New cellphone, yay! Sprint, grrr!
My old cellphone developed an annoying affliction. Since St. Patrick’s Day, when someone called me, every so often they got the following message:
The PCS telephone number you’ve dialed is temporarily not in service.
Message 262. 3.
Since I dial my own phone number to check my voicemail, I also started hearing the message occasionally. Too occasionally. Usually it would happen when there was a significant gap of time (a few hours) between incoming calls. When someone dialed my number again, they’d most likely get through.
The only problem with always-on voicemail is that it conditions us to expect to ALWAYS get through. When you get a unexpected message like the one above, people think I didn’t pay my cell phone bill, or my phone number is no longer good. And they don’t always try to call back. Which means just like that, Sprint has begun providing me with an unacceptable level of service.
But I couldn’t determine if the problem was my trusty but ancient, monochrome Samsung SCH-A460, or if there was an issue with Sprint’s network. Predictably, tech support was little help. In the end, they suggested I get a new phone. I was long overdue for an upgrade, and apparently I could get a $150 rebate with a new 2 year contract. Yay. Let me take this opportunity to say that I HATE CELL PHONE CONTRACTS.
I shopped around, but in the end I really just wanted a cellphone that made phone calls. The only improvement I could imagine would be finally having the ability to send and receive text messages. So though I cooed at the Motorola phones offered by T-Mobile, I ended up sticking with Sprint, having 7 months still left on my current 2 year contract. Plus they had a decent looking phone, actually their only decent looking phone, on clearance for only $19.99, the Samsung PM-A840.
I was hoping I’d get the phone for free with that $150, long time customer “New for You” rebate program, but it turns out in a feat of devious marketing, the $200 clearance rebate that brought the phone cost down to $19.99 was actually same as the “New for You” rebate. And then as if to add insult to injury, they charge me 8% sales tax on the full price of the phone even though the rebate was instantaneous. Is that even legal? So I ended up paying $37.59 for my shiny new phone. And they tack on trial “PCS Vision” services I can’t decline unless I call customer service in a few days. What a scam. At least I got a new plan for the same price with 100 more minutes.
And guess what. The annoying message that started off this whole process is still happening. Except now I can receive text messages.
I can’t believe you stuck with Sprint. Everyone who’s anyone, even those who are famous (on tv & everything) know that Sprint isn’t that good. T-mobile with Catherine Veta Beta is better than Sprint. Perhaps, though you’ll realize the glory that is text messaging.
Here’s my one problem. Since T-Mobile doesn’t offer service in North Carolina, apparently I can’t transfer my NC phone number over to them. Sounds like bulldroppings to me, but that’s what the T-Mobile website informed me.
I’ve been a Sprint PCS customer for about 7 years now. Why? Most likely because I’m into self-abuse. The long and short of it is that, dollar for dollar, no other service can match the value I get with Sprint PCS — 3 phones, 2000 minutes, $85/month. Recently, whenever someone reported the annoying “sorry, but you’re not getting through message,” I’d call Sprint PCS and inform them of the problem, and demand that they credit me with one minute’s worth of time on my bill. When they suggested that the problem was in my 6 year old Sanyo SCP-4700 phone (which works perfectly fine), I informed them that if they couldn’t provide me with the service they CONTRACTED with me for, with the equipment they CONTRACTED with me for, then I’d have to ask them to pay me a $150 fee for early termination of the contract. Want to know how I eventually got the problem solved? They got tired of listening to me b*tch and transferred me to a service manager who suggested I take my phone into the local retail store and have them UPGRADE THE SOFTWARE. They did that, for free, and I’ve not hat that problem since. You didn’t need a new phone, you just needed them to put your phone on their computer and upgrade the software. Of course, they’d rather take money from you and tie you to more time on your 2-year contract. It’s better for them, and doesn’t do anything to better YOUR situation. Best of luck.
Justin! I just got a Blackberry! service thru Cingular. This is the first handheld device I have ever owned!
Oh yeah and hopefully the link with my name worked….with all the recent events in your life I know you could use some items from misspoppy!
I would also like to take this opportunity to say that I HATE CELL PHONE CONTRACTS.
how do i recive texts on my cell??? i can send them but cant recive them y is that?????