Saturday, July 14, 2007

Sprint's Customer Service is a Joke

I don't know about you, but I had a business and I could see all the frustration one of my customers was going through. I would kindly call them and take it upon myself to do something to try and help them sort it out.

Check this out:

MAY 27th: Extracts from Email One: "I was sent two Sanyo phones I never ordered. We spent approx 4 hours on the phone to Sprint on the evening of Wednesday May 16th trying to contact someone to help me sort out this unsolicited phone delivery to no avail. We passed on from one department to the next, none of them could help. My girlfriend spoke to 6 different people in the space of an hour before being cut off. On the morning of Thursday May 16th my girlfriend spent another hour trying to get through to the fraud department but every single time she tried to get to the fraud department she was cut off. Eventually she spoke to JOSEPH ISAAC on this number 8662898375. Joseph Isaac was the most helpful sounding person who promised to help - he promised to send us a prepaid envelope so we can return the phones which we never ordered in the first place. The prepaid envelope has not arrived as promised. It has been over a week. In the meantime I was sent a bill which I paid not realising that it included a charge for the phones that I never even ordered. I want you to arrange to pick up the phones I never ordered (check your records you will find we spoke to many clueless people trying to return these phones), and I want you return the money I paid for these lines in error. Please, please can you help - help me return the phones, help me get my money back, just help resolve this issue which is not even our fault but is putting a lot of stress on us and wasting a lot of our time."

MAY 27th: Extracts from Email Two:
date May 27, 2007 6:41 PM
subject Sprint has received your email
THIS IS AN AUTO-ACKNOWLEDGEMENT - PLEASE DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS EMAIL.
Thank you for contacting Sprint together with Nextel Online. Customer E-Care has received your email and will respond to your request within 24 hours.

JUNE 5th: Extracts from Email Three:
Thank you for emailing Sprint. My name is Nicole and I will be happy to help you.
I have noticed that it has been over 24 hours
since you first contacted us regarding your concerns. On behalf of Sprint, I sincerely apologize for the delay in responding to you. I am very sorry to hear of the difficulties you have faced in attempting to contact our fraud department. Due to the sensitivity of this issue I am unable to assist via email. You are able to print off the fraud packet online and mail in to our Fraud department. You just need to visit us at the following link:
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/affidavit.pdf
(Note: this link doesn't work for us)
I am sorry that I could not be of more assistance. If you have any other questions or concerns simply reply to this email with your concerns as well as the Sprint PCS Email Address for verification.
Thank you for your time and Sprint greatly appreciates your business. Have a great day!
Nicole H.
"Where our customers come first!"
Refer someone to Sprint and get $25.

JUNE 5th: Extracts from Email Four:
Dear Nicole
Over 24 hours is an understatement, that was over a week and is
unacceptable. And to say "I am sorry I could not be of any further
assistance" is a cop out. I asked several questions and you didn't
answer any of them. I can not afford to waste any more time on the
phone trying to track down the right person to speak to. Please give
me the direct line of someone who can help me without my being cut off
or transferred or put on hold for hours.
I am not under the impression that any fraud has been committed, but
am simply suffering from the fact that your company has mistakenly
simply sent me two phones I never ordered or requested and I want to
return them to you and have any money I have overpaid returned to me.
I can't fill out a fraud affidavit when no one has informed me that
fraud has been committed. As far as I am aware it has not. It seems
unlikely.
You have produced absolutely no evidence to suggest that anyone even
ordered the phones at all, let alone fraudulently. I already had an
account with you and you added the phones to my account. At whose
request? Who ordered this? What evidence do you have that these phones
were ordered by someone in my name and added to my account? It could
as easily be an error on your company's part. No one has contacted me
to explain how this might have happened.
How do I return the phones?
Where is the prepaid envelope I was promised by Jospeh Isaac who
assured me all I had to do was return the phone and everything would
sort itself out?
How do I get my money back?

JUNE 13th: Extracts from Email Five:
date Jun 13, 2007 2:12 AM
Thank you for contacting Sprint. I am delighted to assist you with your questions.
I apologize for the delay in my response. We recently upgraded to a more enhanced billing system to better serve our customers. We realize your time is of value to you and we truly appreciate your patience during this upgrade process.
If you would rather to speak with a representative, you can call Customer Care at 1-877-541-5705.
Order
*****
This order was placed over the phone through our Sales department or online. This order was able to be placed as the proper verification was given when the order was placed.
Return
******
In order to return the phones, you will need to call Customer Care to request a return kit. Unfortunately, I am unable to send out a return kit. This must to processed over the phone.
Refund
******
Once we have received the phones, you will receive the adjustment for the phones within one to two billing cycles.

