[lawden]

I know this is long, but if you are a Sprint/Nextel Customer you will find this alarming. I know I did.

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Take from this what you will, but this has been my experience as a customer of this company for the past ten years. I was a customer of Nextel for three years prior to their merger with Sprint. Immediately, I like most others, noticed a significant decrease in the level of customer service. I have been a customer of Sprint/Nextel for over ten years. In Dec. of 2008, I purchased the 8350i to replace the i580. I work in an goverment industry that mainly relies on the services that the DC provide. I thought the 8350i would only increase my effectiveness for my employment. I could not have been more wrong. I immediately began experiencing data problems with the phone to include email, texts, and internet service interuptions. From Dec. 2008 to Oct. of 2009, I placed at least two dozen calls to Sprint/Nextel to resolve issues relating to the IDEN network and the 8350i and spent many hours on the phone and the internet attempting to get the phone operational. These actions included me exchanging the phone seven times either for software issues (phone freezing randomly, randomly rebotting often, etc.) to hardware issues (USB Broke off of circuit board) to problems with service that no solution could be found for. Some of these replacements were free, but three were insurance replacements I had to pay money out of my pocket for. I spoke with numerous CS agents, Tier 2 and 3 personnel, countless "tickets" were made which ultimately led to no mans land.

Then in Oct. of 2008, I got fed up with the 8350i and upgraded to another Nextel flip phone. Within five months, I found this phone was not providing the services I needed and decided to give the 8350i another try. In Feb. of 2010, I reactivated my 8350i. Approximately three weeks ago, I had yet another software problem with the phone. The phone was freezing, randomly rebooting, and eventually I lost all data to the phone to include texts, emails, and internet access. I called customer service and technical support to deal with resolving these problems again. I was eventually told to take the phone to an authorized Sprint/Nextel repair center to have the OS reinstalled in the blackberry. The next day I did this and the the issue seemed to be resolved. Then the day after the OS was reinsalled, the phone froze and I was unable to get any operation out of the phone for hours. I would periodically attempt to reboot the phone through battery pulls and eventually was able to get service again. I learned however that I had once again lost all data to include texts, emails, and internet to the phone. The phone was also wiped completely clean of all contacts, calendar entries, email messages, etc. Luckily I had backed the phone up the previous week and was able to restore most of what I had lost.

I then explained the day's problem with the phone to CS and was transferred to blackberry technical support. I spoke with a lady there who said she reset the phone and after that did not work, transferred me to a third person. I again explained the problem to the BB Tech person who "refreshed the system" from his end and said he attempted all he could do to fix the problem. He said he was going to prepare a ticket and suggested that I go to an authorized Sprint/Nextel retail store for a full replacement. At this time, I advised him that I was on my 7th 8350i and was not interested in replacing the phone for an eighth time. I attempted to explain my past complaints and issues I have had in an attempt to come to an acceptable solution. He cut me off and said this was not his department and would transfer me to "account services" and immediately did so. Upon being transferred again, I immediately received a recording that the office was closed and to call during normal business hours. The line then disconnected. I find it difficult to believe that he did not know the "Account Services" department was closed prior to transferring the phone call. Due to all of the problems with this device, the lack of satisfaction with the way the problem was handled, the lack of professionalism with dealing with the customer service representatives, and overall endless issues with the Nextel network and the 8350i for the past year and a half, I began researching other options for my cellular telecommunications needs for my family and I.

Then on 06-02-10, after much careful thought and consideration, I had decided that I would cancel my accounts, ending my business relationship with Sprint/Nextel. Upon speaking with the first person , I explained my desire to terminate my accounts with Sprint. Through my conversation with him, he said that due to my persistent problems that I have had to experience and continue to experience he would waive the ETF, but asked if I would be willing to try a blackberry on the Sprint side of the company. Not wanting to be unreasonable, I decided to explore this option with him. We decided that the best solution/upgrade for this situation was the recently released Blackberry 9650 Bold. I explained to him that based on research that I had conducted, I learned that Verizon Wireless was selling this same device for $149.00 with a two year agreement tomorrow. I told him that based on the extreme level of dissatisfaction that I had experienced with Sprint and this device, I was not going to pay the $199.99 fee that Sprint was offering for a two year contract upgrade. He said he would consult his supervisor and after approximately ten minutes, I was informed by his supervisor that the only thing that he could do was "allow" me to upgrade to the Bold for the upgrade rate of $199.99 and that he could do nothing further for me. I explained the lack of common sense this presented given all the problems I have had to deal with, the time that I have put into the 8350i, and the fact that Verizon Wireless was going to sell the phone for fifty dollars less. I found it incredible that my business of ten years was not worth the attempt to work out an acceptable agreement and I would rather terminate my accounts. I was then advised he would transfer me to his supervisor.

