Sirius Customer Service Rant (AKA Sprint’s CSRs Have Some Company On The List), And Celtics-Lakers Game Three Thoughts
Quick-hitters:
- How come I never realized how addictive graham crackers can be?
Damn graham crackers. Good thing I don’t have any chocolate and marshmallows lying around…
- Current rebate-o-meter: ~$1,400. Apparently I forgot to enter about $400 in rebates that I almost completely forgot about!
And by “enter” I mean “I completely forgot about these items I ordered, and therefore I’m not even close to thinking about filing these rebates.”
I’m lazy.
- Hey Sprint! Did you loan out some of your CSRs to Sirius?
I was shopping through Sirius’ web site via AAA for a radio and subscription service. The site had a pretty nice deal: $14.99 for the Stratus 4 Dock & Play Kit, plus a free month of service and free activation. After notifying my sister of the deal, she quickly told me to order it for her.
When I got to the checkout, though, I saw the $15.00 activation fee in my shopping cart. I looked back at AAA’s website, and made absolutely sure that everything looked good. Free shipping? Check. Free month of service? Check. One year subscription? Check. So where’s my free activation?
I called the Sirius/AAA hotline, and almost immediately, a guy with a thick accent answered. He asked me for my name, phone number, and address, but I pointed out that I was not yet a subscriber, and just had a question or two about a AAA promotion. I pointed out that AAA members get free activation when ordering online, adding the fact that I did sign up for a one year contract.
The moron asked me to read the serial number off the back of my radio. Strike one.
I reminded him that I was not yet a subscriber, and wanted to sign up for service. I stated again that I was supposed to get free activation as a AAA member.
The moron, matter-of-factly, stated that it was “policy” to charge the $15.00 activation fee. Strike two.
At this point, I was furious, so I decided to speak in my one-word-at-a-time, near-the-top-of-my-voice voice (which will, from now on, be known as the “IVR voice”), pointing out again that I was signing up through AAA’s site, and the site clearly mentions that AAA members get free shipping AND free activation.
The moron told me that he would research it with “somebody,” and he put me on hold. When he came back, he acknowledged an error on the site, and that I should only be charged $10 for activation. Foul tip…
I screamed, “TEN DOLLARS IS NOT FREE!” That’s when the rep dropped this bomb on me: he said that his coworker insisted that the activation charge was correct!!!
(Now I’m assuming “coworker” != “supervisor.” For all I know, maybe he did mean supervisor. For now, though, I am not giving him the benefit of the doubt.)
One final time, I adamantly pointed out that I should be getting free activation. That’s when I heard his “coworker” in the background utter “It’s right! It’s right!”, to which the trained seal stupid rep responded with something to the effect of “There is a $15.00 activation fee, which is policy to charge for new subscriptions.”
*click*
Strike f**king three.
EDIT: Wanting my sister to share my pain, I had her call back and try to get a supervisor on the line. “Jay” answered her call, and while he wouldn’t transfer her to a supervisor, he did append our order for free activation. There were some issues getting the radio she wanted for $14.99, but he eventually fixed the pricing of the kit as well. He was ready to put the order through, and he asked my sister if it was OK to put her on hold.
She did. And, in-freaking-explicably, she “accidentally” hung up on him.
She immediately called back, and tried to find “Jay.” The first rep explained that she couldn’t do so without his extension. The second rep she spoke to wouldn’t put the order through, insisting that the price of the radio was wrong. While being on hold with a third rep, and she inexplicably hung up while on hold a third time!
(Apparently the rep I dealt with cursed us.)
When she called yet again, she again demanded a supervisor. Tired of waiting being placed on hold for so long, she hung up and called again. Finally, she got a rep that spoke English!
This rep instructed my sister to order the service through sirius.com, and once the order was in the system, the rep was going to manually waive the activation fee. How do you suppose that went?
After the order was submitted, the rep put my sister back on hold, and attempted to manually credit her account. When she came back on the phone, naturally, she told us that she could not credit the account. Instead, she told my sister to call back when she receives the radio, and request the credit upon activation.
Hey, stupid rep: if you couldn’t credit the account right now, what makes you think one of your fellow morons reps is going to be able to credit the account when my sister calls in to activate the radio?
Several calls, zero supervisors, two headaches…and we aren’t even customers yet. Awesome.
- Paul Pierce went 2 for 14. Kevin Garnett went 6 for 21. The Lakers held a double digit lead in the first half. Kobe Bryant shot 18 foul shots. Sasha Vujacic scored 20 points.
And after all that, the Lakers still had to fight for a Game Three win? That can’t bode well for the Lakers’ chances in the series. Then again, Lamar Odom was non-existant for three quarters, Pau Gasol got a couple key offensive rebounds, and Derek Fisher had another ineffective game. So did the Lakers really win, or did they just not lose?
Speaking of Sasha, what a great game he had. Killer treys, irritating defense, but not a single shot of him adjusting that thing he had in his head that keeps his hair manageable? And I loved the little tussle between PJ Brown and Jordan Farmar.
If Pierce and Garnett give Boston anything decent in Game Four, and Odom and Gasol rebound as well, who wins Game Four. You have to give the Lakers a slight edge, all things considered, don’t you? Then again, a dominant Pierce might be all Boston needs to win Game Four and end the series in six games at the most.
Note to Phil Jackson: Trevor Ariza does not belong on the court, much less checking Paul Pierce or Ray Allen.
Until next time!