Lesson learned: avoid "authorized retailers"
Mood: okay
Posted on 2010-07-08 12:41:00
Tags: palmpre
Words: 233

I got the skinny on my phone today - I did buy it less than a year ago, and the warranty does carry over to the replacement phone, but because I bought it at a Sprint "authorized retailer" and not a corporate store, they sold me a refurbished phone! Maaaaaybe this was mentioned at the time (I was somewhat under duress, having just lost my phone) but I certainly don't remember them saying that. The guy at the store I went to was sympathetic, saying someone came in last week in the same situation. (then I paid for the repair, and I'll get a refurbished phone shipped to me in a few days)

So: from now on, corporate stores for me. It's certainly not clear from Sprint's website, but I guess the "Sprint Store by Direct Store" is supposed to clue me in. That's the Arbor Walk location, to be clear. And apparently the manager of that store was a real jerk to Shawn, so another reason to avoid them!

But, I still like Sprint - cheaper plans, coverage seems fine, and because I'm a "Sprint Premier" member (read: been on any smartphone plan for 6 months) I'm eligible to upgrade phones every year instead of every two years. And the customer service, at least at the corporate store on Capital of Texas (which I am sadly quite familiar with) has been friendly and competent.

5 comments

Comment from fartingmonkey:
2010-07-08T13:13:05+00:00
It's true he was quite a mean person. To be fair his employee that was attempting to help me was indeed helpful and nice enough.

I believe Verizon has the same yearly upgrade (but you also have to renew your contract). Verizon is a bit more expensive as well unless you get a discount from your workplace.

Comment from gregstoll:
2010-07-08T13:40:31+00:00
Yeah, Sprint requires you to renew as well...

Comment from andrewhime:
2010-07-08T17:26:55+00:00
Problem is... there's no phone for us to upgrade to.

Comment from gregstoll:
2010-07-08T17:32:36+00:00
Yeah...I'm hopeful though. Apparently there's some phone conference next week where the HP CEO (or someone) is speaking, and I'm naively optimistic there will be new hardware for even us Sprinters :-)

Comment from fartingmonkey:
2010-07-09T14:14:38+00:00
Sounds like it is time for you to defect and get one of the new samsung android phones that is coming out in august with Froyo. Then bring your programming talents to Android and I can enjoy the benefits! ;)

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