A WARNING TO ALL POTENTIALLY NEW SPRINT CUSTOMERS: "Don't Worry, It's Just Sprint!"

[chokaay]

NOTE: The following post represents my own personal opinions and do not reflect the opinions, views, or policies of Sprint, Nextel, or any affiliated companies or organizations. My opinions are based on my numerous experiences in signing up, referring, and/or observing others go through the process of signing up for new accounts/lines/service with Sprint.



Well, since I didn't see anything like this posted anywhere, I guess I will...



A WARNING TO ALL POTENTIALLY NEW SPRINT CUSTOMERS!



Wouldn't it suck if a Sprint Sales Rep lured you to a mall kiosk with the promise of an "awesome" plan that seems like it can't be beat, and then take up 2 HOURS of your time helping you find the right plan and phone(s)... only to be told by Sprint's Credit Department that you DON'T qualify for all (or any) of the lines with a 795 FICO? Or when you actually order the phones through a Sales Rep (and you PAY for them on the spot), but instead of arriving in 1-2 business days (like it would have if you ordered ONLINE at Sprint.com), it takes 7-8 BUSINESS DAYS shipping from within the SAME STATE??? And what if you get to the store after the phones arrived, only to find that you CAN'T EVEN ACTIVATE ALL OF THEM because Sprint's Credit Department denied you enough lines the Sprint Representative ordered phones for? Or wouldn't it suck if you actually ordered a family plan from Sprint.com, only to find out the next day that the order had been CANCELLED because you ordered more lines than Sprint's Credit Department qualified you for (and the reason was only because "YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH DEBT")??? (The fact that Sprint would rather give 5 lines to a reckless spender who can't pay his debts than to a financially responsible person who pays off all his/her bills on-time alone seems to say something about Sprint's policies.) Or what if your order wasn't cancelled, but they shipped you OBVIOUSLY USED PHONES with FINGERPRINTS, SCRATCHES, AND OTHER PEOPLE'S PHONE NUMBERS in the address book?!? Wouldn't that really grind your gears??? Or maybe the phones weren't used, but they were the WRONG PHONES! Or maybe the right phones came, but Sprint gives you THE WRONG PLANS!!! (Why the heck can't Sprint streamline the ordering process so online orders don’t have to be manually inputted into the system by mistake-prone reps?) Then what if your first bill comes and you found they billed you for your phones... AGAIN (the same phones you paid for in the store 1 month prior)!?! And what if that made you go over your account's spending limit so Sprint suspends your lines without even notifying you!?! How fair is that??? And what if your bill contained billing errors such as features or content you never ordered? What if the billing errors keep repeating EVERY... SINGLE... MONTH!!! Or maybe you encounter Sprint Reps that have no idea what they're doing and they totally SCREW UP YOUR PLAN, or worse... INTENTIONALLY REMOVE OR ADD FEATURES WITHOUT YOUR PERMISSION! Or maybe you need to activate international roaming on your lines, but Sprint's International Roaming Department tells you that you CAN'T ACTIVATE INTERNATIONAL ROAMING because you have a SPENDING LIMIT on your account (regardless if your spending limit is $150 or $15,000), and the spending limit won't be removed for 12 MONTHS! WHAT?!? I NEED INTERNATIONAL ROAMING NOW B____!!!


For those of you who experienced any (or all) of these issues, or any other issues with Sprint, I have 5 words for you:

"DON'T WORRY, IT'S JUST SPRINT!"


If you have the patience, the time, the tolerance, and the determination to put up with Sprint's s__t for the first couple of months* and work hard to resolve your issues, then chances are that IT WILL be "smooth sailing" afterwards and YOU WILL be handsomly rewarded with the benefits of Sprint's excellent product**, competitive prices, (and maybe decent service) for years to come!

However, if you do NOT have the patience, the time, the tolerance, or determination to put up with such potential B.S. from a cellular carrier and/or are easily "put off" by the prospect of confrontation and standing up for yourself, then my advice to you is to find another carrier that will satisfy you (NOT SPRINT), because you will NOT be happy with Sprint!




* From my experiences and experiences of other friends and family I've referred to Sprint, it takes on average 1-2 months (and hours on the phone/in the store/via e-mail) to straighten out every single issue with new Sprint accounts/lines (different people/accounts/lines had different issues). If it takes you less than 1 month to straighten everything out, then consider yourself lucky. If it takes you about 1-2 months to straighten everything out, then I'd consider that about average. If it takes you more than 2 months to straighten everything out (which could happen), then I wish you the best of luck!


