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Ok... as mentioned in my previous thread, my a900 has been giving me some problems. Today, I take it to the Sprint store and they tell me the tech will only take 1 hour working on the phone.
So I go have lunch and come back 1 hour and 15 mins later to a greeter who tells me that the phone is still being worked on and will only be 15-20 more mins. I am cool with that... gives me a chance to play with all of the phones while waiting. 20 mins later, they tell me the tech is just very busy and it should only be like 10 more mins. 30 mins later they hand me my phone that has been flashed to ZB12.
I go to my mom's house to visit and while there I notice that I am not getting any EV-DO service. ##RTN# confirms that the store tech ALSO "upgraded" my PRL......... to 10032!!!! A non EV-DO PRL on an EV-DO phone!!! After taking all of that time... just to cripple my phone! So I call *2 for an OTA PRL update... and in usual fashion... 10 trys and the PRL update does not stick.
So I drive back to the Sprint store and tell them EXACTLY what the problem is. They look at me like they have no idea what I am talking about... just that their tech has already gone home and will not be back until Friday! But 1 of the employees was treating me like I don't know what I am talking about... insisting that I did have an EV-DO connection on the phone because SprintTV loaded up on the phone (even though it was blurry and choppy as hell). They completely ignored the fact that my Power Vision arrows were not there (only regular Vision arrows) and my PRL was not 20212 (it was 10032). They were still not convinced when my phone was compared to an employee's a900... side by side!
So, I proceeded to tell them that they did not know their ***** from a hole in the ground and told them that I would go to a more competent Sprint store. As I was walking out... 1 of the more sympathetic employees offers to call tech support for me... I take his offer and get on their phone with them.
After being on hold for 15 mins, a guy answers... I explain the situation to him and this guy proceeds to tell me that PRL's only affect roaming capabilities and have no bearing on EV-DO service on my phone. He instists that the reason I am not getting EV-DO speeds is because I am on the older PCS Vision Pictures Pack and I needed to upgrade to a Power Vision pack to get EV-DO speed. "Bullcrap!" I declared to this guy. "Do NOT lay 1 finger on my plan. I will get this fixed ELSWHERE!" CLICK! Hung up the phone.
I proceed to drive 10 miles to another Sprint store. Not so crowded... people more friendly. I tell the rep exactly what happened at the other Sprint store. Told about the difference in PRL's and the STORE MANAGER said, "He is 100% correct. Take the phone to the back and load the proper PRL to the phone." In 5 minutes total time, my a900 is back in my hands in FULL EV-DO glory.
I think Sprint employees come is 3 flavors:
Idiotic and uninformed.
Egotistical, think they know it all, and only care about making sales.
Helpful, knowledgeable and informative.
The last one seems to be a rare breed though.
Sprint_Gold
05-04-2006, 03:31 AM
The Good,, The Bad,, and The Ugly.
I'm sure we'll get some comments today on this thread.....
I had similar problems at my local sprint store when my phones were acting up. even though the guy at the store could not use my speaker phone, he insisted the phone was fine. Finally i was told that I will just have to buy a new phone if i don't like the new one. It took several calls to *2 and a supposed "note on the account" to finally convince the manager of the store to swap the phone for me. And BTW, the next bill I got, I hit the roof. I had every add-on possible on my account such as voice command, picture packs... etc.
to the sprint store employees reading this - do you get commision for adding this crap on to accounts?
goillini34
05-04-2006, 08:55 AM
Nothing is as bad as the sprint store in my area...all the wanna be pop stars with their fancy bluetooth headsets and their greasy spiky hair...and don't even ask how to get into the parking lot there - it's impossible...
Misu
05-04-2006, 08:56 AM
I think some sprint store employees, just to be vindictive, add stuff to people's accounts. I personally have never had a problem - but I don't have the habit of walking into someone's job and telling them they don't know their *** from a hole in the ground, either :P
There is a lot of misinformation and miscommunication between the stores and sprint, and instead of getting angry and getting belligerent with someone, I just thank them for at least trying to help and find someone else who can. You'd be surprised at how much you can get by just being nice to people. I'm sure cell phone company employees get abused all the time by customers, and appreciate the occasional nice person.
I work in an industry where our customers abuse us all the time - do you think I go out of my way to help someone who just insulted me? Nah, you can hang that up. I don't know everything there is to know about how things are in what I do, but if someone is nice to me, I'm much more inclined to help them and look into their problem and find them someone who can help them.
Some Of Any People Are going to suck, you can't let it get to you. Look at it this way, at least you got it fixed, despite an entirely unnecessary amount of aggravation.
AnthroMatt
05-04-2006, 09:07 AM
I think some sprint store employees, just to be vindictive, add stuff to people's accounts. I personally have never had a problem - but I don't have the habit of walking into someone's job and telling them they don't know their *** from a hole in the ground, either :P
There is a lot of misinformation and miscommunication between the stores and sprint, and instead of getting angry and getting belligerent with someone, I just thank them for at least trying to help and find someone else who can. You'd be surprised at how much you can get by just being nice to people. I'm sure cell phone company employees get abused all the time by customers, and appreciate the occasional nice person.
I work in an industry where our customers abuse us all the time - do you think I go out of my way to help someone who just insulted me? Nah, you can hang that up. I don't know everything there is to know about how things are in what I do, but if someone is nice to me, I'm much more inclined to help them and look into their problem and find them someone who can help them.
