| Fred Held
Former Marketing and Operations Executive Mattel for McDonald’s and Burger King
see all my questions
Who has had poor customer service from Sprint
Who else has trouble with Sprint customer and technical service ?
I have had them send me two phones that do not perform as advertised and only get nice emails from customer service .
Waiting over 50 minutes for technical service is totally unaccepted. The phrase “do to unusual call volume…..” is being used by everyone these days for poor service .
I want to show Sprint the power of social networks. If you have similar stories only with sprint let me know please?
Angry, unhappy, disatisfied and wont take it anymore.
Fred Held
Clarification added July 3, 2007:
I have had a very intersesting response from Sprint. They said pick out the phone you want and we will exchange it directly. I think the power of social networks must be understood by this decision maker.
Thanks for all the answers. I was once in charge of Consumer Services (amongst other marketing duties) for the number one company in its field. We had a horrible reputation with consumers. We did these things and turned it around in two years:
1) We trusted our consumer,
2) We communicated rapidly and solved the issue there and then,
3) Out of the ordinatry situations got personal attention at the VP level directly with the consumer. They were usually stunned by receiving a phone call from an executive who solved their problem there and then. I could write a book on the crazy things that happen to consumers with products and services.
4) We solved any repeatable problems with our product from the feedback of consumers.
What is wrong with these companies. They think they can advertise their way out of having poor service ?
Clarification added July 6, 2007:
This answer is unbelievable. How can a company be so stupid. You never send away your angry customers. The strong emotions associated with anger can easily be switched to being a loyal customer . I have years of experience in marketing and this one gets the Dawin award for poor breeding. Check out this website.
http://news.com.com/8301-10784_3-9739869-7.html
We need better customer service and less intrusive advertising.
Fred
Clarification added July 12, 2007:
I sent some of your answers to Customer Service and amazingly I am getting the Sprint Katana which is supposed to have better reception.
The horror stories I have read have been incredible.
Thanks for all of your input, keep it coming
posted July 3, 2007 in Quality Management and Standards
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Good Answers (5)
James Deaton (MBA, BB)
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I just signed a 2 year contract with Sprint. Although I am satisfied with the phone and the peripheral equipment, I found the Sprint store folks to be a little disconnected from each other. I spent almost 6 hours at two Sprint stores last Saturday to finally get the phone that I wanted. The online account management application is really great if you know all that it can do for you. Calling into their 800# is a nightmare; yes they were kind enough to warn me that it would take more than 20 minutes to answer my call, but the problem was that each time I called back the3 same message was playing. I eventually struggled through the online app and did not have to call the center.
posted July 4, 2007 Report answer as…
Josh Linder
Architect at Ironworks Consulting
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Just about everyone I know. I cancelled my personal service in 2001 after a screaming match with customer service , and now I have them for my BlackBerry and high-speed data card service .
The actual service isn’t bad, but I received about 10 calls from low-rent people asking if they could give me a $200 service credit and/or upgrade my phone for free (this, mind you, was 2 weeks after I initiated service ).
So in summary – if you dislike Sprint, you’re not alone. Network=okay, customer service =below average.
Links:
http://sprintpcs.howardforums.com
posted July 3, 2007 Report answer as…
Jonathan Johnson
Developer at large
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I am not a Sprint customer , but almost was. I originally placed an order through WireFly that didn’t go through with no explanation, so I had assumed for some reason Cingular (at the time) didn’t want me. So I placed an order with Sprint.
Later that day, I heard from WireFly the reason (former address wasn’t a perfect match — used the wrong zip code, oops) and after that was corrected, my original order went through. So I decided to cancel my order with Sprint.
I called them up the night of placing the order, stood on hold, and had an overseas customer rep answer the phone. I explained that I no longer needed this account, and to cancel the order. She said something, and put me on hold. A few minutes later, “Ok, sir, the order has been processed.”
I explained again, “Please cancel this account.” She wasn’t sure she could do it, and put me on hold again.
She cancelled the account, or so I thought. The next week, I noticed *two* separate charges for the original order amount. I then got a bill from Sprint, despite never receiving the phones. I called up Sprint.
Waited on hold for nearly 30 minutes with crystal-clear reception listing to the hold music, at which point I was connected to the Sprint rep, and had a horrendous connection. She refused to forward me to another person, and eventually hung up on me.
