the samsung vga1000 is a very nice phone. it takes pictures. it rings songs. it folds small. it runs long and charges short. nearly $300 for this phone, a hit softened only by the promise of a large rebate if i sign up for a new plan.
so i buy the phone. and i call up sprint to sign up for the new plan. to get the big rebate, i have to sign up for "pcs vision", which enables me to send pictures and surf the internet (in theory, at least). 2 months are free, then i can cancel at any time. i'm set.
"thank you for using sprint," the lady tells me. "but what about a receipt or proof of purchase," i ask. "i'll need it for the rebate." "it will be emailed to you," she assures me.
two weeks into said plan, "pcs vision" service is gone. so I call the good people at sprint, because i've missed them so.
"uh, can i have lena?"
"huh? i was trying to reach sprint customer service."
"oh. uh...yeah. this is...um...sprint."
"okay...i have a problem with my plan."
"is lena there?"
"who is lena? i need to ask some questions about my phone plan."
"oh sorry. uh...can i getting your social security number."
"i'll give you the last 4 digits. that should be all you need."
"ummmmmmmmmmmm. okay can i getting your phone number?"
at this point, I give him my number, but i already know he can't help me. resigned, we continue our cute little dance:
"sir, you have to signing up for pcs vision to send pictures."
"i WAS signed up. YOU guys forced me to sign up. why was it taken off?"
"uh...pcs vision will let you send pictures."
"i know. up until 2 days ago, i was sending pictures. i WAS signed up for it."
"okay let me put you on holding please."
(muzak)
"lena? hello? dis is lena?"
"no, this is abe. i have a problem with my phone plan."
"sir, if you have a problem with your phone, you can take it to a sprint store."
"THE PHONE IS FINE. why did SPRINT change my plan??"
"sir, if you wanting to change plan, please call customer service."
"my plan was already changed!!! BY SPRINT!! what's wrong with you people?"
"um, okay let me check okay?"
(muzak)
"hello?"
"look, can you just tell me what my plan is now?"
"no sir I didn't change your plan."
"look, all i want to know is, can i still get my rebate?"
"you have to calling rebate department."
we had a lovely time. i got his name and told him i look forward to talking to him again. and good luck with lena.
so as it turns out, i was never signed up for any new plan when i got my phone. it makes me wonder what's really going on over there in customer service. do these people have any accountability? it almost seems like sprint is saving costs by routing calls to non-english-speaking crackheads who take the calls at home to fulfill their community service requirements and have no phone training, no english comprehension, and no knowledge of sprint products or services.
but the good news is i apparently was never signed up for any new plan. so that means i can cancel in a month, and finally be free! of course i'll probably still call the sprint folks just to keep in touch.
Posted by aokie at April 7, 2004 11:44 AMafter riding out my service agreement, i had to fire sprint because they didn't work in my home, on my street, or at work. seemed pretty useless. and evil, of course.
t-mobile. i mean, they've got catherine zeta-jones on their side.
Posted by: natalie at April 7, 2004 04:10 PMI predict that you have been signed up for a plan and when you call to cancel that you will be surprised by a $200 cancellation charge. All this was done in order to confuse you to the point that no reasonable man could ever make since of what is going on with this plan. The hiring of people who speak poor English is a ploy to get you to give up and to bend over and take it rather than fight it. The best thing to do is play there game. Keep asking for a supervisor than change the topic multiple times. If you confuse the representative they will bend to your will and give you what you seek. There calls are timed so speak very slowly this will aggravate them, just as they are trying to aggravate you.
Posted by: confusussay at April 10, 2004 12:26 AMThat's a good idea: beat them at their own game. You sound like you have a lot of experience with Sprint and their evil tactics, Confusussay. What's your story?
Posted by: abe at April 13, 2004 11:06 AM