How I kept my Sprint Premier upgrade...well sort of

[jared.meyering]

This 'problem' with the one year upgrades is so easliy resolved that I don't see the point in people going on and on and on about it.

How is this easily resolved? a plan benefit that was advertised to me was taken away, I have been stripped of $150 that was coming my way.

If this had been a part of the contract then okay. But since it wasn't a part of the contract at all they are allowed to change it whenever they want.

Correct, I understand its not a contractual obligation on Behalf of Sprint and I stated as much earlier. I simply believe its poor customer service. Its the equivalent of holding out a carrot and saying "Come on over here we'll give you this! This free carrot is one awesome reason to come with us!" and then saying "Tough cookies, we never really 'Guaranteed' this $150 value carrot would be given to you, see its not in the contract..."

Sure that LEGAL but its not right

people knew about it and could make a desicion on what they wanted to do.

What could I do? Cancel my service with Sprint? Oh wait...I tried that and they offered me $50 to stay. I'm happy with recouping all but $25 of the advertised reward.

 

[330D]

Well stating my opinion that I think its backwards to be complaining about something that can be very easily fixed by him with very minimul effort and not complaining about something that is not easily fixed by him is not really "jumping this guy". But again that is just my opinon. You are allowed yours just as I am allowed mine. And no I don't get paid to use my personal phone. My personal phone is actually my work phone also. Which I pay for.

I don't work for sprint. I also am not defedning their actions. This 'problem' with the one year upgrades is so easliy resolved that I don't see the point in people going on and on and on about it. Its kinda sensless. If this had been a part of the contract then okay. But since it wasn't a part of the contract at all they are allowed to change it whenever they want. They also sent everybody a letter saying it was changing a few months before it changed.

How is it very easily fixed?

And when they used the one year upgrade to lure people into contracts, then changed the policy, that is shady. Being grandfathered in would have been better, or an option to bail out sans ETF. I understand it was not part of the contract. I had an eligible upgrade, and did't use it before I lost it. Is that fair? That they just took it away? You defend their actions like they pay your phone bill.

And I agree that opinions are fine and good for that matter, but don't be a sheep dude. Question when someone takes something from you. If you don't stand for something, then what? Bow to corporate America? No forkin' way. They get enough of my hard earned money.

 

[MissJennell]

How is it very easily fixed?

And when they used the one year upgrade to lure people into contracts, then changed the policy, that is shady. Being grandfathered in would have been better, or an option to bail out sans ETF. I understand it was not part of the contract. I had an eligible upgrade, and did't use it before I lost it. Is that fair? That they just took it away? You defend their actions like they pay your phone bill.

And I agree that opinions are fine and good for that matter, but don't be a sheep dude. Question when someone takes something from you. If you don't stand for something, then what? Bow to corporate America? No forkin' way. They get enough of my hard earned money.

This is easily fixed by giving up a latte here and there and putting that money in an envelope. After a year you will have that other $75 to add to their $75. Then you have your $150. Simple! Problem solved!

I am not defending their actions. What I am saying is that it is not worth all the time people spend complaining about it. It's not like they killed your mom or stole your spouse or something. They probably should have let people use it one last time. But they didn't. All cell providers do stuff like this. You pick the one that works best for you and go with them. And if they are not the one that works best for you down the line then switch to who is. I am not bowing down to corporate america. I am simply picking my battles. This is not one I chose to fight. It's not worth it. Now if they had raised the price of my service $50 a month then I would be calling and getting something done about it. Keeping things in perspective, this isn't really that big of a deal. For me, the money I save being on Sprint I can buy a new phone outright every 4 months. That's 3 a year. They also have the best service for where I live. So for me they have what I want and work for me. If down the line they aren't then I will switch.

 

[330D]

We will have to agree to disagree here.

 

[MissJennell]

We will have to agree to disagree here, bro.

Bro? Really? You realize I am a woman right?

 

[EarlyMon]

Hi there.

This reads like a motorcycle accident - the actual accident started about 2 seconds before you think it did.