I called back and waited another 20 minutes on hold, and finally someone helped me. It turns out the original rep had cancelled the order but not the account. Their “systems” couldn’t notice that I had a full refund until the next billing cycle, so I had to call back a month later to get my refund check processed.
So, they’ve had an interest free loan of nearly $200 of mine, for double charging my supposed-to-be cancelled account.
In the meantime, I’ve been a happy Cingular (now AT&T) customer .
posted July 3, 2007 Report answer as…
John Michlig
Writer
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I’ve been with Sprint for quite a while, mainly because they had a very easy-to-implement (and free) call-forwarding system with their flat-rate home phone service at a time when that wasn’t common.
But customer service ? It used to be utterly deplorable, and has since improved to merely rotten. I imagine they will have to institute some enormous changes very, very soon; everyone and their brother will be jumping to iPhone contracts when their current Sprint obligation is over, right?
Here’s an interesting story posted yesterday: “Sprint breaks up with high-maintenance customers” (>http://news.com.com/8301-10784_3-9739869-7.html<
I’d take that deal!
Links:
http://news.com.com/8301-10784_3-9739869-7.html
posted July 6, 2007 Report answer as…
Fred Maidment
Business Professional, Entrepreneur
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Sprint’s network is great. The problem is, they refuse to do anything for you–unless you re-up your account for another two years.
Bear in mind, the only reason I have stayed with Sprint when I renew my contract is that it was a Kansas City-based company, and that’s where I am from. Now they have moved their headquarters to Reston, VA and closed the majority of their KC offices. I no longer feel *any* loyalty to them.
I had an issue where my $300 flip phone died for no reason. Never dropped it, nothing. Just died. When I called Sprint, they were more than happy to provide me with a new phone–if I renewed my contract and paid $99 (the lowest price phone they had).
Anyway, unable to pay the cancellation fee at the time (I was in grad school) and refusing to pay for a new phone when I had a $300 paperweight, I got into a shouting match with the customer service supervisor (her name was Joann). I have worked telephone customer service , and one thing I know for an absolute certainty is you do not try to talk-over the customer or shout them down.
I decided I had enough and would just pay the $175. I asked to be given over to the cancellation department. I assume they put me in customer retention, because the next person I spoke to (Jafar) was able to accommodate me with a “new” (read “refurbished”) phone. I paid only a connection fee. Or so I thought.
Later, I found my bills had a series of unexplained ” service fee” charges. These charges eventually added up to over $60. When I called, I was told that they were services fees for services I had used, but they didn’t have any more information. The truth is, I believe, that they were looking to recoup their losses on the phone they sent me.
That was a year ago February. I am currently in my job search. When I find a new job, I will drop SprintPCS like a bad habit.
posted July 6, 2007 Report answer as…
More Answers (13)
Kim Lusk
Recruiting & Human Resources Professional
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I’ve been with Sprint since 2000 and can honestly say that they’ve upset me more than enough times to want to leave them but honestly, none of the wireless companies are perfect. Many colleagues and friends who are with other carriers indicate that they have issues as well. They all have there own set of issues. I am of the opinion that once they offshored their customer service piece, things went down the tubes pretty quickly. It wasn’t 100% perfect prior to this but the transition certainly didn’t improve things.
posted July 3, 2007 Report answer as…
Pauline Ores
Social Media
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Their 411 service is a joke as well – several times they’ve told me businesses – after confirming the business name and location with them – don’t exist, when I know they’re there. The staff in the local store is no great shakes either – clearly their mgmt. doesn’t care about them – they almost delight in having an opp. to not help. I’m with Verizon now and would say that their tech support team has been easy to reach and committed to helping me.
posted July 3, 2007 Report answer as…
Richard Jongko
Managing Partner
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Hi Fred,
From your comment and question and everyone’s post, I am assuming you are talking about Sprint PCS.
I have had good and bad stories from the Sprint Corp side.
The PCS business specifically is supposed to be a focus for Sprint (atleast thats what the suits tell me..:)
With that being said, for PCS, you should be able to request to speak with a US based customer service rep. Just ask them when they get on the phone. Additionally, you should tell them they do not have permission to sell/solicite you. I have had been with ATT ( then cingular then at&t) since 2000 without any issues and NO marketing calls.
Best of Luck,
Rich
posted July 3, 2007 Report answer as…
Steve Novak
President at PPR Management Services, LLC
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I’ve had great service with Sprint. I’ve been with them for about 6 years or so and have no complaints. I’ve called customer service a couple of times (but it’s been a while now) and had great service and results. I’ve changed plans and added and removed phones, no problem. The only trouble I had was when I tried to use a card for my laptop. It didn’t work, but they let me try a different model card in the store, and that didn’t work. The problem was with my laptop (it didn’t work with projectors either), but the whole experience of working with them was positive.
Maybe I’m an anomoly, but you usually only hear about the bad experiences, not the good.
I will say that the state of customer service as a whole, across the board in this country, is sad. I just had a less then great experience with taking my car in for repair.
posted July 3, 2007 Report answer as…
Stevie Wilson
Social Media/Marketing Consultant, Editor, Writer
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I had terrible customer service recently from ATT/formerly Cingular. VERY disappointed in this situation. I think it’s endemic to the industry as they all conglomerate
posted July 5, 2007 Report answer as…
Robert Fornal
Podcaster at podcastGenealogy.com
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Years ago I had a horrendous experience with Sprint … to the tune of several thousand dollars over an adjustment that they said they would make and then denied ever hearing about. I have studiously avoided them and warned anyone I could about this.
The amount that it finally came down to for one months service was stunning … and quite painful to pay based on their mistake.
posted July 6, 2007 Report answer as…
Barry Horowitz
Director, Enterprise Architecture at Next Generation Solutions
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Sprint PCS is by far the most inferior in customer service . I was a long term sprint customer however with the cost of my time spent arguing over basic issues and the cost of service it was my highest expense. The worst is the billing department. Nothing is more exasperating!
I am now with US Cellular and I can honestly say the customer service is superior! Never an argument and the customer TRULY does come first with them.
posted July 6, 2007 Report answer as…
Bill Leinweber
Operations and Customer Experience Strategist, Business Transformation Leader.
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Hi Fred,
I have had good and bad experiences with both Sprint and Cingular/AT&T. My use of both companies was driven by my then employer as they paid for the service . Your experience and that of the others indicate a growing deterioration in consumer service in general. I believe the Sprint/Nextel and Cingular/AT&T mergers have had a huge impact on the level of inconsistency in service . Another challenge is the increasing complexity of the technology. My most recent personal experience with AT&T wireless technical support both through online chat and over the phone has been outstanding. My issues involved converting a Blackberry to a personal account, new internet email and synchronizing with my new PC. AT&T wireless support guided me through to success rather well! I had braced myself in anticipation of a long and horrible experience and was actually quite surprised.
I agree with you that companies are generally more focused on “procedure” and completely overlook the detriment/benefit of an angry vs. delighted customer and the impact that both have to customer loyalty. I read recently about a hotel chain that tossed out the Procedure Manual and trains their associates to do whatever it takes to satisfy the customer ’s issue. What a time-saver to leave the decision making to the front-line associate and how empowering to the associate to be able to delight the customer !
posted July 8, 2007 Report answer as…
John Griffith
Vice President of Information Systems at J&J Snack Foods
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Here’s a relevant article. I personally have always had good service from their corporate customer support. But I have heard horror stories about their consumer customer support and business practices.
Links:
http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=5604&tag=nl.e622
posted July 9, 2007 Report answer as…
Scott Mindeaux
Creative IT Professional and Foodie
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I hve been with Sprint on and off for over 10 years. I’m about to cancel my service and pay the eraly termination fee. Trying to get a hold of customer service is so difficult. Just last week I was trying to get a hold of customer service and was on hold for almost 2.5 hours after being disconnected 3 times. Once I actually got a hold of the rep, I was treated like I was bothering them and the notion that they were servicing customers went out the door.
Their towers are far and few between here in Socal. I have struggled for 2 years with 1 bar of service at my residence and 2 bars at work. I went thru three different phones, all that I had to pay full price for and still couldn’t get a good signal. At that point I told them I was going to leave Sprint in lieu of a carrier that was strong in both locations. Well as you know, Nextel and Sprint are now one and the rep in the store said, let’s see if you get a strong signal with Nextel. They said they would transfer my number and that I didn’t need to worry about anything. I asked if my contract date would change, he said he would try to keep my original date. I argued that since it was Sprint who suggested I try their Nextel network due to poor reception, that I shouldn’t have to pay the price of changing my contract date. Well, lo and behold, it changed. When Sprint released a USB EVDO modem that would work with my MacBook Pro, I wanted it of course. Well since it was a Sprint product and not a Nextel product, I again, went thru customer service hell. They made me switch back to Sprint and then AGAIN changed and extended my contract date. They said it was policy to reset the date with each change of service . I argued of couse, saying it was Sprint forcing me to change, but no go.
Now I want an iPhone and on the edge with Sprint. I will be worth the early termination fee to not have to deal with their horrible service …
posted July 12, 2007 Report answer as…
Neal @ Rauhauser dot Net
President at Third Mode Energy
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Sprint is the grand champion asshat of cell service providers.
I had two phones with them for many years and all was well. My business grew, I added three more lines, and they completely and utterly fouled up my account.
One phone was provisioned for no longer distance … we had a monthly ritual of getting them to reverse some of the charges but not all, claiming they’d fixed the problem, and then we’d be right back with the same issue the next month.
Another phone had $0.10/msg texting. We forward all email headers to phones – 900 emails in a month added $90 to the bill. This got fixed each and every month for six months, but they could never make it stick.
I’d spend an hour on hold to tech support, then get the run around. I’d do this from the office and just hang out working, and if they didn’t do what I knew needed to be done I’d just play dumb and keep them hanging on until I got escalated.
The final straw was two hours on the phone with a nice person who gave me the scoop – they’ve had so many promo deals and their systems are so fragile they often <b>can/t</b> fix whats wrong with a group of phones. At the end of the time she swore I’d get what I paid for … and again the next month we got a $500 bill. I gave them the boot.
Three months later I got a $2,000 bill for the phones we were no longer using and cancellation charges. I went <b>ballistic</b>. I’ve written one freelance article in my life and this made me cocky – I responded to the collection effort with a note to their investor relations indicating I’d be happy to pay the bill but I’d do it with proceeds from stories written about their awful service . The next day I got a nice call, then another nice call, and the $2,000 bill just went away. This was eighteen months ago and they even managed to not sell the debt 
I recently heard that they’re terminating customers who call tech support too much – this was on DailyKos or something. What that means is they’ve given up untangling the most screwed up accounts and rather than letting them die lingering deaths and enumerating their complaints as I’ve done here they’re simply cutting their losses by dropping the customers.
If you have a single Sprint phone and haven’t changed plans you’ll probably be fine. They completely and utterly suck for business accounts. I put my Treo 650 on Ebay, got a Blackberry when I signed with Verizon, and I’ve been completely and utterly satisfied with the phone, the coverage, and the billing process.
posted July 13, 2007 Report answer as…
Nader Ayoub
N. Ayoub Human Resources Consulting Firm Placing Medical Professional.
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I have just read a report that says sprint is dropping customer accounts of those customers they deem have complained to much. I would be careful with them.
posted July 13, 2007 Report answer as…
Elise Hines
Documentation Specialist at North Carolina Community College System
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When I was a brand new Sprint Employee in 2002, I went out and ordered Sprint PCS service and a Treo 300. I did this on a Tuesday, the phone arrived on Wednesday, and by Friday Sprint had shut off the service due to a billing issue/error they were responsible for. I called customer service , and as a Sprint employee I was treated like a second class citizen and had to escalate my billing issue to a manager to get results.
After that situation was resolved, I stupidly kept my service just because they had the phone I wanted for the price I could afford. Knowing what I know now, I would’ve taken advantage of Buyer’s Remorse and shut the account down. The issues I had in the first week of my service were nothing compared to the other issues I experienced while I was a customer including numerous billing errors, being slipped a contract extension when I purchased a replacement phone (for the full non-contract price) in the store, being charged an ETF even when I canceled service after the end of my contract, and being billed for months of service after the account was closed.
Before Sprint I had AT&T Wireless, and afterwards I went from T-Mobile, to Nextel, and back to Cingular/AT&T Wireless. I had horrible customer service experiences with all of these providers. It is almost built into the industry, because these large telecommunications companies do not like spending money to pay or train quality reps. I ended up back at Cingular/ATTWS simply because I always got results from my complaints. Even if I had bad experiences on customer service calls, I could call back and speak to someone who would help or escalate the issue for resolution. The customer service departments at the other companies were far less organized, required long waits and endless transfers, and the reps had very little power to credit accounts or correct issues without support or approval from management. Even though it is full of faults, I’ve never had an issue that Cingular/ATTWS could not or would not address.
