Someone help.
Ha.
So to save you all from reading through my whole post that I'm about to write, the nutshell version is that I have received two replacement phones (both are being mailed back to Sprint today), that are dinged up/scratched and my current phone (aside from the issue I'm about to describe) is in better shape than the two replacements I've received. I am hoping someone may have had a similar experience and can give me some advice, or, has some knowledge about Sprint that may help me. So, here goes.
I have an HTC EVO 4G from Sprint. I have had it for about two and one half months, and I noticed about two and one half weeks ago that there was dust beginning to accumulate under the top-left corner of the screen. Firstly, I don't mean to nitpick about a little dust, however, I take very good care of my phone (case and screen protector, designated pocket with nothing else in it to dirty up/scratch/etc, clean it with a very overpriced cleaner that my girlfriend got for me, etc), and secondly, it actually is marginally disruptive, given that I travel a lot and as such, use it every second of the day since I am often not at a desk/in an office, and in sunlight, the "dust" is far more evident. I decided to wait and see whether the dust might work its way out on its own by the powers of gravity. A few days later, after the dust had "expanded"- it is almost as though this dust is reproducing a la petri dish- I took it to the corporate store closest to my office building (downtown Baltimore here). The technician (this is no joke) had no one else in line, but was flirting with a woman who by the sound of the conversation, was someone he knew and not an actual Sprint customer visiting the store for service. I waited (and waited) and eventually she left and asked what he could do for me. I showed him my phone and explained that I have what I think is dust under the screen, and explained that it is rapidly worsening. He looked at my phone for all of about three seconds, and explained that this was an aesthetic issue and not a defect, and that there was "nothing (he) would do for me." I am emphasizing that because he specifically said would, not could. He went on to say that I could try calling customer service "if I wanted to," but that they "aren't going to do anything for you." My jaw dropped at this. I was with AT&T for nearly four years, before paying to terminate my contract early, based on the fact that 1. I have heard nothing but great things about Sprint's customer service, and 2. I reeeeally wanted the HTC EVO.
I decided to try calling customer service anyway, and spoke with a representative who upon me relaying the story to her, said she'd like me to speak to her supervisor regarding this (so, it seems at least not all of their customer service is bad). The supervisor apologized profusely, and said that it sounded to her like it was actually dropped pixels- she went on to say that there were two types of pixels, etc, and that especially given that this was becoming more pronounced in my phone, it could very well be bad pixels, and she was sending me a replacement phone. I thanked her very much and hung up the phone very pleased with this redemption of their customer service.
Despite being told (and apologized to) that the phone was on back-order, I received my replacement phone a few days later (slightly delayed by some snow we had here). I opened the box, ready to get started transferring data and setting up the new phone, and to my immense disappointment, I was immediately struck by blemishes on the replacement phone. Around the perimeter of the screen (the plastic frame) there were multiple dings and scratches. I inspected it further and found that the camera lens had several small scratches, as well as one flat-out crack in the glass. This was profoundly frustrating, and I immediately called customer service to address it. I spoke with another very apologetic, very helpful woman, who told me she would put in another order immediately for a second replacement phone. She did so quickly, and we ended the call.
Two days later (very fast), and again after the apology that they were back-ordered and the phone could take a few days to ship, I received my second replacement phone. This phone seemed to be in better condition than the first replacement phone, with only two minor dings in the plastic- sad that I was to accept this, but, the screen was in perfect condition and not a speck of dust under the glass. I put an extra battery into this replacement phone, and powered it on to give it a little examination before I accepted it and began transferring the contents of the old phone. Everything seemed fine on start-up (still not sure how this is, and I tried it twice), but after it had loaded and I unlocked the screen, I saw glaring light leakage out of the bottom of the display- so much so and so jagged that I actually thought there were bits of glass missing that I hadn't noticed. I looked closer, and the glass was in perfect condition, but inexplicably there was very intense leakage out of the bottom. I looked at my original phone to be sure that I wasn't being overly picky and there was absolutely no leakage. I felt around the bottom of the second replacement phone and realized that it seemed the glass was actually separating from the phone- I could squeeze it, here a light clicking sound which I wonder whether it was the glue itself sticking and losing its grip. After having a possible dust issue to begin with, and reading about separation issues with these phones, I decided that I would not chance it with this replacement either.
