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Sprint Praises Self For Being Slightly Less Awful
Latest JD Power survey ranks best, worst wireless service
JD Power and Associates has released their latest Customer Care survey, which tracks wireless satisfaction among some 13,000 customers. The rankings place T-Mobile highest in wireless customer care performance with a score of 755 out of 1,000, thanks largely to short hold times. T-Mobile is followed by freshly merged Verizon Wireless (749) and Alltel (744). AT&T continued their consistently average showing in such rankings (722) while Sprint, still suffering from their botched Nextel acquisition, came in last place (657). Amusingly, Sprint quickly issued a press release patting themselves on the back for simply being bad this time around, instead of horrendously awful:
quote:
"Reality sometimes lags perception when it comes to customer experience," said Bob Johnson, chief service officer at Sprint. "But the gap between the two is getting closer for Sprint. Customers understand what we’re doing. They like what they are seeing now. We have a way to go, but the progress we’ve made is steady and solid."
How do Sprint customers feel? Are things getting better?
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dadkins
Can you do Blu?
MVM
join:2003-09-26
Hercules, CA

dadkins

MVM

Virgin Mobile...

... piggybacks on Sprint.
Here, it does leaps and bounds better than AT&T.
I'm lucky to get any signal whatsoever with AT&T, but VM/Sprint is as solid as it can get.

Madness
Like a flea circus at a dog show
join:2000-01-05
Lynn, MA
·DSL EXTREME

1 recommendation

Madness

Member

Re: Virgin Mobile...

I've been w/ Virgin for about 3 years or so. No complaints about them service-wise. Plenty of bars on my phone inside my house & around the city (only exception would be the underground parts of the Boston subway, where AT&T & Verizon folks DO get service). My only pet peeve is short battery life on some of their newer phones.

cdru
Go Colts
MVM
join:2003-05-14
Fort Wayne, IN

cdru to dadkins

MVM

to dadkins
I believe the JD Power survey results was specifically for customer service, not necessarily wireless service issues such as signal quality, data speeds, etc.

Frink
Professor
Premium Member
join:2000-07-13
Scotch Plains, NJ

Frink

Premium Member

Re: How do Sprint customers feel? Are things getting better?

I'll let you know when I cancel next month.

ninjatutle
Premium
join:2006-01-02
San Ramon, CA

ninjatutle

Member

They will be in first place in 1 year

After this period, everyone will be done fleeing. The few people left are those who are happy with the service. So they should get a 1000/1000 rating.
Big Dawg 23
join:2002-03-27
Northfield, MN

Big Dawg 23

Member

Re: They will be in first place in 1 year

The Mass exodus is still not complete. You have people under current contracts that are riding it out before leaving. They will still suffer huge losses the next two quarters IMO. They still have not fixed the CS portion of the business which is the leading cause.

en102
Canadian, eh?
join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA

en102 to ninjatutle

Member

to ninjatutle
I don't know... I suspect that there will be a lot of 'bargain hunters' heading in Sprint/Nextel (Boost) direction. You may find that Sprint may get flooded with a lot of people 'used' to one thing, and expecting the same (albeit for a lower price with Sprint).

jwalk42
jwalking
join:2008-02-04
Old Orchard Beach, ME

jwalk42

Member

Sprint Praises Self For Being Slightly Less Awful

i still agree there is work needed, but sprint has made an effort.

maartena
Elmo
Premium Member
join:2002-05-10
Orange, CA

maartena

Premium Member

I dumped them.

My two years were up and I dumped them immediately and switched to AT&T Wireless.

I often got no signal inside my own house, and at my mother inlaws house I NEVER got signal inside, only outside. Granted she lives a little bit up a hill, but it is still only HALF a mile as the crow flies from the 91 freeway, one of the busiest of Southern California. Hell, I often lost my calls when I drove in her neighborhood.

AT&T works in my house, at her house, inside and out, driving everywhere in SoCal, and it worked in Michigan and Ontario, Canada everywhere I went on a trip this January.

In two words: Sprint Sucks.

en102
Canadian, eh?
join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA

en102

Member

Re: I dumped them.

