Hardware / Rebate problems...AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[morrison0880]

I received my replacement pre from palm yesterday. It was going to be my 4th pre (1st had many frozed pixels, 2nd and 3rd have SEVERE oreo twists and gaps between the front and back). I am not a perfectionist by any means, but I want a phone that I paid $300 for to be a quality device.
I turn on my new pre, which by all appearance was very solid physically, and am amazed to see a dozen or more frozen little pixels sprinkled across the black boot-up screen. So..........I call Palm and they tell me to run the update and do a quick-test. The update should solve the problem, but if it doesn't, the test will let us know what's wrong. I do both. The update doesn't fix the pixel problem and the test says everything is fine.
Ugghhhhh.
So I make arrangements to send the phone back and have another sent out. Pain in the azz number one.
Number two is much more frustrating. A bit of background on me. I for 4 years I had the same Sanyo flip phone that I absolutely loved. I did get a new phone when I brought my girl on my line, but after she dropped it and shattered the screen, I gladly gave her mine (truth be told, I actually preferred my older phone). Then, around Sept of last year, the phone finally broke. The two halves broke apart, and I needed to get a new phone. Nothing offered by Sprint really caught my eye, so I decided to wait until my contract ran out in Feb to get a new phone. I bought an old Rumor from my buddy for $20 and got it activated.
Yesterday, I receive a postcard in the mail telling me that my rebate was denied because my previous Sprint phone wasn't activeated for at least 12 months. So........I call cust service and explain to them what my situation was. Paul at Sprint told me that in fact my rebate was denied because my PRE wasn't activated for 30 consecutive days. He counted each time I received a replacement as activating a different phone, thus nullifying my rebate. At this point I nearly lost it and after explaining that the NEW phone activations were replacement phones due to defects, he explained that after I've had the same pre active on the account for 30 days, I can call in and explain the problem again and have the rebate process restarted. Same comment from his manager.
Ugghhhhh!
I'm sorry about the rant, but this has really been a horrible experience. I love the phone, but hate the hardware issues. I have been a loyal Sprint custyomer for 12 years, and I have always been extremely impressed by the network. The cust service really never gave me any issues. And since I've been with Sprint I've brought 3 other lines onto my line, and am working on bringing my brother over from Verizon when his azz-raping contract is up. And now, after finally getting a phone that not only can compete, but actually blows away a lot of the competition, I run into this cluster******.
I am extremely happy for everyoneout there who have had no problems with you devices. I just felt I had to write this if only to get it off my chest and, hopefully, hear a similar story from someone else so I don't feel like I'm the only one to fall into this *****pile.
And if anyone has asked why Sprint decided on a mail-in rebate instead of the instant variety, you have your answer. Much easier to hold onto that money by denying claims based on bs reasoning.
Out.

[seraphemz]

Well, as far as the rebate goes it makes sense. Everytime you replace your phone you reset your 30 days. I was told this when I exchanged my first one.

As for the dead pixels I cant help there.. I dont even know what they look like.

[davers]

Wow! Are you sure you don't give off some "magnetic pixel killing aura" or something! :dft002:eys_open I'm lucky, my screen is perfect! I think if I had only 1 dead pixel in it I'd be pretty peeved!

Sorry about your rebate woes!

Dave

[bigwavo]

Your situation is exactly why Sprint is losing customers. I'm a long time customer of Sprint and had a bad experience with them about a 18 months ago.

Most companies should have the ability to correct unusual situations when they aren't the fault of the customer. It's the old *spirit* of the law versus the letter of the law argument. Sprint appears to have a love affair with the letter of the law. Even if it means losing a long time customer.

My personal bad experience was resolved making 10 different calls over a period of 6 weeks when I accidently got transferred to a guy who fixed it because "it was the right way to handle it and he had already turned in notice that he was quitting Sprint that week."

This lead me to believe that Sprint employees are punished if they act outside the *laws of Sprint* even if it's a win-win for both parties.

[areyes163]

Actually Sprint rebate system is a joke. I love Sprint dont get me wrong and I love my Pre. But their rebate policy is a horrible joke. Why they make you wait 30 days to get the rebate is beyond me.

For instance to get a rebate from Verizon you must mail a copy of your receipt complete the rebate form and cut out yout upc label with the phone info on it. You mail those in and in a couple weeks your rebate comes. No thirty days. The only catch to that is if you return your phone with the upc info cut out then your return is less te rebate you got. Much easier than waiting 30 days.

Now Im not a Verizon lover as I left Verizon to come to Sprint. Just citing the difference in rebate ease. Sprint has much better coverage in my area and the Pre kicks ***.

[sbonilla]

I had several issues with my pre you can email Dan Hesse Dan@sprint.com and believe it or not you will get a response. I had some serious issues with customer service and my Palm Pre and I emailed them and got a response in one day and a resolution in 2 days. Try it you will be amazed.