-speak such as Customer Experience, etc.
January 27th, 2006 @ 4:03 pm
I actually moved to a location where my Sprint service did not work at all and upon cancelling I was told that the new location I was living at had a tower 1.5 miles away and the computer says that it will work. What nerve! I told the girl that it didn’t work and she refused to believe me. I wasn’t even asking to be relieved of the cancellation fee! I was just answering their question about why I was cancelling. This is after I had their service for 3 years!
January 27th, 2006 @ 4:08 pm
I understand being irritated with the guy with accent named “sam”. Most likely it wasn’t his choice. I have friend named Jose. He recently got a new job at a swank place and his manager changed his name to Joseph!
January 27th, 2006 @ 5:32 pm
I’ve actually been extrememly happy with my Cingular service and i’ve been with them for 6 years. And recently my boyfriend and I joined one of their family plans and are saving a bunch. It helps that all of our friends have cingular, too, though.
But I’ll tell you I’m still waiting on my rebate from Motorola on my Razor… why is it so hard to send a rebate back to the customer???
January 27th, 2006 @ 6:30 pm
,,,i like T-Mobile so far. CHEAP. and good service… but phone – I hope holds up I have yet to deal with the insurance co.
January 27th, 2006 @ 8:26 pm
I have sprint too and though I have complaints, every single service seems to have trouble with customer satisfaction so I stay.
When the portable numbers thing came out, sprint started allowing existing customers to apply for a rebate for a new phone every 18 months, so as to deter folks from taking their number to a new service to take advantage of THEIR “new customer” phone price etc.
Not sure why they make it a rebate…probably in the hopes that people will forget, but I did this a while ago (gosh, could i possibly qualify for another one by now?). I wish I could remember how long it took them to pay me, but it didn’t seem egregious.
January 27th, 2006 @ 9:18 pm
Sorry about the Sam comment. It was a reaction to articles I’ve read about companies that outsource their customer service to overseas countries, where employees have to take courses on getting an “American” accent and take fake “American” names. Meanwhile, they work for much less than Americans, which saves the company’s bottom line, but exponentially increases consumer frustration. I’m still developing my views on globalization but somehow this strikes me as ridiculous.
January 27th, 2006 @ 9:22 pm
Happy to hear others views on this subject, btw…
January 27th, 2006 @ 9:40 pm
That’s a lot of drama over cell phones for a couple yuppies.
January 27th, 2006 @ 9:51 pm
I’ve had sprintpcs for about 5 years now. Every 18 months, I get the equivalent of a new-customer rebate on a new phone. I just order from the website, it comes, and I send in the rebate stuff. That’s how it was when I got my first sprint phone, too. As far as I know, like any mail-in rebate, you always have to wait for it to come — usually in about 4 weeks. I guess that’s a pain, though it never really bothered me.
January 27th, 2006 @ 9:53 pm
All in the name of saving a few bucks Mr. Al.
For two kids who come from blue collar families, we’ll take the yuppie comment as a compliment, if that’s ok with you.
January 27th, 2006 @ 10:19 pm
We are on our third set of LG phones. Currently we have four VX3200 phones and they have proven to be the most reliable and rugged phones we have ever owned. Their performance is everything we could hope for. You might check the reviews of various phones on Cnet.com. Also, we are very happy with Verizon Wireless service. Most of our friends and family are “In” and we talk for free. Their service and network are far superior to any others in our area.