JUNE 25th: Extracts from Email Six:
Dear Nicole
re "In order to return the phones, you will need to call Customer Care
to request a return kit. Unfortunately, I am unable to send out a
return kit. This must to processed over the phone."
You will notice from my previous communications with you that I did
get my girlfriend to call Sprint and after several hours of being
given the run around she eventually spoke to JOSEPH ISAAC on this
number 8662898375 on the morning of Thursday May16th (at around
6.30ish am PST). Joseph Isaac promised to send me a prepaid envelope
so I can return the phones which we never ordered in the first place.
The prepaid envelope has never arrived as promised by Joseph Isaac in
your customer services department.
Re the order that was placed by telephone, apparently fraudulently - I
find this difficult to comprehend that this would be the case given
the number of hours I and my girlfriend have spent on the phone to
various departments trying to find someone who we could actually speak
to in order to solve our problem. Given the hoops you have sent us
through in order to just try and get a bit of assistance I find it
incredulous to accept you would just allow someone to order two phones
so easily and readily. I find it hard to believe that anyone would
have the patience to sit long enough and wait to speak to someone in
order to order a phone. And if they were committing fraud - why would
they send the phones to us - it doesn't make sense. I have seen no
proof that anyone tried to order the phones in my name. Where is the
evidence to support your claims?
[...] Please please please help me get this resolved.

June 27th: Extracts from Email Seven:
Jun 27, 2007 2:50 AM
Thank you for contacting Sprint. My name is Will and I would be happy to assist you with your service concerns today.
I do apologize for all the aggravation you have been going through. I have reviewed your email history and account notes to gain an understanding of the issue. I would just like to clarify a few points with you.
In regards to the return kit being sent to you, this is a prepaid return shipping label that is sent to your email address. When you receive this email it will have a link to the prepaid shipping label. After accessing the link to view the label, it is to be printed and placed on the box that is mailed back to us. If this email has not been received then our Order Support department is the only one that can resend these labels. If you do not have this label you will need to contact our Order Support department at 866-404-1335. A representative will be able to resend the label.
As far Fraud is concerned, any order that is placed without the knowledge or authorization of the account holder or authorized contact. If as you have stated you knew nothing about the order of these two phone this would be a case of Fraud and you would want to speak to our Fraud department about it. I do apologize however, this must be done over the phone by dialing 888-788-0788.
Again I do apologize for any inconvenience or frustration you have experienced. If you have any further question or concerns about this please reply to my email and I will be happy to look into the matter further for you.
Thank you for being a part of Sprint, we appreciate your business. Have a great day!
Will S.
E-Care
Sprint together with Nextel
"Where our customers come first!"

JULY 12th: Extracts from Email Eight:
William
Are you sure this number:
Order Support department at 866-404-1335 is correct?
I call it and all I get is fuzzy music playing infinitum. I am trying
now and it has been 16 minutes of nothing. Why don't YOU try calling
that number and see how frustrated it makes YOU.
No one ever picks up the phone.
Whenever I have tried the fraud department I just get cut off.
I cant ever believe fraud was committed in my name since Sprint
spelled my name completely wrong on their records.
Also - what fraudster would wait this long on hold to order some phones?
Why can't you just send me an address label and I can be done with
this misery your company is causing me?
Sprint has the WORST customer service I have ever encountered.
I am going to start looking into switching my services to AT&T Cingular instead.

JULY 13: Extracts from Email Nine:
Jul 13, 2007 10:48 PM
Thank you for emailing Sprint. My name is Shane and I will be happy to help you.
I would first like to apologize for you receiving the old number for our Order Support department, their new number is 1-866-289-8375. As for the Fraud department their number is correct (1-888-788-0788).
Thank you for your time and Sprint greatly appreciates your business. Have a great day!
Shane M.
E-Care
Sprint Together with Nextel
"Where our customers come first!"
Please feel free to respond to this email if you have any further questions or account needs. I would be happy to continue serving you.

MAY 27th: Extracts from Email Ten:
Jul 14, 2007 7:33 AM
Dear Customer Service
I will repeat myself, again! Every time I try and call the fraud
department I get cut off!
I spend three minutes on the phone listening to all the introductory
messages. I press all the correct buttons BUT, at the end when they go
to connect me to the fraud department I get a message which bizarrely
announces "The Finance Department is Currently Closed". The thing is I
am trying to get to the Fraud department, using the number you gave me,
not the Finance Department, and the introductory messages at the time
of calling suggest the Fraud office is open at the time I am calling.
Why don't you try it.
You'll see it doesn't work
Why do you think I have been writing you emails for the last two
months to try and get this sorted? Well, because I can't actually get
through to anyone on the phone, that's why. Perhaps you could get
someone to call me instead. Is that too much to ask from a phone
company?


