Sprint and Satan - both start with S (update 10/15/00)
Written: Jul 31 '00 (Updated Nov 26 '00)
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Pros: Clear Sound Quality (if you can get it)
Cons: Rude and Clueless Customer Service, non-working phones
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| sprint_sucks's Full Review: Sprint Mobile Phone Service in Los Angeles |
Go get a sandwich... this is a long read.
When we bought these phones (Good Guys, Glendale), we were promised that there was great coverage in Studio City where we lived. There wasn't, we could never get any signal bars to light up on the phone in our neighborhood. So, when we looked at new apartments, we made calls from the apartments and we called each others' phones. This was a requirement. We weren't going to consider any apartments where our SprintPCS phones did not work.
In this apartment, the signal quality was great. It was so great that we opted to only get one landline from Pacific Bell. We had it set up so that when we were on the internet, the calls would automatically be forwarded to my cell phone. For 19 days, this worked perfectly.
Then on July 19th., it stopped working. Bottom line, for the 16 hours a
day on average that we are in our apartments or walking in the surrounding neighborhood, the two phones did not work. While I understand that SprintPCS do not guarantee coverage within the apartment, it doesn't work in our neighborhood, either, and the whole time the phone has all of the signal bars lit, and it used to work brilliantly inside the apartment. (Construction was done on the apartment prior to us moving in, and the apartment does have stucco, but it was still working fine, post construction.)
When the phones worked, they were brilliant. Crystal clear (better than a Pacific Bell land line). But when they don't work, don't expect any sympathy from Sprint PCS. They've already stuck you for $200 per phone. They know you'll stick around.
_____________________________________________
So, this is my story
This was originally only intended for SprintPCS, but as time went on, it was submitted to the FCC, the Better Business Bureau and the California Public Utilities Commission and others and has now just become a tale of why Sprint sucks. At one point, I thought my problem would be heard, solved and that Sprint would care enough about me as a customer to make things right. That never happened.
Therefore, during the narrative, the tone changes and the audience I'm addressing changes. Sorry it's inconsistent.
_____________________________________________
Wednesday, July 19, 2000
Service didn't work at 6:10 p.m. Basically if you dialed the cell phone from a landline, you could hear ringing on the landline, but the cell phone did not ring and eventually voicemail picked up. If you dialed from this phone, it was quiet for awhile and then beeped really loudly 3 times. The same noise it makes when a call is dropped. The whole time,
both phones have all the signal strength bars lit. We have two phones and the same thing happened on both phones.
Later that night when it still wasn't working, I called from the landline to SprintPCS 611 and they said I was the first to report anything. They said they would open up a trouble ticket, that it probably wasn't the phones, since we had two of them showing the same symptoms. They said we should have the phones checked just to be sure. They said if it's not the phones, we will be able to get a full refund for each day the phones don't work.
_____________________________________________
Thursday, July 20, 2000
I am able to confirm that the phone works from my office a mile away. That night the phone does not work in my apartment, or in my surrounding neighborhood. (I am aware that they don't guarantee service inside
an apartment.)
_____________________________________________
Saturday, July 22, 2000
The service still not working from my neighborhood, I go to the SprintPCS store. They refuse to even test my phone, saying many people have been bringing phones in, that there's a known problem in North Glendale.
They say that the problem is expected to be fixed in a week. They say that I will be able to get a refund for each day that the phones don't work, even if they work during part of the day.
Later that day I call 611 and am told the same thing -- that I will be able to be given a full refund for each day that the phone doesn't work in my neighborhood.
_____________________________________________
Monday or Tuesday (July 24 or 25)
I call again. Still no idea of when it will be fixed, but I'm told that I should call back in once the problem is solved and I will be given a full refund for each day the phones don't work.
_____________________________________________
Thursday, July 27, 2000
I begin walking from my apartment to my office complex an mile away.
