Showing results for 
Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Biting my tongue...but beyond frustrated


Biting my tongue...but beyond frustrated

As a Sprint customer with only 1 issue having come up in my previous 2 years as a client, my experience this week isn't only frustrating but just outright stupid.

My recently purchased Blackberry Curve 3G developed an issue that's been well documented for that model: a trackpad problem. So, in following up, I get directed to visit the nearest Sprint Store. For me that's a 30 minute drive. I made the trip Monday to see about getting back up and running...

My first stop at the Store, I was informed by the less than helpful counterperson that I would need to clear out a time where I could hang for about 2 1/2 hours so the techs could go over the phone and test it to make sure that the problem was actually occuring At that I walked out grumbling, having effectively been blown off until a time that I could twiddle my thumbs and getting no replacement for a phone that's been in my hands less than 60 days.

So, before I leave town to return home, I make a couple of errand stops. The phone begins to go nuts when I read messages...Just the problem I described. Perfect.

I went back into the store and this time was helped by a young woman who was on top of things, except for one problem: we discuss the issue, she checks it in for tech to look at, I sign all the paperwork...

And I leave without a replacement or even a loaner.OK, I can deal with not having the phone for a couple days, though its an inconvenience, even though I really shouldn't have to be without one, given that the Blackberry isn't even 2 months old and under warranty.You'd think a Sprint Store would have another on hand to set up and give me...

I call the store Tuesday morning to get an update on what the tech folks found. The problem as I described it was determined to actually be happening, and a replacement phone "should be in this afternoon". Note I put those words in quotes...That's a BIG part of my frustration. I considered my schedule for the day and Wedensday, determining that I could maximize another errand run around an appointment I had in the late morning hours Wednesday, and it would add a little more time for the replacement phone to arrive.

Cut to today: I drive to the store after my appointment. I inform one of the employees why I'm there and he starts digging into the computer for details...

And informs me that, no, my new phone isn't ready because it was only SHIPPED yesterday afternoon. It's not likely to arrive until FRIDAY or later.


So, now I'm going to have to make ANOTHER trip to get a phone, after spending a week without one...DESPITE THE ORIGINAL ONE BEING UNDER WARRANTY AND DEVELOPING A WELL-KNOWN ISSUE...AND DESPITE GOING TO A SPRINT STORE--WHERE ANOTHER ONE OF THESE PHONES SHOULD BE EASILY ACCESSIBLE TO HAND OVER TO GET ME BACK UP TO SPEED. After all--you sell this phone. Does a new customer not get their Blackberry Berry 3G the day they sign up?!? If so, then your service is even worse than I'm pointing out...



Biting my tongue...but beyond frustrated

I feel your pain, whenever i had to get a replacement phone they send me "NEW" refurbished phones that have more problems than the one i was replacing. This afternoon I walked out of the Sprint Store, with a phone that didn't work, and a hope that there will be a replacement in the next couple of days, I asked if i could at least leave with mine that they swapped out yesterday, nope, we send out all the good semi working phones out the same day we get them. Last year i went through 2 replacements to get one that worked so-so. I have determind i want to do all of Sprint's refurbishments, becuase it dosen't seem like you really have to fix or test them other than seeing if they light up, just make them look nice and pack them in a nice pretty new box, that's all it takes. I then started to wonder if Sprint get's charged everytime someone refurbishes, oh I mean makes the phones look nice? If so I don't know if i should be supporting a wireless carrier that throws its money down the drain, and in turn not being able to lower thier rates or worse having to raise them or nickle and dime me on other items. If its all in one, why do I have so many boxes to check to upgrade my service. The biggest problem is that I can't talk to anyone that cares and can rectify my issues, I feel like a cow out in the pasture and someone keeps pushing me over in my sleep, and there is nothing I can do about it. This is one of the reasons I have not bought my own personnel phone, and still have a landline at home....   I work with Sprint on the infustructure end and can I keep from shaking my head, that would be side to side, not up and down.


Biting my tongue...but beyond frustrated

Well, I can see how much "SprintCares"  about actually working to assuage my frustrations. No repsonses from anyone with Sprint to this message and no response to the PM I sent "SprintCares".

Keep digging the hole, Sprint. You're just making yourself look worse and worse to a customer who happens to have a "megaphone" he can use to make clear how poor your customer service is. That mic I man during the morning drive does give me a little more voice than just bitching here.


Biting my tongue...but beyond frustrated

SprintCares is an account that is accessed by multiple reps, but it also gets hundreds of PMs a day. Sometimes it will take a few days for one to get read.

As for "loaner" phones, that is a long-going complaint. Some stores do have a loaner program, but most stopped a long time ago. Yes, the stores have brand new phones to give to a customer the same day they start their contract, but how would you feel to get a "brand new" phone that has been used for 2 weeks as a loaner phone for another customer? Stores can't just pull a new phone out of inventory to use as a loaner, without purchasing that phone themselves. When I was working at a third-party Sprint store, we had a loaner program. The store owner would actually buy back older (but still working) phones from customers when they upgraded, and kept them as loaners. The problem is that when they would be given out, people would not treat them well at all. Almost half of them would end up being dropped, scratched, or water damaged. That would mean that the store owner was out the cost of replacing or repairing that phone, as loaner phones are not on contracts and can't be serviced under warranty

The replacement phone problem is definitely frustrating. Most corporate Sprint stores will allow you to make an appointment online for dropping off your phone, to help speed up the process. As for the pickup, it's most likely that someone simply misread the computer. Most orders are processed the same day, and delivered the next day or two days max. It is always recommended to call in to the store and verify that your phone has arrived before going down there, especially when it is 30 minutes away as in your case.


Biting my tongue...but beyond frustrated

I would also recommend going to and verifying that there isn't a closer store to use in the future. Just put in your ZIP Code and check the "repair centers near me" box before searching. There may be an "indirect store" AKA an "authorized retailer" closer to you. That's what I worked at, and our wait time for service was never over an hour and a half, unless our tech was on lunch. It was usually only a 30-45 minute wait.

Community News

This is a PUBLIC ARCHIVE board, all articles are read only.

Please click here to search the Active Community.