Update: July 22nd Sprint Makes Good

© 2007 Sam Breach
Sprint's Customer Service is a Joke

24 Comments:

  • At 14/7/07 08:44, Blogger Alice Q. Foodie said…

    This all sounds eerily familiar to me. I once tried to use my phone and found that it had been cut off. Turns out Sprint had "ported away" my number to another service without my knowledge. They kept insisting that I had done it, they when they found out I'm on my husband's account - they claimed he had done it without telling me. Eventually it was discovered they had ported it away to Nextel, their own company! They eventually straightened it out, but it was a right pain in the arse, as you british like to say.

     
  • At 14/7/07 11:22, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Have you tried threatening them with a call to the Better Business Bureau?
    http://www.bbb.org
    (I did not read through all of your emails so maybe you have)
    I find that works a lot. But then again I live in a state with very few people.

    Good luck, that is so frustrating!

     
  • At 14/7/07 12:18, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Think twice before switching to AT&T. I have been a customer of theirs and experienced not only incompetence, but downright rudeness; purposeful hang-ups, yelling, claiming they could not help me in any way, not accepting blame when it belonged to them, all while trying to keep my cool and cancel my account as quickly as possible. Believe it or not, most of the frustration occured while trying to cancel my account, which they claimed I could not do. Beware the incompetence of AT&T.

     
  • At 14/7/07 12:29, Blogger Cybele said…

    Consumerist.com

    They post the phone numbers and email addys for the top execs, just take it to a higher power.

    (You might also submit your thread to them ... they might not be able to get you any satisfaction, but other folks will enjoy the innanity of it!)

     
  • At 14/7/07 12:48, Blogger Graeme said…

    I am actually seething reading this, they're just putting a different person on the case each time aren;t they? How can they possibly get anything done, when different people are having to start over at the beginning each time?

    There's a program that shows during weekday mornings here, that deals with such things as this and they always say, get a management number, take it straight to the top, give them hell and also, tell your friends about the poor service and not to use them.

     
  • At 14/7/07 14:50, Blogger cookiecrumb said…

    Aaarrrghh. Poor you.
    PS: AT&T = Satan.

     
  • At 15/7/07 11:24, Blogger Civic Center said…

    Unfuckingbelievable. You need to print this whole thread out and send it to the CEO's office. One of his flunkies will read it and there MIGHT be some kind of apology/resolution.

     
  • At 15/7/07 12:20, Blogger incus said…

    wow.
    as a technician that works for sprint, it really pains me to see customers going through this. I do know that sprint is really trying to do better at customer service; it's our entire focus on the fron line at least.
    have you tried goin into a store and having a rep try to straighten this out? yes, they would have to sit on hold and go through everything you have, but at least they get paid while doing it. go in with your emails, the phones and your bill and have them get on the phone with care.
    I hope this helps you!

     
  • At 15/7/07 14:06, Blogger Unknown said…

    I feel for ya'. When my credit card was stolen, it was used to buy a phone and service in my name with Sprint.

    I called and went to the store and everything and they wouldn't cancel it because I couldn't give them the fraudulent SS# even though I could prove in every other way who I was.

    Four months later the cops finally got around to helping me only to say that Sprint lost the records of that account and could not help me find out who the culprit was.

    It's my belief that 90% of the people working for Sprint are the Devil, and it's just one last stop on their way to hell.

     
  • At 15/7/07 18:16, Blogger Elise said…

    Time to get an iPhone!

    Though I wonder if ATT is any better.

    Yikes. What a PITA.

     
  • At 15/7/07 19:52, Blogger Sam said…

    Hi everyone. Thanks for all your responses. And the tips. i am sure we will be putting some in to action. I can't wait to spend next weekend in a Sprint store! Just as a heads up - we only have a sprint account solely for PCS card which gives us our internet access. We have never had a phone account with them. At the time sprint were the only ones who did it. Otherwise Fred and I are both Cingular on our cell phones. And of course - Fred did have an iphone for his birthday - someone lovely gave it to him!!

     
  • At 16/7/07 13:19, Blogger Barzelay said…

    Small claims court. They will instantly do whatever they can to make you happy.