I dial 611 repeatedly. It finally recognizes the phone and places the call just as I cross Arden Blvd. (I am heading down Central going south.) They say they can't find any record of a trouble ticket and they can't access my account because the system is down. But they again repeat the fact that I will be able to get a full refund for each day that the phone doesn't work from home.
_____________________________________________
Saturday, July 29, 2000
My cell phone rings mid-morning and I get a call while I'm in my apartment. I think the problem is fixed, so I call 611 from my phone while on the freeway. The person I talk to tells me that she can give me no refund at all because we've used our cell phones during the day. I ask to speak to a manager. I repeat the entire story to a manager, but then I get cut off because I've driven into the hills at the base of the Santa Monica mountains and SprintPCS's nationwide coverage doesn't reach that far.
Later in the day when I return home, the phones again do not work.
I return to the SprintPCS store and they say that the problem still exists and that they don't know when it will be fixed. I tell them that I've been told by 611 that I can't get a refund and they say that's not correct.
I later call 611 again. I'm transfered to the business office where they begin to explain to me that it's not the tower, but a switch, some kind of problem that's been going on for more than 114 days. He uses the mapping software to determine that I am near a couple of towers. He says because of the fact that I have all the signal bars lit, and that I'm using the phone to talk to him right then, that it's not the phone. He says he's going to put more information into the trouble ticket they opened on the 19th.
Then the call gets dropped (because I'm inside a grocery store).
I call 611 again, they transfer me back to the business office where a guy tells me that all he's willing to do is give me a one-time rebate of $20. He tells me that he can find no record of a switch problem or anything that has been a problem for 100 days.
_____________________________________________
Monday, July 31, 2000
I called today and read the entire above story. At first they were
helpful. They found the trouble-ticket - it had been closed without being noted in my account. I was informed that it has either taken 114 days so far, or is expected to take 114 days to complete. (Still not clear on this.)
They told me that it could be equated to a transformer blowing and I said that a power company would not leave me without power for 114 days and they said that in a hurricane people were without power for two months. I said, I would not be bothering customer service if there had just been a hurricane.
She said she would not give me any refund, but simply remove the calls that never went through that were listed on the account.
To be honest, the only reason I still have SprintPCS after this hassle is that I paid $200 per phone. They've kind of got me by the throat.
11:00 a.m. - I filed a complaint with the Better Business Bureau of the Southland (bbbsouthland.org) and posted this online at http://206.151.75.251/temp/sprintpcs.txt
1 p.m. - I posted a complaint to the Sprint Corporate (non-PCS website).
Both complaints are as follows:
* An extended narrative available at
* http://206.151.75.251/temp/sprintpcs.txt
* (changed, was supposed to be
* http://home.earthlink.net/~tvjames/sprintpcs.txt)
*
* The two SprintPCS phones have stopped working in the
* neighborhood of **** *******, Glendale, Calif.
* (effective 7/19)
*
* 7/19 - phones stop working in neighborhood
* (****************, Glendale) Signal strengh is full,
* but no calls can come in or go out
*
* 7/20 - can verify that phones work 1 mile away at my
* office (***********, Glendale)
*
* Am told 3 or 4 times that once the problem is solved
* that I will be able to get a full refund for the days
* when the phones did not work, even though they may have
* worked and I was able to, or did use them, elsewhere.
*
* Am told recently that the problem has taken 114 days so
* far, or will take 114 days from now to be corrected, and
* that no refunds will be available.
_____________________________________________
Tuesday, August 1, 2000
3 p.m. - Received a message from "DoNotReply@sprintspectrum.com"
1183165
Dear Customer:
Welcome to the Sprint PCS web site.
I understand that you have an issue with Sprint PCS. I also understand
that you have filed a complain with the Better Business Bureau. May I
suggest that you forward your complain in writing to our headquarters
at the following address.
Sprint PCS.
PO BOX 8077
London, KY 40742
Thank you for using Sprint PCS.
Joseph A.
eCare
Thank you for submitting your request from the Sprint PCS web site. If
you have any other questions or comments, please visit us again at
http://www.SprintPCS.com/
(Note the word "complain" repeatedly where it should be "complaint".)