I then spoke with the next level supervisor and once again explained the issues I have had with Nextel, the 8350i, customer support, and lack of willingness to work towards an acceptable solution. By this time, I had already logged approximately another hour on the phone. The supervisor again advised me that he could do nothing other than provide me the upgrade discount price of $199.99 for the Bold. To add insult to injury, he began to question my motives behind my request to cancel my accounts but was considering the Bold (a conversation started by a Sprint employee, not me). I again explained to him the Verizon Wireless offer and the lunacy of paying $199 for a phone that I could obtain for fifty dollars less. I found it very suprising that he was not willing to match or even beat a competitor's price given my plans to terminate my accounts. I then decided based on past customer's experiences to compose an email to Dan Hesse and explain my dissatisfaction of my experiences thus far. The next morning I recieved a phone call from someone in the executive offices of Sprint. I was told that they had reviewed my correspondence to Mr. Hesse and the best I could be offered was a price match of $149.99, the same price that Verizon Wireless is currently offering it for. I told her that I would consider the offer and call her back after speaking with my wife. My wife and I did some research into other competitor's prices and found that Verizon Wireless is currently offering two Blackberry Bold 9650 devices for the price of one with a two year contract effectively giving my wife and I both Blackberry Bolds for the same price that Sprint is offering me for one. We then decided that we would agree to a lesser price for a two year contract.

I spoke with the executive office person, who was aware of my experiences in their entirety and was told that Sprint could not accomdate anything less than what she was offering. Even when I explained the Verizon offer of two phones for the price of what she was offering the phone for, she still was unwilling to be agreeable. The purpose behind this posting is to makes sure that people are aware of what Sprint is doing to its customers. I do not know what decision I will make, but I am about as insulted and offended as a customer could be. I have placed many hours and money into attempting to make the 8350i work as advertised and Sprint's unwillingness to work with me after ten years of service speaks volumes. I understand that I only have two accounts with them, but I have spent tens of thousands of dollars on their products and services and this is why people hate the CS experience with Sprint. Apparently I have found that I starts with the top and only gets worse as you go down. Thanks for reading this and hope you take this into consideration when researching phone companies and/or renewing a contract with Sprint.

[Jandrsn36]

Wow, long story....sorry but I couldnt finish reading it. If you really want to get input on this it would help a lot if you used paragraphs..

[gambier82]

Yikes, that gives me a headache.

[coolbreezy]

cliff notes?

[kbz1960]

Lmao :d

[hitnar]

Sorry Laden, story is too long to read.

[njbianco]

All i gotta say is after leaving Sprint/Nextel IDEN network a year and a half ago I will never go back. I have only positive things to say about Sprint EVDO but IDEN was a all around horror story the 3 years i had it.

[MissJennell#IM]

Okay so that was long as I'll get out. I did fully read it though because it is sort of like what I have been thru. Sort of. I switched from vzw to sprint in March. It's saving me $100 a month! I have been thru 6 tours in 8 weeks. Countless hours on the phone with tech support and other departments. I was always very nice and did what they asked me to do. I called today because #6 was terrible. I spent a lot more time on the phone and they offered me a bold for free. I am going to get it at the closest corp store to me on saturday. Then I am selling it to offset the retail of the evo, which is what I want. We came to a solution that fit both sprint and myself. If it is in your account that you can upgrade why not go to best buy and have them price match vzw so you can get 2? Easy solution. I am pretty sure bb does price matching. From experience everyone can have a bad experience with all companies customer service.

[SteveStrike]

Holly cow! Paragraphs are your friend!

Cliff notes: customer has lots of troubles with a phone, switches to a blackberry but still has lots of problems, calls to cancel service and the guys suggests a 9650, customer is unhappy the 9650 is more expensive from Sprint than Verizon, but they won't price match it, customer sends email, corporate calls back and offers to price match, but customer still unhappy because Verizon now offering buy one get one free.