     
  • At 18/7/07 09:47, Blogger Angela S said…

    Sprint
    Gary D. Forsee - President, CEO, Director
    2001 Edmund Halley Drive
    Reston, VA 20191
    1-877-875-7505 - Executive switchboard

    This is from the consumerist website:

    4. Call the phone number.
    5. Ask the operator, "May I please have the offices of Mr. CEO so and so."
    6. Boom, you're there.
    7. Voice your complaint in calm, clear and professional manner.

     
  • At 18/7/07 09:59, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Oh, boy, I feel for you. I bought a new phone from Sprint in November with the assurances that I could double up the rebates both from someone on the phone and in the store. Plus, I had all the paperwork that said I could. They denied the rebate. I proceeded to fax them a lengthy letter including citations from the Colorado (where I live) Consumer Protection Act stating the exact clauses they had violated and then put the Colorado Attorney General's name in the CC field. It was about a 15 page fax. I did finally get the rebate although that took another month and a half to get that moving. I'd be happy to send you a copy of it if you'd like.

     
  • At 18/7/07 21:35, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I have Cingular and it is just as bad. Don't do it!

    My review of Cingular from yelp:

    The Worst. Company. Ever. Infuriating customer service. They screw up my bill every single month - without fail and without deviation. And the changeover from ATT to Cingular? Complete trainwreck. When I got my new phone, and had to talk to about seven people to activate it, the jackass customer "service" representative explained that the reason I was getting so shuffled around is because I had called the wrong company (old, when I should have called the new Cingular). How, pray tell, should I have known to call the new Cingular? Because the SIM chip on my new phone was blue instead of silver (or whatever). She seemed really surprised that I didn't know this information. Please.

    The website is a mess too. Customers who were with the "old" Cingular (ATT) have to click on some stupid link at the bottom so we can be directed to the crappiest website in the world at which we can usually find no information. Why are customers who have stayed with this "company" for years punished by even crappier service than new customers?

    Reception and rates are fine; that's why I stay. But, lordy, give me a company that rivals both of these and I am so there.

    UPDATE: A few months ago, I switched to "combined billing" because the Cingular rep assured me that it would make my dealings with Cingular easier and, really, that much more convenient. This month, my bill was almost double what it usually is. When I called Cingular to inquire, the rep told me it's because the statements from last month were "late" (by late she meant, "didn't go out at all"), so Cingular just figured they'd double bill everyone this month with no advance notice, no credit for their screw up, and a 45 minute hold time to figure out the problem. Thanks Cingular!

     
  • At 19/7/07 01:38, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    And I always thought German telco and webhosting call centers were the worst! Isn’t it great to take a day off from work to wait for the technician, just to find out that nowbody actually shows up? Or you miraculously get switched to the more expensive rate three times in a month, but nowbody cares to repair the malfunctioning system? Or – my personal favorite – you receive somebody elses emails and still nowbody cares...
    Keeping my fingers crossed that things will finally work out - keep your humor ;)

     
  • At 19/7/07 16:02, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I finally tired of the customer service nightmare. I wrote to Sprint corporate headquarters. I then contacted the Oregon Attorney General--filing an online consumer complaint--who then put me in touch with the Public Utilities Commission. Suddenly, Sprint was contacting me. The whole mess was sorted out in about a week--but I'd been talking to customer service for much longer before I got smart. Should have known: Sprint ported my husband's phone number to God-only-know's-where when I first signed on with them. Went around and around for 3 MONTHS before getting wise to the Attorney General's website. Perhaps California has such a program?

     
  • At 21/7/07 08:36, Blogger radian said…

    I'll just echo the other commenters and suggest going to Consumerist with this. Consumerist reaches enough people that an account like this gives them the type of bad publicity that makes them cringe.

    Good luck.

     
  • At 25/7/07 12:01, Blogger Unknown said…

    Yeah! Sprint service SUCKS.
    I was on the phone for about 3 hours and never got my problem fixed. They transfer your call all over and you will never get the right person. I use Nextel, for some reason I am not getting a signal at work so I call Nextel to see if they can do anything. So, they recomended me to go with Sprint because they have more towers and my call was transfered to sprint.... I was on the phone for 3 hours. Still my problem was not fixed.
    STUPID SERVICE.. I WILL NEVER USE A SPRINT AGAIN AND I WILL NEVER RECOMEND TO ANYONE

     
  • At 27/7/07 06:38, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I ALSO AM A VICTIM OF FRAUD INVOLVING A PHONE SENT TO A TOTALLY DIFFERENT ADDRESS OTHER THAN MINE,THE PHONE IS STILL UP AND RUNNING,RECORDS WALKED(ALTHOUGH I HAVE COPIES)AND SPRINT PUT ME IN COLLECTIONS.THIS CAN HAPPEN TO ANYONE AND THE SO CALLED FRAUD DEPT. IS A JOKE.I RUN A SMALL BUSINESS AND SINCE THIS PHONE WAS DELIVERED TO A BIG SHOT BROKER ITS ALL GOOD HERE IN SUNNY FLORIDA.LETS SEE WHO TELLS THIS ONE TO THE JUDGE!