_____________________________________________
Thursday, August 3, 2000 - 5:45 p.m.
Filed a complaint with the F.C.C.
_____________________________________________
Tuesday, August 8, 2000 - 11:30 p.m.
Filed this compaint with the California Public Utilities Commission online:
* Note: I have complained to the FCC and Better Business
* Bureau. The BBB has received my complaint and let me know
* they're working on it. No word back from the FCC. Because
* the case(s) are pending, you may opt to simply record this
* as a complaint and not specifically act upon it. Please send
* me some kind of response, regardless. Thank you.
*
* My Information:
*
* ********
* *************
* Glendale, CA 91202
* ***-***-**** (home)
* ***-***-**** (work)
*
* Complaint against:
*
* SprintPCS
*
* Account Number:
*
* ***-***-****
*
* Complaint, in brief:
*
* The service no longer works in the neighborhood where I live.
* It did previous to June 19, but now all calls are immediately
* dropped, even though the signal strength registers as full
* (all bars are lit).
*
* The people at the SprintPCS store say that there is a known
* problem and that they have no info on when it will be fixed.
*
* The customer service representatives say that they will not
* give me any refund for the time that the phone doesn't
* work (roughly 16 hours a day).
*
* I feel I am entitled to approximately a 50% credit per day
* per phone that they have not worked as advertised, as well
* as an explanation of what the trouble is and a reasonable
* estimate of when the problem will be fixed.
*
* A longer narrative is available here:
* http://206.151.75.251/temp/sprintpcs.txt
*
* Thank you for your time.
* James
(9/27 - to date, have gotten no response)
_____________________________________________
Monday, August 14, 2000 - 9:00 a.m.
Voicemail from Kenny Johnson (1-877-222-5006). I called back, phone was answered "Executive Office, (name I didn't catch)." Asked for Kenny Johnson and was transferred.
Mr. Johnson theorized that our phone's software might need updating. He instructed the computers to update our phones and asked us to dial * 2 TALK in an hours' time.
10:30 a.m. - Pressed * 2 TALK as requested. Were immediately dropped into the on hold queue to talk to a representative. Hung up.
11 a.m. - Pressed * 2 TALK. The computer indicated that our phones
required a software update and we were asked to hold while the upgrade took place. The phone screens indicated that it was downloading data. After awhile, the recording said the upgrade was done, thanked us for holding and said that we could now hold for a customer representative, or simply hang up. Pressing END caused the phones to turn off and back on and the screen read "Ready for Use"
6 p.m. - Phones still don't work in our neighborhood. Not necessarily surprised.
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Wednesday, August 16, 2000 - 9:20 a.m.
Kenny Johnson calls again. I tell him software update has not solved the problem. He gives us a $10/month credit for the next 6 months, or $60. (Apparently, applied all at once.) He theorizes that it might be the phones and that we should think about buying new phones. I tell him that if I buy new phones, they will be AT&T or some other company.
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Friday, August 18, 2000
Spend the night pouring over epinions.com. Read a lot of good things about Verizon and a lot of positive things about the phones that are listed for sale.
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Saturday, August 19, 2000
Go to the mall and visit kiosks for Verizon (2 kiosks and a store) and Pacific Bell and AT&T. That afternoon, I call SprintPCS. The nicest customer service rep. they have, Wendy from Glendale, says my phone has outdated software and that by * 2 TALKing it, I may have fried it. Tells me to go into a store and request that they either update my software or give me a new phone. Am told not to leave the store without one of those two things happening.
I go to the store, wait in line for 45 minutes, am told the software probably doesn't need updating, and that only the Pasadena store has the cables necessary to do an update, and that they'll check, but then their computers go down.
