Sprint is huckstering on my phone

[blazin_diva400]

Originally Posted by Sideman7

I find the button in the middle of the voicemail screen quite annoying... And I am in the middle of the trial (which I only did in hopes of the first button going away), and this "service" they are offering is beyond worthless. I have yet to see a transcription that is even close. It has provided some mild entertainment, but they have some nerve to charge for this.

exactly..nonetheless reading these transcriptions are hilarious.

[chaoticallysweet]

Originally Posted by lkillen

I made corporate contact (VP of Customer Relations). I was called back the next day. One voice can make a difference. But it has to be a voice that is will to speak and not we a wossie

Everyone in the world know Jerry i.e VP of customer relations phone number and email address. The fact that you dropped his title, rather than name, is indication of what this thread was all about and how lame it really was--- a post to boast about how self important you think you are.......

[lkillen]

Actually it was a her. And it was in reference to a previous issue. You want to turn this into an attack on my integrity, dip-wad? Read and weep. The interchange below resulted in a $500 refund and a new(TP2) phone for my daughter.

You want to address these issues, please feel free to PM me.


Mr. Killen – I apologize for any inconvenience these experiences have caused but thank you for reaching out to me. Please give me the opportunity to try and have this situation resolved for you. I will escalate this matter to someone who can assist. Please expect a call from someone soon.



Thanks, Roni




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Larry Killen [mailto:lkillen@charter.net]
Sent: Sunday, June 20, 2010 2:02 PM
To: Singleton, Roni M [COM]
Cc: Sherry Killen;
Subject: per your release petaining to Sprint's Customer relations program




Sprint

Roni Singleton, 404-649-1579

eronia.singleton@sprint.com







My ongoing nightmare with Sprint

Roni, I saw your article about Sprint service and customer relations and have to disagree. I am amidst a continuing nightmare that is still going on. It has been 15 days and no resolution yet. I am paying for a service I am not receiving. As with you, I believe that Sprint’s performance in the market is directly related to their customer relations program which is poor.

I have been with Sprint for 10 years. I have never made a payment late or a nickel short. I have four Sprint accounts and early on was awarded cash awards for recruiting others to Sprint. I also own 44,200 shares of Sprint stock. That does not put me on the board directors but it is about 1/3 for my modest portfolio.

I upgraded to a Sprint EVO 4G and my nightmare began. There is nothing wrong with the EVO. The problem began when I switched my Mogul 6800 to my daughter’s phone. She had a Samsung M300 and I thought the Mogul would be a better phone. The salesman at the Mall of Georgia Kiosk made the switch for us. Immediately, I noticed I was not getting internet access on the Mogul. I was assured that it might take some time so we left, believing what we had been told.

By Monday, I still did not see any improvement in the Mogul. I knew the issue was not a lack of available service since we were able to access 3G service in our house on three other phones, my EVO, a Katana and a Rant. On Tuesday, 6/8, I was attending my daughter’s softball tournament about 20 miles from our home and made my first service call to Sprint regarding this issue. I worked with a young lady named Tamarra. She was competent and knowledgeable.. I learned quickly to ask for the representative id at the beginning of each call. The game was a double-header and I spent the entire time on the phone with the Rep. She had me remove the battery and conduct a series of tests. We started IOTA so many times that I feared I would wear the screen out! I even performed a hard reset. I entered ##3282# and attempted to enter the EPST editor. She would provide me with the MSL and on every occasion, I would be informed that the Unlock Code was incorrect. This is a pattern that I would see at least 50 times more.

After several hours on the phone, she resigned that there MUST be something wrong with the phone. We went through the process of ordering a replacement phone and have it delivered to Peach State Wireless. I insisted that I did not want the phone coming directly to me. I have my reasons.

The replacement phone arrived the following Friday. I took off my lunch-hour and went to the store to retrieve the phone. They went through the drill of switching over the number, contacts, etc. I asked them to insure that the phone could access the internet. They tried and it failed. They took the phone into the backroom and remained there for a couple of hours. I went to eat. I came back and they were still working on the phone while talking to Sprint Tech Support. Near 4 PM they informed me that they exhausted all their options and did not know what else to do. I thanked them for their efforts and asked that they give me the phone so I could at least give me daughter a phone she could talk on. They gave me the replacement phone. I called my company and had them deduct 1/2 day vacation time since it was not practical to drive back to work.

When I arrived home, I decided to pursue the problem on my own. I called *2 and went through the prompts. When asked to press 3, I would do so and the response I got was, “I do not understand that request” and then it would recite the prompts again. At this point, I kept pressing zero and was returned the same message. Finally I heard the phone dial and a Rep answered and asked for my name. I began to state my first and last name, and she would continually repeat the request. Finally she stated that she was unable to hear me and that I should call back on another “working” phone. I was calling from my EVO and I verified that the Mute button was not engaged. A second call from my wife’s Katana followed a similar pattern and resulted in the same result. At this point, I had an epiphany. Since I am sitting in front of my Laptop with webcam, I started up CyberLink You Cam and began to capture the entire affair in high resolution. I called Sprint, I input the number of the phone in question, I am presented the prompts with the same silly, “I do not understand that request.” I am holding my EVO right in front of the camera with it showing the numbers that I have entered. The phone is on speaker. When I finally get to the “deaf rep”, you can hear me stating my name and see that the phone is not on mute. It makes for great You-Tube footage. Check out my Facebook.

When I finally do make access to a rep, her name is Emily and I get her Rep ID. She tells me that there is nothing wrong with their answering service and that the problem is obviously my phone. I ask if I should return my EVO and she seems a little taken aback. I told her that it has happened on two different phones and she tells me that some people have bad luck with phones! (Where do you find these people?) I give her a brief summary of my issue and she starts me down the road of all that was done at the store. I tell her, I am not going there and that I want to talk to a supervisor. She says she will place me on hold and the next thing I know, my connection is broken. I have it all recorded on the web cam.

I call back and fight my way through the usual mess. When I reached a Rep, I immediately ask for their RepID. I explain that I need to talk to a supervisor. I am placed on hold and another person comes on line. I ask for their RepID. I asked if they are a supervisor I am told they are. She has me perform several tasks on the phone, none that have not been done before. My wife has called out on another line and is seeking someone a little higher up. I ask the person what type of supervisor she is and she states that she is just a client rep! I asked to speak to a supervisor and I am told that I must first go through advanced technical support. I am passed on to another tech. I get his name and RepID. I work extensively with this tech for nearly three hours. He can get nowhere. At the end of the call, he informs me that he will have to pass me on to “Advanced Technical Support!” It is late at night and I am getting tired. He passes me on to Martin and I get his RepID. Martin has me do several tests that I have already done before. Martin tells me that this phone is also bad. One of the intermediary techs tells me, “Mr. Killen, if you are just trying to get a free phone, it is not going to happen!” I heard the same essential comment this morning and I am incensed!!!

Finally Martin says we will have to replace the phone. I tell him not to send the phone to me, that one of the techs had accused me of phone pandering, so that I did not want to touch the phone until it was working. Martin was 100% sure the problem was in the phone. I asked if Sprint had a QC\QA program and inspected their equipment before shipping and he assured me that they did. I asked how two “inspected phones” could arrive with the same identical problem and he went silent. He finally resigned to “Mr. Killen, I do not know what else to do.” Feeling sympathetic, I had him send a new phone to Peach State Wireless, the Sprint repair facility in Buford, GA. I was called on 15 June and told that the phone was in. I went to the repair store the next day and handed them my daughter’s Mogul. They did the normal drill of switching the accounts over to the new phone. Before I allowed the lady to hand me the phone, I told her to connect to the internet. She attempted and it failed. As the week before, I was told that it might take up to an hour to acquire. I told them I would go eat lunch and return in an hour. I returned and asked that they access the internet but the phone still failed. They took the phone into the back and I sat out front until after 4 PM. They came out and said they were unable to make it work. I was given the number of a man that runs the corporate store in Duluth, GA. I was assured that he had the best technical support in all the land. I called the number and spoke with a Mr. Eddie Rivera. He said to come down to his store and assured me with an over-confident tone that he would have me in and out in no time. I called work and told them I would not be coming in and to dock me another 1/2 day pay. I went home, got my wife and we headed to Duluth, Ga. to the Sprint Corporate store. We entered the store and got in a very long line. After 45 minutes, I made my way to the front and told the salesman our long story. He wrote notes and wrapped a piece of paper around my daughter’s phone and dropped it in a basket. My wife and I sat in the corner and waited.

After about 90 minutes, one of the salesman noticed we had been there a very long time and went back and checked on the phone. He said the teach was having some problems but assured me he would get to the bottom of it. We waited. We waited and saw the sun go down. We waited and finally the salesman came and handed us the phone and said that it would have to be replaced. I told him that the phone was only 5 hours old and he said the phone was bad. I asked how three phones could have the identical problem and he said that it was not his problem and that he could order me a new phone or I could leave with the one I had. I told him to not to bother. He walked us to the door, locking it behind us.

When I got home, I called Sprint again. I wanted to try to find out what options are available. I made my way through several client reps, each time, removing the phone battery and performing a series of tests, insuring me each time that they knew the answer. At each step, I collect the RepID and record the session. Finally I work with Andre, a fine young man with obviously more than average intelligence. By now, I am able to anticipate what they want me to do. I know all the access codes, user id and my MSL. I can do what they ask in my sleep. He passed me on to a lady and she wants to send me, yet, another phone. She offers me some other brand and I look them up and they look like cheap crap. One is even a Palm which is essentially out of business. I explain that I simply want a Mogul that does what it is supposed to do. We part ways because it is very late.

On Friday morning, 6/18, I am called by Misty. She claims she is from the NOC. I get her RepID. Misty is very unfriendly, talking over anything I have to say. She says I have to replace the phone. I ask her if the phones are inspected before they are sent out and she assures me they are. I ask how three phones could all arrive with the same issue and she says they are “being damaged in shipment and that it is not the responsibility of Sprint what happens in shipment!” She also tells me that I will NOT get a free EVO. When I explain that I want the Mogul and that I already have an EVO, she just talks over me. She actually sounds very uneducated. Her RepID is MI307144, or so she says.

Having lost any confidence in her, I asked to speak to her supervisor. I am told he will not be in until noontime, Central Time. I ask for her to assure me that he will call as soon as his comes in. I tell her I am recording her reply. I ask her again to insure that he will call me when he arrives. The call was never returned.

Several hours later I called Sprint again. I pursued until I got a supervisor. Be advised that before I got to this supervisor, I went through a client rep name Laura and through Level I tech support and advanced technical support. I traversed paths that had become footworn a week ago but each person assured me that they were going to “resolve this issue.” After another three hours, I found myself talking to Toni (4409) and we explored various resolutions for over an hour. At some point, she offered me a replacement phone. The phone was a $29.00 replacement for $499 phone (Mogul). Note: when I purchased the Mogul, my wife paid full dollar! It was my Christmas present. When I explained that a cheap “replacement” was unsatisfactory, she stated it was a take it or leave it offer. When I insisted that Sprint is obliged to replace the Mogul with a phone of equal or greater value, she babbled that the phone is old and therefore has lost its value. When I told her, I would simply cancel my plan; she stated that I would have to pay an early termination fee for each line. When I explained that I would not pay an early termination fee for a service I had never received she laughed and said that that was not how it works. I told her to keep going since I was recording the entire conversation. She then became apoplectic and began screaming that she never gave permission to have the conversation recorded; I explained that I had informed the first representative that the call was being recorded as a courtesy but that that is not required in my state. 18 U.S.C. Sec. 2511(2)(d) She started to prattle about having me arrested for violating her rights and became nearly incoherent. At this point, I handed the phone to my wife and told her to make something out of it. At some point, she placed my wife on hold, for no apparent reason and after another 15 minutes, the call dropped.

Yesterday, I was called by Sprint while I was in the middle of helping a friend move.. I explained that I could not talk then and he agreed to call mid-day today. It is 2:10 PM and no call.

This is not our first “bad encounter” with Sprint customer support. Last winter we lost all phone connectivity for almost two weeks. We live in Sugar Hill, Ga. in Gwinnett County which is no longer the “sticks.” We would walk or drive 1 ½ miles to call Sprint and report the outage. With EVERY call, the (insert your expletive here) from Sprint would want to trouble-shoot our phone. When I explained that we had three phones, all different models and none were able to connect to service, it was as if we were talking to a wall. “Remove the battery. Wait 1 minute. Insert the battery, etc., etc.” I would be standing on the sidewalk in freezing wind trying to humor some representative reading a script from their computer screen. We were not able to even dial 911! If my child had fallen down the steps, I would have to run up the road to call 911. Finally, after fighting for days to speak to someone of some competence, we were told there was a severe outage. But then the subsequent call to try to get an estimate when the service would be back up, I would be directed to trouble-shoot my phone!!! And this is the customer support you speak of?

I have just received a notice that another Mogul replacement phone is on the way, even though I insisted that they do not send one to me. I said that if they insist on sending a new phone, to send it to a Sprint store since I want them to insure it connects to the internet prior to handing it to me. But, as so often the case, the representative did not hear a word I said. It seems that with each call, I am also sent an e-mail informing me that my plan has been updated and that the plan cycle date has been advanced!! The insanity never stops.



I am also a registered blogger (Examiner) for the Examiner. I write articles on three topics, local politics, day-trading and emerging technologies. Look for my column.



Larry K

[chaoticallysweet]

not attacking, just stating:

Roni Singleton, Sprint PR, (404) 649-1579 or eronia.singleton@sprint.com

Jerry Adriano VP of customer Experience/Director of product realization. I have always emailed him to resolve my issued, but I am glad that email the PR person for sprint helped you.....

We may have both been wrong, but we still got issued resolved with sprint, cheers mate

[lkillen]

No problem. But think about how many people who are enraged just sit in their anger. I am not talking about every little blip but sometimes you have to rattle a cage. If I am a company officer, and I only hear from one person on an issue, I presume that it was a fluke. If I hear from ten, I begin to think that this might be a sampling of serious problems.

I am a software designer. I love feedback. Without it, I develop the software my way but I never pay for my software. I need to know what the customers want. We are Sprint's customers and we can sit quiet in our anger and even switch providers or we can demand they do it better. Just as my customers pay my salary, we pay theirs.

None of us are inconsequental

[gator352]

I just want my MTV....

[BlackDynamite]

The original poster is spot on.

I also got the forced upgrade in the voice mail app, which resulted in a nag screen for a free trial to the voice to text or whatever they call it.

The free trial showed me that the service is worthless. No way would I consider paying for that, as I'm sure nobody reading this (or has seen it in action) is actually paying for it.

After the trial, now I have that same button on my voice mail app.

This is not your typical Android ad. You aren't supposed to have ads on your PAID apps. I pay for my voice mail so I want it ad free.

Not only that, but on your typical Android ad, tapping it won't add a fee to your monthly bill. If one of my kids hits that button, accidentally or otherwise, my monthly bill will go up. Nobody should be able to raise my monthly bill but me. Nobody should even be offered a chance to raise it but me.

I wholeheartedly agree that the button is in poor taste, and Sprint should get rid of it.

Imagine if you bought the top of the line fully loaded car. And after a few months they came out with a better stereo for the car. And at that moment, they put a mandatory firmware upgrade on your stereo that had a huge ad offering you the chance to buy the upgraded stereo with the push of a button. And there was no way to ever get rid of this ad, it stayed there the entire time the stereo was on.

Unacceptable.

[gator352]

I totally agree with you BlackDynamite!

[mharvey]

My problem with this "Free Trial button"... It bugs me a bit on my Evo but I can ignore it. I just bought a pair of Optimus S phones for the parents and added them to my account. I have told them to not click the button. It only took a day for one of them to click it and sign up for the trial. They, of course, have no recollection of clicking the button. I do not like this trap waiting for them to click and eventually end up subscribing to an add on service on my account. I would like to be able to disable that button and prevent them from adding a service that they do not need and I do not want to end up paying for.

[BlackDynamite]

Originally Posted by mharvey

My problem with this "Free Trial button"... It bugs me a bit on my Evo but I can ignore it. I just bought a pair of Optimus S phones for the parents and added them to my account. I have told them to not click the button. It only took a day for one of them to click it and sign up for the trial. They, of course, have no recollection of clicking the button. I do not like this trap waiting for them to click and eventually end up subscribing to an add on service on my account. I would like to be able to disable that button and prevent them from adding a service that they do not need and I do not want to end up paying for.

And that is what I'm worried about, my teenage kids hitting that button and signing up for some extra monthly fees on my account.