I have not had any cause to contact them since they became AT&T so I cannot comment on how that has changed their customer service . I don’t anticipate that it will change very much.
posted July 13, 2007 Report answer as…
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Who has had poor customer service from Sprint
Former Marketing and Operations Executive Mattel for McDonald’s and Burger King
see all my questions
Who has had poor customer service from Sprint
Who else has trouble with Sprint customer and technical service ?
I have had them send me two phones that do not perform as advertised and only get nice emails from customer service .
Waiting over 50 minutes for technical service is totally unaccepted. The phrase “do to unusual call volume…..” is being used by everyone these days for poor service .
I want to show Sprint the power of social networks. If you have similar stories only with sprint let me know please?
Angry, unhappy, disatisfied and wont take it anymore.
Fred Held
Clarification added July 3, 2007:
I have had a very intersesting response from Sprint. They said pick out the phone you want and we will exchange it directly. I think the power of social networks must be understood by this decision maker.
Thanks for all the answers. I was once in charge of Consumer Services (amongst other marketing duties) for the number one company in its field. We had a horrible reputation with consumers. We did these things and turned it around in two years:
1) We trusted our consumer,
2) We communicated rapidly and solved the issue there and then,
3) Out of the ordinatry situations got personal attention at the VP level directly with the consumer. They were usually stunned by receiving a phone call from an executive who solved their problem there and then. I could write a book on the crazy things that happen to consumers with products and services.
4) We solved any repeatable problems with our product from the feedback of consumers.
What is wrong with these companies. They think they can advertise their way out of having poor service ?
Clarification added July 6, 2007:
This answer is unbelievable. How can a company be so stupid. You never send away your angry customers. The strong emotions associated with anger can easily be switched to being a loyal customer . I have years of experience in marketing and this one gets the Dawin award for poor breeding. Check out this website.
http://news.com.com/8301-10784_3-9739869-7.html
We need better customer service and less intrusive advertising.
Fred
Clarification added July 12, 2007:
I sent some of your answers to Customer Service and amazingly I am getting the Sprint Katana which is supposed to have better reception.
The horror stories I have read have been incredible.
Thanks for all of your input, keep it coming
posted July 3, 2007 in Quality Management and Standards
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James Deaton (MBA, BB)
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I just signed a 2 year contract with Sprint. Although I am satisfied with the phone and the peripheral equipment, I found the Sprint store folks to be a little disconnected from each other. I spent almost 6 hours at two Sprint stores last Saturday to finally get the phone that I wanted. The online account management application is really great if you know all that it can do for you. Calling into their 800# is a nightmare; yes they were kind enough to warn me that it would take more than 20 minutes to answer my call, but the problem was that each time I called back the3 same message was playing. I eventually struggled through the online app and did not have to call the center.
posted July 4, 2007 Report answer as…
Josh Linder
Architect at Ironworks Consulting
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Just about everyone I know. I cancelled my personal service in 2001 after a screaming match with customer service , and now I have them for my BlackBerry and high-speed data card service .
The actual service isn’t bad, but I received about 10 calls from low-rent people asking if they could give me a $200 service credit and/or upgrade my phone for free (this, mind you, was 2 weeks after I initiated service ).
So in summary – if you dislike Sprint, you’re not alone. Network=okay, customer service =below average.
Links:
http://sprintpcs.howardforums.com
posted July 3, 2007 Report answer as…
Jonathan Johnson
Developer at large
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I am not a Sprint customer , but almost was. I originally placed an order through WireFly that didn’t go through with no explanation, so I had assumed for some reason Cingular (at the time) didn’t want me. So I placed an order with Sprint.
Later that day, I heard from WireFly the reason (former address wasn’t a perfect match — used the wrong zip code, oops) and after that was corrected, my original order went through. So I decided to cancel my order with Sprint.
I called them up the night of placing the order, stood on hold, and had an overseas customer rep answer the phone. I explained that I no longer needed this account, and to cancel the order. She said something, and put me on hold. A few minutes later, “Ok, sir, the order has been processed.”
I explained again, “Please cancel this account.” She wasn’t sure she could do it, and put me on hold again.
She cancelled the account, or so I thought. The next week, I noticed *two* separate charges for the original order amount. I then got a bill from Sprint, despite never receiving the phones. I called up Sprint.
Waited on hold for nearly 30 minutes with crystal-clear reception listing to the hold music, at which point I was connected to the Sprint rep, and had a horrendous connection. She refused to forward me to another person, and eventually hung up on me.