Take it my way - attack issues and not each other - or twospirit's - attack the message and not the messenger - as the Numero Uno Rule here. Under that guideline, we'd have never strayed into personal space in the first place. It actually went from there into male-female discussions.

That said - while everyone has a right to their opinion (by definition) we do restrict some expressions of those opinions by virtue of my boss' Prime Directive - Please be polite.

It's too easy to go from what one person sees as good-natured joshing into bad feelings in a heartbeat - happens nearly every time an assumption occurs when communicating via text (posting is half-duplex, making it worse).

Bottom line - any statement of the form:

You have Characteristic X common to Group X

is going to cause bad feelings because it's de-personalizing and stereo-typing and robs someone of their individuality - and therefore in violation of the Prime Directive - Please be polite.

That sort of thing is okey dokey in the Lounge for the most part - but not elsewhere, because - like this very post - it all becomes off-topic to Sprint Premier upgrades, the main deal people searching for this thread came to read (and therefore - not polite to others).

Post here or PM me if anyone's not square on these concepts (please discuss with me, not address each other further on this) - but otherwise - please don't do that anymore.

Cheers, thanks a lot, carry on.

Oh and PS - try to be excellent to one another instead of all this hoopdee.

And - if this is cryptic - it's because I've deleted some posts as off-topic.

 

[TheEngineer]

Oh and PS - try to be excellent to one another instead of all this hoopdee

Best moderation post of the year so far.

 

[drexappeal]

This won't necessarily benefit everybody in this thread, but instead of creating a new thread, I figured I'd post my experience in here for those that are on the brink of their 10 year mark with Sprint.

Background:
Two of the secondary lines on my account have been with Sprint since 99/00. My primary line, according to their records, has only been around since 2002 (in reality it's been active since 2001). There were a bunch of things that happened with my account (Sprint released my original phone number by accident and I had to change the phone number a couple times, since there were limited numbers available for the area code I wanted). Nontheless, the two secondary lines on my account did not get transferred over until 2006.

Dilemma:
Overall, even though all three (3) lines were on Sprint since 2001 at the latest, since Sprint's computer system only marked the "start date" based on when the account was transfered onto their "more recent" accounting system, they did not have record of the prior years of service. That left their records showing that I was only a Sprint customer for 9 years and hence would only attain Silver Premiere status, not Gold.

Solution:
I called Sprint Customer Service (Business Support) to discuss this issue with them. After speaking with them and explaining the situation, they said that they would escalate the issue to hopefully have the account retroactively included as a "Gold Premiere" status. They also confirmed my email address, so that they could send me an email confirming their resolution of the issue.

After I spoke with them on the phone, I did in fact receive a follow-up email confirming their solution. I kept that on record and followed-up every couple weeks, just to make sure that they had my account specially noted as a Gold Premiere account.

Conclusion:
I checked my account last month and sure enough, it lists me as a GOLD Premiere member! This obviously took a lot of patience and understanding on my part, in order for them to justify the "exception" that was made (even though it really shouldn't have been an "exception"). Hopefully, this can help others that are on the brink of Gold status within 1 year or so.

Also, the most crucial thing for me was realizing how much better the customer service is through the "business" customer service than it is through the regular side. I know MANY on here get company discount through their work, so I HIGHLY recommend only going through the "business" customer support, not the regular customer support. If you don't have the phone number, here it is:

(800) 927-2199

 

[Ick]

 

[novox77]

This won't necessarily benefit everybody in this thread, but instead of creating a new thread, I figured I'd post my experience in here for those that are on the brink of their 10 year mark with Sprint.

(snip)

I had a similar experience. Been a customer since 99. At one point, my Premier status was questioned. I got a letter stating I had Premier status. A few weeks later, I got a letter saying that I didn't.

Rarely did I ever take advantage of Premier status, but just when I was going to contact Sprint to clarify, I got another letter saying basically, "Sorry for the confusion. You DO have Premier status. Our records show you've been with us since 1999 and therefore you qualify for perk x,y,z."

So... this year, I'll finally take advantage of the perk by upgrading after only 1 year of using my Evo.


