Frustrated with SPCS - *LONG* time customer.

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Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

I've been with Sprint for a long time.. And when I mean A long time,
I'm saying I started with Sprint PCS in 1997. I've stuck with them
through tons of ups and downs -- the absolutely atrocious customer
service period of 1999-2000, and generally have been pretty lenient
with them since their plans were always better and they had better
phones and features..

However, I'm really getting frustrated now, and I'm about to leap to
Verizon. I have three months left in my contract, and I'm ready to go.

I've been unable to use my Vision services for three days -- they just
suddenly decided to stop working, and nobody can figure out what's
wrong. I went to a store this morning to see if they can do anything,
and the guy basically said "Sorry, can't help you."

Excuse me? If that's the way Sprint is going treat someone who's been
with them so long (and always at a $50 plan or higher; and I've been
through 7 phones -- so that's about $4200 in service without overage
charges (and there were plenty!) and $1200 in phones.. Ouch!)

My question for the group is this.. I've heard about their "retention"
stuff.. I've read the faq, and a lot of the retention plans sound
rather weak. I'm not really interested in another hour of nighttime
minutes every night, or a 5% increase in my minutes.. Please..

I'd love for a plan where I'd be able to go back to using my phone
with my laptop - like I did for years before Vision, albeit at
14.4kbps.. FIMF was great, now it's gone; I also remember when roaming
was $0.39..

A better data plan or an allottment of off-network minutes would keep
me.. (The latter would be very appealing, since I travel a lot..) Do
you think there's any chance of getting this through retention?

I'm hoping that I'd have some leverage being a seven year customer
whose contract is nearing its end.. Has anybody had luck in getting a
retention plan that really does what is intended -- retains you as a
customer, when you're about to leap?

Is there anyone from Spring on this NG that would be willing to give
me some information -- or even perhaps an insider scoop on if it's
worth sticking with Sprint since they may be offering better data
plans in the near future?

Thanks..

 

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Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

C. Todd <tcp277@yahoo.com> wrote:

> I've been unable to use my Vision services for three days -- they just
> suddenly decided to stop working, and nobody can figure out what's
> wrong. I went to a store this morning to see if they can do anything,
> and the guy basically said "Sorry, can't help you."

Did you talk to Vision tech support?

--
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Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

In article <c50a6464.0405200958.706768b2@posting.google.com>,
tcp277@yahoo.com (C. Todd) wrote:

>
> I'd love for a plan where I'd be able to go back to using my phone
> with my laptop - like I did for years before Vision, albeit at
> 14.4kbps.. FIMF was great, now it's gone; I also remember when roaming
> was $0.39..
>
> A better data plan or an allottment of off-network minutes would keep
> me.. (The latter would be very appealing, since I travel a lot..) Do
> you think there's any chance of getting this through retention?

No, but perhaps with a Sanyo 4700 from eBay.

 

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Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

"C. Todd" <tcp277@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:c50a6464.0405200958.706768b2@posting.google.com...
> I've been with Sprint for a long time.. And when I mean A long time,
> I'm saying I started with Sprint PCS in 1997. I've stuck with them
> through tons of ups and downs -- the absolutely atrocious customer
> service period of 1999-2000, and generally have been pretty lenient
> with them since their plans were always better and they had better
> phones and features..
>
> However, I'm really getting frustrated now, and I'm about to leap to
> Verizon. I have three months left in my contract, and I'm ready to go.
>
> I've been unable to use my Vision services for three days -- they just
> suddenly decided to stop working, and nobody can figure out what's
> wrong. I went to a store this morning to see if they can do anything,
> and the guy basically said "Sorry, can't help you."
>
> Excuse me? If that's the way Sprint is going treat someone who's been
> with them so long (and always at a $50 plan or higher; and I've been
> through 7 phones -- so that's about $4200 in service without overage
> charges (and there were plenty!) and $1200 in phones.. Ouch!)

Now, just how is a sales rep suppose to do anything for you if you are
experiencing a Vision problem? And as Steve asked, have you spoken to any
Vision Tier 2 reps at *2?
>
> My question for the group is this.. I've heard about their "retention"
> stuff.. I've read the faq, and a lot of the retention plans sound
> rather weak. I'm not really interested in another hour of nighttime
> minutes every night, or a 5% increase in my minutes.. Please..
>
So, what plan are you one now? You say $50, but don't include the minutes,
or options on your account. Are you locked in an annual agreement now, or
are you on a month to month basis? Also, what phone model do you have?
Finally, are you in a SPCS corporate coverage area, or an affiliate's area?
IOW, what city are you in?

> I'd love for a plan where I'd be able to go back to using my phone
> with my laptop - like I did for years before Vision, albeit at
> 14.4kbps.. FIMF was great, now it's gone; I also remember when roaming
> was $0.39..

