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Friday, July 25, 2008

Sprint Haters

John and I recently changed cell phone service providers. We are now with Verizon after hanging in there with Sprint since the beginning of cell phone time for both of us. It started out all happy and fine, but as time passed and problems arose (even the most minor) we gnashed our teeth in frustration as Sprint refused to provide us with any reasonable customer service. A couple years ago, we first debated on the decision to switch and even went as far to get quotes from other providers and check out phones. We didn't want to pay for early termination and we had quite a while left in our contracts, and to force the issue... our phones broke and we needed replacements. So at the time we could either cancel early and pay the horrendous charges, buy phones from E-bay and pay some fee for changing phones, or just buy new phones with Sprint and re-up our contract by default. We didn't find phones that were worth much on eBay and wanting to avoid the early termination charges, we found ourselves in the Sprint store, signing up for two more long and arduous years.

Why do we hate Sprint so much? Besides hidden fees and charges for every little thing, numerous minutes waisted on the customer service line just to get sub-par answers to simple requests, let me tell you about the straw that broke the camel's back! When we moved here, to the Phoenix area, we were annoyed to find out that there were multiple "dead zones" in the area where there was NO coverage and our calls frequently were getting dropped. We figured about 25% of our calls were dropped calls or one of every four! John called to address this issue and after the waiting game to talk to a human being, he was informed that there was a tower down and to call back a few days later. He called a week later and got the same explanation/excuse and was quickly brushed off as not to bother the operator on the line. So a month had gone by and no resolution had been reached and another attempt to get service was made, only this time we were going to use the military clause which allows termination with out the fees as long as you show your orders and there is inability to use the phone. After a long phone argument with the customer service rep, it was determined that we could not be released from our contract because we still had "acceptable" service which was then defined by the representative as 1% or more or service (ie: 1 out of 100 calls were not dropped!!). That's a pretty poor definition of service in our opinion... so we patiently sucked it up for 7 months... Got a number of pleads from Sprint (as it came up that our contract was nearing the end) to get some cool perk (oh and by the way, in small print, re-up the contract for another 2 years)... NO THANKS! Well, June 20th of this year was the end of our two year contracts with Sprint and we've been patiently and jubilantly awaiting this day!!

This is how we celebrated!!!


9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I wish I could get my camera to do videos!!! A picture is worth a thousand words... and a film strip plus sufficient words.... PRICELESS!! We used to use Sprint way back when, and for the first several years I really loved them! I guess over time their customer service has gone downhill!!! : )

Krista said...

Well, I think it's wonderful that you're now joining me in the world of Verizon!! (Is that where you ended up?) Oh, and at the moment, I find your video of running over the phone with your SUV somewhat distressing, as that's how I ended up with a new phone this week as well. But NOT on purpose!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Nice, looks like you used the flash version... Sprint sucks.

Anonymous said...

I love the video of you running over your phone!
Emily

Anonymous said...

Hey Chey! It's Pam's sis in Cleveland! Did you know that Sprint was ranked #1 in poor customer service? And Brad and I both use Sprint and we HATE the customer service. The only reason we stick is because we get great reception here in OH. Good for you!

Ryan & Deb said...

Ryan had Sprint and he could NEVER use his phone in the house or in his parents' house...he missed so many calls. DOWN WITH SPRINT!! :)

I'm glad that irritation is over for you!!!

Anonymous said...

I have been counting down for nearly two years to get to the end of my HORRIBLE contract with Sprint. November 20, 2008 and Verizon, here I come! Sprint actually turned my phone service off and would NOT turn it back on until I returned a missing replacement phone that I never received. It took THREE WEEKS for them to realize the phone never got to me and turn it back on. No apology.

Unknown said...

Awesome!! I love it! Sprint sucks! AT&T (Cingular) also sucks! We had a similar problem with them. We ended up paying the early cancelation fees, but they credited our account for a couple of months of bills. Not sure what exactly happened, but we are in "the network" now and haven't had any problems! Verizon is the bomb! By the way, I did see the video. "Fox 3!" That's why I put it there. Matt thought it was pretty funny! What did John think?

Anonymous said...

I have been out of a contract with sprint for six months before I went to verizon. Sprint made the mistake of charging me for breaking there contract when I haven't been under a contract since January of 2008. I find this sad and dishonest. there a bynch of thieves and liers. when talking to sprint they admitted to the mistake and will reimburse me in six months. with this I ended up contacted my bank and refused the charges and have seeked legal council and gonna pursue this to the end.