AT&T hasn't exactly been the best service in the world either for me (3G issues until they deployed 2nd carrier 3g 850MHz) ... YMMV.
Nextel has worked decently for me, although lack of coverage is my biggest issue. Coverage in the UP of Michigan and Canada is non existent.

SprintNotSoSucks to maartena

Anon

to maartena

So not dumping them.

I just switched a small company from AT&T to Sprint. The phone bill for the same number of phones and aircards is about a third of what it was.

I picked up a Sprint Touch Pro phone in the deal, and retired the AT&T Tilt and Verizon W385 phones I had been carrying. My one Sprint tower is more than 10 miles away from home and I get a couple of bars with no call drops.

I couldn't make or receive calls, in the house, with AT&T or Verizon. I have 2 AT&T towers; 1 mile and 4 miles away. My Verizon tower was 7 miles away.

I've been pleasantly surprised with the quality of my Sprint calls. I'm still evaluating their EVDO data. It seems better in the outlying areas than V or ATT.

I called their customer support line yesterday with an aircard I couldn't activate. It seems the Master Lock Code field was corrupted, so my OTSL code wouldn't take. The techs were quite open with giving me a new MLC as well as a number of utility codes for manipulating the card.

Compared with the paranoia and device control obsession of Verizon and (to a lesser degree AT&T) it was a really nice experience.

NiceGuyNY21
join:2000-10-15
Buffalo, NY

NiceGuyNY21 to maartena

Member

to maartena

Re: I dumped them.

I just like how my bill is 1/3rd of ATT with 5x the features and I can roam on Verizon where there is no sprint coverage at no charge... and if I want to put a PDA phone on my account I dont have to pay $30 for a data plan on top of my voice plan... did I mention that I get a 27% discount with ATT and sprint is still 1/3rd of att before any discounts are even applied to my sprint bill... lol yeah I've been out of contract for a few months and I'm not going anywhere.

belawrence
They'll never let you in
join:2000-08-06
Santee, CA
ARRIS WBM760
(Software) pfSense
Ubiquiti UniFi AP

belawrence

Member

I personally

haven't had any major problems w/Sprint. I think it's just become fashionable to slam them like it is to do w/Microsoft - i've talked to people who have never had Sprint service or used Windows Vista stating that say they both suck just because everyone around them is saying so.
vortex91
join:2000-08-18
Glendale, CA

vortex91

Member

Re: I personally

sprint has the best coverage in metro areas period. Loyal happy customer since 1995

KoolMoe
Aw Man
Premium Member
join:2001-02-14
Annapolis, MD

KoolMoe

Premium Member

Re: I personally

Agreed in my experience. Wife on SERO plan, can't beat it, happy with the coverage, and no issues with the very few times we've called customer service.
This is one bash-train I'm not jumping on.
KM
larry510
join:2005-11-11
Orange, CA

larry510 to vortex91

Member

to vortex91
said by vortex91:

sprint has the best coverage in metro areas period. Loyal happy customer since 1995
I agree with you there. I've been a loyal and happy customer since 12/97 here in the LA market. By the way Sprint did not offer service until late 1996 (San Diego) and late 1997 (Los Angeles) so I think you have your time a bit off.

swinn
join:2001-02-16
Clarksville, TN

swinn to belawrence

Member

to belawrence
I've not had any issues with Sprint and their customer service has always been good to me. I won't even consider switching to another company.

chlen
Ethically Challenged
Premium Member
join:2001-01-16
Saratoga, NY

chlen

Premium Member

Re: I personally

said by swinn:

I've not had any issues with Sprint and their customer service has always been good to me. I won't even consider switching to another company.
I hate to give credit to any corporation, but Sprint always had great products and services at a good price. Customer service sucked, especially when they wanted to charge for it. The customer service now is quite good, you can get a human (in the US) on the line immediately (I did today to pay my bill) or you can chat online.

This company offers deals that are leaps ahead of the competition and their EVDO is actually stable and fast. Even in my small metro area I get consistent 1500/500 with ping that is comparable to WIFI.