You probably still can change to the WW option, if you changed to a 2G
phone, like a Sanyo 4700, as Phillipe mentioned.

>
> A better data plan or an allottment of off-network minutes would keep
> me.. (The latter would be very appealing, since I travel a lot..) Do
> you think there's any chance of getting this through retention?
>

No, on a better priced data plan, unless the WW option is available @ $5/mo.
Before you call SPCS, you really need to define what your needs are, in
terms of minutes and options to your plan. If you do revert to a WW option,
you should know how many AT minutes you will be using to add that to the
minutes you expect to use for talking.

> I'm hoping that I'd have some leverage being a seven year customer
> whose contract is nearing its end.. Has anybody had luck in getting a
> retention plan that really does what is intended -- retains you as a
> customer, when you're about to leap?

Sure, most of us have.

>
> Is there anyone from Spring on this NG that would be willing to give
> me some information -- or even perhaps an insider scoop on if it's
> worth sticking with Sprint since they may be offering better data
> plans in the near future?

I don't know why you think better data plans will be available. For pure
data plans, they are pretty expensive, and probably won't drop down, till
SPCS offers up EV-DV in 2006.

Bob

 

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Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

I'm on the old Free and Clear with Vision plan.. The ones with vision
included, not an add-on.. 500 anytime, 4000 N&W. Three months left on
a two year contract. I signed up for this when using Vision with a
laptop wasn't so "taboo".. As a matter of fact, I have used it
intermittently as such and have never had a problem -- but I have
heard they're cracking down quite a bit.

If that's the case, my complaint, which I guess isn't clear enough, is
that I think it's unreasonable for them to now be giving customers a
hard time about occasional vision data usage with a laptop. Granted,
the stories I hear of $50 charges for 10 minutes hooked to a laptop
are anecdotal -- but I cannot get a straight answer from customer
service. I know Vision should not be used as an ISP to download
megabytes upon megabytes consistently, but I don't see why they don't
allow checking of e-mail and the like.

As for my technical problem with Vision -- I don't know where you got
the idea I was only speaking to sales reps. I guess you automatically
assume I'm a bit of a rube, and would just sit there with my thumb in
an orifice yelling at sales reps. Unfortunately, that's not the case.
I have spoken to four vision techs (one of them tier 2), and two store
techs.

They put in a formal trouble ticket yesterday morning, and today, they
"can't find it." (The trouble ticket that is.)

So, today I talked to store tech number 2, and their "solution" is to
replace my Sanyo 8100 with a refurb'ed Sanyo 8200. I need to wonder if
that will help. One *2 vision tech feels the primary profile slot in
the phone is corrupted; the other thinks its a local server issue.
They don't seem to know. Gotta love that. I imagine my response should
be "Oh well", and put up with it, like so many other SPCS problems
I've dealt with in the past -- because they're "still working the bugs
out?" Right.

I'm always amazed at how defensive this group has been. Seems like
some in here feel they don't pay for their service, but are married to
it. I've clearly been at least a little tolerant of SPCS's many
failings if I've been with 'em for seven years. I once called
concerning dropped calls in Philadelphia, and the rep asked me if
there were "any larger cities that was by" because "she didn't know
where that was." Uh-huh. Stellar. I'm just frustrated that I'm getting
the runaround with my Vision problem, and can in no way get a straight
answer about data usage.

I've heard the option that you mentioned before -- go to a 2G phone
with a WW plan.. So that's Sprint's solution; to revert my phone and
plan back to 1998?

I just found out about the $5 "Free and Clear America" add-on option
for off-network minutes, and that is exactly what I was looking for.
Of course, it took a lot of digging for me to find it.. When my
contract comes up in August, if they expect me to renew, I'm going to
ask for that in retention.

My question, is why can't they offer a similar thing for occasional
laptop data use? $5 for 15 mb of data, or something like that -
similar to the 50% minute usage restrictions of the F&CA add-on. I
think this is entirely reasonable, and I don't understand why folks
take offense when I'm none to pleased that my only data options are
either to go back to 2G 14.4kbps using my minutes, or pay $50+ a month
and get a separate line of service and device. Sprint should offer
something in the middle for the occasional user.

Verizon offers a 1xRTT plan that uses minutes, that's about $10 more
than an equivalent Sprint plan. T-Mobile offers unlimited VPN capable
internet for $19.99. AT&T has small megabyte bundles you can add on to
your voice plan. None of these require a separate device and/or line
of service. Why does Sprint only offer me ringtones and monkeyball?



