.. title: Sprint PCS, the final chapter
.. slug: sprintpcs3
.. date: 2006-12-28 12:44:36
.. tags: content, life

<p>
  A couple of weeks ago, I started a family account at 
  <a href="http://www.workingassets.com/">Working Assets</a> and switched
  S over from Verizon and me over from Sprint PCS.  The switch-over was
  a little dicey partially because there were so many numbers involved
  and I think they had set us up a little wonky.  I switched us over one
  at a time because I figured we'd have issues, so we were sufficiently
  prepared to have a phone out of service for a few days.  I tried calling
  Sprint PCS to cancel my account and make sure everything was ok, but all
  the numbers I could find required a valid Sprint PCS number to get through
  to someone.  Regardless, everything's great now, we have two new phones, 
  we're saving about $20 because we have a family plan, and S can call me 
  whenever she wants for free.  w00t!
</p>
<p>
  Today I got a bill from Sprint PCS with a $150 termination fee.  I
  tried calling the telephone number on the bill and couldn't get through
  to anyone because you need a valid Sprint PCS number.  I finally called
  1-800-SPRINT-1 (their telesales number), got through to someone who was
  really annoyed because I called the wrong number, but she patched me
  through to Customer Service.  Then I talked to a really patient and
  wonderful person who's name I don't recall.  We worked through the timing
  of events and it turns out that my 2-year contract started on the next
  billing cycle and not (as the Sprint PCS representative at the store told
  me) when I paid for the new phone and switched over.  Anyhow, bottom
  line is that I cancelled a couple of days too early.  She put me on hold
  for 10 minutes or so and then when she came back she happily told me
  that they waived the cancellation fee after noting that I had been a good
  customer for 6 years or so.
</p>
<p>
  From this I note the following things:
</p>
<ul>
  <li>It's good to have copies of the paperwork in front of you so that 
      you can tell them all the specifics: bills, credit card bills, 
      receipts, things you've signed, promotions you took advantage of, ....  
      Sure they have stuff in their system, but I think the line-items 
      in their system are somewhat open to interpretation.
  <li>It's good to be polite and courteous.  The person on the other end of
      the phone isn't responsible for the mix-up--they're helping you to
      sort it out within the bounds of the wonky system they're in.
  <li>It's good to allocate lots of time for working through issues with
      big companies because it often requires talking to multiple people
      (keep logs of all chats and who said what), sitting on hold, and
      explaining the details again and again.
</ul>
<p>
  At the end of the day, everything seems fine and I've completed one
  of the major tasks for "winter break".  w00t!
</p>