I agree 100%, with one one exception. If I try and be nice, try and be courteous, and am still treated poorly, I will not be able to stay nice and calm for long. At the same time, there are certain lines I won't cross. I won't ever use profanity or get physically disruptive no matter how upset I am.
budney
05-04-2006, 09:11 AM
:good:
I too work in an environment like that. It makes you think about CS jobs in a whole new light. Sure Sprint has messed things up, but they always fixed the problem. And they have been the nicest, and have given me extras (never asked) for their mistakes. I never recieved any extras while with Cingular, T-Mobile, or Verizon. And I have had some very nasty reps with those other carriers too.
joan110
05-04-2006, 09:13 AM
I had a similar experience with vision on my old 7400. I called *2 and was told to go to a Sprint store and get software upgrade. 2 HOURS LATER my phone was untouched because the tech "didn't think I needed the upgrade". I had to call *2 and have the tech on the phone TELL the tech in the store basically she didn't know what she was talking about and to do the upgrade. It really shouldn't be so difficult and exasperating to get something done.
mrvid
05-04-2006, 09:59 AM
Same problem here in Cal. Some stores are great some should be taking orders for fries and a coke.
Warjock
05-04-2006, 10:06 AM
Had different problems but basically the same idiocy at the Sprint store in Mesquite, tX, then drove 5 miles away to Dallas and got everything done right the first time.
Krayzie Joe
05-04-2006, 10:38 AM
Sprint CS is easily the worst
TxOcelot
05-04-2006, 10:45 AM
I've dealt with sprint employees all over the country in my travels with my sprint phone, and there really are the three flavors mentioned earlier. I have learned though that, my blood pressure level doesn't effect a moron or an idiots view of how to help me get what I need done. And the nicest smile touching my lips as I pull out a small notebook I always bring with me now, and start writing names and numbers has a much calming effect on me, when I see them start to realize I won't get the spelling wrong or misquote them in the least.
I then simply ask for his/her manager and upon seeing the notebook, it is rare that the manager doesn't take over all dealings from then on. If they are still of the ignorant type, and unable to figure out what to do, that comes out clear too. My $1.99 walmart flip notepad has probably saved me more headaches from not only sprint, but nearly all dealings store employees when any form of haggeling is involved.
Oh and never hand them your phone, tell you've written down what they plan on doing for you, once they hold the phone, your on their leash as some think.
Good luck and just my .02
tamiasmom
05-04-2006, 12:08 PM
Sprint CS is easily the worst
I could try to agree with this, but, I ran into another company that is worse. It is a local company here in Arizona called Cricket. I was with sprint before them and then switched over becuase I was tired of the cust svc with sprint. believe it or not, Cricket cs was much much worse
AnthroMatt
05-04-2006, 12:09 PM
I could try to agree with this, but, I ran into another company that is worse. It is a local company here in Arizona called Cricket. I was with sprint before them and then switched over becuase I was tired of the cust svc with sprint. believe it or not, Cricket cs was much much worse
I believe it!!
Tigrrre
05-04-2006, 12:11 PM
I've dealt with sprint employees all over the country in my travels with my sprint phone, and there really are the three flavors mentioned earlier. I have learned though that, my blood pressure level doesn't effect a moron or an idiots view of how to help me get what I need done. And the nicest smile touching my lips as I pull out a small notebook I always bring with me now, and start writing names and numbers has a much calming effect on me, when I see them start to realize I won't get the spelling wrong or misquote them in the least.
I then simply ask for his/her manager and upon seeing the notebook, it is rare that the manager doesn't take over all dealings from then on. If they are still of the ignorant type, and unable to figure out what to do, that comes out clear too. My $1.99 walmart flip notepad has probably saved me more headaches from not only sprint, but nearly all dealings store employees when any form of haggeling is involved.
Oh and never hand them your phone, tell you've written down what they plan on doing for you, once they hold the phone, your on their leash as some think.
Good luck and just my .02
i like that idea.
mcam75
05-04-2006, 12:34 PM
I'll be the first to admit that historically Sprint's customer service has been average at best. However, one of the main aspects of the Sprint Nextel merger was the focus on customer service and improving the customer experience whether it be sales, service & repair, Customer Solutions, Customer Care, ERP, etc. The present focus on the customer is greater than at any time in pre-merger Sprint. At the same time, this cultural change in customer service will not take place overnight. I can assure you, though, that Sprint is currently re-training personnel in every department in an effort to understand and successfully implement the company's redesigned strategy involving the customer experience. My point is this...the customer experience will be better soon.
Juno
05-04-2006, 12:40 PM
I have to say that as an employee, I have been SHOCKED sometimes at the difference in the levels of knowledge of employees. I've had to walk people through fixing really simple mistakes. Things that were basic training for me and things that I do every day. I think the problem is that Sprint considers its employees to be adults, and asks them to self-educate a lot of the time. There are a lot of resources out there, like weekly newsletters, that people are expected to go find and read on their own time. But just because a person is 18 doesn't mean they are really an "adult," and if they're not motivated, they miss out on a lot of crucial information.
As far as I know, the training programs are getting much more standardized, and people are being held more accountable. So it should be getting better soon!
kakalko
05-04-2006, 06:27 PM
I work a CS job where I deal with tons of angry people daily. One thing I have noticed is that from a company's perspective, a rep should never say "no." even if he knows he's wrong, or does not know the subject matter at hand, "no" is a sure-fire way to piss a customer off. half the time, even if nothing can be done, a simple "honestly, I don't know, but let me try to find out for you or get someone that can" line will at least get you an A for effort. I have never gotten that at a sprint store.
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