My recent Amazon experience reminded some of my friends, who reminded me, of a past debacle I had with Sprint PCS. It’s a pretty funny saga, so I thought I might post it.

Let me preface the whole thing with the following: I HATE FUCKING SPRINT PCS. The service doesn’t work. The customer service doesn’t work. It totally sucks. It’s not your “software” that’s the problem. You don’t need an upgrade. It’s not your phone. It’s the service. It’s total shit. Everyone I know agrees. Don’t believe their lies.

OK, with that out of my system, I can now impartially begin to tell my tale. Be warned, this is 5x the size of the Amazon story. It HUGE. Get a cup of coffee, sit back, and enjoy my misery. Once again, [my editorial will be in bold, italics.. Also note that all the account a phone numbers are edited for “safety”]

[My problems started long before this customer service form that I filled out on the Sprint website. The real story unfolds in the emails, so I won’t spoil it, but understand that a year of bullshit on the phone with “customer care” led to all this.]

[This particular little note had to go on a form on the website, because there was no email address to be found. It had a restriction of 200 characters, not words, with which you could describe your problem.]
On Wed, 22 Aug 2001 12:11:37 -0500 you wrote:
=====================
Question : Please send me an email address where I can write a more detailed explanation of my issues. THEY CANNOT BE DESCRIBED IN 200 CHARACTERS.
=====================

[Sprint PCS’s first brilliant response.]
— ecare@cc.sprintpcs.com wrote:
Hello Christopher,

I understand you would like someone here at Sprint PCS to call you.

Unfortunately this is an inbound environment and
more specifically an e-mail based group, so I will not be able to honor your request for a call. In order to speak to a Customer Care advocate please dial *2TALK from your Sprint PCS Phone or 1-888-211-4727 from a land line phone. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Thank you for contacting Sprint PCS.

Steve J.
eCare

[I was just glad to finally have someone to write to. The letter attached to this email is in text form below. I also sent it via regular mail to some address on their site.]
On Thu, 23 Aug 2001 09:16:32 -0700 (PDT) you wrote:

Hello Stephen J. or whoever else might get this message,

In fact, I did not request a phone call back in my 200 character Customer Care request. As can be clearly read at the bottom of this email, I wrote “Please send me an email address where I can write a more detailed explanation of my issues. THEY CANNOT BE DESCRIBED IN 200 CHARACTERS.” Clearly I requested an email address to send my issues to because they could not be described in 200 characters. Thank you for your response. I’ll use this address to explain…

The following is cut from a letter I just sent via US mail (and is also attached to this email in MS Word format) to the correspondence address on the site. I think it is a good idea to send it to multiple places, and I prefer email, so here it is:

To whom it may concern:

After months of patience and frustration, I am now forced to write this letter to resolve my Customer Service issue. Thank you in advance for your time.

I purchased a Sprint PCS phone about 2 years ago (I apologize in advance for not having some of the exact dates in front of me), and was charged a deposit of $130.00 because of some credit issue. At the time, I believed my credit to be, as it is today, excellent. I reluctantly agreed and left the deposit. My phone number was (555)555-5555.

In October of 2000, I cancelled my account and switched to a different provider because I was getting very poor coverage in my home and surrounding areas. I was told that my deposit check would be promptly mailed back to me. I never received it. After waiting the specified amount of time, I began my series of Customer Service calls to try to get that deposit back.

I placed my first call to Customer Care in November, stating that I’d never received the check. They told me to keep waiting, the check had been issued and sent.

I did wait. In December I called again and was told the same story. The check has been sent out. I never received it.

On January 6, 2001 I spoke to a representative named Kadezia (spelling?). She was sympathetic to my situation and ordered some sort of re-refund. She asked that I allow the standard 4 to 8 weeks processing time, which I did. It never came.

On January 10, 2001, despite the difficulty I was having receiving my refund, I decided to sign back up with SprintPCS because the service I chose instead (Voicestream) was terrible. I went directly to a local Sprint Store location at 7 John St., New York, NY, 10038. Representative, Tony, helped me make my phone decision, and fill out the appropriate forms. I explained my status as a former SprintPCS subscriber, and my refund situation. I even asked for my old phone number. I was told it was unavailable, and my previous account was cancelled, and this was a whole new account. I was also told that I qualified for the account signup $30 rebate.

In March I received a letter explaining that I did not qualify for the $30 rebate. I also noticed that I never received the credit for the trade-in phone (my old SprintPCS Touchpoint phone) So, I called Customer Service again. I don’t know the exact date or the rep name from this call. I was told that there was no record of calls I made regarding this old refund issue, and that I did not qualify for the $30 rebate because my account was 2 years old. I explained how this was impossible, but the rep refused to listen. There was obviously much confusion about my cancelled/active account status, since I DO have a Sprint PCS account. (please review the enclosed copy of my contract where it is clearly noted that I returned a phone and qualify for the $30 rebate.)