"Bob Smith" <usirsclt_No_Spam_@earthlink.net> wrote in message news:<kl7rc.2762$Tn6.1977@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net>...
> "C. Todd" <tcp277@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:c50a6464.0405200958.706768b2@posting.google.com...
> > I've been with Sprint for a long time.. And when I mean A long time,
> > I'm saying I started with Sprint PCS in 1997. I've stuck with them
> > through tons of ups and downs -- the absolutely atrocious customer
> > service period of 1999-2000, and generally have been pretty lenient
> > with them since their plans were always better and they had better
> > phones and features..
> >
> > However, I'm really getting frustrated now, and I'm about to leap to
> > Verizon. I have three months left in my contract, and I'm ready to go.
> >
> > I've been unable to use my Vision services for three days -- they just
> > suddenly decided to stop working, and nobody can figure out what's
> > wrong. I went to a store this morning to see if they can do anything,
> > and the guy basically said "Sorry, can't help you."
> >
> > Excuse me? If that's the way Sprint is going treat someone who's been
> > with them so long (and always at a $50 plan or higher; and I've been
> > through 7 phones -- so that's about $4200 in service without overage
> > charges (and there were plenty!) and $1200 in phones.. Ouch!)
>
> Now, just how is a sales rep suppose to do anything for you if you are
> experiencing a Vision problem? And as Steve asked, have you spoken to any
> Vision Tier 2 reps at *2?
> >
> > My question for the group is this.. I've heard about their "retention"
> > stuff.. I've read the faq, and a lot of the retention plans sound
> > rather weak. I'm not really interested in another hour of nighttime
> > minutes every night, or a 5% increase in my minutes.. Please..
> >
> So, what plan are you one now? You say $50, but don't include the minutes,
> or options on your account. Are you locked in an annual agreement now, or
> are you on a month to month basis? Also, what phone model do you have?
> Finally, are you in a SPCS corporate coverage area, or an affiliate's area?
> IOW, what city are you in?
>
> > I'd love for a plan where I'd be able to go back to using my phone
> > with my laptop - like I did for years before Vision, albeit at
> > 14.4kbps.. FIMF was great, now it's gone; I also remember when roaming
> > was $0.39..
>
> You probably still can change to the WW option, if you changed to a 2G
> phone, like a Sanyo 4700, as Phillipe mentioned.
>
> >
> > A better data plan or an allottment of off-network minutes would keep
> > me.. (The latter would be very appealing, since I travel a lot..) Do
> > you think there's any chance of getting this through retention?
> >
>
> No, on a better priced data plan, unless the WW option is available @ $5/mo.
> Before you call SPCS, you really need to define what your needs are, in
> terms of minutes and options to your plan. If you do revert to a WW option,
> you should know how many AT minutes you will be using to add that to the
> minutes you expect to use for talking.
>
> > I'm hoping that I'd have some leverage being a seven year customer
> > whose contract is nearing its end.. Has anybody had luck in getting a
> > retention plan that really does what is intended -- retains you as a
> > customer, when you're about to leap?
>
> Sure, most of us have.
>
> >
> > Is there anyone from Spring on this NG that would be willing to give
> > me some information -- or even perhaps an insider scoop on if it's
> > worth sticking with Sprint since they may be offering better data
> > plans in the near future?
>
> I don't know why you think better data plans will be available. For pure
> data plans, they are pretty expensive, and probably won't drop down, till
> SPCS offers up EV-DV in 2006.
>
> Bob

 

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Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

Yes. Of course I spoke to a Vision Tech.

First problem - last Wednesday - Vision tech reprovisioned phone.
Worked for a week.

Wednesday 10:00 AM - Vision stopped working again.

Spoke to Vision Tech: 11:00am Wednesday. Went through ##DATA,
resetting password.

Spoke to Vision Tech: 12:45pm Wednesday. OTA update, ##DATA, and
reprovisioning. Still didn't work.

Spoke to Vision Tech: 4:00pm Wednesday. Tier 2. No idea what's up.
Suggested to go to store.

Spoke to In-Store Tech: 11am Thursday. Couldn't figure out what's
wrong. Said call *2 or come back tomorrow when another tech's in.

Spoke to Vision Tech: 12:00pm Thursday, clueless. Entered trouble
ticket

Spoke to Vision Tech: 12:30pm Today (friday), to get status update.
Couldn't find trouble ticket. Thinks is a local server issue; but
other phones in my area aren't having problems.

Spoke to In-Store Tech: 1pm Today, couldn't figure out what's wrong,
offered to replace with refurb'ed phone. [Before you chide me for not
realizing the generosity of that offer, as the in-store rep seemed to
imply, understand my phone is only 6 months old and under warranty; I
paid full price since I was mid-contract, and they're having me wait 5
days for a refurb, not a new phone.]

So now I wait until Wednesday, and see if this refurb'ed phone does
the trick. Who knows? Maybe I'm being too mean to Sprint, expecting
them to fix this problem. I should go a little easier on 'em.



