chokaay
01-11-2009, 12:39 AM
I joined Sprint July 2008, and since then I have brought over 5 other customers (and 4 new ones today). But WHY DOES SPRINT MAKE IT SO HARD TO REFER NEW CUSTOMERS?!? Case in point...
JULY 2008 - I decided to join Sprint before SERO ended, and convinced my friend to do the same. I experienced some issues with my order (http://www.sprintusers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=169069) that with A LOT of patience and persistance I was able to clear up (after 2 months). My friend had less patience (http://www.sprintusers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=169069) and returned his phone without even activating it. (Basically, Sprint shipped him an obviously used Motorola RAZR V3m covered in fingerprints, and that pissed him off enough to cancel service without even activating the phone. But who could blame him? I wouldn't expect this sort of mistake from a well-established company such as Sprint, and I'd be pissed off too!)
SUN, 1/4/09 - After MONTHS of convincing (since July 2008), my friend finally agreed to give Sprint another chance. We drive down to the local Sprint store where he wanted to sign up for the Everything Data Family 3000 plan with 4 x BlackBerry 8830 World Editions (since we BOTH had bad experiences ordering through Sprint.com, and we THOUGHT it would be easier if we signed-up/activated in person... and had someone to hold responsible if anything went wrong). The representative said that Sprint stores don't carry the BlackBerry 8830 World Editions, and that they would have to order it and wait for them to come in (usually 1-2 days). That was OK, as long as the BlackBerries came in and were set up ASAP because 2 of the lines had to go with people leaving overseas 1/9/09. We asked if we should just order online at Sprint.com (because phones are stated to be OVERNIGHTED for free), but the representative said that there was no difference and it was better to order from their store. So my friend pre-paid for 4 x Blackberry 8830 World Editions in the store, and we left. :)
MON, 1/5/09 - BlackBerries have not arrived at the Sprint store yet. :(
TUES, 1/6/09 - BlackBerries have not arrived at the Sprint store yet. :mad:
WED, 1/7/09 - BlackBerries have not arrived at the Sprint store yet. Just in case the BlackBerries wouldn't arrive in time, my friend tried to place an order on Sprint.com for the Everything Data Family 3000 plan with 4 x BlackBerry 8830 World Editions. Sprint.com gave an error saying he only was qualified for 3 lines under his SSN with a 795 FICO. So he called his relative and she placed an order for the Everything Data Family 3000 plan with 4 x BlackBerry 8830 World Editions online. Her order went through fine with a confirmation number and everything (or so it seemed). :mad::mad:
THURS, 1/8/09 - BlackBerries have not arrived at the Sprint store yet. The representative doesn't know where they are. They called back later in the day with the tracking number, and it shows the BlackBerry 8830's were shipped via UPS GROUND (NOT OVERNIGHT as Sprint.com would have!). In regards to last night's online order, Sprint sent an e-mail to the relative asking her to call Sprint to verify some information. After that was done, Sprint informed her that she could only have 2 lines. My friend then called Sprint CS and asked if there was any way to get a 4-Person Everything Data Family 3000 under his name (since he was allowed 3, one would think adding one more person wouldn't be that big of a problem), including: re-running his credit again, and/or paying a refundable deposit.
After about 30 minutes of discussion between my friend, Sprint's CS Department, and Sprint's Credit Department, the official answers were "NO". NO, they wouldn't re-run my friend's credit because they had it right in front of them and his's credit was EXCELLENT (their words, not mine). There was nothing wrong with my friend's credit! But my friend did not qualify for more than 3 lines "BECAUSE YOU [HE] DO NOT HAVE SUFFICIENT DEBT"! (Yes, those were the Credit Department's exact words. That means a fiscally responsible person cannot have as many lines as a reckless spender because he didn't have enough debt to carry a cell phone.) Even though my friend was willing to put a refundable deposit of up to $5,000 (2-years worth of service), Sprint would rather limit my friend to 3 lines instead of 4 and jeopardize this promising business relationship.
So my friend started looking into his other options, including Verizon. Even though Verizon's cost is approximately 50% higher than Sprint's for essentially the same plan features, my friend doesn't care because Sprint had already wasted enough of his/our time with this B***S*** by: dragging their feet and shipping the 4 x BlackBerry 8830 World Editions to the store via UPS GROUND when Sprint clearly knew that this was a time-sensitive issue (especially when Sprint.com would OVERNIGHT phones for FREE!), and limiting my friend to 3 lines instead of 4 "BECAUSE YOU DO NOT HAVE SUFFICIENT DEBT"... even though the Sprint Corporate Store already pre-charged and ordered my friend for 4 x BlackBerry 8830 World Editions (what the heck is my friend going to do with 4 phones if he only can activate 3 of them?!?).
