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Yah. I called 611 and before it even got to the menus, it said,
\"Currently, some Verizon Wireless Customers are receiving unsolicited spam text messages. We are aggressively working to isolate, and resolve this issue, and will apply appropriate credits for unsolicited text messages. If you are calling about any other issue, please stay on the line…\"
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-69858-100x100.png\")
As for the first guy: leave. now. They're treating you like crap for taking them up on offers that THEY made. Why reward bad behavior like this? Switch, then call one more time to tell them why you left and that you're telling others about your story, so they'll lose more customers. Be respectful, polite, and honest. Brutally honest.
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-34627-100x100.png\")
@Buran: I disagree that Sprint is behaving badly. He and Sprint entered into a contract for services at a price they both agreed to. Sprint fulfilled the terms of the contract. He wants to renew at the same terms. Sprint has apparently decided that his business is not worth it to them at those prices. They are doing what any of us would do in the same situation, declining to renew a contract that they feel is not in their best interests. He must have been getting a hell of a deal if he's still with them and pushing so hard to keep it.
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-232465-100x100.png\")
i don't know - the first guy sounds like a massive pain. calling in december to try to renegotiate a contract that's not up until april? he sounds like the sort of self-important prick i would have dreaded in my customer service days...
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-74864-100x100.png\")
@Buran: I have to disagree. Customer #1 is (IMHO) too high maintenance to be profitable.
I liken him to someone who complains about his coffee at Starbucks, gets a comp coupon, then complains that his comped coffee is just as bad... demanding yet another comp for it. When it doesn't happen the second time, they embark on a \"smear campaign\" to \"get even\" for the slight. Secretly, there's no real problem with the coffee, the customer just wants to get as much out of the purchase of his original coffee as he can (and as Starbucks will allow).
You can't fault him for succeeding (thus far) to the point where Sprint says \"Sir quite frankly I have never seen a plan like yours with all of your discounts.\", but he should take the hint that he's wrung all the \"free\" out of his current contract and should just ride it out before Sprint does what it REALLY wants to do... drop him and his discounts off on the side of the road.
The first guy's account probably isn't worth the paper the bill is printed on. If I still worked for Sprint, I'd encourage the CSO to cancel and restrict his account at the conclusion of his current contract. Sometimes there are people who you just can't do business with and it sounds like he is one of them. He's basically admitted that he's gotten more concessions than the average person for a less than average billing account.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-73631-100x100.png\")
Corporations make up excuses for \"not talking to people\". It seems to be policy, and invented \"reason\" to blame the customer for their misconduct.
Back in 2004, Gateway pulled a bait-and-switch when I naively made the mistake of buying through them by mail. When I refused to \"give up\" as they \"advised\" me, they blocked my email. Siccing the North Dakota Attorney General's office and the BBB on them at the same time got their attention; it took three months, but I did get the money back (including the taxes and shipping costs).
@Sudonum: But if his business wasn't worth it to them, why did they set up whatever deal he has, then? It must be worth it to them or they wouldn't make the offer. Now, they are penalizing him for their own choices. I wouldn't want to have prices raised on me for agreeing to be locked in, either. Contracts are give and take, and it seems that Sprint wants to take and not give.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-1236-100x100.png\")
And be serious, Customer #1 is not going to drop Sprint and pay the ETF.
He'll stay in until long past his contract expiration and until Sprint drops him like a hot rock.
I bet he's on Sero for $30/mon with a Corp. Discount and a loyalty discount and dollars off and tons of other \"perks\".
I'd also bet that he wants sprint to throw him some credits or a new phone or something for renewing early.
@MercuryPDX: And yet, Sprint is complaining that it's losing customers by the bucketload, and is turning away people who WANT to stay with them? You can't afford to do that when you're sliding like Sprint is.
Sprint has always been a lousy deal, with minimal coverage and crappy customer support. I dropped them like a hot potato years ago, and never looked back.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-44827-100x100.png\")
Yeah customer #1 is putting themselves out to be an ass.