Also thought the northeast no other company has better coverage.

The only ATT advantage is they work in parts of the Adirondack mountains where there is no other service by anyone. However Sprint is better at Ski resorts and other remote locations.

As far as dealing with them goes, they used to be just god-awful, like pulling teeth, though got much better.

As far as their product and price, they cannot be beat.

SterlingJ85
join:2000-11-19
Austin, TX

SterlingJ85

Member

Re: I personally

You might want to try Verizon again. I had great coverage at our cabin near Saratoga Lake in the middle of nowhere. Previously we all had AT&T and thought nobody had service there.

Two weeks ago we came through with all Verizon phones (we switched a few weeks ago) from Burlington, VT back home to New Jersey. We had service practically everywhere, even the Adirondacks! I can't remember one place on I-87 that we didn't have service.
hescominsoon
join:2003-02-18
Brunswick, MD

hescominsoon to belawrence

Member

to belawrence
said by belawrence:

haven't had any major problems w/Sprint. I think it's just become fashionable to slam them like it is to do w/Microsoft - i've talked to people who have never had Sprint service or used Windows Vista stating that say they both suck just because everyone around them is saying so.
I cannot modify my account without them screwing it up..the only reason i stay with sprint is because i hate vz more..att isn't an option here.
roveer
join:2004-01-18
Mendham, NJ

1 edit

roveer to belawrence

Member

to belawrence
haven't had any major problems w/Sprint. I think it's just become fashionable to slam them like it is to do w/Microsoft - i've talked to people who have never had Sprint service or used Windows Vista stating that say they both suck just because everyone around them is saying so.
Say that over in BBforums or CBforums about sprint and you'll see someone come through your monitor at you. Nothing fashionable about phones that don't work. Yes, my phone simply does not work. I can't get my text messages unless I power cycle the phone or here's a better one. How about a phone that occasionally shuts itself off requiring a battery pull to turn it back on. Occasionally means 1-2 times per week.

Now how's that for fashionable. Just because you didn't have a problem with Sprint doesn't make everyone who's unsatisfied a loon or crazy.

Roveer

R4M0N
Brazilian Soccer Ownz Joo
join:2000-10-04
Glen Allen, VA

2 edits

R4M0N

Member

Sprint Praises Self For Being Slightly Less Awful

Should they be mad that they improved? If I go from a F to a D, you better believe I'm throwing a party. Now all that's needed is keep the momentum and go from a D to a C, then from a C to a B...

The Beer
I Love It When A Plan Comes Together
Premium Member
join:2001-07-24
Lincoln, NE

The Beer

Premium Member

Sorry no problems here lately

I have to say I just left a sprint corp store in Omaha, was nobody in there and 10 people working.

No problems, almost thought there was a bomb threat or something.

I recently signed up for the Boost Mobile $50 unlimted everything iDen plan and even Boost support has been GREAT.

I think they just have a big hole at this point

Smile__
Premium Member
join:2008-10-10
New Freedom, PA

Smile__

Premium Member

Re: Sorry no problems here lately

I don't know about CS but their service is way better then VZW.. Dropped calls and poor signal in a lot of place here in MD with VZW.. Go Sprint

habya
Premium Member
join:2003-05-29
Huntsville, AL

habya

Premium Member

Sprint customer for over 2 years now

I've used Sprint for my, and my girlfriend's, cell phone for the past 2 1/2 years. We've had no problems with them what so ever. We get good reception just about everywhere and the times I had to call them for anything the wait time was not bad at all.

We recently upgraded our phones and I called to see if there was anything they could give us that online didn't offer. I was on hold for about 1.5 minutes before a very polite man got on to help me. He waived the activation fees for the 2 new phones, gave a $35 credit toward our next bill, free overnight shipping (we got the phones literally the next day), and added 6 months of text messaging for free. I was very happy with them and will definitely keep them for a while if they can keep it up .

And if you use the online chat option you can speak with someone almost immediately. That's what I used when we needed to change our phone numbers over. The agent was online within 30 seconds and setup the new phones and numbers very quickly.

