A salesperson at Alex’s local Sprint store constantly refused to sell him the iPhone 4 as he was told his fingers are too fat.
He went to a Sprint store to replace his broken phone with a free one thanks to an upgrade he was due. However, a representative for the U.S. carrier constantly refused to sell him the iPhone 4, even as far as saying it's "really a piece of shit", as well as naming several reasons why Apple's smartphone isn't the best choice.
After heckling with him regarding his choice, the employee said that Alex's fingers were too fat for the device and he should instead opt for Samsung's Galaxy S3.
I went to my local Sprint store on 12/16 to upgrade my phone. My wife’s line had the upgrade, mine wasn’t until April, but since we were on the same bill, I could use hers since my phone was broken. I was approached by a rep who asked me what I was looking for, and I informed them that I was looking for the “cheapest, free-est phone” because I was broke, and really didn’t care about the phone I left with, so long as it worked.The rep, [M], tells me that the iPhone 4 is free, so I said I’d take it. I was told to have a seat while the rep pulled up my information. The rep says “Are you sure you want the iPhone? It’s really a piece of shit.” I tell him yes, I’ve had iPhones in the past and I’ve done my homework about the possible phones I would be leaving with. Having been a Sprint customer for over 10 years, I feel I am pretty knowledgeable when it comes to what Sprint has to offer.Apparently “yes” wasn’t good enough. He proceeded to tell me EVERY shortcoming this phone had: The battery life sucks, if I dropped it, I’d break it, it’s a little small compared to my last phone, etc. but the icing on the cake? “Your fingers are too fat for such a phone. You should get the Galaxy S III.”Really? I replied “Okay [M], your nametag doesn’t say ‘Sprint Rep/Nutritionist’ so don’t tell me how I can’t use the phone because of my “fat” fingers.” Fed up with his attitude and tone of condescension, I walked out, no phone in hand. I’d rather have a broken phone than to have to put up with such a rude person.
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Zak Islam is a freelance writer focusing on security, networking, and general computing. His work also appears at Digital Trends and Tom's Guide.
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shikamaru31789 I can see an employee trying to talk him into getting a better phone up to certain point, but that line was crossed once he kept talking after the customer told him he'd already done his research. Of course, this is just one Sprint store, my brother switched to Sprint recently and said it's the best carrier he's ever had.Reply -
techcurious Lets try to bring this back into context... exactly how fat are his fingers!? :PReply
Just saying.. maybe his fingers were too fat to hit only one square icon with rounded corners at a time.. -
cookoy A rude salesperson's personal antics or foul sales pitch should not be misconstrued as an official policy of SprintReply -
punahou1 My company openly discriminates against people with fat fingers. They are not protected by the law. Zak would never make it in my line of business...Reply -
Chairman Ray I don't think this has anything to do with Sprint. There's bad employees everywhere. Sprint will probably fire him.Reply