Why is it some people feel so entitled? This is one of the reasons I think that customer service with so many companies has gone down the toilet.
Too many people calling for things that do nothing more than waste time clogging it up for the ones that have honest issues. So many people feel entitled to something for free or better than everyone else just because they are aggressive or think they know the tricks.
This doesn't foster goodwill in more CSRs, it fosters contempt.
While everyone wants the best deal, there comes a point where a company should be able to say this is as low as the bargining goes and then we're done talking.
Let's see... the Executive CS line has worked for everybody but Customer #1. The CSR specifically tells Customer #1 that he's \"never seen\" a rate like his (and this guy has probably seen a lot of plans). Customer #1 is trying to renew five months early because he knows he has an unreasonably good deal, and has apparently called enough times to be an active nuisnce. And Sprint is wrong to cut this guy, or try to make a profit on his account, why?
@Buran: But he only wants to stay with them so he can continue to milk them for discounts:
\"I called Sprint to extend my contract out 2 more years which is up in April. I wanted Sprint to also extend out my credits I was getting for 2 more years as well.\"
If Sprint's not making any money off of him, and they are actually losing money/time dealing with him every time he calls (for more credits/freebies), then he is PRECISELY the type of customer they want to drop... if only to give more CSR time to someone who's paying full price on their account.
You keep the people who pay the most causing the least problems, not the people paying next to nothing that call every other week looking for even MORE discounts... but not because their service is crappy, because they consistently get away with it.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-196743-100x100.png\")
@Buran: \"But if his business wasn't worth it to them, why did they set up whatever deal he has, then? It must be worth it to them or they wouldn't make the offer.\"
Maybe it was to just shut him up and get him off the phone so they could move on to the next caller.
@buran: Call it \"Sellers Remorse\" Maybe their costs have shifted upward? Maybe the guy just takes up way too much of a CSR's time in general. The bottom line is that they signed a contract, they lived up to the terms of the contract, and they decided they didn't want to renew.
Let me give you an example. I have a Kenmore gas grill that is nearly 10 years old. I have a service agreement with Sears to repair whatever goes wrong with it. The agreement costs me something like $30 a year. Every year, around springtime, I go out and try to light the damn thing using the built-in igniter. It won't light. So I call Sears up and tell them my grill won't light. They send a tech out and $300 worth of parts later, my grill is working almost as good as new. I keep waiting for Sears to figure out that they're losing money on this deal and not call me to renew it. But so far that hasn't happened. And if they failed to call to ask me to renew next year would I pitch a fit and call them and piss and moan that they had been selling me this service all these years and that they have no right to decide now that they don't want to continue to cheaply service my worn out grill?
Maybe that's not \"apples to apples\", but it does illustrate my point, being that Sprint has decided that the cost of them renewing this persons contract on those terms is not worth it to them and they are well within their rights to do so. They aren't being evil and trying to change the terms in the middle of it. They just realize that, for whatever reason, this contract doesn't work for them, even as they continue to bleed customers. That alone makes me wonder all the more what kind of deal this guy had.
I recently started up a new line of service with Sprint and it's been terrible. Incorrect plans, incorrect charges, unable to process a payment on the web, canceling the payment I try to make over the phone and not notifying me at all (I just noticed that a week later, the charge still had not cleared my bank account). I can't believe how horrible the Sprint service is and how they can't seem to get ANYTHING right including signing me up for the plan I ordered online or processing a payment I received a confirmation for. They're a disaster!
Ive said this before... with the sheer number of people using any particular service youre going to have lots and lots of horror stories, but all of those horror stories probably make up a very small percentage of the overall experience people have. Especially since few people report a god experience...
I have had nothing but good service from Sprint, including an insurance covered repair that was done within about 45 minutes while I waited!