Am I the only one who sees the moronic nature of Sprint's reasoning to deny my friend a 4th line? Does Sprint REALLY want customers who carry a lot of debt? Does Sprint really want to drive fiscally responsible people who manage their finances well (with home, car, and higher education loans all paid off, and over $80,000 in available credit card credit) and NEVER pay late and NEVER fail to pay? If so, then Sprint could have fool us with this statement... because to us clearly that's what it seems like they're aiming for... people who rack up a lot of debt in credit cards and what-not and only pay the bare minimum (if at all)!
Anyway, wanting to help my friend out in any way I can, I made a last-ditch effort to salvage this potential transaction by documenting the experience above in a scathing e-mail to dan@sprint.com. (Much of the same material above was included in the e-mail.) :mad::mad::mad:
FRI, 1/9/09 - Someone from Sprint called my friend back in the morning in regards to my e-mail I sent last night. They did a conference call with Sprint's Credit Department, and Sprint's Credit Department again denied my friend a 4th line based on the same reasoning. The Sprint CSR (apparently a higher-tiered CSR from Dan's office) was stunned at first, then put my friend on hold before (I'm assuming) using whatever authority she had to set the Credit Department straight. In the end, after 30 minutes on hold, the CSR came back, apoligized for the wait, and said that my friend was approved for a 4th line, no deposit.
My friend rushed to the Sprint Corporate Store (since the phones came in today), and activated all 4 lines just hours before 2 of the BlackBerry 8830 World Editions went with two new Sprint customers overseas. :o
Although this story ended well (barely...), WHY THE HECK DOES SPRINT MAKE IT SO HARD TO REFER NEW CUSTOMERS?!?
I swear, these 4 lines will be the LAST customers I refer to Sprint EVER... unless Sprint can make signing-up new customers as painless as T-Mobile, AT&T, or even Verizon (all 3 I have never had/observed any issues with my friends signing up). Sprint's new customer sign-up process makes going to the dentist look fun... :mad::mad::mad:
JULY 2008 - I decided to join Sprint before SERO ended, and convinced my friend to do the same. I experienced some issues with my order (http://www.sprintusers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=169069) that with A LOT of patience and persistance I was able to clear up (after 2 months). My friend had less patience (http://www.sprintusers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=169069) and returned his phone without even activating it. (Basically, Sprint shipped him an obviously used Motorola RAZR V3m covered in fingerprints, and that pissed him off enough to cancel service without even activating the phone. But who could blame him? I wouldn't expect this sort of mistake from a well-established company such as Sprint, and I'd be pissed off too!)
SUN, 1/4/09 - After MONTHS of convincing (since July 2008), my friend finally agreed to give Sprint another chance. We drive down to the local Sprint store where he wanted to sign up for the Everything Data Family 3000 plan with 4 x BlackBerry 8830 World Editions (since we BOTH had bad experiences ordering through Sprint.com, and we THOUGHT it would be easier if we signed-up/activated in person... and had someone to hold responsible if anything went wrong). The representative said that Sprint stores don't carry the BlackBerry 8830 World Editions, and that they would have to order it and wait for them to come in (usually 1-2 days). That was OK, as long as the BlackBerries came in and were set up ASAP because 2 of the lines had to go with people leaving overseas 1/9/09. We asked if we should just order online at Sprint.com (because phones are stated to be OVERNIGHTED for free), but the representative said that there was no difference and it was better to order from their store. So my friend pre-paid for 4 x Blackberry 8830 World Editions in the store, and we left. :)
MON, 1/5/09 - BlackBerries have not arrived at the Sprint store yet. :(
TUES, 1/6/09 - BlackBerries have not arrived at the Sprint store yet. :mad:
WED, 1/7/09 - BlackBerries have not arrived at the Sprint store yet. Just in case the BlackBerries wouldn't arrive in time, my friend tried to place an order on Sprint.com for the Everything Data Family 3000 plan with 4 x BlackBerry 8830 World Editions. Sprint.com gave an error saying he only was qualified for 3 lines under his SSN with a 795 FICO. So he called his relative and she placed an order for the Everything Data Family 3000 plan with 4 x BlackBerry 8830 World Editions online. Her order went through fine with a confirmation number and everything (or so it seemed). :mad::mad:
THURS, 1/8/09 - BlackBerries have not arrived at the Sprint store yet. The representative doesn't know where they are. They called back later in the day with the tracking number, and it shows the BlackBerry 8830's were shipped via UPS GROUND (NOT OVERNIGHT as Sprint.com would have!). In regards to last night's online order, Sprint sent an e-mail to the relative asking her to call Sprint to verify some information. After that was done, Sprint informed her that she could only have 2 lines. My friend then called Sprint CS and asked if there was any way to get a 4-Person Everything Data Family 3000 under his name (since he was allowed 3, one would think adding one more person wouldn't be that big of a problem), including: re-running his credit again, and/or paying a refundable deposit.