That was yesterday.
Today I called sprint again. I spoke with a representative and asked (I have been exceedingly friendly and given the benefit of the doubt to all customer service representatives I have spoken with, as I know you "catch more flies with honey than vinegar", and, I was coordinator of a customer service department years back, and know what its like to deal with irate customers) to speak to a supervisor. He said that wasn't a problem, and put me on hold, though after about 30 seconds there was a click and then I had a dial tone. I don't assume he was "up to no good", probably just an honest mistake when trying to transfer the call. I called back again, explained that I'd just been on hold and again asked for a supervisor. The woman said she would transfer me but asked whether she could try to assist me first. I played along, and gave a run-down of the story again, to which she once again apologized. She created a new ticket for a third replacement phone to be sent to me, and advised that she would put it on hold for a day, as she recommended (I have the full coverage insurance) that I try taking one of the other replacement phones to a service center to have them swap out the damaged parts- camera lens, plastic frame, and whatever else may not be up to standard. I said I would consider this, though I was hesitant given my experience with the first customer service representative. We ended the call, and I sat for a few minutes working and thinking about taking more time, paying for more parking, spending more gas money, losing more productivity, to go handle this, and if on top of that I went and had the same experience as the first time, I would be furious. So I called back again.
I relayed the entire, long-winded story, and asked for a supervisor. The representative apologized, and said he would connect me immediately. I spoke with the supervisor, explained- AGAIN- the entire story, and explained that I felt that I was being penalized, and that if he had purchased a new phone in a store and it looked like these replacements, he would cancel the transaction, and that I take excellent care of my belongings and it was simply unacceptable to be given a replacement that was not treated and cared for with as much effort as I had done for my own phone. He was apologetic, but not particularly concerned, and explained there was not much he could do- all replacements are refurbished, and he could have another one sent (I then had to ask if he was actually looking at my file, as there is already another replacement on queue to be mailed out tomorrow, after the representative calls me back to find out the results of my possible trip to the service center), which would be refurbished. I remained friendly in spite of my now immense frustration, and asked if there was a manager that I could speak to- that I understood there "are protocols and channels that must be observed, but that I was not getting a satisfactory resolution to my issue". He obliged, and I had the exact same conversation, with same responses, from the manager- he suggested I take it to a different service center, this time recommending I drive all the way out to Towson (a suburb of Baltimore) to try the location there, and that indeed, there are no new replacement phones, only refurbished models.
At this point, I gave up. I thanked him for his time, and ended the call.
I'm at a loss. I take very good care of my phone, almost obsessively. I pay my bills on time. I opted for the insurance. I set up direct pay from my bank account. I have done everything to be a great customer, and I have done everything to keep my phone in peak condition. My options now are to take a replacement phone that has not been cared for as mine has, or, go have work done on my phone or one of the replacement phones, and from the horror stories I have read about work done, once a phone has been taken a part and had parts swapped in/out, it is a short path to further and worsening issues.
I am hoping I don't get flamed for this post. I'm not trying to be an uppity, impossible-to-please customer. I only want my issue fixed, without having to sacrifice the care that I've taken to preserve my phone.
I have spoken to multiple representatives, a few supervisors, and a manager, and from all of this, my only options are "downgrades" in terms of quality of hardware (beaten-up replacement phones) or keeping my current phone and suffering the dust, or dropped pixels, or whatever it is.
I understand that there are some people for whom this is acceptable, however for me it is not. For those whose advice is to "deal with it", thank you for taking the time to read my post but "making due" is not something I'd like to have to do. I paid a termination fee from AT&T. I paid over two hundred dollars for this phone. I paid for new service, activation fee, insurance, and other costs. I want to have a resolution that is acceptable for my standards.
So...(man this is a long post) does anyone have any insight into any possible resolution?
Does anyone have any feedback about phones that have undergone serious repairs? I have read more than a few posts on various message boards about a degradation in phone quality after having repairs made to the phone (and I am imagining that the second replacement phone with its separating screen is exactly what I'd be getting into if I get service work done).
Are there any other channels or resources I could try? Any and all feedback/suggestions/input is welcome (save for the "get over it"). I don't want a product that is lower quality than what I currently have, and I don't think I'm being unreasonable in feeling this way.
A pre-emptive thanks to everyone who has read through this and anyone who can give me any input of any kind.