On topic: while I agree the OP got screwed, and I agree that he had good reason to complain, I'm not in agreement with Sprint's policy that a new subscriber can have the same perks as someone who's been with the company for 10+ years. I'm glad to see them tighten up the Premier perks in this regard. Sucks for people affected by the bait-n-switch nevertheless. They are victims of some dumb decisions on Sprint's part.

 

[dtchiz]

Went to the gas station today and filled up my Suburban, then went in and ask for the manager because just last week the price was .15 per gallon less. I demanded to get a refund of the difference. Well after a pitched discussion we took it outside so as to not disturb the other customers. After 45 min of yelling and discussing it with the manager the police came and took me away. I suppose this practice doesn't work everywhere!

 

[unplugged1]

Went to the gas station today...

Funny. I purchased gas at that same location, and the owner gave me a contract that he had signed and I agreed to. The contract stated that he wouldn't raise my gas price for an entire year. Then, last week, after only a few months into the contract, he raised my gas price.

I sued his a$$ and won. The moral of this story is that if you have a contract, both you and the other person are bound by it. It is called contract law.

 

[MissJennell]

Funny. I purchased gas at that same location, and the owner gave me a contract that he had signed and I agreed to. The contract stated that he wouldn't raise my gas price for an entire year. Then, last week, after only a few months into the contract, he raised my gas price.

I sued his a$$ and won. The moral of this story is that if you have a contract, both you and the other person are bound by it. It is called contract law.

Premier status and upgrades aren't in the contract. So your comparison is a little off.

 

[unplugged1]

So your comparison is a little off.

First, the initial comparison by DTCHIZ wasn't even a comparison, it was nonsensical. Second, in my case, when Sprint removed the corporate discounts from my FOUR secondary lines, there was a contract. Sprint freely admitted it had changed the terms of my contract and I was given the "option" of terminating my contract. (But only terminating the primary line. Like that made any sense.)

Finally, I would argue that using bait and switch tactics to bring in customers by offering a feature (Premier Gold) and then changing that important feature within months, is illegal, if not a violation of contract terms. Bait and Switch is a common tactic among unscrupulous companies. Once you agree to a contract, the company perpetuates fraud by claiming the benefit offered wasn't part of the agreement. Even if that company has contract terms that relieve it of any liability for changing benefits, there is a point where the customer has relied upon what that company has represented as a benefit.

As the point has been made several times above, Sprint could have easily pulled itself out of the PR mess by simply offering those who had already been qualified as Premier, to use one more Premier upgrade. By obviously selling phones and Sprint contracts on the basis of a yearly upgrade, and then pulling that yearly upgrade before the customer had a chance to even use it ONCE, it smacks of unfair dealing by Sprint.

 

[MissJennell]

First, the initial comparison by DTCHIZ wasn't even a comparison, it was nonsensical. Second, in my case, when Sprint removed the corporate discounts from my FOUR secondary lines, there was a contract. Sprint freely admitted it had changed the terms of my contract and I was given the "option" of terminating my contract. (But only terminating the primary line. Like that made any sense.)

Finally, I would argue that using bait and switch tactics to bring in customers by offering a feature (Premier Gold) and then changing that important feature within months, is illegal, if not a violation of contract terms. Bait and Switch is a common tactic among unscrupulous companies. Once you agree to a contract, the company perpetuates fraud by claiming the benefit offered wasn't part of the agreement. Even if that company has contract terms that relieve it of any liability for changing benefits, there is a point where the customer has relied upon what that company has represented as a benefit.

As the point has been made several times above, Sprint could have easily pulled itself out of the PR mess by simply offering those who had already been qualified as Premier, to use one more Premier upgrade. By obviously selling phones and Sprint contracts on the basis of a yearly upgrade, and then pulling that yearly upgrade before the customer had a chance to even use it ONCE, it smacks of unfair dealing by Sprint.

They could have. But they didn't. The premier yearly upgrade wasn't in the contract so they could change it and they did.

