Customer Care and Order Support

A simple phone is not a "cheap" phone.....Hmmmm is it INEXPENSIVE then ?   LOL     I never said they didn't exist or that no one made them.  Having spent 25 years in the military I have used  phones and communication devices all over the world. 

  If you don't want CDMA technology then go to a GSM carrier.

  I'm talking about here, in the USA, not  the mountains of Afghanistan. Friggin countries where they don't hardly even have TV.  Sprint, Verizon and the other carriers are in the business to make money.  People here like their gadgets and as such, profit wise, the carries can't nor should they carry every phone made in stock.

Just like Mcdonalds,who offers different food on the menu depending on which part of the country you are in.

  Of course you are limited.  It's like wanting a car that goes as fast as a Ferrari but  only wanting to pay half the price. It's gonna limit your picks if you can find one at all.

  Phones are just like anything else, you get what you pay for.   People in this country are all want, want, want, gimme, gimme and they want  a NY strip for $1.99.

Well I use a Motorola Brute in the field.  My company pays for it even though as a technician I am not fond of Motorola products in general. ( a debate for another time) But even my company wanted more than the basics for a phone.

  There is literally hundreds of phones and many carriers to choose from, all I was saying was if you want to pay 29.00 dollars for a phone you are gonna get a 29.00 dollar phone, simple or not.

I know that my kids (who are past the teenage stage) like bells and whistles, their friends do and even my wife and I do.  The  Iphone is popular for a reason.

  Simplicity is a matter of personal taste. I consider the Brute simple and reliable, but I have a **** of a lot more fun on my Moment..

  There are hundreds of phones and many carriers out there. You got to choose what's right and best for you and complaining about what someone else  has or doesn't have isn't going to do any good.

  Plus people should know what they are buying or getting into.  I researched all the phone carriers before i went with Sprint and I always research my phones before I buy them.

    Yea I have had some REAL bad experiences with their people, but overall I am happy with the network and the equipment. As far as I am concerned they don't offer enough of the more fancier phones and PDAs.

     You get what you pay for and you pay for what you want. If I go down to the Car dealer and he tells me the new model ain't in I can either wait or go somewhere else.  The beauty of this country is choice even if the choice is sometimes limited.

  Peace and have good day !

I have been Sprint Customer for more than 14 years.  First, I don't have loyalty for any company...my contract will be over by March and I'm looking for the best option available.  I obtained a very good offer from AT&T for a friend of mine and they will be calling me back by March with an offer for me...this is business.  Look for options. I received very good offers from Sprint in the last 14 years and for that reason I had them for so long.  If you don't have "whatever" you are looking for...change to another provider.  It is a lot of options out there.  They need you as a customer to survive...use your power.  Remember the Bankruptcy of AT&T years ago.  They have to buy Cellular One, years later, keeping Cellular One plans and offers, because AT&T previous structure failed.  We as customer have the power..use it. I don't know if I will be changing to AT&T, Verizon or T-mobile...or keep Sprint as my provider, but certainly I will be with the provider with the best option for me. 

I couldn't agree with you more.  As a customer we have some power.  I have had more than  a few problems with Sprints customer service but overall I have been pleased.  They double charged my account once and admitted the mistake but told me I would have to wait for a check for the refund. I told them if it only took them 5 minutes to charge my card it will only take them 5 minutes to give a refund on my card.  If a company has the ability to charge a credit card they have  the ability to refund it.    To make a long story shrt, they admitted it was their mistake,  couldn't figure out how to refund me as quick as they charged me until I talked to the BBB and FCC.  They don't like it when those 2 organizations begin to investigate their practices. Needless to say the person who called me  fixed everything on the spot.  But it is not necessarily Sprints Policies at fault, in many cases it's the people they hire and the improper training and the lack of authority they give these people.  The lack of quality customer care people in the workforce is a problem, although I have noticed a remarkable difference in the last few months in both response time and behavior.  Yesterday I sent an Email to SPrint for some clarification on my Premier services and  3 hours later I had a nice clear and concise response. It was refreshing, and when I responded with another question it was less that an hour before I got another great response.

   The only thing I blame SPRINT for is the Human Resource Mgrs.  do not appear to know what they are doing in hiring, because when you go to  store you get the distinct feeling that some of these people wopuld be lousy at any job.

  I certainly don't blame a car dealership if they get shipped a lemon from the factory.  It's like switching. Verizon, T-Mobile or AT&T are not going to pay my early termination fee on 4 phones for me to switch so obviously they don't want me That Bad.    Take RadioShack for instance, instead of asking the customer to deal with mail in rebates they take care of the rebate themselves and  just sell you the phone  straight up. Now that makes good sense. Recently I  bought 2  Samsung Moments at the Shack and I paid an extra $20.00 for the phones, but I don't have to go through the hassle of a mail in rebate that I may never see. The convenience was well worth it, and you know what ?  Despite being busy I was in and out the door in less than 30 minutes.

  I'm not particularly loyal to Sprint either, it's just that with 4 phones on my account, equipment, network and plan that is as good as any, I sure as **** am not going to pay the early termination fee for the 4 phones just to save a couple of bucks a month.  ( we all have SAMSUNG phones and everyone loves their phone and has no problem with them.

