I’m generally not a whiny consumer, and I will always recognize the phenomenal benefits of mobile technology over the flaws of its providers.
That said, my billing relationship with Sprint Wireless is increasingly fraught. I’d like to treat their bills like any other - glance over an email once a month and let the money slide out of my bank account with a quiet sigh - but they insist on trying to extract undeserved premiums from me.
Take, for instance, the latest: when I was home for Mother’s Day weekend, I upgraded from my Palm Pre to a Nexus S 4G. The guys at the store, for all their good humor, had to call HQ several times to get me the right price. Then, when my monthly bill came, Sprint had the audacity to charge me an $18 “Device Upgrade Fee.”
This is not a lot of money, and it took only a few minutes with a CSR named James to get it stricken from my bill. But it’s the fact that it was there in the first place that galls.
I drop $200 on Sprint every month, and every month it seems like they’re working harder to erode my trust than anything else.
Not a good business model, Sprint. Get your shit together.