January 27th, 2006 @ 10:54 pm
I had my nextel phone for 2 years it was an I 530 and the service was sad the direct connect worked sometimes and I finally dropped my phone on a bus and lost it about 2 months ago and sprint/nextel is still taking thier sweet time replacing it its true the company customer service is non existant
January 28th, 2006 @ 6:30 am
I don’t think should even be in business let me tell you why. In one of the states a father was getting his babies ready to go somewhere her put one kid in the car (never leave you kids alone stop doing that to your kids) and went back in the house to get the other baby when he came back out his car and baby was gone the mother called sprint to get the car tracked down because the cell phone was left in the car had a tracking decieve they told them because their son was kidnapped they said so what get a subpeona and pay us $50 bucks to track the car down and find your kid. What ass **** how can you tell someone to forget it we won’t help you find your kid yet your kid go missing. Sprint Should Not Be In Business They Don’t Give A Crap About Missing Kids1
January 28th, 2006 @ 6:31 am
I had a nightmare situation with Cingular in which I would send my payments in weeks in advance and they would never credit my account unless I personally picked up the phone to ask them to credit my account each month. This occurred for more than 6 months in a row which wasted hours of my valuable time. It had gotten so bad that I had to start faxing Cingular’s billing department proof from my bank that the payment had been sent and arrived on time. After trying to patiently work with hundreds of customer service representatives to correct the billing snafu, I finally canceled my plan to keep my sanity and wrote a complaint letter to Cingular’s president explaining my displeasure with its customer service department in resolving my issue. I provided documentation that provided proof that no matter who I spoke to, no one would help me correct the problem. I then insisted in the letter that my termination fee of $200 be waived due to fact that their faulty attempts to resolve my problem unsuccessfully caused me to cancel my plan. Three weeks later I received a call of the President’s Executive Assistant thanking me for making them aware of the problem and I was told that they would waive my $200 termination fee.
I wrote this comment to say that maybe you should write a letter to the President of Sprint. Heck, give him your blog link as well while you’re at it.
Here’s their corporate headquarter information.
Mr. Gary D. Forsee
President
Sprint Nextel Corporation
2001 Edmund Halley Dr.
Reston, VA 20191
Phone: (703) 433-4000
Much luck!
January 30th, 2006 @ 8:10 pm
I highly recommend T-Mobile for a few reasons:
1) Very reasonably priced.
2) One year contracts only and they reach out to you to renew before your contract expires. Two years and my minutes have gone up each year with no plan price increase.
3) Customer service good so far.
4) Secretly, the probably have biggest network. What do I mean? They have roaming agreements with Verizon and at least one other wireless carrier, but they don’t charge roaming fees! Thus, you get great coverage across multiple wireless networks at no extra cost.
no, I don’t work for T-Mobile. I just bought their phone service more than two years ago after putting up with Ameritech, AT&T, and Sprint. never again!
January 31st, 2006 @ 1:45 am
I went throught the EXACT same situation when I tried to renew my contract and get a red phone for myself. The number of times I tried explaining to sales people that just because I’m an existing loyal customer I have to wait months to get my rebate, but if I walk in off the street to start a new account I’ll get my money today. It doesn’t make sense, REWARD your loyal customers, do not punish!
P.S. Red phones rock.
January 31st, 2006 @ 4:38 pm
But isn’t T-Mobile only for the those who live in an urban area… i know it is not the same as a cell phone, but if you have cable internet may i mention vonage? If you want to talk about really saving money….
February 7th, 2006 @ 2:52 pm
I actually had a mental breakdown in the Verizon wireless store this past weekend. Switching to the family share plan to save money was fine, but I lost my 100 off a new phone for 2 more years. Of course, when your battery dies, you have to buy a NEW phone because the old one is defunct, and they don’t sell the battery anymore!! Rebates for this, not for that, coupons for new customers, not for you; mp3′s, but not I-tunes; songs that cost 3 bucks a download; fun features that cost 50 bucks extra a month; salespeople that say one thing and do another; phones that don’t come with accessories; and no chairs to sit down on in the store, so everyone’s standing around stewing!!ARGHHH!!!!!!!
February 10th, 2006 @ 10:43 am
I am a Cingular customer serice rep and pride myself on doing a good job. But the people that give the “” “I’m going to switch to a different service…I’ve been a loyal customer for X amount of years…” lines “” get really obnoxious really quick. Oh well, guess people will do what they need to do to get what they want. Time for me to go to work and get yelled and whined at