Sprint: A Tale of Customer Service

You may have heard and even experienced customer service horror stories before. I certainly have. But I would like to share this very recent nightmarish tale of Sprint customer service. Unfortunately, I am the protagonist.

Friday Night

I get home late and empty the mail box. Credit card offers and bills, nothing unusual. Until I open my Sprint bill for October: $518.90.

Here’s the background: on October 7, I ordered two new phones through the Sprint Web site. The phones would be free with a renewal of my two-year agreement for another two years. In fact, after selecting the LG “Fuziq” phone there appears to be a $40 dollar credit left. I add a headphone and a carrying case to the order, leaving me with a $0.65 credit. The screen and the confirmation e-mail with order receipt reflect a total charge of $539.33 with total instant savings of $539.98. Shipping: free; estimated tax: $0.00; total one-time charges: $0.00.

That Friday night I call Sprint customer service about the $518.90 bill. Talking to a customer service representative, who gives me some instant credit, he tells me my updated bill is in the neighborhood of $220. I reply that is still too much and ask what exactly I am charged for. He tells me the bill reflects some of the phone upgrades and the accessories. I tell him it was supposed to be free with a two-year agreement. The representative tells me he doesn’t see we signed up for another two years. In turn, I tell him we received a confirmation letter at home for another two years. The representative tells me to call back in a couple of days when more credit will be applied to my current bill.

Time on the phone: more than an hour.

Tuesday Evening

It has been a couple of days, so I decide to call again. Wait is again around 20 minutes. I talk to a customer service representative, who tells me more credit has been applied to my account. This time my new bill is around $148. “That is still too much,” I tell him. He tells me I need to pay for the accessories, on which I counter by insisting that the Web site and order receipt clearly state that these items would be free of charge. He says he’s sorry, but I am going to have to pay, because “accessories are always charged.” I ask him if I can send the items back, since in that case I don’t want them anymore. He gives me the address for returns and we end the call. After I hang up, I realize that if I send the items back, I should get credit for both the accessories and the promised $40 dollar credit from the Web site. I decide to call back the next morning to clear that up or just ask for the accessories to be credited.

Time on the phone: more than an hour.

Wednesday

The nightmare really begins. In foolish naivety I think I can resolve the issue with a quick phone call. Just before 10 a.m. I call the customer service line again. The wait is less than a minute, as it is fairly early during the day, when people work and do not deal with cell phone issues. I explain the situation again, but I am made to feel guilty: “you already received two brand new phones for free!” I calmly explain I have the order receipt in front of me, which clearly states a total charge of $0.00, for two phones, a headphone and a carrying case. I am told to call order support.

I get the number from the representative and call immediately. I enter all information in the pre-screening menu options and finally get to talk to a representative. “You have reached the Nextel order support; you need to call the Sprint order support.” Great.

I try the Sprint order support and I explain the situation once again. The order support representative counters my claim by telling me he has the packing slip, which states that I indeed have to pay for the accessories: “I have physical evidence.” I explain to him I received the packing slip, but it did not have any billing information on it; just the list of items included in the box. In addition, I have “physical evidence” in front of me stating no charges. I tell him I’d be happy to send that order receipt by e-mail or fax. He claims he doesn’t have e-mail and I don’t get an answer when I offer faxing it over. I ask for a supervisor. He puts me on hold and miraculously and suspiciously I get disconnected after 15 minutes on hold.

I call customer service again. And I explain the situation again. This time I apparently need to talk to the Web sales department, because they have the record of the Web site orders. Sure, I’ll do that.

I explain the situation to the Web sales representative, who tells me I need to talk to customer service. “No,” I say, “I was directed here specifically.” The representative claims he’s on the Web site at that very moment “and he doesn’t get the option of adding the accessories without charge.” I tell him that suspiciously reminds me of Best Buy, the company that got in trouble for having a different Web site and in-store intranet site, with different prices. “Well, you really need to talk to customer service again,” according to the Web sales guy. Once again, I ask to speak to a supervisor. Once again, I am put on hold. This time, after another 15 minutes on hold, I actually hear the phone ringing, followed by “welcome to Sprint customer service…” Wait, what? I am connected to customer service again! Not a supervisor. Oops.

I started this before 10 a.m. It is a couple of minutes past noon now. While on hold I have written two press releases, responded to e-mails, and probably got more work done than usual. I get to speak to a customer service representative again. Explain the situation again. This one tells me I did get credited for the accessories. That’s news, “but why is my bill still $148?” I ask. “It’s taxes, sir.” I ask him with a slight, yet polite sarcasm in my voice if taxes increased this month by almost $50. “Oh no, it’s the activation fee.” I tell him I think he is trying to trick me. This is the first time anyone mentions activation fees. It was not on the Web site, it’s not on the order receipt and most importantly it’s not on the actual bill! Once again, I’d like to speak to a supervisor. I am placed on hold, but this time, there is no hold music, just silence. I think I am in Sprint customer service limbo.