_____________________________________________
Sunday, August 20, 2000
I call 611. Am talking to someone and am put on hold and then dropped. I call back and the phone drops the call while I'm talking to them, but to check the software version, but apparently this can't be done while you're on the phone, I'm told before it drops the call, so I would have had to hang up anyway. So I hang up and dial from another phone. Can confirm that the software is outdated. Hold times are short on Sunday mornings, only 5 to 15 minutes' wait per call.
Go to the Pasadena store. Wait at least 30 minutes to be helped. First they say they can't update the software, and then they ask the manager who says "They should come back between Monday and Saturday when we have the bodies to handle stuff like this." No one in the store is there to buy a phone, they are all there to complain about their bill or their phones.
I am eventually told that the software on my phone is not compatible with some of their towers, and that the new software provided by Nokia is not compatible with the SprintPCS network (any of their towers). Basically, nothing they can do. It's now been blamed on routers, switches, towers, my car, even the metal meshing in the wall of my apartment to which the stucco is adhered. (Why this would affect the phone half a mile away, I don't know.) I ask them where the nearest Verizon Wireless store is. They don't know.
We go to Verizon where a nice young lady informs us that they're a little
behind, but if she can get our name, she'll help us as quickly as possible. We sit in nice chairs and watch all the people getting new phones activated and listen to salespeople talk about the goods and bads of each phone, with no pressure. We eventually spend $450 to buy two new Motorola Startac's.
_____________________________________________
Monday, August 21, 2000
Call SprintPCS, am on hold for 20 minutes. Inform them that I want to cancel my account and turn off both phones. They ask for my number (the one I typed in a few minutes' prior) and then ask if I want to turn off both phones. I say yes, and they say they need to connect me to a different department. 5 minutes later, someone asks why I'm cancelling. I tell them I've taken their advice and bought new phones, but these phones are from Verizon, so they work. They tell me that the phones will be deactivated on 9/18, the end of my billing cycle. !@#$!#$
I put a message on the voicemail with my new cell number and how much sprint sucks.
I switch my local toll calling and long distance carrier from Sprint to AT&T and have Pacific Bell change my busy call forwarding number to my new cell phone number. (The above services Pacific Bell will charge me at least $10 to take care of.)
_____________________________________________
Late August (will try to confirm dates)
I get a letter from the Better Business Bureau saying that SprintPCS has responded to my complaint and issued a $60 credit, and then asks if this resolves the problem. I fax and mail back my comment sheet stating emphatically that it does not solve the problem. The next night I can't sleep, and wake up early. I can't sleep, I'm so angry. I compose a three page letter and attach the narrative to that point (which is an additional 7 pages). I make six copies and mail to: Mr. Bill Esrey, the CEO of Sprint, The Better Business Bureau of the Southland, Kenny Johnson at Sprint, The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), The California Consumer Affairs Office and the Enforcement Bureau of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). (9/27 - to date, only the CCAO has responded, saying simply that they forwarded my complaint to Sprint)
_____________________________________________
Monday, August 28, 2000
Their credit covered all but $6. I use the $5 credit coupon they sent me (to cover the costs of switching to Sprint's long distance service) and write a check for the other $1. They never did remove all the calls that did not go through. But, get this, they did conveniently erase any record of calls made to 611 from the list of calls made. Luckily, I don't care anymore, but further proof that this company is not to be trusted.
_____________________________________________
Week of September 3-9, 2000
Kenny calls my work and leave a voice message before I get in. Probably Tuesday or Wednesday. I don't return his call.
_____________________________________________
Week of September 10-16, 2000
I am on vacation. Kenny calls my work again and leaves a voice message. I don't return his call.
_____________________________________________
(Saturday, September 16, 2000)
(While 18 hours south of Houston on a cruise ship in the Gulf of Mexico, I turn on my StarTac from Verizon. It has a signal. Bet SprintPCS wouldn't have a signal.)