After about 30 minutes of discussion between my friend, Sprint's CS Department, and Sprint's Credit Department, the official answers were "NO". NO, they wouldn't re-run my friend's credit because they had it right in front of them and his's credit was EXCELLENT (their words, not mine). There was nothing wrong with my friend's credit! But my friend did not qualify for more than 3 lines "BECAUSE YOU [HE] DO NOT HAVE SUFFICIENT DEBT"! (Yes, those were the Credit Department's exact words. That means a fiscally responsible person cannot have as many lines as a reckless spender because he didn't have enough debt to carry a cell phone.) Even though my friend was willing to put a refundable deposit of up to $5,000 (2-years worth of service), Sprint would rather limit my friend to 3 lines instead of 4 and jeopardize this promising business relationship.
So my friend started looking into his other options, including Verizon. Even though Verizon's cost is approximately 50% higher than Sprint's for essentially the same plan features, my friend doesn't care because Sprint had already wasted enough of his/our time with this B***S*** by: dragging their feet and shipping the 4 x BlackBerry 8830 World Editions to the store via UPS GROUND when Sprint clearly knew that this was a time-sensitive issue (especially when Sprint.com would OVERNIGHT phones for FREE!), and limiting my friend to 3 lines instead of 4 "BECAUSE YOU DO NOT HAVE SUFFICIENT DEBT"... even though the Sprint Corporate Store already pre-charged and ordered my friend for 4 x BlackBerry 8830 World Editions (what the heck is my friend going to do with 4 phones if he only can activate 3 of them?!?).
Am I the only one who sees the moronic nature of Sprint's reasoning to deny my friend a 4th line? Does Sprint REALLY want customers who carry a lot of debt? Does Sprint really want to drive fiscally responsible people who manage their finances well (with home, car, and higher education loans all paid off, and over $80,000 in available credit card credit) and NEVER pay late and NEVER fail to pay? If so, then Sprint could have fool us with this statement... because to us clearly that's what it seems like they're aiming for... people who rack up a lot of debt in credit cards and what-not and only pay the bare minimum (if at all)!
Anyway, wanting to help my friend out in any way I can, I made a last-ditch effort to salvage this potential transaction by documenting the experience above in a scathing e-mail to dan@sprint.com. (Much of the same material above was included in the e-mail.) :mad::mad::mad:
FRI, 1/9/09 - Someone from Sprint called my friend back in the morning in regards to my e-mail I sent last night. They did a conference call with Sprint's Credit Department, and Sprint's Credit Department again denied my friend a 4th line based on the same reasoning. The Sprint CSR (apparently a higher-tiered CSR from Dan's office) was stunned at first, then put my friend on hold before (I'm assuming) using whatever authority she had to set the Credit Department straight. In the end, after 30 minutes on hold, the CSR came back, apoligized for the wait, and said that my friend was approved for a 4th line, no deposit.
My friend rushed to the Sprint Corporate Store (since the phones came in today), and activated all 4 lines just hours before 2 of the BlackBerry 8830 World Editions went with two new Sprint customers overseas. :o
Although this story ended well (barely...), WHY THE HECK DOES SPRINT MAKE IT SO HARD TO REFER NEW CUSTOMERS?!?
I swear, these 4 lines will be the LAST customers I refer to Sprint EVER... unless Sprint can make signing-up new customers as painless as T-Mobile, AT&T, or even Verizon (all 3 I have never had/observed any issues with my friends signing up). Sprint's new customer sign-up process makes going to the dentist look fun... :mad::mad::mad: