ATTN Dan Hess, CEO and Bob Johnson, Chief Service Office – Sprint
To whom it may concern:
I have been a subscriber to Sprint’s Total Equipment Protection program for my business phone for many years based on this promise (text taken directly from Sprint’s website): “Where would you be without your phone? Out of touch, disconnected and frustrated. You can avoid the inconvenience and aggravation with Total Equipment Protection, our comprehensive phone protection solution. It’s convenient, affordable and designed to give you everything you need to protect your phone wherever you go.”
Here is a timeline of what has happened so far – I’m sure you’ll agree what I have experienced is a complete failure of putting your customers first:
- 7/27 While on vacation my new Palm Pre was damaged (screen cracked while in my pocket). Because of my job I need to be accessible – even when on vacation – as I’m sure you can appreciate.
- 7/28 At the first opportunity I visited a Sprint PCS store hoping to get an on-the-spot replacement. I was told by the store representative to call Asurion.I called Asurion and reached a CSR who took my information and told me a replacement would ship to my hotel the next day, and to stay on the line while I was transferred to a second agent to handle the deductible. Instead of being transferred to an agent I was instead dumped into a recorded message informing me that I had to send in an affidavit before any replacement phone would be shipped. The phone call then automatically ended.I immediately called back and when I reached an agent I was treated like a criminal trying to defraud Asurion rather than being treated like a long-standing, loyal, Sprint Premier customer. The Asurion agent would not do anything other than direct me to the Asurion website and refused to email the documentation I had to complete. I questioned why the affidavit needed to be done in writing at all and was told it “was for my protection”. That is clearly untrue – the affidavit process is for Asurion’s protection. I was also told reviewing the affidavit would take 1-2 days. So now getting a replacement phone was going from next day to “several days”.
I then proceeded to a Kinko’s location to print, complete and fax the affidavit to Asurion. Not surprisingly my family was very frustrated by this point. I also had to contact executives at our company to provide alternate contact information since there was no credible timeline to getting a replacement phone.
- 7/29 I called Asurion to confirm receipt of the affidavit – it had been received but was still being processed. No progress on getting a replacement phone.
- 7/30 I called Asurion again and was told the replacement had finally been approved.
- 7/31 I again called Asurion to get shipping details to my hotel and was now told that the phone was on backorder (even though back on 8/28 I could have swapped the phone at the Sprint PCS store where they had stock). Because my vacation was over on 8/2 I told Asurion to ship a replacement to my house. The replacement timing was now sometime the week of 8/3. To add to the comedy of errors Asurion had tried to contact me – on the phone number for my broken phone (which, of course, wouldn’t work).
- 8/1 I received an email with FedEx tracking information for the replacement to arrive on 8/3 at my home.
- 8/3 The replacement phone arrives.
- 8/4 I ship my broken phone back to Asurion as per the replacement process. Later in the day Asurion contacts me to indicate a second phone was shipped in error and I needed to ship it back. No second phone had arrived and Asurion couldn’t provide any tracking information. Asurion warned me – again treating me like a criminal – that a $500 charge would be incurred if this second phone they shipped in error was not returned. Eventually a shipping label arrived and – more inconvenience to me – I dropped the extra phone off at a UPS location.
Asurion and this comedy of errors has wasted my time. Asurion’s behavior has damaged my relationship with Sprint and, not surprisingly, I have expressed my frustration with business colleagues.
I hope that you will take my feedback seriously – both addressing my specific, legitimate complaint as well as reviewing your Total Equipment Protection plan. If Sprint is to recover you must think of your customers as customers first – not criminals waiting for opportunities to defraud you.