_____________________________________________
Sunday, September 17, 2000
The SprintPCS Nokia's again work in my apartment, proving my theory. The problem was a technical issue on their end, something they could identify and fix. Had their customer service had the correct training or knowledge, they could have explained the situation to me, worked out some kind of compromise to credit me for the time the phones didn't work and still be collecting $70 a month from me. But they didn't. So now I'm a happy Verizon customer with an almost identical plan ($5 cheaper, 20 minutes more per month per phone). In all, I'm out the cost of the phones ($145 each, after $40 rebates from The Good Guys) plus two months' service, minus the $60 credit, plus the costs charged by my local phone company for changing local toll, long distance and busy call forwarding options.
_____________________________________________
Monday, September 18, 2000
The phones no longer work, that is, attempting to make calls gets a recording saying the phones aren't active. So, the only thing they've done right, they've shut the phones off. Woo hoo!
That night I put the phones on eBay, asking $20 with a $60 reserve for the two phones as a single sale item.
_____________________________________________
I am convined of the following:
1) SprintPCS does not care about its customers (they assume they can always get more)
2) SprintPCS is overselling its network (too many phones for too few towers)
3) SprintPCS is not knowledgeable about the equipment it is selling or using (the tower problems, the fact that they could have fried my phone)
4) SprintPCS does not train its "customer care" (hahaha!) representatives
5) SprintPCS will never see another dime of my business
6) SprintPCS's claim of "clearer calls" is in comparison to a call made with tin cans and a frayed piece of wet string
7) SprintPCS stands for Sprint Piece of Cr-p System
8) Sprint will never see another dime of my business, ever.
9) Sprint's competitors could not afford to pay all the negative publicity I will give Sprint.
10) It's now my life-crusade to educate others on the evilness of Sprint. (They should change their phone number to 1-800-PIN-HEAD.)
_____________________________________________
The End?
Why do I feel this story isn't yet over?
Watch for my review of Verizon and my two new Motorola StarTac's shortly. I will also link them here.
_____________________________________________
Nope, Monday, October 2, 2000
I get a bill for September 18 through September 18, charges of $1.54, plus a late notice because they did not credit my $5 voucher which I sent with my last bill. I called 1-800-PIN-DROP and was transferred to 1-888-211-4727. (Apparently 1-800-PIN-DROP is for activating new phones... time on hold = 30 seconds. 1-811-211-4727 is for after they've already got you hooked. Time on hold = 20 minutes. They should change it to 1-800-PIN-HEAD) Ed Blunt gave me a $5.00 credit and then looked up my bill. Couldn't read part of it and had to have me read it to him. He was able to deduce that the charges were related to one minute of roaming on August 19th. and one call to 411. Took my credit card payment over the phone. Promised that everything is now clear, but that I might get one more statement showing the payment. Without having told him anything about my problems, he said he was sorry that things had been so difficult for me before thanking me for calling.
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Sunday, October 15, 2000
I'm depositing the check I got yesterday from iEscrow for the sale of my two phones on eBay. I made $150 for the pair. But that's still half what I paid, not to mention the month without phone service where I had to deal with all those horrible people in Customer nonCare trying to get a resolution. (Note: epinions.com still doesn't recognize that Verizon exists as a company. As soon as they do, I'll add my Verizon review. Or, I may just host it on my own server and link to it from this review. Keep watching this space.)
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Related Reviews:
Verizon (Amazing!)
http://tvjames.epinions.com/elec-review-2050-272A6FDB-3A21A8BC-prod5
Pacific Bell Pure Digital (why I didn't sign up)
http://tvjames.epinions.com/elec-review-6D62-15B85FFD-399F0BC3-prod1
Motorola StarTac ST7868W (Verizon)
http://tvjames.epinions.com/elec-review-39A2-6BE0566-39AB50D1-prod3
Nokia 6185 (SprintPCS)
http://tvjames.epinions.com/elec-review-3D66-2BDA6EDA-399B341F-prod5
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 200 per phone (two phones)
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Epinions.com ID:
sprint_sucks
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Location: Seattle, Wash.
Reviews written: 108
Trusted by: 26 members
About Me:
Crikey.
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