Problems with Sprint
About a month ago, I called Sprint (our cell provider) and inquired about changing our current plan. We've had the same plan ever since we've had the service, which is almost three years now.
In early August, the lady who I spoke with, english was clearly not her first language - I could tell she was in one of the overseas call center - more than likely India. I could tell she was new, I tried being patient but after talking with her for more than an hour and getting nowhere, I attempted to speak with a supervisor. I didn't have to wait long for the supervisor, but I was told since the plan cycle had already renewed for the month, to call back towards the end of the month to make sure the changes take affect.
Around August 25, I call again, I get a nice guy named John. Presumably he is also in one of the overseas call center but spoke better english - he also seemed more knowledgable than the last girl I spoke with earlier in the month. He reiterates to me the plan will change at the beginning of the month, and proceeds to tell me everything looks fine with my account.
Yesterday I'm looking at the Sprint Account online to see if our new bill had posted - I got curious and I notice there were details regarding our new plan. It turns out everything was fine - I did notice one thing: they forgot to upgrade our text messaging service. Sprint has a new text messaging plan, where if you go to one of the family plans - you can unlimited texting for $20.00 a month. Previously we had been billed $15.00 for Unlimited Texting for both of our lines of service.
So, I call Sprint (another hour on hold) to discover the $20.00 new family pack text messaging feature is only valid on family plans $69.99 or more, our plan is only $59.99. This is where I get angry - I relay to the representative that I've called twice in August, both representatives told me this was possible, even the web site says its possible but now you're saying I can't? The lady proceeds to put me on hold for a few minutes, finally comes back and says "I apologize ma'am, I was incorrect, let me add the family text messaging plan to your account, I'll be back in two to three minutes"... She places me on a silent hold for fifteen minutes, I then call out.. "is anyone there?"... The lady comes off hold and says "yes sir, I'm still here, I'm adding the texting plan, it'll be just nice another moment"... So, I continue to hold a few more minutes, finally she comes back and says "I'm having problems with the computer, would you like to call back?"... I then asked to speak with a supervisor, her response "my supervisor is busy assisting other customers"... I said that was fine, I will wait. The longer I waited, the angrier I got, I finally hung up and decided to call back on Saturday.
So, Saturday rolls around, I call and get another lady who repeats the same information - the unlimited family texting pack is only valid on plans $69.99, your plan does not qualify. She then proceeds to tell me that she will add the unlimited texting to the account if I upgrade my plan to 700 Minutes for $69.99, I relent and agree to the change.
I then asked if I could be transferred to Retention. After being on hold for a half an hour waiting for them to pick up, I get a nice representative named Karo. I relay my story, she apologizes for the service I've encountered and reiterates that unlimited texting feature for $20.00 is only valid on family plans $69.99 or more. She then states that since we've been loyal customers, she doesn't want to see us leave --- that she'll give us $10.00 credit for a full year, so we'll be billed $59.99 a month, which is the price plan I wanted in the first place but we'll keep the 700 minutes. This $10.00 credit is in addition to the 10 percent service credit we got for renewing our contract last November. She also then provided me with her direct line and e-mail address, so if I did encounter another problem, I would no longer have to wait an hour to get ahold of someone.
In early August, the lady who I spoke with, english was clearly not her first language - I could tell she was in one of the overseas call center - more than likely India. I could tell she was new, I tried being patient but after talking with her for more than an hour and getting nowhere, I attempted to speak with a supervisor. I didn't have to wait long for the supervisor, but I was told since the plan cycle had already renewed for the month, to call back towards the end of the month to make sure the changes take affect.
Around August 25, I call again, I get a nice guy named John. Presumably he is also in one of the overseas call center but spoke better english - he also seemed more knowledgable than the last girl I spoke with earlier in the month. He reiterates to me the plan will change at the beginning of the month, and proceeds to tell me everything looks fine with my account.
Yesterday I'm looking at the Sprint Account online to see if our new bill had posted - I got curious and I notice there were details regarding our new plan. It turns out everything was fine - I did notice one thing: they forgot to upgrade our text messaging service. Sprint has a new text messaging plan, where if you go to one of the family plans - you can unlimited texting for $20.00 a month. Previously we had been billed $15.00 for Unlimited Texting for both of our lines of service.
So, I call Sprint (another hour on hold) to discover the $20.00 new family pack text messaging feature is only valid on family plans $69.99 or more, our plan is only $59.99. This is where I get angry - I relay to the representative that I've called twice in August, both representatives told me this was possible, even the web site says its possible but now you're saying I can't? The lady proceeds to put me on hold for a few minutes, finally comes back and says "I apologize ma'am, I was incorrect, let me add the family text messaging plan to your account, I'll be back in two to three minutes"... She places me on a silent hold for fifteen minutes, I then call out.. "is anyone there?"... The lady comes off hold and says "yes sir, I'm still here, I'm adding the texting plan, it'll be just nice another moment"... So, I continue to hold a few more minutes, finally she comes back and says "I'm having problems with the computer, would you like to call back?"... I then asked to speak with a supervisor, her response "my supervisor is busy assisting other customers"... I said that was fine, I will wait. The longer I waited, the angrier I got, I finally hung up and decided to call back on Saturday.
So, Saturday rolls around, I call and get another lady who repeats the same information - the unlimited family texting pack is only valid on plans $69.99, your plan does not qualify. She then proceeds to tell me that she will add the unlimited texting to the account if I upgrade my plan to 700 Minutes for $69.99, I relent and agree to the change.
I then asked if I could be transferred to Retention. After being on hold for a half an hour waiting for them to pick up, I get a nice representative named Karo. I relay my story, she apologizes for the service I've encountered and reiterates that unlimited texting feature for $20.00 is only valid on family plans $69.99 or more. She then states that since we've been loyal customers, she doesn't want to see us leave --- that she'll give us $10.00 credit for a full year, so we'll be billed $59.99 a month, which is the price plan I wanted in the first place but we'll keep the 700 minutes. This $10.00 credit is in addition to the 10 percent service credit we got for renewing our contract last November. She also then provided me with her direct line and e-mail address, so if I did encounter another problem, I would no longer have to wait an hour to get ahold of someone.