Saturday Night Live....a real story from SPRINT.

   

Job Title: Part time On-call Crisis Therapist

Description: Be available to do psychiatric assessments in the Emergency Room for patients suffering from a possible mental health disorder. 

Examples: suicidal, psychotic, self care failure and/or homicidal. This morning: 5:00am, check phone....5 voicemails. ZERO missed calls.

My thoughts at this time....AH, I must have slept through 5 missed calls!!!!!!! I'm going to lose my second job. I am so unprofessional....this is all my fault.

 I immediately called my Dad and had him call me......at least 8 times......He left a voicemail each time.....and nothing....

Reality. My phone did not ring. Ever. Not one time. I called Sprint first thing in the morning......5:11am. Too early. Customer Service reps not available.

 

9:01am: Customer service rep-Shanique or Lanique or Lakisha?? .....Helpful. At least tried to be. Helped reset my phone saying 'I'll call you back when I see that your settings have changed.' Remember, My phone is not receiving calls. Never heard back.

9:21am: 2nd call. Customer service rep-Angela. Not helpful. I asked to talk with her supervisor. She said "they are with another customer at the moment. They will have to call you back." (I.E. Remember. My phone doesn't work). I offer to hold and she says "Well, go to a SPRINT store and that is the only way that you will be able to get assistance with your phone."

1:16pm: Sprint store. 707 Commons Place, Manhattan, KS 66502...Brandon,face to face, at my local sprint store. I explain that I am on call an I need a reliable carrier...etc....He said "Well, there is a tower down. (Isn't that always the excuse? Where the hell are all these towers?)

Me: Well, can you please help me. I am guaranteed reliable service and obviously this is not reliable.

Him: The tower has been down for over 2 weeks.

Me: Okay, well that is not my problem. My problem is I need a reliable service and the fact that sprint has a 'tower down' is not my problem. Its your problem. Please help fix my phone.

Him: Mam, there is nothing we can do.  10 people have been in here today complaining of the same thing.

Me: Again, Not My problem.  I just want my phone to work its a necessity for my job. Leave store.   

1:30 pm. Call customer service again. talk with Caroline or Carolyn...? She informs me that her two 'Escalation' bosses, Erica and Stephanie are on the phone with other customers. Me, I can wait.

Her: They only take calls by appointment and they will call you (AGAIN, MY PHONE IS NOT RECEIVING PHONE CALLS!!!! That is my problem. NO PHONE CALLS ARE COMING through on MY PHONE!!!! She hangs up on me.

(Lets not forget the Bottomline here: I NEED A RELIABLE PHONE...And SPRINT can not provide this for me. Therefore I need to change providers. I have been with them less than 30 days and I have had unreliable service and bad reception...My termination fee needs to be waved because they aren't holding up their end of the deal.)  

I call back and talked with Dane who transferred me to his "supervisor Joe" who transferred me to his "supervisor" Heather who transferred me to her supervisor "Tamberee" then to Corlis who told me I have not followed the appropriate steps in getting Sprint to retract the early termination fee...

....I must get a diagnostic evaluation done on my cell phone....in Junction City...Though makes note that someone prior wrote on my account that I refused to do that.....That was the first time I had heard that as an option. .I already went to the sprint store in Manhattan.....finally, Ol' Corlis says that the only way I can talk with her 'supervisor' is leave a message and 'the boss', Erica will get back to me within 24-48 hours .  The boss Erica calls back leaves a voicemail for me to call her back (remember. phone does not accept calls).....

sidenote: Okay people...So basically I'm picturing the call center....At one end you have soft spoken lakisha/angela types and on the other end you bring out the 'big dogs' ..... the Corlis and Erica types who lay it down......and act like the presidents of SPRINT!   Erica, in the mean time of 'understanding what I'm going through' had the nerve to try to UPSELL ME A LANDLINE!!!! HAHA. NO!!!!!  

3:00pm- Drive 30 minutes to Junction City  to get a diagnosis on my cell phone. Wait an hour and 1/2....Drum roll please.... Diagnosed with "poor cell phone reception from the tower that is down."

THIS IS A SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE SKIT! When you say "I would like you to transfer me to your supervisor" they call it 'escalation'.....and transfer you to the next meanest person in the place. 

At this point I ask 'the boss' Erica, to transfer me to her boss. Again, "By appointment only and she will call me back within 24-48 hours."  

4:27pm Get a voicemail from Stephanie. Who is claiming to be Erica, 'the boss's' boss...Can't fool me....Little Caroline or Carolyn spilled the beans and I caught you trying to manipulate me, the customer!!!! My early termination fee needs to be removed. You are not providing me reliable service.  

Stephanie and Erica are co-supervisors. 

tbc......