Rants and Raves

I've been on board with sprint for a few years now, I'm not sure exactly how long but I've finally felt the problem in customer service. The represntatives themselves have not treated me badly or been in rude in any fashion. In fact, I have been given nothing but a smile and helping hand from all but one, whom as it turns out was actually a radio shack employee. My story goes...

Time for an upgrade! I have always had a cell phone for the ability to contact my wife at any given moment; no chatting with friends, no gabbing with family, just pure communication of when I'll be home from work sort of thing. My upgrades then have always been to get the free upgrade model, as I do not need a flashy, full of gadgets model. I was talked into getting the samsung rant, spent 50 dollars instead of free and was actually pretty excited to have a "cool" phone for once. It worked for a month, then started the freezing and what not that I've heard everyone else on the internet complaining about it. I went back to the store and traded it in for another one. Mind you I had the black and blue model and they said my only choice was to trade in for this red one (I hate red). So I begrudgingly did so. One month later, I get the same problems. I take the phone into the kiosk again. I tell the guy I'd like to get a different phone because this one's software seems faulty. (this is the only guy I had problems with and like I said, turns out this kiosk was ran by radio shack not sprint). He laughed at me! and then says, dude do you honestly believe sprint would sell you a phone that the software was bad on all of them. He then advised me to go the local store rather than the kiosk. I drive to said store. I tell them I want a new phone, they say not possible, but get a new rant. They have to order this one because they don't have one on hand for me, and I get a loaner for the weekend. I say, hey, since you're ordering me a new one can I get it back in the black model. This guy (extremely nice) says not possible, red is what I got so red is what I get. I say but black is what I had...i explain how I got the red one... and he says oh yeah that girl that did that switch for you shouldn't have done it that way, and she no longer works for us for those kind of reasons. I say ok, so you guys messed something up, can you fix it for me and send the black one? He says sorry no. I roll with the punches, we order a new red rant and I take the loaner phone home. The loaner phone doesn't work as a side not, lol. It holds an hour of charge then dies. I pick up my third samsung rant, and they say if this one breaks to call customer service and I would probably get the option of getting a new phone. Several weeks later, more software problems. Now my phone is restarting and shutting of at random. I called customer service and the girl was really nice, told me I'd get a replacement and possibly and upgrade and gives me the number to tech support. Hopes high, I call tech support, they apologize for me being sent to the wrong department and patch me through, on hold for a bit, to some other department. This girl tells me that I should talk to tech support not her. I explain everything that has just transpired, she says ok she'll talk to tech support while I'm on hold. She breaks through the hold music a couple of times to apologize for the wait. I say no problem! Ok so now on the phone totalling 50 minutes a guy comes on. Once again very nice, apologetic and wants to help. He tells me that it is unfortunate that the customer service rep and the store both informed me that I may be able to get a new phone of a differenet model because it is company policy not to do just that under any circumstances. I say ok so my question is, I have a broken samsung rant, my 3rd one in 3 months, and I need to know my options if I have any. He tells me I have no other option than going to the store and getting another samsung rant ordered. He says sorry for the run around, sorry for the wait, sorry for the rant. I say to him, I wish to know if the samsung rant has been problematic across all customers or if it has just been my supreme unluckiness. He hesitates. I tell him, I understand you represent Sprint and shouldn't slander the samsung rant but I am asking for an objective statement on this model of phone so I can know whether to expect these problems for the next year until my upgrade. He says ok, it freezes under various circumstances including during texting and opening of the web browser.

So where I am now:

1. 3 phones in 3 months, all broken.

2. A store that says I can get a different model and, a customer service rep on the phone that is as specific as saying "I think if you have had a phone break three times in six months they'll give you a different model."

3. Another sprint representative saying that I can get nothing but a new samsung rant.

4. My most recent discovery of finding out online that lots of people are unhappy with this phone.

So what I am going to do is go to the sprint store tomorrow and order a new samsung rant and get another loaner for the weekend until it comes in. I hate to admit defeat and just keep jumping through hoops, but at the same time I cannot be caught without a cell phone. What if there was a family emergency, or for that matter if my place of employment needed to contact me. I work in customer service heavily so I know that when dealing with all of these sprint representatives it makes their life easier if I'm endlessly friendly and cooperative as they deal with my problems. I am just not that "rude guy" that always makes my day that much worse at my job. If anybody has any advice, if there is any management that reads this that can help, please contact me. To top off the entire situation the guy who handled me at the end of the phone call told me that he would make a note on my account that said at no point does he reccomend me to get a different phone model to replace mine. He said that would ensure any representative that pulled up my account wouldn't misinform me again. The scary part is I have now read online that customers who call in to complain too much to sprint will be removed as a customer because sprint doesn't want problem customers. I don't know if thats true or not, but I do not want to try to call in and fix anything again if that is going to be the result and it sounds especially futile since this last representative told me that he basically flagged my sprint account as "Don't help this guy in the way that he requests."

If you work for sprint and can help in any way shape or form, contact me.

Dane

Message was edited by: Moderator to remove personal information (email address).