Shots Across The Bow

And this paddle toy. And this chair. That's all I need...

Actually we've been with US Cellular for years and have never had a noticeable problem with sound quality, dropped calls or availability...

Also, I read the Sprint article and it doesn't sound at all like they have anything against the military. Why would anyone get that impression (I mean, after thinking about it for a minute)? Somehow the coverage plan was in error and the area they were in was listed as "best" but it actually had no coverage. Ok, bad work on Sprint's part right there. I can't imagine why they'd want to cancel a contract because of "excessive roaming" with no recourse to change the plan or whatever, but I still see no reason to suspect there's some kind of anti-military bias on the part of Sprint.

That's the kind of jumping to conclusions that causes a lot of people grief they don't need to heap on themselves.

Military customers will move around a lot. Temporary duty stations is a way of life. Sprint advertises their service as Free Roaming. The exceptions are only listed in small print. The combined effect of all of the above is to make Sprint service almost worthless to a military customer. And if you read through the Sprint Users Forum, you discover that several of the military members called Sprint prior to executing their TAD orders, and were told, "No Problem."

Then their contracts were terminated without recourse. Although to Sprint's credit, when they terminated the contracts, they forgave the Early Termination Fee. /sarcasm

When you look at the cellular market, the military lifestyle is more expensive to service,due in large part to a soldier's tremendous mobility, far in excess of the average civilian. This leads directly to increased expense on the part of any wireless carrier in roaming charges as well as service transfer costs. Sprint's management is obviously trying to cut down on these costs from all their consumers (witness cancelling a contract due to too many customer service calls), and the results of their cost cutting measures is having a disproportionate effect on military members.

Is this an intentional bias against the military? No. But as an unplanned effect,it has made Sprint service much less useful to military members. And Let's not forget that Sprint phones are set up to be used only on the Sprint Network. If you change carriers,your phone is worthless.

In truth, Sprint has a customer service issue that goes beyond just the military, but cutting off service for 200 soldiers puts those problems in a strong spotlight.

Whatever you do, don't use Verizon!! They are technically great but lousy and mean customer service.

As much as I HATE AT&T I have been a Cingular customer since 1997 and only have good things to say.

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You know already how I feel about Sprint. And since this is a family oriented site, I will keep quiet 'cause I tend to use ... how shall we say, quite colorful terms when referring to Sprint. But it is all about their billing and customer service that gets me riled. Otherwise, good phones, good service and few technical problems.

Cingular was good, but they were taken in by Bellsouth, and I haven't a single kind word for them either. That they are now AT&T makes little difference. But that's me.

I hear good things about Verizon, but have no personal experience. I do recommend sticking with national carriers though, they will tend to have better service and more plans to choose from. That's probably where I am going if I can ever get out of this %*@#%@ Sprint contract.

Oops ... there I go ... hushing up now, back to the books.

I was just saying the article (and your comment on it) really played up the anti-military angle. Which there wasn't, just bad customer service on the part of Sprint. Adding the anti-military part gives it a slightly different, slightly worse, spin.

True dat, Barry ... never attribute to malice what can be explained by incompetence. After 3 years with Sprint, and the experience I have had dealing with their billing, customer service and technical support departments, I would be more inclined to go with the latter option. I've used US Cellular, Cingular and now Sprint. Service-wise, they're about the same, but Sprint has been a nightmare to deal with their support people.

Now, the cell phone service *I* want is from Helio ... dat is one sexy as hell phone! Me wants!

i used to be a sprint customer and switched less than a week after "keep your number" went live. Now I'm with Verizon and wouldn't look back. Reception is good and I've had good experiences with their customer service.

Get anything but Sprint! I don't get the dropped calls like before but this is my experience.

A few weeks ago I received a phone bill for $577 most of it for roaming fees. While in Iraq I paid to have my phone number reserved, however, when I came home I found the number was given away. I had to purchase a new phone and plan again. Later on I accidentally took my phone in the Jacuzzi and ruined it. I called Sprint and they cut me a deal on a new phone as long as I renewed my contract for two (2) years, which I did. I then requested insurance on the new plan.

A week later I called to confirm my plan and was assured I had insurance and nights and weekends after 6pm. My phone bill was on auto pay and I never looked to see if they made the changes. Later on I had problems with my phone and I called Sprint and they said I did not have insurance. Again, I had to purchase a new phone and plan. My bad for not checking my billing statement. I got rid of auto pay as I seen potential problems in not getting a paper bill.

After purchasing a new phone I did not have any issues until three months later when I get a phone bill for $577 in roaming fees. When I called Sprint they said to check to see if the phone is set on Sprint only, which it was. I was polite with the representative and explained I went from a lower plan to a higher plan, which is more expensive because Spring does not have rollover minutes and I wanted to be safe, but now I’m paying above and beyond my plan. My plan cost $57.00 that includes $12.00 in discounts. In the eight (8) years I never had roaming issues.

Nonetheless, she placed me on hold then confirmed that my calls were in Sprint areas, therefore, I would not responsible for the roaming calls and would be credited $499 plus taxes, however, it would take 72 hours for the changes to take effect. I was then informed my balance would be $74.-- I told the representative I was happy with this and would call back in 72 hours to confirm the my bill and make payment.

A few days later I get a text message saying my bill is excessively delinquent and I need to make payment in order to stop interruption. When I called Sprint to make payment they informed me I was responsible for all roaming fees. I explained that when I entered my last contract I checked with Sprint and they confirmed all the areas I travel to are Sprint coverage areas. I have been Sprint customer for more than eight (8) years and I’ve never had this issue until now. I was on the phone for about 1 ½ hours to no avail was I able to resolve the issue.

The following day I called Sprint and the representative read the previous notes and said they could not help. After arguing with the representative I finally had enough and requested to speak to a representative. I was place on hold numerous times then the representative came back and said that they would credit my account $490 plus tax. I never spoke to a supervisor. I then asked to be transferred to billing and when the representative pulled up my account it only showed a $200 credit and in order to avoid interruption I was informed I would need to pay the balance of $377. I asked then asked to speak to a supervisor and was informed there was no supervisor on duty. I informed the representative I did not believe this because I have been in management for 22 years and there is always a supervisor present on shift. Then she said hold while I transfer you to another representative. I was on line for 15 minutes then was disconnected after being on the phone for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

An hour or so later I called billing and the lady was very cordial. I asked if I could have the name of someone up the chain whom I could send a complaint. I went on and explained my problem and she gave me a name and address.

Later in the evening I called again and the gentleman said it was showing a credit of $431 and a balance of $262 that’s $693 of which he stated was additional charges for the next months bill also for roaming fees. I explained my issue and he recommended I wait until tomorrow to give finance or billing time to make all the current adjustments. Then see if they can make additional adjustments for the next months roaming fees. He said it looks like there may be around $100 in credits coming but it was hard to tell.

Curious I went online to see if other complaints were made to the Better Business Bureau. When I seen this sight and I had to share my event. I don’t see this ending well, however, if it does I will let you know. I recommend not having auto pay because if this were deducted from my account getting credit or reimbursement would be next to impossible.