With the advent of the internet, it became easier to complain, so we actually hear more of these things. The service may actually be BETTER now than it was before the internet made it so easy to report issues to the public, but it seems like a particular company is terible, because 50 or 100 or 1000 people had a problem and complained online... but what percentage is even 1000 people of their total subscriber base? Probably tiny.
Personally, I think most of the problems people have are related to the individual they are dealing with, not some company wide policy.
@Sudonum: you have it right I would say... taking up too much time. Most of the CSR's (anywhere) are trying to keep each call under a certain amount of time, and failing too often usually results in them loosing their job. When people get gheated over things, they need to put themselves in the csr's shoes. Would YOU jeaprodise YOUR job to get some guy a $9.00 credit, or would you save your job and fake a disconnect? Is it dirty? Yes. But if it meant feeding my family or getting someone a credit... *click*
The alternative is sending call centers overseas where it is cheaper to handle longer calls, but people dont want that. So that leaves raising prices to compensate, which no one wants either.
Cellular customer service is going to be a thing of the past soon anyway... as these companies buy each other up and reform the monopolies that were broken apart in the past, we'll end up with one or two options at the most. Then we'll have to take the crap they dish out and smile as we do it.
Anybody remember the post in which an insider detailed the $$ ranking system for customer worthiness? It would sound as though the first guy is at the low end of that spectrum.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-1838-100x100.png\")
I had a less-than-satisfying experience with this number. I left a message after hours and someone called me back and left me a message. When I got a live person they told me that because Ms. So-and-so had returned my call only Ms. So-and-so could deal with my case? \"Well, can I speak with her?\" \"No, she's on vacation.\" When I made a fuss they promised to take care of my problem(s). They even sent me a letter confirming that they had. Only...they hadn't and the nightmare continues. Bottom line: No matter whhat number you call, Sprint is trouble.
I have had two experiences with Sprint in the 6 years I have had their service:
1. They called me telling me I had racked up a $1500 data service charge! They explained that it was their fault, and not to panic when I saw my bill, it was all handled. Followed up with a letter apologizing for the billing error. It was caused by purchasing a new phone and having the Sprint Vision plan not getting re-added to my service. (Huge bill because I was on travel for 3 weeks after I got the phone and used it as a wireless modem)
2. When I switched to my new phone last month the same thing happened, only it was a minor $25 excess billing. Again, they were apologetic, added 50 min to my home long distance account (which is Sprint) and were generally pleasant.
I dunno, maybe I am special, but every time I deal with Sprint is more or less a good experience. I am loathe to change services, Sprint has done right by me.
@scoosdad: Maybe... but call me cynical, an \"accidental hangup\" would have done the trick if that was the real aim.
@MercuryPDX: I realize that. Point is, you don't make a deal with a customer that loses you money. They've gotta be making money off him if they made the offer in the first place, right?
@Sudonum: I would still suggest what I suggested already: tell them why you went to the competition, be honest about it, and actually do it. There's nothing wrong with being honest, and if a company realizes that it is angering customers when it already can't afford to do it, maybe that'll finally give them the kick in the pants.
I suggested nothing dishonest or unfair. I suggested honesty followed by action. If you are unhappy with the service you are getting (and a pricejack when you're offering to stay locked in for a long time is a fair complaint) then you have every right to POLITELY tell them why you left. (and if you really are telling other people the story, and doing it truthfully, that is also your right)
@Buran: See, I'm not suggesting anything more than being honest about why you're leaving. Seems the reps were a little rude, and that bugs me, but no matter why you quit a service I think the company should know why. In theory it'll help them improve. If someone's unhappy with me, and doesn't tell me that they are, how can I fix the problem, if it needs fixing?
@Buran:
Absolutly, I was not suggesting that he stay with Sprint. I was merely stating that in my opinion Sprint had not wronged him. Sprint simply told them that they no longer cared to do business under those terms and these are the terms that they will renew with. If those terms are unacceptable, then by all means go to another provider. We as consumers do this all the time.