I called back and waited another 20 minutes on hold, and finally someone helped me. It turns out the original rep had cancelled the order but not the account. Their “systems” couldn’t notice that I had a full refund until the next billing cycle, so I had to call back a month later to get my refund check processed.
So, they’ve had an interest free loan of nearly $200 of mine, for double charging my supposed-to-be cancelled account.
In the meantime, I’ve been a happy Cingular (now AT&T) customer .
posted July 3, 2007 Report answer as…
John Michlig
Writer
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I’ve been with Sprint for quite a while, mainly because they had a very easy-to-implement (and free) call-forwarding system with their flat-rate home phone service at a time when that wasn’t common.
But customer service ? It used to be utterly deplorable, and has since improved to merely rotten. I imagine they will have to institute some enormous changes very, very soon; everyone and their brother will be jumping to iPhone contracts when their current Sprint obligation is over, right?
Here’s an interesting story posted yesterday: “Sprint breaks up with high-maintenance customers” (>http://news.com.com/8301-10784_3-9739869-7.html<
I’d take that deal!
Links:
http://news.com.com/8301-10784_3-9739869-7.html
posted July 6, 2007 Report answer as…
Fred Maidment
Business Professional, Entrepreneur
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Sprint’s network is great. The problem is, they refuse to do anything for you–unless you re-up your account for another two years.
Bear in mind, the only reason I have stayed with Sprint when I renew my contract is that it was a Kansas City-based company, and that’s where I am from. Now they have moved their headquarters to Reston, VA and closed the majority of their KC offices. I no longer feel *any* loyalty to them.
I had an issue where my $300 flip phone died for no reason. Never dropped it, nothing. Just died. When I called Sprint, they were more than happy to provide me with a new phone–if I renewed my contract and paid $99 (the lowest price phone they had).
Anyway, unable to pay the cancellation fee at the time (I was in grad school) and refusing to pay for a new phone when I had a $300 paperweight, I got into a shouting match with the customer service supervisor (her name was Joann). I have worked telephone customer service , and one thing I know for an absolute certainty is you do not try to talk-over the customer or shout them down.
I decided I had enough and would just pay the $175. I asked to be given over to the cancellation department. I assume they put me in customer retention, because the next person I spoke to (Jafar) was able to accommodate me with a “new” (read “refurbished”) phone. I paid only a connection fee. Or so I thought.
Later, I found my bills had a series of unexplained ” service fee” charges. These charges eventually added up to over $60. When I called, I was told that they were services fees for services I had used, but they didn’t have any more information. The truth is, I believe, that they were looking to recoup their losses on the phone they sent me.
That was a year ago February. I am currently in my job search. When I find a new job, I will drop SprintPCS like a bad habit.
posted July 6, 2007 Report answer as…
More Answers (13)
Kim Lusk
Recruiting & Human Resources Professional
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I’ve been with Sprint since 2000 and can honestly say that they’ve upset me more than enough times to want to leave them but honestly, none of the wireless companies are perfect. Many colleagues and friends who are with other carriers indicate that they have issues as well. They all have there own set of issues. I am of the opinion that once they offshored their customer service piece, things went down the tubes pretty quickly. It wasn’t 100% perfect prior to this but the transition certainly didn’t improve things.
posted July 3, 2007 Report answer as…
Pauline Ores
Social Media
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Their 411 service is a joke as well – several times they’ve told me businesses – after confirming the business name and location with them – don’t exist, when I know they’re there. The staff in the local store is no great shakes either – clearly their mgmt. doesn’t care about them – they almost delight in having an opp. to not help. I’m with Verizon now and would say that their tech support team has been easy to reach and committed to helping me.
posted July 3, 2007 Report answer as…
Richard Jongko
Managing Partner
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Hi Fred,
From your comment and question and everyone’s post, I am assuming you are talking about Sprint PCS.
I have had good and bad stories from the Sprint Corp side.
The PCS business specifically is supposed to be a focus for Sprint (atleast thats what the suits tell me..:)
With that being said, for PCS, you should be able to request to speak with a US based customer service rep. Just ask them when they get on the phone. Additionally, you should tell them they do not have permission to sell/solicite you. I have had been with ATT ( then cingular then at&t) since 2000 without any issues and NO marketing calls.
