I have an EVO, purchased July 2010. I have the $7/month Total Equipment Protection coverage. Yesterday I dropped it on a linoleum floor at home and the screen broke. I made an appointment to have the screen replaced this coming Saturday morning at a corporate store that offers repair services.
I dialed 611 and a tech support guy confirmed that I had done the right thing in making the appointment to get the screen replaced in the store (with no $100 Asurion deductible). Because I had read on Evo users' message boards that sometimes the replacement screens had to be ordered, I stopped by the store after work to see if they had the screens in stock. The staff member and the manager both kindly told me that since February they haven't been allowed to replace the screens unless the cracks were small (I read online later that small means less than one inch in length, and no more than two cracks). They said I had to file an Asurion insurance claim and pay a $100 deductible. I questioned this policy because no matter the size of the cracks the screen must be replaced at the same cost. I told them that the tech support guy said I had done the right thing by making the appointment for repair Saturday morning. I told them my opinion that this is not good for a company whose CEO is on TV commercials boasting about its quality of service.
So I went home and called 611 again. I spoke to a woman who was sympathetic and said she'd confer with her supervisor. Then, the supervisor came on the line and explained to me that Sprint had a "pilot program" in which Evo customers could have their broken screens replaced at the corporate repair-center stores, but that the "pilot program" had been terminated. She explained that the insurance contract calls for my replacing the phone through Asurion with the $100 deductible. I agreed, but asserted that it was unfair and bad for business for Sprint to treat broken screens--and only broken Evo screens with cracks greater in number than two and longer than one inch--as $100 deductible insurance claims, after having replaced the screens in store several months of Evo's existence. She offered to split the deductible with me via $50 in bill credits. I declined and said I'd be considering whether to cancel the contract and change carriers. She agreed to call me back today to discuss my decision, and, if I desired, to escalate my complaint.
Today the supervisor called me back. When I told her that I'd like to escalate this issue to a higher manager, she said that if I did so, our $50-in-bill-credits deal would be rescinded and I'd likely have to pay the entire $100 deductible because the manager who'd call me is required to follow corporate policy (which is, as I said earlier, that cracked Evo screens won't be replaced free of deductible in-store if there are more than two cracks or if the cracks are greater than one inch in length).
I replied that it's not good business for Sprint to act like a prosecutor who is telling me that if I refuse his/her deal and "go to trial" with the higher manager, my penalty might be higher (as in a $100 Asurion deductible with no corresponding bill credits). I told the lady that I'd be posting my story on an Android forum and gave her the username that I'd use. I told her repeatedly that I didn't fault her personally.
This event really has me appalled. I will be contemplating tonight whether to end my contract and take my business to T-Mobile. Even if I stay with Sprint for the entire two years of my contract, I won't be renewing.
So why is Sprint losing market share to its rivals?
I dialed 611 and a tech support guy confirmed that I had done the right thing in making the appointment to get the screen replaced in the store (with no $100 Asurion deductible). Because I had read on Evo users' message boards that sometimes the replacement screens had to be ordered, I stopped by the store after work to see if they had the screens in stock. The staff member and the manager both kindly told me that since February they haven't been allowed to replace the screens unless the cracks were small (I read online later that small means less than one inch in length, and no more than two cracks). They said I had to file an Asurion insurance claim and pay a $100 deductible. I questioned this policy because no matter the size of the cracks the screen must be replaced at the same cost. I told them that the tech support guy said I had done the right thing by making the appointment for repair Saturday morning. I told them my opinion that this is not good for a company whose CEO is on TV commercials boasting about its quality of service.
So I went home and called 611 again. I spoke to a woman who was sympathetic and said she'd confer with her supervisor. Then, the supervisor came on the line and explained to me that Sprint had a "pilot program" in which Evo customers could have their broken screens replaced at the corporate repair-center stores, but that the "pilot program" had been terminated. She explained that the insurance contract calls for my replacing the phone through Asurion with the $100 deductible. I agreed, but asserted that it was unfair and bad for business for Sprint to treat broken screens--and only broken Evo screens with cracks greater in number than two and longer than one inch--as $100 deductible insurance claims, after having replaced the screens in store several months of Evo's existence. She offered to split the deductible with me via $50 in bill credits. I declined and said I'd be considering whether to cancel the contract and change carriers. She agreed to call me back today to discuss my decision, and, if I desired, to escalate my complaint.
Today the supervisor called me back. When I told her that I'd like to escalate this issue to a higher manager, she said that if I did so, our $50-in-bill-credits deal would be rescinded and I'd likely have to pay the entire $100 deductible because the manager who'd call me is required to follow corporate policy (which is, as I said earlier, that cracked Evo screens won't be replaced free of deductible in-store if there are more than two cracks or if the cracks are greater than one inch in length).
I replied that it's not good business for Sprint to act like a prosecutor who is telling me that if I refuse his/her deal and "go to trial" with the higher manager, my penalty might be higher (as in a $100 Asurion deductible with no corresponding bill credits). I told the lady that I'd be posting my story on an Android forum and gave her the username that I'd use. I told her repeatedly that I didn't fault her personally.
This event really has me appalled. I will be contemplating tonight whether to end my contract and take my business to T-Mobile. Even if I stay with Sprint for the entire two years of my contract, I won't be renewing.
So why is Sprint losing market share to its rivals?