We will just have to agree to disagree. They basically only took $75 of the $150 away yearly. It shouldn't be that hard to come up with that other $75 in a year. Plus the whole bait and switch thing is kind of invalid in this situation. They stopped advertising it when they knew that the policy was changing. If they would have kept advertising it then yeah it would have been.

 

[unplugged1]

They stopped advertising it when they knew that the policy was changing. If they would have kept advertising it then yeah it would have been.

You act as if Sprint is two companies: "They stopped advertising it when they knew the policy was changing."

It doesn't really matter that "they" stopped advertising something people relied upon when "they" decided to change the policy. Customers relied upon a representation and expectation that a program would at least last as long as the next upgrade. This is a perfect example of why class action claims succeed. While screwing one customer out of $75 appears to be small change (especially, evidently to you), screwing a couple million customers out of $75 adds up.

 

[JLElie-Kelly]

We have been with sprint for almost 10 years now, we have had issues where the primary line "changed" just before due for upgrade-and noone ever knows why. They have been very polite for the most part and I would not change carriers due to we have 5 lines thru them. My only complaint is once during this "change" of primary I had a rep tell me she was transfer'in me to some one, "who could help me understand"-sorry epic fail, I was the one with the proof, and my inability to understand is not her call to make, I even with the fact that I work in behavioral health did not make any comments about the obvious misunderstanding of communication between us being her problem but instead I sent out email to sprint explaining my experiences and was not expecting any response and yet they did respond and offered to let us upgrade the actual "primary" line and the one it had been "changed" to. So yes some cust reps are better than others and some sales people are more interested in commision....buyer beware... but sprint has been good to us, be patient and give them a chance-sneaky sales pitch or not. You never know....someday they might bend over backwards for something you did not consider a big deal.

 

[MissJennell]

You act as if Sprint is two companies: "They stopped advertising it when they knew the policy was changing."

It doesn't really matter that "they" stopped advertising something people relied upon when "they" decided to change the policy. Customers relied upon a representation and expectation that a program would at least last as long as the next upgrade. This is a perfect example of why class action claims succeed. While screwing one customer out of $75 appears to be small change (especially, evidently to you), screwing a couple million customers out of $75 adds up.

I will change my wording on that sentance for you. "Sprint stopped advertising it when Sprint knew the policy was changing."

Are you paying the $75 for a couple million people? I am guessing no. That does add up. And sprint, being the for profit company they are, obviously decided it was a better financial desicion to change the premier program.

 

[unplugged1]

And sprint, being the for profit company they are, obviously decided it was a better financial desicion to change the premier program.

Yeah, there is no telling how low a company will go when making a cold financial decision without a thought of morality, ethics, or even publicity.

After all, Ford decided they could save more money when they decided to place the gas tank in the Pinto where they did. Just like Sprint's decision, it made financial sense!* However, just like Sprint, Ford forgot to calculate the very real costs of bad publicity.

The moral of THIS story is that business ethics and bad publicity need to be included in a cost-benefit analysis. Your error (and Sprint's) is thinking that a cold financial decision to screw current customers shouldn't include the bad-will this decision creates.

*Ford's cost

 

[novox77]

The moral of THIS story is that business ethics and bad publicity need to be included in a cost-benefit analysis. Your error (and Sprint's) is thinking that a cold financial decision to screw current customers shouldn't include the bad-will this decision creates.

I think Sprint DID do the cost-benefit analysis. They have the statistics and insight into how customers react to "backstabbing" more than any one of us on these forums.

So while we can rant about how unfair it is, it's pointless to debate if Sprint realized that they were screwing people. Of course they knew. And based on their retention stats, it was worth it. How would they have said retention stats? Because they've done this in the past, as have every other carrier.

 

[330D]

It's the thread that won't die.....

 

[jared.meyering]

It's the thread that won't die.....

ikr

To try to maybe put a stop to it....

The gas example was ridiculous I won't even go there.