Best of Luck,
Rich
posted July 3, 2007 Report answer as…
Steve Novak
President at PPR Management Services, LLC
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I’ve had great service with Sprint. I’ve been with them for about 6 years or so and have no complaints. I’ve called customer service a couple of times (but it’s been a while now) and had great service and results. I’ve changed plans and added and removed phones, no problem. The only trouble I had was when I tried to use a card for my laptop. It didn’t work, but they let me try a different model card in the store, and that didn’t work. The problem was with my laptop (it didn’t work with projectors either), but the whole experience of working with them was positive.
Maybe I’m an anomoly, but you usually only hear about the bad experiences, not the good.
I will say that the state of customer service as a whole, across the board in this country, is sad. I just had a less then great experience with taking my car in for repair.
posted July 3, 2007 Report answer as…
Stevie Wilson
Social Media/Marketing Consultant, Editor, Writer
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I had terrible customer service recently from ATT/formerly Cingular. VERY disappointed in this situation. I think it’s endemic to the industry as they all conglomerate
posted July 5, 2007 Report answer as…
Robert Fornal
Podcaster at podcastGenealogy.com
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Years ago I had a horrendous experience with Sprint … to the tune of several thousand dollars over an adjustment that they said they would make and then denied ever hearing about. I have studiously avoided them and warned anyone I could about this.
The amount that it finally came down to for one months service was stunning … and quite painful to pay based on their mistake.
posted July 6, 2007 Report answer as…
Barry Horowitz
Director, Enterprise Architecture at Next Generation Solutions
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Sprint PCS is by far the most inferior in customer service . I was a long term sprint customer however with the cost of my time spent arguing over basic issues and the cost of service it was my highest expense. The worst is the billing department. Nothing is more exasperating!
I am now with US Cellular and I can honestly say the customer service is superior! Never an argument and the customer TRULY does come first with them.
posted July 6, 2007 Report answer as…
Bill Leinweber
Operations and Customer Experience Strategist, Business Transformation Leader.
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Hi Fred,
I have had good and bad experiences with both Sprint and Cingular/AT&T. My use of both companies was driven by my then employer as they paid for the service . Your experience and that of the others indicate a growing deterioration in consumer service in general. I believe the Sprint/Nextel and Cingular/AT&T mergers have had a huge impact on the level of inconsistency in service . Another challenge is the increasing complexity of the technology. My most recent personal experience with AT&T wireless technical support both through online chat and over the phone has been outstanding. My issues involved converting a Blackberry to a personal account, new internet email and synchronizing with my new PC. AT&T wireless support guided me through to success rather well! I had braced myself in anticipation of a long and horrible experience and was actually quite surprised.
I agree with you that companies are generally more focused on “procedure” and completely overlook the detriment/benefit of an angry vs. delighted customer and the impact that both have to customer loyalty. I read recently about a hotel chain that tossed out the Procedure Manual and trains their associates to do whatever it takes to satisfy the customer ’s issue. What a time-saver to leave the decision making to the front-line associate and how empowering to the associate to be able to delight the customer !
posted July 8, 2007 Report answer as…
John Griffith
Vice President of Information Systems at J&J Snack Foods
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Here’s a relevant article. I personally have always had good service from their corporate customer support. But I have heard horror stories about their consumer customer support and business practices.
Links:
http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=5604&tag=nl.e622
posted July 9, 2007 Report answer as…
Scott Mindeaux
Creative IT Professional and Foodie
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I hve been with Sprint on and off for over 10 years. I’m about to cancel my service and pay the eraly termination fee. Trying to get a hold of customer service is so difficult. Just last week I was trying to get a hold of customer service and was on hold for almost 2.5 hours after being disconnected 3 times. Once I actually got a hold of the rep, I was treated like I was bothering them and the notion that they were servicing customers went out the door.
Their towers are far and few between here in Socal. I have struggled for 2 years with 1 bar of service at my residence and 2 bars at work. I went thru three different phones, all that I had to pay full price for and still couldn’t get a good signal. At that point I told them I was going to leave Sprint in lieu of a carrier that was strong in both locations. Well as you know, Nextel and Sprint are now one and the rep in the store said, let’s see if you get a strong signal with Nextel. They said they would transfer my number and that I didn’t need to worry about anything. I asked if my contract date would change, he said he would try to keep my original date. I argued that since it was Sprint who suggested I try their Nextel network due to poor reception, that I shouldn’t have to pay the price of changing my contract date. Well, lo and behold, it changed. When Sprint released a USB EVDO modem that would work with my MacBook Pro, I wanted it of course. Well since it was a Sprint product and not a Nextel product, I again, went thru customer service hell. They made me switch back to Sprint and then AGAIN changed and extended my contract date. They said it was policy to reset the date with each change of service . I argued of couse, saying it was Sprint forcing me to change, but no go.