I decided to drop the issue for a while. It was causing me too much aggravation. In the meantime, my SprintPCS service has been horrible. Worse than the Voicestream service I cancelled. People call me repeatedly when I am in perfect full signal strength only to receive busy signals, all lines are busy messages, and auto-hang-ups without ever getting voicemail. I sometimes take 3 days for voicemail indicators to let me know that new voicemail is waiting, and rarely lets me check voicemail without difficulty. Signal strength is poor and sporadic at best. When visiting various Sprint stores and asking why the service was so poor, I was basically given the runaround. I was told that nobody else has trouble, and we use our phones just fine. Late last week I was told that I needed my software refreshed which is a free service at the main Sprint store location. What does that mean? I am told it takes 15 minutes and should fix all of my problems. I don’t believe this is true and I don’t want to waste my time.

On May 21, 2001, I called Customer Care again. I waited on hold for 40 minutes (I don’t have this kind of time.) When I finally spoke to Margaret, it took her 12 minutes (with me on hold) to research my account. She came back and told me that she saw the notes from finance on my account, and that the check was sent. I explained that I have not yet received any such check, and asked what my next steps should be. She kindly read some dates where account action took place. I believe she saw a note indicating it was sent off to finance on 1/10/01, which coincides with my 1/6/01 Customer Care call. She also saw a note indicating that a check was sent out on 4/26/01. 4/26/01 is not 4 to 8 weeks from the time Kadezia made the request. At the time, it was 15 weeks and 5 days. 5/21/01, 3 1/2 weeks since the check was supposedly mailed, and I had received nothing.

Her suggestion was to contact my mail carrier. This is unacceptable. I have no mail trouble whatsoever. I do, however, have Sprint PCS trouble. I explained to Margaret that I don’t think that was the issue, and asked to speak with a supervisor who might be able to do more for me. She asked me to hold on for another 2 minutes. I held, and held, and held, for 14 minutes, until I was disconnected. There went 1 hour and 12 minutes of my life that I will never see again.

I refuse to call back again. I will not wait on hold another second. You have my $190 ($130 security rebate, $30 new phone rebate, and $30 old phone return rebate) that I want back immediately. I don’t care if it has to be FedExed, or messengered, or wired, or if I have to come get it personally. You owe me $190, so please pay.

It is now August 21, 2001. That’s 33 weeks since my check was supposedly mailed. This is unacceptable. My service is unusable. I am rarely able to be contacted by friends and family. I pay a bill every month for over $70. You owe me a large sum of money. I don’t want some credit to my account because it is very likely that I’ll be canceling soon. Even though I love my current phone number which turns out to spell the easily remembered phrase, 646-RAW-EGGO, I am not happy.

I expect to receive a personal response shortly. There is no fax number that I can find on the website, so I’ll be mailing this via US mail. Please have someone call or email me as soon as possible. You have all my contact information in the header of this letter. I intend to follow this up with the Better Business Bureau, if this matter is not quickly resolved.

I am entirely out of time and patience, but I do thank you for any help you can provide.

Sincerely,

Chris DiClerico

[So that’s the main story there in a nutshell. Torture.]

[They responded, and I responded. The next part here is their response with my inline comments that attached and sent back to them.]
Date: Tue, 4 Sep 2001 11:27:48 -0700 (PDT)
From: “Chris DiClerico”
Subject: Re: ID # 200108
To: ecare@cc.sprintpcs.com

Hello Katina K. @ eCare,

Thanks for your quick response, and sorry for my delayed one. I have been swamped at work and had no time to write. I am going to make some inline comments to your email below. Since it seems that a different representative reads this each time, I will continue to include the entire string of these communications.

I also received a phone callback from Customer Care I appreciate it. However, the call was made on Labor Day weekend, specifically, Sunday, 9/2/01, 12:05pm. It seems to be an interesting time for an important callback. Sunday at noon on a holiday weekend. Needless to say, the representative didn’t get me and left a message.

—On Fri 08/24 you wrote—-
Hello Chris,

This is in response to your e-mail requesting to be contacted regarding the deposit and rebates not being issued for your account.

We apologize for any inconvenience that you have experienced in regard to your refund or receiving rebates with your service. I have reviewed your account and found that the original refund check sent on 10/26/00 for $130.68 cleared the bank on 11/21/00.

–I have checked with my bank just to make absolutely sure. There is no deposit made or cleared in my account on that date, and in fact, no deposit ever made for that amount in my account. I can provide contact information for you if necessary. I did not receive this check, I did not deposit it, and I don’t know how your records indicate so, unless the check was stolen and deposited into an account not owned by me. Please note that the representative on Sunday said that the check was cashed on that same date. I’d like to see proof that this check was cashed.

