Ive had substandard service with Sprint that went on from Sept 23 and was not resolved as of Oct 3 when I ported my line.
I made sure I mentioned twice that I had years of prior knowledge and experience with the cellular industry. The red flag that should have gone up when I made that statement to say dont try no mess with me It went right over their head so I decided to play the role of The Unknowledgeable Customer. When the issue dragged on, I knew it was going to lead to something big.
I know the difference between tech support and networking
*After a year of no problems, my caller-ID started showing up as private preventing me from certain numbers that had their number blocked from calls who did not show their ID (There had been death in my family who had land line numbers that would not accept calls that were blocked.)
*After calling Sprint the first time Sept 23rd, I was assured the problem would be corrected and I would get a follow up call, she also informed me that it could take up to 72 hours. I asked for escalation due to the circumstances and was rudely told there was no such thing as escalation.
*72 hours went by, no return calls, when called for status; I was bumped around from place to place until I always ended up with tech support. I could not get any straight answers. I started calling daily hoping that they would get tired of me and just fix it
Each time I spoke with tech support, they would give me different information that made no sense. Their demeanor was We dont care. Some of the things said to me were
*Its not our problem; you did something in the settings. I know an iPhone inside and out
*You need to change your number that is the only fix. Of course I refused. Response - If I were you and it is the only option available, I would change my number I took a deep breath and told him it was MY number and I was NOT going to change it
*Call the people and tell them to take the block off of their phones
*Call a third party and ask them to call the person and ask them to call you
*It is not a networking problem; it is not showing a block in the computer
*When I spoke of breaking my contract I was informed that my NUMBER would have the same problem if I ported it
*Over and over being told it was not networking
To prove they lied to me about it, here is an excerpt from an email, I insisted so that I could have a paper trail for further action
I am confidentgiven the opportunity our network team would have found a solution for your concerns. At this time you have ported to another provider. Due to the service agreement on the account the Early Termination Fee for XXX-XXX-XXXX would remain valid. I will review the account again to determine if there is any other options available. I will follow up with you on 10/08 with the results of my investigation.
Ok, does anyone see the word network team? Why do you need to review my account unless I have called you out on your business practices? This email was sent Oct 3, my problem started on Sept 23rd and you are confident your team would find a solution? When??? Didnt you tell me it was NOT a networking issue and came up with silly excuses that you are forcing your warriors to make up and tell the consumer?
I tried to explain to them that it was indeed a networking issue and I wanted credit on my account for the stress they have put me through. After having a long conversation she finally offered me $25.00 credit for my stress (Which I have not received). I was over it, she told me she wasnt allowed to give any more than that. I asked to speak with a supervisor and was told there was none available.
Tech support promised me that if I went to a Sprint store, the techs could fix my problem. I couldnt see how since tech has nothing to do with network issues, that department is called the engineer dept. I stayed in the The Unknowledgeable Customer role and asked to go to a corporate store on Oct 2. I arrived at the store at 10:00 and left at 3:11. I had all day to what is called mystery shop. I went to the Corporate location. The greeter was very professional and let me to the tech dept. Thats where things went down hill. When I told him the problem, he told me he couldnt fix that and went on back to repairing a phone and just left me standing there. I walked over to a service rep and told him I needed help.
He proceeded to call tech support and did all he could, I told him he needed to take it higher and I wasnt smiling, he did as I asked and was put on hold. I was sitting on a stool patiently when he put the phone on speaker so that I could come get him while he waited on other customers. I am disabled and I am not on payroll with Sprint. I was not about to get up and run back and forth while tech would keep putting him on hold. After being transferred numerous times and being on the phone for a couple of hours he hung up the phone and told me they could not find the problem.
As I sat there, I started observing the service reps especially after getting such customer friendly service from the tech. I never saw a rep that showed a smile that looked happy and glad to serve the customer. I could feel tension like a knife through out the store. I knew something just wasnt right. While I was sitting there watching them scratch their heads with no idea of what to do, the rep that was working with me told me it was lunch break and he would turn me over to someone else. He was logging off of his computer when an obvious new employee on the floor asked him a question and he replied, Im on my lunch break and he said it in an abrupt way. I looked at the expression on her face, standing there trying to do her job the best she can, and being new on the floor is very stressful just getting to learning your way through a very complex computer system. My heart went out to her. She was in a situation where she is trying to help a customer and her co-worker is going to lunch and speak abruptly in front of a customer to her and clearly show that he did not care. She had a look of helpless. It was one of the toughest things to look at and see such the embarrassment and frustration on her face. That was the point I decided Ive had enough and it is obvious there something very wrong when there are colleagues showing no respect to each other, very negative body language toward customers, left me sitting for hours not knowing what is going on and that I would be porting my number not only for the run around on fixing my networking issue in which Sprint is saying that its not with no resolution but because I could tell the reps were not happy and it clearly showed. I will not do business with a company who has employees, who are so unhappy, its obvious and written all over their faces, attitudes and demeanor. If they treat their employees like that, that will ensure that I will not get good customer service.
When I was told via phone that I would have to return a phone I paid for in order to get my ETF waived, the voice of the person was shaky and certainly did not sound confident. Since I know that it is illegal to do that if the problem is the carriers fault, the phone belongs to the customer. After leaving the store with nothing accomplished, I came home and check out Sprints page and read the postings. I am horrified; there are so many people who are giving back their iPhones, (the only phone they will accept back), Sprint pretends they are doing them a favor when all the time they are reselling a phone a customer has already purchased and waiving the ETF. I wanted to make sure of my facts and asked someone who had issues but just decided to change to another carriers rather than to complain to call and see if he could get his ETF waived if he mailed back his iPhone. He was informed that option was only available to customers who are having problems with their service.
Summary
Overall bad customer service
Not providing the proper equipment, knowledge or empowerment to provide customer service excellence
Forcing them to use unethical business practices to most likely make quotas and all cost
Putting them through the stress of wanting to help but cant (They cant speak for themselves but I can because I experienced it first hand)
I could hear frustration turn into excuses because the answers just werent there. I can say right now, even if I could jump up, spin around and do cart wheels, there is no way I would ever accept employment there.
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