Summary: Customer fails to foresee the huge bills they are about to see with Verizon over Sprint

[eBoyDog]

The 8350i's aren't the best thing that RIM ever came up with. I have several at work and they fill the gap for having a DC Blackberry with Wifi to make up for the slower data speeds. The only good about them is that the DC works well, other than that, they are not even a decent BlackBerry.

I have a business account at work with Sprint and my sale rep has been more than willing to swap out the 8370i's and move my users over to Sprint if they can do without DC as he understands just how bad they are.

Lawden needs to check with his employer to see if he can get his company to pay his phone as it seems that he is paying for his personal phones but using them for work, the Sprint business reps are much more responsive to customer issues that the standard retail reps.

[lawden]

Sorry folks. Tried to reformat into paragraphs, but it would not take for some reason. Thanks to those that have read the story and understand what I have been going through in relation to this phone. If anyone who has been through this and thinks that I am getting a fair shake has not really put in the work and time dealing with the issues that the 8350i has presented it's users. We on the 8350i are known as the b_a_s_t_a_r_d red headed children of RIM. I agree with Steve that Sprint's montly plans are much cheaper than Verizons. I am not one that makes decisions based on emotion, I just feel very much insulted and offended by the treatment over the past year and a half from top to bottom of Sprint in dealing with this phone. Take what you want from it.

[cheech73]

your headline makes it seem that Sprint is screwing around or doing something illegal. you had a bad experience, chances are a few times in our lives dealing with any cell phone carrier you will have bad experiences. Sorry you had a bad experience i had a few myself but no need to say Sprint buyers beware.

[Mystic205]

outrageous headline

"sprint buyers beware"...of what?..spending $50 more with sprint than verizon on the 9650 ?...

how about "sprint buyers rejoice"...save $1000 over two years on monthly fees?.....

longwinded melodrama.. you had a problem, they offered solutions.. you didnt want to accept their offer so take it elsewhere... after all, the grass is always greener... isnt it?

[hominid7]

I know this is long, but if you are a Sprint/Nextel Customer you will find this alarming. I know I did.

Perhaps the title should be "Nextel users beware". Nobody that has ever used the Nextel iDen network would find this surprising.

Saving 199 on a single device yet spending 100 more per month for 24 months.... I'm not sure how that equates to a financial plus for the user.

[mandablast]

sprint nextel really does suck ..I have insurance on my phone and a couple of months ago, the wind knocked something over on my phone and cracked the screen. Now I have insurance and pay for it, why should I have to pay a 50 dollar deductabile?? That's BS
I know it's procedure but it's crap. Sprint.Nextel is horrible...

[MissJennell#IM]

Sorry folks. Tried to reformat into paragraphs, but it would not take for some reason. Thanks to those that have read the story and understand what I have been going through in relation to this phone. If anyone who has been through this and thinks that I am getting a fair shake has not really put in the work and time dealing with the issues that the 8350i has presented it's users. We on the 8350i are known as the b_a_s_t_a_r_d red headed children of RIM. I agree with Steve that Sprint's montly plans are much cheaper than Verizons. I am not one that makes decisions based on emotion, I just feel very much insulted and offended by the treatment over the past year and a half from top to bottom of Sprint in dealing with this phone. Take what you want from it.

Sorry that you feel your problems are more important than anyone elses.

[Slingbox]

outrageous headline

"sprint buyers beware"...of what?..spending $50 more with sprint than verizon on the 9650 ?...

how about "sprint buyers rejoice"...save $1000 over two years on monthly fees?.....

longwinded melodrama.. you had a problem, they offered solutions.. you didnt want to accept their offer so take it elsewhere... after all, the grass is always greener... isnt it?

lmao
99.9 % of Sprint did me wrong threads are stupid making a big deal over nothing the OPs end up looking foolish.

[Buttonball]

Lawden,

I found your post helpful and I did read it all the way thru.
I an not a sprint customer but instead a vzw customer.

I think there are a couple things you might try.
If you're still not totally pissed with sprint, check newegg for specials. It looks like they have a $49. special on the bold with a new 2 year contract thru sprint. I know they also have the 8350i for free but I know you don't want that one!

