Awhile back, Sprint got tired of us posting the contact information for everyone in the company, and instead set up a number that went directly to the executive customer service queue. Lately we’ve been getting quite a few positive stories about the hotline, as well as one negative experience.

Here are two recent letters:

I just wanted to let you know that the Consumerist number for Sprint failed when I used it. I have been at this for 3 weeks now. I called Sprint to extend my contract out 2 more years which is up in April. I wanted Sprint to also extend out my credits I was getting for 2 more years as well.

I dealt with several people and even put in a email to the CEO. Well yesterday I called the Sprint Consumerist hot line and got a gentleman, I can’t remember his name. He told me he would call me back. He called me back about 20 minutes later.

Basically he told me my account would never have anymore credits applied to it because I have called in to much to try and renegotiate my plan. I told him that it takes more money to go out and find a new customer than it does to keep one they already have.

On top of that Sprint is not really up there with its customer service according to surveys done on the internet. The churn rate is so high. I have been with Sprint for several years now and have always paid my bill on time and in full. I even had problems with them such as internet and with text messaging but still stuck with them. When I told the guy that I was just trying to renegotiate my plan just like others do when they are coming to the end of a contract he says “Sir quite frankly I have never seen a plan like yours with all of your discounts.”

You know I find this funny because Sprint is the one that applied all of these discounts and it is not like I got into their system and applied them myself. I told him there are people that have plans just like mine if not better that I have seen. I am baffled that they would not want to lock me in for another 2 years because it is guaranteed money either way they look at it because even if I jump ship I have to pay an ETF.

I’m going to be honest my plan is extremely good and Sprint has been very good to me in the past but now my account has been flagged by the CSO (Chief Service Officer) which I have never even heard of a title like that. He said that he is VP of Executive services for all of Sprint. The gentleman also told me that this was my final warning and that if I called in again trying to renegotiate my plan that I would be terminated.

This sounds familiar kind of like when they terminated 1000 customers not to long ago. I asked him well am I being terminated and he said if they were going to terminate me they would have already done it. I really can’t understand why they would not want to lock me in for another 2 years. I have even referred people over to Sprint in the past such as a co-worker, and my father who opened up 3 lines of service with them. Just thought I would let you know that the Consumerist line was a dead end for me but I did give it a shot.

Jay

It’s not a secret that Sprint will terminate you for calling customer service too often in search of credits. We suggest Jay try to negotiate with the sales people at the Sprint stores, and maybe take advantage of our Confessions of A Cellphone Sales Rep series for tips on getting the best deals. Here’s how one reader used the tips to play different cellphone providers off of one another so he could get the best deal possible.

Here’s Le’s experience:

I just wanted to let you know that I used the hotline number today and it worked for me. Sprint charged me an early termination fee when I ported my number to another service provider back in October. Their online account services said that my two year plan expired in August 2007, so I thought I was out of contract when I switched to another service provider. In actuality, I signed a renewal last year, which I forgot about, so my contract wasn’t due to expire until November 2009. I take complete responsibility for not remembering about signing up for another two years, but at the same time, I was relying on information that should have been accurate and should have reflected the new expiration date.

I first called Sprint on November 27 to see if there was anything they would be willing to do about this. Between November 27 and December 9, I called a total of six times and spoke with nine different customer service representatives. I probably spent between 7-8 hours on the phone between these six calls. Each one gave me completely different information and assured me that something would be done (nothing ever was). Last night I called them twice. The first time, after explaining the situation and then holding for 10 minutes while the customer service rep tried to figure out what to do, my call got disconnected. I called again, had to explain the entire situation again to a completely new customer service rep, who told me he was going to look into it and send the case to the “back office”, which would process my credit. I made sure that he had my phone number in case our call got disconnected, and he assured me that he would call me back if it happened. As I expected, after holding for more than 20 minutes the phone call was “accidentally” disconnected. I’ve never had a drop call with my new phone and have never had a call disconnected while calling Sprint previously. And of course, he never called me back.

I found the hotline number about a week ago (I’ve been reading your site for about a month). I didn’t want to use it unless it was my last possible option because I didn’t want to decrease its effectiveness by calling with something that could be handled by their regular customer service reps. The difference in service was AMAZING. It was the first time that I got a genuine sounding apology, which in itself was major to me. The person I spoke with listened patiently while I outlined the events of the past couple of weeks. She immediately issued a credit (since Sprint had already charged my credit card the fee), and gave me her name and direct number and told me to call her if I had anymore questions. I was shocked, and honestly, felt a little uneasy about how quickly it was for her to resolve my situation, when it seemed like the regular Sprint customer service line representatives really could do nothing for me. It’s really unfortunate that Sprint representatives do not treat customers who call their regular line with this much courtesy, respect, and eagerness and willingness to solve problems. I left Sprint not because I had any issues with them, but because I moved to a new city where Sprint’s reception wasn’t stellar. Before this incident I would have fully considered going back to Sprint in the future, but with the treatment I received this past week, I will never go back to Sprint.

I would like to thank you for providing information that empowers consumers. If not for finding that number, I probably would be dealing with Sprint for a very, very long time.

Thanks again.

Le

There’s something deeply, deeply wrong with Sprint’s regular customer service. If you’re getting nowhere, reach the executive customer service queue directly by calling 703-433-4401. Tell ’em Consumerist sent you.

(Photo:cmorran123)

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