Some time back, I thought about changing wireless providers. On Friday evening we did it! We changed over from Sprint to Verizon. The process was simple. We kept our old numbers but got new phones and a new faster service. We even traded in our old phones knowing we would no longer need them. Life is good. . . .
Not so fast. As Paul Harvey would say, "And now, Page Two!" The real story is not quite as simple. When we tried to call each other, we found our calls were still going to Sprint as we found out when our calls were forwarded to Sprint voice mail. WTF! There is a process called porting which converts your new phone to the new number AFTER it removes the old phone from operation. We had not been ported. I called Verizon and found that they had done their part. Sprint was required to relinquish their HOLD on our number. They were behind. It usually takes an hour or so but due to high volume, it was taking up to 24 hours! I called Sprint. They said, "no problem, just keep using the old phone until the porting completes. Ahh but we traded in our old phones! OUCH! We were "Shit, out of luck".
It's only 24 hours, one day to be disconnected. 24 hours came and went. I called Sprint again. "You are scheduled for porting at 10:30 tonight" (Saturday) she said. We all went to bed unported hoping we would awaken to new, fully operational, phones in the morning. We are now approaching 48 hours and still unported. Another call to Sprint customer Service and after a long hold while the representative probably went out for coffee, we were transferred to the porting department, obviously some place in a non-English speaking country. (They have a whole departmant just to help people get away from their service.) I could not understand much but I could understand 24 hours more wiat. Then she wanted a call back number where I could be reached. "What part of we can't get any calls, do you not understand", I responded with a touch of anger in my voice. To that, she replied, "Thanks you for letting Sprint provide the best possible service, have a nice day." I couldn't even slam down the phone for fear of shattering my new screen. "It is too late for that!" I retaliated.
So, what is the message here? The message is, "Don't invest in Sprint." If they are so overwhelmed with people wanting to leave their service, business can't be too good. If two hours normal turn around is now 72 hours, there is a problem. Unlimited data is not much of a selling feature if you are puttsing around in 3G speeds when everyone else is running 4G in most metro areas. It would be a little bit like Hurtz offering a battery "Barbie Car" with unlimited mileage for a low price. When unlimited data translates to unlimited pain in the butt, Sprint, you have a problem.
If you know someone contemplating the change from Sprint, encourage them to jump ship now before it sinks but hold onto the old phone until the process is complete!