** At least in Southern California, I've found Sprint's network to be excellent... and since they allow in-market roaming on Verizon and other carriers if you can't lock onto a Sprint signal, that just makes it better! (I've only had to roam on Verizon a handful of times so far, but having the option to do so is very nice! :th_dblthumb2:)



NOTE: The post above represents my own personal opinions and do not reflect the opinions, views, or policies of Sprint, Nextel, or any affiliated companies or organizations. My opinions are based on my numerous experiences in signing up, referring, and/or observing others go through the process of signing up for new accounts/lines/service with Sprint.

[y0himba]

Sprint is all about the advertising and the phones, the service and the customer service are the worst of any carrier in the nation. If you want smooth sailing, take a hit on the extra expense and choose AT&T.

[cwilliams706]

Sprint is all about the advertising and the phones, the service and the customer service are the worst of any carrier in the nation. If you want smooth sailing, take a hit on the extra expense and choose AT&T.

I recommended the same thing, but he said that AT&T and T-Mobile don't get a good reception in his area. I'm sorry to hear you're so disappointed with the performance of Sprint.

[chokaay]

Well, personally from a customer standpoint, Sprint actually has an EXCELLENT PRODUCT IMO, and I'm very satisfied with them in this regard! The network in SoCal actually has MORE COVERAGE than either AT&T or T-Mobile (since Sprint has in-market roaming on Verizon and other CDMA networks for free... something no other major carrier does). The reception/signal strength both are very impressive indoors as well, (a step up from AT&T and a bigger step up from T-Mobile, but to be fair sometimes it's because of free Verizon roaming). I can make and receive clear calls with NO break-ups, NO static, NO drop outs at 0 bars (phone independent since everyone else I know on Sprint can too). And although Sprint's phone selection isn't as impressive or big as AT&T's, I think it's sufficient (more varied and complete than T-Mobile's) and personally, I'd take Sprint's smaller handset selection and lower monthly rates (voice + messaging + data) than AT&T's bigger handset selection and higher monthly rates (I don't qualify for any corporate discounts on any carrier).

That being said, IMO Sprint's major downfall is it's customer service. It is the worst customer service I've experienced from any major company (not even exaggerating). Part of the blame might be Sprint's policies restricting new customers (some examples were posted in my original post), but much of it probably comes from inconsistant results coming from poorly trained (or brand new) CSR's with little experience. The CSR's are very friendly and courteous the vast majority of the time... almost as friendly and nice as T-Mobile CSR's and WAY friendlier and nicer than AT&T CSR's (although there are a few unfriendly ones in the bunch as well), but in terms of technical knowledge and competence, it's a hit-or-miss. Most of the time it seems like the "left hand" doesn't know what the "right hand" is doing, and that can lead to problems. Sometimes issues can be resolved in 1 call in 10 minutes. Other times it would take 8 calls, 3 escalations, and hours on the phone. However, I must say that in the past few months I have seen SOME improvement in CS, so I have to give credit where it's due. But Sprint still has a loooooooong way to go until they reach T-Mobile's or AT&T's CS level.

Second, there are other things "wrong" with Sprint as well, like marketing, notorious name brand reputation, poor financial decisions, etc. However, IMO if they "fix" their MAJOR problem first, that will at least stem the tide of customers leaving and bad-mouthing Sprint's CS... which is exactly what they need right now! :rolleyes:

[AndrewD]

Funny...

this is strange... I get 1500 minutes a month free 7pm 7am calling, free weekend's... Free Roaming, Free Long Distance, Free Internet, Unlimited Txt, Unlimited navigation, Unlimited TV, and radio, humm Picture mail, oh wait FREE INCOMING and all with tax. My bill is never any higher then $62.00 a month with TAX.. Strange oh wait I also get International dialing and I have a spending limit.

I signed up first time with sprint in December of 08, No activation fee and a 40.00 credit right away.. so, the service is perfect to me.. no problems nothing, and I have a blackberry curve...

I will NEVER leave Sprint!!!

[Lee]

I have been with Sprint for 9 years and while years ago their customer service was pitiful, they are much improved over what they used to be.