Now I want an iPhone and on the edge with Sprint. I will be worth the early termination fee to not have to deal with their horrible service …
posted July 12, 2007 Report answer as…
Neal @ Rauhauser dot Net
President at Third Mode Energy
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Sprint is the grand champion asshat of cell service providers.
I had two phones with them for many years and all was well. My business grew, I added three more lines, and they completely and utterly fouled up my account.
One phone was provisioned for no longer distance … we had a monthly ritual of getting them to reverse some of the charges but not all, claiming they’d fixed the problem, and then we’d be right back with the same issue the next month.
Another phone had $0.10/msg texting. We forward all email headers to phones – 900 emails in a month added $90 to the bill. This got fixed each and every month for six months, but they could never make it stick.
I’d spend an hour on hold to tech support, then get the run around. I’d do this from the office and just hang out working, and if they didn’t do what I knew needed to be done I’d just play dumb and keep them hanging on until I got escalated.
The final straw was two hours on the phone with a nice person who gave me the scoop – they’ve had so many promo deals and their systems are so fragile they often <b>can/t</b> fix whats wrong with a group of phones. At the end of the time she swore I’d get what I paid for … and again the next month we got a $500 bill. I gave them the boot.
Three months later I got a $2,000 bill for the phones we were no longer using and cancellation charges. I went <b>ballistic</b>. I’ve written one freelance article in my life and this made me cocky – I responded to the collection effort with a note to their investor relations indicating I’d be happy to pay the bill but I’d do it with proceeds from stories written about their awful service . The next day I got a nice call, then another nice call, and the $2,000 bill just went away. This was eighteen months ago and they even managed to not sell the debt
I recently heard that they’re terminating customers who call tech support too much – this was on DailyKos or something. What that means is they’ve given up untangling the most screwed up accounts and rather than letting them die lingering deaths and enumerating their complaints as I’ve done here they’re simply cutting their losses by dropping the customers.
If you have a single Sprint phone and haven’t changed plans you’ll probably be fine. They completely and utterly suck for business accounts. I put my Treo 650 on Ebay, got a Blackberry when I signed with Verizon, and I’ve been completely and utterly satisfied with the phone, the coverage, and the billing process.
posted July 13, 2007 Report answer as…
Nader Ayoub
N. Ayoub Human Resources Consulting Firm Placing Medical Professional.
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I have just read a report that says sprint is dropping customer accounts of those customers they deem have complained to much. I would be careful with them.
posted July 13, 2007 Report answer as…
Elise Hines
Documentation Specialist at North Carolina Community College System
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When I was a brand new Sprint Employee in 2002, I went out and ordered Sprint PCS service and a Treo 300. I did this on a Tuesday, the phone arrived on Wednesday, and by Friday Sprint had shut off the service due to a billing issue/error they were responsible for. I called customer service , and as a Sprint employee I was treated like a second class citizen and had to escalate my billing issue to a manager to get results.
After that situation was resolved, I stupidly kept my service just because they had the phone I wanted for the price I could afford. Knowing what I know now, I would’ve taken advantage of Buyer’s Remorse and shut the account down. The issues I had in the first week of my service were nothing compared to the other issues I experienced while I was a customer including numerous billing errors, being slipped a contract extension when I purchased a replacement phone (for the full non-contract price) in the store, being charged an ETF even when I canceled service after the end of my contract, and being billed for months of service after the account was closed.
Before Sprint I had AT&T Wireless, and afterwards I went from T-Mobile, to Nextel, and back to Cingular/AT&T Wireless. I had horrible customer service experiences with all of these providers. It is almost built into the industry, because these large telecommunications companies do not like spending money to pay or train quality reps. I ended up back at Cingular/ATTWS simply because I always got results from my complaints. Even if I had bad experiences on customer service calls, I could call back and speak to someone who would help or escalate the issue for resolution. The customer service departments at the other companies were far less organized, required long waits and endless transfers, and the reps had very little power to credit accounts or correct issues without support or approval from management. Even though it is full of faults, I’ve never had an issue that Cingular/ATTWS could not or would not address.
I have not had any cause to contact them since they became AT&T so I cannot comment on how that has changed their customer service . I don’t anticipate that it will change very much.
posted July 13, 2007 Report answer as…
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