Also, in my opinion, I would have handled this completely differently. This is an example of when being proactive actually hurts you. If he had let the contract expire there is a chance that Sprint would have continued to bill him under the existing terms, with the discounts. If and when they decided to jack his bill up after the contract expired then he would have had more leverage by making Sprint out to be the bad guy here, jacking his rate up and not continuing to honor the terms of the contract, even though it did expire. Is that being dishonest? I don't think so.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-128794-100x100.png\")
What a cheap ass!!! \" I have always paid my bill on time and in full\" what a load of crap he wants special treatment because he's paying his bills on time? He sounds like one of those dead beat momas on TV that say they take care of their kids!! Its ridiculous when people want special treatment for doing what they are suppose to do in the first place!!
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-8966-100x100.png\")
On an unrelated note: I've been a long time customer of Sprint's. Went into a store to finally get an upgrade. Two days later I get a call from an unknown number. The number is 866-888-5233. I never answer unknown numbers but did an online search of it. Seems that Sprint uses telemarketers. (Or it could be scam in some cases. Some people were asked their SSN in order to be taken off of the call list.)
In any event: WTF, Sprint? If you're going to call to find out our experience why not identify yourself as Sprint? Or why not just contact us through our online account management system? At least leave a short message when we don't answer the phone.
@quail: I used to have Sprint and I used to get sales calls from them too. It drove me up the wall. I think Cingular might have tried it once or twice but they don't anymore. I don't remember at the moment but I might have politely told them to go pound sand, so maybe that had something to do with it.
Hopefully you didn't give out your SSN!
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that first guy is a complete d-bag. sprint should fire him. these are the types of guys who use disposable razors for months because they are too cheap to buy more. sprint gave him gift after gift with discounts, and he still bitches about it. i'd say hit the road if I were sprint as well.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-120903-100x100.png\")
For what it's worth, I've had better luck solving my (repeated) Sprint billing problems by emailing customer service through their website than I have by using the phone. You end up waiting 12 or so hours for a reply (I think they've outsourced this overseas somewhere), and you'll then most likely have to re-state part of your problem and wait another 12 hours, but in the end, it will be resolved and you won't have wasted 45 minutes on hold.
hah! i just had a sprint nightmare, and found this site looking for a way to resolve it!
I have had a sprint phone for the past 6 years, though the acct. is under my father's name (i was in high school when I got it). I've experienced a fair amount of bullshit trying to pay bills over the years, but it was mainly down to the fact my name wasn't on the account.
Last month, my account expired, but I was not in a position to finally get my own account, and the phone number change that will come with it. So I was left with another attempt at paying my bill. A week ago, I started trying to pay my bill. The website was down. So I drove to the store. Thier computers were down. I have long ago abandoned trying to pay the bill over the phone, as I'd always been prompted for the primary account holder's SSN, which I don't know. I try to pay the bill AGAIN online, and AGAIN in the store. Finally, I am told that they have charged my debit card for my balance, and I should be dandy.
No such luck. No such pending transaction. Nothin'. At this point my phone is no longer working, so I break down and try the phone. Knowing no better, I try to call the normal customer service (obviously not on my phone, with cheerfully informs me there is no such account). I tell the computer \"I want to talk to a person\" and I get a lovely operator that listens to my problem, and sends me to billing.
Billing... it sounded like the worst cellphone signal you can imagine... I can hear one syllable every 3 words, and it's staticy. I have 5 bars on the cellphone I'm using. After half an hour of \"can you repeat that again please??\" and being on hold, I'm finally given a payment number. Or something. I just hope my bill is actually paid this time...
(oh yes, and I tried the consumerist sprint #, but it's after hours there, and at this point I NEED my phone to be on by tomorrow morning)
@Sudonum: You are exactly right about the first guy. Some people are never happy though. He sounds like a handful. Probably the kind of guy who stand at gas station \"A\" and bitches about the prices being 3 cents lower across the street, instead of just going across the street and paying less. The sense of entitlement and consumer arrogance in this country is starting to rub me the wrong way. People like this clown make it hard for the people who've really been \"wronged\" to get satisfaction. \"Why wouldn't they want to lock me in for another 2 years?\" Because they're not making any money on you, jackass.
