Name
Address
Phone
September 2, 2009
Re: Service and support complaint
Dan Hesse
Chief Executive Officer
Sprint Nextel Corporation
KSOPHT0101-Z4300
6391 Sprint Parkway
Overland Park KS 66251-4300
Dear Dan,
I’m writing today as a very disappointed Sprint customer. I have been a loyal subscriber for as long as I’ve had a cell phone. I signed up for service in 2002 and since that time have brought my brothers and several other friends to Sprint. In fact, my brothers and I even signed up for a Family Share plan in 2008.
Then, in December of 2008, I purchased a Palm Treo 800w. At that time, I had no way of knowing what a frustrating experience I was in for. It is now September and I’m on my seventh device. Over the past eight months, I’ve spoken to literally dozens of representatives (see account notes). I’ve driven to the Sprint Service Center numerous times. I’ve had activation issues, software issues and agents that flat out told me that they didn’t know how to do what needed to be done to fix my issue.
In all of this, I’ve remained calm and appreciative of the agents who have assisted me. After all, I have been on that side of the phone and know all too well that the agent is a product of the training and support they receive in the call center or outsourced partner they are employed through.
While I have remained calm on the phone, my frustration and resentment toward Sprint have only grown after each experience. Today has been no exception.
Let me recap for you a few events that I’ve experienced over the past eight months, for after my third device, I started capturing each call in detail. Please be assured, each interaction that I have had over the past eight months has been similar, the below are just a sampling. From dropped calls to confused agents, the events below are not unique.
June 1, 2009 (AM)
I called Sprint customer support on June 1, 2009 due to a text messaging problem on my fourth device. The first representative that I spoke to asked for my name, 10-digit wireless number and account pin. When they realized the problem was beyond what they could help with, I was transferred to tech support. Here, we walked through a few steps before the rep quickly transferred me to Palm support. Once again, I was asked for my 10-digit wireless number, name and pin. In going through the support options the rep had available, he realized we would need to do a “RTN” on the device (I literally had to ask what he was saying. Translation: Hard Reset). When I asked if I could back my data up to my storage card, the rep instructed me that I could not do that; instead, I needed to back up my information to my computer at home and call back.
First, let me call out that this is not accurate. The device absolutely can (and should) be backed up to the storage card in this situation. Second, when I asked how I get back through to Treo support, he explained that I needed to dial *2 from my device and repeat the process I had just gone through.
This is interesting on multiple accounts:
1. Any tech support agent should know that you cannot call into support from the device you are having a problem with
2. Why should a customer with an issue have to go through multiple layers of providing their account information and pin, only to get transferred from one agent to the next and only then to support
But, limited to the option presented to me, I had no choice but to call back.
June 1, 2009 (PM)
The first rep I spoke to (now the fourth agent of the day) asked for my 10-digit wireless number, name and pin and transferred me to support almost immediately. The support rep struggled to help me. First, she could not understand what the issue was. When I explained that I had backed up my contents and needed to do a hard reset, she struggled with what data would be restored. She spoke with several of her colleagues, yet no one seemed to know what to do. As a result, she finally decided to transfer me to Palm support.
The next thing I heard on the phone: a dial tone.
Twenty-seven minutes on the phone and the agent disconnected me. Again, I wish I could say that this is the first time this has happened to me. Rest assured, it is not.
I immediately called back. The rep (number six) asked for my 10-digit wireless number, name and pin. Upon providing that information, I asked if I could speak directly to a supervisor and explained the situation. After being placed on hold for about a minute, the rep came back and explained to me that it would be 15 minutes to talk with a supervisor and asked if I wanted to wait. When I asked if he could just transfer me to Treo support, he indicated he could transfer me, but just to support. Because of my previous experience, I asked the representative to stay on the line with me until I got transferred to Palm support.
After a few minutes, Katherine from Palm support was finally connected to the line. She assessed the issue and explained that I needed to do a hard reset. I explained that I had backed up the material and was ready to walk through the process. We reset the device and then restored the content – all in about 5-7 minutes.
However, the problem still existed.
It was at this point that the rep explained to me that I probably had a corrupt file on the device and that we may not be able to save any of my data. We rebooted the device again, restored the contents from backup and again experienced the same problem.
The rep explained that we needed to do a hard reset and all data would be lost. This included all text messages, emails, settings and programs.
And so we did. I now have a device that is reset to the factory standard. After fifty-three additional minutes on the phone, the device was finally able to send text messages. The cost for today’s resolution? I spoke with seven different reps, got disconnected once and spent over 90 minutes on the phone (again, see account notes with any questions). When asked to be transferred to Customer Service to share my experience, I was put on hold and transferred to Satine from Palm Support. When I explained my transfer request, the rep explained that I had been mis-transferred and that she could try to transfer me to customer service.
When that didn’t work, I gave up and hung up my phone.
August 14, 2009
The issue I had in April and June resurfaced again on August 14, 2009. I spoke with Wallette (5:51pm) who transferred me to Chantera (5:57pm) who disconnected us after 25 minutes. When I called back, I spoke with Shyra (6:23pm) who transferred me through to Bryan (6:31pm) who then put me on hold before transferring me to another Bryan in tech support (6:41pm). Bryan put me on hold while researching the issue and came back at 6:50pm to tell me, “Unfortunately, I can’t get you out a different phone; I can’t even send you out a replacement since you’ve had so many. The only thing you could possibly do is go into a support center and they may be able to swap you out a new phone. However, there is a chance that they may not be willing to do that.” I explained how disappointed I was in his answer and the overall Sprint experience. We disconnected at 6:53pm. It was another hour on the phone with Sprint with no resolution, and no solution to my problem. (Only after calling back on August 15 and August 16, three trips to Sprint service store 1558 and two more defective devices did I finally receive a device that appears to be working. Of course, this new device required two more calls, one on August 31 for activation and another on September 1 for tech support, as the previous rep hadn’t activated data.)
This letter is the result of eight months of struggles with the seven Sprint devices I’ve had during this time and the poor quality of Sprint service. While I’ve maintained a positive demeanor with each of your agents, I cannot tell you how very, very disappointed I am in the service and support I have received.
I honestly don’t even know what to ask for at this point. I’ve spent more hours than I even care to add up on the phone with support. Not to mention the time I’ve spent in the actual Sprint store and Service Center. After all of that, I’m still not confident in my device, or in the service and support that go along with it.
This all leaves me to ask: what would you recommend the “compensation” for my efforts be? A sincere apology would be a nice start. I am also requesting that for the following year, you kindly suspend all billing related to my family share plan. I am also requesting a credit for a new device so that I can replace the Palm Treo device once and for all.
This will help restore some of the confidence I have in Sprint as my cell phone carrier; however, this request is only part of what needs to happen. In order for you to recapture my trust and loyalty, you must follow through on your service, not just for me, but for every customer (and potential customer) you have. Continue to invest in your training programs, continue to invest in your front-line leaders and continue to invest in technology that will help your reps, not hinder them.
But most importantly, at the end of the day you must invest in your customer. All of the training and technology in the world cannot replace the simple gratitude I feel when someone says, “I can help you with that, and I’ll be by your side until we’ve got this resolved.”
Thank you for your attention to this matter. I look forward to a prompt response to my request and appreciate your time.
Sincerely,
Signature
Sprint Customer since 2002
cc: Bob Johnson, Chief Service Officer
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