I am absolutely 100% disillusioned with Sprint customer service. I recently switched from T-Mobile for the Palm Pre, which I love, by the way. The phone though, has had some issues, so I exchanged it once. The new one also is having some problems, so I went to the Sprint store to exchange it again. Here’s where it gets interesting…
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They told me that they could only exchange a defective unit one time in-store, so I would have to call customer care to have a new one shipped out. No problem- I left, and called customer care. Of course, they (following the circle problem which seems to plague them) told me to go to any Sprint Corporate store for an exchange- they can’t send one to me until after 30 days. They also suggested I go to a different store. I did, and this store told me I needed to go back to the store where I originally purchased my phone (the 1st one in this tale of sorrow), and that they couldn’t help me.
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At this point, I paused to reflect. At the very least, Sprint has absolutely no idea what they are doing- at least that’s how it appeared to me. See, I’m pretty positive that you can go to ANY Sprint store (provided that it’s a corporate store) for an exchange. Well, when I told them that, they backed off a little, and then threw up a new roadblock: receipt and box. They asked if I had them, and I did not. Deciding to jump on that new roadblock and ride it to the death, they told me they’d be able to do the exchange if and only if I had the items they requested. Considering that the proof that I bought it a corporate store is there in the system, and I’m simply exchanging a defective phone for a new one, those items made no sense to me. I expressed that, pointed out the flaw in their logic, and they relented. This time, they had yet a NEW roadblock (here’s a thought Sprint- how about you train your people in the art of customer service instead of the art of deflecting and dodging? Your training methods obviously are very good, as demonstrated by their deftly placed roadblocks, but I digress…).
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With two roadblocks down, their latest and greatest was that they could exchange my phone, but it would cost $70. They then dropped the cost to only $35(!) for me. Guess they must’ve liked me. Me, being no idiot, completely refused to pay a $35 restocking fee on a product that is not only within its one-year warranty, but the 30 day exchange period that has been agreed upon by Sprint and Palm. Palm, in fact, cannot replace Pre’s less than 30 days old- all exchanges have to be done in-store at Sprint. Since the girl decided to insist on a $35 restocking fee (I pointed out that it wasn’t being restocked, but to no avail), I insisted in turn she call her manager. He refused to talk to me, probably because he didn’t want to get verbally lacerated on his day off. Smart move on his part. Thinking I could get the $35 fee reversed by Customer Service on the phone, I figured, "what the hell, I’ll put it on my account", but that didn’t work- it had to be U.S. hard cold currency. Voices got raised, I got threatened to have the cops called, and asked to leave. Woot! Way to go, Sprint!
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The people on customer service on the phone said that the $35 fee is Sprint’s policy, and that yes, I had to go to the original store of purchase. This is after, by the way, in the same phone call- they said it could be returned at any store. Hell, I’m no lawyer, but I’m pretty sure that charging for warranty work is the same thing as not having a warranty at all, but like I said, I’m no lawyer. I spoke to 4 different people, one of which refused to transfer me to a supervisor. Way to throw a log cabin on a forest fire, lady. At this point, I’ve been lied to, yelled at, and at one point one person even told me I was being insubordinate (I’ve decided that arguing with idiots actually makes me the idiot). No one at Sprint seems to understand the problem with charging to replace a defective unit, something that everyone else I’ve talked to about this grasps very quickly. They even referred me to look at the bottom of the receipt as their justification of the charge. Of course, the bottom of the receipt spells out why I SHOULDN’T be charged, but as I’m sure most of you have realized, the people I’ve dealt with today are none-too-bright.
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Lemme think… 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11. Eleven people I’ve spoken to at Sprint to day, both in person and on the phone. And yet none of them provided "customer service", instead choosing to provide "customer disservice".
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Dear Sprint,
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FIX IT!!!
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Thank you.Â
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