Ha.
So to save you all from reading through my whole post that I'm about to write, the nutshell version is that I have received two replacement phones (both are being mailed back to Sprint today), that are dinged up/scratched and my current phone (aside from the issue I'm about to describe) is in better shape than the two replacements I've received. I am hoping someone may have had a similar experience and can give me some advice, or, has some knowledge about Sprint that may help me. So, here goes.
I have an HTC EVO 4G from Sprint. I have had it for about two and one half months, and I noticed about two and one half weeks ago that there was dust beginning to accumulate under the top-left corner of the screen. Firstly, I don't mean to nitpick about a little dust, however, I take very good care of my phone (case and screen protector, designated pocket with nothing else in it to dirty up/scratch/etc, clean it with a very overpriced cleaner that my girlfriend got for me, etc), and secondly, it actually is marginally disruptive, given that I travel a lot and as such, use it every second of the day since I am often not at a desk/in an office, and in sunlight, the "dust" is far more evident. I decided to wait and see whether the dust might work its way out on its own by the powers of gravity. A few days later, after the dust had "expanded"- it is almost as though this dust is reproducing a la petri dish- I took it to the corporate store closest to my office building (downtown Baltimore here). The technician (this is no joke) had no one else in line, but was flirting with a woman who by the sound of the conversation, was someone he knew and not an actual Sprint customer visiting the store for service. I waited (and waited) and eventually she left and asked what he could do for me. I showed him my phone and explained that I have what I think is dust under the screen, and explained that it is rapidly worsening. He looked at my phone for all of about three seconds, and explained that this was an aesthetic issue and not a defect, and that there was "nothing (he) would do for me." I am emphasizing that because he specifically said would, not could. He went on to say that I could try calling customer service "if I wanted to," but that they "aren't going to do anything for you." My jaw dropped at this. I was with AT&T for nearly four years, before paying to terminate my contract early, based on the fact that 1. I have heard nothing but great things about Sprint's customer service, and 2. I reeeeally wanted the HTC EVO.
I decided to try calling customer service anyway, and spoke with a representative who upon me relaying the story to her, said she'd like me to speak to her supervisor regarding this (so, it seems at least not all of their customer service is bad). The supervisor apologized profusely, and said that it sounded to her like it was actually dropped pixels- she went on to say that there were two types of pixels, etc, and that especially given that this was becoming more pronounced in my phone, it could very well be bad pixels, and she was sending me a replacement phone. I thanked her very much and hung up the phone very pleased with this redemption of their customer service.
Despite being told (and apologized to) that the phone was on back-order, I received my replacement phone a few days later (slightly delayed by some snow we had here). I opened the box, ready to get started transferring data and setting up the new phone, and to my immense disappointment, I was immediately struck by blemishes on the replacement phone. Around the perimeter of the screen (the plastic frame) there were multiple dings and scratches. I inspected it further and found that the camera lens had several small scratches, as well as one flat-out crack in the glass. This was profoundly frustrating, and I immediately called customer service to address it. I spoke with another very apologetic, very helpful woman, who told me she would put in another order immediately for a second replacement phone. She did so quickly, and we ended the call.
Two days later (very fast), and again after the apology that they were back-ordered and the phone could take a few days to ship, I received my second replacement phone. This phone seemed to be in better condition than the first replacement phone, with only two minor dings in the plastic- sad that I was to accept this, but, the screen was in perfect condition and not a speck of dust under the glass. I put an extra battery into this replacement phone, and powered it on to give it a little examination before I accepted it and began transferring the contents of the old phone. Everything seemed fine on start-up (still not sure how this is, and I tried it twice), but after it had loaded and I unlocked the screen, I saw glaring light leakage out of the bottom of the display- so much so and so jagged that I actually thought there were bits of glass missing that I hadn't noticed. I looked closer, and the glass was in perfect condition, but inexplicably there was very intense leakage out of the bottom. I looked at my original phone to be sure that I wasn't being overly picky and there was absolutely no leakage. I felt around the bottom of the second replacement phone and realized that it seemed the glass was actually separating from the phone- I could squeeze it, here a light clicking sound which I wonder whether it was the glue itself sticking and losing its grip. After having a possible dust issue to begin with, and reading about separation issues with these phones, I decided that I would not chance it with this replacement either.
That was yesterday.