The second check that issued was never cleared. In regard to your handset rebates, you do not qualify for the rebate. We currently do not offer a $30 rebate/credit for your handset trade-in, unless it is activated by another user within 90 days on a new Sprint PCS account.

–So…when do I get it back? I could have sold it on EBay. Please tell your representatives at the store (Tony at 7 John St., New York, NY) to tell me this BEFORE I hand them a phone. Please return my phone to the following address post haste:
255 Broadway, 11th floor
New York, NY 10279

In regard to the $30 rebate for the purchase of a new handset, your account must be canceled for a period of six months before you are considered to be a new customer.

–Again, you should inform Tony over at 7 John St. about this before he deceives anyone else. I was lied to and tricked into signing up for this account.I still contend that you owe me the entire $190 or $160 + my original SprintPCS phone back.

We apologize that we cannot assist
you in this instance.

–I am sorry you can’t help me as well. Please refer this letter to your manager.

Thank you for contacting Sprint PCS.

Katina K.
eCare

–No, thank you for forwarding this to the appropriate people.

Sincerely,
Chris DiClerico

Sprint PCS num: (555)555-5555
Home phone: (555)555-5555
Work phone: (555)555-5555
Email: cdicleric@nospamyahoo.com

[After no more responses from them, I went ballistic. I called them again, and suffered more for it. The I wrote this. Note that on every email, I included everything you have read so far. The emails just got bigger and bigger…]
E-care:

The email string below has been sent back and forth with your office for weeks now. The content is self-explanatory. It includes all of the written communication between me and your office, as well as summaries of verbal communications from the last year. My issues are complex, and ask you to please familiarize yourself with these issues and my account status. I have received no response since my latest correspondence. As usual, I am disappointed in both your wireless service and customer care.

I realize that your resources are currently stretched to their limits due to the recent tragic events in New York, DC, and Pennsylvania. Your limits are, however, far below that of your competition. Since the attack, I have been sporadically able to make a poor quality mobile call to friends and family, while I watch in amazement as friends place perfect calls via their other service providers, check their voicemail, and communicate freely. Yesterday was the first day I have been able to check my voicemail since the day of the attacks.

So, my issues are both with the quality and quantity of my service, and my inability to secure money that your company owes me. I have / am taking the following steps to rectify the situation:

1. I am writing this last email to request, yet again, that I be refunded the $190 that your company owes me.

2. I have purchased a new mobile phone and signed up for wireless service with your vastly superior competitor, Verizon. With this service, I have been able to receive perfectly clear mobile calls for 3 days now, check my voicemail regularly, and maintain my general happiness.

3. I am using this letter as the official notice of the cancellation of my account. Since I now have a working wireless account with another company, I’ll no longer need the aggravation of yours.

4. I have contacted the Better Business Bureau of Central & Eastern Kentucky (Complaint #: 4444). Their contact information is below, and I intend to cc: them on every email communication I have with your company from now on, including this one.

BBB of Central & Eastern Kentucky, Inc.
1460 Newtown Pike
Lexington, KY 40511
Phone: (859)259-1008
Fax: (859)259-1639
Email: complaints@lexington.bbb.org
WWW: http://www.lexington.bbb.org

5. I have gone back on my own word, and have attempted to contact customer care via telephone for 2 days now, only to receive busy signals.

Thurs. 9/20/01, 5:17pm customer care busy
Fri. 9/21/01, 6:04pm customer care busy

As usual, phone communications with your company have proven useless.

Please contact me via email, my home phone, or my new mobile phone that works at your next earliest convenience to confirm my cancellation, confirm the address for the delivery of my refund check, and finally close these matters and these communications so that the BBB doesn’t have to take over.

Thank very much for your effort and support.

Sincerely,

Chris DiClerico

111 1st Ave., 2nd floor
Astoria, NY 11109

Sprint PCS num: (555)555-5555
New mobile num: (555)555-5555
Home phone: (555)555-5555
Work phone: (555)555-5555
Email: cdicleric@nospamyahoo.com

[Well, that was that. The rest of the communication was done by phone by some sort of specialist. They paid me everything and then some. They finally produced a cancelled check, and it turned out that I HAD received the $130 orginally, but deposited it along with 5 other checks so the bank was never able to find it. That doesn’t make me feel bad, because all I ever asked for was documentation from them, that they could never produce it. I did get my account cancelled, the $30 for my turned-in phone, $30 for the sign-up rebate, and assorted other rebates to my last bill for pain and suffering. I am now a very happy customer of Verizon. I encourage you all to drop Sprint.]