  One thing I have learned over the years of leadership and management is to not make a decision based on one side of the story and a lot of people who write in forums,  (I DIDN"T SAY EVERYBODY so please don't go off on me people) only give one side of the story.

Most people who are real happy with their phone or plan don't even bother with the forums so you only get the people who are mad or have a question about their phone.

So I would like to say this to all in response to the original question. My answer is, No I don't feel like giving up on Sprint, although there certainly have been times I did. I have been married for 35 years you think my wife and I haven't had some arguments ?

   But before you switch, I highly recommend that you visit some of the other carries forums.    Verizon, AT&T and the others certainly have their own issues.

  Good Luck to you all. I hope you get the problems with Sprint fixed or have better luck with what ever you choose.

PEACE

Sprint doesn't look good at all. Really they need to fix their own issues. The problem is not the customers, it's their way of dealing with their customers.

Phone selection the last three months is just terrible, nothing in sight either. Add on ASL fees another story, where all that will end? simply another company will benefit from it for sure.

Sorry you are having trouble. They do have a tendency to ***** up the bill.  I don't think management gives the people on the level we have to talk to the training or even the authority to fix the issues.

As far as the rebate goes, shame on you, NEVER, EVER buy your phone or upgrade your plan or even become a new customer through SPRINT. I know  that sounds funny but at my RADIOSHACK  these guys are great !!!  You get the same phones, the same plans and everything at a RADIOSHACK (if one happens to be close enough to you)  I'm on my fourth upgrade and I haven't been in a SPRINT store to do anything other than browse the phones. (If you are far away from a RADIOSHACK I forgive you...:-)   )

The one main thing at Radioshack is I did not have to  wait for a rebate check. They take care of that themselves and you purchase the phone for the discounted price on the spot.

    The customer service skills of the employees is indeed lacking. Why ?  I think 2 main things. They don't know how to hire. They don't know how to train.   This trickles down into  the ability to give them authority at their level to fix problems for you.  It is real evident on the training and customer service skills and even knowledge when you see the SPRINT people who cruise these forums.

If you can go into a store, talk to a person face to face, either way get a name.   Make an official complaint to the BBB and if you feel they are screwing with your billing make a complaint to the FCC.  I have found the employees in the stores in my area to be much better lately so maybe they are making some progress.

  When I did complain, my problem got fixed immediately.  But they can't get their act together because of poor leadership and management.  They have great plans and pricing and I think the network is very good to. As long as  you don't have to really deal with them they are okay. I do all my dealings with them through RADIOSHACK. They do however have a lousy selection of phones, even smartphones.  

Recently I was involved in a thread on here where an admin came out and said it had been hijacked. Hijacked ? Even if it had, admitting it to us is like saying, we can't even control the forums that were designed for Sprint users so we have to close it down or they are saying we don't like what you are saying so we are pulling the gestapo routine and shutting you down. A perfect example of lousy customer service skills and just one more thing that makes people mad and I don't think they even realize it.

I hope things get better for you, but I'm gonna leave you with this.  NEVER, EVER, EVER do a mail in rebate for anything especially any cell phone carrier.  They are designed to be difficult and to have people either forget them or get so frustrated at the length of time it takes to get them that they give up.  They make a lot of money on people who don't get the rebate check back. There is a reason why SPRINT stores don't do what RADIOSHACK does and handle the Rebate themselves and pass on the convenience to the customer and that reason is the people that don't get the rebate approved or forget about it or even if they do get it after months.

The Sprint WEBSITE is one of the worst websites I have ever encountered, so be warned.

I am a electronics technician by trade and education both formally and in the field (retired military) and I build and repair PC's as a part time job.  I have extensive experience in the communications industry and that is all I can say for now. :-)  I have also worked as a customer service rep both on the phone and face to face.

  Fortunately because I only deal with SPRINT people on a limited basis and I am happy with my phone (recent upgrade that I did not have to mail in the rebate for) I can't justify "giving up on SPRINT" at this point.To get 4 phones on Verizon of the same type I have on SPRINT it would cost me $800.00 to start and $336.00 a month when Sprints only cost me $220.00 a month.  Even talking to a Verizon Rep they were not able to give me a better deal and they sure as heck won't pay my early termination fees on Sprint.

So I say to everybody out there, be tough and stand your ground and be persistent but be fair and treat the SPRINT people like humans even if they don't treat you right. Document everything, phone calls, names and emails and if all else fails switch to another carrier. (easier said then done with Early Term. fees I know)

   and I'm gonna leave with one warning. The grass on the other side may indeed be greener up to the fence but you may not be happy once you get all the way over.   

Good Luck

Nope, I am staying with Sprint. I never had any problems with sprint at all and i am already reaching my 3 year mark with them. After moving to arizona and changing my address to my current one for a little while i was being charge taxes for florida and arizona. i through at first it would take a little while to change but when i called finally i discover that my old address was still on my sprint account  Sprint Rep. removed it and put my current address and also has gaven me a $60 credit.

I bought the phone from Spring through my employer. You sound like a radiohack stock owner or employee. I will never buy anything from them. I don't like the high pressure sales BS they offer. Shame on you for promoting radiohack.

Moderator note: as a reminder, please keep your posts on-topic and refrain from personal attacks. Thank you.

Message was edited by: izzyks