     
  • At 7/8/07 20:30, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    bombard ceo office
    gary.forsee@sprint.com

     
  • At 15/10/07 10:41, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Take the survey and register your opinion. WHO will be the next Sprint CEO?

    http://www.zoomerang.com/survey.zgi?p=WEB22722CMF67H

     
  • At 24/10/07 11:57, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    After a year and a half of use of Sprints "best" phone: pocket pc (1.5 years ago--500+$) I reached my breaking point when the phone crashed and lost data for the 3rd time; turned on in my lapel 100 times(s)? and generally did not work (you have to go to the programs section of the phone to turn off programs once open!), I called and canced my service (told I would pay no more from that point forward--hold for 34 minutes) ; got an iphone and am happy with it. Two months later Sprint still sends bills. I call and ask if they will they fix the problem; there response was as follows:
    -no, the other service person was wrong.
    -would I like a new phone?
    -you will pay for the balance of the year or pay a 200. termination fee.
    When I asked for the supervisor: I was not allowed to talk to her or get a number "You may leave a message. If she finds merit in your complaint, she will call you; otherwise not"!!!

     
  • At 26/3/08 14:13, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Mar 18, o8 called Sprt/Nextl to order Extended Baterry BT90 with a door for i580 Motorola. The BT90
    is bigger than BT60 <-standard
    batterry. Not completed the order yet but we were hung up. Our second call, they wanted to sell a new phone, We do not want a new phone, hung up again, call the thrid time, hung up again. Asked my husband to call because we need to buy a new extended battery with a door to fit i580;

    They transferred to Costa Rica, India, and many states in the US. We did not accomplish anything after 5 hours talking with them.

    They transferred to Phillippine but it was too late. They hung up and we gave up that night.

    May 19, 08 We called again to requested the order, were transferred to talk with 6-7 sale associates, took us 5 hours to get the order.

    May 20, 08: Recieved the first shipment, got the right battery but a WRONG DOOR, shipped it back the next day Mar 21, 08. We called back to explain the problem, accepted a mistake and confirmed by Sprint associate that a right door will be shipped the next day.

    Mar 24,08 received the second shipment, a wrong door arrived.
    Is thsi a joke ? We requested i580 door for BT90, but they sent us i850 door. Called back to explain, we asked what was going on there?

    Mar 25, 08 received the third shipment. A wrong door was shipped for the third time. Call backed the same day to get help.

    One of Sprint associate said they can't help and asked me to go to Sprint store. We went to a local store, they sell BT90 batterry but they do not have i580 door to sell. They have to order i580 door for BT90 for us.

    We talked with sale associate to assure that we will get the right door i580 that fit BT90 batterry (Extended baterry). There is no answer for that. they said they will call back the same day.

    No one call back that night and the next morning.

    Mar 26, 08 We went back, asked to talk with a manager, they said Andre will be in the office in the morning. We wait for him until 1 pm.

    We asked again they said "A" will be in the afternoon, tried to call a manager and expect to hear from him.. NONE.. and No one call us until now.. 5.00 pm

    Prior to this problem, we found BT90 and a door for i580 from Ebay and just about to order through Ebay. Its price is 50% less from Sprint.

    BUT...We "TRUST" and use Nextel for three years. So we call sprint/Nextel to press the order.

    Before calling customer care to order a baterry and a door, we went to three local stores in our area. One store said they don't sell a battery and suggested us to go to Accessories and Repair Center where they are located over 40 miles from our house. The other stores got battery for sale but not selling a door to fit.

    Did some research:

    we found that MOTOROLA website and Sprint/Nextel website has different description about the extended baterry of BT90 (1800 MAh) and a door to fit is NTN2345nex). There are also two sizes of standard baterry (1100, 1130 mAh) and a door to fit a standard batterry NTN2344nex.. Check it out..Is this the case that made confusion?

    After three mistakes, We called Parts / Accessories Department to get i580 cell phone, put BT90 Batterry, find the right door and ship to us. They refused to help and asked me to go to Sprint stores.

    Here I am, I start another evil cycle with Sprint/Nextel again...

    After one week, I can't get a door for i580 to fit BT90 extended battery.

    Using rubber bands and velcro to hold the baterry, I love it.. It is so cute.. with colorful rubber bands on Sprint/Nextel cell phone..

     

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