Overall I'm very happy with Sprint, they have treated us a lot better than T-Mobile did.

When I had T-Mobile they were counting each minute I used as two minutes. I called to complain and the person said that's how many minutes I used. But it wasn't because I tested it. I had my watch and timed a 5 minute call, and on my bill that call showed up as 10 minutes. I did this with a number of calls throughout the month to be sure. Each person was just like you have to pay the bill cause that's the minutes you used, blah blah blah. Finally I just said screw it and never went back to them.

dbcraig
@fedex.com

dbcraig

Anon

Still serves me well...

I still, after over 7 years with Sprint, don't get what the fuss is all about. I rarely have a problem; if I do, it gets resolved quickly; I like the call clarity and signal strengths in all the areas that I travel; and the data service is fine.
I am a happy camper with my Palm Centro!

BillRoland
Premium Member
join:2001-01-21
Ocala, FL

BillRoland

Premium Member

At least they are consistent

Consistently awful, that is. They have no more clue now than they ever have had.
garmst
join:2000-09-17
New York, NY

garmst

Member

I've had no rason to call Customer Service

Because everything just works 99.99% of the time.
I am very satisfied overall.

The times I needed Customer Service it was average, but I have no high hopes for ANY Customer Service operation.

The EVDO generally rocks. I have had signal everyplace I have needed to travel in the US. (I am not saying they are everywhere, just everywhere I go) I was surprised how much signal I had driving from Las Vegas to Phoenix while in the middle of NOWHERE!
Jim_in_VA (banned)
join:2004-07-11
Cobbs Creek, VA

Jim_in_VA (banned)

Member

Re: I've had no rason to call Customer Service

Not a single problem. Two older SERO plans, absolutely the best wireless value out there. Great coverage and signal in my area.
DallasGuy8
join:2009-02-04

DallasGuy8

Member

Re: I've had no rason to call Customer Service

I have finally had it with Sprint. I've been a Sprint customer since 2001. Ever since signing a new contract with my wife in July 2008, I have been billed every month for SMS on a plan where it's supposed to be unlimited.

I've dealt with CS 3 times about this chronic problem they seem to have EVERY MONTH. The best part is that I spoke with a higher-up in customer service the last time, and the guy assured me wholeheartedly that I wouldn't be charged again for text messages. He even credited me more than I was charged.

Only I was charged. Again.

This time around, I will either demand something better in exchange for this idiocy, or that they allow us to leave Sprint ETF free.

DustySilicon
join:2002-10-06
Oak Grove, MO

DustySilicon to Jim_in_VA

Member

to Jim_in_VA
said by Jim_in_VA:

Not a single problem. Two older SERO plans, absolutely the best wireless value out there. Great coverage and signal in my area.
Jim, we know, we know, you don't have any problems with Sprint. However, a lot of other people do (that don't live in your area.) Better check the wheels on your bandwagon, because I think they are about to fall off...
Jim_in_VA (banned)
join:2004-07-11
Cobbs Creek, VA

Jim_in_VA (banned)

Member

Re: I've had no rason to call Customer Service

LOL yeah, I realize the shoe doesn't fit everyone ...every outfit has its detractors at one time or another

grydlok
join:2004-01-06
Richmond, VA

grydlok

Member

Re: I've had no rason to call Customer Service

Your right though.
I have a Verizon phone and Sprint.
If I down around Deltavile my Verizon service gets spotty.

DallasGuy
@170.200.168.x

DallasGuy

Anon

Finally had it with Sprint's CS

I have finally had it with Sprint. Ever since signing a new contract with my wife in July 2008, I have been billed every month for SMS on a plan where it's supposed to be unlimited.

I've dealt with CS 3 times about this chronic problem they seem to have EVERY MONTH. The best part is that I spoke with a higher-up in customer service the last time, and the guy assured me wholeheartedly that I wouldn't be charged again for text messages.

I was. Again.

