So i recently got a sprint phone. Long story short i asked if i could get a plan at a certain price monthly. In my case under $35 i had to put $500 down on the phone but the customer service rep got it to something like $34 before taxes. I was happy. Then came the first bill of $43. Upon investigation i showed $1 in taxes and the rest in "surcharges" I called and asked about surcharges and after they explained they arent taxes i got them waived for 1 month. I then asked to waive them permanently, they gave me a number to call and ask. I obliged and asked so no more surcharges for the length of my stay with sprint, he said yes. Now month 2 they are back. I s0ent 2 hours on hold in the store today and even after threatening to go back to virgin mobile they wouldnt budge or acknowledge i was told i would no longer be charged surcharges. So long story short im peacefully protesting by calling customer service repeatedly until i feel ive wasted more of their money in wages than the $7 hidden fees im being charged. Ive already told 3 customer service reps of my plan. 2 took it personal even though ive assured them it's nothing against them, and they make the same hourly wage no matter the call. The last one though lol'd. I liked her.
The 4th rep was awesome. She got surcharges waived another month but this time she said they cant permenantly waive them. She started reading me where the surcharges go and apparently surcharges are charged to lower bills to cover the cost of people who cant pay their high bills. Basically they rob the responsible poor to help the overspending poor. I just had to laugh, so did the service rep after i broke it down for her. I told well ive timed the calls and ive waste 2 hours and 26 minutes of customer service rep time, thats well over $7 and you even credited me the $7 so talk to you next month!
I had thought about that actually. However, i am very principaled. I dont lie and thus despise being lied to. So i made it a point only to make the calls when it was not an inconvenience. I simply put it on speaker and carried on with my daily routine, if i need to hang up it's no biggie cause the goal is to waste their time. I had one of them put a note on my account any time they pull it up it basically tells them why im calling. Ill then tell them they are doing a great job and i appriciate their time. These are harmless call center people, im not trying to ruin their day, i make that clear and that my intentions are only to waste the corporations money. I even suggest putting me on hold and taking a break.
I had a bill collector from India or somewhere call my house over 50 times in the evening looking for a guy named Joe. No matter how many times I told them no Joe here they would keep calling. One night I figured I'd take care of it once and for all. I answered the phone "Pizza Hut can I help you?" The guy asked for Joe and I said we sold pizza did he want to order. Finally I pretended that Joe worked there and I'd go get him. Then I pretended to be Joe while we haggled over my 400 dollar bill I (Joe) owed. I did this for at least 15 minutes until old Joe broke down and agreed to pay. The guy asked me for my credit card number. I said I'd go get it, hold on a second. 5 minutes later I said "I got it are you ready, listen good" He said he was ready. I said, "Listen you dumb motherfucker I'm not Joe, there is no Joe here quit calling me!!!" He said "sir, why did you not tell me? you wasted my time" I told him they've been told repeatedly and it didn't help and that from then on I'd waste their time until I had to go to bed. THAT was the last time they ever called. They only care when you waste their time.
If you don't get something in writing, it didn't happen; it's just a sales rep trying to get a sale. Often they'll do whatever it takes, including promising things they can't follow through with. It's completely unethical, but unless it's in writing, the company will assume it didn't happen, and you're trying con them. Everyone should always get everything in writing. You're hurting the customer service reps personally by lowering their resolved issues rate, and (depending on how long you talk to them) raising their time per call rate. If their scores get bad enough, they'll get fired.
They say the calls are recorded. I told them to go listen to the call where the guy said they would be waived permanently and they wouldnt. The store guy told me i could get a 19% discount because of where i work and hopefully that would save me more than these surcharges. I had to submit a bunch of information and then i get an email saying they dont offer discounts for my plan. I lol'd and told them thats 3 times now theyve lied to me.
Yeah. Against my better judgement i did the 2 year plan thing and put $500 down on the phone to get the monthly bill down. So even if i just walk away and take the credit hit which wouldnt really affecg me, im down pretty big only being 2 months in. I know they do this shit because people just give up and figure oh well its only $7. But thats what pisses me off about it so much, especially when all these companies do that shit. Might just be time for me to go back to living without a phone and tv. I was much happier.