Steven J Sobol <sjsobol@JustThe.net> wrote in message news:<Ov2dnZTmvP5dbzHdRVn-sw@lmi.net>...
> C. Todd <tcp277@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> > I've been unable to use my Vision services for three days -- they just
> > suddenly decided to stop working, and nobody can figure out what's
> > wrong. I went to a store this morning to see if they can do anything,
> > and the guy basically said "Sorry, can't help you."
>
> Did you talk to Vision tech support?

 

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Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

C. Todd <tcp277@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Yes. Of course I spoke to a Vision Tech.

Don't know what to tel you. Of course, speaking to a tech is obvious to
most of us here on the newsgroup, but it's not always done...

> So now I wait until Wednesday, and see if this refurb'ed phone does
> the trick. Who knows? Maybe I'm being too mean to Sprint, expecting
> them to fix this problem. I should go a little easier on 'em.

I did *not* say that.

Not even close.

--
JustThe.net Internet & New Media Services, Apple Valley, CA PGP: 0xE3AE35ED
Steven J. Sobol, Geek In Charge / 888.480.4NET (4638) / sjsobol@JustThe.net
Domain Names, $9.95/yr, 24x7 service: http://DomainNames.JustThe.net/
"someone once called me a sofa, but i didn't feel compelled to rush out and buy
slip covers." -adam brower * Hiroshima '45, Chernobyl '86, Windows 98/2000/2003

 

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Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

"C. Todd" <tcp277@yahoo.com> wrote in message news:c50a6464.0405211112.f8a0f67@posting.google.com...
> If that's the case, my complaint, which I guess isn't clear enough, is
> that I think it's unreasonable for them to now be giving customers a
> hard time about occasional vision data usage with a laptop. Granted,
> the stories I hear of $50 charges for 10 minutes hooked to a laptop
> are anecdotal -- but I cannot get a straight answer from customer
> service. I know Vision should not be used as an ISP to download
> megabytes upon megabytes consistently, but I don't see why they don't
> allow checking of e-mail and the like.

SPCS doesn't give anyone "a hard time" for occasional vision data
usage with a laptop. If that were the case, many penalized data users
would be posting in this forum. I haven't seen a single post here
from a user who had his Vision pack canceled for moderate data use.

--

John Richards

 

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Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

In article <rNtrc.198$hq.166@newssvr16.news.prodigy.com>,
"John Richards" <supportdesk70-NO-SPAM@NO.SPAM.sbcglobal.net> wrote:

> "C. Todd" <tcp277@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:c50a6464.0405211112.f8a0f67@posting.google.com...
> > If that's the case, my complaint, which I guess isn't clear enough, is
> > that I think it's unreasonable for them to now be giving customers a
> > hard time about occasional vision data usage with a laptop. Granted,
> > the stories I hear of $50 charges for 10 minutes hooked to a laptop
> > are anecdotal -- but I cannot get a straight answer from customer
> > service. I know Vision should not be used as an ISP to download
> > megabytes upon megabytes consistently, but I don't see why they don't
> > allow checking of e-mail and the like.
>
> SPCS doesn't give anyone "a hard time" for occasional vision data
> usage with a laptop. If that were the case, many penalized data users
> would be posting in this forum. I haven't seen a single post here
> from a user who had his Vision pack canceled for moderate data use.

True, we have had zero reports of "moderate" users being called on the
carpet.


But three factors are weighing on people's minds.

1. The TOS forbids any such usage.

2. No one knows what "moderate" means.

3. At $.01 per kilobyte 10 hours of surfing a month would add up to
about $100 if Sprint PCS decided (which they could do) to enforce
their rules strictly. (1 hour = about 10 Megabytes).

 

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Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

In article <c50a6464.0405231533.872916e@posting.google.com>,
tcp277@yahoo.com (C. Todd) wrote:

> Last time I checked, wireless customer aquisition
> rates were in the $300 range -- and that's just to acquire them -- not
> keep them.

That's industry average. Last time SprintPCS admitted what its' were,
they were considerably higher, and now with the advertising budget going
up, it's likely not improving.

 

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Archived from groups: alt.cellular.sprintpcs (More info?)

In article <c50a6464.0405231533.872916e@posting.google.com>,
tcp277@yahoo.com (C. Todd) wrote:

> And this is my contention. If you look over at sprintusers.com, you'll
> see someone who was charged $2800 for data usage.. and it wasn't even
> her fault. She returned her phone to Best Buy, but didn't clear out
> the NAI login and password.. So, someone else bought it (store
> employee perhaps?) and continued to use the Vision as a modem -- since
> you can do that even with a phone without a voice account.

Then maybe an employee borrowed it for the weekend?

>
> Sprint charged this poor woman THOUSANDS of dollars for only 100mb of
> usage (A lot for a phone, but in the big picture, not worth several
> thousand ($2000 at the .02 rate) by any means.

Now that SprintPCS has mandated every new customer with a "Vision phone"
must sign up for Vision, that horror story is likely to get repeated
even more often.