Today I called sprint again. I spoke with a representative and asked (I have been exceedingly friendly and given the benefit of the doubt to all customer service representatives I have spoken with, as I know you "catch more flies with honey than vinegar", and, I was coordinator of a customer service department years back, and know what its like to deal with irate customers) to speak to a supervisor. He said that wasn't a problem, and put me on hold, though after about 30 seconds there was a click and then I had a dial tone. I don't assume he was "up to no good", probably just an honest mistake when trying to transfer the call. I called back again, explained that I'd just been on hold and again asked for a supervisor. The woman said she would transfer me but asked whether she could try to assist me first. I played along, and gave a run-down of the story again, to which she once again apologized. She created a new ticket for a third replacement phone to be sent to me, and advised that she would put it on hold for a day, as she recommended (I have the full coverage insurance) that I try taking one of the other replacement phones to a service center to have them swap out the damaged parts- camera lens, plastic frame, and whatever else may not be up to standard. I said I would consider this, though I was hesitant given my experience with the first customer service representative. We ended the call, and I sat for a few minutes working and thinking about taking more time, paying for more parking, spending more gas money, losing more productivity, to go handle this, and if on top of that I went and had the same experience as the first time, I would be furious. So I called back again.
I relayed the entire, long-winded story, and asked for a supervisor. The representative apologized, and said he would connect me immediately. I spoke with the supervisor, explained- AGAIN- the entire story, and explained that I felt that I was being penalized, and that if he had purchased a new phone in a store and it looked like these replacements, he would cancel the transaction, and that I take excellent care of my belongings and it was simply unacceptable to be given a replacement that was not treated and cared for with as much effort as I had done for my own phone. He was apologetic, but not particularly concerned, and explained there was not much he could do- all replacements are refurbished, and he could have another one sent (I then had to ask if he was actually looking at my file, as there is already another replacement on queue to be mailed out tomorrow, after the representative calls me back to find out the results of my possible trip to the service center), which would be refurbished. I remained friendly in spite of my now immense frustration, and asked if there was a manager that I could speak to- that I understood there "are protocols and channels that must be observed, but that I was not getting a satisfactory resolution to my issue". He obliged, and I had the exact same conversation, with same responses, from the manager- he suggested I take it to a different service center, this time recommending I drive all the way out to Towson (a suburb of Baltimore) to try the location there, and that indeed, there are no new replacement phones, only refurbished models.
At this point, I gave up. I thanked him for his time, and ended the call.
I'm at a loss. I take very good care of my phone, almost obsessively. I pay my bills on time. I opted for the insurance. I set up direct pay from my bank account. I have done everything to be a great customer, and I have done everything to keep my phone in peak condition. My options now are to take a replacement phone that has not been cared for as mine has, or, go have work done on my phone or one of the replacement phones, and from the horror stories I have read about work done, once a phone has been taken a part and had parts swapped in/out, it is a short path to further and worsening issues.
I am hoping I don't get flamed for this post. I'm not trying to be an uppity, impossible-to-please customer. I only want my issue fixed, without having to sacrifice the care that I've taken to preserve my phone.
I have spoken to multiple representatives, a few supervisors, and a manager, and from all of this, my only options are "downgrades" in terms of quality of hardware (beaten-up replacement phones) or keeping my current phone and suffering the dust, or dropped pixels, or whatever it is.
I understand that there are some people for whom this is acceptable, however for me it is not. For those whose advice is to "deal with it", thank you for taking the time to read my post but "making due" is not something I'd like to have to do. I paid a termination fee from AT&T. I paid over two hundred dollars for this phone. I paid for new service, activation fee, insurance, and other costs. I want to have a resolution that is acceptable for my standards.
So...(man this is a long post) does anyone have any insight into any possible resolution?
Does anyone have any feedback about phones that have undergone serious repairs? I have read more than a few posts on various message boards about a degradation in phone quality after having repairs made to the phone (and I am imagining that the second replacement phone with its separating screen is exactly what I'd be getting into if I get service work done).
Are there any other channels or resources I could try? Any and all feedback/suggestions/input is welcome (save for the "get over it"). I don't want a product that is lower quality than what I currently have, and I don't think I'm being unreasonable in feeling this way.
A pre-emptive thanks to everyone who has read through this and anyone who can give me any input of any kind.