This time around, I will either demand something in exchange for this idiocy, or that they allow us to leave Sprint ETF free.
ace41690
join:2003-01-24
Northfield, CT

ace41690

Member

They are good for me

Sprint basically gives us anything we want. I had no service at my home, but I got a free airave. We went over our minutes once, and without even asking they gave us 500 more minutes at no additional charge. I usually have good service everywhere, if I dont I fall back on Verizon roaming. I still contest that even though Verizon has MORE coverage around here it is not BETTER coverage. I have never dropped a single call with sprint unless I am leaving a coverage area, I see people with Verizon/ATT on the other hand, that spontaneously drop calls when they have 5 bars. Sprint coverage is TOPS as far as call quality and stability go.
comp
Premium Member
join:2001-08-16
Evans City, PA

comp

Premium Member

Re: They are good for me

Service will always different between carriers but i have a Sprint Blackberry for work and with the free tethering and speeds they cant be beat. They also have very good coverage here

Finalnight8
join:2002-05-10
Omaha, NE

Finalnight8

Member

Re: They are good for me

sprint billing/cust service-horrible
coverage/call quality-great
Rob2647
join:2008-08-12
Rochester, MI

1 edit

Rob2647

Member

Joining the bandwagon

I'm also happy with Sprint. Been with them little over a year. I own one of the hybrid Sprint/Nextel phones, the ic602 The phone service and customer service has been great. Much better than AT&T and way better TMobile here in MI.
qworster
join:2001-11-25
Bryn Mawr, PA

qworster

Member

Sprint has gotten better!

I have seen steady improvement in Sprint's customer service over the past year. The three times I have dealt with Sprint over the past year have all been good experiences-a far cry from my other experiences over the years.

RickNY
Premium Member
join:2000-11-02
Bellport, NY

RickNY

Premium Member

Re: Sprint has gotten better!

said by qworster:

I have seen steady improvement in Sprint's customer service over the past year. The three times I have dealt with Sprint over the past year have all been good experiences-a far cry from my other experiences over the years.
I jumped ship from Verizon Wireless after being with them since 1991 when they were NYNEX Mobile.. I switched to Sprint in July of this year.. While coverage in my area is exactly the same as Verizon's, both companies gave me a marginal signal, at best, in my home.. When I called Sprint to ask if there was anything that could be done, they sent me an Airave at NO CHARGE and also waived the monthly fee for it for the next 24 months. Would Verizon have done anything like that? I dont think so.. Sprint really is making a turn for the better.

Rick

Jakers
@byu.edu

Jakers

Anon

Sprint CS is way better than it was

I have been a sprint customer for 3 years, and all I can say is that they have done a great making customer service better in the last year. It used to be horrible, but lately wait times have been very short and the reps have been able to fix problems without me having to call seven times. All in all I am pretty pleased with their CS and the value of their plans is great too.
tmc8080
join:2004-04-24
Brooklyn, NY

tmc8080

Member

sprint.. more like spiral--downward

heh, maybe they should try patting themselves on their back for their new customer retention efforts for customers paying between $69.99 and $99.99... meanwhile they sell prepaid boost for $50 and no taxes good job.

coldmoon
Premium Member
join:2002-02-04
Fulton, NY

coldmoon

Premium Member

So much for an exodus...

I was with Nextel before they became part of Sprint and have had the same account over that entire time. In fact, I even had the same cell phone...

My contract expired long ago but I never saw a reason to change providers and for the most part have been quite satisfied with the service overall (Exception: occasional but improper text message charges that support was always happy to correct). This helped me to make a business decision to not only get a new phone, but to upgrade my service with the corresponding 2 year contract.

Forums are fish bowls and tend to focus too heavily on negative commentary so I thought I would do my part to try and add what balance I can...
swack
Premium Member
join:2007-11-08
Saint Louis, MO

swack

Premium Member

Sprint Okay For Me

I have been a (fairly) happy Sprint customer for almost 10 years, and I've always been happy with the signal strength. I've noticed some issues with online support, and I am lucky that I haven't needed to call support much. Being a veteran, I've been able to grandfather in a lot of great deals that I got in the past, so I see no reason to flee Sprint right now.
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