I also had a good experience using this \"super special\" hotline. I needed to get out of my contract due to moving out of the country. When I called the regular customer service line, I was told that I would have to pay the $200 ETF even though I was clearly moving somewhere where Sprint did not provide coverage. I was told that provision didn't apply to my plan, and then the rep tried to convince me that I'd be fine anyway because Sprint does have coverage in Singapore (um, no, they do not). When I asked to be transfered to a manager, he tranfered me to someone who was out of the office all week.
I called the Consumer hotline number and arranged for a shut off date and a pro-rated ETF of about $50 within ten minutes. (Of course, I had to call back when I was overbilled on my last bill, but that's another frustrating story).
The first guy claimed he was wanting to make sure that extending his contract would not remove his existing terms. With Sprint, this is important. My wife and I did this. Well, after we got burned by NOT doing precisely that.
We have free mobile to mobile( \"in network\"). Most of our calls are that way. We had been out of contract for two years. Bought new phones, got into the standard 2Y deal. First bill was huge. Why? Even after confirming in the original deal that we still had this, Sprint dropped it.
Eventually they took care of it. But the point is that you can not assume that your existing plan will be what you have when you \"Extend or renew\" your contract. Ensuring that is not being an asshole, it should be common practice.
If Sprint is not making money on this guy, it is their fault, not his. Most likely they are making money, but not as much as they want to. There is a big difference there. I want more money in my paycheck, but I'm not losing money because of it.
On my 6th hour of phone calls with Sprint trying to place an order. They just cannot seem to get it together. Horrible customer experience. Just absolutely horrible. They do not even know the correct 8xx numbers for transfers.
The reason that there is bad customer service is due to all of the people they let go that were mostly of the legacy nextel company. The sprint customer service has always been bad and unfortunately the legacy nextel associates inherited a huge mess when the companies merged. The sprint company unfortunately doesn't know how to treat key employees which is why many of them jumped at the opportunity to take the money and run when offered. Many long term employees also left because of the workplace being such a horrible environment. Many employees are being asked now to be more flexible than ever to help bring this sinking ship back to ground.
The sales teams are no different as many are given bigger challenges to try and save many of the company's high profile corporate and government accounts that are leaving on a weekly basis due to poor network and customer service. This is where the focus is at the moment on the BIG Business and not the small business. The quarterly reports show growth with EMBARQ which is why the CEO came in. This will now be expanding into the WIFI side and the reps are going to be pushed to the limits again all over as they will be poorly trained and asked to weather this all over again on top of their already big jobs. The net adds also became large due to BOOST for subscribers that wanted a pay as you go phone and many were not credit worthy to begin but wanted the nextel phone.
The retention teams which is account services that disconnects phones is given only so much money to work with when customers are wanting to cancel. They sometimes work with sales if the account is big enough and wanting to cancel to keep the customer.
Unfortunately the hurdle is that there are many reps that are not empowered in having the proper tools and resources so many of the issues people see is due to lack in training and retaining of good employees.
I've had Sprint for a year now. The bill is wrong more than right.
My recent bill had $248 in extra charges. Several emails and calls to customer service resulted in many promises but no action. I was even told my account had a \"hold\" so Customer Service could give no more credits under any circumstances until April 2009.
I called the executive service #. Within 5 minutes my account was corrected and I received a heartfelt apology. Within 10 minutes I received an email titled \"Account Adjustment Complete\".
So it really does work. Just make sure you exhaust all Customer Service angles first. And no name calling or 4 letter words...
This isn't really related to this post in particular, but I'm curious if any other verizon user have been spam bombed on their mobiles today? I've asked all my friends and every one of us with Verizon has been spammed today.
This might make for a good Consumerist post (There is a previous post on the subject, but it deals with T-Mobile)
[redtape.msnbc.com]