If customer service is your primary need, I would suggest switching to At&t mobility instead of VZW. My parents have had at&t for decades since brick phones. (used to be cingular, bellsouth mobility, etc)
My dad got a BB Tour about a year ago and has had numerous problems with it. They keep giving him a new one. In the past with other phones they replace with no hassles. They don't even make him sign a new contract. He's been off contract for years.

The problem with at&t tho is their coverage in not as good. Whether they want to admit it or not, my folks calls constantly drop out. Seems to be improving.

Verizon upper level tech support is good. I had some issues and got through to their upper level support. But for the every day stuff it's the standard response, "take it to a vzw store for firmware upload." Then once you get there they give you their standard response "Your phone doesn't work because it has been wet."

Anyway it seems like this is a case of you get what you pay for. Sorta.
I think you're going to pay the same thing for sprint as vzw and atat.
I have been comparing them throughly lately and for individual plans and they all come out the same except for the no-contract providers in which case you just get gouged on the phone and no support.

One more thing. PAy for your new phones with an Amex card. Doubles the warranty and if you can't get anywhere with provider CS, AMEX will take care of you.

[scrubbybubbles]

Ok,

I am a Sprint Customer.. that Became Disenchanted with Sprint... Went to T-mobile... had a WHOLE lot MORE problems with T-Mobile than i ever did with Sprint, Went back to Sprint, and the Moral of this Story is.....


The grass Truly.. isnt Greener on the other side....

VZW Charges a Package Plan of at Least 70 dollars for a Blackberry Plan, which doesn't include the Data Package.. which is 45 Dollars a Month on top of the Base Package Price.. Plus they dont have Unlimited plans, PLUS that doesnt include Text Messaging which they dont have a Unlimited package of either!

Sprint has an Simply Everything Package for Unlimited data, Text, Minutes for 100.00 a Month! for a Blackberry... I wonder which one is better in the Long run?

[pyrus]

sprint nextel really does suck ..I have insurance on my phone and a couple of months ago, the wind knocked something over on my phone and cracked the screen. Now I have insurance and pay for it, why should I have to pay a 50 dollar deductabile?? That's BS
I know it's procedure but it's crap. Sprint.Nextel is horrible...

This is an industry standard no just on sprint...i work tmobile support and ih ave sprint service but im swithcing to VZW in a few weeks and this is the same on all carriers its just like haveing car insurance or medical insurance you have to pay a deductable

[papped]

Not to mention you agree to the deductible terms when you get the insurance, not afterwards....

[IndoJabijin]

Sprint has an Simply Everything Package for Unlimited data, Text, Minutes for 100.00 a Month! for a Blackberry... I wonder which one is better in the Long run?

Sprints everything data plan is a bit more superior to those users who don't do much travel. Those 450 minutes anytime minutes are MORE than enough if you don't do much traveling or roaming.

And I also have to agree with everyone here. I'm sorry that your experience with Sprint hasn't been the best. But as everyone has said, you save much more than $50 at the end of your two year contract with sprint as opposed to verizon.

I don't think I've read anything on the forums (yet) about someone complaining that verizon's bold is a bit cheaper than sprints. Why? Because sprints plans are considerably cheaper.

[iCandi]

[Mystic205]

please explain what this has to do with sprint?..

device insurance is from a third party called asurion.. the SAME INSURANCE company that Verizon and other use..

so.. now your point is either they all suck.. or none of them suck and the insurance company sucks instead

sprint nextel really does suck ..I have insurance on my phone and a couple of months ago, the wind knocked something over on my phone and cracked the screen. Now I have insurance and pay for it, why should I have to pay a 50 dollar deductabile?? That's BS
I know it's procedure but it's crap. Sprint.Nextel is horrible...

[giarc25]

I dunno, I had a great experience with a similar issue a couple years ago. I was on the nextel network and basically had a customer service rep wipe my phone in an attempt to "fix it". I spent a couple hours on the phone, and they switched me to the Sprint side, and put me into my curve. I had to pay the current $199 price for the curve, but I got the $199 rebate they offered at the time. Well, 5-6 weeks later when I got my rebate check, it was for $346. I asked no questions and cashed it without on repercussions. Been on the sprint side now for a couple years, still using my 8330 curve, and happy to be paying a lower price than as if I would have been with VZW or elsewhere.