Looking from a business perspective as Unplugged1 is, I would have to half agree. Because I really do think this is a Cost/Benefit issue on Sprints end. I do think that Sprint realized that only a certain % of customers would complain so they decided to switch the program right before the new phones came out. Miss Jennell is a prime example of possibly the "average" customer Sprint expected. They maybe wish it was different, but are indifferent towards the change. People who are recent sign up like me could potentially be people Sprint expected to complain but most likely in the minority. In all Sprint is willing to give out a certain number of credits to customers as long as overall its meeting its expected level of savings (after all, even with the $50 credit given to me, sprint has saved $25 over the course of my contract, and those numbers add up for Sprint). What this all boils down to is, Sprint made this decision based solely on money, not customer service, and it made this decision knowing a % would complain. I have simply chosen to be in that % because of my short history with Sprint. If others choose not to do the same thats absolutely fine.

Regarding post #64 I don't think a case can be made for a verbal contract existing with the Premier program, because the "fine print" states its not guaranteed (Granted to get to the fine print you have to log on to the internet and look at the premier program terms and conditions; something most are unlikely to do especially when the rep tells them ' you can get free upgrades every year'). I do agree that its unscrupulous of Sprint, and I agree that it is taking advantage particularly of new customers who had this pitched to them as a benefit.

 

[MissJennell]

ikr

To try to maybe put a stop to it....

The gas example was ridiculous I won't even go there.

Looking from a business perspective as Unplugged1 is, I would have to half agree. Because I really do think this is a Cost/Benefit issue on Sprints end. I do think that Sprint realized that only a certain % of customers would complain so they decided to switch the program right before the new phones came out. Miss Jennell is a prime example of possibly the "average" customer Sprint expected. They maybe wish it was different, but are indifferent towards the change. People who are recent sign up like me could potentially be people Sprint expected to complain but most likely in the minority. In all Sprint is willing to give out a certain number of credits to customers as long as overall its meeting its expected level of savings (after all, even with the $50 credit given to me, sprint has saved $25 over the course of my contract, and those numbers add up for Sprint). What this all boils down to is, Sprint made this decision based solely on money, not customer service, and it made this decision knowing a % would complain. I have simply chosen to be in that % because of my short history with Sprint. If others choose not to do the same thats absolutely fine.

Regarding post #64 I don't think a case can be made for a verbal contract existing with the Premier program, because the "fine print" states its not guaranteed (Granted to get to the fine print you have to log on to the internet and look at the premier program terms and conditions; something most are unlikely to do especially when the rep tells them ' you can get free upgrades every year'). I do agree that its unscrupulous of Sprint, and I agree that it is taking advantage particularly of new customers who had this pitched to them as a benefit.

Please do not act like you know me because you don't know me at all. I am not the 'average consumer'. I do not just go with everything. I do however see the business side of everything as well as the consumer side. I also pick my battles. $75 is not a battle I am going to chose. I took a company that was failing and about to file for bankruptcy and made it profitable again. I even quadrupled the size of it in a pretty short amount of time. So thank you for thinking you know who I am but you don't.

 

[EarlyMon]

I believe you're the one who made it personal. Look 3 posts up. You will see 0 references to the "issue" so I say to you. Thanks for making it personal.

I suggest a good look at post #56 instead.

Was I not not clear -

You have Characteristic X common to Group X

That's always going to create bad feelings and I asked that it stop.

No one comes here to hear bickering, so it stops - right now - or I'm going to simply decide to skip the minor Disrespectful Posting infraction and go right to Failure To Heed Mod Warning, mandatory probation, for letting it get this far, and then proceed to give a cooling off period for any follow-on personal bickering.

I'd advise against testing me on this, but you do what you think best.

 

[JunBringer]

I see some of you complained all the way up the chain, like I did, and didn't get your upgrade restored to your account. I don't remember what exactly I did, maybe it's my unrelenting charm , but they put an upgrade onto my primary line early this year when I called to complain right after hearing about the change in the Premiere system. Maybe it was because they allowed a certain number, as someone said above and they already reached that by the time you folks had called. I dove in right away and emailed Dan@sprint.com and repeatedly complained until they took care of it. I'm very lucky.