Almost 45 minutes later, I instant message my wife: “Could you call Sprint’s customer service please and let them know I am waiting?” She gets on the phone and speaks to a customer service representative. My wife explains the situation to her. A good 15 minutes later (yes, I am still in silent limbo), I give up and my wife connects me to her customer service representative in a conference call between the three of us. The three of us together figure out that we are probably simply still being billed for the taxes on the phones and the accessories. But she can’t make those changes: “you will have to call Web sales again.” I’m tired; my wife wants to go to lunch, so we let this one go for the moment.

I return from lunch. Do some things at work that require me to be away from the phone. When I return, I get on the phone again. I start my third press release, answer more e-mail inquiries and do other things at my desk. Meanwhile, of course, I am on hold for the Web sales department. The first thing the representative says when I finally talk to him is “why were you directed here?” I politely express my frustration and the representative decides to help me. He’s actually being friendly and fairly helpful. He calls customer service for me, while I am on hold. He communicates the issue with the customer service representative and makes me join a three-way conference call. “This might actually go somewhere,” I think. I explain the situation to Beth in customer service. I think the friendly and helpful Web sales guy leaves the phone conversation quietly. It’s only Beth and me now.

And then, like all the others before her, she keeps reading the bill to me. It reminds me of that big house fly that keeps flying into the mirror. “I know what the bill states, but what the bill states is wrong,” I exclaim. I also understand there are taxes, but I try to explain that if I hypothetically paid $1 for the equipment and taxes are, for example, 20%, I would pay $0.20. But there aren’t any charges for the phone, no taxes were mentioned. In fact, the order receipt specifically states no taxes were charged. 20% of $0.00 is still $0.00. I am led to believe something clicked; Beth told me she would call back. She asks for my number, which she gets, and I ask for her number, which I don’t get. She promises she will call back tonight. I have little faith.

Time on the phone this Wednesday: more than 5 hours.

Thursday

No call last night. It is noon, no call today either. I take matters in my own hand and exactly calculate the bill, which is supposed to be $105.39. Encouraged by my own mathematics, I call customer service again. Barbara answers the phone. Per usual, hesitation and excuses first, but this time more friendliness is added. She wants to direct me to Web sales once again. In a last and almost desperate attempt, I tell her I worked in customer service (not quite true) and that I know she probably has a screen in front of her with the notes from all the representatives I have been talking to (usually true). I tell her I really can’t deal with any more representatives or redirections and ask for a supervisor. Friendly Barbara, probably looking at the notes, agrees. She puts me on hold. This time I hear classical music, instead of the usual optimistic droning tune. This signifies a difference. I think they know customers are heavily frustrated by the time they need, and actually get to talk to, a supervisor and to remedy the frustration they offer classical music. A minute or two later, Barbara checks in with me and says she’s still in line for the supervisor. I like Barbara more and more. Five more minutes pass by and my favorite customer service representative Barbara actually transfers me to Leticia, the supervisor. I almost feel special.

Even more encouraged by actually talking to a supervisor, I explain the entire situation to Leticia. At first, I receive the same hesitation, excuses and wrong facts. “Yes, I do have to pay for the accessories; oh no, maybe not, but there are taxes.” But finally, the moment of victorious happiness arrives: Leticia sees the light. Together we blissfully go over the bill and calculate it item by item. Leticia comes to an amount of $105.40. I decide to give her the $0.01 difference. Victory!

But it is not over yet. I respectfully want to air my frustration on the whole process, especially the apparent policy of hanging up on people in an effort to discourage customers to call back. Once, even twice might be accidental; more than that, it’s deliberate if not policy. But most of all, I explain my frustration with the misleading reasoning, excuses and made-up charges and credits. I ask for a token of extra customer service or a signal of appreciation or apology. “Monetary signals are preferred,” I mention. I only get an insincere apology from Leticia.

Time on the phone: about 45 minutes.

Scare tactics in short:

- Give customer a couple of bogus credits to make it appear the company did its job.
- Invent bogus charges or fees that costumers do not think to challenge.
- Pretend there are no records or make up false records.
- Misinform and mislead customer and repeat information on the bill as if it is static and unchangeable.
- Tell customer to call back in a couple of days in hopes he will forget.
- Tell customer that there is nothing else the company can do, repeatedly.
- Play department ping pong with customer in hopes he will give up.
- “Accidentally” hang up on costumer, or lose him in the queue, when he asks for supervisor, again, in hopes he will give up.

Total time on the phone over past few days: more than 8 hours. Result: I have to pay my, finally correct, cell phone bill. And a meaningless apology.

* * * *

Update: on November 13, I received an update e-mail from the Better Business Bureau:

The case has been reviewed by one of our Complaint Specialists and has now been forwarded to Sprint for their response.

Sprint will investigate your complaint and will then respond to the BBB. Due to the volume of business, Sprint indicated it may take some time to research your complaint and respond. The BBB will forward the response to you as soon as it is received.

Sprint indicated it may take some time. Of course. When I checked the status on the BBB Web site this is what it said:

We are waiting for the business to respond. They have until December 17, 2007 to respond to this complaint.

8 November 2007 | Across the board, PR and Communication | Comments