Sprint Update: Sam to Recieve Rebate and Credit
posted by on August 29 at 15:37 PM
Last week I accepted an assignment from Sam Goldberg, a frustrated Sprint customer. Sprint owed Sam a $30 rebate, and it had not been forthcoming. At Sam’s request I brought him lunch and then picketed Sprint’s downtown store. Sprint got in touch with Sam through the Stranger after my report was published. Today Sam sent me this email:
Intern Steven:I spoke with another Sprint/Nextel higher-up today for about 45 minutes. After a nice and long conversation with Stan Simmons-Seybert (of Sprint Executive Services, I think), Stan immediately refunded my account $30 and tacked on a $40 credit for good measure.
He kindly (and undefensively) listened to me bring up the multiple failures in the Sprint customer service system, and agreed that this sort of thing shouldn’t have needed the extraordinary actions of a Public Intern to have been resolved.
Stan guessed that the address to which Sprint sent the rebate check did not have an apartment number, which he believed to be the source of the problem. But he also admitted that any of the 10 or so people I spoke with on the phone, in the store, and via email should have been able to check on that and credit me the $30 at any time. So he’s going to look into it.
Anyway, it was nice to hear someone apologize. You’ve earned your academic credit here.
Sam
Well done. And Sprint did a good job on the apology, at least -- one can only hope that it follows up on its customer service failures.
BLING! $40 credit!
Public Intern: 1
Sprint: 0
This is one of the best ideas the Stranger has come up with in a long time!! Good job Public Intern!!!
Good work, cadet.
*claps*
Wow. I need Steven's help with Cingular too! Or is it AT&T? Whatever.
i *heart* Public Intern
(but it's "receive" and not "recieve")
xoxospellingpolice
Can you put up flyers for my martial arts school?
Yay Public Intern!
Yay. Score one for Public Intern.
Now, has the store manager apologized for attempting to violate the free speech rights of Public Intern?
Actually, every major wireless carrier or telephone company has an "Executive Services" department to handle customer complaints that, in the company's view, have the potential to become a Public Relations or Regulatory problem.
Simply write a polite letter of complaint to the President/CEO of a company and tell them you are also 1) filing a complaint with the STATE Utilities Commission (which is more ominous to them than the F.C.C.), or 2) sending the story to your local media's consumer protection reporter, or 3) filing a lawsuit, or 4) planning to hire a public intern to picket their retail store.
Any of those threats should get your letter referred over to the Executive Services department. Exec Servics representatives are compensated to make the problem (you) go away with whatever payouts are necessary, while smothering you with kindness and love.
It's the way all Customer Care should really work, but for the fact that the companies would bankrupt themselves with a blanket approach like that (or so they think.)
LOL way to go. i guess it does really take picketting to get anything done!!! let's pickett the condos on Pike/Pine next!
is it just me, or is the new intern hot?
Excellent Job Public Intern! You rock! Just think how much would get done if there were more Public Interns in the world!
I think the public intern is pretty cute, too.
The new intern is sooooo.... cute. Just what I like in a Journalist. Is his profile on J-date? I want to take him out to dinner.
Comments Closed
In order to combat spam, we are no longer accepting comments on this post (or any post more than 14 days old).